Below is a slightly modified version of my column in USA Today on the apoplectic response of Washington to the efforts of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to reduce the size of government. Democrats have declared the effort to be pure “evil” and responded with rage rhetoric and profanity in public demonstrations. In a town with only one industry, reducing government is a sacrilegious act. It is one thing to run on reducing government and quite another thing to actually mean it. However, the deferred buyout shows how both members and unions are working against not only constitutional powers, but the desire of the employees themselves.
Here is the column:
Thomas Paine once remarked, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” With the approaching 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, much has clearly changed.
President Donald Trump’s move to reduce government is now portrayed as evil in its own right. Elon Musk’s move to draw down various agencies was presented as a virtual return to the state of nature.
Democratic members staged protests in front of various agencies to declare “war” and to accuse Trump of “destroying the government” by shrinking it. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D., Md.) declared “Every time you hear DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, you just remember it is the department of government evil.”
Americans say Trump is keeping his promises
The coordinated efforts of Democratic leaders and the mainstream media have once again not resonated with the public. Trump, according to polls, is now at higher popularity levels than during his first term. And a strong majority of Americans say Trump is keeping his promises, including in his efforts to reduce government spending and waste.
Those efforts include a generous buyout offer for federal employees. The Trump administration offered federal workers the chance to stay home for months while receiving full pay if they would agree to resign from government employment.
It was an extremely clever move. The best way to shrink the government is to get people to leave voluntarily. But Trump and Musk also have warned that layoffs will follow if not enough federal workers accepted the buyout.
It is a type of self-deportation from government service. And it worked, with about 75,000 federal workers accepting Trump’s offer before the deal ended Wednesday.
It worked so well, in fact, that Democrats rushed to stop the voluntary exodus by falsely suggesting that it was a scam. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., warned employees that Trump would “stiff you,” even though the offer comes with the authority of the federal government.
His colleague, Mark Warner (D, Va.) added ominously for workers to “Think twice. Has this individual in his business world ever fulfilled his contracts or obligations to any workers in the past?”
At the same time, unions (looking at a major reduction of force) have filed with Democratic groups to stop these employees from taking the offer. They found a favorable court with U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole who enjoined the program. However, after citywide celebrations over the injunction, the court then lifted the injunction on the buyout program, agreeing to allow the buyouts to go forward.
Unions representing federal workers and liberal legal organizations are likely to now appeal O’Toole’s decision. The unions, which are facing a major reduction in dues-paying members, have a disturbing conflict of interest in trying to deny federal workers the benefits of an offer they chose to accept.
The legal challenges to the buyout have relied on a plethora of arguments asserting that a president cannot allow employees to stay home and receive pay pending their departure from federal employment. Those arguments cited the Antideficiency Act, which bars agencies from spending beyond the money appropriated by Congress.
President has the authority to manage the executive branch
The counterargument is that money used for the buyouts was allocated to pay employees whose service normally continues year after year. Under Article II of the Constitution, the president is given ample discretion in running the executive branch, including the work status of federal employees.
Congress clearly has a role in controlling use of the federal purse. For example, Congress can determine whether to allocate money to build certain Navy vessels. However, once the ships are built, it is the president who decides where to send them and who will serve on the crew. The commander in chief also can expand or shrink the size of the crew.
Trump was well within his authority in offering to change employees’ duties while they look for new positions, and the employees had every right to agree to eight months of paid leave in exchange for their resignation from government service.
The opposition from Democrats and labor unions is the ultimate form of paternalism. In the name of protecting employees, opponents fought to prevent workers from accepting offers they believe are best for themselves and their families.
Federal employees are entitled to protections in their employment. But they’re not entitled to permanent employment. Congress is entitled to appropriate money for specific purposes. But it is not entitled to manage the executive branch.
Trump is very willing to fight on this hill. He holds a strong constitutional position and an even stronger political position.
For those who proclaimed themselves as defenders of democracy throughout last year’s election cycle, this is what democracy looks like. Voters made clear that they want changes in the size and the focus of government.
Those voters are unlikely to be convinced by the warning of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that Musk is “taking away everything we have.”
That is precisely what Americans asked for in reelecting Donald Trump.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
#1. Crying wolf…
in other news…
It is Kubler-Ross! Not Kubla Khan!
