Seeking Patterns in Chaos: Transactional Federalism in the Trump Administration’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The federal government’s response the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been marked by a series of apparently disjointed, chaotic, and confusing statements and actions on the part of both the White House and federal agencies charged with coordinating the federal response. These actions have left many state governors (and citizens) in a position to address the effects of the pandemic in a haphazard and atomistic manner. In this essay, we contend that the actions of the Trump administration, and its relationships with states and local governments, can best be understood through a lens of what we refer to as “transactional federalism,” in which federalism relationships are governed by a set of exchanges between the president and states, and between states. We conclude by discussing the ramifications of this form of federalism.

Learning before and during the COVID-19 outbreak: a comparative analysis of crisis learning in South Korea and the US

“…Other factors, not fully considered in this study, may have influenced the efficacy of learning in the cases, such as healthcare infrastructure and political systems. In particular, the US federalism and intergovernmental relationships during crises require further examination (see Bowling et al, 2020;Kettl, 2020). Further studies would be needed to systematically compare crisis learning over time across contexts (Dunlop & Radaelli, 2020) and to explore other types of learning during crisis, such as triple-loop and quadruple learning (Lee et al, 2020;Tosey et al, 2012).…”

Global contagion and local response: the influence of centre–state relations and political culture in pandemic governance

“…In Brazil, as the national government under President Bolsonaro abrogated its responsibilities, state governors and city mayors had to take up the mantle of leadership, imposing social distancing and other public health measures (Ortega & Orsini, 2020). In the USA, the response to the pandemic crisis was hampered by the Trump administration's chaotic approach (Bowling et al, 2020), inadequate political commitment (Carter & May, 2020) and conflicts between public health experts and political actors (Johnson et al, 2020). The State Department established the White House Coronavirus Task Force for coordinated policy framing, with the highly respected scientists, Dr Anthony Fauci and Dr Deborah Brix, on board.…”

“…As President Trump remained in denial over the Covid-19 threat, governors and mayors took the lead in implementing emergency healthcare protocols. However, tensions also flared in state-federal relations, as the Trump administration adopted a transactional approach, lacking compassion, to meeting the emergency healthcare needs of individual states (Bowling et al, 2020). The pattern of state responses in imposing lockdown regulations also unfolded broadly along party lines, as states that voted for Trump in 2016 were more reluctant to impose lockdowns (Kettl, 2020).…”

Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic for Federalism and Infrastructure: A Call to Action

“…The election of Donald Trump in 2016 has opened the door for yet another variation; Bowling et al (2020) refer to the current form as “transactional federalism.” A product of the personal proclivities of the president, transactional federalism represents a market-based model of intergovernmental relationships in which the core feature is a form of market exchange. This approach to federalism has become more obvious during the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”