On Monday morning, the Washington Post reported that Trump's Cabinet agencies have been populated with aides who monitor secretaries’ loyalty to the president and his agenda.


On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that Trump's Cabinet agencies have been populated with aides who monitor secretaries’ loyalty to the president and his agenda.
According to the Post, there are no less than 16 of them stationed in myriad offices including Health and Human Services and Energy.
Reports indicate their presence is not always welcome. 
According to anonymous sources, staffers at the Pentagon have taken to calling the aide charged with watching over Defense Secretary James Mattis “the commissar.”
Ed Kilgor of New York Magazine explained last month that the moniker has a history of being used to describe, “the agents sent to impose ideological discipline, particularly in military units.” 
Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has reportedly taken the treatment of his assigned aide a step further. 
Citing reports from two senior officials, the Washington Post notes the individual sent there, “offered unsolicited advice so often that after just four weeks on the job, Pruitt has shut him out of many staff meetings.” 
Not all aide-secretary relationships have been contentious. 
The Post writes, “…at Transportation and Interior…aides to Chao and Secretary Ryan Zinke insisted that the White House advisers work as part of the team, attending meetings, helping form an infrastructure task force and designing policy on public lands.”
The media outlet notes that while past presidents have certainly sent representatives to offer guidance to agencies, Trump’s use of liaisons is considered “unusual.” 
Those opposed to the current situation are concerned that the competition for control inherent in the situation could foster an environment rife with suspicion and turmoil.