He says he's witnessing "something big"
Da has followed the #Trump admin's firing of many US #FederalWorkers & its dismantling of #FederalAgencies. As a past visitor to Washington, he knows people who have been fired.
"Having said that," he added, "I don't want to be too critical to the Trump administration just from this personal level. As a scholar, I try to be neutral. I think there is something big happening in the #US. It could be bad. It could be good."
Whoa, yesterday, #Trump illegally stripped #CollectiveBargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of #FederalWorkers in 18 different departments across multiple #FederalAgencies.
The admin stated that “Certain Federal unions have declared *#war* on President Trump’s agenda.”
Is he going to use #wartime powers against #union members now?
#law #LaborLaw #labor #Musk #DOGE #authoritarianism #autocracy #tyranny #propaganda #Trumpaganda #gaslighting #NaziState #MafiaState
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-exempts-agencies-with-national-security-missions-from-federal-collective-bargaining-requirements/
…As recently as Thurs, WH press sec Karoline Leavitt had assured reporters that, "when it comes to #StudentLoans & #PellGrants, those will still be run out of the Dept of #Education."
After announcing these potential changes to the federal student loan portfolio, #Trump then said, "Bobby Kennedy, the Health &Human Services [secretary], will be handling special needs," referring to #RFKJr. [
]
Multiple sources at #FSA who could not speak publicly for fear of #retribution said they were blindsided by the news.
Logistical challenges aside, the role of the office of Federal #Student #Aid as the administrator of the #StudentLoan portfolio is protected by #law. It's not clear how these responsibilities could be #legally moved w/o a vote of #Congress. [not that #Trump cares]
Student loans, #SpecialEducation to move out of #Education Dept
#Trump continued his push to unwind the US Dept of Education, announcing that the management of the entire federal #StudentLoan portfolio & of the dept's "special needs" programs would be moved to other #FederalAgencies immediately.
#USpol #corruption #law #regulation #PublicIntegrity #kleptocracy
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/21/nx-s1-5336330/trump-education-department-student-loans-special-education-fsa
More on #IMLS shutdown:
On March 14, 2025,… #Trump …issued an #EO that called for the dismantling of 7 #FederalAgencies…. They ranged from the #USAGM, which oversees #VOA, to the #MBDA.
The Institute of #Museum & #Library Services was also on the list. #Congress created the IMLS in 1996 through the Museum & Library Services Act. The #law merged the Inst of Museum Services, which was established in 1976, w/the Library Prgms Office of the Dept of #Education.
#USpol
https://theconversation.com/trump-administration-seeks-to-starve-libraries-and-museums-of-funding-by-shuttering-this-little-known-agency-252455
Joseph Rillotta, a senior #IRS lawyer, wrote that “no one” at the IRS had taken into account the performance of the probationary workers set to be fired. Rillotta urged that the language be struck from the draft termination letter.
If the falsehood wasn’t removed, Rillotta said he would file a report w/the #InspectorGeneral for the IRS.
Emails Reveal Top #IRS Lawyer Warned #Trump Firings Were a #Fraud on the Courts
The Trump admin cited “performance” failures to justify its #MassFiring of IRS workers. But this claim was “false,” a senior agency attorney warned officials, because the admin had not conducted any such performance assessment.
#FactCheck #TrumpLies #law #DOGE #Musk #TrumpPurge #Congress #PowerOfThePurse #FederalAgencies #SeparationOfPowers #judiciary #ConstitutionalCrisis #authoritarianism
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-irs-firings-doge-fraud-law-job-performance
#SCOTUS ruled in 1935 to uphold a #law that allows #FTC commissioners to be fired ONLY for good #cause, such as neglecting their duties. The ruling shields a number of #independent, bipartisan multi-member agencies from direct control by the #WhiteHouse.
Exclusive: #Trump fires both #Democratic commissioners at #FTC
Trump fired the 2 Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tues, 2 sources familiar with the situation said, in another major test of the #independence of #regulatory agencies.
#law #labor #FederalAgencies #FederalWorkers #Congress #TrumpPurge
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-fires-both-democratic-commissioners-ftc-sources-say-2025-03-18/
If the #DOJ wins, as many experts predict it will, the entire executive branch would come under #Trump’s direct control, allowing him even greater power over federal policy, & leaving virtually no barriers to his #MassFirings of civil servants in favor of political stooges.
…The WH is the latest govt property on which #Starlink now operates.
In recent weeks, Starlink was also set up at the #GSA, which has served as a hub for #Musk’s government-shrinking efforts…
While several #FederalAgencies contract w/Starlink, the satellite service is typically used to provide internet access in emergency situations & to remote locations — not at federal buildings in DC, which already have ample internet options.
The flights suggest the #Trump admin may be growing more brazen in its defiance of judicial restraint. The #US #Constitution established the #judiciary as a co-#equal & #independent branch of government.
Trump has sought to *push* [illegally expand] the boundaries of #ExecutivePower since taking office in Jan, cutting spending authorized by #Congress, dismantling #FederalAgencies & firing tens of thousands of #FederalWorkers.
