Law be damned, Trump asserts unilateral control over executive branch, federal service (3 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

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Trump administration stopped funding a national database tracking domestic terrorism, hate crimes and school shootings in a sweeping round of cuts to violence prevention projects, eliminating a resource aimed to improve safety in the face of consistent and urgent threats.

Records obtained by The Washington Post show the cancellation of nearly $20 million for 24 projects dating as far back as July 2021. A representative for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The database, run out of the University of Maryland and supported by $3 million from DHS, disappeared Tuesday morning from the START consortium for terrorism research’s website. A DHS email reviewed by The Post notified recipients last week that “the scope of work performed under this award no longer effectuates Department priorities” without providing specific details.

In the past two years, the U-Md. data showed there were nearly three violent events daily, killing nearly 400 people and injuring more than 700, Michael Jensen, the project’s principal investigator and the research director at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at U-Md., wrote in a statement that replaced the online database Tuesday morning.

Jensen said this cancellation comes at a time when their data revealed the first two months of 2025 saw a 25 percent increase in terrorism and targeted violence incidents compared to the first two months of last year.

Amy Cooter, the deputy director of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism, said she’s worried the cuts to violence prevention efforts across the federal government will hamper the renewed fight against domestic terrorism.

“We’re seeing a real end of our ability to stay on top of extremist trends and threats from a governmental perspective,” Cooter said.

A research project to avert school shootings, an evaluation of a method used to redirect online searches away from extremist content and a study focused on early detection and intervention of people planning terrorist attacks were also among those to lose funding, records show. All were supported by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, which funds social and behavioral science research for violence prevention efforts.

The people running the programs being cut claim the orders to stop their work violates federal provisions, according to two recipients and a DHS official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to reporters. The University of Maryland is appealing the decision to halt the database, Jensen wrote.

“I’m certain there’s no legal reason or legal legs for this to stand on,” said the DHS official. “We’re losing the ability to coordinate and provide the best, most rigorous evidence for how to prevent these kinds of attacks, and to prevent them while respecting people’s civil rights.”................

Trump administration cuts national database tracking domestic terrorism​

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/03/25/domestic-extremism-database-trump-cuts/

 

[MT15]

I don’t understand this - but I know we have people on here who do:

 

[bird]

I don’t understand this - but I know we have people on here who do:

Waste, fraud and abuse occurs when the private sector interfaces with the government. The actual waste is relatively minimal for the size of the federal government. The private sector inevitably causes fraud and abuse.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Defense Department employees returned to work at an Army base in the Midwest only to find their offices were not mission-ready.

Overflowing parking lots force them to scramble in ever-widening circles in search of open spots or risk tickets for parking illegally. Crammed into tight quarters, they sit elbow to elbow at card tables and talk over one another on the phone and on video calls. There are few spots to break for lunch or a snack because all of the cafeterias on the base shut down long ago.

Supplies are so scarce that they have to bring their own toilet paper and paper towels. To help out undermanned cleaning crews struggling to keep up with germ-riddled bathrooms and dirty workspaces, employees are told to pack up their trash and take it home with them.

Making matters worse, fresh worries about Legionella – the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease and sometimes lurks in the base’s World War II-era buildings – have been making the rounds.

Morale has cratered as employees juggle long commutes and child care headaches, said a Defense Department employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Once driven to boost productivity, they now punch in and out like clockwork and have all but given up answering calls and emails after hours.

We honestly get way more done at home than at the office, but those are facts and no one seems to want to know facts anymore,” he told USA TODAY. “This will end up costing the government much more money than it will ever save.”……

Rats, card tables and BYO toilet paper: Inside federal workers' return to office

President Trump ordered federal employees back to the office full-time. The end of remote work in the government has been chaotic, workers say.

www.usatoday.com

 

[DaveXA]

Defense Department employees returned to work at an Army base in the Midwest only to find their offices were not mission-ready.

Overflowing parking lots force them to scramble in ever-widening circles in search of open spots or risk tickets for parking illegally. Crammed into tight quarters, they sit elbow to elbow at card tables and talk over one another on the phone and on video calls. There are few spots to break for lunch or a snack because all of the cafeterias on the base shut down long ago.