In a posthumously published book co-authored with David Kessler, Kübler-Ross expanded the model to address a wide range of personal losses, recognizing that it might be more about change than solely about grief. This broader framework, more commonly known as the Kübler-Ross Change Curve,[28] encompasses various forms of loss, including the death of a loved one, job or income loss, major rejection, relationship breakups or divorce, drug addiction, the onset of illness or infertility, and even minor setbacks like losing insurance coverage..[16] Kessler has also proposed “Meaning” as a sixth stage of grief.[29] Other authors have also explored and expanded upon stage theories, such as Claire Bidwell Smith in her book Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief, which addresses additional aspects of emotional response and adjustment beyond Kübler-Ross’s original framework.[30]
According to the model of the five stages of grief, or the Kübler-Ross model, those experiencing sudden grief following an abrupt realization (shock) go through five emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
“Kübler-Ross”
My dog grieves over change (at least those changes that he doesn’t initiate) and he is significantly more intelligent than the average Democrat.
Squeaky Fromm- Nice discussion about Kubler-Ross. A little known aspect of this is the work family, especially prior to Covid when everyone came into work. Most working people spend far more time with their co-workers than their families on hours per day. The entire change cycle affects them quite severely and the surviving coworkers exhibit all the same stages of loss as family.
We noted this when an especially loved female physician , who was hired to replace a senior physician on leave for illness, died. She became ill within 2 years of her hiring and died within 6 months of a particularly aggressive cancer at the age of 57. Her husband, a good friend of mine, of course exhibited all the stages of grief and loss but the female staff of this woman exhibited quite severe loss and grief and this loss seemed to then encompass the entire group.of physicians and staff. That physicians loss was devastating and the group took months to recover.
I had not experienced such grief before in our group and took the time to research again Kubler-Ross and the work family.
I think maybe there is a stage of grief where you become numb, and stay numb. You don’t really move on, and you live in a place where the tiniest thing can send you back into a hole, perhaps a song, or a memory. You can only get out of the hole when you can become numb again. I am not sure that numb is the right word, and maybe the right word is compartmentalized, where the grief and your current life exist side by side, in separate little boxes.
#74. Don’t forget begging. Begging is part of negotiations when the devil sideswipes you with a trade your soul thing. Grief is dangerous.
Poor Gigi … guess having Biden as head of the Executive was her idea of a proactive president! Whether or not you like Donald Trump, at least he is trying to do something to stop this country from spinning into financial oblivion. Three weeks into his term and there is no peace from the left. They have become a party of screamers. Just one Dem who would come out and work with Trump would be appreciated because it would show that the Dem Party isn’t spiraling out of control. If they don’t find a leader to work with Trump and his plans for streamlining the government they will become nothing but a sad footnote to progress.
I listened to the Confirmation hearings and was so disheartened by the low level of thinking from the Dems — all about ‘me’ said each Senator as he/she pontificated and offered little to advance the questioning to get some facts. What do the Dems need to become true participants in the future of our county — a united country? An invasion from China or from Aliens? Get with it Gigi and the rest of you are dominated by more hate than common sense. Br grateful that we have a person in charge that see a future for our children and grandchildren. This is more about the future than just your useless rants.
I am still stunned and elated that JD Vance lectured Europe, just like Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis did during their pontificates, on how Europe has forgotten its history and cultural identity. Vance’s presentation should be called JD Vance’s Munich Valentine’s Day Massacre
I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections, or shutting people out of the political process, protects nothing. In fact, it is the most sure-fire way to destroy democracy. And speaking up and expressing opinions isn’t election interference, even when people express views outside your own country and even when those people are very influential.
And trust me, I say this with all humor, if American Democracy can survive ten years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.
Pure gold
Perfect! That poor Greta was used as a pawn by those who used her youth and enthusiasm as divine wisdom. Who really believed that this nearly hysterical child (then young adult) has some magical powers. She got quite tedious to listen to and thus, lost the cause. So glad that Vance spoke up!
Estovir-I agree. The European Union Superstate superimposed upon the states of Europe almost seems to have been designed to blunt or remove democracy and discordant voices from political discourse on that continent. The structures minimize the nations and their culture and keep them divided and weak and only a larger state such as Germany or France have enough sway to really lead but their leadership and course leave much to be desired.
take it all away from them, they, the government swamp workers. their over-reach cost me two jobs. so, too bad, learn to code, or work in a oil field.
