Trump never took staffing the federal workforce seriously. From the beginning, he was incapable of grasping the value of civil servants. The president has contempt for expertise. During a national emergency, his top economic adviser is a former television host; his supply-chain coordinator is his son-in-law, who prioritizes the leads and needs of cronies; the chief of staff at his Dept of Health & Human Services is a former breeder of Australian labradoodles. The executive branch is riddled with vacancies, especially at the top. We have an acting secretary of: Homeland Security, Office of Management & Budget, and an acting Director of National Intelligence.“If you want to preserve your personal immunity to the hard problems,” Lewis wrote, “it’s better to really never understand those problems. There is an upside to ignorance, and a downside to knowledge. Knowledge makes life messier.”