The Existential Threat of ‘Ungoverning’

Imagine the United States without FEMA and the National Weather Service. Imagine our water and air with no EPA, or investing with no SEC. Picture a government where all agencies are disbanded or rendered powerless. This isn’t a nightmare scenario from some dystopian novel — it’s the alarming vision behind Project 2025 and the agenda of Donald Trump and JD Vance.In my recentWhoWhatWhy podcast, I explore the concept of “ungoverning” — a strategy far more radical than simply reducing taxes and regulation. My guests, Nancy Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead, in their new book, Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos, argue how and why this deliberate dismantling of governmental capacity poses an existential threat to American democracy. Get full access to Talk Cocktail Podcast at jeffschechtman.substack.com/subscribe