Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), 2018: “. . . . . the people don't have a way to fire the bureaucrats. What we mostly do around this body is not pass laws. What we mostly decide to do is to give permission to the secretary or the administrator of bureaucracy X, Y or Z to make law-like regulations. That’s mostly what we do here. We go home and we pretend we make laws. No we don’t. We write giant pieces of legislation, 1200 pages, 1500 pages long, that people haven’t read, filled with all these terms that are undefined, and say to secretary of such and such that he shall promulgate rules that do the rest of our dang jobs. That’s why there are so many fights about the executive branch and the judiciary, because this body rarely finishes its work. And, the House is even worse.”
Assuming this not some kind of sophisticated hoax, at this link, https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-reins-in-independent-agencies-to-restore-a-government-that-answers-to-the-american-people/ , DJT declares fully himself above the law in dealing with independent agencies in the executive branch.
What this means
The executive order (EO) asserts that all executive power is vested in the President, and all executive branch officials and employees are subject to his supervision without any constraint by any court or law that congress passes. The EO falsely claims that the President has the complete authority to interpret laws within the executive branch, even if they contradict what the president says they mean. The EO specifies that the President and the Attorney General, allegedly under the President's supervision and control, will exclusively interpret all laws that impinge on the executive branch in any way. This is a de facto assertion of legal power and authority within the executive branch.Think about that for a moment. Think what it means. When congress passes one of its sloppy, incoherent laws, as it routinely does, the ambiguity inherent in slop and irrationality gives DJT vast power tom interpret most laws in almost any way he wants. But even worse, even if a law is clear and coherent, but it infringes on any executive power, DJT can simply ignore it by saying it is unconstitutional. If the Senate rejects a DJT nominee for some federal position, he can ignore it. He can claim it is an unconstitutional infringement on his power.
This EO will probably be challenged in federal court. I don't know how much or what kinds of damage this will cause before the courts intervene. Public Citizen comments:
“The Federal Election Commission, for example, is independent of presidential control so that it can serve its election integrity mission without partisan favor. For all the FEC’s many faults, it would be far worse under the thumb of Trump and his OMB hatchet man, Russ Vought.
“The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are charged with defending consumer and investor rights and protecting market integrity. Their independence is designed to enable them to perform these duties without undue political pressure from giant corporations, the super rich and the super-connected. Trump’s EO would dissolve that independence and put the agencies under Trump’s thumb, ensuring they turn a blind eye to wrongdoing by favored corporations and leave consumers and investors out to dry.“Not incidentally, both the FTC and SEC have ongoing investigations or enforcement actions against companies owned by Elon Musk. “Americans should understand exactly what this is: A giant gift to the corporate class and a Trumpian power grab.”
Remember that post I posted yesterday? It focused on DJT neutering independent agencies that protect consumers and workers, by limiting the power of dictators, kleptocrats, billionaires and monopolists. Specifically, DJT moved against the FTC (consumers, dictators, kleptocrats, billionaires and monopolists), the NLRB (dictators, workers, billionaires) and the CPSC (consumers, dictators, billionaires). This significantly expands on the scope of America's kleptocratic dictatorship to other independent agencies like the SEC and Federal Elections commission. Congress made them independent to try to keep them from being corrupted by a corrupt president or powerful corporations.
DJT and MAGA elites now undeniably assert full blown dictatorship over a major, critically important portion of the federal government. They massively lie about it, calling it "restoring accountability." That is no different than Republican state legislatures passing voter suppression and election subversion laws, calling them "election integrity" laws.
Qs: Is this just a temporary tempest in a teapot designed to create chaos and distraction, i.e., is it just a smoke screen to temporarily allow time for DJT and elite MAGA thugs to sabotage, break, pillage and loot the federal government? Or are DJT and MAGA elites making a dead serious run at full blown kleptocratic dictatorship, intending to expand unchecked executive power beyond independent agencies or even the executive branch itself?
He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2025
