By Maya Sen
State governments, community groups, advocacy nonprofits and regular Americans have filed a large and growing number of federal lawsuits opposing President Donald Trump’s barrage of executive orders and policy statements. Some of his actions have been put on hold by the federal courts, at least temporarily.
As a scholar of the federal courts, however, I expect the courts will be of limited help in navigating through this complicated new political landscape.
One problem is that the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years has moved sharply to the right and has approved of past efforts to expand the powers of the presidency. But the problem with relying on the courts for help goes beyond ideology and right-leaning justices going along with a right-leaning president, as happened in Trump’s first term.
One challenge is speed: The Trump administration is moving much faster than courts do, or even can. The other is authority: The courts’ ability to compel government action is limited, and also slow.
And that doesn’t even factor in statements by Trump, Vice President JD Vance and “special government employee” multibillionaire Elon Musk. All three have indicated that they are open to ignoring court rulings and have even threatened to seek the impeachment of judges who rule in ways they don’t like.
Speed
Musk has been put in charge of White House efforts to cut government services, both in spending amount and reach.
Constitutional law is clear: The executive branch cannot, on its own, close or shut down a federal agency that has been established by Congress. That is Congress’ job. But Trump and Musk are trying to do so anyway, including declaring that the congressionally established U.S. Agency for International Development will be shut down and turning employees away from the agency’s offices in Washington, D.C.
The administration’s strategy, it seems, is the longstanding tech-company mantra: “move fast and break things.” The U.S. courts do not – and by design cannot – move equally quickly.
It can take years for a case to wind its way through the lower courts to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. This is by design.
Courts are deliberative in nature. They take into account multiple factors and can engage in multiple rounds of deliberation and fact-finding before reaching a final ruling. At every stage, lawyers on both sides are given time to make their cases. Even when a case does get to the Supreme Court – as many of these lawsuits likely will – it can take months to be fully resolved.
By contrast, Trump’s and Musk’s actions are happening in a matter of days. By the time a court finally resolves an issue that happened in late January or early February 2025, the situation may have changed substantially.
J. Countess/Getty Images
For an example, consider the effort to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. In the space of a week, the Trump administration put most of USAID’s workers on administrative leave and halted USAID’s overseas medical trials, which included pausing potentially lifesaving treatments.
As of this writing, a district judge has temporarily blocked the order putting USAID workers on leave. But even if the courts ultimately conclude several months from now that the Trump administration’s actions regarding USAID were unlawful, it might be impossible to reconstitute the agency the way it used to be.
For instance, many workers may have been demoralized and sought other employment. New personnel would have to be recruited and trained to replace them. Contracts that were terminated or invalidated or expired would have to be renegotiated. And the countries and communities that had received help from USAID might be less committed to the renewed programs, because of concerns services could be cut off again.
Breadth
When Republicans disagreed with any of Joe Biden’s executive actions – for example, his student debt forgiveness plan – they went to federal court to obtain nationwide injunctions stopping the implementation of the plan.
But injunctions will not be as helpful given Trump’s recent playbook. A court blocking one order isn’t enough to stop the administration from trying different tactics. In 2017, courts blocked the first two versions of Trump’s ban on travel to the U.S. from majority-Muslim countries – but ultimately allowed a third version to take effect. And if an attack on one agency is blocked, the administration can try similar – or different – tactics against other agencies.
The strategy of moving fast and breaking things is successful if the other side – or even the process of repair – can’t keep up with all the different strategies. Courts can be part of the strategy to preserve the Constitution, but they cannot be its only defenders.
Authority
Painted by Henry Inman, via Wikimedia Commons
Researchers have argued that court-issued injunctions mostly work to stop the government from doing something, not to compel the government into doing something. Judges are already expressing concern that the Trump administration may fail to comply with orders to stop funding freezes.
For instance, a federal district judge in Massachusetts has ordered the government not only to refrain from implementing changes to federal research grant funding but to provide evidence to the court that it was complying with the court’s order, immediately and every two weeks until the case is decided.
Another federal judge has already found the administration failed to abide by a court order – but so far has not imposed any consequences on Trump, the administration or other officials.
