These are exactly what you’d expect from a Russian agent about to be exposed. Or at least one about to lose his ability to perform official mischief.
I realize that it would be best for the country to have a normal transition process. But since that’s not in the cards, and since Biden is hardly new to executive level governing, is this really a risk or is this just another break with norms and not much beyond that? Yes, senior “disloyal” staff is being fired by Trump, but he’s not shutting down the federal government. New administrations bring in their own trusted staff anyway and it take time for them to get up to speed. GSA failing to do it’s job is simply showing its irrelevance to the transition process which will happen regardless. It’s not nothing that Trump is trying to create as much chaos as he can. But is it something? Meh.
The danger has to do with the most sensitive information that only select people have; if certain officials are not authorized to pass along that information, that creates a potentially dangerous blind spot for the incoming president.
Today is the Million MAGA March in DC to support Trump’s efforts to overthrow the US government; Trump drove thru the crowd in his motorcade, to the delight of the hundreds of people assembled (video below). So it’s more like the Hundreds MAGA March, which lacks the alliterative ring of the original but is far more accurate.
Not that I’m giving him an idea he hasn’t considered but with legal challenges pretty much DOA, I think his only chance is ratchet up pressure on state legislatures to propose slates of electors and then hope the SCOTUS would somehow sign off on that idea of legislatures having singular authority to bypass existing state legislation and vote on electors, which would seem like a radical departure from convention even for the current conservative majority. I think they’re partisan but not suicidally stupid; empowering the current president and his party to change norms and constitutional interpretations on the fly would be potentially giving rise to an autocrat or the equivalent of the Ba’ath party.
Am I a bad man, or simply conditioned by recent RW shenanigans that the first thing I thought of when reading this sentence was his vehicles recklessly speeding through the crowd, scattering many and crushing a few?
There is quite a bit of experience that is being tossed out the window with these firings. A new administration doesn’t generally get rid of all these people, many of them have been around since Bush or Clinton or even Bush 1.
The way that the staff that a new administration gets up to speed is by relying on the experience and reports of these very people that are being fired. It should be happening now, it takes a while to get up to speed on running a country. Instead, if it is left to Jan 20th, with only a skeleton crew or less left to run the massive bureaucratic infrastructure of the US govt, the transition is going to be very rough.
And that’s who he has fired at this time. He still has months to clear out the agencies of anyone who knows what is going on and is loyal to the constitution.
In theory, they could be hired back, but that would be a difficult process. Congress could smooth the way, allowing them to act as though their employment never ended, giving them backpay and continuing their seniority, but unless we pick up both Georgia seats, I don’t see that being likely.
Many of these people could make more in the private sector. If they cannot go back to their jobs with their pensions and seniority, they quite likely will.
Agree that’s about the next best hope other than a true coup of organized violence.
OTOH, SCOTUS has fairly recently (2000?) explicitly held in another case that changing the elector selection process after Election Day does not pass constitutional muster.
They’d have to work contort pretty hard to walk that one back.
To the contrary, there is one theory that the whole purpose of all this is to keep the Trumpublicans on board for those runoffs. They are afraid that if Trump concedes or if the party fails to support his claims, those cultists will lose interest and stay home.
Here is another scenario floated by the Votemaster. In a couple of states, e.g. PA and MI, the legislature sends one set of electoral votes and the governor of sos sends another. The two houses divide on which slates to accept and make no decision (that is not the same as a tie) and no decision is made. Nancy steps aside temporarily as speaker and the house Ds appoint Biden as their speaker (nowhere is it specified that the speaker must be a member) who then takes over as acting president until such time as congress can agree.
However the Votemaster also mentions that some federal law specifies that the slate of electors certified by the state’s executive (governor or sos) is the official one. Of course, McTurtle could simply choose to ignore the law.
I just read yesterday in the Times, that in 1960 Hawaii sent two slates of electors, one for the Rs and the other, following a recount, for the Ds. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but the then Vice-President, presiding over the electoral vote count, asked for–and received–unanimous consent to ignore the first set of electoral votes. Think about that for a minute.
