In 2011, the nonprofit I founded started bringing mostly young programmers and designers into government offices. We needed access to data systems to do our jobs, but many public servants were fearful that our teams might “move fast and break things” — so sometimes nothing moved at all.
Later, I helped found the U.S. Digital Service in the White House under President Barack Obama. The tech talent that came in was a little older and more experienced, but the dynamic was the same. Over time, I became frustrated with the layers of process and procedure that encrust so much of government operations, and the ways they can backfire, work against the public interest and erode trust in our institutions.
I’ve called for deproceduralization, a kind of deregulation not of the private sector but of government itself — from the Pentagon to the Agriculture Department to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — so that it can move faster, be bolder and get stuff done. I’ve come by my impatience honestly.
Democrats must take care at this moment not to confuse tactics with goals. They shouldn’t define themselves simply as Mr. Musk’s operational opposite, leaving themselves defenders of a broken status quo. Their goal must be a muscular, lean, effective administrative state that works for Americans.
Lambert here: How’s that workin’ out?
By the measure of laws passed and dollars appropriated, the Biden administration can claim historic achievements. But voters measured tangible results. A $42 billion program for broadband internet, authorized under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, had not connected a single household by December. A $7.5 billion investment in electric vehicle charging stations has reportedly produced just 47 stations across 15 states.
Polling released last week highlights how fed up the public is with a government that waits. Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark described speaking in a focus group with voters who switched from Mr. Biden to Donald Trump (including those who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 but supported Mr. Trump last November) who said that at least the new president is “doing something” that “they can see.”
For now, at least, they will take action they dislike — and even fear — over the molasses of the status quo.
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