It’s unclear whether Trump would obey Supreme Court rulings against him, either. On the campaign trail, Trump’s running mate JD Vance said, “When the courts stop you, stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did and say, ‘The chief justice has made his ruling, now let him enforce it.’” He also recently remarked that “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” hinting at strong opposition to rulings the administration disagrees with.
All this doesn’t mean the courts are useless, nor that people shouldn’t sue to challenge actions they deem illegal or unconstitutional. The courts – and the Supreme Court in particular – exist in part to arbitrate power disputes between Congress and the presidency. As Chief Justice John Marshall said in his landmark 1803 Marbury v. Madison ruling, “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.”
But the courts alone will not be sufficient. The courts are like an antibiotic on a cut, helping healing and staving off further infection. They cannot keep a grievously wounded patient alive. For this, a robust political strategy is necessary. It is in all Americans’ hands collectively to make sure that the constitutional structure is not just enforced, but also sustained.
Maya Sen is Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Sherry says
Please, for the sake of our democratic republic/the soul of our country/law and order. . . take a moment to watch and listen to this wonderful speech by the Attorney General of Arizona:
Al says
Obama’s activisim was to overload the system till it breaks then rebuild it the way you want. Biden said he would just go on with loan forgiveness when the court said it was illegal. Those were fine but Trump is the problem to the left. The real headline should have the word democracy replaced with democrats.
This is democracy in motion, we voted to undo all the BS in Washington. The government Trump inherited is too large, too expensive, too unresponsive, and way too arrogant towards the public. These workers all created their own kingdoms and treated the taxpayers like serfs serving them. It’s ending and yes some good ones will go with all the bad ones but it has to be done. The biggest joke is congress should do this, show me what congress has accompliced in the last 20 years . Oh that’s right they’ve increased taxes and debt, great job congress.
Laurel says
Okay, I’m going to say it again. How is it that a man can stand in front of you, insult you, lie to you, have a record of felonies, bring in people who only bow to him, threaten those who disagree with him, give the rich tax cuts while cutting your benefits, and you continue to support him? Is it that you really cannot tell body language and facial expressions, that someone is lying to you? Especially someone who is so blatantly lying, and not even trying to hide it? Is it that you want so much for what he is saying to be true that you filter it as truth? That you don’t care when facts are not presented to you? When will you begin to doubt, when we see giant posters of his face, like Chairman Mao, plastered all over our country? Do you see his over bloated ego as something there to help you? Do you like that the United States of America is becoming something foreign to you? With people in control of out very private lives, whom you do not know?
You have got to understand that all the piles of executive orders were not written by Trump, there is no way. He has spent his time in courts. All this activity has been brought to you by the Heritage Foundation, and Project 2025. It was very much planned. Your country is being overthrown.
Y’all claim that there is so much corruption being found, but where is it? Is there corruption? Yes, there is, but what ‘s happening now is more corruption than you have ever been exposed to before, and the reason is you. These people, who are screwing us up in the world, can only do so because of you. They could not exist without you. You are the whole power behind Trump and his cronies. You can stop this takeover. You can put back the three, separate powers of the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch. Only you. I am counting on the Republicans in this country, to go back to their true conservative roots, not this current, divisive culture war, to bring our country back to health, and to the people. Not to a few people, not to corporations, not to dictators, but to the people.
What you cannot deny is Trump is killing trust. He is killing truth. He is killing law and order. He is killing freedom.
It’s your move.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Jahovah-ville reject says
The judicial branch is the next to doge-si-doge.
I guess the only thing left ta say’n is…
Condolences to “Nephew of Uncle Sam” for his loss.
Kim says
Flagler County actually has an outsized say right now with a chance for a do-over. Register to vote in the special election for the vacant FL6 House seat. I met this Josh Weil this week. He’s the real deal. Flagler can fix this mistake in DC now!
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/713798-weil-fine-cd6/
Dave Sullivan says
Just for the record USAID was not established by Congress, President Carter established it by executive order. Therefore the legal case for closing it down is more complicated since the organization was never authorized by Congress, just included in funding over the years. I do think it will be hard for the President to pull back any of the actual funding that has been appropriated by Congress including FY 24/25 for any agencies funding unless there is actual illegal activity associated with it. That will all change with the FY 25/26 Budget when the Republican Congress can put Trump’s financial plans in the approved Budget.
