Monkey Cage Topic Guide:
The Trump Administration, Bureaucratic Politics, and Expertise
Created: March 22, 2020
Last Updated: July 14, 2022
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See additional topic guides on Coronavirus and Civil-Military Relations.
Below you will find articles about the Trump Administration’s handling of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic response, as well as its efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Table of Contents
January 2021 Crisis (see also topic guide for January 2021 Crisis)
The Trump Administration’s Response to COVID-19
Presidential Power and Congressional Oversight
Expertise, Bureaucratic Politics, and Crises
Staffing the Trump Presidency
Personnel and Foreign Policy during the Trump Administration
January 2021 Crisis (see also topic guide for January 2021 Crisis)
- Dan Cassino, “If you think Biden stole the election, you might believe in Bigfoot,” May 23, 2022.
- E.J. Graff, “These were our 10 most popular posts of 2021,” December 21, 2021.
- Jordan Tama, “Members of Congress want a commission to investigate the Capitol invasion. Here’s when these work,” January 19, 2021.
- Shariana Ferrer-Núñez, Melody Fonseca and Fernando Tormos-Aponte, “Why it’s so misleading to call the Capitol violence ‘Third World’,” January 16, 2021.
- Kimberley S. Johnson, “Today’s election denialism and violence has a dark echo in the Jim Crow South,” January 15, 2021.
- Corey Brettschneider and Jeffrey K. Tulis, “No, Trump can’t pardon himself or other insurrectionists. Impeachment would strip him of that power,” January 15, 2021.
- Daniel Byman, “The assault on the U.S. Capitol opens a new chapter in domestic terrorism,” January 15, 2021.
- Michael Tesler, “These 3 graphs explain why more House Republicans did not support impeachment,” January 14, 2021.
- Davin L. Phoenix, “The Capitol siege shows how White Americans can express anger that Black Americans cannot,” January 14, 2021.
- Corey Brettschneider and Jeffrey K. Tulis, “No, Trump can’t pardon himself or other insurrectionists. Impeachment would strip him of that power,” January 13, 2021.
- Alexander C. Furnas and Timothy M. LaPira, “Almost a quarter of influential Republicans deny Biden’s victory, survey says,” January 12, 2021.
- Lilliana Mason and Nathan P. Kalmoe, “What you need to know about how many Americans condone political violence — and why,” January 11, 2021.
- Joshua C. Wilson, “Look beyond Trump’s language to see the roots of recent political violence in the U.S.,” January 11, 2021.
- Sarah Binder, “A violent mob overran Congress. 3 takeaways for the weeks ahead,” January 11, 2021.
- Naunihal Singh, “Was the U.S. Capitol riot really a coup? Here’s why definitions matter,” January 9, 2021.
- Stephen C. Nemeth and Holley E. Hansen, “Three key factors that drive far-right political violence — and two that don’t,” January 9, 2021.
- Vipin Narang (interview with Elizabeth N. Saunders), “There is no legal way to stop Trump from ordering a nuclear strike if he wants to, expert says,” January 8, 2021.
- Joel Goldstein, “What you need to know about the 25th Amendment, Section 4,” January 8, 2021.
- Jim Golby and Carrie Lee, “The National Guard has been called out in Washington, D.C. Here’s what you need to know,” January 7, 2020.
- Sarah Binder, “What to expect when Congress counts the electoral college votes on Wednesday,” January 4, 2021.
The Trump Administration’s Response to COVID-19
- Stephanie Ternullo, “Americans want to trust the experts on the coronavirus. That isn’t easy,” October 6, 2020.
- Andrew Rudalevige, “If a president becomes incapacitated, here’s what the Constitution says,” October 3, 2020.
- Andrew Rudalevige, “Trump’s latest executive actions have 3 big problems,” August 12, 2020.
- Sanford C. Gordon, and Dimitri Landa, “Why Trump and Fauci need each other,” March 26, 2020.
- Nicholas G. Napolio, “The CDC isn’t favoring Trump states with coronavirus spending,” March 19, 2020.
- Neil Malhotra, “Why isn’t the U.S. ready for a pandemic? For Politicians, investing in prevention doesn’t pay off,” March 12, 2020.
- Shane Markowitz, “Why Trump has received a much smaller approval bump than other world leaders during the pandemic,” April 8, 2020.
- Josh Pacewicz, “States lead the fight against covid-19. That means we all depend on Medicaid now,” April 8, 2020.
- David Ryan Miller, and Andrew Reeves, “If Trump took responsibility for coronavirus missteps, it might actually help him,” March 26, 2020.
- Michael Poznansky, “Apparently, Trump ignored early coronavirus warnings. This has consequences,” March 23, 2020.
- Andrew Rudalevige, “Trump declared two different kinds of emergencies for covid-19. There might soon be 52,” March 14, 2020.
Presidential Power and Congressional Oversight
- Saikrishna Prakash, “Only Congress has the authority to declare war. Can it take that power back from the presidency?,” October 2, 2020.
- Elizabeth Goitein, “How Congress is pushing back against Trump’s unprecedented use of emergency powers,” September 25, 2020.
- Liz Hempowicz and Anne Tindall, “Trump won’t cooperate with congressional oversight. Here are Congress’s options,” September 15, 2020.
