The Peter Principle Administration

Trump's first pass at his plan for creating a "shallow state."

“The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to ‘a level of respective incompetence’: employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.”

— Wikipedia, based on 1969 book "The Peter Principle" by Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull

To say that Donald Trump is appointing folks who have risen to "a level of respective incompetence" is about the kindest think you could say about the team he is assembling. It seems like everyone he has nominated so far is drastically out of their depth.

We've heard all about the imaginary “deep state” from the MAGA for all these years. I suppose Trump's antidote to that imaginary deep state is the “shallow state.” His cabinet picks and other appointees are evidence of that.

Some of these nominees are merely foolish choices but some are do…