S. Peters says
Welcome to authoritarian fascism. You voted for this, I didn’t
Ray W, says
As some may have noticed, many of my comments in recent months have drawn from Churchill’s speeches and commentary during WWII. Some time ago, I began rereading his six-volume set, “The Second World War.” Starting the tomes immediately after the cessation of war, he finished it in 1951, though the sixth volume was not published until 1953.
In a chapter devoted to what he called “The Greek Torment”, Churchill led off his remembrances with his statement of understanding of the political situation that any nation’s government would have to understand if it wanted to influence events in the Middle East, including Greece.
Remember that the context, language and writing style is that of an Imperial British Prime Minister during and after the most tumultuous war the world had ever witnessed.
“The Greeks rival the Jews in being the most politically minded race in the world. No matter how forlorn their circumstances or how grave the peril to their country, they are always divided into many parties, with many leaders who fight among themselves with desperate vigor. It has been well said that wherever there are three Jews it will be found that there are two Prime Ministers and one leader of the Opposition. The same is true for this other famous ancient race, whose stormy and endless struggle for life stretches back to the mountain springs of human thought. No other two races have set such a mark upon the world. Both have shown a capacity for survival, in spite of unending perils and sufferings from external oppressors, matched only by their own ceaseless feuds, quarrels, and convulsions. The passage of several thousand years sees no change in their characteristics and no diminution of their trials or their vitality. They have survived in spite of all that the world could do against them, and all they could do against themselves, and each of them from angles so different has left us the inheritance of its genius and wisdom. No two cities have counted more with mankind than Athens and Jerusalem. Their messages in religion, philosophy, and art have been the main guiding lights of modern faith and culture. Centuries of foreign rule and indescribable, endless oppression leave them still living, active communities and forces in the modern world, quarrelling among themselves with insatiable vivacity. Personally I have always been on the side of both, and believed in their invincible power to survive internal strife and the world tides threatening their extinction.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
The Ukraine stands at a crossroads. Under no circumstances should the Ukrainian people cede one square centimeter of their land. Russia is losing the war. The Ukrainians are on the brink of joining the Greeks and the Jews as an unconquerable people.
Were an American foreign policy ever to force any ceding of land by the Ukraine to Russia, history will record an intolerable stain of appeasement by America to the Russian Federation. No guarantee by the Russian Federation has ever been trustworthy. Just ask the Poles during and after WWII.
We entered into a treaty with the Ukraine to protect them from their neighbors in exchange for the fledgling Ukrainian government surrendering its priceless stockpile of nuclear weapons. Russia and Britain signed onto the treaty, too. No nation would ever trust the United States if its foreign policy shifted from protecting and defending the Ukraine to abandoning the treaty and giving Russia the land and the people it wanted after it lied to the world.
Pierre Tristam says
Dave Sullivan is wrong. USAID was the creation of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, very much passed by Congress and signed into law by JFK. The president (JFK) did subsequently sign an executive order, but that order merely addressed the nuts and bolts of the agency’s organization. The executive order eliminating it, beside its illegality and illustration of vulgar, racist authoritarianism, is the insult to Congress. But nothing the vulgarian touches is notoffensive. What is bewildering is that sensible men like Dave Sullivan continue to find excuses for the goon dismantling our democracy.
Atwp says
The old saying, you get what you pay for. They got who they voted for. Too late to whine, it was done at the ballot box. Live with the consequences of a ballot box bad decision.
Sherry says
YEP! trump’s favorite thing to do FIRE Everyone You Don’t Like! Take a good read about the “Stupid” mistake they made with in charge of our “Nuclear Weapons”. . . OMG!
Trump administration officials fired more than 300 staffers Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile — as part of broader Energy Department layoffs, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.
Sources told CNN the officials did not seem to know this agency oversees America’s nuclear weapons.
An Energy Department spokesperson disputed the number of personnel affected, telling CNN that “less than 50 people” were “dismissed” from NNSA, and that the dismissed staffers “held primarily administrative and clerical roles.”
The agency began rescinding the terminations Friday morning.
Some of the fired employees included NNSA staff who are on the ground at facilities where nuclear weapons are built. These staff oversee the contractors who build nuclear weapons, and they inspect these weapons.
