# The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 11, 2024, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068 "2024-11-11T06:19:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 62
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1221 "2025-01-28T21:27:15Z")
Just out of idle curiosity, how did the script of The Bee Movie become the thing to send in these instances? I know it’s been used this way for a while, but did it become publicly available at the right time or something? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1222 "2025-01-28T21:30:26Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Just out of idle curiosity, how did the script of The Bee Movie become the thing to send in these instances? It’s got one of those ironic so-bad-its-good fandoms on Tumblr. Sort of like The Room. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1223 "2025-01-28T22:07:12Z")
I’m watching the news now (it’s on AFKN, a compilation from major networks, and this part was from some Fox show) and Noem is blathering about Trump sending “a very good message” with the immigration raids. She also referred to herself as “the Director of Homeland Security” until she was corrected by one of the news panel members. FUCK! These clowns don’t even know their own titles. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1224 "2025-01-28T23:07:58Z")
The right suddenly has a new mantra. “Paying High Prices is Patriotic”. First 15 sec of this video (Meidas Touch) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0XUO44lL-Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0XUO44lL-Y) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1225 "2025-01-28T23:08:13Z")
A federal judge has blocked Trump’s spending freeze. > **[D.C. federal judge temporarily blocks Trump plan to pause federal aid spending](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/dc-federal-judge-temporarily-blocks-trump-plan-pause-federal-aid-spend-rcna189706)** > > The order from Judge Loren AliKhan runs through next Monday, when further arguments in the case are scheduled. She’s a Biden appointee, so I expect the janitorial staff are gonna be working overtime cleaning ketchup stains off the walls of Trump’s playroom tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1226 "2025-01-28T23:18:23Z")
And she’s a she and her name isn’t exactly what you would call western European. Those are two other things sure to tick off the twerp. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1227 "2025-01-29T03:12:55Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > And she’s a she and her name isn’t exactly what you would call western European. I wonder if Trump will try to have her deported. I’m sure one of his sycophants will suggest it, just like they did for Bishop Budde. (I just checked: Loren AliKhan was born in Maryland.) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1228 "2025-01-29T03:20:58Z")
I couldn’t figure out from the news, but is Trump offering ALL federal workers (such as, FBI, DHS, CBP) the chance to resign in return for being paid through September, or only a certain category of workers? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1229 "2025-01-29T03:25:24Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I couldn’t figure out from the news, but is Trump offering ALL federal workers (such as, FBI, DHS, CBP) the chance to resign in return for being paid through September, or only a certain category of workers? **All** of them. And they only have a week to decide. The second paragraph below makes it abundantly clear that this is a carrot-and-stick approach: “retire right now” or face pain. > [@](#): > > The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is offering buyouts to all federal employees who opt to leave their jobs by next week — an unprecedented move to shrink the U.S. government at breakneck speed. > > A memo from the [Office of Personnel Management](https://www.opm.gov/fork), the government’s human resources agency, also said it would begin subjecting all federal employees to “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” and ominously warned of future downsizing. The email sent to millions of employees said those who leave their posts voluntarily will receive about eight months of salary, but they have to choose to do so by Feb. 6. > **[Trump offering federal workers buyouts with about 8 months' pay in effort to...](https://apnews.com/article/trump-buyouts-to-all-federal-employees-f67f5751a0fd5ad8471806a5a1067b5e)** > > The email sent to employees says those who leave their posts voluntarily will receive about eight months of salary, but they have to chose to do so by Feb 6. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1230 "2025-01-29T03:29:53Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I wonder if Trump will try to have her deported. I’m sure one of his sycophants will suggest it, just like they did for Bishop Budde. (I just checked: Loren AliKhan was born in Maryland.) The felon’s followers have already: - condemned her as not being Christian because \*\* Christianity doesn’t have bishops - condemned her as not being Christian because \*\* She’s lesbian and lesbians can’t be Christians - and demanded she be deported because \*\*Hell, who knows? There’s still no such thing as treason against a person in the United States, no matter what Felon47 thinks. They’ve plenty of choices from the Felon-in-Chief’s playlist to make Judge AliKhan’s life perilous. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Velocity](#): > > > > I couldn’t figure out from the news, but is Trump offering ALL federal workers (such as, FBI, DHS, CBP) the chance to resign in return for being paid through September, or only a certain category of workers? > > **All** of them. And they only have a week to decide Wouldn’t it be something if **all of them** took him up on that offer? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1231 "2025-01-29T03:33:04Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The bishop’s followers have already: Did you mean “Trump’s followers”? I’ve seen such sentiments ascribed to conservatives and MAGAts, but not to Episcopalians. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1232 "2025-01-29T03:37:20Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Did you mean “Trump’s followers”? I’ve seen such sentiments ascribed to conservatives and MAGAts, but not to Episcopalians. Thanks! I meant the felon’s followers. Edited. Appreciate it! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1233 "2025-01-29T03:50:33Z")
