You Report to Me
Accountability for the Failing Administrative State
Published on 22. October 2024
270 pages
978-1-64177-412-3 (ISBN)
Description
"Resistance" to the Trump presidency within the civil service drew media attention, but it was only part of a larger problem: a federal bureaucracy that often goes its own way, contrary to the policies of elected leadership. In this insider's account, David L. Bernhardt reveals how the bureaucratic swamp really operates and how unaccountable power has been concentrated deep within the administrative state, resulting in dysfunction.
More details
Person
David L. Bernhardt is the only person ever to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Solicitor, Deputy Secretary, and then Secretary of the Department of the Interior, managing nearly 70,000 employees and a budget that exceeds $16 billion. He previously served for nearly eight years as a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration at Interior and as the U.S. commissioner for the International Boundary Commission, U.S. and Canada. Bernhardt grew up in the rural western Colorado community of Rifle and is an avid hunter and angler. He is married to Gena Bernhardt, and they have a son, William, and a daughter, Katherine. He resides in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife and daughter.
