Law be damned, Trump asserts unilateral control over executive branch, federal service (2 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

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

It's funny saying they'll give 20% back to the people when it's all the people's money to begin with.

I know what you mean , and this isn’t directed at you- but it’s not funny, it’s tragic .


Because they are doing all this in the name of ‘waste fraud and abuse’ and yet their ACTUAL goal is to dismantle OUR government and make billionaires into Trillionaires off the backs of the middle and lower classes …. All while completely trashing democracy and our systems, the bad ALONG with the good…. They can dress it up all they want, it’s a complete farce and a tragedy all in one .

 

[efil4]

Trump makes bombshell decision on 'DOGE dividend' for taxpayers

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has taken an axe to government departments with an edict to do whatever it takes to root out waste and fraud .

www.dailymail.co.uk

.


This is interesting to me.. ive heard Trump called an evil genius.. i think that’s only half true.. i think the ‘genius’ part is all wrong of course.. BUT Elon is indeed a genius.. he is also a douchebag and an absolutely horrible human being….. i dont think Trump is smart enough to actually do it b/c it would go a very long way to furthering his goals…. People are so starved for money due to (worldwide) inflation that if each American received $5k it would greatly tamp down on protests and people speaking out .. it would also be, in effect, buying complicity from many many people .

Today is Feb 20th 2025; i ALWAYS leave open the possibility that i might be wrong.. so please save this post for posterity b/c if we are in this thread say, this summer, 3 or 4 months from now- and there is a $5,000 deposit from Doge in my checking acct- ill eat my words and ill say i was wrong .

so 20% to Americans
another 20% to pay down debt.

Cool....now what about the other 60%?

 

[superchuck500]

Trump makes bombshell decision on 'DOGE dividend' for taxpayers

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has taken an axe to government departments with an edict to do whatever it takes to root out waste and fraud .

www.dailymail.co.uk

.


This is interesting to me.. ive heard Trump called an evil genius.. i think that’s only half true.. i think the ‘genius’ part is all wrong of course.. BUT Elon is indeed a genius.. he is also a douchebag and an absolutely horrible human being….. i dont think Trump is smart enough to actually do it b/c it would go a very long way to furthering his goals…. People are so starved for money due to (worldwide) inflation that if each American received $5k it would greatly tamp down on protests and people speaking out .. it would also be, in effect, buying complicity from many many people .

Today is Feb 20th 2025; i ALWAYS leave open the possibility that i might be wrong.. so please save this post for posterity b/c if we are in this thread say, this summer, 3 or 4 months from now- and there is a $5,000 deposit from Doge in my checking acct- ill eat my words and ill say i was wrong .

This is nothing more than Trump-talk - a never-ending string of vaguely suggested benefits to people to engender support but it's total illusion, there never will be a genuine attempt to make it real. Musk is now just playing this game too.

It is 100% not real and there's at least three compelling reasons why we know this is pure fake bullshirt lies to try to make people think they're great: (1) there is ZERO evidence that there has been any meaningful savings that would allow for anything such a distribution, (2) it is well obvious that the entire point of this whole DOGE exercise, at least from a fiscal perspective (there are other angles) is to show that spending fat has been cut so that they can enact another round of tax cuts - primarily for wealthy and for businesses, and (3) lol, come on.

It actually gives a veneer of authenticity - surely there must be massive savings if they're contemplating a dividend to Americans! It's just smoke and mirrors, there's no evidence of any such windfall. And if there is any savings, it's going to be part of the support for why we can cut taxes again.

 

[DaveXA]

I know what you mean , and this isn’t directed at you- but it’s not funny, it’s tragic .


Because they are doing all this in the name of ‘waste fraud and abuse’ and yet their ACTUAL goal is to dismantle OUR government and make billionaires into Trillionaires off the backs of the middle and lower classes …. All while completely trashing democracy and our systems, the bad ALONG with the good…. They can dress it up all they want, it’s a complete farce and a tragedy all in one .

No doubt.

 

[DaveXA]

This is nothing more than Trump-talk - a never-ending string of vaguely suggested benefits to people to engender support but it's total illusion, there never will be a genuine attempt to make it real. Musk is now just playing this game too.

