State's bureaucrats have to show they're willing, able, and anxious to work on Trump's and Tillerson's agenda. “Our foreign and civil service are professional and loyal.... All they want to do is serve, but the White House has to show them respect.” They have to show respect, also. The whole thing is a two-way street, not one-way from Trump; although the chain of command most assuredly is one-way from Trump. The bureaucrats have gotten too full of themselves.
As to Abrams, carefully not mentioned by Rogin was the level of willingness of Abrams to work Trump's and Tillerson's agenda and not his own. And: reportedly, indeed. Another deliberately unnamed and uncorroborated source, and so there's no reason to believe the claimed reporting. Beyond that, Trump hasn't much of a problem with folks who disagree with him--see Tillerson and Mattis. And Priebus.
The State Department generally seems prey to a certain, specific fallacy: that the President's job is to carry out the foreign policy that the State Department determines. (I remember State Department officials saying this during the Bush administration, in very close to so many words.)
I'm suspecting that there may be more hiding behind that phrase "show them respect" than simple good manners and common courtesy. It may mean something more like "show respect for our expertise by obeying us".
In which case there's a collision coming, and not before time either.
2 comments:
State's bureaucrats have to show they're willing, able, and anxious to work on Trump's and Tillerson's agenda. “Our foreign and civil service are professional and loyal.... All they want to do is serve, but the White House has to show them respect.” They have to show respect, also. The whole thing is a two-way street, not one-way from Trump; although the chain of command most assuredly is one-way from Trump. The bureaucrats have gotten too full of themselves.
As to Abrams, carefully not mentioned by Rogin was the level of willingness of Abrams to work Trump's and Tillerson's agenda and not his own. And: reportedly, indeed. Another deliberately unnamed and uncorroborated source, and so there's no reason to believe the claimed reporting. Beyond that, Trump hasn't much of a problem with folks who disagree with him--see Tillerson and Mattis. And Priebus.
Eric Hines
The State Department generally seems prey to a certain, specific fallacy: that the President's job is to carry out the foreign policy that the State Department determines. (I remember State Department officials saying this during the Bush administration, in very close to so many words.)
I'm suspecting that there may be more hiding behind that phrase "show them respect" than simple good manners and common courtesy. It may mean something more like "show respect for our expertise by obeying us".
In which case there's a collision coming, and not before time either.
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