Searing statement from the ABA accuses the Trump administration of failing to respect the law and Congress.
The ABA condemns recent remarks questioning the legitimacy of courts and judicial review. Read the full statement: www.americanbar.org/news/abanews ...
-- American Bar Association (@abaesq.bsky.social) February 11, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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Clearly, there is no legal precedent for the executive branch to do a lot of what its done. Congress oversees of these agencies that are being storm-troopered by DOGE and close without due process. If a president wants to disestablish any one of them, he would in neatly all xases need Congress to make that happen.
What is unclear is whether DOGE, an unauthorized Executive Branch creation is legally empowered to do anything with congressionally established departments or agencies. Further, Congress has the sole power to appropriating funds to government's departments and their agencies. So, could the president legally create and fund and empower something like DOGE?
On the surface, it seems that the Jan. 20 Executive Order that created DOGE www.whitehouse.gov is legal even though DOGE appropriates to itself all of the funds previously appropriated to the executive branch's US Digital Service (USDS) agency, because the Executives Order simply renames and repurposes USDS.
This is where DOGE's legality is questionable. The replacement of the Congressionally approved and funded USDS should be legally challenged on the grounds that the mission of DOGE is incredibly different from USDS's, which was to make federal agencies' software and internet systems more customer-friendly and effective. agencies This isn't Trump's Executive Order's purpose for DOGE. What DOGE is doing is almost certainly not what any previous Congress appropriated budget funds to USDS to do.
But since the previous Congress only promised to fund government under a continuing resolution, does the Executive Branch have power to repurpose USDS in the current fiscal year( FY) and then bet that the final FY-2025 budget bill will appropriate USDS's previously authorized funding to the EO created replacement - DOGE.
Congress could challenge the misappropriation of USDS's funding and de-facto disestablishment of USDS with an entirely repurposed agency. But would the current (Trump-cowering) GOP-dominated Congress stand up to Trump when it finally approves a FY-2025 budget bill?
It probably won't. But Congress pass an Omnibus spending bill and that Project 2025 creators like and that Trump will sign into law. So the only ways to erase DOGE from existence will be either: 1) explicit action by Congress to require DOGE to restore USDS's original mission functions for it to be funded (fat chance!); or 2) for the courts to determine that DOGE is a misappropriation of funds specifically intended to carryout the mission of USDS. Could a Dem caucus file such a lawsuit without some GOP support? Probably, but a) could Congress's GOP majority then retroactively pass a law approving the demise of USDS's mission and the appropriation of 2025 funds to DOGE's mission? Probably, and this is DEFINITELY what the Democratic leadership must force the GOP caucus into doing.
So, if a FY 2025 budget law is passed that misses the step to retroactively repurpose USDS's funds to serve DOGE's specifically & legally delineated purposes, call your senators & Congress members and insist that the administration be sued for misappropriating federal budget monies. It could eventually force Congress to vote on DOGE's new mission, which probably would not erase DOGE, but it would force it to be created legally by Congress and give Congress a say in its mission and give Congress oversight over USDS's successor entity.
does this Executive Branch have power to repurpose USDS's mission and to use USDS's previously authorized funding?
He didn't repurpose it.
USDS was about making the government more efficient using computers. Obama ran on cutting waste.
m.youtube.com
Why are Lumpers arguing against saving money? I mean I understand why the apparatchik are upset, the grifters will lose money.
But why would a poster here on the DR be upset by it?
Its a losing argument to oppose it, the better option is be like Microsoft, embrace and extend.
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