How long can the federal government be actively opposed to the interests of states before the whole thing crumbles? At some point the conflict would manifest itself as a reduced quality of life I'd think?
Even for decision makers up and down the hierarchy. Most of the time people, even responsible people with good intent, have no clue what the right move is. But they have to make moves for all kinds of reasons. And problems compound.
It takes time for mistakes to surface and unwind things. So give it time.
And remember is not a dual choice between malice and good. The administration could simply be incompetent, obsessed with control, and afraid to look weak by having states take decisions on their own.
And they could have a bigger picture of happenings that you or I do not.
True, but also true for irresponsible people with malicious intent, and those benefit massively from confusion and opacity.
Of course, it's also possible that government already is broken, they did win, and now they are reaping the rewards of corruption. I tend to think this is pretty likely.