President-elect Donald Trump has outlined his plans to “dismantle” the so-called “deep state” and take back American democracy from Washington’s “corruption.”
In a video message, Trump’s ten-point plan tries to change how the federal government works, focusing on changing long-standing bureaucratic structures and practices in the national security and intelligence areas. His plan includes executive orders, reforms, and a push for structural changes within government agencies. It focuses on openness and responsibility.
He says that Trump’s first step is to instantly reissue his 2020 Executive Order, which was meant to give the president the power to fire government workers he sees as “rogue bureaucrats.” In his speech, Trump was clear about what he wanted to do: “Here is my plan to destroy the deep state and take back our democracy from corrupt Washington once and for all—and corrupt it is.” First, I will instantly reissue my 2020 Executive Order that gives the President the power to fire bad bureaucrats, and I will use that power very strongly.
Trump’s second action point calls for a complete review of the intelligence and national security agencies, which he has repeatedly said are being used against political opponents. He said, “We will get rid of all the corrupt people in our national security and intelligence apparatus.”
He also said that these agencies would be changed to stop what he called the targeting of conservatives, Christians, and other people seen as political enemies. Trump thinks these changes are necessary to ensure these powerful organizations work impartially.
Trump’s third idea was about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) courts. These courts permit intelligence agencies to spy on people. He said, “We will totally reform FISA courts, which are so corrupt that the judges seem to not care when they are lied to in warrant applications.” He was critical of the FISA courts for their role in what he called “fraudulent warrant applications.” Trump said that many FISA judges are aware that these cases are wrong but don’t do anything about it. He promises to change this practice.
Trump wants to set up a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” to find and report any hidden wrongdoing by government organizations. Trump says that this committee will work to get documents that show what he calls “deep-state buying, censorship, and corruption” out of secret and into the public eye. “We will set up a truth and reconciliation commission to declassify and publish all documents on the buying, censorship, and corruption by the deep state,” he said. He says that this move would make these powerful organizations more open by letting the public see how they work on the inside.
Trump’s fifth point is that he wants to “major crackdown” on government leaks, going after people who give information to the media. He says that these leakers are working with “fake news” to spread lies and make the government less stable. During his speech, Trump said, “We will crack down hard on government leakers who work with fake news to spread lies and undermine our government and democracy.” He also made it sound like people who did these things might be charged with a crime.
To improve monitoring, Trump’s sixth idea is to separate each inspector general’s office from the departments it is in charge of. Trump thinks that this split of buildings and people would stop these offices from protecting what he calls the “deep state.” “We will separate every inspector general’s office physically from the departments they are in charge of so they don’t become the deep state’s guardians,” he said.
