President Donald Trump made a rare appearance with Elon Musk, his most powerful adviser, in the Oval Office on Tuesday before signing an executive order to continue downsizing the federal workforce. Musk called federal employees an “unelected” fourth branch of government that needed to be held accountable.

Parts of the US bureaucracy are no doubt bloated and inefficient, and need modernisation. Most American voters support this idea. Reforming creaking bureaucracies often requires radical efforts. Yet it also needs detailed planning,