It also included employees at NNSA headquarters who write requirements and guidelines for contractors who build nuclear weapons. A source told CNN they believe these individuals were fired because “no one has taken anytime to understand what we do and the importance of our work to the nation’s national security.”
Members of Congress made their concerns about the NNSA firings known to the Energy Department, a Hill staffer told CNN. A person with knowledge of the matter told CNN that senators visited Energy Sec. Chris Wright to express concern about the NNSA cuts.
“Congress is freaking out because it appears DOE didn’t really realize NNSA oversees the nuclear stockpile,” one source said. “The nuclear deterrent is the backbone of American security and stability – period. For there to be any even very small holes poked even in the maintenance of that deterrent should be extremely frightening to people.”
Thomas Hutson says
Maya Sen,
Your op ed article was very interesting and enlightening. The one item you fail to point out is the American voter is in the learning curve currently . It won’t take much longer for the American voter to rid themselves of King Mush , oh I meant King Trump. You are correct in the fact that the courts move very slowly, but the midterms are in 684 days , and most of these red MAGa minions of King Trump will be gone in both house and senate. We won’t need the courts , just a new majority in the house and senate to get rid of these whackjobs we have running our government today. Yes the king will be there for another 1433 days and he will be out of office regardless what the court says the constitution speaks for itself , unless Roberts and the Housemaid and the other minions of King Trump in the Hightower vote otherwise.
joe says
Read this and see how how the Doge Bros are “increasing efficiency and effectiveness” of our Government:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/15/2303989/-Where-s-my-desk-Federal-workers-ordered-back-to-offices-with-no-space-supplies-or-parking?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web
David Boccabello says
Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev said in the 1950’s, “You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like overripe fruit into our hands.”
Russian Premier Khrushchev also said, “The press is our chief ideological weapon.” And, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NPR, Flagler Live and other news stations are using those weapons to divide us and end America.
Jake from state farm says
I’m a bit confused. Are people responding in support of or against the massive waste of money being exposed? This is our money—handed out in bulk by the officials we elect to unelected bureaucrats, who then distribute it to a mix of worthwhile programs and others that are a complete waste. Are people upset that taxpayers are simply asking for accountability on where our money is going?
Are you in favor of spending millions to house those who entered our country illegally, or transgender plays in some other country, while our own citizens—devastated by a hurricane—are left sleeping outside in the rain, snow, and cold? Is that what you’re saying? I understand that some may not like the current administration, but let’s be honest—the previous one didn’t exactly prioritize tracking where our money was going either.
Dave Sullivan says
Pierre, aside from your usual condescending tone, we will see what the courts eventually decide on the USAID case. You always seem to be on the minority side of most political issues , I do not think you want to be the County contrarian but it seems that way. The Hate Trump group is getting smaller and smaller.
FlaglerLive says
You posted inaccurate information. You were corrected. I have no interest in mobocracy or its tactics.
Dave Sullivan says
Pierre What you call mobocracy might also be called majority rule which is pretty basic to our United States. One good thing is you forced me to read to through the the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act which covers a lot of issues that USAID does, but does not establish USAID as a separate agency. The Congress attempted to remedy this in 1998 and this will be where the courts and Trump Admin will argue. Anyway United States beat Canada last night in the World Affairs that are a lot more fun for me.
Sherry says
Thank you wonderful Pierre! A great new word for my vocabulary. . . love it! Experiencing way too much in the way of their well worn tactics. . . such as Fox ventriloquism. Just stick your hand up their dumb . . . LOL! Well, you get the picture. LOL!
Ray W, says
David Sullivan posted a comment based on a mistruth. Mr. Tristam corrected him. Mr. Sullivan accused Mr. Tristam of being condescending.
What exactly does the verb “to condescend” actually mean? According to Mirriam-Webster, the original sense, including a biblical sense, was to lower oneself to another’s level. Today’s definition has been broadened to contain a more negative connotation.
I ask all FlaglerLive readers to consider the context of the situation. Mr. Sullivan spread a lie. Maybe he didn’t know it was a lie, but it was. Mr. Tristam corrected the lie.
Can it be argued that anyone who spreads a lie to others is operating at a level that is lower than anyone who spreads the truth to others?
