For more than a hundred years, American politics has been marked by a relentless increase in federal power. The founders designed a limited system of governance to safeguard freedom and encourage a flourishing society, but this has morphed into a massive entity that intrudes into nearly every area of life. Each time a crisis arises—often one caused by the government itself—the answer seems to be more bureaucracy, increased spending, and tighter control.
Generations of Americans have footed the bill for self-proclaimed “problem solvers” who often fail to deliver real solutions. However, under President Trump, there’s a shift; many leaders now see bureaucratic expansion as the true problem.
The options are quite stark: a government that aids its citizens or an all-consuming Leviathan.
Back in the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt utilized the Great Depression to justify significant growth in federal agencies. This crisis shifted the balance between the government and free market relations.
In the 1960s, Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society compounded federal reach, entrapping millions in the bureaucracy through government aid. Fast forward to after 9/11, and the Patriot Act signed by George W. Bush provided federal agencies with far-reaching access to citizens’ private lives—all supposedly for national security.
Nowadays, the federal government seems to have a say over everything from healthcare to schools to household appliances.
This unending growth is often justified by the government’s own failures, resulting in a staggering $37 trillion debt that future generations will undoubtedly feel.
Then enters Donald Trump.
In less than three months, he cut 126,000 federal jobs and aimed to eliminate another 100,000 positions. He also challenged USAID, a notoriously inefficient agency, and blocked President Biden’s plans to replace auditors with a large number of new hires via the Inflation Reduction Act.
For the first time in ages, a U.S. president has made significant moves to dismantle the administrative state, breaking from the usual bipartisan approach that tends to expand government and empower unelected officials.
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s initiatives to shrink the federal government have drawn ire from Democrats, who frame federal employees as new victims in this ongoing drama. Their narratives depict Trump and his party as unjustly harsh.
But the reality is more complex. Over 60% of Americans now find that Washington’s bureaucratic elite dominate six of the ten wealthiest counties in the U.S.—to fund their own salaries.
During the financial crisis of 2008, about 8.6 million Americans lost jobs—5.5% of the workforce—but federal employment dropped by a mere 1.1%. While the global economy was collapsing, the D.C. bureaucracy continued to expand, buoyed by billions in federal contracts. Politicians endlessly sought more funds from “problem solvers,” even as they helped create the very problems the nation faces. This has left everyday Americans with nearly $1 trillion in additional debt.
Trump’s campaign against the administrative state isn’t born from cruelty; it’s a long-held sentiment focused on the need to rein in overreaching federal power. His success is, in many ways, a win for the working class. However, his reforms have often run into legal challenges from those committed to keeping the status quo intact.
If genuine change is the goal, Congress needs to do more than simply offer words of support. Lawmakers must take the necessary steps to enshrine Trump’s actions and endorse proposed budget cuts. The options remain clear: a government that serves its people or an endless Leviathan that consumes them.