Thanks. Not gonna lie, if I were a fed worker, I’d be really tempted to take up the offer, except that I’d be worried Trump would refuse to hold up his end of the deal. Sometimes it blows my mind that the entire history of the United States is only a bit longer than three Trump lifespans put end on end. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1234 "2025-01-29T03:54:30Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Sometimes it blows my mind that the entire history of the United States is only a bit longer than three Trump lifespans put end on end. Didn’t some comedian point that out, that the United States Revolutionary War was “just three dudes ago”? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1235 "2025-01-29T03:55:59Z")
First time I heard that, but yeah, it’s weird to think of it that way. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1236 "2025-01-29T03:56:06Z")
> [@dougrb](#): > > The right suddenly has a new mantra. “Paying High Prices is Patriotic”. Funny they didn’t come up with that during the 2024 campaign. It’s a sure-fire election winner. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1237 "2025-01-29T05:35:25Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > **All** of them. And they only have a week to decide. The second paragraph below makes it abundantly clear that this is a carrot-and-stick approach: “retire right now” or face pain. I was confused about how this works so I read the memo and the resignation letter they have to sign. They aren’t leaving their jobs next week. They will resign now but still work until their resignation date of 9-30-25. > [@](#): > > Given my impending resignation, I understand I will be exempt from any “Return to Office” requirements pursuant to recent directives and that I will maintain my current compensation and retain all existing benefits (including but not limited to retirement accruals) until my final resignation date. > > I am certain of my decision to resign and my choice to resign is fully voluntary. I understand my employing agency will likely make adjustments in response to my resignation including moving, eliminating, consolidating, reassigning my position and tasks, reducing my official duties, and/or placing me on paid administrative leave until my resignation date. That last paragraph sounds like people could end up doing no work at all until 9-30-25. Very efficient! And this from the press secretary is pretty insulting. If you decide to take this offer, you are admitting you are a lazy ass who doesn’t want to work. > [@](#): > > “American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees, and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "If they don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, [Trump administration offers federal workers a buyout to resign](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-administration-offer-federal-workers-buyouts-resign-rcna189661) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1238 "2025-01-29T05:38:46Z")
Working in the White House is still optional. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1239 "2025-01-29T05:41:48Z")
The wording of the letter is apparently very similar to the one Elmo Husk sent Twitter’s employees when he bought it in 2022, right down to the subject line. > > > > ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/1240 "2025-01-29T05:56:26Z")
The [FAQ](https://www.opm.gov/fork/faq) they posted is explicit that workers who opt to resign are not expected to work. > [@OPM](#): > > **Frequently Asked Questions** > > Am I expected to work during the deferred resignation period? > > No. Except in rare cases determined by your agency, you are not expected to work. Of course, this is blatantly unlawful. The American people pay the wages for federal workers, and there is no way current law allows the President to pay federal workers for 7 months while not actually working. > **[Trump Administration Offers Millions of Federal Workers Payouts to Resign](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/us/politics/trump-buyouts-federal-workers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.s04.HXZs.GnvvNO9BOR1n&smid=url-share)** > > The move, which could dramatically reduce the size of the federal work force, appeared to stretch the limits of President Trump’s authority. > [@New York Times](#): > > It is unclear what authority the Trump administration has to offer paid administrative leave to effectively the entire federal civilian work force. Under the law, no employee can be on [administrative leave for more than 10 days in a year](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section6329a&num=0&edition=prelim#:~:text=In%20general.%2DDuring%20any%20calendar%20year%2C%20an%20agency%20may%20place%20an%20employee%20in%20administrative%20leave%20for%20a%20period%20of%20not%20more%20than%20a%20total%20of%2010%20work%20days.) — let alone more than seven months. > > …Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia — a state that hosts a large chunk of the federal work force — denounced the offer, and suggested that the offer of pay was a trick. > > “If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you.” Mr. Kaine, a Democrat, said in a floor speech on Tuesday, referring to Mr. Trump’s [past refusals to pay workers](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/nyregion/trump-tower-illegal-immigrant-workers-union-settlement.html). > > Mr. Kaine added of Mr. Trump, “He doesn’t have any authority to do this. Do not be fooled by this guy.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=61) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=63)