Isn’t there some kind of Kubla Khan Stages of Grief/Loss thingy, where ANGER is one of the states??? Like at first, there is denial, then a whole of anger, the point of which is to try to regain some sort of feeling of control. Then, you go to the third stage where you get drunk a lot to make the hurt go away, and finally you end up just accepting the reality of the situation. Something like that??? I am too lazy today to look it up. I need some coffee or something to clear out the cobwebs.
Stupid comment, if a comment at all.
“Isn’t there some kind of Kubla Khan Stages of Grief/Loss thingy, where ANGER is one of the states???”
Wasn’t that the “Ruby Ass of Omar Khayyam” 😕
There are some more angry people out there! The World’s First Openly Gay Imam was killed in Africa. I thought he deserved a Memorial Irish Poem:
Nothing Butt???
An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm, Girl Reporter
There was an Imam who was gay!
But he is not with us today.
Gunned down in his car,
With “Allahu Ackbar!”
I guess that them Muslims don’t play!
I thought about doing this one, but I didn’t:
Effretes???
A homo Imam bit the dust!
But Paradise proved quite a bust!
Despite lots of urgin’s
He wanted no virgins,
He really came off quite nonplussed!
Because most people wouldn’t get the Efreet-Effete word play, and nonplussed can mean two different things – either surprised, or not surprised. So, I didn’t do that one.
Hey, concentrate on the the article.
Being that they let 300,000 plus kids disappear after border crossings- we can only guess where those babies are – evil is a pretty strong word for buying out a federal worker.
300k? Did you count them or did you get that from Fox news?
“we can only guess where those babies are”
They are undergoing long term indoctrination to replace the 1.2MM voters that Dems lost between 2020 and 2024. Hey, they have to start *somewhere”…
Just like a successful bombing raid. Doge zeroed in their Norden bomb sightings and hit a bullseye. Boom!!! They hit an ammunition dump.
Their first target was the leftwing radical money laundering operation and cash cow to fund extremism.
Love it! You can tell by the wailing and gnashing of teeth that Doge hit the target.
The Union’s actions may seem paternalistic but the real motivators are money and power. Reducing the work force by 75000 reduces dues paid. In turn, reduced dues means reduced ability to donate to favored politicians in return for desired results. It’s always about the money.
Unions are unconstitutional criminal organizations whose only bargaining points are being AWOL, breach of contract, criminal trespass, vandalism, property damage, bodily injury, etc.
If unions were compelled to obey the law, unions would not exist.
Unions only exist because unconstitutional anti-American communists exist and function in America.
The singular American failure is the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court.
I would be a step in the right direction to outlaw political campaign and pac contributions by unions AND corporations.
A union or business leader would be allowed to present a “bag” of checks each from an individual’s account (no credit cards) for campaign contributions. The only reason unions and business get the favors from politicians because politicians hold themselves out to the highest bidder.
“If unions were compelled to obey the law, unions would not exist. ”
And that is precisely the solution, A ban is unnecessary.
The Labor Dept. is irrefutably unconstitutional, if not utterly criminal.
#1. DJT is giving it a try and hit the ground running. He understands what he’s fighting now.
Can a barbaric 3rd world country be changed.
The short answer is NO. The best that can be accomplished is keep barbarians contained so outsiders can be safe.
When the Russians meet with the US in Saudi Arabia… just watch Trump royally f*ck things up as only he can. Of course, his tards will argue everything he does is genius. He said he’d bring inflation down fast and it would be easy. Inflation has worsened in the light of impending tariffs, and his tards say it’s sheer genius.
Funny, I don’t remember the Bidenistas doing anything but receiving kick-backs from Ukraine and working to continue the war. We’re you getting some of those kickbacks? You sure seem pissed that the gravy train is pulling into the station, and conductor is telling everyone they have to get off.
Congress must not ordain and establish but abolish courts and judges that do not declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void.
Congress must abolish Judges who “shall hold their Offices [ONLY] during good Behaviour.”
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“…courts…must…declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void.”
“…men…do…what their powers do not authorize, [and] what they forbid.”
“[A] limited Constitution … can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing … To deny this would be to affirm … that men acting by virtue of powers may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid.”
