You Report to Me - by David Bernhardt (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In this firsthand account, David Bernhardt, 53rd Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, describes how he witnessed firsthand the administrative state's transformation from a collection of departments under the command of the President into a sprawling and unaccountable bureaucracy.

"Resistance" to the Trump presidency within the civil service drew media attention, but it was only part of a larger problem: a federal bureaucracy that often goes its own way, contrary to the policies of elected leadership. In this insider's account, David L. Bernhardt reveals how the bureaucratic swamp really operates and how unaccountable power has been concentrated deep within the administrative state, resulting in dysfunction.

Executive agencies were created to implement legislation and presidential directives, yet career civil servants use them to advance their own agendas instead. Congress often writes laws broadly, letting subject-matter experts at administrative agencies fill in the details with regulations. Then, agency employees sometimes substitute their own policy preferences for actual statutory or regulatory language. They may also fail to appreciate that their authority is delegated from an official who answers to the president. Bernhardt gives examples of federal employees undermining the administration's policies simply by refusing to work on a task, slow-walking it, or doing a subpar job.

Administrative agencies have further gained power through judicial deference to an agency's own interpretation of a statute when its enforcement action is challenged. Courts essentially abdicate their role of interpreting the law, leaving citizens with little recourse against penalties or prohibitions. Both legislative and judicial powers have thus been shifted to the executive branch, where they are exercised without adequate political oversight.

Drawing on his experiences working under two administrations, Bernhardt explains how President Trump's enabling leadership showed a path for reining in the administrative state. He calls on political leadership to turn off autopilot and take control of their agencies, and on Congress and the judiciary to assert their constitutional authority, before an unaccountable federal bureaucracy destroys the Founders' vision of government by consent of the governed.

Review Quotes

"As Solicitor, Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, David was a talented and diligent public administrator. His willingness to share his thoughts and experiences of driving change within the executive branch is to be embraced. They will contribute to the debate of precisely how policymakers can work to deliver better results for the American people."

--U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan

"Secretary Bernhardt is one of the most astute experts in administrative, environmental, and natural resource policy I have ever worked with. I had the privilege of hosting him in rural North Dakota where he listened to landowners and farmers discuss the overreaches of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Standing in the heart of the prairie potholes, he was blunt yet constructive and everyone left the meeting better informed and hopeful some progress could be made. David's candor in this book is a refreshing reminder of basic civics: officials elected by the public determine policy and the bureaucracy should follow their lead."

--U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer

"In a Washington, D.C., filled with officeholders who leave no mark, David Bernhardt stood up--and stood out. His stewardship of American lands and heritage as President Trump's Secretary of the Interior was marked by a drive to transform his Department on the American people's behalf... I can't think of anyone better placed to explore, explain, and advance the America First Agenda."

--Brooke Rollins, President and CEO of the America First Policy Institute

"David Bernhardt is an effective public administrator who strove to make improvements during his tenure in the executive branch. His willingness to provide an insider's perspective on driving change during the Trump administration, as well as lessons for future political appointees, should be welcomed."

--Matt Schlapp, Chairman, Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC)

About the Author

David L. Bernhardt is the only person ever to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Solicitor, Deputy Secretary, and then Secretary of the Department of the Interior, managing nearly 70,000 employees and a budget that exceeds $16 billion. He previously served for nearly eight years as a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration at Interior and as the U.S. commissioner for the International Boundary Commission, U.S. and Canada. Bernhardt grew up in the rural western Colorado community of Rifle and is an avid hunter and angler. He is married to Gena Bernhardt, and they have a son, William, and a daughter, Katherine. He resides in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife and daughter.