Supplies are so scarce that they have to bring their own toilet paper and paper towels. To help out undermanned cleaning crews struggling to keep up with germ-riddled bathrooms and dirty workspaces, employees are told to pack up their trash and take it home with them.

Making matters worse, fresh worries about Legionella – the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease and sometimes lurks in the base’s World War II-era buildings – have been making the rounds.

Morale has cratered as employees juggle long commutes and child care headaches, said a Defense Department employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Once driven to boost productivity, they now punch in and out like clockwork and have all but given up answering calls and emails after hours.

We honestly get way more done at home than at the office, but those are facts and no one seems to want to know facts anymore,” he told USA TODAY. “This will end up costing the government much more money than it will ever save.”……

Rats, card tables and BYO toilet paper: Inside federal workers' return to office

President Trump ordered federal employees back to the office full-time. The end of remote work in the government has been chaotic, workers say.

www.usatoday.com

While this is an extreme case, it's happening on a more moderate scale throughout the government. I wouldn't let these idiots run a soup kitchen. They aren't listening to their subordinates, have no clue what the mission of their agency is and are completely ignorant of the logistical challenges of trying to cram everyone, including people who have been remote working for 20 years, and doing better than competent until the upheaval caused by this short-sighted attempt at getting all employees in the office.

 

[MT15]

More Trump fascism:

 

[Optimus Prime]

Twelve days before Donald Trump took office, Charlie Kirk, media personality and rightwing activist, complained on his eponymous show about the presence of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters at emergency press briefings for the Los Angeles fires.

Another rightwing activist, Christopher Rufo, took his cue on X, calling interpreters “wild human gesticulators” who turned briefings into a “farce”. The rightwing theorist and Origins of Woke author Richard Hanania, quote-tweeting Rufo, declared ASL interpretation an “absurdity”.

Around this time, Elon Musk was skulking around the platform, campaigning to bring back the R-word. Use of the slur tripled on X after his post.

To those with less knowledge of disability history, these attacks might read as gross, but ultimately toothless. Activists, though, quickly sounded the alarm: the incoming administration would be coming for disabled people.

“To the deaf community, the fight for accessibility is nothing new,” said Sara Miller, deaf educator and community advocate.

However, Miller said she had seen a burgeoning movement against accessibility from conservatives with large platforms, including during the first Trump administration, when the National Association of the Deaf had to sue to have ASL interpreters during 2020 Covid briefings.

“But when looking at the history of the first term of [the Trump] administration, and currently how diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) is being targeted, it’s not hard to see the correlation.”


Manufacturing cultural outrage to justify policy that would have previously been considered too cruel or damaging is a staple of the far-right playbook: most recently, the US has seen the move used to bolster book bans and outlaw Black historyand gender-affirming care.

The play-by-play is always the same: social media followers take their marching orders, hurling discontent at the specified targets and regurgitating talking points.

Eventually, the ideas become so ubiquitous they are adopted by politicians who use them to engage their base.

Finally, the talking point becomes the policy itself, and politicians claim they have a mandate from the people to justify stripping away the rights of the marginalized………

The US right is coming for disabled people. Hereâs why that threatens everyone

Trumpâs administration is dismantling disability rights and education. History has shown this can be a warning sign for all civil liberties

www.theguardian.com

 

[DaveXA]

Twelve days before Donald Trump took office, Charlie Kirk, media personality and rightwing activist, complained on his eponymous show about the presence of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters at emergency press briefings for the Los Angeles fires.

Another rightwing activist, Christopher Rufo, took his cue on X, calling interpreters “wild human gesticulators” who turned briefings into a “farce”. The rightwing theorist and Origins of Woke author Richard Hanania, quote-tweeting Rufo, declared ASL interpretation an “absurdity”.

Around this time, Elon Musk was skulking around the platform, campaigning to bring back the R-word. Use of the slur tripled on X after his post.

To those with less knowledge of disability history, these attacks might read as gross, but ultimately toothless. Activists, though, quickly sounded the alarm: the incoming administration would be coming for disabled people.

