Or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Institutional Knowledge
The Big Picture
Here’s the deal: We can’t just get rid of everyone when the administration changes. Institutional knowledge matters. We need at least one person who knows where to find the bathroom and the supply closet. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have any Sharpies for President Trump or the box full of Cross Century IIs for the next president.
The same logic applies beyond the White House. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will need career diplomats to help him navigate foreign policy. You can pick up a language in a year, but deep expertise in international relations takes decades to develop.
Now that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), he needs career civil servants—especially doctors and scientists—because he is neither. The FDA and CDC have deep rosters of subject matter experts who understand everything from Ebola to vaccine development. It’s impossible to replace that expertise overnight.
Zooming In
The Federal Government Is Massive—And It Needs to Work
The federal government employs roughly 3 million people. These employees handle everything from national security to forest management to disease surveillance.
A leaner, more efficient federal government is a worthy goal, but the blunt approach taken by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk’s team appears to be chaotic rather than strategic.
For example:
- The haphazard memo freezing federal aid was overly broad and is now being contested in court.
- The USAID shutdown has damaged U.S. global influence and caused real harm, including the sudden halt of dozens of medical trials.
- Some programs, like PEPFAR, which has saved 26 million lives, were frozen, then reinstated—demonstrating a lack of clear policy direction.
What Happens to the FDA and CDC Under RFK Jr.?
It’s unclear how RFK Jr. will handle HHS, the FDA, and the CDC, given his history of vaccine skepticism. He has also questioned the safety of fluoridated water, which could influence public health policies.
The CDC desperately needs modernization after its failures during COVID-19, but will RFK Jr. actually improve it or just gut it? The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has outlined reforms to make the CDC more agile and innovative, but so far, DOGE’s approach seems more like a meat cleaver than a scalpel.
A Model for Reform: Waffle House and FEMA
One of the best government-private sector partnerships is the FEMA-Waffle House relationship. FEMA uses the Waffle House Index to assess disaster severity:
- Full menu available = Mild storm, infrastructure is intact.
- Limited menu = Severe storm, major infrastructure damage.
- Closed Waffle House = Catastrophic event, full FEMA response needed.
This model should be replicated elsewhere. Agencies like the CDC and FDA could partner with private sector leaders to modernize without sacrificing expertise.
DOGE and Trump do not appear to want to take the surgical approach to trim fat from the government. Instead, Elon Musk’s team at DOGE seems more comfortable with a meat cleaver.
Independent Lens
Polling shows independents don’t support DOGE—only 11% approve. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is unpopular with independents, holding a -17 net favorability rating.
Why does this matter? Independents don’t want chaos. They want bipartisanship.
- 40% of independents disapprove of the Republican Party, and 39% disapprove of the Democratic Party.
- Only 12% dislike politicians who work across the aisle, meaning nearly 90% want bipartisan solutions.
- When asked, “Would you like to see Republicans in Congress succeed or fail at working across the aisle?”—59% wanted success.
The takeaway: Government reform should be a bipartisan win, but reckless decisions at DOGE are creating unnecessary instability.
The IRS is still using 1970s technology. Social Security and Medicare face severe financial shortfalls in the next decade. Modernizing these agencies is essential, but it must be done with a plan, not a wrecking ball.
Reforming government should mean making it work better—not breaking it beyond repair. If reforms aren’t done carefully, chaos and dysfunction will only grow.
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