"A fascinating book that cuts right to the heart of a big question we keep asking but can't seem to answer: Why can’t we cut government?" —Donald F. Kettl, University of Texas, Austin

Can the federal government actually, and beneficially, be reduced in size? That question has bedeviled US politics since the country's inception, and the gap between promises and results remains enormous. Elaine Kamarck draws on her extensive firsthand experience to provide an authoritative account of what it takes to make government work better and cost less—and what happens when, as with the Trump administration's DOGE initiative, reformers prioritize disruption over institutional knowledge.

CONTENTS: Everyone Talks About Cutting Government.The Silicon Valley Way, the Old-Fashioned Way, or the Chainsaw and the Scalpel?Oops! We Fired the Wrong People.Careless Downsizing.Why Is It So Hard to Make Government Smaller?Where the Money Is.The Government Is Not What It Used to Be.