Mar 19, 2026
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By Ben Johansen and Sophia Cai
Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump’s unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond.
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Office of Management and Budget Director RUSS VOUGHT reportedly said in 2023 and 2024 he wants to put federal workers “in trauma.”
He appears to have done it.
A new survey of federal workers found that, government wide, only 32 percent of the federal workforce is satisfied with and engaged in their jobs. The numbers are particularly stark at certain larger agencies: Only 20 percent of the Department of Health and Human Services staff is satisfied; along with 22.5 percent of the Treasury Department and 8.1 percent of the few employees remaining at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The findings come in the wake of the Trump administration’s dramatic efforts to reshape the federal workforce last year, including voluntary and mandatory departures, the virtual closure of major agencies such as CFPB — and former Department of Government Efficiency chief ELON MUSK’s demands that people justify their work product.
The survey, conducted late last year by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, was launched after the White House instructed the Office of Personnel Management to cancel its annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, a long-running survey tracking agency performance and workplace morale across four administrations, according to a person with knowledge of OPM’s plans and granted anonymity to discuss them. An OPM official said the survey is merely on pause and will resume later this year.
“The Trump administration is committing malpractice with its management of the federal workforce and the consequences will be an America that is less safe, less healthy and less prosperous,” said the partnership’s president, MAX STIER. “Congress needs to step up its oversight and the public should pay attention to these critical issues.”
Across the government, employees’ self-reported levels of satisfaction in their jobs and engagement in their work are dramatically lower in the new survey than the federal survey found last year.
PPS’ survey covered only a fraction of the number of employees OPM was able to survey in prior years. PPS surveyed more than 11,000 employees across government, none of whom took the administration’s deferred resignation program. OPM got responses from about 674,000 federal workers last year. PPS’ questions were similar — at times identical — to those asked in past OPM surveys.
OPM spokesperson McLAURINE PINOVER said the surveys can not be fairly compared.
“The Partnership’s survey, unlike the actual FEVS survey, was not conducted using government systems and reached a self-selected sample of motivated employees,” she said in a statement. “The methodology used by the Partnership was so different that there is no appropriate comparison to prior years. Our own survey at OPM did not show any ‘collapse’ in employee engagement. The FEVS survey was paused to refresh the questions and avoid prohibitive costs.”
PPS’ government-wide Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Index Score was 32 out of 100, while 58 percent of respondents said their level of engagement in their jobs has gotten worse since this time last year. The survey found no agency with an uptick.
MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration’s reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A budget staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming moves or policy changes? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.
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POTUS PUZZLER
Who was the first president to fill out a March Madness bracket on national TV?
(Answer at bottom.)
The Oval
NO EXPORT BAN: The Trump administration told oil industry executives today it has ruled out banning oil exports to bring down energy prices amid the escalating war in Iran, Sophia and BEN LEFEBVRE report.
Vice President JD VANCE, Energy Secretary CHRIS WRIGHT and Interior Secretary DOUG BURGUM tamped down the rumor at a meeting with the board of the American Petroleum Institute, the top trade association for the oil industry. Industry leaders asked officials at the meeting about whether the administration was weighing limits on crude exports amid rising prices, a move the industry vehemently opposes. Burgum responded definitively that such a policy is not under consideration, a senior administration official who participated in the meeting said.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude climbed during the session, crossing $101 per barrel — up from $67 per barrel before the start of the war Feb. 28.
APPEALING TO THE BOSS: Japan’s prime minister came to the White House today and delivered exactly what Trump has been looking for: a promise to join a U.S.-led coalition to stabilize shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where a blockade by Iran is disrupting global oil supplies, our ELI STOKOLS and PHELIM KINE report. “Only you … can achieve peace across the world,” TAKAICHI SANAE told Trump. Aligning herself behind the president’s position that Iran “must never” develop nuclear weapons, she also affirmed that Japan will join a small group of allies in committing to a dialogue about how to secure the strait.
“I am ready to reach out to many of the partners in the international community to reach our objectives together,” she said during an appearance with Trump in the Oval Office.
Led by the U.K., six allies including Japan issued a carefully calibrated statement today expressing their general support for a potential coalition to ensure ships can pass safely through the strait — although they stopped short of committing to any specific allocation of military resources.
KEEP IT GOING: Trump is facing a head-on collision with Federal Reserve Chair JEROME POWELL and he’s not changing course, our VICTORIA GUIDA reports. Trump today signaled support for a Department of Justice criminal investigation into Powell connected to the Fed chair’s testimony to a Senate panel about the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters. The probe is effectively holding up the nomination of Trump’s pick for the new Fed chair, KEVIN WARSH, leaving open the possibility that Powell could stay atop the central bank even after his chairmanship ends in mid-May.
