Musk now controls all US payments 🚨 | USDA freezes payments to farmers

[Duke Mu]

Hate to be a Debbie downer but we all know if this makes it to the SC it’s toast. They (Maga court members) have no conscience, just whores bought and paid for by Trump.

Yep. Trump has no intention of obeying lower court orders.

Still, we the sane people left have to Flood the Zone with lawsuits to gum up the Trump insanity.

 

[superrific]

Hate to be a Debbie downer but we all know if this makes it to the SC it’s toast. They (Maga court members) have no conscience, just whores bought and paid for by Trump.

The future is not yet written. None of them are bought and paid for by Trump. They have come to their craziness all by themselves. But there's occasional signs of intelligence beneath the bluster.

I am curious how they will respond to Trump after they gave him immunity. Roberts and the conservatives seemed to buy the "this is all lawfare" bullshit, which is why they stated such concern about retribution AGAINST Trump rather than by him. Now they have been humiliated. I wonder how they will respond.

 

[CFordUNC]

Elon Musk is a danger to Trumpism

unherd.com

Elon Musk is a danger to Trumpism- Naked Oligarchy Betrays the MAGA Base​

Think this is a really interesting article. I don't agree with all of it but find it fascinating because the author himself is pro-Trump and the website for which he writes, The UnHerd, is mostly conservative/Trump-friendly.

 

[Paine]

Elon Musk is a danger to Trumpism

unherd.com

Elon Musk is a danger to Trumpism- Naked Oligarchy Betrays the MAGA Base​

Think this is a really interesting article. I don't agree with all of it but find it fascinating because the author himself is pro-Trump and the website for which he writes, The UnHerd, is mostly conservative/Trump-friendly.

Interesting indeed. Trump is actively betraying millions of working-class Americans who voted for him.

“It shouldn’t require the insights of Aristotle or Weber to know that the state isn’t a tech startup. The danger in unleashing Musk and his team of Groyper whizz kids is that, in slashing and burning, they might bring about not just efficiency and an end to DEI nonsense, but careless enshittification…

Is it not telling that, say, Jeff Bezos — who, three years ago, marched at the forefront of corporate America’s Black Lives Matter column — has now joined the anti-woke ranks? Is it not obvious why the Amazon boss, notwithstanding his ownership of an anti-Trump #Resistance newspaper, The Washington Post, has teamed up with Musk in challenging the existence of America’s basic labour law? Does anyone believe that Zuckerberg has undergone a profound change of heart about online censorship, now that a new administration is prepared to remove barriers against his power in the name of owning the woke?”

 

[superrific]

Interesting indeed. Trump is actively betraying millions of working-class Americans who voted for him.

No he's not. He's doing what they care about. This is a good test case of the "racism versus economic concerns" debate. Right now, racism is winning by a mile, but it's early. The economic destruction isn't yet manifest. But Trump's approval ratings among his base remain sky high.

 

[Paine]

No he's not. He's doing what they care about. This is a good test case of the "racism versus economic concerns" debate. Right now, racism is winning by a mile, but it's early. The economic destruction isn't yet manifest. But Trump's approval ratings among his base remain sky high.

You’re confusing my argument on this as always. There are millions of working-class Americans who voted for Trump and aren’t part of his base.

 

[nycfan]

Elon Musk is a danger to Trumpism

unherd.com

Elon Musk is a danger to Trumpism- Naked Oligarchy Betrays the MAGA Base​

Think this is a really interesting article. I don't agree with all of it but find it fascinating because the author himself is pro-Trump and the website for which he writes, The UnHerd, is mostly conservative/Trump-friendly.

Thanks for the link. He’s not wrong about the many conflicts between MAGA populism and the plutocratic aims of the tech bros holding sway over Trump.

Trump isn’t running for reelection again and he never really liked his MAGA base, so he has no particular reason to be loyal to them now that he doesn’t need them. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the post-coital glow of the election win and seeing libs conquered to sour for MAGA working class. It feels like they could lose all their social safety net and be hauled off to debtors prison while Trump and Musk make toothpicks out of the remains of their homes and and still defend Trump to the last.

 

[CFordUNC]

Thanks for the link. He’s not wrong about the many conflicts between MAGA populism and the plutocratic aims of the tech bros holding sway over Trump.

