I think our government (USA), whether full of political appointees or "civil servants" aka bureaucracy, has grown far too large and should be scaled back tremendously. Further, the USA is a Republic of Sovereign States with the Federal Government for protection of borders and interstate commerce as outlined in the Constitution.
For instance, something like the Department of Education, is overstepping the role of Federal Government, and I think the statistics prove me correct. I also believe that FBI/CIA has been weaponized in favor of what would historically been perceived as Un-American activities across the globe. Let's start with the Iran-Contra affair and the very well known fact of cocaine running ruining the mostly black inner cities of the 1980's. This in my opinion is something heads should roll for, and those involved should be held accountable and thrown in jail. I think these people are POS, and frankly if you disagree with my statement, I think you are too. It's inhumane and disgusting.
To me, much of the US's power comes from its centralization and radically ceding that back to the states would leave it diminished on the world stage.
The CIA/FBI rabbit hole, to me, collapses down to the "Who watches the watchers?" question.
I'm of the opinion that there will always need to be clandestine activities (domestic and international), that proficiency in that domain generates outsized benefits to a nation, and that oversight should continually be improved and strengthened (but is fundamentally impossible to accomplish completely, due to the nature of the enterprise).
What would you, instead?