In the traditional sense, in this comment thread, did Mr. Tristam hold himself at a level above that held by Mr. Sullivan? I think it arguable that he did. If so, Mr. Sullivan should not, then, be accusing Mr. Tristam of being condescending; he should be telling himself to raise up his own standards. This usually requires the application of the three forms of reason as they were taught to our founding fathers, complete with the exercise of intellectual rigor. Mr. Sullivan might start by admitting that his initial comment was based on a lie.
As an aside, I agree with Mr. Sullivan. We will see what the courts do with the issue. As I have repeatedly argued, the law is what a judge says it is on the day that he or she says it, and don’t ever forget it.
FlaPharmTech says
Do YOU, fellow American citizens, Palm Coast neighbors, see the degradation of the USA?!!!!!!
Steve K. says
Our economy should measured by how the bottom 30% are doing in the supermarket, not how the top 1% are doing in the stock market.
joe says
” Are people responding in support of or against the massive waste of money being exposed? “, Jake from State Farm asks…since the Doge Bros and the Trump regime as a whole are being quite secretive about what they are doing…..I’m not sure that much REAL fraud is being exposed….much more accurate to say that they are indiscriminately slashing programs they simply don’t like.
Read the increasing amount of stories about the tragic results for actual people and it becomes clear that this effort has very little to do with actual efficiency and fraud.
The DOGE bros are not publishing any significant details of actual fraud found – their focus seems to be smashing things as fast as possible.
Samuel says
Our Constitution is being ignored by the Cult GOP’s in Washington breaking all their oaths of office for Trump, who threatens them to obey his every whim or else. They are nothing but cowards and useless to the USA and its people.
joe says
More DOGE “efficiency” – employees being fired for alleged incompetence actually were given “excellent” ratings on their recent evaluations. How do these “bros” manage to determine within a few days or less who is actually needed, what they do, etc?
This is Project 2025 being implemented in a “smash and grab” fashion – Republicans are about to find out that it was easier being angry than being informed – the damage Musk\Trump are doing is incalculable – but, remember – THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT.
DaleL says
The Federal Courts have considerable power to determine what is legal (Constitutional) or not. Presidents appoint judges, with the consent of the Senate, but Presidents cannot remove judges. Ultimately, it is Congress that has the power to remove not just judges, but also the president. I do not hold out hope that this will happen.
I predict President Trump will try to ignore judicial rulings. However, he probably will not defy decisions made by SCOTUS until after the 2026 elections. This is because defying SCOTUS could be too much for even “Republican” Senators. Trump will not risk being removed by impeachment until he has consolidated his power. During the 2026 midterm election, I expect Mr. Trump’s DOJ to target Democratic candidates, especially in close races. They will be accused of various crimes, subpoenaed, and/or even jailed. This is the same playbook by which authoritarians around the world have operated. Once enough MAGA loyalists are in the Senate, Mr. Trump can safely ignore SCOTUS, Congress, and rule by decree.
Ed P says
It occurred to me. I wonder how many of the folks saying Musk is not an American actually know they are lying. If they do, why is it not wrong for them or anyone to point out that he is not a natural born citizen? Hmmm.
Another thought, how many of those complaining about DOGE might quietly accept a refund check from the federal government for their share of all the money saved by the process? Hmmm.
Finally, what would their solution to the GAO reporting April 2024 ( long before Musk) that losses from government fraud to be between $233 billion and $521 billion?
DaleL says
The 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances is not an enforceable treaty. It was meant to be a security agreement in return for Ukraine giving up its Soviet era nuclear weapons. The agreement prohibits Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom from threatening, using military force, or economic coercion against Ukraine. Obviously Russia has violated the memorandum. The United States and United Kingdom have a responsibility to support Ukraine.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has no winner at this point. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published this yesterday (2/16/2025): “ISW has extensively reported on Russia’s mounting personnel and equipment losses in Ukraine and continues to assess that such losses are unsustainable in the medium- to long-term given Russia’s current force generation and defense industrial capabilities.” However, without United States military aid, Ukraine may not be able to continue to fight indefinitely either.
Clearly, Russia is the aggressor nation. It is absolutely necessary for the European Union, United States, and the world to help Ukraine win this fight.
Laurel says
To Musk’s little buddy, “Big Balls,” it’s just data.
Trump’ll fix it.
