The Atlantic

How Trump Can Strike Back at the Deep State

If the president fears his own appointees are working against him, he needs to offer a clear agenda that will force them to follow his lead—or else resign.
Source: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Who exactly is in charge in the Trump White House? That the question is being raised at all is reportedly to President Donald Trump, and understandably so. If it really is true that an internal “resistance” within his administration is undermining his authority, as many have convincingly claimed, he has every right to be concerned, as do all of us. The executive branch is as powerful as it is vast, yet its power ultimately rests on its democratic legitimacy. If the elected president is not truly in charge, that legitimacy is dangerously compromised, as my colleagues and have recently argued. At a rally in Billings, Montana, the president seemed to agree with them, who defy the voters to push their own secret agendas are truly a threat to democracy itself.” But before Trump can reassert his command, he must confront his own role in allowing his administration to descend into chaos.

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