The American president is launching a massive purge of the government apparatus. What does this mean for the U.S. leader? Let’s analyze
There was no doubt that once Donald Trump realized that many of his initiatives during his first term had «gone down the drain» due to sabotage by mid-level managers, he would set about purging the ranks of bureaucrats.
The task of purging the state apparatus of hidden ideological adversaries, dormant but ever-vigilant agents of neoliberalism, was one of the top priorities on his emergency action plan.
Mike Waltz, the National Security Advisor, barely had time to take office before he cut some 160 employees from this influential structure. Previously, the National Security Council (NSC) staff had been made up of officials from the State Department, the FBI, and the CIA on one- to two-year contracts.
Brian McCormack, head of the NSC staff, stated that «every president has the right to have the team of staff and advisors necessary to accomplish the goals for which the American people elected him».
The message was clear: only those who share the spirit and letter of Trump’s foreign policy — under the banner of «America First» — are welcome at the NSC.
Trump’s critics, whose comments were recorded, rightly point to the inappropriateness of making selections based solely on personal loyalty. They argue that such a criterion undermines the idea of meritocracy, which should involve selecting personnel based on qualifications and experience. Trump’s defenders counter that only a cohesive team — united around a formal leader in whom the president can place his trust — is effective and capable of success.
During Trump’s first term, an episode unfolded that the novice politician perceived as a treacherous stab in the back. Two career military officers assigned to the NSC witnessed a phone call in which Trump instructed the head of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, to launch an investigation into Hunter Biden — the son of former Vice President Joe Biden — who, it turned out, was receiving substantial «rewards» with his father from the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
Trump wanted confirmation that Vice President Biden, who was visiting Kiev on December 9, 2015, had threatened Ukrainian President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yatsenyuk with the dismissal of Prosecutor General Shokin — who had compiled incriminating evidence against Burisma — in order to secure a $1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
NSC officials Alexander Vindman and his twin brother Eugene, who witnessed Trump’s call, made its contents widely known. On September 24, 2019, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi initiated proceedings to potentially remove the 45th president of the United States (impeachment), accusing him of pressuring Kiev «for his own personal and political interests», even though all Trump sought were investigations into the Biden family’s alleged corruption schemes.
Since then, it can be assumed that Trump intends to purge the NSC and fill its ranks exclusively with loyalists.
A routine bureaucratic reshuffle began at the U.S. State Department — a common occurrence when there is a change of guard at the White House. Senior diplomats have been asked to submit their resignations and await their fate. What makes this round different from previous ones is the sheer number of people whose status is now up in the air. Officials may be reappointed to the same or new roles, or they may remain in a state of limbo indefinitely unless they decide to resign voluntarily.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is also in a state of feverish restlessness. John Ratcliffe, appointed by the new old president to oversee the knights in cloaks and daggers, told Breitbart News that he intends to restore the strength and power of the CIA that was undermined by his predecessor, Democrat-appointed John Brennan.
«It would be fair to say that his tenure was one of the worst periods in the history of the CIA», Ratcliffe stated.
It’s easy to assume that Trump doesn’t have warm feelings for that agency, especially since compromising material — found on a laptop forgotten in a Hunter Biden garage — surfaced in 2020. And as the details of Joe Biden’s son’s questionable dealings cast a long shadow over the former vice president, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken organized a joint letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials who swore on their names and ranks that it was nothing more than, as Politico reported, «Russian disinformation».
Five years later, Trump struck back. In an executive order, he was unequivocal:
«Those who signed this letter deliberately exploited the authority of the intelligence community to manipulate the political process and undermine our democratic institutions. This fabricated authorization by the intelligence community to withhold information vital to the American people during a presidential election is a blatant abuse of trust reminiscent of third-world regimes».
Another detail did not escape Trump’s attention: since the summer of 2016, senior figures in the intelligence community had known — but remained silent — that funds linked to Hillary Clinton had paid for the compilation of the «Steele dossier».
Recall: former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele had compiled allegations against Russian hackers who allegedly, under orders from official Moscow channels, manipulated the 2016 election, brainwashed voters, and ensured Trump’s victory. The case, known as «Russiagate», collapsed after a two-year investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller and was labeled a «hoax».
Now the FBI and the Pentagon, as well as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard, and the Department of State, are next on the chopping block. Trump has also set his sights on FEMA — the American equivalent of an emergency management agency — which has faced its own scandal: in North Carolina, its employees ignored areas populated by Trump supporters. Now FEMA is likely to lose part of its budget as its responsibilities are transferred to state authorities.
Immediately after the news broke that Donald Trump, despite four lawsuits and a raging smear campaign, would once again become the highest official in the United States — shaping the federal government — many ministries and agencies began hastily destroying documents that could prove their complicity in subversive activities against the «outsider» and «upstart» on ideological grounds.
Trump is taking a risk. In essence, he has taken a swing at the Deep State, which is staffed, among other things, by the security forces. However, his blow turned out to be aimed at the dollar. Won’t the blow end up hitting the rusty cent?