President-elect Joe Biden’s picks for Cabinet posts will face dual challenges upon taking office: implementing policy and restoring morale and public trust after four years of the Trump administration.
President Trump arrived in Washington, D.C., four years ago with a pledge to “drain the swamp.” And while he failed to root out special interests, he succeeded in driving out a number of career government officials or diminishing their influence.
Trump regularly undercut career officials and policy experts during his time in office, and the Biden transition team — staffed with career officials and policy experts — cautioned it would need time to learn to what extent Trump had tried to “hollow out” the federal government. Continue reading.