Assessing the Trump White House

This essay examines and assesses the dynamics of the White House and broader executive branch under President Donald J. Trump. It probes the performance of key institutional responsibilities, focusing on selected areas of policy and of administration. Evaluated on the effectiveness of achieving the administration's goals and on implications for governance, the Trump presidency receives at best a mixed review. Its accomplishments included boosting conservative presence on the federal courts and moving from multilateral to more dyadic relations in international affairs. Yet, it achieved considerably fewer of its deregulatory goals while neglecting pressing problems and reinforcing concerns with presidential capacity and loss of trust in government.