Last updated Nov 29, 2025
Prediction
Friedberg
politicsgovernment
During Trump's upcoming term, within 2–4 years of taking office, the structure and operation of the U.S. federal government will be significantly and recognizably altered compared to its pre-Trump-2.0 state, as a result of his cabinet and agency-head selections (i.e., the government will “look very different” by the end of that 2–4 year window).
This is going to bring in the most disruptive force that federal agencies have ever seen... this is going to be kind of an extinction level event, that Trump's decisions on who he's putting in place, I think, are going to drive an outcome on the other end that's going to make the government look very different... in the limited window that's in front of this particular administration, which is probably two years, maybe four.View on YouTube
Explanation

Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second (non‑consecutive) term as the 47th U.S. president on January 20, 2025. (en.wikipedia.org) The prediction explicitly concerns what the federal government will look like within 2–4 years of his taking office, so the relevant evaluation window runs roughly from January 20, 2027 to January 20, 2029.

As of the current date, November 30, 2025, less than one year of that term has elapsed. While Trump has already taken notable steps aimed at reshaping the federal bureaucracy—such as reinstating and rebranding the former “Schedule F” civil‑service category as “Schedule Policy/Career,” imposing a federal hiring freeze, ordering a full‑time return to in‑person work, and creating a new Department of Government Efficiency to oversee changes across agencies (en.wikipedia.org)—the prediction is about the recognizable end‑state of the government after 2–4 years, not just early moves.

Because the 2–4 year period the predictor specified has not yet passed, we cannot determine whether the federal government will ultimately "look very different" by the end of that window. The outcome could still plausibly validate or falsify the prediction, so at this time it remains too early to judge.