Trump-Itis

Susan Estrich on Feb 1, 2025

It's enough to make you -- and certainly me -- sick. In the midst of a national tragedy, he can't help himself. At a time when almost nothing is known for certain about the cause of the terrifying plane crash in Washington, he can't stop himself from playing the blame game. There is absolutely no evidence that it had anything to do with the federal government's DEI policies -- some of which were initiated by him -- but that didn't stop the president from claiming that they did. How about offering some comfort to the families of the victims? How about promising Americans that he will do what it takes to make the skies safe? That's what a leader should do, without regard to party or politics. But Trump is not that kind of leader, and it's painfully clear that he won't do what it takes. He's too busy trying to decapitate the federal workforce. He's still in campaign mode, looking to score points against his foes, running for president instead of being president. He's so keen on divide and conquer that he lacks the skill or inclination to unify and comfort a grieving and frightened country.

The crash comes on the heels of Trump's Muskian effort to slash the federal workforce. While the air traffic controllers are, reportedly, not the targets of the buyout plan, they have been the subject of a hiring freeze and are clearly overworked. One thing we learned as a result of the crash is how lucky we are that there haven't been more. The number of near misses in midair above Reagan National Airport is simply terrifying. Knowledgeable folks have apparently been warning for some time about the risks of a fatal crash, with good reason. Is Trump going to do anything about that?

Trump has castigated federal employees, as if people who devote their lives to public service are serving someone else. They serve us. They are literally lifesavers. Really, is the air too clear, the water supply too clean, the skies too safe? Are cars too safe? Is the food we eat too healthy? What will cutting 2 million federal workers do to those of us -- which is all of us -- who depend on those federal employees to protect us from the hazards that individuals cannot deal with on our own? What will it do to the most vulnerable among us, who literally depend on federal programs to survive?

And what will it do to the morale of people who have spent their entire careers doing the public's work, to those who have depended on the civil service system to protect them from having to choose sides every four years in order to keep their jobs? As is clear from his high-level appointees, for Trump, experience and accomplishments don't count for anything at all. All that matters, quite literally, is loyalty to Trump. What else qualifies a Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department, or a Tulsi Gabbard to run all our intelligence operations, or RFK Jr. to be in charge of public health?

It is painful to watch Republican senators turn themselves into pretzels in these confirmation hearings. They know better, but they are cowards. Will they do their jobs, or are they too afraid of Elon Musk and his money -- and the threat to primary anyone who doesn't toe the line -- to insist that the people who run the federal bureaucracy have more than their loyalty to Trump to qualify them?

Checks and balances don't mean much if the people who are supposed to be applying those checks and providing that balance are afraid to be seen as disloyal. So far, it is only the judiciary that has had the guts to say no to Trump. And what scares me most is that at the end of the day, a president who has shown such contempt for the rule of law will not obey the law.

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