Tag: Executive Power
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Trump Nepo Government
Would-be kings assemble royal courts and hand out titles to family and friends. On Monday, Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the President’s Military Spouse Commission and naming Jennifer Hegseth, wife of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as its chair. Christie Mullin, wife of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, also serves on it. Add them…
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National Guard Detains Veteran
Troops trained for combat, stationed in neighborhoods, produce exactly this. On July 29, the ACLU filed a legal claim on behalf of Anna King, a retired Army captain who earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in Iraq. The claim seeks 3 million dollars from the Defense Department and the Idaho National Guard. On…
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Ballot Emergency?
The emergency appears to be that too many people might vote in a way the leader does not like. On Monday, in an emergency filing to the Supreme Court, the Trump administration asked the justices to revive his executive order restricting mail voting. The filing calls the situation an emergency because the administration says it…
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Trump Confession
A government that funds its friends and defunds its opponents is using public money as an instrument of loyalty. This week, Trump administration lawyers admitted in a federal court filing that the Department of Energy canceled 284 grants “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state.” In plain terms: a state voted…
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Trump Sells Wall Street Faster Access
The president is selling a subscription service to milliseconds of access. On Thursday, Trump Media and Technology Group announced a product they are calling “Truth API.” It will sell the fastest access for trading firms to posts from Truth Social’s ten highest-ranking accounts. The company’s list includes Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and…
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Trump IRS Targets Free Speech
When they tell you what they’re planning, believe them. On July 16, a conference that received little notice was held in the Loy Henderson Conference Room at the State Department, convened by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Officially called the…
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Trump Sowing Vote Doubt
It’s easy to see what appears to be the aim of the speech. Leaders in autocracies like Hungary and Venezuela spread doubt about elections they feared losing, then cited that doubt to reject the results. Our midterm elections are coming up in November. The doubt is being sown now. Last night Donald Trump gave a…
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Trump Blacklist
On his first day in office, the president signed an order that purported to end federal censorship. A government blacklist now punishes journalists for telling the truth. Donald Trump keeps a media blacklist, and he has now expanded it to include private individuals. Since last November, the official White House website has hosted a page…
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Trump Election Takeover
Elections run by the ruler are elections in name only. This week the Trump administration continued its work to take over elections. On Tuesday, the Justice Department sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and DC, threatening criminal prosecution over noncitizen voting and giving states five days to respond with a plan. Noncitizen…
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Warning Notice
In an autocracy, people measure their words. Americans now must begin to measure theirs. On Monday, U.S. citizen David Streever sued the Department of Homeland Security. He says its agents violated his First Amendment rights by punishing him for criticizing ICE. Streever’s offense was a three-paragraph email sent in January in response to the killings…
Notes To My Future Self 