Report: Joe Biden to Create Infrastructure Czar, Expand Administrative State

President Joe Biden reportedly intends to expand the administrative state by appointing an infrastructure czar to oversee the implementation of the $2.1 trillion infrastructure bill.

According to two Axios sources, the czar would be called an “infrastructure implementation coordinator” and would be responsible for managing the “grant-and-spending process” among those eligible to win taxpayer funds.

The grant process is widely known to benefit those with insider connections to the federal government. Those who apply for the grants often hire lobbyists to influence grant selections.

A person appointed as a czar is sure to possess a past working relationship with Biden or his family, Axios reported. “It will be somebody he’s known for a long time and trusts implicitly.”

The creation of a czar is a further expansion of the administrative state, which is an ever-expanding list of unelected bureaucrats in federal agencies that essentially run the federal government. In recent decades, Congress has delegated its authority to the administrative state to escape responsibility.

The administrative state was envisioned by the first wave of the “progressive” movement in the early 1900s to assert specialized knowledge over mundane functions of the federal government. But over time, the administrative state has massively grown to become a fourth branch of government with little oversight by the American voter.

When executive orders are given by the president, for instance, the administrative state is charged with writing the rules of the order and implementing those rules. The rules are often written to benefit their political allies.

If an administrative state staffer does not like an executive order, they have the power to delay its implementation, often outlasting the political regime currently elected to enact the voters’ will.

To make matters worse, most administrative state members cannot be fired for workplace offenses. They are protected to supposedly keep the wealth of specialized knowledge intact.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø