When politicians talk about deregulation, the language is often wrapped in clichés about cutting red tape, trimming fat, or streamlining government. What is happening under Trump’s second administration is not streamlining at all; it is demolition. The strategy is deliberate: dismantle the agencies that investigate executive abuse, silence the scientists who raise alarms about safety, and weaken the bureaucratic guardrails that keep corporate power in check.
“Without the watchdogs, the referees, and the scientists, government becomes a playground for executive power and corporate profit.”
the council of inspectors general on integrity and efficiency (CIGIE)
The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency has never been a household name, but since its creation in 2008 it has served as the central nervous system for federal accountability. It links more than seventy Inspector General offices across the government, provides training, sets standards for investigations, and operates Oversight.gov, the portal where reports of fraud and abuse are made public. Without the council, those offices become isolated from one another, stripped of their collective strength, and far easier for political leadership to ignore.
Trump’s decision to defund the council was not about efficiency or cost savings. Inspectors General repeatedly made trouble for him during his first term by documenting abuses of power, exposing waste in pandemic aid programs, and investigating conflicts of interest inside his own cabinet. By removing the body that coordinates and strengthens these watchdogs, Trump ensures that they are fragmented, weakened, and more vulnerable to political pressure.
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inspectors general (agency-level watchdogs)
The Inspector General system was established in 1978, in the aftermath of Watergate, because Congress understood that every federal department needed an internal watchdog that reported not only to the agency head but also directly to Congress. These IGs uncovered fraud in Defense contracts, abuse of federal education funds, and mismanagement across Agriculture, HUD, and beyond. They were designed to be independent eyes and ears inside sprawling bureaucracies.
Trump has made no secret of his disdain for them. He views IGs as hostile referees who cannot be controlled. By firing them in batches and leaving positions vacant, he strips departments of independent oversight. The message is unmistakable: loyalty to the executive matters more than accountability to the public.
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the consumer product safety commission (CPSC)
The Consumer Product Safety Commission was created in 1972 because too many Americans were being injured or killed by unsafe products, from children’s toys to electrical appliances. The agency regulates more than fifteen thousand product categories, investigates defects, issues recalls, and establishes safety standards that manufacturers must follow. Its work has kept dangerous items off store shelves and has quietly saved thousands of lives.
The Trump administration forced out three Democratic commissioners and tilted the balance of the commission to favor industry interests. The effect is to transform the CPSC from a watchdog into a rubber stamp. Corporations that despise costly recalls and compliance obligations now face an agency less inclined to challenge them. The public, in turn, is left with weaker protections in their homes, nurseries, and workplaces.
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usda food safety advisory committees
The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection and the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods were scientific bodies embedded within the Department of Agriculture. They were not political entities. They were groups of scientists, microbiologists, and food safety experts who advised the USDA on how to manage pathogens, design inspection systems, and reduce foodborne illness. Their recommendations helped usher in the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points system, a framework that dramatically reduced deadly outbreaks in the 1990s.
By eliminating these committees, the administration removed scientific oversight from food safety policy. The decision was not made for the public good but under pressure from the meat and poultry industries, which wanted fewer inspections and less scrutiny. The committees are gone, and with them the assurance that food safety rules will be based on evidence rather than corporate lobbying.
“None of these agencies were redundant; each was created after a crisis to prevent another one.”
united states african development foundation (USADF)
The United States African Development Foundation has operated since 1980 as a small but unique agency that provides direct grants to grassroots organizations in Africa. Unlike traditional foreign aid, which often flows through governments or contractors, USADF put resources directly into the hands of villages, cooperatives, and community groups. It supported women’s collectives, solar projects, and sustainable agriculture.
The Trump administration targeted USADF not because it was wasteful—it is one of the smallest agencies in Washington—but because it embodies an internationalist approach that contradicts the America First agenda. By cutting its funding and pushing to fold it into the State Department, Trump can claim he is ending “charity abroad,” even though the actual savings are negligible. The move is symbolic, a signal that foreign development work is expendable.
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the department of education
When President Carter created the Department of Education in 1979, the goal was to consolidate scattered programs into one Cabinet-level agency that could oversee student aid, enforce civil rights, and collect nationwide data. It manages Pell Grants and student loans, enforces Title IX, and ensures that students with disabilities receive federally mandated services. For millions of Americans, the department’s programs make the difference between attending college or being shut out entirely.
Conservatives have targeted the department for decades, arguing that education should be controlled entirely by states and local districts. Trump’s executive order to begin “closing” the department, even if Congress ultimately blocks a full abolition, serves that long-standing ideological goal. It signals an end to federal enforcement of educational equity and civil rights. In practice, this means that protections for vulnerable students and national oversight of school funding could simply evaporate.
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the consumer financial protection bureau (CFPB)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created after the 2008 financial collapse to give ordinary people a fighting chance against predatory financial institutions. Its record speaks for itself: billions returned to consumers, abusive banks penalized, payday lenders reined in, and systemic fraud uncovered. It was one of the few regulators in Washington with an explicit mandate to protect individuals rather than corporations.
Trump’s administration gutted the bureau by laying off the majority of its staff and halting enforcement actions. The agency still exists in name, but the enforcement muscle that made it effective is gone. Without its watchdog role, payday lenders and big banks once again operate with little fear of consequences. Consumers, especially the most vulnerable, are left exposed to the very abuses that triggered the bureau’s creation.
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regulatory rollbacks and the sunsetting of rules
Beyond targeting specific agencies, the administration has attacked the regulatory state itself. Executive orders now force agencies to “sunset” rules unless they are actively re-justified, which means that longstanding protections in areas like environmental safety, workplace standards, and financial regulation are constantly at risk of disappearing. Independent agencies that were designed to resist direct presidential influence, such as the SEC and FCC, are now pressured to follow White House directives.
This approach creates permanent instability. Agencies spend their energy defending existing protections instead of enforcing them. The rules that once prevented pollution, financial fraud, and unsafe workplaces are left to wither, not because they were proven unnecessary, but because the administration set them up to die by neglect.
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the common thread
The agencies and boards that have been eliminated or gutted were not redundant or obsolete. Each one was created in response to a crisis. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was born out of a financial crash that devastated millions. The Consumer Product Safety Commission was created after unsafe products killed children in their homes. The USDA food safety boards were assembled after deadly outbreaks made it clear that inspection systems needed scientific oversight. The Department of Education was established to guarantee access to federal aid and to enforce civil rights in schools.
“This is not about efficiency. It is about eliminating the guardrails that stand in the way of unchecked authority.”
None of this dismantling is about efficiency or trimming excess government spending. It is about consolidating power by removing the institutions that could challenge executive authority or corporate excess. When watchdogs are silenced, when scientists are dismissed, and when federal programs that protect the public are dismantled, the only winners are those at the very top.
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Stay curious.
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A Curious Stack 
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