Who's In Charge Here?

This is speculation... but I find myself thinking that Donald Trump isn’t really committed to the job of “President” right now, either because he’s unable to do it (possible dementia), because he’s focused only on grift (which kind of runs through both of his administrations to date), or because he’s just lost interest (occasionally you see a report that he’s “bored”). If Trump is to some degree checked out, who’s running the show? Not likely that any one person would be in charge, in that case.

Absent real leadership from Trump, there’s probably a hub-and-spoke power network where Trump is the brand, a veto point, and a chaos engine. He’s still the source of legitimacy for the executive, any actions or major moves would have to sound like something he would do, flatter him, and/or fit his instincts: vengeance, loyalty, tariffs, immigration enforcement, executive dominance, anti-“deep state” politics.

Susie Wiles, as chief of staff, is probably gatekeeper and operations manager - basically doing traffic control, managing access by various factions and keeping them from overrunning the Oval, controlling the sequence of decisions, trying to stay true to Trump’s presumed preferences.

Stephen Miller is an important policy operator, especially on immigration, domestic security, executive orders, and the use of federal power against perceived enemies. He’s probably the darkest side of the administration, and as deputy chief of policy, has a huge impact in creating actionable directives. He could care less about the Constitution or the law, and this probably explains the persistent lawless actions of the Executive.

Russel Vought is the architect of the new MAGA administrative state, such as it is. He would be responsible for budget control, impoundment theories, federal workforce restructuring, agency pressure, and the Project 2025-style theory of a more unitary executive. He could care less about Congressional oversight, and this probably explains why the Executive is operating as though Congress has no oversight or approval role.

JD Vance is probably not that powerful within the Executive, but he’s the visible representative and a bridge to the post-Trump right: nationalist, anti-institutional, skeptical of the old GOP foreign-policy consensus, and useful as a public explainer of the project. He may also be brokering discussions/dealings with the Silicon Valley right, populist conservatives, and younger MAGA intellectuals.

Marco Rubio is probably responsible for foreign policy and national security. He’s probably overloaded, and a bottleneck, as both Secretary of State and national security adviser.

Otherwise there are dedicated fiefdoms led by various cabinet secretaries. Treasury on markets and debt, DHS on immigration enforcement, DOJ on prosecutions and legal defense of executive action, Defense on deployments, Commerce/USTR advisers on tariffs, HHS on health policy, and so on. The White House sets the political direction; agency heads and loyal deputies operationalize it.

In all this there are competing factions all trying to interpret the the will of the sovereign, flatter him, anticipate what he’ll approve, and move quickly before courts, Congress, the press, or rival factions can stop them. And if he’s truly bored and disinterested, focusing more on his ballroom, gold statues, and viral branding wherever he can get away with it, then there may be less consultation with him. So a potential for a less coherent administration, possibly a house of cards waiting to collapse.