Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[We are covfefe]

Bumbling idiots cannot control themselves and not poke the bear, can they? Of all the places they want to target in the government, pissing off the DoD is probably the singular dumbest thing they could do. Especially with it barely being a month since his swearing in. Morons can't even agree on what they plan to do, either.

[Breccia]

So, remember when Musk said we should just abandon ISS? You know, not remembering what the "I" stood for?

He got called out on it.

Here's the short version:

Musk says the two ISS astronauts still up there were abandoned for political reasons.

He was immediately called out for lying by, yep, an ISS astronaut. Specifically, one who flew them there.

Musk, showing the tact and class we've come to expect from Team Trump, called him a retard in public, and explained how he could have brought them down but Biden said no.

The astronaut returned with

You know as well as I do, that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September. Even now, you are not sending up a rescue ship to bring them home. They are returning on the Dragon capsule that has been on ISS since last September.

The two astronauts were due to come back in a Starliner, but due to technical issues-

"Who makes Starliner?"

Boeing.

"And they had a technical issue?"

Yes.

"And because of that technical issue, the astronauts are waiting for the next scheduled option?"

Yes.

"So, Musk is blaming Biden for the technical failings of one of Trump's biggest allies?

Yes. If you were looking for something honest or reasonable, you shouldn't be looking to the Trump administration.

In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper earlier this month, Williams and Wilmore pushed back on the notion that they were stranded, stuck, or abandoned by the American government.

“We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded,” Wilmore said.

“We knew that we would probably find some things (wrong with Starliner) and we found some stuff, and so that was not a surprise,” Williams added.

You can read the interview here. Basically, they're not thrilled Team Trump made them props to use for blatantly false political theater.

[gondrin]

So, remember when Musk said we should just abandon ISS? You know, not remembering what the "I" stood for?

He got called out on it.

Here's the short version:

Musk says the two ISS astronauts still up there were abandoned for political reasons.

He was immediately called out for lying by, yep, an ISS astronaut. Specifically, one who flew them there.

Musk, showing the tact and class we've come to expect from Team Trump, called him a retard in public, and explained how he could have brought them down but Biden said no.

The astronaut returned with



The two astronauts were due to come back in a Starliner, but due to technical issues-

"Who makes Starliner?"

Boeing.

"And they had a technical issue?"

Yes.

"And because of that technical issue, the astronauts are waiting for the next scheduled option?"

Yes.

"So, Musk is blaming Biden for the technical failings of one of Trump's biggest allies?

Yes. If you were looking for something honest or reasonable, you shouldn't be looking to the Trump administration.



You can read the interview here. Basically, they're not thrilled Team Trump made them props to use for blatantly false political theater.

On the topic of Boeing, Trump is demanding them to speed up with the new Air Force One. Sure, lets go with that. Lets skip everything and anything and just build it. I mean, Boeing is known for the highest standards in safety, right?

Right?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...d=BingNewsSerp

Oh, and because Trump is impatient, he is also thinking about buying used planes from Boeing while he is waiting. Because the current Air Force One, for some reason, cannot do what needs to be done while he waits.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/g...d=BingNewsSerp

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is considering buying used Boeing aircraft — perhaps from an overseas seller — to use as Air Force One when he's aboard, as he fumes over the U.S. plane-maker's delays in producing two specially modified ones for presidential use.

[Edge-]

On the topic of Boeing, Trump is demanding them to speed up with the new Air Force One. Sure, lets go with that. Lets skip everything and anything and just build it. I mean, Boeing is known for the highest standards in safety, right?

Right?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...d=BingNewsSerp

Oh, and because Trump is impatient, he is also thinking about buying used planes from Boeing while he is waiting. Because the current Air Force One, for some reason, cannot do what needs to be done while he waits.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/g...d=BingNewsSerp

wait does he think you can just purchase a used airplane with the capabilities of air force one?

like, he's flown inside it

how can this man be this fucking stupid

[gondrin]

wait does he think you can just purchase a used airplane with the capabilities of air force one?

like, he's flown inside it

how can this man be this fucking stupid

Honestly, the best part of that whole article is this.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is considering buying used Boeing aircraft — perhaps from an overseas seller — to use as Air Force One when he's aboard, as he fumes over the U.S. plane-maker's delays in producing two specially modified ones for presidential use.

Because nothing says secure then buying it from overseas. You know, there is a BIG reason why the DoD rarely buys ANYTHING that isn't made within the country. Because they want complete control over every part of it.

