GR, I appreciate your taking the time to calmly go through your analysis (and allowing some gratuitous comments to go unanswered).
A corollary of what you're saying is that the administration is fully accountable for the policies they put out. This business of blaming the experts when it doesn't work out should be a nonstarter. Which is why the facts in stories like this are useful, they provide transparency in government which is generally a good thing. Politicians who have a broader perspective than the subject-matter experts should be willing to take ownership of why they have modified emphasis or policies. And to be fair, I think the reason why stories of the government's apparent suppression of expertise have such currency now is that the administration has such a long track record of, well, suppression and distrust of expertise (and even facts), plus a general lack of belief in the competence of the leadership of the federal government.
A corollary of what you're saying is that the administration is fully accountable for the policies they put out. This business of blaming the experts when it doesn't work out should be a nonstarter. Which is why the facts in stories like this are useful, they provide transparency in government which is generally a good thing. Politicians who have a broader perspective than the subject-matter experts should be willing to take ownership of why they have modified emphasis or policies. And to be fair, I think the reason why stories of the government's apparent suppression of expertise have such currency now is that the administration has such a long track record of, well, suppression and distrust of expertise (and even facts), plus a general lack of belief in the competence of the leadership of the federal government.