The character of the capitalist state’s administrators may seem to depend on the peculiarities of individual personalities. But beneath the surface, larger historical forces are at work.

Every ruling class, in the period of its ascendency, calls forth individuals who combine ruthlessness with skill and strategic vision. Those same ruling classes, in periods of historical exhaustion, elevate figures of a different type. When a social system is on its way out, mindless flatterers, third-rate conmen, and mediocrities with delusions of grandeur find it easy to rise to the top.

Donald Trump’s second term provides a vivid example. On his watch, the steady decay of the federal bureaucracy—which began with the end of the postwar boom—has turned into a full-scale rout.

Trump’s assault on the bureaucracy

As of January 2026, the federal government’s civilian workforce has been reduced by 13%, from 2.3 million to 2.03 million, through layoffs, buyouts, and voluntary resignations. All federal agencies were instructed to immediately terminate all probationary employees. In addition, labor contracts were canceled by executive order, stripping a million federal workers of union protections.

SNAP and other programs supporting food distribution to poor workers were shifted from the Agriculture Department into Health and Human Services (HHS), and 2.5 million people were “liberated” from reliance on them.

Trump put a notorious anti-vax crank, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in charge of HHS. Kennedy went to war with the HHS’s Centers for Disease Control, whose subsequent mass demoralization and resignations were detailed in an April 6 article in The New York Times Magazine: “Agency scientists are being sidelined, political appointees are taking charge, and a vital public health institution is being remade into a vehicle for ideologues.”

Meanwhile, sycophants like Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and Scott Bessent took charge of key governmental functions. In fact, the entirety of President Trump’s cabinet is composed of yes-men and -women, assuring that the Oval Office is well insulated from critical opinions. Perhaps nobody better exemplifies the quality of Trump appointees than Pete Hegseth, the dipsomaniacal Fox News host and religious fanatic whom Trump installed as Secretary of War.

 

After nominating a professional wrestling executive, Linda McMahon, as head of the Education Department, the administration eliminated one-third of its staff and has moved steadily towards complete elimination of the department.

The cuts went so deep that some essential services were eliminated and had to be reversed. For example, the FDA lost its ability to review medical devices and food safety, and scrambled to rehire key employees.

Perhaps the most striking example of the cutbacks were in the Defense Department, where analysts were sidelined and ignored in the preparation of Trump’s military adventures.

How Trump decided to go to war

An April 7 New York Times article laid bare how the decision to join Israel in a war against Iran was made.

In the past, the president would ask the CIA and military analysts for their opinions on how and whether to engage in a military campaign. But in a February 11 gathering in the White House, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu convinced themselves that a quick and easy conquest of Iran was at hand.

The Times describes how the small circle of top officials around Trump harbored doubts about the war, but kept quiet during pre-war planning meetings. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine, for example, “had serious concerns about a war with Iran. But he was very cautious in the way he presented his views to the president … So persistent was the chairman in not taking a stand … that he could appear to some of those listening to be arguing all sides of an issue simultaneously.” For his part, JD Vance offered the only open opposition, albeit in exceedingly circumspect terms: “I think this is a bad idea, but if you want to do it, I’ll support you.”

Two days before the war, Trump went around the Situation Room, polling his advisors one-by-one about whether or not he should order the attack. According to the Times, “Everyone deferred to the president’s instincts. They had seen him make bold decisions, take on unfathomable risks and somehow come out on top. No one would impede him now.”

Reporters had asked a few weeks earlier if there were any limits to Trump’s power. He replied, “Yes, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. That is the only thing that can stop me.” His top advisors clearly agree. But there are more powerful forces in the world.

As the war sputtered against stiff Iranian defense, more voices within the US military command were silenced through firings, forced retirements, and resignations. As of last month, Hegseth has fired or forced the retirement of over 20 generals and admirals, including former Army Chief of Staff Randy George. Bloomberg reported last month that Georgia Republican Congressman Austin Scott, alarmed at recent firings of top officers, complained, “If our top general officers are removed without justification from their positions for providing honest objective advice … I fear that it’s going to have a trickle-down effect that’s going to be devastating.”

“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad”

Trump’s signature bluster and bravado now trend towards the bizarre. He falls asleep in meetings. He has picked fights with former political allies in Italy and Britain, and now has even taken on the Catholic Pope. This behavior hit a new high, or low, when he posted an AI image of himself as Jesus laying healing hands on the sick.

His increasingly erratic behavior has raised concerns over his mental health, and calls for his removal from office. But his predecessor also showed clear signs of cognitive decline, and was only kicked to the curb in a desperate move by the Democrats to hold onto the presidency.

What is driving Trump’s growing opposition today is not so much his personal defects, but rather the military, political, and suddenly acute economic disasters his regime has provoked. Trump has laid bare the limits of US imperial power, and in doing so, has only accelerated the historic decline of the American empire.