Oh, and this part too:

“We may go and buy a plane,” Trump said, adding that he could then “convert it.” He later clarified that he was ruling out purchasing aircraft of Airbus, the European company that is the only other global supplier on large wide-body aircraft, but would consider a second-hand Boeing plane. “I would not consider Airbus. I could buy one from another country perhaps or get one from another country."

The funny thing is, to convert a plane would still take a long time to do because there is a TON of security that goes into Air Force One.

[Edge-]

The funny thing is, to convert a plane would still take a long time to do because there is a TON of security that goes into Air Force One.

Like...to retrofit a plane you'd basically need to pull a team off of one of the Air Force One's being built and that whole process will probably take longer than just completing them anyways.

Like, the levels of stupidity about even suggesting this, from top to bottom, is astounding.

This man has access to all our nations secrets and nuclear arsenal.

[btlcryct]

Like...to retrofit a plane you'd basically need to pull a team off of one of the Air Force One's being built and that whole process will probably take longer than just completing them anyways.

Like, the levels of stupidity about even suggesting this, from top to bottom, is astounding.

This man has access to all our nations secrets and nuclear arsenal.

Supposedly Ukraine wants to finish the 2nd AN-225. Maybe once Trump hands them to Putin, he'll gift it to Trump to use as AF1. He'll even add all the security hardware for Trump!

[gondrin]

So, Trump is doing his "Maybe I'll Run for a Third Term" bit again. And, predictably, the seals are clapping along. Here is a little fun fact. Even if some of the states were to put him on the ballot illegally, he still couldn't do much seeing as around half of the states would refuse to even let him be voted on and not have him on the ballot. Sure, that is if there are elections by them but the point still stands if there are. That there would be no way for those people to vote for him.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...cd6f9ecb9&ei=6

[Breccia]

Because nothing says secure then buying it from overseas.

So...would he pay the tariff to himself, or...

[Kaleredar]

So, Trump is doing his "Maybe I'll Run for a Third Term" bit again. And, predictably, the seals are clapping along. Here is a little fun fact. Even if some of the states were to put him on the ballot illegally, he still couldn't do much seeing as around half of the states would refuse to even let him be voted on and not have him on the ballot. Sure, that is if there are elections by them but the point still stands if there are. That there would be no way for those people to vote for him.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...cd6f9ecb9&ei=6

While I would love for that to be true and I don’t even know if trump will survive another four years because he’s a deteriorating orange blob, didn’t the Supreme Court pull some shenanigans and force Colorado to put Trump on the ballot despite him being a convicted felon?

- - - Updated - - -

So, Trump is doing his "Maybe I'll Run for a Third Term" bit again. And, predictably, the seals are clapping along. Here is a little fun fact. Even if some of the states were to put him on the ballot illegally, he still couldn't do much seeing as around half of the states would refuse to even let him be voted on and not have him on the ballot. Sure, that is if there are elections by them but the point still stands if there are. That there would be no way for those people to vote for him.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...cd6f9ecb9&ei=6

While I would love for that to be true and I don’t even know if trump will survive another four years because he’s a deteriorating orange blob, didn’t the Supreme Court pull some shenanigans and force Colorado to put Trump on the ballot despite him being a convicted felon?

[gondrin]

While I would love for that to be true and I don’t even know if trump will survive another four years because he’s a deteriorating orange blob, didn’t the Supreme Court pull some shenanigans and force Colorado to put Trump on the ballot despite him being a convicted felon?

- - - Updated - - -



While I would love for that to be true and I don’t even know if trump will survive another four years because he’s a deteriorating orange blob, didn’t the Supreme Court pull some shenanigans and force Colorado to put Trump on the ballot despite him being a convicted felon?

The problem is, SCOTUS would have to declare the 22nd Amendment to be unconstitutional. You know, to basically say part of the constitution isn't actually part of the constitution. At that point, the states should then declare that the US Constitution is null and void and therefor the US Federal Government is no longer a thing because without the actual US Constitution, there is no federal government. Funny thing is, the actual States themselves would be fine the US Constitution actually doesn't need to be a thing for the states to function.

The problem with Colorado was, and I disagreed with SCOTUS on this, is since he actually wasn't convicted of insurrection, only charged with it, that they couldn't use that as a means to keep him off of it. So unless SCOTUS decides to basically rip out part of the Constitution, he won't be able to be put on the ballot, at least in those states. There would be states that would try to put him on though.

