Build, Baby, Build! Could VP Vance Make America Build Again?
A Belated Throwback Thursday and of course a Veeply Roundup
Much ink has been spilled (or more properly electrons shifted) on Trump’s deal with Qatar for a new Air Force One. I’ll let others talk about the corruption, opsec, and geopolitics. The real issue, in my mind, is why the hell can’t we get this plane built? In the dozen decades since aerodynamic flight began the U.S. has been the world leader. So why is it taking so long and costing so much to build an airborne command center that meets the needs of the leader of the world’s leading power?
This isn’t a new problem, we seem to be struggling to build much of anything right now. There’s lots of reasons. I argued shortly after the election that we need a national commission to work on these problems and the VP would be well-placed to lead it. So for this Throwback Thursday (which is on a Friday, I’ll explain below) I’m re-upping that piece. Not all of it has aged well, however.
But first, your Veeply Roundup and a survey for you, my beloved readers.
Veeply Roundup
A deep dive into the doings of VP Vance is overdue. In the meantime there are a few items of interest:
In my last Veeply Roundup, I noted that Secretary of State Rubio’s position as a rival to Vance was strengthening with the former’s appointment as acting National Security Advisor. But, given Rubio’s multiple roles, you should keep an eye on his deputies. One of the two Deputy National Security Advisors is also Vance’s National Security Advisor, Andy Baker. At the very least, Vance won’t be cut out from the process (such as it is.)
Vance has also been in the media a bit. There’s a very long interview with Ross Douthat in The New York Times and a lengthy profile in The Atlantic Monthly by George Packer. I’ll be studying both for an upcoming deep dive on the VP’s doings. One interesting note related to the re-upped post below on David Frum’s conversation with Packer. Frum, who knew Vance for a bit when Vance was an anti-Trumper, wrote that he didn’t think that Vance was actually interested in the nuts and bolts of policy. If true, that makes my proposal below moot.
Meanwhile in the Philippines, the war between President Marcos and VP Sara Duterte continues, also discussed in my last Veeply Roundup. Marcos has hinted that he’s ready to talk. His party fared poorly in the midterms so he probably doesn’t have enough allies in the Senate to convict Duterte. Marcos’ popularity is low, while hers is rising. She’s no effectively the front-runner for the next presidential election in 2028. Duterte was impeached (for threatening to kill the president) and if the Senate convicts her she can’t run. But, Marcos (the son of a dictator who looted the country) attacking Duterte (the daughter of a former president who is now The Hague for mass murder during his own presidency) appear to have backfired. A trial, even without a conviction might hurt Duterte’s reputation, but it seems the more Marcos goes after her, the more popular she becomes.
We have more coverage of VPs around the world to be posted soon. But there’s also some local news. There are six announced candidates to be the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor of Virginia. The Lt. Governor is elected separately from the Governor, so is rarely a true governing partner. But the Lt. Governor does preside over the state Senate, which has a pretty thin Democratic majority (which makes the position a bit more important.) The other item is that the Governor of Virginia is limited to a single term (they can run again later, but they can’t serve consecutive terms.) This means that an Lt. Governor is well-placed to run for the big job in only four years.
Finally, your truly was traveling earlier this week, which interfered with my writing. I was in Charleston, South Carolina, where I did manage a post about Memorial Day—which may have its origins in Charleston. But I have a few things to say about that very pretty city and its dark legacy. The question is, would my readers be interested in hearing about such things—even if they aren’t about VPs. In the case of Charleston, there is a VP angle, but I’d write about the things I did and saw there. So, here’s a poll!
Build, Baby, Build!
Could VP Vance Make America Build Again?
One theme in the call to make America great again is harking back to the era when domestic manufacturing and construction were robust—there is some justice to this.
The United States suffers from a severe national crisis. We do not seem capable of building shit anymore. While London and Paris rebuilt their subways, NYC added a pair of stops and a few miles track for the same price. The Navy can only build one nuclear submarine a year, and is woefully behind Chinese shipyards in general. Leading the wealthiest alliance in world history, the U.S. couldn’t struggled to keep up with Ukrainian demands for 155mm artillery shells and other military equipment. We have skyrocketing energy needs and cannot build nuclear power plants, which would meet those needs and then some without creating greenhouse gases. And housing, we cannot seem to build houses.
There are innumerable specific reasons for each of these problems taken separately. But looking across the whole, we have a national problem. One way for the nation to address such problems is through blue-ribbon commissions and task forces. Often derided as make-work, in fact these bodies are used strategically to generate policy options. Amy Zegart studied how presidents use these commissions, either to build support for their policies, identify options, or foster consensus.
There are no hard and fast definitions, but a Commission studies a problem and develops recommendations that often can be used in legislation. Many of the big problems require Congressional action. The president cannot override regulations, Congress can.1 Congress can also reorganize agencies and appropriate funds.
A Task Force, on the other hand, faces inward. It develops actionable items that the executive branch can undertake on its own authority and/or oversees their implementation. They are often led by vice presidents. This White House imprimatur enables inter-agency efforts and adds potency to requests for information and demands for action. Bush Sr. led task forces on regulatory reform and counter-terror, he handed the former on to his successor Dan Quayle. Gore led several task forces, most famously Reinventing Government, but also on airline security, and security for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Cheney’s best-known task force was his Energy Commission. Biden oversaw the Recovery Act. Pence co-chaired the ill-fated election security commission, the Space Council, and a pandemic response committee. Harris took on several issues including labor rights and rural broadband, (and yes, immigration).
The scale of the U.S. building crisis is such that both a commission and task force are needed. Vance could play a unique role by chairing both and ensuring that the work of the two bodies inform one another. The task force may come across issues that require Congressional action. The commission may identify opportunities for executive action.
For this to be effective, it should be serious. The commission must be bipartisan and include serious figures from government and business. It should include prominent and respected Democratic figures. The task force could incorporate cabinet officials who are respected such as incoming Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. Both committees should be properly staffed and operate within the well-established legal frameworks for these bodies.
This would be a remarkable opportunity for Vance to establish his own reputation, appear presidential, and—most importantly—address a set of critical national problems.
The Problem of DOGE
The biggest challenge to this plan is that Trump has already established the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk is the world’s wealthiest man and Ramaswamy, a billionaire and political aspirant, are larger than life figures with ambitious (and not well-grounded) ideas on reforming government. Musk, who whatever his flaws, has also had some notable business successes might bring real insight into reforming government processes.
Unfortunately, DOGE is not on a clear legal foundation and its principals are spouting ideas that are unrealistic, while harassing civil servants.2 The dirty secret about government regulations and procedures is that they are inefficient because of competing priorities. Government acquisition is incredibly complex, which is a drag on efficiency. These processes exist however to stymie corruption, improve transparency, and often to support social or political goals. (Corruption of course occurs regardless, the creative energies of vice are inexhaustible.)
We have a national building crisis, and the vice presidency is an office well-suited to take it on. The existence of DOGE, however, would put Vance in a difficult position if he took it on. Difficult, but not impossible. If Vance were to chair a commission and/or task force and manage the relationship with DOGE, it would cement his reputation as presidential.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
As always, everything posted here is my opinion only and does not reflect the views of any organization with which I am currently or ever have been affiliated.
Well, at least the President isn’t supposed to be able to override and ignore Congress. When this was initially posted, before Trump took office, we all expected turmoil. But what we got was far beyond what most of us expected.
Just a reminder, this was written before the inauguration. Hoo boy, did things escalate from there.