Law be damned, Trump asserts unilateral control over executive branch, federal service (5 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

 

[DaveXA]

Until this, all the current Joint Chief of Staff positions were nominated by Biden. But so far only Lisa Franchetti (the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff) and Charles Q. Brown Jr. have been removed. So if they're removing them solely because they were appointed under a democratic president, why those two and not the others who were also appointed under a democratic president?

And do you think that's ok? Bearing in mind that the answer to the other question is...


Never. As far as I can see, since the first appointment to the role of chairman, when it was created permanently in 1949, none of the 20 chairmen were replaced within six months of an inauguration... until this one, the 21st, removed within a month and a day, making him the shortest non-acting appointment to the role with one year and 143 days in the post.

The point of the posts being apolitical that @DJ1BigTymer has outlined has been continuously respected.

Until now.

You'd think that would be sufficient...but he'll keep making lame excuses like he usually does. The carrying of Trump's water is unsurprising though. He's been doing it since he started posting here. Independent my arse.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Elon Musk said that blanket emails sent to federal employees asking for a response about their weekly accomplishments or risk termination was a test to see if they “had a pulse.”

The tech billionaire, tasked by President Donald Trump to slash bureaucracy and federal spending through his Department of Government Efficiency, wrote on his X platform Friday that all government staff would receive an email requesting specifics of what they had achieved last week.

Workers reportedly received the email Saturday afternoon from the Office of Personnel Management with the subject line “What did you do last week?” The deadline given to respond, according to emails reviewed by Reuters, was 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday. Failure to reply would be “taken as resignation,” Musk tweeted.

Less than 24 hours before the deadline, Musk hinted that the emails were simply a rouse to ensure federal employees were “capable of responding” to his correspondence.……

Elon Musk admits email to government workers was a rouse

Department of Government Efficiency head says he wants to test whether federal employees are ‘capable of replying to an email’

www.independent.co.uk

 

[DaveXA]

Elon Musk said that blanket emails sent to federal employees asking for a response about their weekly accomplishments or risk termination was a test to see if they “had a pulse.”

The tech billionaire, tasked by President Donald Trump to slash bureaucracy and federal spending through his Department of Government Efficiency, wrote on his X platform Friday that all government staff would receive an email requesting specifics of what they had achieved last week.

Workers reportedly received the email Saturday afternoon from the Office of Personnel Management with the subject line “What did you do last week?” The deadline given to respond, according to emails reviewed by Reuters, was 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday. Failure to reply would be “taken as resignation,” Musk tweeted.

Less than 24 hours before the deadline, Musk hinted that the emails were simply a rouse to ensure federal employees were “capable of responding” to his correspondence.……

Elon Musk admits email to government workers was a rouse

Department of Government Efficiency head says he wants to test whether federal employees are ‘capable of replying to an email’

www.independent.co.uk

We've already received multiple "test" emails. This is just Musk spouting his usual nonsense.