Laurel says
Jake fsf: Since you are “a bit confused” allow me to explain it to you: U.S. citizens are not against rooting out fraud. What they are against is a citizen, who gave Trump’s campaign a quarter of a billion dollars, and holds, and receives billions of dollars of taxpayer’s money to finance his dreams, brings in undocumented unknowns to handle these citizens’ private data, and fires citizens, of both parties, simply by databases. These citizens are offended that their earned benefits are in danger, while the actual fraudsters, which predominately are not government workers, are not being investigated.
Clearer now?
laurel says
David Sullivan: Just curious, how did you feel about Canada before Trump started his tariffs? I mean, all your life, how was your attitude towards our northern neighbor?
laurel says
Steve K.: Great saying! Really, I agree.
Now at the same time, we have to look around. People have been spending, I see them in restaurants, in stores and on vacations. This is not the 1%. They are still spending now. However, that will change. We are now being limited on what products we can purchase more than one of. Not just eggs, either. Prices have not come down, in fact, economists claim these prices will go up with the tariffs, and possible tariff wars…which we certainly do not want.
As other articles and comments here have stated, utilities are rising sharply do to unfettered growth. That, on piled on top of food prices, is untenable. You are correct. the economy should reflect the middle class. What I wish is, that the Republicans would understand that we do our best, and are at out strongest, when the middle class does well. Do not kill off the middle class financially.
Ray W, says
Hello Ed P.
I agree with you that significant fraud has been documented by the GAO. This is not a new story.
Ever since the first stimulus package of $2.0 trillion that was rushed through both houses of Congress and immediately signed into law by President Trump there have been stories of people and companies fraudulently applying for stimulus funds.
Local newspapers have since reported on people and companies being prosecuted for stimulus money fraud. It seems, according to those articles, that the rushed legislation lacked standards on which lending institutions could rely to weed out fraud from the outset. Instead, lacking standards, almost anyone who applied for stimulus money was approved. Many, perhaps the vast majority, legitimately applied for the funds. But not all were legitimate. We know now that people made up fictional companies that had dozens of fictional employees and the fraudsters then applied for and received money that was meant to keep people who had real jobs working. And where in the stimulus money package were the funds to hire the investigators to track down the fraudulent actors? This scenario exists for all of the multiple pandemic stimulus packages.
At the time of these stories, I was reminded of stories from my teen years, re: welfare abuse. The 1968 Great Society legislation created a welfare system. Congress set aside funds to hire many categories of welfare agency employees, including funds for welfare agency investigators, whose sole job was to root out welfare fraud. A few years went by, and Republicans took over the reins of government. They didn’t pass laws to strengthen the system. They passed laws cutting the number of investigators. The articles from my teen years pointed out that the average investigator had a salary package totaling $14k per year, including retirement, insurance and other benefits. The average amount of fraud uncovered per investigator was proven to be around $40k per year. I have never forgotten the disparity and the stupidity of those legislators who cost us all so much money in undiscovered fraud. In the names of cutting wasteful spending and shrinking the size of the government workforce, the Republicans saved us $14k per year per employee cut and cost us $40k per year in fraud undiscovered.
Like all of us, we can be both right and wrong at the same time. You want to actually prove fraud in order to cut fraud, Ed P.? Hire the investigators and pay for the extra prosecutors and public defenders and let them do their work. If, in the end, it costs $100 million per year and saves $200 million per year, I say money well spent. No one will ever catch all of the fraud. There will always be a point at which the low-hanging fruit is captured, past which it becomes economically inefficient to chase the harder to find fraud. But don’t give up before you even start.
The more things change, the more they remain the same. The memory-impaired bark about waste, and yes there is waste, but cutting enforcement in the name of shrinking the size of government is not necessarily the answer.
As for Musk, I have long known he was an immigrant. I have followed him from long before his Tesla days. As I recall, one of his early ventures that didn’t really make much headway in the press was his funding of an effort to make a motorcycle engine based on Miller-cycle technology. Because I was still involved, however slightly, in motorcycle racing, I was interested about the now-20-year-old effort and followed the sparse story. Maybe my memory is flawed on this point, but then again it was a small story that I forgot about. When the Tesla story came about, I thought of the dimly remembered story.
