Autocrats rarely value talent over loyalty. Look at the qualifications of the Oberfuhrer appointed as secretary of defense the other day for an example (With a 51/50 split because of 3 Republicans voting no - precisely the amount that is completely meaningless. His predecessor was appointed 91/2.)
Your mistake is assuming that good governance is a goal of the current administration, and anyone who only voted for it because of $3.50 eggs will be in for a rude surprise. And I will have not a drop of sympathy for them - they are adults who should have known better. None of this is a surprise.
I don't think that the current administration favors talent all that much. In fact, aren't they attempting to get rid of many of the civil servants to replace them with magical LLMs?