Trump isn’t running for reelection again and he never really liked his MAGA base, so he has no particular reason to be loyal to them now that he doesn’t need them. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the post-coital glow of the election win and seeing libs conquered to sour for MAGA working class. It feels like they could lose all their social safety net and be hauled off to debtors prison while Trump and Musk make toothpicks out of the remains of their homes and and still defend Trump to the last.

Lots of regular, everyday Trump supporting folks are about to find out the hard way that the populism was all a lie for a cash-grab at their expense.

 

[superrific]

You’re confusing my argument on this as always. There are millions of working-class Americans who voted for Trump and aren’t part of his base.

OK, millions is technically accurate because there are so many people in the country. But according to 538, his popularity is as high as ever. Like I said, it's early and maybe people aren't paying attention. I said, "base" because I haven't looked at the polls because I don't really care.

Like I said, it's a test case. Maybe we'll get some actual empirical data to flesh out our theories. I certainly hope you're right and his popularity will crater. I think it will get so bad that it will start to peel off even some of his most ardent supporters. But it's unknowable.

I guess I can't help but see this pattern: Trump's campaign was unadulterated racism and he spent way, way more time on the racism than on economic issues; Trump gets into office and he continues the unadulterated racism and does nothing but culture wars and posturing on tariffs; his supporters still love him. There's a coherent story there.

Also relevant: our board MAGAs are thrilled with his DEI stuff and they are conspicuously quiet on the other stuff. But they give no indication of having any second thoughts.

 

[nycfan]

“… U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the administration to “immediately restore frozen funding” while his order remains in effect, including to the National Institutes of Health and to fulfill the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act.

“The broad categorical and sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the Court found, likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country,” McConnell ruled. “These pauses in funding violate the plain text of the [order].”

… The Trump administration responded that it is attempting to root out fraud in the programs, but the judge said that reasoning is not sufficient to justify defying the order.

“The freezes in effect now were a result of the broad categorical order, not a specific finding of possible fraud,” he said.

McConnell hinted at the possibility of contempt for officials who he deems as continuing to defy his order, citing a 1975 court ruling that noted “Persons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt even if the order is ultimately ruled incorrect.””

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/10/spending-freeze-donald-trump-015514

——
Inching toward a genuine Constitutional Crisis if Team Trump refuses to comply — which is not so outlandish considering that the judge says they are currently not fully complying …

 

[Paine]

OK, millions is technically accurate because there are so many people in the country. But according to 538, his popularity is as high as ever. Like I said, it's early and maybe people aren't paying attention. I said, "base" because I haven't looked at the polls because I don't really care.

Like I said, it's a test case. Maybe we'll get some actual empirical data to flesh out our theories. I certainly hope you're right and his popularity will crater. I think it will get so bad that it will start to peel off even some of his most ardent supporters. But it's unknowable.

I guess I can't help but see this pattern: Trump's campaign was unadulterated racism and he spent way, way more time on the racism than on economic issues; Trump gets into office and he continues the unadulterated racism and does nothing but culture wars and posturing on tariffs; his supporters still love him. There's a coherent story there.

Also relevant: our board MAGAs are thrilled with his DEI stuff and they are conspicuously quiet on the other stuff. But they give no indication of having any second thoughts.

I’ve never disagreed with you about the depravity of “MAGA.” I’m more aware than most of the history of the right-wing in this country. Part of the way they take power is by repackaging their beliefs as causes that people outside their base can rally behind come general election time.

 

[Mulberry Heel]

The dynamic is quite different. In 2017, Trump lost the popular vote by quite a lot and there was a sense of unfairness in the Electoral College outcome (justified or not). Also, the losing candidate had a dedicated base of supporters who had been with her for years and the MeToo movement was in swing, so people were already activated.

In 2024, Biden policies had plenty of Dem support but little independent support and either way almost no one on his own side really had any enthusiasm for Biden. then the circumstances of Harris getting the nomination was unfortunate forced by the Biden breaking his implied promise to be a one term bridge to the future and running again in the first place. The Democratic coalition fractured.

Today, Trump won the EC and the popular vote. A lot of Dems stayed home and a lot more had an initial FAFO reaction that assumed Trump 2.0 would be the same incompetent show as 1.0, mostly sound and fury signifying very little substantive change beyond normal party change in the presidency.

But whoops, the Trump 2.0 blitzkrig has been entirely different — much more what the “alarmists” were predicting based on public info like what Trump said, who he surrounded himself with and Project 2025.

