Here is a summary of what a President can do.
The president has substantial appointment powers. All of the heads of these departments are appointed. The president also appoints directors and top deputies of federal agencies, members of federal commissions, and heads of regulatory agencies. In all, the president appoints over 5000 positions. This allows him to have substantial influence over policy of all of these various departments and agencies.However, this can also be a weakness. Hard to know 5000 people, and hard to control them all. Also, as we discuss the bureaucracy, it is important to remember that the overwhelming majority of them are not appointed but hired within a merit system, thus they are permanent employees usually more loyal to the organization than to the president.
The primary function of administrative agencies is policy implementation, which is to say that they carry out the authoritative decisions of Congress, the president, and the courts. The bureaucracy does not simply administer policy; it also makes it and judges it (quasi-powers mimic the powers of the three branches of government: quasi-legislative, quasi-executive, and quasi-judicial.).
1) the bureaucracy initiates ideas for legislative programs.2) Administrative agencies develop public policy in the process of implementing it. Through rule making, administrative agencies decide how the law will operate in practice.
3) Agencies are charged with delivery of services.
4) Agencies determine whether others are complying with policy.
I have seen another estimate that 4,000 people can be replaced by an incoming President. There is a book that lists these jobs: the Plum Book.
Will Trump have the names of candidates for these jobs on January 20? No.
Will he know which candidates hold his views? No.
How long will it take him to fill every position with "his" people? Longer than a year, if he fills them at 10 per day. So, the existing managers will stay on the job for months and maybe years.
Will the replacements change the federal government? No. These newcomers will have to learn the ropes. They will be in charge of entrenched bureaucracies that cannot be fired. The bureaucrats have long-established ways of operating. One crucial operational protocol is high on the list: block any changes from a President's appointments.
How do you get people from outside the Beltway to come to Washington? They must find a nice place to rent -- expensive. They must rent out their homes wherever they live. They must pay to have their furniture moved. They must find private schools for their kids. All of this takes time and a lot of money. Then they serve for maybe two years. Why bother?
So, Presidents select from local pools of talent. They get people who do not have tenured positions. There are few high-level candidates. The President gets floaters -- people who have nothing to lose.
The only way that Ron Paul got me in June 1976 is because I had been out of work for six months, and I had no other prospects. That job changed my life. I never returned to the West Coast. But I had the job for only six months. He lost by 268 votes out of 180,000.
This is why nothing changes in Washington. This is why newly elected Presidents change almost nothing administratively. The system is immune to reform.
The last President who made fundamental changes in the bureaucracy was Franklin Roosevelt. He expanded it massively. But once it was in place, it ceased moving. By 1945, it was in place.
We do not know who will fill cabinet positions. That will be the focus of his transition team. Who will he ask? Who will accept?
What can these people do, once they are in office on January 21? Not much.
Most are hired to give speeches. The main positions -- Defense, State, Treasury -- usually go to CFR members. Trump may be wise enough to change this tradition. If so, he will be the first since 1929.
These appointments are mostly for symbolic value. Only if the senior appointees represent a consistent worldview will it matter.
How many voters are aware of all this? Not a million.
The Punch and Judy show goes on every four years. Political fever rises. People get excited. "This is the most important election since 1932!" It never is.
The fever will break on November 9. People will come to their senses. No more hallucinations.
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