Trump and Musk Moving to Strangle These Three Pieces of Government

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Donald Trump ran his presidential campaign and promised to abolish entire federal agencies and departments, but it’s not so easy for a president to simply end an organization established and funded each year by Congress, which is believed to be the president’s equal.

So the president and his allies, led by Elon Musk, have found another way to achieve many of the same goals: set agencies that are long targeted by Republicans in coma by lying down their workforce, stopping their operations and launching a review of their activity. So maybe Congress beg to kill them direct.

The List of State Agencies on Life Support or Targeted to Direct Attack After Two Weeks of Trump 2.0 Looks like this:

► The The consumer’s financial protection agency

CFPB was established by Congress after the Great Recession to protect consumers from financial abuse, and the agency has long drawn the honor of Republicans. All its work has been stopped and the director, Rohit Chopra, was fired this past weekend before the end of his five -year period.

The acting leader of the agency, State Caquales Secretary Scott Bessent, ordered a review of the agency policy to guarantee “consistency” with the new administration.

► US Agency for International Development

Stood by John F. Kennedy and Congress to help developing countries and defend US interests in 1961, USAID -by 2025, has been locked out of the headquarters and the site has been closed. Agency’s staff around the world will be placed on administrative leave and ordered to return to the United States, according to a directive issued on Tuesday night.

A freezing of most foreign help, while Trump’s administration reviews that the agency has caused a worldwide ring effect among non-profit and aid organizations and triggered fears that the United States will withdraw completely from its leadership position in international development. Musk called the agency “Evil,” and Trump said it is driven by “Radical Left.”

The acting leader of USAID, State Secretary Marco Rubio, told legislators in a letter that he would “begin the process of participating in a review and potential reorganization of USAID’s activities to maximize efficiency and adapt operations with national interest.”

Musk used more colorful language in a post on social media that he spent the weekend “feeding USAID in Woodchipper”, a seemingly reference to freezing foreign aid.

► The Department of Education

In the existence since the 1800s, but raised by Congress as its own agency in 1979, the Department of Education is Trump’s next goal. CNN reported that an executive order is being prepared ordering the incoming secretary, Linda McMahon, who has not yet received a Senate Confirmation voting to begin to “reduce” the department through executive actions.

“I said to Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you’re doing a good job of putting yourself out of a job.’ I want her to get out of a job – education department, ”Trump told journalists on Tuesday.

A narrowly divided congress probably did not consent to abolishing the department. But McMahon, who led the little business administration in Trump’s first period and made her wealth as the founder of WWE, may well succeed in “diminishing” her functions – and her own job.

CNN reported on Tuesday that Trump’s administration could plan to dismiss a large number of federal workers from all over the federal government, which does not take a legally questionable buyout offer before Thursday, part of a potential upcoming “reduction in power.” Fear of these potential layoffs along with the threat of moving agencies to different places and a requirement to work in the office five days a week, regardless of collective negotiation agreements, is also used by the administration to push federal workers to take buyout offers.

Meanwhile, workers in certain roles, especially focused on diversity initiatives, have been placed on administrative leave or sideline.

These major redundancies would not necessarily be a precursor to end an agency’s work. There will still be a need for a patent and trademark office, a ward for transport and a homeland security department among many others. Firing and assignments probably seem to transform the Ministry of Justice and the FBI, but these agencies will continue to exist.

A more existential struggle for foreign aid, consumer protection and education

Workers at USAID, who tried to block Musk’s access to a payment system, were placed on administrative leave and others have withdrawn. Musk has particularly complained about USAID financing diversity initiatives abroad.

But after a scream from the international development society, the freezing of foreign funds was changed to allow for exceptions to money that help save lives, such as for the wildly successful AIDS program that distributes medicine in Africa. But benefactors of AID have reported problems getting exceptions.

Rubio, who appeared for journalists in Costa Rica, said that if an agency cannot find out the exceptions, he questions their competence and wonder if they “sabotage it in order to make a political point.”

There seems to be a recognition that Trump does not, with his Sharpie welding, just end a government agency.

But that does not mean that it cannot be twisted and reorganized in a shadow of its former self. Elements of USAid’s mission could be swallowed by his state of state, although the agency was specifically established to be separated from the US diplomatic mission.

“USAD can move, reorganize and integrate certain missions, agencies and offices in the State State Ministry, and the rest of the agency may be abolished in accordance with current law,” Rubio wrote in his letter to legislators.

The executive order prepared to reduce the Ministry of Education would also push that Congress adopts legislation that ends the department, which mainly distributes federal funds to states.

Trump told journalists on Tuesday that he wants states to have more power over their education systems because, in his opinion, US schools fail.

“We spend more per. Pupil than any other country in the world, and we are ranked at the bottom of the list, “Trump said, adding that he will” let the states run schools. ”

Ironically, Trump Signed an executive order In January, it would take some power over education away from states and exercise more control over what schools are teaching, threatening federal means to schools that learn what he considers “critical race theory” or other race or sexuality -based topics.

In May Supreme Court guided that CFPB could continue to exist, join a unique financing structure that finances the organization through earnings in the Federal Reserve system and allows many years of rules intended to protect consumers. CNN’s report notes that CFPB was funded through the Federal Reserve “to protect the agency’s independence from the incident from whatever the party’s controllers Congress.”

But Trump’s relocation to completely stop the enforcement of CFPB rules is at risk of its efforts to hood coupling fees and credit card late fees, remove medical debt from credit reports and more.

Conservative Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito disagreed with the Court’s decision on CFPB’s financing mechanism and argued for the provision of the Constitution should require Congress to fund agencies.

Alito’s view will now be tested when litigation that is expected to challenge Trump’s movements get through the justice system. Several lawsuits have already been filed that are already opposed to Trump’s early traits, and more will follow these efforts to reduce agencies.