The Benefits of Being on the Inside

Something strange is going on. Former Gov. Johanns of Nebraska was, until very recently, Secretary of Agriculture. Senator Clinton is from New York. The last I looked, Johanns was Republican; Clinton, Democrat. FSA is closing county offices. According to this piece, 10 Nebraska offices closed today. I could swear that New York originally proposed to close about the same number, but some were removed from the list. So what's going on--does Hillary really have more power than a good Republican, is she that effective?