One of the interesting things about being in Washington is that things happen here that don't happen anywhere else.
For example, one day you might bump into a congressman at the airport or see last week's Sunday talk show guest at lunchtime — something that doesn't happen often in, say, Boston or Charlotte or anywhere else.
I had a similar experience a few weeks ago when I went to dinner with a group of DC celebrities, including a sitting Democratic senator, several other high-ranking politicians, and a leading NGO leader. People from both parties. A cross-section of the city.
This being Washington, naturally, the conversation turned to the current presidential election, and with recent news reports indicating that two of the attendees were potential candidates to succeed either Trump or Harris as Cabinet secretaries, the conversation turned to topics such as transition policy, Senate confirmation, and ultimately, the running of federal agencies.
I've run federal agencies. In fact, I've run three agencies: the Office of Management and Budget, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Executive Office of the President. I think as I shared with my table mates, running an agency is not what most people think it is. One of the biggest challenges, which probably most people don't acknowledge, was actually getting the agency to do what you wanted, or more accurately, what the president wanted. The analogy of turning an aircraft carrier around came up a lot.
But of course, this being Washington, several people had insights on how to solve the problem. Most of the suggestions centered around “bringing in the right people.” And that's where the dinner got really interesting.
At the CFPB, I had about 1,700 people reporting to me. It's fair to say that most of them were not big fans of Donald Trump. To give you a little background, on my first day, one poor guy followed me into the men's room, waited for me at the sink, whispered “Don't worry about it… there are some people here who are really happy you're here,” and ran off. After all, this place was built by Elizabeth Warren and staffed from scratch by her and her minions. So I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that it wasn't exactly The Heritage Foundation. And I'm honored that my dinner companions acknowledged that.
So I asked every Democrat and Republican how many of the 1,700 people they thought they could hire or fire to help “turn the carrier around.”
The ensuing discussion was exactly what you'd expect in a Washington filled with experienced, rational, reasonable adults. Some raised the issue of institutional memory, others argued for the importance of fresh blood and new perspectives, and nearly all acknowledged that “elections have consequences” and the importance of having government reflect the will of the voters. Particularly astute thinkers commented on the connection between the rise of populism in both parties and a sense of disconnect between the public and government institutions when the will of the voters seems to be ignored.
After about 10 to 15 minutes of such analysis, the group agreed that the appropriate number of people the new administration could lay off and then replace with its own resources would be roughly 15 to 20 percent — roughly 250 to 350 people at the CFPB.
I was able to hire and fire exactly eight people. No, that's not a typo.
Lately we have been hearing a lot in the press about Project 2025 and the “Schedule F” project that Russ Vought started at OMB. Media coverage aside, the difference between the numbers 8 and 250 is what these programs are all about.
We need to have a conversation in this country about the federal bureaucracy — what it does right, what it could do better, how it works, and what it's up against.
But apparently, any idea that is in any way associated with Donald Trump is instantly demonized by half the country, two-thirds of this town, four-fifths of the media, and 90 percent of the academic population.
And sadly, many of the people at my dinner party felt the same way.
Mick Mulvaney A former congressman from South Carolina and NewsNation contributor, he served as director of the Office of Management and Budget, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and White House chief of staff under President Donald Trump.
