Trump / Musk (other than DOGE) Omnibus Thread

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whatntarnation said:
The doge 'meeting with the bobs' team is firing people at the FDIC.

The FDIC isn't funded by taxpayers.
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The executive branch's powers to fire people at independent agencies doesn't depend on taxpayer funding. Either the executive is unitary or it's not. Of course, there's nothing in the constitution to support that "unitary executive" nonsense, but the Supreme Court doesn't see it that way. Still, it's not clear if the Supreme Court is going to overturn Humphrey's Executor; if not, then Trump will have to abide by limits (assuming he follows court orders).

The conservative justices are not known for their introspection, humility or willingness to admit mistakes, but I can't help but think that there are moments when Roberts reads about DOGE and the EO ending birthright citizenship and thinks, "what have I done?" And maybe he'll have a few of those moments when it really matters.

I sometimes think about the citizenship question case, Dept. of Commerce v. New York. That's the one where Roberts drafted an opinion that was almost certainly going to be a majority opinion upholding the government's attempt to add a citizenship question to the census. Indeed, the conservative justices all joined Parts III and IV -- i.e. laying out the case that the census bureau does have the freedom to do it. And then came Part V:

Altogether, the evidence tells a story that does not match the explanation the Secretary gave for his decision. In the Secretary’s telling, Commerce was simply acting on a routine data request from another agency. Yet the materials before us indicate that Commerce went to great lengths to elicit the request from DOJ (or any other willing agency). And unlike a typical case in which an agency may have both stated and unstated reasons for a decision, here the VRA enforcement rationale—the sole stated reason—seems to have been contrived

We are presented, in other words, with an explanation for agency action that is incongruent with what the record reveals about the agency’s priorities and decisionmaking process. It is rare to review a record as extensive as the one before us when evaluating informal agency action—and it should be. But having done so for the sufficient reasons we have explained, we cannot ignore the disconnect between the decision made and the explanation given. Our review is deferential, but we are “not required to exhibit a naiveté from which ordinary citizens are free.”

I think this opinion was the result of one of those rare moments of introspection. At a late stage in the case, it was revealed that one of the DOJ officials involved in the citizenship question had perjured himself in court (of course, he's now a partner at Jones Day because of course), and Roberts opened his eyes. Note the phrase naivete. It would apply well to the court's sanewashing of Trump's Muslim ban, and of course to the immunity case.

One wonders if the skeptical Roberts, who at the very end could not rubber stamp the chicanery of Wilbur Ross' Commerce Department, still exists.
 
Has anyone actually ever seen L. Paul Bremer and Elon Musk in the same room? Based on what Bremer did to the Iraqi government in 2004 and what Musk is doing to our government today, I worry that they are the same person.
 

What 130-day cap? Musk is ‘here to stay’ in the Trump admin, adviser says​

Questions have swirled around how long Musk can and will serve in DOGE, but those close to Trump say there’s no end in sight.


“… Musk’s “special government employee” designation as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency means he isn’t subject to the same financial disclosures as full-time government employees. But it also comes with a work limit: 130 days out of a 365-day year.

Because of that time limit, questions have swirled around how long Musk can and will serve at DOGE, which has dramatically reshaped the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and demanding others justify the job performance via email.

But it’s become increasingly clear inside the White House that Musk will blow past the 130-day limit and stay around as long as President Donald Trump lets him.

“There are likely people who are counting the days until 130 days are up and will push against keeping him around, but I just think that’s a losing battle,” said an outside political adviser close to the president, granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics.

Musk, the person said, is “here to stay.” …”
 

Email shows that Musk ally is moving to close office behind free tax filing program at IRS​

Program is apparently being closed according to email from former Tesla engineer installed in GSA

www.theguardian.com

Email shows that Musk ally is moving to close office behind free tax filing program at IRS

Program is apparently being closed according to email from former Tesla engineer installed in GSA
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

“An Elon Musk ally installed in the US government said in a late night email going into Saturday that the office behind a popular free online tax filing option would be shuttered – and its employees would be let go.

The 18F office within the General Services Administration (GSA) created the IRS Direct File program that allows for free online tax filings. It has been a frequent target of Musk, and one of the billionaire businessman’s close associates who holds a key position in the GSA informed staffers that the agency would close 18F in an email to staffers that arrived around 1am on Saturday morning.

…
“The 18F Office has been identified as part of this phase of the GSA’s Reduction in Force (RIF) as non-critical,” the email states. “This decision was made with explicit direction from the top levels of leadership within both the Administration and GSA. There are no other TTS programs impacted at this time, however we anticipate more change in the future.”

The email came from Thomas Shedd, a 28-year-old former Tesla software engineer who took over in late January as head of the GSA’s Technology Transformation Services. It’s not immediately clear what may happen to 18F programs such as the direct filing system or the total number of workers that the GSA is firing from the office, which has about 90 employees.

Musk claimed in early February that he had “deleted” 18F while responding on X to a rightwing influencer who accused the agency of being “far left”. Musk didn’t elaborate on his statement, which caused confusion as the 18F website and services like its direct file program remained online.

In addition to working on the free tax return program, the 18F office worked across government agencies to update technology and launch new software products. It worked on more than 31 projects across different government agencies in 2024, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa). It has been part of the GSA since 2014.

Shortly after taking over TTS, Shedd told staffersthat he planned to run the agency like a tech startup and that he wanted to implement artificial intelligence programs throughout the government. …”
 
nycfan said:

Email shows that Musk ally is moving to close office behind free tax filing program at IRS​

Program is apparently being closed according to email from former Tesla engineer installed in GSA

www.theguardian.com

Email shows that Musk ally is moving to close office behind free tax filing program at IRS

Program is apparently being closed according to email from former Tesla engineer installed in GSA
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

“An Elon Musk ally installed in the US government said in a late night email going into Saturday that the office behind a popular free online tax filing option would be shuttered – and its employees would be let go.

The 18F office within the General Services Administration (GSA) created the IRS Direct File program that allows for free online tax filings. It has been a frequent target of Musk, and one of the billionaire businessman’s close associates who holds a key position in the GSA informed staffers that the agency would close 18F in an email to staffers that arrived around 1am on Saturday morning.

…
“The 18F Office has been identified as part of this phase of the GSA’s Reduction in Force (RIF) as non-critical,” the email states. “This decision was made with explicit direction from the top levels of leadership within both the Administration and GSA. There are no other TTS programs impacted at this time, however we anticipate more change in the future.”

The email came from Thomas Shedd, a 28-year-old former Tesla software engineer who took over in late January as head of the GSA’s Technology Transformation Services. It’s not immediately clear what may happen to 18F programs such as the direct filing system or the total number of workers that the GSA is firing from the office, which has about 90 employees.

Musk claimed in early February that he had “deleted” 18F while responding on X to a rightwing influencer who accused the agency of being “far left”. Musk didn’t elaborate on his statement, which caused confusion as the 18F website and services like its direct file program remained online.

In addition to working on the free tax return program, the 18F office worked across government agencies to update technology and launch new software products. It worked on more than 31 projects across different government agencies in 2024, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa). It has been part of the GSA since 2014.

Shortly after taking over TTS, Shedd told staffersthat he planned to run the agency like a tech startup and that he wanted to implement artificial intelligence programs throughout the government. …”
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Wheels81 said:
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I don't get that. Of course it's okay to fire veterans. Some of them aren't going to be good workers.

I do think it's good to give them a leg up on the federal government hiring process, but if they're not performing or they are in a program that is getting cut, they're on the block like everybody else.
 
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