The Most Organized Pre-Transition in History

Say what you will about Donald Trump’s Presidency, but right now his Presidential apparatus is among the most organized in the history of political campaigns:

Former President Trump's allies are pre-screening the ideologies of thousands of potential foot soldiers, as part of an unprecedented operation to centralize and expand his power at every level of the U.S. government if he wins in 2024, officials involved in the effort tell Axios.

Why it matters: Hundreds of people are spending tens of millions of dollars to install a pre-vetted, pro-Trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists across government to rip off the restraints imposed on the previous 46 presidents.

The screening for ready-to-serve loyalists has already begun, driven in part by artificial intelligence from tech giant Oracle, contracted for the project.

Social media histories are already being plumbed.

What's happening: When Trump took office in 2017, he included many conventional Republicans in his Cabinet and key positions. Those officials often curtailed his behavior and power.

Trump himself spends little time plotting governing plans. But he is well aware of a highly coordinated campaign to be ready to jam government offices with loyalists willing to stretch traditional boundaries.

If Trump were to win, thousands of Trump-first loyalists would be ready for legal, judicial, defense, regulatory and domestic policy jobs. His inner circle plans to purge anyone viewed as hostile to the hard-edged, authoritarian-sounding plans he calls "Agenda 47."

The people leading these efforts aren't figures like Rudy Giuliani. They're smart, experienced people, many with very unconventional and elastic views of presidential power and traditional rule of law.

Behind the scenes: The government-in-waiting is being orchestrated by the Heritage Foundation's well-funded Project 2025, which already has published a 920-page policy book from 400+ contributors. Think of it as a transition team set in motion years in advance.

None of this is being driven by Donald Trump of course, who has the attention span of a gnat and a worse mental acuity. But it is driven by the people around Trump who want to use Trump as a vessel to implement their agenda in Washington.

Using the resources of the once-conservative Heritage Foundation and Project 2025, Trump's pre-transition is the most organized pre-transition in the history of transitions. Mind you, the transition looks to implement a radically authoritarian government that is completely at odds with the Constitution, conservative principles, and 250 years of American democracy. But nobody will ever enter the Oval Office with the ready-to-go personnel changes like what Trumpworld will have ready to implement.

This entire exercise is a 180-degree turn from the chaos of the early days of the Trump 45 Administration, where normal people were given political appointments and the rule of law was at least adhered to in word if not in deed. Here, the reins will be off from day one and the Trump Regime will look to remake America in its own authoritarian image.

We won’t be able to say we never saw it coming.