Government

Why Trump Wants a Department of Public Welfare

A sweeping plan to reform the federal government could be considered an effort to undo the New Deal with a single org chart.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on March 13, 2017, giving OMB Director Mick Mulvaney a mission: reorganize the executive branch.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The Trump administration is making good on a pledge to remap the entire executive branch, announcing a sweeping plan on Thursday that would reorder federal agencies. A draft proposal that circulated widely this week would eliminate some cabinet-level agencies and consolidate others, privatize the nation’s mortgage securities market, and introduce a new federal agency with the word “welfare” in its name.

The White House’s plans are so broad—and the changes to public assistance programs so focused—that it could be considered an effort to undo the New Deal with a single org chart.