On Tuesday, Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk sat down with former director of operations in the Trump White House, James Bacon, to discuss the problems that have plagued federal agencies in the United States for decades.
Bacon broke down a number of moves a Republican president could make to render the "deep state" a thing of the past, and ensure that the "fourth, unelected branch of government the founders never intended to create" is never allowed to wield as much power as it does today.
"There's been this idea going around that moving these federal agencies outside of Washington, DC would help eradicate the deep state," Bacon began. "The problem with that is, it puts the bureaucrats further away from the president's supervision."
He cited the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control as an example, suggesting it was the "most corrupt" agency, and caused the most problems for the Trump administration.
"Instead of moving the agencies away," he continued, "the president needs to exert more management authority over them, keep a closer eye on them, appoint people like an attorney general over the FBI who treats the FBI as subordinate, which is how it's supposed to work under the law." He added that bringing DC to rural America could turn those areas blue.
Bacon called on Congress to prepare a bill that would repeal all civil service protections that a GOP president, if he or she were to win, could sign into law on day one.
Citing numerous examples from the Trump years, he warned that an executive order was not enough, pointing out that to many bureaucrats, they were merely "suggestions."
Bacon explained that the bureaucracy had found its way into every part of the Executive branch, and that even the White House was teeming with unelected officials who have almost "usurped the president's authority because of their location."
"How do you potentially marshal control or command a multi-million person bureaucracy with maybe 3,000 appointed positions?" Kirk asked.
Bacon said it was possible, but that it would require swift action with less delegation of duties and more follow-ups with those given the tasks.
"You need to be able to walk into these agencies ... We need to get much more hands on."
Bacon advised the future GOP president to "keep your friends close and your bureaucrats closer."
Bacon broke down a number of moves a Republican president could make to render the "deep state" a thing of the past, and ensure that the "fourth, unelected branch of government the founders never intended to create" is never allowed to wield as much power as it does today.
"There's been this idea going around that moving these federal agencies outside of Washington, DC would help eradicate the deep state," Bacon began. "The problem with that is, it puts the bureaucrats further away from the president's supervision."
He cited the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control as an example, suggesting it was the "most corrupt" agency, and caused the most problems for the Trump administration.
"Instead of moving the agencies away," he continued, "the president needs to exert more management authority over them, keep a closer eye on them, appoint people like an attorney general over the FBI who treats the FBI as subordinate, which is how it's supposed to work under the law." He added that bringing DC to rural America could turn those areas blue.
Bacon called on Congress to prepare a bill that would repeal all civil service protections that a GOP president, if he or she were to win, could sign into law on day one.
Citing numerous examples from the Trump years, he warned that an executive order was not enough, pointing out that to many bureaucrats, they were merely "suggestions."
Bacon explained that the bureaucracy had found its way into every part of the Executive branch, and that even the White House was teeming with unelected officials who have almost "usurped the president's authority because of their location."
"How do you potentially marshal control or command a multi-million person bureaucracy with maybe 3,000 appointed positions?" Kirk asked.
Bacon said it was possible, but that it would require swift action with less delegation of duties and more follow-ups with those given the tasks.
"You need to be able to walk into these agencies ... We need to get much more hands on."
Bacon advised the future GOP president to "keep your friends close and your bureaucrats closer."
