Trump Should Inform Biden’s DC Officials on Day One: ‘You’re Fired’

Letting employees go can be challenging, yet it’s sometimes imperative. Whether it’s due to downsizing, changing organizational direction, or severing ties with an unproductive employee, the situation may necessitate issuing a pink slip.

Donald Trump understands this reality. During his first term, he had to dismiss individuals like Jim Mattis (reflecting an organizational pivot) and John Bolton (who was deemed ineffective), among others.

For a successful second term, he needs to revive his old TV catchphrase: Beginning at noon on January 20, Trump must start saying “You’re fired” to numerous individuals.

And that means a lot of them.

All of President Biden’s key political appointees — including Cabinet secretaries, their leadership teams, White House staff, and ambassadors — will automatically be out by noon on Monday.

Furthermore, Trump is expected to remove certain high-profile figures from Washington’s so-called “independent agencies” as soon as he legally can, such as progressive advocates like Rohit Chopra at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Michael Hsu at the Office of the Controller of the Currency.

However, the deeper issue lies with the entrenched Deep State — which is indeed real — populated by thousands of career federal bureaucrats who often believe their role is to create or oppose policy rather than implement the directives of elected officials.

A prime target for Trump: inspectors general.

In 2017, discussions arose about replacing the department watchdogs, most of whom had been appointed by the previous Obama administration.

It was reasonable to assume they could be unsupportive of the new administration.

Some within the administration felt this approach was too aggressive, leading Trump to retain many of Obama’s inspectors general, which turned out to be a miscalculation.

While IGs perform an essential function, they can also be weaponized against an administration they oppose.

When their personal politics affect their judgment, it can divert critical time and resources away from the president’s agenda, which is a misuse of their position.

No accusations were aimed at Obama, Biden, or nearly any Democratic president when they filled IG roles with their own people.

Trump should adopt the same strategy: Republican inspectors general can effectively address misconduct and reduce waste, likely even more efficiently than their Democratic counterparts.

Another area to concentrate on: new federal hiring.

There’s a broad consensus that Biden is using his final days in office to “secure his legacy.”

His attempts to obstruct Trump’s energy initiatives by withdrawing large portions of U.S. territory from oil and gas production are not surprising.

In a similar vein, Biden has taken measures against Trump, Elon Musk, DOGE, and rational governance by attempting to grant federal employees the right to work remotely until after the next presidential election.

Thus, he’s likely applying the same philosophy to his recent federal hires, filling positions with loyalists to leftist ideologies.

However, new career staff are subject to a probationary period, meaning they can be terminated within one year of starting.

Trump should closely examine anyone hired since January 21 of last year. If there isn’t a compelling reason to retain them, they should be let go.

Finally, Trump should identify Biden appointees who have “burrowed in” to the executive branch.

This term refers to political appointees who shift to the civil service and become permanent career staffers.

This tactic can compromise the apolitical nature of the federal bureaucracy, as OPM must authorize such transitions — and the Biden administration, which has overseen OPM for years, may not have been diligent in this process.

There are plenty of competent bureaucrats in the federal government; I collaborated with over 500 at the Office of Management and Budget.

Conversely, during my time at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I encountered 1,700 people, and I can confidently state that about 1,650 of them appeared to be working to undermine the goals I and the president were pursuing.

If just 0.5% of the more than two million civilian federal employees are intent on hindering the agenda of the elected leader, it means Trump could face over 10,000 individuals working against him from within his own administration daily.

It’s worth noting that “independent agencies” are not referenced in the Constitution.

Nor does the Constitution guarantee lifetime jobs for executive assistants at the Department of Agriculture.

However, elections are constitutional.

Citizens who voted for a Republican president, a Republican House, and a Republican Senate are justified in expecting a Republican administration.

To realize this goal, Trump will need to commence dismissals.

Starting on Day 1.

Mick Mulvaney served as White House chief of staff during President Trump’s initial term.