I keep reading and hearing about the American public whom the Trump administration appears to listen to and who in turn supposedly lend their support. Some have speculated that they are those who claim to be part of the so-called Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. However, the MAGA supporters still only represent a fraction of the Republican Party. Based on recent polls in the U.S., which put Trump’s approval ratings at an all time low, it certainly doesn’t appear to include the vast majority of independent voters. As for the “big, beautiful bill” recently passed by the Republicans, at the town halls held by Republican Congressional representatives the negative and furious reactions by their constituents don’t appear to be very favourable. The majority of Americans are now also beginning to question the administration’s tariffs and immigration policies. It would appear the emphasis on dealing with inflation, remembering Trump’s references to the high cost of “groceries”, has now taken a back seat to his other priorities. This at a time when the real impact of high tariffs on imports from India and China have yet to be fully felt by American consumers. Many Americans, particularly those in states bordering with Canada, are not happy with how the Trump administration is dealing with its northern neighbour and long time friend, ally and trading partner.
Prior and during the last election, there is little doubt that some Americans were concerned about numerous federal agencies, especially with respect to their credibility and trust wariness. Instead of restoring their trust in agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Justice Department to name a few, we now see the administration attempting to dismantle and weaponize these independent bodies. Trump is replacing their heads with politically loyal hacks with little or no expertise in leading or running such institutions. By doing this, the administration argues that the ability of the President to exercise his hiring and firing policies ensures political accountability for them to the American people. Again, who just are these American people? While there are always ways to improve their operations, attacking independent bodies in this manner tends to undermine their important mandates which are intended to be apolitical and based on expertise and research-based objectivity. No other administration in U.S. history has ever assailed these institutions in the way that the Trump administration is proceeding to try to bring them into line with his political thinking. Furthermore, there is no clear evidence of any form of so-called “deep state” existing among independent bodies.
Of course, within the federal government, there are senior positions that each new administration will fill with its own politically motivated appointments, normally leaving the remainder of each department’s operations under the capable hands of career civil servants. One can only hope that confirmed appointees are credible and experienced administrators in what ever mandate they will represent. Unlike in Canada, the appointment of hundreds of senior administrators is left up to the President, resulting in a major turnover at the top with each new administration. Generally, in Canada the bulk of senior federal officials are career bureaucrats with the applicable administrative capabilities, frequently serving under governments of varying political stripes. For this reason, the Canadian public service is somewhat admired among democratic countries and often put forward as a good administrative example for governments.
There is little doubt that Trump was attempting to appease his base, in particular MAGA, by instituting his policies via many executive actions in his first hundred days in office. Meanwhile, the Republican dominated Congress sat on the sidelines watching it all happening and has failed to address some of the more controversial executive orders, some of which most likely are unconstitutional. So just who are these members serving at this time? It certainly doesn’t appear to be their own constituents based on the resulting outrage being witnessed throughout the country, even in red states!
FROLITICKS 