Trump’s Interior Secretary wants to stop the monstrous administrative state from killing self-government.

A Former Trump Official Lifts the Curtain on the Bureaucratic Leviathan

Exposing the Swamp-Style Tactics of the Administrative State

A new book out Tuesday, written by former Trump Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, offers a firsthand account of the bureaucratic leviathan that has become the modern administrative state. Titled You Report to Me: Accountability for the Failing Administrative State, the book is both an expose of the swamp-style tactics leveraged to stifle the agenda of democratically elected leaders and a guide to confront the weaponization of the federal bureaucracy.

The Administrative State Subverting the Will of American Voters

In a Monday interview with The Federalist, Bernhardt pointed to the “lionization” of “the resistance” within federal agencies following the triumphant 2016 election of President Donald Trump as an inflection point in the administrative state subverting the will of American voters. Bernhardt warns that if the percentage of civil service employees actively resisting the elected administration continues to grow, it could have dire consequences for representative democracy and government.

Manipulating Bureaucratic Processes to Hamper White House Priorities

Bernhardt’s book examines how employees across federal agencies have learned to manipulate bureaucratic processes to hamper White House priorities that run counter to their ideologies. From turning in products rendered unusable to outright delaying the completion of projects deemed important by the elected administration, employees exploit protections as federal bureaucrats to “resist” presidential directives.

A Mandate for Bureaucratic Reform

Bernhardt’s book offers not just a warrant but a mandate for bureaucratic reform to be a top priority for the next Republican president. The delay in implementing reforms during the Trump administration gave the president’s antagonists years of experience in hampering administrative priorities. Bernhardt warns that the resistance to the next Republican president’s policies will be even worse from the standpoint of the career civil service, the nongovernmental organizations, and the radical left.

A Must-Read for Anyone Wishing to Understand the True Scale of the Administrative State

Bernhardt’s book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the true scale of the administrative state, especially for those hoping for a political appointment. It offers a sobering account of the extent to which unelected ideologues are able to hijack democracy to substitute presidential policy with their own agendas.

• Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness.
• Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected].
• Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.