- William Howell and Terry Moe, “How a stronger presidency could lead to more effective government,” September 14, 2020.
Expertise, Bureaucratic Politics, and Crises
- Michael Albertus, “Why Trump’s border wall failed,” February 17, 2021.
- Erica Chenoweth, Tommy Leung, Nathan Perkins, Jeremy Pressman and Jay Ulfelder, “The Trump years launched the biggest sustained protest movement in U.S. history. It’s not over,” February 8, 2021.
- David C. Nixon, “Some Trump officials are ‘burrowing’ into government jobs. What does that mean, exactly?,” January 6, 2021.
- Stephanie Ternullo, “Americans want to trust the experts on the coronavirus. That isn’t easy,” October 6, 2020.
- Henry Farrell (interview with Amy Zegart), “Trump’s top intelligence official is curtailing congressional briefings on foreign election interference,” September 1, 2020.
- Sanford C. Gordon, and Dimitri Landa, “Why Trump and Fauci need each other,” March 26, 2020.
- Neil Malhotra, “Why isn’t the U.S. ready for a pandemic? For politicians, investing in prevention doesn’t pay off,” March 12, 2020.
- Kathryn Dunn Tenpas and James A. McCann, “Compared with recent presidents, Trump does not like to travel — except when he’s campaigning,” January 25, 2019.
- Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, James A. McCann and Emily J. Charnock, “Trump makes fewer public trips than recent presidents. Will that hurt the Republicans in November?,” January 17, 2018.
- Sarah Pralle, “Hurricane Harvey shows how floods don't pay attention to flood zone maps — or politicians,” September 7, 2017.
- Elizabeth N. Saunders, “Eight questions about Donald Trump’s decision-making in a foreign policy crisis,” December 21, 2016.
Staffing the Trump Presidency
- Andrew Rudalevige, “Will a new White House chief of staff matter? Not unless Trump wants change,” December 12, 2018.
- Naunihal Singh, “Steven Bannon is wrong. The White House ‘resistance’ is the opposite of a coup,” September 11, 2018.
- Matthew Dickenson, “Why John Kelly struggles so much as Trump’s chief of staff,” March 6, 2018.
- Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, “Trump set a record for White House staff turnover in the first year,” January 16, 2018.
- Kathleen Doherty, “Trump could dramatically reshape the civil service, if he wanted to,” November 29, 2017.
- Philip Rocco, “Most presidents rely on expertise. Trump treats experts like the enemy,” July 24, 2017.
- David Lewis, “So far, Trump is really struggling as a chief executive,” April 27, 2017.
- Andrew Rudalevige, “Trump wants to reorganize the executive branch. Good luck with that,” March 16, 2017.
- David Lewis, “Why Donald Trump needs the ‘administrative state’ that Steve Bannon wants to destroy,” March 2, 2017.
- Andrew Rudalevige, “The Cabinet was the easy part. Staffing (and steering) the bureaucracy takes much more work,” January 10, 2017.
- Claire Annesley, “There are three rules of Cabinet appointments. Will Donald Trump break them?” November 26, 2016.
- Josh McCrain, “What does Donald Trump need for a successful presidency? Bureaucrats,” originally published November 14, 2016, updated January 27, 2017.
Personnel and Foreign Policy during the Trump Administration
- Manuel Reinert and Samuel M. Hickey, “Trump changed how the U.S. assigns the label ‘terrorist.’ Can the Biden administration change it back?,” February 12, 2021.
- Aparna Ravi and Emmanuel Teitelbaum, “The U.S. banned Xinjiang cotton imports because of forced labor. Textile workers face abuses in other countries, too,” February 10, 2021.
- Vipin Narang (interview with Elizabeth N. Saunders), “There is no legal way to stop Trump from ordering a nuclear strike if he wants to, expert says,” January 8, 2021.
- Rebecca Lissner, “Trump got it wrong at the U.N. America can’t counteract China without global institutions,” September 25, 2020.
- Brent Durbin, “Trump named a loyalist to head intelligence. Will Richard Grenell eliminate dissent?” February 24, 2020.
- James Goldgeier and Elizabeth N. Saunders, “Republicans say that Trump’s quid pro quos were normal. Here’s why they’re wrong,” November 2, 2019.
- Elizabeth N. Saunders, “Three reasons that Jim Mattis’s resignation is not just unusual — but startling,” December 21, 2018.
- Jim Golby, “President Trump tapped Gen. Mark Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Here are 3 things to know,” December 12, 2018.
- Elizabeth N. Saunders, “Sure, Trump’s advisers aren’t the first to push back against a president. But what’s happening now is completely unprecedented,” September 6, 2018.
- Elizabeth N. Saunders, “Steve Bannon is on the National Security Council. That sends a big signal,” February 1, 2017.
- Elizabeth N. Saunders, “Trump shifted gears on Afghanistan -- but what role do foreign policy advisers play? Here's what the research says,” originally published November 21, 2016, updated August 23, 2017.
- Phil Potter and Tony Lucadamo, “When the White House changes hands, it is a dangerous time for foreign policy,” November 10, 2016.
- Elizabeth N. Saunders, “Mitch McConnell thinks you don’t need experience to be president. Here’s why he’s wrong,” July 27, 2016.