The senior levels are political appointees. Need one say more? They do their political masters bidding. They are (((ALL))) political hacks.
One to two levels down from there you have bureaucrats on their knees making sucking sounds when those appointed are around them. Those bureaucrats are looking to be noticed by the appointee and if they suck really good, they might even get the next higher senior executive schedule.
You want the federal government to be “responsive” to the will of the people. However, what you have today is that instead of a consistent bureaucracy that has a strategic vision, a missions which they approach objectively/empirically, impartial and apolitical, they are themselves part of the political fray, entirely short sighted and run like amateur shows.
From the VA, NASA, EPA to the DOJ...
https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/allowance-markets (who the fu#$% are they to tax and set limits on a biological product from anything living? This is basically a tax on anything living, moving, heating, cooling, communicating... and the government bureaucracy gets to decide what they want to tax, when and how much!!!)
They are all political today (even the National Park Service) and while it was always like that to some extent, IMHO it's far worse today, Covid being the most recent and extreme example. It achieved its purpose, Biden won. Who knows how much by gaming the system, but the fact that he and the Democrat party took away Trumps most powerful poker hand (the economy) and then dominated the news with this over blown nonsense of a pandemic, surely helped. Had the elections been November 2019, is there even a doubt how it would have ended? Why did Zika, West Nile, the bird and swine flu not gotten the attention years prior? The timing was off. There weren't national elections where this issue could be exploited.
It wasn’t always as bad as it is now.
A guy my Mom went to school with was drafted out of high school and ended up in the army. He didn’t think it was a bad deal. He went from hunting and fishing to help feed the family to being able to send some cash home, with plenty for himself. Government employment looked so good he joined the FBI after the army.
After he retired from the FBI he came back and opened a convenience store with a food counter. He did a great business.
Get him in a talkative mood and he would tell you what he knew of the corruption in government. Even then there was a lot of corruption. Mostly at the highest levels.
By the time he retired he swore the corruption reached from top to bottom. And he also related how the bureaucracy became more partisan as time went on. Political partisanship that would have gotten you fired when he started was expected when he retired.
A fella from my hometown ended up working in fedgov for thirty years, twenty-five in the White House. He started in the WH when Papa Bush was in office and continued until he retired in 2018.
He said the Bushes weren’t too bad but the Bush women had a firm grip on the family jewelry.
He said even in the White House the Clinton marriage was all about convenience and that Hillary was the nastiest skank he ever saw.
According to him Monica Lewinsky wasn’t the only woman servicing the oval office.
While he never said it he left the impression that the Kenyan was stoned for most of his eight years and ValJar ran things. Obie just showed up for bill signings and the TV cameras.
And yes, the Mooch gave Hillary a run in the skank department.
His favorite President was none other than Donald John Trump Sr. He said he expected the “You’re Fired” guy from The Apprentice but he got Mr Rogers instead. He said that throughout four administrations the Trump White House was the only one where the leader of the Free World would trouble himself about the hired help.
His job brought him into contact with the President three days a week. Every other President handed it off to a staffer. Except Trump. Trump would have his thrice a week meeting, usually 40 minutes to an hour, every week he was in country. And he would always squeeze in time to ask about the guys health, mood, whatever.
And don’t get him started on Melania!
He fell in love with Melania.
He said that the Trump administration came closest to what the Founders imagined. They realized that they were the Ultimate Servants of We The People. They knew the Office of President was bigger than any person.