Delegitimization, Deconstruction and Control: Undermining the Administrative State

Abstract

Three phenomena that undermine the U.S. administrative state were taken to extremes under President Trump, contributing to democratic backsliding. The first is delegitimization: a suspicion of the public sector that has curdled into claims that public officials are deep state enemies of the people. This undermines belief in the capacity of government to deliver on democratic promises. Second is deconstruction, which includes undermining administrative capacity and delivery of services, making it harder for institutions to deliver on democratic promises, or to do so in ways that are transparent or generative of conditions in which the public sees government helping. The third is political control, in which loyalty to the political leaders is a primary virtue: this weakens structural protections of public employees and the capacities of government agencies to pursue their statutory mission or respond to other sources of democratic control such as Congress.