Revamp Inefficient Bureaucracy — Eliminate the Civil Service System

As the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean, but President Trump requires more than just a broom to tackle the federal bureaucracy. He needs a bulldozer.

With a budget crisis looming—demonstrated by outgoing Biden Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s announcement that the federal government is running out of funds—Trump should take bold steps to cut spending, permanently reduce the federal workforce, relocate federal offices to more affordable areas like Plattsburgh, NY, or Las Vegas, NM, and seize funds allocated for ineffective regulations and operations.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will create a long-term strategy, but Trump should make immediate cuts for initial savings.

Additionally, Trump ought to take further action that not only conserves resources and enhances efficiency but also aligns the government with the Founders’ vision: he should dismantle the overgrown, unconstitutional federal civil-service structure.

Before the Pendleton Act of 1883, government jobs followed a “spoils system,” where the president had control over hiring within the executive branch.

With each new administration, everyone’s position was, at least in theory, up for consideration.

This practice of “rotation in office” was widely recognized for its advantages and was championed by presidents from Jefferson to Jackson to Lincoln.

The central benefit was that it fostered a dynamic workforce rather than a stagnant bureaucracy.

Despite common misconceptions, a new president did not eject all government employees. In fact, Andrew Jackson, as a radical outsider, only replaced around 10% of the federal workforce with his appointees.

Every president acknowledged the importance of continuity—recruiting new personnel is a labor-intensive process.

However, the ability to replace anyone under the spoils system ensured that all federal employees were accountable to the president.

This arrangement led to two pivotal outcomes: every federal worker was answerable to the president, and in turn, the president was responsible for them—and everything they did.

This concept aligns with the Constitution’s vesting clause, indicating that “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”

If a function falls within the executive branch, it constitutes executive authority, and such power should be directly managed by the president.

However, within today’s “professional” civil service, no one truly takes charge.

Presidents face substantial challenges in dismissing many middle and senior-level managers.

It was presumed that this arrangement would yield a government run efficiently by politically neutral, qualified bureaucrats. 

However, that has not materialized; instead, we have a predominance of Democratic loyalists who remain insulated from termination by either Republican or Democratic presidents.

Federal employees predominantly support Democrats.

A recent survey by Scott Rasmussen’s Napolitan Institute revealed that a staggering 42% of federal managers would actively work against the Trump administration’s policies, echoing the resistance observed during Trump’s first term.

Moreover, they lack expertise: anyone reviewing the federal bureaucracy’s track record over the past decade would struggle to discern any indication of proficiency.

It simply stinks.

Thus, “rotation in office” may not jeopardize our expertise, but it would enhance legitimacy.

The extensive expansion of the administrative state over the last century has been defended on the premise that unelected officials are accountable to the president, who is elected by the populace, thereby legitimizing their decisions.

However, with 2.28 million civilian federal employees, this has not held true for decades.

It is time to dismantle the civil service.

Transitioning to a more politically responsive framework is likely to function more effectively and aligns more closely with the principles of democracy than leaving our government under the dominion of an unaccountable, left-liberal hegemony.

The rise of “professional” bureaucrats, who gain positions through exams and degrees, exemplifies another incident of the elite class infiltrating once-diverse professions.

(Journalism, once a working-class field now overly saturated with elite college graduates, serves as another illustration).

The educated elite have not performed particularly well recently—and since they profess the importance of diversity, they should advocate for a more varied federal bureaucracy.

It’s time for President Trump to act: abolish the civil service and restore American democracy.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds is a law professor at the University of Tennessee and the founder of the InstaPundit.com blog.