For Trump, it's not business, it's personnel

Why this matters: The failure to fill lower-level staff directly impacts the ability of government to function. Career people are working away, but senior political appointees lack their own staff. They’re less effective — and operating in a climate of distrust — until they’ve got their team around them.

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One example: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who was only confirmed a week ago, has already taken his complaints directly to the President. According to a source briefed on the incident, Zinke went to Trump and demanded his staff be approved. Trump replied that Zinke will get his people “as long as they’re our people,” the source said. An Interior Dept spokeswoman didn’t deny the incident happened. Our source explained:

“If you want somebody, that’s fine, but they have to be vetted because, one, you know, Zinke is not the president. This is Presidential Personnel, and … they keep having this conversation with these department secretaries and administrators, and it’s just not clicking”

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