“To the deaf community, the fight for accessibility is nothing new,” said Sara Miller, deaf educator and community advocate.

However, Miller said she had seen a burgeoning movement against accessibility from conservatives with large platforms, including during the first Trump administration, when the National Association of the Deaf had to sue to have ASL interpreters during 2020 Covid briefings.

“But when looking at the history of the first term of [the Trump] administration, and currently how diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) is being targeted, it’s not hard to see the correlation.”


Manufacturing cultural outrage to justify policy that would have previously been considered too cruel or damaging is a staple of the far-right playbook: most recently, the US has seen the move used to bolster book bans and outlaw Black historyand gender-affirming care.

The play-by-play is always the same: social media followers take their marching orders, hurling discontent at the specified targets and regurgitating talking points.

Eventually, the ideas become so ubiquitous they are adopted by politicians who use them to engage their base.

Finally, the talking point becomes the policy itself, and politicians claim they have a mandate from the people to justify stripping away the rights of the marginalized………

The US right is coming for disabled people. Hereâs why that threatens everyone

Trumpâs administration is dismantling disability rights and education. History has shown this can be a warning sign for all civil liberties

www.theguardian.com

This unfortunately is nothing new in the deaf community. We've dealt with ignorance for a long time and the dumbasses in charge are heartening back to the days where fascism essentially forced deaf and disabled individuals into hiding. It's just shocking this it's happening openly in our country now.

 

[MT15]

 

[Optimus Prime]

The US is in the midst of an extraordinary battle between “the rule of law versus the rule of billionaires”, a top Democratic government official and attorney has warned, after his unprecedented firing by Donald Trump.

Alvaro Bedoya, abruptly terminated as a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week, sounded a “blinking red alarm” over backroom “quid pro quo” dealmaking he said appears to be taking place inside the Trump administration.

Bedoya and his colleague, commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, another Democrat, were fired from the FTC, Washington’s top antitrust watchdog. Both Bedoya and Slaughter have sued the administration over their respective dismissals, which they argue were illegal.


In an interview with the Guardian, Bedoya expressed fear that his firing is a sign of billionaires’ growing power over the federal government. “This isn’t about progressive versus conservative,” he said. “This is about the rule of law versus the rule of billionaires.”

Independent and bipartisan agencies like the FTC are typically shielded from direct control by the White House. Supreme court precedents interpret the FTC Act’s terms, which only allow the president to remove FTC commissioners for “insufficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance” in office.

When Bedoya first confirmed his firing on social media, he declared that the president “wants the FTC to be a lap dog for his golfing buddies”.

In the days that followed, he has continued to express alarm about actions taken under Trump – and the striking group of wealthy allies and supporters he has amassed leading up to, and since, his victory last November.……

Fired corporate regulator sounds ‘blinking red alarm’ over apparent rise of billionaire power under Trump

Alvaro Bedoya, who was involved in cases against firms such as Amazon, warns of apparent ‘quid pro quo’ deals

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Citing his national security authority, President Trump signed an executive order Thursday rescinding the collective bargaining rights of a massive swath of the federal workforce in a historic attack on public unions.

The order strips workers from the right to union representation across the federal enterprise, including at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Land Management.

While the order also includes the Department of Homeland Security, law enforcement officers including U.S. Border Patrol are exempted, as are firefighters, in a transparent gift to his political coalition.

Trump’s order cites the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which grants the president the power to terminate the union rights of workers in agencies with intelligence, counterintelligence or national security work as a primary function.

“Certain federal unions have declared war on President Trump’s agenda,” the White House said in announcing the order. “President Trump supports constructive partnerships with unions who work with him; he will not tolerate mass obstruction that jeopardizes his ability to manage agencies with vital national security missions.”

Following the order, the affected agencies filed a lawsuit against federal employee unions in Texas federal court seeking to terminate their union contracts.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal union representing more than 800,000 workers, promised immediate legal action to challenge what it called a “blatant attempt at political punishment.” The union estimates it affects more than 1 million employees — about a third of whom are veterans.

