If Donald Trump is re-elected, his allies plan to overhaul the management department of federal agencies by potentially dismissing scores of career civil servants and replacing them with handpicked loyalists from the Make America Great Again movement.
Despite Trump’s repeated claims of dismantling the “deep state,” it remains unclear just how far he is willing to go in pursuing his goal.
In selecting J.D. Hence Vance has chosen as his VP someone who will encourage him to push boundaries and take bold actions with certainty.
“If I were to give him one piece of advice…”
“Eliminate every middle-ranking government official and replace them with our people.”
That was no idle discuss. Uncommon among politicians, Vance’s relative newness to the field may have contributed to his preoccupation with grand ideas. He has been significantly shaped by proponents of the alt-right movement, a faction that seeks to disrupt and reorganize societal structures they deem controlled by liberal elites.
A significant portion of this would involve a restored President Trump eliminating any opposition to him, or constraints on his authority, within the executive branch.
Vance’s unwavering commitment drives his pursuit of wresting power from liberal strongholds.
Since Trump’s presidency began, influential voices have persisted in advising him to revamp the cabinet, echoing the call from early on in his term by, who advocated for a “deconstruction of the executive state.” During the tumultuous early years of the Trump administration, initial efforts to implement ambitious policy changes stalled. As Trump’s frustration mounted, he became increasingly agitated by the perceived obstruction from career federal employees and his inability to surround himself with a team loyal only to him.
As President Trump’s tenure unfolds, some younger conservative advisors, including Vance, have been voicing concerns about the administration’s ability to effectively implement its policy initiatives and address pressing national issues surrounding social justice. Many individuals were drawn to the insights provided by authors on The New Yorker.
The New Yorker proposed an institutional explanation for why conservatives failed to achieve their desired outcomes. According to this principle, the Left gained a final advantage through their effective control over crucial institutions, encompassing mainstream media outlets, academic circles, tech companies, and government agencies. The duty officer’s primary objective was to actively strive for and successfully take control of those facilities.
One notable exponent of new proper thinking is blogger Curtis Yarvin, whose distinctive ideas have garnered significant attention. Yarin has proposed that, in the event of a new right-wing presidency, it would be advisable to “retire” all authorities workers, effectively firing them, and then reconstruct the federal government from scratch. (Additionally, he facilitates the undermining of America’s democratic system, replacing it with a monarchical form of government.)
During the podcast, Vance frequently referenced Curtis Yarvin in a positive light, discussing his views on the need for President Trump to terminate “every civil servant.” Specifically, Vance noted: “There’s this fellow, Curtis Yarvin, who has explored these matters.”
Vance’s seeming intent was to prod Trump into more thoroughly recalibrating the federal bureaucracy.
As President Trump’s tenure drew to a close in 2020, he finally turned his attention to addressing the perceived “deep state”: he issued an executive order called Schedule F.
This unprecedented order paved the way to redefine up to 50,000 professional civil service positions as political appointments, effectively rendering them vulnerable to termination or replacement at the discretion of President Trump. Although he had left his job prematurely, President Biden swiftly reversed the decision.
As the specter of Trump’s potential re-election looms, anxiety has grown over the prospect of him dismantling the existing safeguards and replacing them with appointees more inclined to align with his controversial agenda, a development that would further erode trust in government institutions.
This transformation may be implemented through various approaches, ranging from minimally invasive and less impactful to more extensive and significantly transformative. With Trump’s fleeting interest in policy specifics, the outcome hinges heavily on the composition of his cabinet, as different advisors may sway him in various directions. Advisers may caution against bold action, citing concerns about potential chaos and political backlash.
Vance wouldn’t try this. As a prominent figure in Trump’s administration, he will likely serve as a strong advocate for bold action.
Vance emphasized that the courts would likely intervene, effectively restraining Trump from pursuing such a drastic measure, implying that any attempt to terminate a large number of employees would be met with judicial resistance. When that happens, Vance continued, Trump should stand above the nation like Andrew Jackson did, saying, “The chief justice has rendered their decision, now let’s uphold the Constitution.” Now let him implement it.’”
Vance pushed for a comprehensive overhaul of the Justice Department, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that such a move would be unlawful, under Trump’s direction.
Vance’s Silicon Valley benefactors also crave fundamental upheaval in the federal government.
As it becomes clear that Vance’s key political supporters include prominent Silicon Valley figures, such as Peter Thiel and Palantir CEO Alex Karp, whose mutual disdain for the left and desire to overhaul institutions dominated by the left suddenly render Vance’s advocacy of disruption entirely logical.
Peter Thiel’s profound intellectual influence on Peter Vance was largely precipitated by their encounter at Yale, where Vance, then a student of regulations, listened to Thiel deliver a lecture on campus in 2011. Vance was awestruck by Thiel’s presence, dubbing their meeting “essentially the most important second of my time at Yale Law School” and describing him as “presumably the smartest individual I’d ever met.” Vance’s acquaintance with Thiel ultimately led to a job at a venture capital fund, and years later, he received $15 million from Thiel to back his Senate campaign.
Peter Thiel has publicly expressed his personal disappointment with American institutions, stating, “I no longer consider that freedom and democracy are sufficient.” Additionally, he has supported various figures within the New Right, including Nick Land’s founder. “He’s thoroughly enlightened,” Yarvin later wrote via email, “and executes tasks with meticulous speed.”
When Musk acquired Twitter, he applied his “disruptive innovation” strategy to remake the platform. Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter led to the departure of approximately 80% of the company’s staff, including many content moderators, who subsequently abandoned or modified existing hate speech policies, prompting a mass exodus of liberal users from the platform.
Will Trump and Vance collaborate on something akin to taking a wrecking ball to the enduring civil service? Despite the courts’ efforts to halt their operations?
While the exact outcome is uncertain, Vance’s decision is likely to significantly elevate the potential for maximum disorder within the federal government.
“We’re experiencing a late republican phase,” Vance drew parallels to the autumn of ancient Rome’s Republic. “We’ll need to take bold action by venturing significantly into uncharted territory, embracing unconventional approaches, and disregarding established norms – a prospect that many conservative voters currently find unacceptable.”
