Law be damned, Trump asserts unilateral control over executive branch, federal service (7 Viewers)

[superchuck500]

Following the Project 2025 playbook, in the last week, Trump and his newly installed loyalists have moved to (1) dismiss federal officials deemed unreliable to do his bidding (including 17 inspectors general) - many of which have protections from arbitrary dismissal, (2) freeze all science and public health activity until he can wrest full control, (3) freeze all federal assistance and grant activity deemed inconsistent with Trump's agenda, and (4) moved to terminate all federal employee telework and DEI programs.

The problem is much of this is controlled by federal law and not subject to sudden and complete change by the president through executive order. Most notably is the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 that simply codifies what is the constitutional allocation of resources where Congress appropriates money to the executive branch for a specific purpose, the executive branch must carry out that statutory purpose. This is indeed a constitutional crisis and even if Congress abdicates to Trump by acquiescing, the courts must still apply the law - or rule it unconstitutional.

And meanwhile the architect of much of this unlawful action is Russell Vought, Trump’s OMB nominee who the Senate appears ready to confirm.

120. The Impoundment Crisis of 2025

The Trump administration's Monday spending freeze is likely to provoke a crisis over the constitutionality of "impoundment"—one that the justices could well have to resolve *very* soon.

www.stevevladeck.com

 

[TampaJoe]

You have repeatedly claimed to support oversight and transparency. Now, when faced with evidence of congressional Democrats trying to shed some light on what is happening, you fall back on, "but is it illegal"? Who gives a damn whether or not it's illegal. When something as massive and unprecedented as this is happening, we should all be demanding the utmost transparency and oversight. You pay lip service, but when push comes to shove, you demonstrate that you actually don't care.

Congress does have oversight. It would be nice if that was more impartial and nonpartisan but it isn’t and it hasn’t been for decades. So the minority party has little choice other than the courts. Republicans can’t and haven’t been able to force Democrat majorities and now the Democrats majority can’t force Republicans. That is how our current political system works and it sucks. Until both parties agree on ethical standards and are willing to enforce those standards without fear or favor, it isn’t going to change. You can pretend it’s all one sided but it isn’t.

So absent congressional oversight, you have the courts. Remember this the next time Dems are in the majority and republicans want an oversight investigation into a Democrat administration.

 

[DaveXA]

Congress does have oversight. It would be nice if that was more impartial and nonpartisan but it isn’t and it hasn’t been for decades. So the minority party has little choice other than the courts. Republicans can’t and haven’t been able to force Democrat majorities and now the Democrats majority can’t force Republicans. That is how our current political system works and it sucks. Until both parties agree on ethical standards and are willing to enforce those standards without fear or favor, it isn’t going to change. You can pretend it’s all one sided but it isn’t.

So absent congressional oversight, you have the courts. Remember this the next time Dems are in the majority and republicans want an oversight investigation into a Democrat administration.

The fact that they have to use the courts instead of Republicans calling out abuses when they see or suspect it speaks volumes.

Again, they have no integrity, spine or shame.

 

[J-DONK]

The fact that they have to use the courts instead of Republicans calling out abuses when they see or suspect it speaks volumes.

Again, they have no integrity, spine or shame.

TBH, I don't think TJ even understands the issue. We call it coup because the executive doesn't get to decide what gets funding. Congress does all of this. Elon should simply be monitoring things, reporting potential avenues for cuts, and then having Congress enact those changes via appropriations. There is nothing stopping Republicans from doing this.

It's as if he is willfully ignorant on the issue because he can't defend what HIS party is doing.

 

[TampaJoe]

The fact that they have to use the courts instead of Republicans calling out abuses when they see or suspect it speaks volumes.

Again, they have no integrity, spine or shame.

That may well be true. I thought the same in the last administration about Democrats. That’s the problem. This merry go round will never stop until both parties agree to stop playing partisan games when it comes to criminal or congressional investigations.

As I said it sucks. It is one reason I am an independent.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

TBH, I don't think TJ even understands the issue. We call it coup because the executive doesn't get to decide what gets funding. Congress does all of this. Elon should simply be monitoring things, reporting potential avenues for cuts, and then having Congress enact those changes via appropriations. There is nothing stopping Republicans from doing this.

It's as if he is willfully ignorant on the issue because he can't defend what HIS party is doing.

With the help of congressional Republicans, democracy is dying in plain sight. This administration is doing exactly what the Democrats warned they would do.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

I thought the same in the last administration about Democrats.

Show your work!

 

[cuddlemonkey]

Congress does have oversight. It would be nice if that was more impartial and nonpartisan but it isn’t and it hasn’t been for decades. So the minority party has little choice other than the courts. Republicans can’t and haven’t been able to force Democrat majorities and now the Democrats majority can’t force Republicans. That is how our current political system works and it sucks. Until both parties agree on ethical standards and are willing to enforce those standards without fear or favor, it isn’t going to change. You can pretend it’s all one sided but it isn’t.

So absent congressional oversight, you have the courts. Remember this the next time Dems are in the majority and republicans want an oversight investigation into a Democrat administration.