– Alexander Hamilton
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Article 3, Section 1
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Some of the parties, including states whose AGs intervened, may be at risk of losing a lot more than they think with their legally shaky TROs.
FRCP 65(c) says “Security. The court may issue a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order only if the movant gives security in an amount that the court considers proper to pay the costs and damages sustained by any party found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained.”
The Trump administration has not asked for bonds or other security which could stop some of these dead. The damages in some cases could be in the billions and bonds, if any could be found, would be onerous.
So why not demand security? Maybe the administration wants these to play out and into their full absurdity. And potentially that could be very dangerous for the plaintiffs.
If you cause a vehicle accident the lack of insurance doesn’t make the liability for damages go away. Similarly, if the TRO plaintiffs don’t post a bond the damages for which they are liable, maybe in the billions of dollars, don’t disappear. The plaintiffs are still liable for the damage they have caused, billions and billions (borrowing from Sagan, but this time dollars instead of stars.)
I have never dealt with a TRO so I would be happy to be corrected or confirmed by anyone here who knows more.
I read the first sentence and stopped. Turls claims that Democrats and federal employees are opposed to efforts to reduce the size of government— he knows that’s not true. They oppose arbitrarily demanding that every federal employee either quit or be fired and the unconstitutional effort to freeze government spending, withdraw employment offers for new employees, shut down the Department of Education and USAID— something only Congress can do.
Then, there’s the spineless Republicans who are actually trying to impeach federal judges who issued restraining orders against King Donald. They’ve actually suggested some statute that would strip power held by the judiciary to enjoin King Donald’s edicts—- something that Turls is qualified to comment on—but won’t because it goes against the narrative of MAGA media. Turls knows that the Courts are the final authority on the law— not King Donald. He knows Congress can’t take power away from the Courts and award it to King Donald. It’s called “checks and balances” and it’s there because the Founders put it in the Constitution as a check on the Executive Branch.
Tell us, Turls, how many court cases has King Donald already lost? You always had a snarky comment when President Biden lost a case— so, why not now?
Tell us, Gigs, how many court cases have you won? You always have a snarky comment when someone knows more than you.
“I read the first sentence and stopped. “
I read Gigenius’ first LIE and stopped.
“arbitrarily demanding that every federal employee either quit or be fired”
Why are you a cock sucking LIAR?
You probably should have read the entire article before reacting
Yesterday the “lawyer” Gigenius claimed that the SC would “reverse” legislation.
She doesn’t even know the proper legal terms. Lawyer my ass.
Jonathan: When DJT campaigned last year he said he wanted to be “dictator” on day one. That’s one promise he has kept. Yesterday, DJT confirmed the worst. He said: “He who saves his country does not violate the law”. Sound familiar? Napoleon Bonaparte used similar language when he staged a coup and became Emperor of France. All dictators say they want to “save” the nation. That’s what Gen. Pinochet said when he staged his bloody coup in Chile in 1973. Hitler said he was “saving” Germany when he came to power in 1933 (See Hitler’s radio address on 2/1/1933–just 2 days after he was appointed Chancellor). Hitler used propaganda to convince Germans that he was the only person who could “save” them from economic ruin and Bolshevism. DJT is doing the same thing–trying to convince Americans he is the only person who can “save” them. It’s what all dictators do. They lie to get into power.
In assuming the mantle of the dictator DJT is engaged in massive violations of the law. Almost all his EOs have been blocked by the courts. Sixty-eight lawsuits have been filed against DJT’s orders. Fifteen TROs and five preliminary injunctions have been issued by federal district judges, e.g., firing career civil servants
without cause, dismantling entire agencies without an act of Congress, illegally impounding funds authorized by Congress, ending birthright citizenship, etc. There is hardly a law that DJT has NOT violated.
And where are the Republicans who will stand up to DJT’s usurpation of the power of Congress? They are weak and cowardly! It’s now up to the courts, the states and citizens to stand up to our new dictator. If they continue to do so the aims of the dictator will be thwarted.
Only 1440 more days to go! Perhaps it’s time for the radicals to stop their whining and do some soul searching. Here’s something novel….propose meaningful solutions that benefit all U.S. citizens, especially those who are working full time.
From what I can tell, the non-military federal government consists of about 2.4 million people. If 75,000 people choose to take the buyout, that is barely over 3% of the non-military federal workforce.