“This administration’s bullying tactics represent a clear threat not just to federal employees and their unions, but to every American who values democracy and the freedoms of speech and association. Trump’s threat to unions and working people across America is clear: fall in line or else,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.……..

Trump moves to rescind union rights of over 1 million federal workers — and other labor news • Minnesota Reformer

Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Trump moves to strip federal workers of union rights; Minnesota public unions vow to fight part-time return-to-office order; U of M resident physicians file for union; child labor violations on...

minnesotareformer.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Donald Trump’s administration has ended funding for a slew of counter-terrorism research projects, in a move experts say will hinder future law enforcement abilities to predict and prevent attacks on the public, especially from the far right.

The cuts, affecting multiple agencies and departments, come after the US president granted “unconditional” pardons to about 1,500 people involved in the January 6 attacks on Capitol Hill and the appointment of the Trump ultra-loyalist Kash Patel to the helm of the FBI.

The National Institute of Justice has now scuppered its research into improving the “understanding of radicalization to violent extremism” in local communities. The Department of Defense has also followed up the recent deletion of its social sciences-focused Minerva program by culling $30m in annual funding for academic studies focusing on extremism, disinformation and other subjects.


Then, last week, the University of Maryland announced that its invaluable dataset tracking hate crimes, antisemitism, domestic terrorist attacks and school shootings was also being defunded by the Department of Homeland Security.

So far, the broader academic counter-terrorism and national security community has been voicing its shock at the vast scale of cuts as this reimagining of counter-terrorism strategies undermines Trump’s own promises of ending stateside terrorism.

“NIJ, Minerva, and now DHS. Terrorism research portfolios gone,” wrote John Horgan, a professor at Georgia State University who worked with DHS, in a LinkedIn post. “Just wiped out.”

Horgan continued: “Years of progress, years of partnerships, years of producing actionable knowledge to make communities safer just down the toilet.”

In response to Horgan, one of DHS’s own social scientists at its Science and Technology directorate offered his condolences and confirmed the benefits of scholars’ research that had helped the government in “advancing our understanding of human behavior and psychology as it impacts terrorism and targeted violence”.……

Trump’s counter-terror cuts will harm fight against far right, experts warn

Scale of cuts undermines US president’s own promises of ending stateside terrorism and curtailing antisemitism

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Barack Obama didn’t need to name-drop Donald Trump on Thursday to take a swing at how conservatives treated his time in the Oval Office compared to the current president.

“It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a whole bunch of my predecessors,” said Obama as he reportedly drew applause in a speech at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

The former president — in a speech that attendees were barred from recording — was referring to the Trump administration’s attacks against law firms as well as funding threats toward universities, which have been fueled by claims that schools aren’t protecting Jewish students from antisemitism.

The speech was detailed by CNN Politics writer/editor David Wright in a thread on X, formerly Twitter.

Obama, per Wright’s rundown, continued, “Imagine if I had said to law firms that were representing parties that were upset with policies my administration had initiated that you will not be allowed into government buildings. We will punish you economically for dissenting from the [ACA] or the Iran Deal.”

He added, “Imagine if I had done any of this. Imagine I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps.”............

Barack Obama Says The ‘Silent’ Part Out Loud With ‘Unimaginable’ Trump Comparison

The former president said he’s “deeply concerned” about these Trump administration moves in remarks at an Upstate New York college.

www.huffpost.com

 

[coldseat]

Barack Obama didn’t need to name-drop Donald Trump on Thursday to take a swing at how conservatives treated his time in the Oval Office compared to the current president.

“It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a whole bunch of my predecessors,” said Obama as he reportedly drew applause in a speech at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

The former president — in a speech that attendees were barred from recording — was referring to the Trump administration’s attacks against law firms as well as funding threats toward universities, which have been fueled by claims that schools aren’t protecting Jewish students from antisemitism.

The speech was detailed by CNN Politics writer/editor David Wright in a thread on X, formerly Twitter.

Obama, per Wright’s rundown, continued, “Imagine if I had said to law firms that were representing parties that were upset with policies my administration had initiated that you will not be allowed into government buildings. We will punish you economically for dissenting from the [ACA] or the Iran Deal.”

