There’s a really basic power law in the universe: The more staff you have, the more powerful you are. New York Times columnists have assistants, which makes them more powerful than your humble scribe here who just has spell-check. The president of the United States is the most powerful man in the world because over 2 million people are employed by the executive branch, and he is also the commander of the Armed Forces, which is another 1.3 million people.
Which raises a question: Was Donald Trump ever really the president of the United States? To take command of 2 million people, a new president basically has to hire 5,000 people in a period of a few months. This is doubly true for a Republican who has to deal with a civil service that more naturally inclines to the other side. The State Department is practically out of reach even for popular Republican presidents who are on top of their admin.
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