The Trump team appears to be taking no time off, though, as they prepare to take over on January 20th and attempt to turn the bureaucracy upside down. It is a gargantuan task. As Ronald Reagan famously stated, “A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!”
Even before he assumes office, however, Trump’s influence is already being felt in other ways.
- A cease-fire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah has been announced
- The Biden administration is rushing arms aid to Ukraine to bolster their defenses before Biden leaves,
- Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, flew down to visit Trump after he made one comment about 25% tariffs if illegal immigration and drug smuggling wasn’t stopped at our borders
- He has blue state governors riled up as they continue to plan how they will block federal government action against illegal immigration and ratchet up the rhetoric gaslighting their own residents against federal laws.
- Federal employee unions are figuring out how to fight any layoffs, firings, or downsizing of their mission under the soon-to-be-formed Department of Government Efficiency.
Rightsizing of government is arguably the most important and difficult of tasks for Trump. No one, though, has ever put the dedicated efforts of two of America’s smartest entrepreneurs behind the mission, but it will likely take more effort to down-size government than to send a rocket into space.
Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, recently gave remarks titled Drain the Swamp and noted that the administrative or bureaucratic state has overtaken the constitutional government and that “the worst evils stem from it, and the most vigorous resistance guards its entrenchment.” Arnn said, in effect, that Draining the Swamp is the issue that matters most. Arnn’s Full Comments are at this LINK. His entire remarks are worth reading, but here is a passage worth re-posting in its entirety:
Another significant change has been the centralization of government. In 1930, more than 60% of the government money was raised and spent in counties, cities, and towns. The public money was held near the people who contributed it. The federal government controlled less than 20%. Now those numbers are reversed. Through a long and steady process, we have moved money out of the pockets of the people and into a treasury far, far away. We have converted America from a bottom-up to a top-down country. Rules proliferate. Expenses pile up. Anything dependent upon the government moves like molasses on a winter day, except when the government’s interest is at stake.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will have to overcome layers of rules and Congressional opposition, even from Republicans, on cutting services, people, and especially entire departments.
Christopher Rufo wrote in this City Journal article about the difficult task facing reformers to reduce the size and scope of government. He noted,
“The federal government has long been captured by ideologies that misdirect its efforts. Simply making the bureaucracy more efficient will not solve that problem. DOGE must first determine what federal spending is worthwhile; from there, it can focus on creating “efficiencies.”
Rufo is correct that determining first what spending is worthwhile and what conversely should be cut is the most important objective.
In Illinois, what to cut is actually very obvious, but the voters in this state don’t seem to take an interest in their government and have given up on reining it in, so the spending continues unabated.
This brings me to this alarming story from the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECWD).
Orland Fire District Paid $18K To Diversity Consultant While She Was Incarcerated In Federal Penitentiary
According to the article from the Watchdogs, Orland Fire District entered into a contract with Irma “Ratliff” Holloway as a diversity consultant. During the contract period, Holloway pled guilty to defrauding a banking institution, and while serving time, Orland Fire District continued paying her invoices “for six months @ $3000 per month, while she was serving time in a federal penitentiary.”
Nothing about this story makes sense. Taxpayers should be asking a lot of questions, such as:
- Why did they need a diversity consultant to begin with?
- What did she do for $3k/month?
- What were the results of her services?
- How was she able to consult while locked up in federal prison?
- How and who did her banking?
- Did she file proper tax returns?
- Did Orland Fire District even know she was in federal prison?
- And why is it that the Edgar County Watchdogs are the only ones reporting on this?
Here’s another story from the ECWD.
Cahokia School District 187 Donated To Senator Belt’s Campaign
According to the article, the school district gave a $800 campaign contribution to “Friends of Christopher Belt” for employees to attend his golf outing. ECDW sent a note to the entities involved. Here’s what they wrote about that:
We find it hard to understand how School Superintendent Curtis McCall Jr., would not agree with our “characterization” of this $800 payment to a political campaign as what we indicated it was; a “payment/contribution” to Belt’s campaign. McCall is no stranger to campaigns and elections; we wrote about his antics when he was the Mayor of Cahokia with Open Meetings Act violations, and intimidating meeting attendees and council members, among other things. We emailed Superintendent McCall and Senator Belt asking McCall to seek a return of those funds from Senator Belt. We also sent that email to the golf tournament email @ilsenatedems.org.
The only response was from the @ilsenatedems.org email thanking us for providing the donation information to them and that Senator Belt’s campaign will be refunding the school district.
Again, this raises a number of questions as to who is watching out for taxpayers – apparently no one in this case.
We want to be partners with DOGE and others exposing abuse of taxpayer funds. In case you missed it, the Wall Street Journal wrote that the Biden administration is now giving Rivian a lifeline with a $6.6 billion loan. This is insanity. We’ve talked about and written about Rivian, EVs, and the green energy scams in Illinois ad nauseam on my radio show, at town halls, and elsewhere. When will voters say enough?