> So, voters decide who runs agencies (appointed by elected presidents) but not who serves as judges (appointed by elected presidents).
Presumably, the point is that it is far easier for an elected president/government to _remove_ a bureaucrat than a judge.
> In reality, the checks on presidential power are far more complex and inchoate.
And many of those checks are customs and principled subordinates. Trump makes a point of both ignoring customs and replacing principled subordinates with sycophants.
Agree on the judges vs agencies point. Judges once appointed tend to rule forever in the manner their appointing president wanted when he appointed them. Administration officials can and often do change with each president, much more accountable to the popular will.
> So, voters decide who runs agencies (appointed by elected presidents) but not who serves as judges (appointed by elected presidents).
Presumably, the point is that it is far easier for an elected president/government to _remove_ a bureaucrat than a judge.
> In reality, the checks on presidential power are far more complex and inchoate.
And many of those checks are customs and principled subordinates. Trump makes a point of both ignoring customs and replacing principled subordinates with sycophants.
Agree on the judges vs agencies point. Judges once appointed tend to rule forever in the manner their appointing president wanted when he appointed them. Administration officials can and often do change with each president, much more accountable to the popular will.