In his book The Fifth Risk Michael Lewis in 2018 wrote about Trump's failure to appoint good people or any people at all to the various agencies. In the Department of Homeland Security only 35% of the top spots are staffed by confirmed appointees. We have an acting secretary of Homeland Security. We have an acting director of the OMB. We have an acting director of national intelligence. The Treasury Dept. lacks the under secretary for domestic finance. People who have been appointed, of course, are often completely unqualified, given their positions because they gave money to Trump's campaign, or he liked what they said on Fox, or they are relatives.
The whole government, beginning at the top, is full of people who, as Lyndon Johnson might say, couldn't pour piss out of a boot if directions were written on the heel.
Some of the info for this post is from Jennifer Senior, "The Trump Administration is Made of Swiss Cheese," New York Times, (May 11, 2020), p. A26.
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