Trump’s courtiers
Hail to the Cabinet, but the West Wing is subpar
The Trump presidency is off to a rocky start. Apart from regular tiffs with the media, the administration has suffered two substantive defeats. First, the courts halted its poorly written executive order temporarily restricting immigration from certain Middle East countries. And last week, Michael Flynn, the national security adviser, left after it came out that he misrepresented his previous contacts with the Russian government.
These events confirm what a lot of Beltway Republicans have long feared: Mr. Trump does not have good people around him.
The executive branch is so complex that no president can succeed without a good West Wing staff. It brings him information so he can make decisions, presents a diverse array of alternatives for him to choose from, offers reliable advice about how best to decide, and ensures that his decisions are carried out.
In fairness, Mr. Trump has selected good people to run the major departments: Mike Pompeo at CIA, James Mattis at Defense, John Kelly at Homeland Security, Nikki Haley at the U.N., Tom Price at Health and Human Services, Rick Perry at the Energy Department. These are solid picks.
But when it comes to the West Wing, Mr. Trump has done a terrible job. Few of his senior staffers have much experience in government. Several have none whatsoever. Combine that with Mr. Trump’s inexperience in public affairs, and it is no surprise that this White House has been acting like the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.
Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was the chairman of the Republican National Committee, and previously chair of the Wisconsin GOP. That is a solid political resume, but chiefs of staff typically have experience in the executive branch. Not Mr. Priebus.
Mr. Flynn had served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama, which should qualify him to be national security adviser. Yet Mr. Flynn resigned in 2014, a year before his tenure was set to end — amid reports that he was pushed out due to his poor management style.
Senior adviser Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, was a real-estate developer and owner of the New York Observer. He has no experience in government or politics. Senior adviser Stephen Miller previously served as the communications director for Sen. Jeff Sessions. Any congressional staffer will tell you that it is a big step from Capitol Hill to the West Wing.
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, was Mr. Trump’s campaign manager. Prior to that, she worked for a super PAC supporting Ted Cruz. She’s been a fixture on cable television for years but has no experience in government.
Steve Bannon, White House chief strategist, has a background in investment banking, and prior to joining the Trump campaign, ran the right-wing website Breitbart. Again, that’s hardly qualification for a top job in the West Wing.
All of these people have at least one thing in common: They were firmly with Mr. Trump during the presidential campaign. It’s understandable that Mr. Trump would prize loyalty in staffing the West Wing, but governing is different from campaigning, and he should have stretched out of his comfort zone. There are plenty of experienced Republicans who know how to make the government work. The president should have included some of them among his inexperienced cadre of loyalists.
Unfortunately, the man Mr. Trump was reported to have tapped to replace Mr. Flynn, retired Navy vice admiral Robert Harward, turned down the offer. A sticking point appears to have been deputy adviser K.T. McFarland, who hasn’t worked in government since the 1980s but has been a fixture on Fox News. Mr. Harward, who would have been a great pick, wanted her gone, but Mr. Trump refused.
Mr. Trump choosing a cable-news personality over Mr. Harward, who served as a Navy SEAL and was deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, is a perfect illustration of the problem. During the campaign, Mr. Trump promised to hire the “best people for my administration.” While his Cabinet is sterling, his West Wing staff is inexperienced, insular and creating unforced errors.
If Donald Trump is going to succeed, he has to change this — and fast.