Jeffrey Goldberg: Can People Working at Cabinet Departments ‘Thwart’ What Trump’s Nominees Want to Do?

EXCERPT:

GOLDBERG: " Dan, I mean, so many of these senior nominations have expressed strong criticism for the departments that they're going to lead, or if they're confirmed going to lead, expressed loathing even for the departments and the 'deep state operatives' who are — that's another term, a derogatory term for civil service, senior government employees. How does this — I mean, you've been watching Washington. How does it work when all these people come into departments that they claim to hate? Can the people who are working there actually thwart, to use the word of the day, thwart what these nominees, what these future cabinet secretaries want to do?"

BALZ: "Up to a point, sure, because the machinery of government works slowly, right? It's very hard to simply dictate dramatic change. There are ways that people in the civil service can resist or slow-walk things. There are ways in which lawsuits can be brought. There are ways in which Congress can raise questions. This Congress probably won't raise many of those questions, but that could be done if things get out of hand. But, you know, I think one thing that's so different this time than the first time he came into government, I mean, they're very well-organized about what they're up to. I mean, he has populated this cabinet in record time."

(via RealClearPolitics)