- - - Updated - - -

So, in an effort to "czar" everything and anything possible, I guess we are going to have a "Pardon Czar". Because why not.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...94f8fd4f&ei=15

President Trump said Thursday he was making Alice Johnson, whose sentence he commuted during his first term, his “pardon czar” to make recommendations about who should receive clemency.

Trump made the announcement during a Black History Month event at the White House.

“You’ve been an inspiration to people, and we’re going to be listening to your recommendations on pardons,” Trump said of Johnson, who was in the room.

- - - Updated - - -

So, in a move that is somewhat surprising, Josh Hawley, very far-right MAGA member that fled when the chambers were under attack on Jan 6th that supports Trump in pretty much everything basically said no cuts to Medicaid and will vote with Democrats to prevent it. Mind you, he isn't trying to protect poor people or anything. He knows his constituents are on it and that is a LOT of them.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...d81d1e6c&ei=12

Far-right Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) vehemently opposes a key component of President Donald Trump and the House GOP's budget proposal and has introduced legislation to prevent it from coming to pass.

"Hawley says he filed an amendment barring cuts to Medicaid," reported Igor Bobic of the Huffington Post. "Adds he’s tempted to vote for similar Dem amendments."

- - - Updated - - -

So, how did Trump fare at CPAC with his third term delusion? Pretty much crickets. The crowd was pretty much non-responsive towards and when some guests were asked about it, didn't agree with it. Along with the fact CPAC this year was pretty much a dud.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...534daf82&ei=22

Oh hey, there is even a group trying to promote it. Called the Third Term Project. Originality isn't conservatives strongest suit.

https://thirdtermproject.com/

Best part of that whole site is this:

Running as Vice President: President Trump can run as Vice President with a space filler as President in 2028. Perhaps Donald Trump Jr. could run on a Trump/Trump ticket before gracefully resigning on Jan. 21, 2028 after securing victory. This plan while unorthodox would show that MAGA cannot be stopped by any procedural rule.

Remember folks, Trump is now considered space filler. I mean, anyone can see that seeing how Musk pretty much just shoves him aside like Trump did to Prime Minister of Montenegro at this NATO photo op.

[Aphelios]

Quite frankly, if it is a joke, they're spending their time trolling their own people and the world. "I'm going to crown myself king, 98.5% of the world will be so angry, this is a great use of my time and public position!" Can you imagine voting for that? Can you imagine defending that? And that's the good option.

Seriously, all any Trump voter has to say is "that was a poor joke and I disagree with it" when asked, or better yet, when it is shoved in their feed. They haven't done so, therefore, it would come off as insincere if they did. Those statements are days old.

- - - Updated - - -



Considering



you literally think Trump is God, I think your view on the topic is not reasonable.

But maybe I'm biased. Let's bring in a tiebreaker. Hey @Flarelaine do you think Trump should be king? You're not American, you can be an honest and genuine tiebreaker.

Hey @Flarelaine can you please ban people that disagree with me and don't like me.

[Edge-]

So how is this well oiled machine going?

Trump administration backtracks on eliminating thousands of national parks employees

Hey, great news!

It's not all of them, but it's most of them. Sure saved a bunch of money firing and then now having to track down and re-hire all these people. I can see why Elon is a managerial genius. Who ever would have imagined people love our National Parks and the underappreciated and underpaid Park staff that work there?

Well the universe is all about balance, isn't it?

Justice Department broadens Jan. 6 pardons to cover gun, drug-related charges

"Hunter Biden?"

No, not quite, but I think we all made that instant connection.

The Department of Justice has widened the scope of President Trump's pardons for Jan. 6 riot defendants to include separate but related gun charges. The charges stemmed from FBI searches executed during the sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, which allegedly turned up evidence of other crimes not directly connected to the Capitol breach.

In legal filings this week, federal prosecutors asked judges to dismiss cases against two former Jan. 6 defendants, who had both faced federal gun charges.

Ok, so not only did the pardon people who participated in a cosplay-coup attempt and assaulted federal law enforcement, but now they're pardoning those who brought guns into DC. Which is against the law.

In the case against Elias Costianes of Maryland, federal prosecutors alleged he joined the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and took videos of himself inside of the building. Costianes pleaded not guilty to the Jan. 6 charges, and his case was still pending when Trump took office and ordered the dismissal of all ongoing Capitol riot cases. But that was not Costianes' only legal problem. When FBI agents first arrested Costianes and searched his residence on Feb. 12, 2021, they found four guns, along with evidence that Costianes used and sold cocaine and testosterone.

Costianes pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm or ammunition by an unlawful user of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to a year in prison, which he began serving earlier this month.