When I Googled, “what percent of the federal workforce retires each year, the bot told me usually between 4%-5%. Assuming those who take the buyout can also retire with full pension benefits if also eligible to do so, then it’s rational to assume nearly all of the 3% who have opted to take the buyout are also retirement eligible.
Democrats and their media complex are hysterical that people who were likely going to retire anyway, are doing so a few months early and being paid to do so.
#74. Yes, weird huh?
An effective way of ending World War 2 was to pulverize Germany with bombs. An effective way of ending the Ukraine-Russia War would be to pulverize Russia with bombs in a similar manner as was done to Germany. This solution to end the war is there, available to be used, but there needs to be the political will to implement it. Short of this, the war will continue because no one had the political courage to do what could have ended it.
@Anonymous
In WWII our adversaries were not fully nuclear capable. What you suggest would be absolute madness; if not for us, than for someone else. The time for that has passed in the 21st century. Patently absurd.
So right!
Those who have nuclear weapons may do anything they want, anything at all.
To the contrary, those adversaries of the West are subject to the same total annihilation.
The actual detonation of those weapons would constitute national suicide.
There’s no way out…
for cowards.
Sometimes you gotta say, “What the —-,” life is called “Risky Business.”
The “madness” is surrender and acquiescence; there’s no future of worth in spineless and abject capitulation and subjugation to intimidation and empty threats.
You go, boy!
@Anonymous
If you think annihilation is a viable option, I don’t know what to tell you. At some point we are going to have to get used to the idea that we share the planet with 7 billion other people. Thank God the current administration has very clearly stated they do not support your stance. Remember: it was a populist win in November. If we hold our ground, it will be at the midterms, too. There is no place for this kind of talk, IMO. Left, right: you are a troll. The neocons and the RINOs are done, too.
Right! Whatever that ^ mess is!
The “madness” is surrender and acquiescence; there’s no future of worth in spineless and abject capitulation and subjugation to intimidation and empty threats.
You go, boy!
SUPPRESS THE INSURRECTION AND REBELLION
Proclamation 80—Calling Forth the Militia and Convening an Extra Session of Congress
“On April 15, 1861,…President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling forth the state militias, to the sum of 75,000 troops, in order to suppress the rebellion. He appealed ‘to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union.’”
Proclamation 92—Warning to Rebel Sympathizers
“[On] July 17, 1862,…I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim to and warn all persons within the contemplation of said sixth section to cease participating in, aiding, countenancing, or abetting the existing rebellion or any rebellion against the Government of the United States and to return to their proper allegiance to the United States on pain of the forfeitures and seizures as within and by said sixth section provided.”
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Now President Donald J. Trump MUST pull a full “Lincoln” and close the border, impose martial law, prosecute a war against the communist rebellion without a formal declaration, shred the Communist Manifesto and irrevocably extirpate all principles of communism in America, implement the “manifest tenor” of the Constitution and Bill of Rights including absolute freedom, absolute free enterprise, absolute free markets, absolute private property, and a substantial diminution of taxation and regulation, eliminate the Departments of Labor, Education, Agriculture, Energy, HUD, and EPA, issue the “Deportation Proclamation” deporting all illegal aliens, past and present, including those who illegally pursued citizenship as criminal border crossers and “asylum” seekers who all made false and fraudulent claims of phantom, nonexistent persecution as foreign citizens with no U.S. rights, establish coherent voter qualifications by State legislatures per the Constitution, declare English the sole official language of the United States, suspend habeas corpus, smash opposition printing presses, networks, podcasts, social media platforms, etc., and throw anyone and everyone who opposes him in prison to Save the Union until America is placed squarely back on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
“THE EXECUTIVE POWER, THE WHOLE EXECUTIVE POWER, AND NOTHING BUT THE EXECUTIVE POWER, SO HELP YOU GOD”
Article 2, Section 1, vests 100%, or all, of the executive power in the President and none of the executive power in the legislative or judicial branch.
No legislative body or court has any power to modify or amend the Constitution.
Legislation and adjudication shall not violate the Constitution.
Legislation and adjudication must be accomplished utterly bereft and devoid of any degree of exertion of executive power.
Legislation and adjudication that exerts executive power is unconstitutional.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Article 1, Section 1
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States,…
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Article II, Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.
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Article III, Section 1
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.