But Trump is suggesting the DOJ probe should continue, despite a ruling by a federal judge that the administration’s subpoenas were a “mere pretext” to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates.
“He is under investigation because he is building a building … for hundreds of millions of dollars more than it’s supposed to cost,” Trump said in the Oval today. “Now, I know it’s gross incompetence, because I happen to think he’s grossly incompetent,” adding “certainly, he should be lowering interest rates.”
In the Courts
SCOTUS TRIBUTE TO O’CONNOR: Prominent lawyers, ex-clerks and family members turned out today for a tribute to Justice SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR, hailing the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court as a trailblazer who sought to bring the court together both through her formal rulings and personal dealings.
“She changed for the better what it meant to be — and look like — a judge,” Chief Justice JOHN ROBERTS said of O’Connor, a Reagan appointee who spent 24 years on the high court and was active in civics education before she died in 2023 at age 93.
During a rare appearance at the Supreme Court, Attorney General PAM BONDI described O’Connor as an early role model. “As a girl, I vividly remember my mom giving me a plaque with [O’Connor’s] picture on it,” Bondi said. She also praised O’Connor as a supporter of crime victims and particularly her authorship of a 1990 decision allowing child sex abuse victims to testify by video.
Roberts recalled that when he was initially nominated to her seat in 2005, she said she approved of the pick, but was disappointed that he “didn’t wear a skirt.” The chief justice joked that he was glad that his confirmation process went smoothly so he wasn’t put to any “difficult personal choices.” That quip amused Justice CLARENCE THOMAS, prompting him to laugh so heartily that he felt compelled to cover his face.
Agenda Setting
PACK YOUR BAGS: The Pentagon is considering sending more troops to the Middle East, a move that threatens to escalate the Iran war and violate Trump’s promise not to engage American servicemembers in long-term conflicts abroad, our PAUL McLEARY reports. The U.S. has about 50,000 troops in the region, and any increase hints at the potential for more significant involvement, including sending servicemembers into Iran.
The size and scope of additional deployments are still evolving, according to two people familiar with the talks. But the fact that discussions are happening at all is a significant step forward in a war Trump said three weeks ago was all but won.
PAY DAY: Two companies with ties to veteran political operatives received at least $23 million in commissions for their role in the controversial Department of Homeland Security ad campaign that helped oust Secretary KRISTI NOEM, our DANIEL LIPPMAN reports. One of the firms, Safe America Media, received at least $15.2 million and was formed last February just a few days before it was awarded the limited-bid contract to work on the $220 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign, according to an internal DHS memo and three people familiar with the contracts, granted anonymity to speak publicly about them.
Safe America Media was run by Republican operatives MIKE McELWAIN and PATRICK McCARTHY, who have ties to a firm that did extensive media buying on Trump’s 2024 campaign.
The second firm, People Who Think, cofounded by JAY CONNAUGHTON, received at least $7.7 million from its 10 percent commission on a portion of the $220 million, according to the memo, written by DHS Deputy Under Secretary for Management PAUL STACKHOUSE and reviewed by POLITICO. McCarthy, McElwain and Connaughton didn’t respond to requests for comment, and People Who Think could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for DHS declined to comment.
What We’re Reading
Trump is poised to take Iran’s Kharg Island. Here’s what could unfold next. (POLITICO’s Scott Waldman)
‘What is he doing?’: New threats emerge for Trump’s economy as war drags on (POLITICO’s Sam Sutton)
The Number of MAGA Fractures Is Growing (POLITICO’s Ian Ward)
FCC Enforcement Chief Offered to Help Brendan Carr Target Disney, Records Show (WIRED’s Dell Cameron)
POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER
In 2009, former President BARACK OBAMA was the first president to fill out a bracket on TV. He correctly picked the North Carolina Tar Heels to win after mostly going with chalk picks in the Final Four: 1-seed UNC, 1-seed Louisville, 2-seed Memphis and 1-seed Pittsburgh.
Speaking for the West Wing Playbook team … go Duke (and yes, we are terrified).
A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!
CORRECTION: A previous version of Wednesday’s newsletter’s subject line did not specify that the generals referenced were retired. It has since been updated.
Edited by Ester Wells, Dan Goldberg, Jennifer Haberkorn, Kathryn A. Wolfe and Isabel Dobrin.
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