Former President Trump’s top allies are preparing to radically reshape the federal government if he is re-elected, purging potentially thousands of civil servants and filling career posts with loyalists to him and his “America First” ideology, people involved in the discussions tell Axios.
The impact could go well beyond typical conservative targets such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. Trump allies are working on plans that would potentially strip layers at the Justice Department — including the FBI, and reaching into national security, intelligence, the State Department and the Pentagon, sources close to the former president say.
During his presidency, Trump often complained about what he called “the deep state.”
As Trump publicly flirts with a 2024 comeback campaign, this planning is quietly flourishing from Mar-a-Lago to Washington — with his blessing but without the knowledge of some people in his orbit.
They intend to stack thousands of mid-level staff jobs. Well-funded groups are already developing lists of candidates selected often for their animus against the system — in line with Trump’s long-running obsession with draining “the swamp.” This includes building extensive databases of people vetted as being committed to Trump and his agenda.
The preparations are far more advanced and ambitious than previously reported. What is happening now is an inversion of the slapdash and virtually non-existent infrastructure surrounding Trump ahead of his 2017 presidential transition.
These groups are operating on multiple fronts: shaping policies, identifying top lieutenants, curating an alternative labor force of unprecedented scale, and preparing for legal challenges and defenses that might go before Trump-friendly judges, all the way to a 6-3 Supreme Court.
From Politico:
Rep. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-Va.), who’s been focused on fighting Schedule F, got the House to pass an amendment to the annual defense bill blocking future presidents from using it. But it could face a fight against Senate Republicans.
There’s tons more in the Axios story. JEFFREY CLARK — who tried to help overturn the 2020 election — would be a serious contender, again, for A.G. KASH PATEL could be CIA or FBi director. RICHARD GRENELL is tabbed as potential secretary of State pick. Trump loyalists would rule the roost across the board. They envision “a new army of political partisans planted throughout the federal bureaucracy.” And it’s not just the executive branch: The Conservative Partnership Institute is aiming to put hundreds of America First-approved staffers in congressional offices starting after the midterms.
From Salon.com
Per a report in Salon, Trump’s allies said that they will not have to fire 50,000 employees because the order itself could send a chill through the federal government. One source told the outlet that firing a number of “bad apples” in each agency would lead to “behavior change” among the rest of the career civil servants.
Others, however, said they anticipate needing an “alternate labor force of unprecedented scale,” Swan from Axios wrote, perhaps as many as 10,000 vetted hires, to replace “obstructionist” government officials.