Trump to take “SWAT team” approach to dismantling massive federal bureaucracy

President Donald J. Trump’s goal of repealing and replacing the disastrous Obamacare health “reform” law may not happen as soon as he would have preferred, but the president isn’t going to waste any time sulking about it.

Instead, over the weekend Trump announced the creation of a new office aimed at paring back and dramatically restructuring the so-called fourth branch of government – the federal bureaucracy.

As reported by The Washington Post, the administration on Monday announced the formation of the White House Office of American Innovation, which has been put in place to overhaul the bureaucracy in order to allow it to function more effectively and efficiently, like a business.

Led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, the office is seen within the administration as a “SWAT team of strategic consultants,” the Post noted, which will “be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse fresh thinking into Washington” and “float above the daily political grind” which has, to this point, thwarted any serious bureaucratic reforms. (RELATED: Another Promise Fulfilled: Trump Signs Executive Order Slashing Burdensome Regulations

“All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognize that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays,” the president said in a statement to the Post. “I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my ‘ahead of schedule, under budget’ mentality to the government.”

Legitimate efforts to pare back the expansive federal bureaucracy – what chief White House strategic Steve Bannon has described as the “administrative state” – in recent administrations have been non-existent. President Obama not only perpetuated the fourth branch of government, he greatly expanded Executive Branch authority by pushing his big government agenda through the various federal agencies, especially the EPA, FDA, and IRS.

His predecessor, George W. Bush, also massively expanded the size and scope of the federal government. Following the 9/11 attacks, Congress and the White House passed legislation creating the gargantuan Department of Homeland Security, which combined existing federal agencies and created new ones like the Transportation Security Administration.

The last serious attempt to roll back government occurred during the Reagan administration, and while he succeeded on some levels, even he couldn’t get rid of entire federal agencies – like the Department of Education which, when he came into office in January 1981, had only been in existence for a few years.

The formation of this new office is in line with Trump’s earlier actions to curb federal rules and regulations. In January, shortly after taking office, he signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to get rid of two regulations for every new rule written and implemented. This came after Trump ordered a freeze on all federal hiring, with the exception of the military and national security positions. (RELATED: Trump’s Economic Plan: No ‘Death Tax’, Less Business Tax, And Fewer Regulations)

The new office also makes sense given Trump’s previous statements regarding federal regulations. He has said he would like to do away with 75 percent of regulations currently on the books, and more if it can be done responsibly.

“It’s clear as can be that they intend to reduce the level of regulation,” said James Gattuso, a senior fellow in regulatory policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation, of the Trump administration, MSN reported.

“If successful, it would be the first time in a generation,” since Ronald Reagan was in the White House that the federal regulatory burden was cut substantially he added, commenting on Trump’s previous executive actions.

As the Post noted, Kushner is setting up his new office as “an offensive team” comprised of aggressive ideas devoid of ideology that can literally transform the way government operates. He seeks to attract talent from within and outside of government and to be linked with the business, philanthropic and academic communities.

“We should have excellence in government,” said Kushner in a West Wing interview with the Post. “The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.”

Included in the new office’s efforts are reforming the chronically troubled Veterans Affairs, and battling opioid addiction, which has evolved into a nationwide crisis.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources:

WashingtonPost.com

TheNationalSentinel.com