In the second week of Trump’s presidential term, it has become abundantly clear that his administration is committed to consolidating power in the Oval Office, regardless of legal standards or Constitutional checks and balances. One of the most alarming examples of this overreach was a misguided attempt to withhold federal funds, coupled with dozens of unjust and – in some cases – potentially illegal firings of federal employees.
Trump and his administration have made it evident that they are ready to continue weakening democratic checks and balances on executive power and force through his agenda, no matter the cost.
Here are some of the lowlights of Trump’s weaponization of government this week:
- Unsuccessfully Attempted To Pause All Federal Grants
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- The Washington Post: “The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, according to an internal memo sent to agencies Monday, creating significant confusion across Washington.”
- The Atlantic: “‘They could have done this legally, but they didn’t,’ Ellsworth, a former Schumer aide, told me. A new administration, for example, could have justified a pause in spending to ensure that a program was being funded in accordance with the law. But the order instead instructs agencies to ensure that the spending aligns with new policies set by the Trump administration. Ellsworth said that the order is ‘self-evidently’ illegal.”
- The Washington Post: “The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash. In the memo distributed to federal agencies, Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, states that OMB memorandum M-25-13 ‘is rescinded.’”
- Evaluated Challenging Congressional Authority on Federal Spending
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- Bloomberg: “The document details how the White House’s budget team is considering challenging Congress’ constitutional authority to direct federal spending. The document acknowledges a limitation: the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) of 1974 — which restricts ‘the President’s constitutional authority to decline expenditures, undermining the executive’s ability to ensure fiscal responsibility,’ one slide reads.”
- HuffPost: “Trump is targeting the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a law that greatly restricts the ability of the president to defer or deny spending funds authorized by Congress. The law was passed after President Richard Nixon refused to spend funds appropriated for pollution cleanup and mental health centers, among other things. The Government Accountability Office determined that Trump violated it in 2019 when he withheld funds from Ukraine as part of a blackmail scheme targeting his 2020 election opponent Joe Biden.”
- Fired Over 15 Inspector Generals Without Giving Congress 30-Day Notice
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- The New York Times: “President Trump fired at least 12 inspectors general late on Friday night, three people with knowledge of the matter said, capping a week of dramatic shake-ups of the federal government with a purge of independent watchdog officials created by Congress to root out abuse and illegality within federal agencies. The firings defied a law that requires presidents to give Congress 30 days’ advance notice before removing any inspector general, along with reasons for the firing.”
- Fired More Than A Dozen DOJ Officials Who Worked On Criminal Investigations Into Trump
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- CNN: “More than a dozen officials who worked on the criminal investigations into Donald Trump have been fired, according to sources familiar with the matter. A letter from acting Attorney General James McHenry to the officials said they cannot be ‘trusted’ to ‘faithfully’ implement Trump’s agenda.”
- NBC News: “‘Firing prosecutors because of cases they were assigned to work on is just unacceptable,’ said former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, an NBC News legal contributor. ‘It’s anti-rule of law; it’s anti-democracy.’”
- Caused Frozen Payments to NSF Employees After Executive Orders on Funding Freezes
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- NPR: “The freeze remains despite the White House rescinding its memo calling for a pause in all federal grant spending on Wednesday after a court order challenged it. The reason NSF has continued with a freeze appears to be Trump’s orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and how they conflict with the NSF’s mandate from Congress. ‘All NSF grantees must comply with these executive orders by ceasing all non-compliant grant and award activities,” said an NSF statement. “In particular this may include … grant activity that uses or promotes the use of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility principles and frameworks.’”
- Threatened Senior FBI Officials To Retire Or Be Fired
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- The New York Times: “A handful of senior F.B.I. employees have been told to resign in a matter of days or be fired, as the Trump administration moves to shake up the agency’s upper ranks, according to people familiar with the discussions. The steps came as Kash Patel, the president’s nominee to lead the agency, sought to assure lawmakers during a contentious, hourslong Senate confirmation hearing that he would not begin a campaign of retribution or look backward by pursuing perceived rivals.”
- Unjustly Fired Of Top US Labor Board Officials, Essentially Pausing Labor Board Rulings
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- Bloomberg: “Donald Trump is forcing out top leaders of the US labor board, ushering in a swift reboot of workplace law enforcement while testing the limits of presidential authority. […] Because the US Supreme Court has ruled that the labor board needs a quorum of at least three members to be able to legally issue decisions, Wilcox’s firing leaves it unable to make rulings until a vacancy is filled.”
- Bloomberg: “Unlike the general counsel, federal law states that NLRB members can only be fired for neglect or malfeasance, and so terminating one could spur legal challenges to future agency rulings. […] In an emailed statement, a White House official described those fired as far-left appointees with radical records who don’t belong in a Trump administration.”
- Initiated Review Of Charges Against Trump Allies, Yet Started Investigations Against January 6th Prosecutors:
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- Roll Call: “The Justice Department on Wednesday dropped charges in two criminal cases that President Donald Trump criticized as political, one related to the FBI raid of his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago and one against former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. […] Fortenberry had argued for a delay in the trial, writing in a court filing after Trump’s victory that the case was politicized and that the incoming Trump administration would likely “reexamine” it.”
- The New York Times: “Justice Department lawyers in Washington were meeting on Friday with Manhattan federal prosecutors and defense lawyers representing Mayor Eric Adams of New York City to discuss dropping the corruption case against him, people with knowledge of the matter said. […] Mr. Adams, who traveled to Florida to meet with Mr. Trump near Mar-a-Lago and who attended his inauguration, has aligned himself with the president on some aspects of immigration enforcement, one of the new White House’s highest priorities.”
- ABC: “The acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., has initiated a “review” into the office’s prosecutions of the more than 1500 rioters charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, multiple sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News on Monday. Ed Martin, a promoter of President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign who was himself seen on Capitol grounds during the riot, has ordered prosecutors in the office to turn over all records related to their work on the cases.”
More Key Headlines:
HuffPost: Donald Trump Ignores Federal Laws As He Moves To Reshape Washington
The Washington Post: How Trump Is Stretching Laws To Make The Federal Government More Political
The Associated Press: Trump Makes Moves To Expand His Power, Sparking Chaos And A Possible Constitutional Crisis
UNTIL NEXT WEEK…