COVID was unusual times. One unusual feature was that (at least in Canada), the senior bureaucrats were on the political soapbox for this issue. Usually they are in the backrooms feeding the elected people the material that needs to be said. Our senior federal and provincial lead epidemiologists became celebrities, probably more well known than the party backbenchers.

What the motive to move these people to front is unknown to me. The elected people may have allowed them to have a public voice to give credence to the interventions. The scientists may have been adamant to get this position (for good and bad reasons). The politicians may have indeed used these senior officials as their fall guy in case things go bad.

I know one unofficial structure of Canadian politics is to use cabinet ministers to be removed when things go bad in a particular department of government. Why not use senior bureaucrats in the same way?

I catch the occasional episode of "Inside Olympia" which is the PBS discussion show of politics in Washington state. They are often interviewing senior bureaucrats. These people provide a more in-depth understanding of how government works than the elected politicians.