It is 100% not real and there's at least three compelling reasons why we know this is pure fake bullshirt lies to try to make people think they're great: (1) there is ZERO evidence that there has been any meaningful savings that would allow for anything such a distribution, (2) it is well obvious that the entire point of this whole DOGE exercise, at least from a fiscal perspective (there are other angles) is to show that spending fat has been cut so that they can enact another round of tax cuts - primarily for wealthy and for businesses, and (3) lol, come on.

It actually gives a veneer of authenticity - surely there must be massive savings if they're contemplating a dividend to Americans! It's just smoke and mirrors, there's no evidence of any such windfall. And if there is any savings, it's going to be part of the support for why we can cut taxes again.

And no doubt they haven't counted the costs associated with said cuts. I mean, it's gonna happen exactly like it did when they arbitrarily fired critical personnel and ended up having to re-hire them. There are unanticipated costs for those actions. Same thing with cutting programs they want to cut. For example, the DEI offices that were "closed". All of the work they do won't just disappear. Someone else is going to have to do that work. Contractors will have to be hired or additional personnel will have to be hired to perform the tasks that were given to DEI personnel. I worked with the DEI office to coordinate services for persons with disabilities. I still don't know who's going to be tasked, but it's not simply going to disappear.

Some of these "cuts" will actually cost more than saved because of unintended or unforseen consequences.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

Trump signed AC

so 20% to Americans
another 20% to pay down debt.

Cool....now what about the other 60%?

Finders fee.


It's all an illusion of course. They haven't "saved" any money yet, and the canceled contracts total far, far less than advertised.

 

[wardorican]

I guess better late than never. But seriously, typical "it's not a problem until it affects me" mentality.

 

[bird]

I guess better late than never. But seriously, typical "it's not a problem until it affects me" mentality.

Jesse Watters might be the stupidest person on TV.

This is simply an excellent example of FAFO.

 

[wardorican]

Watchdog agency head tells justices to stay out of firing dispute - SCOTUSblog

Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger told the justices on Tuesday to leave in place a federal judge’s temporary order to reinstate him to his job. The head of the independent agency charged with whistleblower protection said that the Trump administration’s plea for intervention on Sunday night is a mer

www.scotusblog.com

Office of Special Counsel was fired without cause. This article talks about the temporary restraining order from that firing and how the Whitehouse is trying to run it up to the SCOTUS to remove the TRO.

This line from the fired special counsel (I assume he's acting as his own lawyer?)

And in any event, Dellinger continued, the government does not contest that it violated a federal law when it fired Dellinger without a good reason. “In light of that concession,” he wrote, “it is difficult to comprehend how temporary continued adherence to the OSC’s statutory scheme” amounts to a “crisis for the separation of powers and an emergency that overrides limits on appellate jurisdiction.” And, Dellinger added, “we are unaware of any case where this Court has granted emergency relief (let alone from an ordinarily unappealable TRO) so that the government can continue to violate a federal statute.”

 

[Booker]

Some of these "cuts" will actually cost more than saved because of unintended or unforseen consequences.

Absolutely they will. And somehow they’ll blame the Democrats.

 

[MT15]

I think there is a whole lot of inside baseball going on. I think Barr is a decent man. I think there are problems with the FBI and the DOJ that need to be rooted out. They need to get back to law enforcement without fear or favor. Justice is supposed to be blind. It should have nothing to do with the politics of the person sitting in the Oval Office, past or present.

Trump is promising blatant retribution on his political enemies, he has done so since his first term, he carried out vendettas against Comey and McCabe last time. He punished Michael Cohen for speaking out against him by returning him to jail after his early release. He tried to have Biden arrested weeks before the 2020 election, but Barr finally reached the limit of what he would do for Trump. Pretty late, but better late than never I guess.

Trump will not return to blind justice, anything but. Biden’s problem was that he felt squeamish about prosecuting Trump for his crimes, and he held back. Or Garland did, we can’t be sure. But make no mistake - Trump is a criminal who should have been prosecuted. That he wasn’t successfully prosecuted for his crimes re Jan 6 is a stain on our justice system. Biden and Garland own that.