He added, “Imagine if I had done any of this. Imagine I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps.”............

Barack Obama Says The ‘Silent’ Part Out Loud With ‘Unimaginable’ Trump Comparison

The former president said he’s “deeply concerned” about these Trump administration moves in remarks at an Upstate New York college.

www.huffpost.com

I think the next president should rescind Fox News and the other right wing outlets press credentials in the white house. Not because they're opposition news, but because they're blatant propaganda news for Trump, Republicans and the right wing. You can't play nice with these people. They're out to destroy things.

Everything else I agree with.

 

[Sendai]

“
A divided D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday reinstated two members of independent federal agencies who were wrongfully dismissed by President Donald Trump as part of his effort to hollow out the government.

The D.C. Appeals Court’s 7-4 vote reverses a separate court decision that upheld Trump’s dismissal of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris.

Wilcox’s and Harris’ lawsuits challenging their dismissals may next go before the Supreme Court, which may reconsider Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., a 90-year-old ruling that serves as the backbone of agencies’ authority to operate without direct control from the White House.

The court Monday ruled that Trump dismissing Wilcox and Harris went against the Supreme Court’s ruling in Humphrey’s Executor, which protects officials on multimember federal boards and commissions from being arbitrarily fired by the president.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it,” the panel ruled.

Three of the appeals judges who voted to uphold Wilcox’s and Harris’ dismissals were appointed by Trump. ”

D.C. Appeals Court Reverses Trump Firing 2 Independent Federal Board Members

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

Well, we’re about the find out if the Supreme Court has the desire to dump “Humphrey’s Executor”.

 

[coldseat]

“
A divided D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday reinstated two members of independent federal agencies who were wrongfully dismissed by President Donald Trump as part of his effort to hollow out the government.

The D.C. Appeals Court’s 7-4 vote reverses a separate court decision that upheld Trump’s dismissal of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris.

Wilcox’s and Harris’ lawsuits challenging their dismissals may next go before the Supreme Court, which may reconsider Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., a 90-year-old ruling that serves as the backbone of agencies’ authority to operate without direct control from the White House.

The court Monday ruled that Trump dismissing Wilcox and Harris went against the Supreme Court’s ruling in Humphrey’s Executor, which protects officials on multimember federal boards and commissions from being arbitrarily fired by the president.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it,” the panel ruled.

Three of the appeals judges who voted to uphold Wilcox’s and Harris’ dismissals were appointed by Trump. ”

D.C. Appeals Court Reverses Trump Firing 2 Independent Federal Board Members

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

Well, we’re about the find out if the Supreme Court has the desire to dump “Humphrey’s Executor”.

Given this SC's history of making rulings that turn our president into a king (only when they're a Republican president, of course), I'd say you can be assured they'll find a reason to "dump" Humphrey's Executor.

 

[MT15]

“
A divided D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday reinstated two members of independent federal agencies who were wrongfully dismissed by President Donald Trump as part of his effort to hollow out the government.

The D.C. Appeals Court’s 7-4 vote reverses a separate court decision that upheld Trump’s dismissal of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris.

Wilcox’s and Harris’ lawsuits challenging their dismissals may next go before the Supreme Court, which may reconsider Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., a 90-year-old ruling that serves as the backbone of agencies’ authority to operate without direct control from the White House.

The court Monday ruled that Trump dismissing Wilcox and Harris went against the Supreme Court’s ruling in Humphrey’s Executor, which protects officials on multimember federal boards and commissions from being arbitrarily fired by the president.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it,” the panel ruled.

Three of the appeals judges who voted to uphold Wilcox’s and Harris’ dismissals were appointed by Trump. ”

D.C. Appeals Court Reverses Trump Firing 2 Independent Federal Board Members

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

Well, we’re about the find out if the Supreme Court has the desire to dump “Humphrey’s Executor”.

This is good, but I have almost no faith that the Supreme Court (this one) will uphold precedent.

 

[MT15]

This does seem to be the general mode of operating. Which means pushing back is super important. There’s another “hands off” rally April 19th, I saw today. If there’s a local one, I will be attending this time.