The Five Things President Trump Should Do on Day One
"Hire the right bureaucrats, set clear, ambitious goals, and experiment, experiment, experiment."
What It’s About
Santi Ruiz lays out a practical, nonpartisan roadmap for the Trump Administration to begin addressing crippling, long-standing inefficiencies within the federal government.
Upshot
Ruiz offers five key priorities:
- Hire the Right Bureaucrats: Overhaul outdated hiring processes to attract top talent, especially in technical fields
- Reclaim Authority: Political appointees must re-examine statutes to uncover flexible tools and underutilized authorities
- Establish Bold, Measurable Goals: Clearly define ambitious, deadline-driven objectives for each agency to sharpen accountability and emulate successful models like JFK’s moonshot initiative
- Experiment Relentlessly: Foster a culture of iterative testing within agencies to identify effective practices
- Break Interagency Gridlock: Address inefficiencies in decision-making by holding leaders accountable and using executive authority to ensure prompt compliance
Did You Know? The IRS still relies on mainframes and codes from the 60s, making it nearly impossible to modernize tax processing efficiently.
Why It Matters
Ruiz’s suggestions are part of a “state capacity” or “government effectiveness” agenda that can significantly improve executive agency performance.
Who Wrote It
Santi Ruiz is the senior editor at the Institute for Progress and the creator of Statecraft, an interview series with policymakers on practical governance.