Trump vs. The Bureaucracy

With a president trying to challenge and discredit Washington’s establishment, how is our government supposed to accomplish anything?

On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."
On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."
On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."

On this week’s episode of The E.R., David Rothkopf, Jacob Weisberg, Colin Kahl, Rosa Brooks, and David Sanger try to decipher the war between the Trump administration and the permanent bureaucracy. The flailing and disorganized president is trying to discredit the bureaucracy and media every chance he gets, but how exactly are the intelligence community and permanent bureaucracy responding? What’s clear is that we seem to be heading into uncharted territory.

On this week’s episode of The E.R., David Rothkopf, Jacob Weisberg, Colin Kahl, Rosa Brooks, and David Sanger try to decipher the war between the Trump administration and the permanent bureaucracy. The flailing and disorganized president is trying to discredit the bureaucracy and media every chance he gets, but how exactly are the intelligence community and permanent bureaucracy responding? What’s clear is that we seem to be heading into uncharted territory.

The panel also debates whether or not civil servants have a legal and moral obligation to leak information they believe violates the Constitution. Or does their loyalty to the administration they serve supersede such judgments?

Jacob Weisberg is the chairman and editor-in-chief of The Slate Group. His most recent book is Ronald Reagan: The American Presidents Series: The 40th President, 1981-1989. Follow him on Twitter at: @jacobwe.

Colin Kahl is a contributing editor to FP’s Shadow Government blog. He’s currently a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in the security studies program, and was previously the deputy assistant to President Barack Obama and national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden. Follow him on Twitter at: @ColinKahl.

Rosa Brooks is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and teaches international law, national security, and constitutional law at Georgetown University. She is the author of How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything. Follow her on Twitter at: @brooks_rosa.

David Sanger is the national security correspondent for the New York Times and author of Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power. Follow him on Twitter at: @SangerNYT.

David Rothkopf is the CEO and editor of the FP Group. Follow him on Twitter: @djrothkopf.

Tune in, now twice a week, to FP’s The E.R.

Subscribe to The E.R. and Global Thinkers podcasts on iTunes.

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.