It takes time for a splintered coalition to heal, if it ever does. After the 2008 election it looked like Republicans would be lost in the wilderness for decades and the GOP minority in Congress had no clue how to respond to Obama’s popularity and Dem coErrol of Congress. The Tea Party uprising was spawned in reaction to Obamacare and other issues and eventually grew into the MAGA that ate the GOP. But in the meantime, the GOP remade itself around opposition to key Obama policies and rage o we the bailout of Big Banks.

Which is all to say that the Dems look rudderless now because they have a lot of different coalitions arguing about which other coalition member is to blame for the Trump win. As enough issues arise to force those coalitions back into their always fragile armistice to oppose Trump, Musk and MAGA, eventually a coordinated response will emerge. The issue is not whether but how long will it take? Months? years? The Reagan Revolution really emerged in late 1983 through mid 1987. Let’s hope this is a much shorter turnaround period.

And yes, there is always the risk that the opposition collapses and all we have least is some sort of underground resistance to the collapse of democratic governance. I get that but also thing that great unraveling would take even more stress than the government is under now.

The only problem with all of this is that in previous eras the splintered, defeated party was given a chance to rebuild itself as we were still operating under democratic and traditional norms, such as the Republicans after Obama's big win in 2008. This time seems very different from any previous era, given who is now in charge. I simply have no faith that Republicans will be willing to voluntarily cede control of the House or Senate in 2026 or the presidency in 2028 if they were to lose, or that they will allow any elections in which Democrats might threaten their control of government. I also still get the sense that many Democrats have either given up or have just withdrawn from politics, at least for a good while. I guess we'll have to see.

 

[nycfan]

Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds​

The White House had repeatedly said the funding freeze would not affect benefits that go directly to individuals.

“Farmers report missing millions of dollars of funding they were promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered the USDA to freeze funds for several programs designated by President Joe Biden’s signature clean-energy and health-care law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The freeze paused some funding for the department’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helps farmers address natural resource concerns, and the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides financial assistance for farmers to improve their infrastructure.

Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops and install renewable energy systems with guarantees that the federal government would issue grants and loan guarantees to cover at least part of their costs.

Now, with that money frozen, they’re on the hook.

… The USDA has also halted funding for other programs, including scientific research grants in agriculture and producing climate-smart crops, according to a letter sent to the agency Thursday from House Democrats on the Agriculture and Appropriations committees.

“Pulling the rug out from these recipients runs counter to the mission of the USDA and will quickly and significantly cripple economic development in rural America,” the letter says….”

 

[nycfan]

Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds​

The White House had repeatedly said the funding freeze would not affect benefits that go directly to individuals.

“Farmers report missing millions of dollars of funding they were promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered the USDA to freeze funds for several programs designated by President Joe Biden’s signature clean-energy and health-care law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The freeze paused some funding for the department’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helps farmers address natural resource concerns, and the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides financial assistance for farmers to improve their infrastructure.

Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops and install renewable energy systems with guarantees that the federal government would issue grants and loan guarantees to cover at least part of their costs.

Now, with that money frozen, they’re on the hook.

… The USDA has also halted funding for other programs, including scientific research grants in agriculture and producing climate-smart crops, according to a letter sent to the agency Thursday from House Democrats on the Agriculture and Appropriations committees.

“Pulling the rug out from these recipients runs counter to the mission of the USDA and will quickly and significantly cripple economic development in rural America,” the letter says….”

Separately, as previously noted, USAID shut down is also hurting US farmers who sell crops to the program for international relief projects.

 

[nycfan]

Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds​

The White House had repeatedly said the funding freeze would not affect benefits that go directly to individuals.

“Farmers report missing millions of dollars of funding they were promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered the USDA to freeze funds for several programs designated by President Joe Biden’s signature clean-energy and health-care law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The freeze paused some funding for the department’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helps farmers address natural resource concerns, and the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides financial assistance for farmers to improve their infrastructure.

Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops and install renewable energy systems with guarantees that the federal government would issue grants and loan guarantees to cover at least part of their costs.

Now, with that money frozen, they’re on the hook.

… The USDA has also halted funding for other programs, including scientific research grants in agriculture and producing climate-smart crops, according to a letter sent to the agency Thursday from House Democrats on the Agriculture and Appropriations committees.

“Pulling the rug out from these recipients runs counter to the mission of the USDA and will quickly and significantly cripple economic development in rural America,” the letter says….”