None of this is news to any of you who have worked in a large corporation or bureaucracy: a new boss comes in, and the old-line establishment is dead set against him.
Oh, there doesn't have to be any particular reason, they just don't like change. And so they begin to slow walk everything, to cut against his objectives, and generally make life miserable for the new leader.
For the past 3 years we've seen the same thing aimed at President Trump. Only this time the steaks in this struggle are much higher. When you consider that Trump is the Chief Executive of a work-force of over 2 million people, perhaps this should come as no surprise.
But what was surprising is the resources and personnel that these dissidents were able to muster. We've all seen the numbers on the Special Counsel's investigation, $32 million expended, 19 full-time lawyers and full-time FBI Agents all dedicated to the Mueller Investigation.
But that was only the first wave of dissent, the second was the recently concluded Impeachment and Trial of the President.The point is, that we've been living under a split Presidency. With President Trump heading in one direction, and the entrenched bureaucracy headed in the opposite.
For many of us, myself included, this has been a real education in the scope and power of these civil servants. I confess, that I always held the naive assumption that when the President changed, every 4 or 8 years, so did the entire government.
After the last 3 years' experience, it is now clear that nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, in many respects, it is the un-elected, and thereby unaccountable bureaucrats, who really administer the nation.
My experience of working for a large corporation should have taught me better. I've seen a similar situation from the corporate side.
And so it came as no surprise to me when I saw Colonel Vinman escorted from the White House the other day.
When administrations change in corporate America, Friday's often become moving day. With corporate execs carrying their little white storage boxes out the door, escorted by building security. This would especially be the case if one of those execs had spoken out so publicly against the CEO.
What's happening here, for the first time in his Administration Trump is now getting down to the level where policy is implemented. To the level where many of the President's proposals are actually put into action. And I have little doubt that this will be but the first move in many.
For investors the bottom line is this: this Administration was bound to head in one of two directions. The first was to be ineffective and ultimately fail. As the apparatchiks cut their proposals to pieces.
Or the second direction, the one that looks like its underway, is to do what successful corporate managers do every day. Get rid of those in the old guard who will not sign on to the new administration.
And finally: As long as the Administration's policies remain on-balance pro-business then this consolidation will be seen as a positive for investors.