After 22 days of a vacant House speaker ’s chair, which was only recently filled, some may wonder who was manning the government’s policy-setting ship while this public leadership fight ensued. But the truth is, Congress ceded much of its authority long ago to the federal agencies, i.e., the administrative state.
These agencies are theoretically run by political appointees who execute the president’s agenda and, by extension, the will of the electorate .
But anyone who has worked in a government agency knows senior career civil servants have an inordinate ability to sway policy and often run circles around the president’s representatives and even the president himself. This is why civil service protections and reform are so important.