Guns and drugs? And a DEALER? The kind of person Donald has repeatedly said should be put to death?

This week, the Department of Justice said in a court filing that it had concluded that Trump's pardon order extended to Costianes' drug and gun case, because it was sufficiently related to his Jan. 6 charges.

Oh...so Donald is pardoning...

People who assaulted law enforcement

People who stole federal property

People who trespassed on federal property

People who brought guns into DC/onto federal property

People who admitted to using and selling narcotics

Federal prosecutors had accused Daniel Ball of Florida of throwing an "explosive device that detonated upon at least 25 officers" during the Capitol riot, and alleged that he "forcefully" shoved police trying to protect the building. He was arrested in May 2023. According to charging documents, Ball had a criminal record before his arrest for Jan. 6, including for "Domestic Violence Battery by Strangulation," "Resisting Law Enforcement with Violence," and "Battery on Law Enforcement Officer." Ball pleaded not guilty to the Jan. 6 charges, and his case was dismissed when Trump took office.

You can tell where this is going.

But when federal agents originally arrested Ball on the riot charges, prosecutors alleged they also found a gun and ammunition in his possession, which would be illegal given his criminal history. In August 2024, a grand jury in Florida indicted Ball for "Possession of a Firearm or Ammunition by a Convicted Felon." He pleaded not guilty to the gun case. After Ball was released from detention on his Jan. 6 charges, the Justice Department indicated it planned to pursue the gun case and had him rearrested. Then, this week, the federal prosecutors appeared to reverse their position and filed a brief motion indicating that they would like to dismiss that case, as well.

Ah, pardon the violent felon who illegally had a gun, too.

I wonder if any of these people will go on to hurt or kill anyone?

We know there are pedophiles that have been arrested since their pardons. Do you think the DOJ will say the pardon extends to their alleged solicitation of a minor?

Who knows. Republicans just haven't read the news reports or social media and don't know what you're talking about. They've just been so, so busy.

[Kaleredar]

So how is this well oiled machine going?



Hey, great news!

It's not all of them, but it's most of them. Sure saved a bunch of money firing and then now having to track down and re-hire all these people. I can see why Elon is a managerial genius. Who ever would have imagined people love our National Parks and the underappreciated and underpaid Park staff that work there?

Well the universe is all about balance, isn't it?

It's really something that the best news to come out of the Trump administration so far is "Trump says he's going to do an awful thing but doesn't actually go through with it."

[gondrin]

So, what happens when the GOP have to actually face their constituents because of the actions of Musk and Trump and they just sit there and do nothing about it or agree with what is going on? This is what happens.

https://x.com/bluestein/status/18927...-gone-wrong%2F

Pretty much very angry people calling them out on their bullshit. Building was packed and going out of the room. Sorry for the X link but it is a video and everyone should watch.

As I said, either the GOP will have to grow a spine or pretty much deal with the outcome of a very angry, very loud and very armed populace that will take it to them one way or another. Because I expected Trump to do this. I expected Musk to do this once Trump brought him in. This is where the GOP in Congress is supposed to step up and take control and all they did was lie down and show their belly.

And it will only get louder from here.

[Malkiah]

So, what happens when the GOP have to actually face their constituents because of the actions of Musk and Trump and they just sit there and do nothing about it or agree with what is going on?

historically? nothing.
i wish i could say i think that will change, but there is significant evidence in precedent to show that it will not.

As I said, either the GOP will have to grow a spine or pretty much deal with the outcome of a very angry, very loud and very armed populace that will take it to them one way or another.

i don't understand what you mean here, and you're expressing a sentiment i'm seeing more and more of and it confuses me greatly and i would love it if you could explain this in more clarity.
"grow a spine" over what?

here's the thing about trump that IMO most folks are either in outright denial over, or are only slowly coming to realize: he's not a maverick or a rogue political operative, he's not an agent of chaos or someone working only on their own interests... since 2016 he's been a bog standard GOP president and he's never done a single thing outside of the bounds of what the GOP explicitly want as their party platform.

it seems to me this insistence that there will be some actual electoral blowback from them cutting (insert thing you think there will be blowback over) really fails to consider that they've been cutting (insert thing you think there will be blowback over) since at least the early 70s and yet people keep voting for them.

i'm not posting this to say "you're wrong" i just... you and others make these kinds of posts all the time and i can't understand what chain of logic has lead you to the conclusions you make. i'm baffled, and i'd love you for you or somebody to lay this out for me so i get where you're coming from.