It's partisan because Republicans have abdicated their responsibility to provide said oversight. It's not both sides playing a game of chicken until one side blinks. This is a clear threat to democracy from one side, yet you can't condemn it for some reason. You can't say, "yeah, this is messed up and the Republicans have screwed up big time". Why is that? Do you think Republicans have crossed ethical lines at all?

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Trump administration is cutting billions of dollars in medical research funding for universities, hospitals and other scientific institutions by reducing the amount they get in associated costs to support such research.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said that it was reducing the amount of “indirect” medical research funding going to institutions, which will cut spending by $4bn a year.

A limit of 15% of grants awarded to institutions will be allowed for associated costs such as buildings, equipment and support staff. This is a major reduction on what was previously allowed under the NIH grant system.


“The United States should have the best medical research in the world,” the NIH said in a statementon Friday. “It is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.”…..

Trump administration to cut billions in medical research funding

National Institutes of Health said the $4bn loss will affect ‘indirect’ funding of buildings, equipment and staff

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

No more liberal paper straws
===============
Donald Trump has said that he will reverse Joe Biden’s plan to phase out plastic straws across the US government, complaining that paper alternatives don’t work and that a move is needed to go “BACK TO PLASTIC!”

Trump said in a Truth Social post that he will sign an executive order next week “ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work. BACK TO PLASTIC!” The US president added in a separate post that Biden’s “mandate” for paper straws was now dead: “Enjoy your next drink without a straw that disgustingly dissolves in your mouth!!!”

Trump appears to be taking aim at an effort by the Biden administration plan, unveiled last year, to phase out all single-use plastics across the federal government by 2035. At the time, the White House said it was the first time it was “formally acknowledging the severity of the plastic pollution crisis and the scale of the response that will be required to effectively confront it”.


Biden’s attempt to reduce throwaway plastics, such as straws and sachets, from the US government, which is one of the world’s largest single consumers of goods, was aimed at tackling a growing tide of plastic pollution.

Other countries had already put bans in place – the European Union barred single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery and straws, and will further extend this to plastic bags, toiletries and other items by 2030……..

Trump to reverse Biden’s plan to phase out plastic straws across US government

President said he will sign an executive order next week despite global plastics crisis

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Seven days after Donald Trump was inaugurated, Jocelyn Samuels received a message from the White House saying that the president – who had first appointed her as a commissioner to the US government agency tasked with fighting workplace discrimination – now wanted her gone.

Like so many other officials Trump has axed since retaking office, Samuels was informed she was being terminated from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) because of her “support for radical Biden administration guidance, DEI initiatives and a refusal to defend women against extreme gender ideology”.

The order appeared to fly in the face of the legal precedent governing her appointment to the commission, but Samuels also sees her firing as part of a greater strategy to create a Republican majority on the five-member commission that will roll back protections for transgender employees in particular, and retaliate more generally against businesses that attempt to address inequity in their workforce.

“What I observed from the outside is that there is a real desire to decimate the federal government’s ability to provide the level of services that it has to the American people,” Samuels told the Guardian as she sat in a cafe earlier this week across the street from the White House, where her firing was orchestrated.

“With regard to the EEOC, I think that these terminations were in service of the administration’s agenda to eliminate whatever they mean by DEI programs, and to erase the existence of trans people, because those are issues that fall directly under the EEOC jurisdiction, to the extent that they result in discrimination in the workplace.”…….

US equality chief fired by Trump condemns ‘demonization of the term DEI’

Jocelyn Samuels says her dismissal from EEOC is part of greater strategy to target inequity and roll back rights for trans employees

www.theguardian.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

The Trump administration is cutting billions of dollars in medical research funding for universities, hospitals and other scientific institutions by reducing the amount they get in associated costs to support such research.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said that it was reducing the amount of “indirect” medical research funding going to institutions, which will cut spending by $4bn a year.

A limit of 15% of grants awarded to institutions will be allowed for associated costs such as buildings, equipment and support staff. This is a major reduction on what was previously allowed under the NIH grant system.


“The United States should have the best medical research in the world,” the NIH said in a statementon Friday. “It is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.”…..

Trump administration to cut billions in medical research funding

National Institutes of Health said the $4bn loss will affect ‘indirect’ funding of buildings, equipment and staff

www.theguardian.com

well, this won't backfire. headed to 3rd world country medicine.

 

[Optimus Prime]

President Trump has fired Archivist of the United States Colleen J. Shogan, the government official responsible for preserving and providing access to government records.

Sergio Gor, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, announced Shogan's dismissal Friday night. Shogan has held the job since 2023.

"At the direction of @realDonaldTrump the Archivist of the United States has been dismissed tonight," Gor wrote on X. "We thank Colleen Shogan for her service."

The move isn't unexpected. Mr. Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt earlier this month that "we will have a new archivist."

On Thursday, however, a senior archivist official told CBS News there was "no word that anything is changing."

"The archivist looks forward to continuing her strong working relationship with the president and first lady," the official said at the time.

The archivist of the United States, who oversees the National Archives and Records Administration, is typically an apolitical role that receives little attention. But Mr. Trump has expressed ire toward the agency in the past, after it was a key player in the case about his mishandling of classified records………

Trump fires archivist of the United States, official who oversees government records

President Trump has fired the nation's top record keeper, Archivist of the United States Colleen J. Shogan.

www.cbsnews.com