President Donald Trump accused the U.S. bureaucracy of massive fraud, waste, and abuse, citing an investigation led by Elon Musk that uncovered billions of dollars in misused funds. He condemned judges for obstructing his reform agenda, calling their block on his $3 billion federal grant freeze “intolerable judicial interference.” Trump also charged the Pentagon with corruption and financial mismanagement, referencing a 2023 audit that found $2.1 trillion unaccounted for. He accused USAID of funnelling billions into mainstream media as payoffs for pro-Democrat coverage, calling it “too big, too dirty” to ignore. Further, he alleged USAID provided over $697 million to terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and ISIS under the guise of aid and meddled in foreign elections by sending $15 million to Pakistan’s Election Commission to manipulate the 2024 vote, as exposed by journalist Ryan Grim and others.
For the first time in U.S. history, President Donald Trump is spearheading an unprecedented effort to uproot not only the entrenched bureaucracy but also the military, federal institutions like USAID, IRS, Pentagon, health agencies, law enforcement, CIA, and FBI, as well as the judiciary and the media. Trump has positioned himself as the only leader who has truly recognized the deep-seated corruption, overregulation, and misuse of tax dollars by these institutions.
He asserts that federal agencies have participated in unauthorized commissions and omissions, directed taxpayer funds towards inefficient projects, and established a bureaucratic grip that hinders economic and financial liberty.
Trump’s reforms are not merely cosmetic changes-they are surgical interventions aimed at breaking the alliance between corrupt bureaucrats, activist judges, and self-serving media elites.
He argues that instead of fulfilling their duty to serve the public, these institutions-including judges, bureaucrats, politicians, and the media-have formed a corrupt nexus to amass wealth, secure lavish perks, and misuse their power. This unchecked authority, rather than facilitating public welfare, has crippled economic activities through excessive regulations, leading to inflation, soaring unemployment, and an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis.
These institutional failures have not only burdened American citizens but also weakened the United States’ global leadership in military power, economic dominance, trade, and investment.
Once regarded as the world’s strongest economy, the U.S. now faces the reality of losing its competitive edge to rising powers like China, the Middle Eastern economic hubs, and industrial giants in South Korea, Japan, and Europe.
While these nations are constructing advanced infrastructure such as highways, airports, and ports, the infrastructure in the U.S. is rapidly deteriorating.
A firsthand experience of this decline can be seen in Michigan, where our family arrived in September 2024, only to find crumbling roads, broken highways, and entire neighbourhoods-like Hamtramck in Detroit-worse than many underdeveloped countries.
Even major airports and subways in cities like New York, which should symbolize American progress, are far inferior to those in rising global economic centres. This visible decay has become a symbol of how mismanagement and corruption have weakened the country from within.
President Donald Trump has laid out a powerful argument against the unchecked power of the judiciary, questioning how an unelected, taxpayer-funded judge can override the orders of a democratically elected president. He argues that this authority is often motivated by self-interest-protecting judicial power, safeguarding the bureaucracy, and maintaining strong ties with economic and political elites.
Trump has rightly argued that if an unelected judge holds the power to veto presidential orders, it raises serious doubts about the integrity of the democratic system. A president, chosen by the people to enact policies in the public interest, should not have their authority unilaterally obstructed by an appointed judge. Such interference, he contends, undermines the very foundation of democracy, shifting power away from the electorate and into the hands of unaccountable judicial figures.
His assertion is rooted in logic: either power must rest with the elected representatives of the people, or the current system is nothing more than an illusion of democracy, controlled by an entrenched elite that serves itself rather than the nation. The very foundation of American democracy is now facing an unprecedented challenge. Instead of functioning as a government of, by, and for the people, the U.S. system has become a battleground where institutions operate with separate mandates and self-serving agendas, often at odds with the will of the public.
The bureaucracy-both civil and military-along with the judiciary, has consolidated power to such an extent that elected representatives have been reduced to mere figureheads, unable to implement meaningful change. As a result, the wealth and power of the country have been diverted away from the general public and into the hands of bureaucratic elites, further deepening economic inequality and weakening the nation. This imbalance has led to a situation where the system exists to sustain itself, rather than to serve the citizens it was designed to protect. The more the bureaucracy tightens its grip, the more the country drifts away from its founding democratic principles.
In contrast, nations where government institutions function in harmony-where every pillar of the state aligns itself with the leadership’s vision-are proving far more effective in delivering stability, prosperity, and national progress. When leadership sets a course, and institutions work collectively to implement it, these governments can build state-of-the-art infrastructure, boost economic growth, and enhance the well-being of their people.
The U.S., on the other hand, is witnessing institutional fragmentation, where different branches of government operate in conflict rather than in unison, obstructing national progress instead of facilitating it.
This is why Trump’s call for systemic reform is not merely about politics-it is about ensuring that power is exercised with accountability, that democracy is truly representative, and that government institutions work for the people, rather than against them.
Recognizing these deep-rooted structural failures, President Trump has declared war on nearly all pillars of the state and their subordinate institutions. His agenda aims to dismantle the bureaucratic stranglehold, expose the judiciary’s complicity, and challenge the media’s biased role in shaping public perception.
This is not just a political battle but a fundamental restructuring of how power is distributed and exercised in the country. Trump’s reforms are not merely cosmetic changes-they are surgical interventions aimed at breaking the alliance between corrupt bureaucrats, activist judges, and self-serving media elites. Whether he succeeds in his mission or faces unprecedented resistance from these institutions, his presidency has already sparked the most radical political and institutional shake-up in modern U.S. history.
The writer is a former press secretary to the president; former press minister to the Embassy of Pakistan to France and former MD (SRBC).