A paradox is already emerging as Donald Trump was just inaugurated 47th president of the United States. Concurrently, Trump wants to reduce the scope of the federal government, by cutting its staff and agencies, and to test the limits of executive power, in order to extend it. While the first mission has been entrusted to entrepreneur Elon Musk, the other has been thought out, deliberated and prepared by Trump's entourage for months. The aim is to extend as far as possible what the American historian Arthur Schlesinger (1917-2007) called, back in 1973, "the imperial presidency," increasingly evading the system of checks and balances.
The first wave of presidential executive orders illustrated this. The White House wants to politicize the senior civil service, far beyond the thousands of positions that change with each administration. It talks incessantly of the return of "meritocracy," when it expects unquestioning loyalty. It also opens up explosive legal debates, to be decided by the Supreme Court, dominated by conservative judges.
You have 74.43% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.