“But it will take a monumental effort, there is a deep seated bureaucracy that as demonstrated in the COVID-19 psy-op that has been regulatory captured.”
Agreed. Really, this bureaucracy has been established for several decades, at least. Ronald Reagan talked about it in his interview with Johnny Carson all the way back in 1974-
At 17:00, Reagan talks about how even the OMB in Washington can’t tell you how many boards, commissions, agencies and departments there are in the Federal Government. (also, at 9:10, he talks about the issue of research programs).
In the Rogan interview, Trump admits that his biggest mistake during his initial term was the appointments he made, and some of the team around him. I think this time, there is already a much better team assembled around him, some of which you can clearly see (RFK Jr, Gabbard, Vivek, Vance, etc). Trump also discussed some of the problems with big pharma and lobbyists in the Theo Von interview.
People also forget that the President isn’t the most powerful branch of the Federal Government…. Congress is. Many were critical of Trump’s actions during COVID (myself included), but it all stemmed from the CARES Act. That act passed both chambers of Congress with over 95% support. You only need 66% of Congress to override a veto, so that act was going to become law, whether Trump signed it or not. He could have taken a more defiant stance, but if he had, he might not have been able to get Amy Coney Barrett confirmed. It could also be argued that he wasn’t properly executing his executive duties, had he gone that route.
True, the power of the Executive has been growing, but actions of the Supreme Court have pushed back against some of those expansions over the past four years (the EPA decision, the reversal of the Chevron doctrine, the decision on Biden’s vaccine mandate). So, the ACB confirmation was very important, and will continue to be important for decades. Trump goes into this term with more support in both chambers of Congress, and a Supreme Court that is focused much more on the principles laid down in the Constitution of 1789. He also has his previous experience as President.
Yes, it’s a monumental task, but there are very good reasons to be somewhat optimistic.
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