Is anyone associated with the executive branch talking about refund checks directly linked with actual amounts of money saved by DOGE over money lost by DOGE?
Ed P says
Ray W,
Currently, I haven’t heard of any plan to issue refund checks to the American Tax payer.
I posted that to stimulate thought, exposing the hypocrisy of complaining about the methods being used to remodel our federal agencies. Complain in the daylight and cash the checks in the night. No one would know. Your words, all people are liars. My words most are phonies.
Bipartisan agreement of how to do it “properly “ is improbable. The shear size of government didn’t happen over night as did the level of fraud that is pervasive through out the system. No one program caused the alarm bells to go off, all programs are tainted.
How did the treasury release any payments without an identification code? It’s was changed last Saturday. How did nearly 5 trillion dollars get released without these identifying codes? Blank memo lines? Does it mean it is fraud, maybe not, but we may never know.
As I posted before, no one with a brain cell would agree with every action taken by the Trump administration. However, the same hold for those complaining about every action. It’s irrational.
This is not a rein of terror, DOGE is not destroying government, Musk is not the President, democracy is not at risk. It’s a plan.
Here is the reality, a 36 trillion dollar national debt can’t be solved through taxes and status quo. We have run out of running room. Maybe we have met our comeuppance.
We can not pass the debt onto future generations. We created it, can’t blame Covid, wars, or anything else because we had choices.
Is the reason the Dems responses appear as if they are lost in the wilderness and they can’t formulate a better plan that would actually work? Why can’t a federal agency pass an audit, balance their individual budgets or account for expenditures?
Hoaxes, name calling, shaming, lying, and singing are no longer effective liberal tools.
Skibum says
Jake, according to OVERSIGHT.GOV the job of federal agency Inspectors General (you know, all of those federal fraud and waste detectors at various agencies that Trump has fired) are, or more precisely WERE tasked as such: “Under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, the role of federal IGs is to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse relating to their agency’s programs and operations, and to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the agency’s operations and programs. Humor me for just one minute… if Trump had any honest and ethical intent to root out fraud, waste and abuse within federal government agencies, why in the world would the Inspector Generals in those federal agencies who were already in place as independent watchdogs with the experience and knowledge of the inter-workings of their specific agencies be the very first ones to be fired? Any idiot would know those Inspector Generals would be invaluable resources to additional, if needed personnel looking for fraud, waste, inefficiencies, etc., yet they were the first ones to get the axe. That should tell you the real intent and purpose of DOGE, the initial firings of the very people who’s jobs are specific to weeding out fraud and waste, and all of the federal employee firings thus far have nothing whatsoever to do with any desire to find and eliminate fraud and waste, only political targets… those programs that were congressionally approved and appropriated but which Trump and the maga crowd so despise, That is exactly why all of this needs to be viewed by the courts as the illegal and unconstitutional overreach that it is. The Inspector Generals that were fired need to be reinstated in their agencies, and whoever else Trump wants to help weed out ACTUAL fraud, waste and inefficiencies, they need to work with the IGs, and just as importantly, whatever is found that needs to be corrected or eliminated, transparency to let Congress, the media and the American people see specifics of what they are doing is vital. That is how you root out fraud and waste in government, not the farce that is being orchestrated by the WH currently.
Ed P says
Skibum,
The inspector generals and their staffs never achieved near their purported potential. The amount saved were relatively small in comparison to the savings that DOGE will achieve.
It may not have been their individual faults or that they were not doing their jobs.
The fraud, waste, abuse and potential corruption is systematically ingrained or woven into the federal agencies. We are beyond band aides and patches. That was their function.
Once the low hanging fruit is identified, the corrected procedures established, and the work force adjusted to actual need, then the computer systems and manual reporting within these agencies can be addressed. Further head counts reductions will occur.
Some agencies are using computer systems from the 50s and 60 s. COBOL is still the coding being used in many systems. It’s a legacy code used primarily by government, not private businesses.
Iron mountain is just the visual that we can see. What lurks below the surface elsewhere? What an embarrassment.
Rehiring inspector generals has zero value except as an expense. Their usefulness is over. They are the biased ply tire of yesteryear and are being replaced with all weather radial tires for traction.
Laurel says
Want to weed out fraud and waste?
Fire the felon.