How Career Government Employees Can Impede the Trump Political Agenda in Washington

In Washington, D.C., the political landscape shifts with each new administration, but one thing remains constant: the career government bureaucracy. These long-serving officials, often referred to as the administrative state, do not change with elections, yet they wield immense influence over how policies are implemented. A new administration may enter office with a bold agenda, but career bureaucrats can slow, obstruct, or even sabotage those plans through a variety of tactics.

Here’s how career government employees can impede a new political agenda and what can be done to overcome bureaucratic resistance.

Bureaucratic Delay & Slow-Walking

Government agencies control the pace at which policies are executed. Career officials can drag their feet on key initiatives, ensuring that regulations, approvals, or administrative actions take far longer than necessary. This tactic can be especially effective in areas where timing is critical.

For example, a new administration pushes for rapid infrastructure development, but career employees in regulatory agencies delay permits and reviews, stalling progress.

Selective Enforcement of Laws

Federal agencies have discretion over how strictly they enforce laws and regulations. If career officials disagree with an administration’s priorities, they can subtly undermine them by focusing enforcement efforts elsewhere. For instance, the IRS or DOJ may choose to aggressively investigate political opponents while deprioritizing cases that align with the administration’s policy goals.

Rulemaking & Regulatory Sabotage

Many policies require changes to federal regulations, a process controlled mainly by career officials. If opposed to an agenda, bureaucrats can create overly complex, vague, or contradictory rules that weaken or complicate new policies. For example, a new environmental deregulation effort is stalled as agency officials insist on lengthy impact assessments and introduce complex compliance requirements that make the deregulation effectively useless.

Internal Leaks & Media Manipulation

Career employees often have deep connections to journalists and can leak internal documents or deliberations to generate negative press.  Consider this: Anonymous sources within government agencies provide damaging leaks to outlets like The Washington Post or The New York Times, creating public backlash against new policies.

Legal Challenges & Weak Defense in Court

New policies often face legal challenges. Career attorneys within the DOJ or other federal departments can weaken an administration’s legal position by:

• Arguing cases weakly

• Delaying necessary filings

• Procrastinating the escalation of legal disputes to higher courts

As an illustration, a new administration attempts to roll back restrictive labor laws, but career attorneys within the Department of Labor draft weak legal justifications, making it easier for courts to strike down the new rules.

Whistleblower Complaints

Whistleblower protections allow employees to report perceived misconduct, but these complaints can also be used as a political tool to stall or discredit an administration’s initiatives. High-profile complaints can be used to justify congressional oversight hearings, where officials are called to testify, further delaying policy implementation.  For Instance: The impeachment inquiry into Trump began with a whistleblower complaint from a CIA officer, sparking a major political battle.

Resistance from Political Appointees & Holdovers

When a new administration takes office, some holdovers from the previous administration may still occupy key positions. If they disagree with the new agenda, they can subtly refuse to carry out directives or work to undermine policies from within.  As an example: A Biden-era holdover in a key agency ignores executive orders and quietly directs staff to continue previous policies instead.

Deep State Networks & External Influence

Many career bureaucrats have ties to think tanks, lobbying groups, and international organizations that oppose a new administration’s policies. These outside groups can coordinate lawsuits, protests, and media campaigns to stifle political change.  This could happen when former high-ranking officials, now working in private sector lobbying firms, leverage their past government connections to organize opposition campaigns, using legal challenges, media narratives, and activist networks to pressure agencies into reversing policy decisions.

Final Thoughts

Bureaucratic resistance in Washington is real, and it can significantly impact a new administration's ability to implement its agenda. While career employees play a vital role in maintaining institutional continuity, they should not have unchecked power to override the will of the elected government. To enact real change, an administration must be prepared to identify, expose, and counteract bureaucratic obstruction at every level.