 

[Incumbent]

I think it's a valid concern at this point; even if it's not Trump, with the efforts to transfer this much power solely into the role of the President, do we think the movement behind Trump is envisaging a Democratic President holding that power any time soon?

Along with that, Musk and Trump are certainly proceeding in a way that indicates they don’t expect to ever face consequences. Not a phony sense of being above the law, but a confidence in a rigged system that will enshrine their power and protect them from punishment. They aren’t doing all of this to reap gains for the next 2-4 years, they are doing it because they believe they will succeed in fundamentally changing our government.

As somebody who always looked at the future with a sense of optimism, I’m left wondering where we are to find hope now. The courts? Maybe, but then that requires a belief they will exist as a guardrail and, more importantly, that Trump will honor legal decisions he disagrees with. If he doesn’t, who will hold him accountable? Congress? No indication of that as long as Republicans are in control. He’s surrounded himself with sycophants this time, precisely to insulate himself from repercussions. These are all yes-people who will carry out whatever orders he gives them.

Just as so many people warned would happen, Trump is carrying out the goals laid out in Project 2025. The fatal flaw in our system has been glaringly exposed; it is only as sound and secure as the intentions guiding the people at the controls.

We’ll see if what will remain of the system is enough to get us through this, but I’m very skeptical.

 

[MT15]

Well this is certainly concerning. Vance is making it clear that he thinks Trump should ignore court rulings that don’t go in his favor. George Conway with the Nazi equivalent comparison.

 

[Optimus Prime]

……Trump has dominated ever since. He is constitutionally barred from running for a third term but has repeatedly hinted that he might try.

Congressman Andy Ogles has even introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow Trump to run again.

Setmayer believes that next week’s CPAC straw poll will include him – and he will win it again.

“They absolutely will do it again and Trump will overwhelmingly win at North Korea-style numbers and he will continue to talk about a third term,” she said.

“This is not a joke. He has been talking about this since his first term. He talked about it during the election in ‘jest’ and he’s been talking about it already three weeks into his new term. We need to pay attention to what they are doing concerning our elections.”…….

‘The deification of Trump will be complete’ at CPAC 2025

The conservative conference, dismissed as ‘an extremist freak show’, has been revived under the president’s hand

www.theguardian.com

Donald Trump was joined by Tiger Woods at aWhite House celebration marking Black History Month, with both receiving a rapturous reception. Woods said it was an honor to be there, while the president basked in chants of “four more years” just one month into his second term.

Those chants were echoed later in the day when Steve Bannon took to the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference(CPAC). The former Trump adviser told the audience: “The future of MAGA is Donald Trump! We want Trump in '28 … A man like Trump comes along only once or twice in the country's history. We want Trump! We want Trump!"……

Trump lauded with chants of ‘four more years’ by Bannon, Black supporters: Live

President hailed at Black History Month event and from stage at CPAC by former adviser Steve Bannon with calls to run in 2028

www.independent.co.uk

 

[MT15]

Donald Trump was joined by Tiger Woods at aWhite House celebration marking Black History Month, with both receiving a rapturous reception. Woods said it was an honor to be there, while the president basked in chants of “four more years” just one month into his second term.

Those chants were echoed later in the day when Steve Bannon took to the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference(CPAC). The former Trump adviser told the audience: “The future of MAGA is Donald Trump! We want Trump in '28 … A man like Trump comes along only once or twice in the country's history. We want Trump! We want Trump!"……

Trump lauded with chants of ‘four more years’ by Bannon, Black supporters: Live

President hailed at Black History Month event and from stage at CPAC by former adviser Steve Bannon with calls to run in 2028

www.independent.co.uk

You should put this in Brandon’s thread….

 

[superchuck500]

Well this is certainly concerning. Vance is making it clear that he thinks Trump should ignore court rulings that don’t go in his favor. George Conway with the Nazi equivalent comparison.

 

[MT15]

So I guess the question is now - what will the judge do about it?

And they’re already ignoring court rulings, but we’ve been hearing that since the beginning of all this. What they’ve been doing is covert - they’re not broadcasting their defiance.

Vance is suggesting that Trump make a speech defying the Supreme Court and saying “let the Court enforce their ruling”. That would be something else entirely.

 

[superchuck500]

This could go in a few threads - I’ll stick it here