Trump’s Personnel Pipeline Is Pumping
Republicans have a handle on the DC machine.
In December 2020, this magazine published what would become the rallying cry of the America First movement as it sought to regroup in the wake of the 2020 election.
Rachel Bovard’s “Too Few of the President’s Men” laid out in painful detail the personnel problems at the heart of Donald Trump’s first term. The piece explained why the Trump administration left so much on the plate, framed the debate over how to address the America first staff shortage, and even inspired the work of new nonprofits.
But the number one question in conservative circles as Trump eyed a return to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave was whether Trump had learned the lesson that personnel is policy. The answer appears to be yes.
Piecemeal information from Palm Beach, Florida over the course of the transition suggested that something big was coming. But I don’t think any of us not involved in the transition expected something like this: Nearly 100 executive orders signed, and more importantly, over 2,000 staffers placed.
On day one, the Trump administration established a beachhead across the federal government. Approximately 1,300 presidential staffers reported for duty on January 20.
With that beachhead, the Presidential Personnel Office has continued sending reinforcements to the front line. PPO has hired nearly 1,000 more staffers in key positions that neuter the influence of blob-minded careerists.
“It’s a record pace in hiring across the entire federal government, but it’s also the quality we’re looking for: Great people who will deliver on that mandate for the president,” Presidential Personnel Office Director Sergio Gor recently told Sean Hannity.
The right’s long march through the institutions is occurring much more quickly than anticipated.
Nonetheless, it seems to be a punctuated advance—rapid gains followed by digging in. Recent evidence of this comes from Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense. On Thursday, Hegseth announced he was “disestablishing” the DOD’s Office of Net Assessment in order to reconstitute it. The office was headed by James H. Baker, who held the position since he was tapped by Obama Defense Secretary Ash Carter in 2015. Net Assessment was not disbanded on Day One, but the administration now feels it has seized that territory.
It’s not only the president’s men but the people’s representatives ushering in the change. After supposedly chilling prospect of recess appointments over the winter, the GOP-controlled Senate has confirmed all but one member of the president’s cabinet in record time.
The last cabinet-level confirmation, Trump’s UN Ambassador nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), remains in the House, where her vote is currently far more important than at the United Nations.
In his interview with Hannity, Gor said, “We have confirmed over 20 cabinet-level officials now. In comparison, in five weeks, Joe Biden had 12.” Not only do these confirmations outpace Biden; they also outpace Trump and Obama’s first terms.
“The Senate has followed an aggressive schedule, and we have stayed in session on nights and weekends, which forced Democrats to make concessions that allowed us to speed up the process,” Senate majority leader John Thune recently told my Daily Signal colleague Jacob Adams. “Senate Republicans and President Trump are committed to delivering on the decisive mandate we received from Americans last November, and that started by getting President Trump’s team in place quickly so we can get to work on advancing our shared agenda.”
Thune’s comments reveal the fundamental difference between Trump 1.0 and 2.0.
In his first presidential campaign, Trump innovated at such a rapid pace that administration staffers in waiting couldn’t keep up—willingly or unwillingly. Republicans in Congress couldn’t keep pace either. Some even seemed to believe they won despite, not because of, Trump in 2016.
On the off chance that ever was the case, it certainly isn’t the case now thanks to Trump’s mandate victory in 2024. In Trump 2.0, administration staffers know they are there to enact the president’s agenda, not tame or temper it. And in Congress, Republicans have been sent to Washington to codify it.
All the president’s men have received the message.
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