The armchair pundits are talking about policy again and it’s MADDENING.
All the white papers in the world mean nothing.
AMATEURS talk policy. PROFESSIONALS talk personnel.
That’s right kids, it’s time for:
AMERICAN INFLUENCE 205: CABINET-MAKING
1/🇺🇸
With the Democrat and Republican primaries in full swing, the nattering class are out in force, showing off their thinky bits:
“We should do this!”
“We should do that!”
I’ll concede: it *does* make for bad television. 🤪
But it’s worthless for getting stuff done.
2/17
Want to change America??
You need good people **IN** the Cabinet.
Allow me to share the secret of how this happens:
3/17
As a former senior White House Staffer I can tell you:
Policy RARELY changes without a BUNCH of people (**including** the President) on board.
Say what you will about the civil service, but they’re effectively a stranglehold on change, even when directed by POTUS.
4/17
To get stuff done you need alignment between:
POTUS
and
CABINET
and
SENIOR STAFF
Three legs of the tripod.
You need them all.
That fancy white paper your intern ghost-wrote for that pay-to-play think tank you bought off?
WELCOME TO THE STARTING LINE.
5/17
Senior Staff are a MUST but that’s for another time.
Today, we’re talking about CABINET* MEMBERS.
*and Sub-Cabinet, like Deputy, Under, and Assistant Secretaries.
These are Senate Confirmed jobs, **at** the Departments and Agencies.
They control budgets, and personnel.
6/17
These are the folks who show up to work across Washington every day and DRIVE changes through the system.
White House attention only goes so far. It can start change, and can finish it, but the DAY TO DAY work is done in the field.
You need people to SUPERVISE & DIRECT.
7/17
There are THREE types of cabinet members:
- STATESMEN. Fmr Member of Congress. A previous administration. Ex-Governor.
- BUREAUCRATIC ACE. Inside players. Fmr Admin or Hill staff.
- POLITICAL PLAYERS. = DONORS.
>> (subscribers only thread w more detail tomorrow)
8/17
You can see each of the types navigating TODAY towards their ultimate goals.
Some are running for President, others are on TV getting airtime as surrogates, and others (mostly in the third category) are quietly building up their bonafides by…
FUNDRAISING.
9/17
“Fundraising?!” You say?
Exactly.
Like it or not, CAMPAIGNS RUN ON MONEH and the people who raise it are in a GREAT position to move into the Administration at the senior levels.
Ambassadors. Undersecretaries. Even Cabinet Members.
10/17
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??
If you — or your friends — have policy goals you want to accomplish, and you are sitting on the sidelines right now,
YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.
You **need** to be raising money for the candidate most likely to win, on your side.
11/17
You may not like it. You may be concerned about the looks you’ll get the next time you walk into your country club.
But the reality is that the administration is shaping up NOW.
BEHIND THE SCENES.
If you’re not in those conversations NOW, then you won’t be, later.
12/17
If you want to play in the big leagues, you need to be BUNDLING $$ IN THE PRIMARY.
This means talking to your friend and convincing them to make “Hard Money” donations.
And, if you have means, you need to then be donating to the candidate’s SUPER PAC.
13/17
Even if you don’t want to serve directly, but have policy goals, THIS STILL APPLIES.
Donors and bundlers have the ear of senior staff at the heart of the campaign, who will look to them when assembling the senior staff and cabinet.
“This is my guy.”
14/17
In th second case — where you don’t want to serve directly — you NEED to know who you want to put your weight behind when the time comes.
It just so happens I wrote a thread about THAT, too:
15/17
So, if you want things to go your way in 2025, you need to get to work NOW.
So, get to work.
I’ll take questions below:
16/17
That’s all for now.
If you want to help level the playing field, share this with your followers by sharing the top whatever-we-are-calling-tweets-these-days:
17/17
Also. Follow me on X: @joshuasteinman, more hard-won wisdom dropping soon.
@MarkJam73395966 🤣🙏😅
Looking for more of my AMERICAN INFLUENCE tweets?
Look no further:
101: How to build a revolving door
102: How To Astroturf
201: how to go after a senior official
203:
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