To answer the anticipated question, yes, Biden could rehire them either as full-time civil servants or as consultants - they’d still have their security clearances. But there’s the not exactly non-zero possibility that, out of spite, Trump telegraphs some of these firings to certain foreign intelligence services. Not that foreign adversaries would necessarily see that as some opportunity to launch an assault on the United States, but they might see it as a good time to pursue their own national interests at a time when the U.S. is trying to zip up its pants. If nothing else, it’s disruptive and makes the incoming administration look like it doesn’t have its shit together.
The question is, is would the want to come back? If they are starting over at the beginning of the pay scale and pension funding, if they also have lost confidence that they won’t just be fired again in 4 years when another Trump takes over, will they really want to come back, or would they rather make more money with their skills in the private sector.
I’m no 9/11 truther, but I do believe that the attack could have been stopped if more attention had been paid to what was going on. If Gore had won, I really don’t think it would have happened, either the terrorists wouldn’t have thought they had the opportunity, or we would have thwarted their efforts.
Leaving our administration and government in chaos, even if everyone goes back to their positions they were in, is going to leave us wide open. Maybe as an attack on the US, maybe as a land grab in Eastern Europe, maybe China just goes ahead and gobbles up a few of its neighbors. How much damage did the shutdowns do? I expect the same thing, but times ten.
It is the Electoral Count Act law. It’s even more prescriptive than that.
Basically if the state has submitted a slate of electors that are in accordance with state law as they were prior to election day, then the only way that slate can be not recognized is if both houses agree to do so. That is also true if two slates are sent, and one of them is in accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions and the other isn’t - the one that is must be counted unless both houses agree to grant the other one.
There isn’t much McConnell can do except blatantly flout this law (and I have enough confidence in SCOTUS still that that will not stand). WI, PA, MI all have Democratic governors. GA doesn’t seem likely to have the executive override the will of the people. Neither does AZ at this point. It’s all a dead end.
And you may have noticed that all of the focus lately with Trump’s tweets are on nefarious software cabals and thoroughly debunked “deep state” conspiracy stuff. They have given up on actually proving anything - it’s all about the noise now and being able to claim that the only reason they couldn’t prove the “obvious fraud” is because the “deep state” covered it all up.
Note the the federal government shuts down on December 12 if Trump does nothing. No scheme required.
I have worked (as a consultant) for several federal agencies. Some of the biggest, frankly. One of those jobs was working for Anthony Fauci. Not directly under him but close enough to have been in a couple of meetings with him. The other two huge federal agencies I worked are within a stone’s throw of the W.H. It has become clear to me that career people in the federal government are either excellent, or mediocre to useless. Political appointees are often less than useless. Not all. I don’t want to paint with too wide a brush. But whether they are good at their job or are there just to keep the chair warm, the dedicated senior career public servants are more often than not the unsung heroes. I recall one whom I worked for, he happened to also be a next door neighbor, was so well respected that when he suddenly passed from a heart attack, his service was held in the National Cathedral attended by the VP. I was there. It was a veritable who’s who of DC.
That is why I’m not particularly worried about a lack of transition. Biden and the new administration staff will be briefed effectively by those Trump cannot fire. Like Fauci, for example. It may take a bit more work to get up to speed, but I don’t see it as a national security risk.
But those are just “staff.” Everyone knows that it is the executives that get things done.
A deputy undersecretary is a career “staffer”. They run entire divisions and offices. The government is lousy with them. They know their mission and the only times things change is when the political appointee issues some sort of memorandum or policy change. Often as a reaction to a directive from congress. But that’s not very often, in my experience. And never quick.
So… who’s gonna hold DJT’s … um … feet to the fire to make him deal with this?
Congress is working to avoid it. But they can do a continuing resolution if that fails. I doubt anyone is holding their breath for Trump to behave like an adult.
It’s actually the 14th when the continuing resolution runs out. My error.
Unless the Rs get nervous enough about the runoffs to override a veto, no one.
I was in New York (Manhattan) for the anti-Trump rallies that occurred when Trump was inaugurated. Let’s just say there were a few more people at that (and those rallies occurred across the country and even around the world). Indeed, midtown was pretty much shot down to traffic. Streets filled for blocks in all directions. It was kind of amazing.
I’m still not sure where 70 million Trump supporters really are.