A government that recognizes that it has an affirmative responsibility to address social and economic harms that threaten the stability of our democracy. An empowered and well-resourced administrative state that helps carry out this responsibility by, among other things, collaborating with affected members of the public, particularly members of structurally marginalized communities, while marshaling its own independent expertise.
We believe that these are some of the core principles that should make up a progressive vision of an administrative state.
It has long been recognized that progressives have failed to articulate such a vision — or at least one that is coherent, comprehensive, and compelling enough to shape the broader policy discourse. But the urgency for doing so has only increased over the last year with the arrival of Project 2025, the ultra-right-wing plan for building and deploying an authoritarian administrative state.
In contrast to previous ambitions of bringing about the “deconstruction of the administrative state,” Project 2025 reflects a new conservative movement that is now alive to the possibilities that an authoritarian approach to this critical part of our system of constitutional governance would present for achieving its ideological goals. Properly understood, Project 2025 offers a blueprint for how an authoritarian administrative state could be used to sustain minority rule indefinitely under an autocratic president with full control over a powerful, weaponized administrative apparatus committed to Christian nationalist principles.
But, as we all know, it’s hard to beat something with nothing — even when that something is objectively horrifying. Worse still, Project 2025 runs the risk of further poisoning public attitudes toward the administrative state by creating the impression that this institution is inextricably linked to autocracy, inequality, and dismantling our basic freedoms.
For better or worse, the old political debate we’ve all been steeped in — big vs. small government — is effectively over, as nearly all the points across the political spectrum now embrace some vision of a vigorous administrative state. That means progressives will have to more clearly and forcefully articulate what our vision of a vigorous administrative state should look like.
Today, we are taking the first important steps in this effort by releasing our own Statement of Principles for a Progressive Administrative State. First, the statement lays out our vision of what a progressive administrative state should be and do. This vision holds the administrative state as a legitimate and necessary part of our constitutional system of government. It recognizes the vital role that the administrative state should play in our society, including as a custodian and agent of the rule of law and as a guardian against excessive concentrations of private political and economic power that threaten to destabilize our economy and democracy.
Next, the statement recognizes that while the administrative state largely aligns with this vision, it is falling short of achieving its full potential. Accordingly, it lays out a reform agenda aimed at making the administrative state even more robust, responsive, and inclusive. Some prescriptions are longstanding and familiar. For example, this agenda calls on policymakers to provide agencies with the financial and legal resources needed to fulfill their respective missions. Others are of a more recent vintage, such as making decision-making more attentive to considerations of social justice and equity.
Importantly, the goal of our statement is not to end the conversation among progressives of what we collectively want from the administrative state. Instead, it is meant to start such a conversation — one that in our view is long overdue. All of the components of our vision and the items that make up our reform agenda are therefore contingent and open for debate and continuous revision.
America currently stands at a crossroads when it comes to the future of the U.S. administrative state — and, indeed, the future of U.S. democracy itself. We look forward to engaging in this important and timely conversation with our progressive allies in the months and years ahead.
