Presidential Biographies | Reagan Administrations - Changes in the U.S. Government

Changes in the U.S. Government

During his campaign, Reagan proposed eliminating much of the federal bureaucracy and simplifying government. He found it very difficult to do so in practice because of bureaucratic inertia, the tendency for organizations to carry on working in the same way once a routine is established, and to resist efforts at reform from outside. Reducing bureaucracy proved difficult also because of the intensity with which groups of federal employees who felt threatened pulled strings and called in political favors to retain their positions. Although he had called for the abolition of both the Department of Education and the Department of Energy, strong opposition from Republicans and Democrats prevented Reagan from carrying out this plan. Reagan even added a new department, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, in response to fierce lobbying. Far from making his department disappear, the first secretary of education,...