Summary
Trump’s speech to Congress may have deepened legal troubles for Elon Musk and DOGE by publicly stating Musk runs the agency, contradicting White House claims that Amy Gleason is in charge.
The administration previously argued Musk, officially a “senior adviser,” has no formal authority over DOGE to shield it from lawsuits.
Judge Theodore Chuang already questioned this discrepancy, calling it “highly suspicious.”
Trump’s statement could trigger further legal scrutiny into Musk’s role in dismantling federal agencies and mass firings, undermining the White House’s defense against ongoing litigation.
Contempt of court for us normal people
Trump’s entire Presidency, this time around, is nothing but contempt for any institution that is not him. “L’État, c’est moi”. And Congress is letting it happen, because Republicans are more concerned with avoiding a Musk-funded primary challenge than with exercising their constitutional checks on the Presidency.
The Courts do not seem as eager to give up all their power yet. But they move slowly, and it has yet to be seen whether they can adequately enforce their rulings if the Executive Branch simply ignores them. The Administration is actively telling the courts what they want to hear in filings, while publicly saying something different. They hate that.
The Supreme Court may have given the President himself a shield against prosecution, but other officials are not (yet) covered similarly and an angry court can (and should) jail officials on (unpardonable) civil contempt charges until they take the courts seriously.
If the situation wasn’t so dire, it would be comedic.
Someday someone will make a comedy about this administration
It was Idiocracy, but then that became a documentary…
I’m afraid to acknowledge it but I’m pretty sure reality is blown past even idiocracies most hyperbole deliciousness absurdity.
I believe this would be a good definition for gallows humor
We’ve blown past gallows humor and have now arrived at guillotine humor.
We’ve gone past guillotine, past morgue, past burial… now we’re into illegal exhumation and vivisection humor territory.
“Young Frankenstein” has entered the chat.
Where do youthink they got the brain marked A. B. Normal?
“I hereby pardon Mr Musk for anything past, present, future” -Big marker signature
Yeah but that isn’t what they are referring too. They are referring to judges reversing everything doge has done, because all of it would be illegal. That said, a lot of damage will still have been done in many places even if that happens.
🖍️🖍️🖍️
Yeo. Ez. Not sure why USAians keep getting distracted by the smoke and mirrors instead of… You know, their government.
why USAians keep getting distracted by the smoke and mirrors
Poor schooling and a diet of increasingly spectacular TV and monster trucks make it difficult to spot the logical nuance in politics.
A co-worker was involved in a petroleum-derived operation that put his work location in among the poorest of people, about 20 years ago. He knows these people were poor, discarded by their kleptocratic governments, and often severely disadvantaged and/or at risk, but the company was paranoid about helping them (using words like ‘seagulls’; terrible). What he noticed was that their daily diet - for children still developing - about a handful of some cheap carb like rice or oats, and then not much more. He worried that a lack of protein severely impacted things like problem-solving, attention and even memory. It seemed to him to be generational.
I paraphrase his story to outline the nature of my worry at Americans who will be placed into deeper food insecurity, with chemicals and metals leeching into water sources, and without access to higher learning, which all cause long-term (and generational, again) issues with mental and cognitive development. I don’t know that people suffering from this kind of development setback will make the most objective and reasoned of voters. I worry they’ll be drawn in with bright flashing lights and big noises and simple chant-sized slogans that are not reflected in the post-election behaviour at all.
That’s my worry. Downvote as required.
No, you’re not special or super smart. If you keep thinking the people who voted different form you are fundamentally different (and less, because they aren’t as smart as you) you’ll keep failing. That’s what Dem leadership showed and how you got back to feudalism.
You need to see that they want the same thing as you: peace and an easy life. Work together instead of doing that daddy Musk tells you to keep you divided.
This is great news. There are three judges currently embroiled in this, and I hope they throw the fucking book at the defense lawyers and anyone else who told them to lie about this. Prolonged contempt at a minimum, but let the lawsuits fly against these pieces of shit and Musk for sure.
The judiciary is not going to save you. Get that idea right out of your head. We will never collectively decide to do what needs to be done if we keep holding onto hope that this is a problem that can be solved from within the system.
Well, you keep coming around a doomsaying this over and over and claiming that everyone is ignoring court orders, but they aren’t. Workers are getting reinstated, money is getting to where it needs to go, and laws aren’t changing. There are certain people that are in positions that can do nothing but wait for the judiciary, and they’re moving the process along.
You let us all know when you start doing what needs to be done though, because you’re just on here every day as far as I can tell. Some of us are participating in “the system” as best we can.
Lemmy needs a remind me bot, because this post is going to age like milk.