Because I expected Trump to do this. I expected Musk to do this once Trump brought him in. This is where the GOP in Congress is supposed to step up and take control and all they did was lie down and show their belly.

the implicit suggestion here is that trump is doing anything that republicans would be opposed to.
can you point out a single thing trump has done in either administration that wasn't nakedly the policy agenda of the GOP, just louder and brasher?

[PACOX]

So, remember when Musk said we should just abandon ISS? You know, not remembering what the "I" stood for?

He got called out on it.

Here's the short version:

Musk says the two ISS astronauts still up there were abandoned for political reasons.

He was immediately called out for lying by, yep, an ISS astronaut. Specifically, one who flew them there.

Musk, showing the tact and class we've come to expect from Team Trump, called him a retard in public, and explained how he could have brought them down but Biden said no.

The astronaut returned with



The two astronauts were due to come back in a Starliner, but due to technical issues-

"Who makes Starliner?"

Boeing.

"And they had a technical issue?"

Yes.

"And because of that technical issue, the astronauts are waiting for the next scheduled option?"

Yes.

"So, Musk is blaming Biden for the technical failings of one of Trump's biggest allies?

Yes. If you were looking for something honest or reasonable, you shouldn't be looking to the Trump administration.



You can read the interview here. Basically, they're not thrilled Team Trump made them props to use for blatantly false political theater.

I commented a lot on this story in the NASA thread. The man has the audacity to spew the misinformation he’s spreading while profiting off the entire situation. Here’s a quick rundown: NASA doesn’t want to handle "routine" missions close to Earth anymore, so it has supported commercial firms like SpaceX and Boeing to conduct these routine rocket launches. They want at least two providers for sending and returning astronauts, and SpaceX and Boeing won the contracts. Why two? Well, a) to prevent one commercial company from holding a monopoly and engaging in cost-cutting or stifling innovation, as monopolies often do, and b) to avoid a single point of failure. If something goes wrong with the hardware (e.g., a capsule experiences an anomaly) or a company (e.g., its CEO acts irrationally), there are less painful ways to return astronauts safely.

NASA designed space capsules to hold seven people—enough to send the usual three astronauts up, bring three back, and have extra seats for contingencies, such as rescuing astronauts who might be stranded.

SpaceX completed its demo mission some time ago, but it also experienced anomalies, just as Boeing did. Musk is criticizing the program and process as if he isn’t part of it and as if it isn’t part of his financial portfolio. SpaceX launches hundreds of times a year, but they really only make money off a few missions—primarily the NASA ones.

Anyway, the Boeing capsule was never stranded in space, and the astronauts were never stranded. NASA proceeded slowly and cautiously because this was just a demo mission with a capsule they were prepared to lose (as long as no people were on board) and with astronauts who are professional test pilots willing to endure long, mundane processes to ensure future crews don’t have to. The capsule experienced some anomalies, and while engineers were 90% confident it could return to Earth, they took the time and opportunity to stress-test the capsule, gather valuable data, and conduct science to improve future flights. There was no need to gamble on that 10% chance of failure when it wasn’t necessary, so the capsule returned without its crew. The astronauts agreed to stay on the ISS because they are professional test pilots and experienced astronauts committed to the bigger picture. They were willing to simulate conditions the entire project was designed for. Instead of hitching a ride on ISS crews scheduled to arrive and depart, they stayed on the ISS to live out a scenario where astronauts might actually be stranded and have no choice but to remain as extra guests on a station they weren’t scheduled to be on.

This is all stuff NASA and other space agencies need to figure out if we’re ever to have a space station around the Moon or conduct deep space missions to asteroids and Mars. There could be scenarios where astronauts go to Mars but have to remain in space stations longer than expected while waiting for return vehicles. Musk knows this, and he’s being dishonest.

[gondrin]

historically? nothing.
i wish i could say i think that will change, but there is significant evidence in precedent to show that it will not.


i don't understand what you mean here, and you're expressing a sentiment i'm seeing more and more of and it confuses me greatly and i would love it if you could explain this in more clarity.
"grow a spine" over what?

here's the thing about trump that IMO most folks are either in outright denial over, or are only slowly coming to realize: he's not a maverick or a rogue political operative, he's not an agent of chaos or someone working only on their own interests... since 2016 he's been a bog standard GOP president and he's never done a single thing outside of the bounds of what the GOP explicitly want as their party platform.

it seems to me this insistence that there will be some actual electoral blowback from them cutting (insert thing you think there will be blowback over) really fails to consider that they've been cutting (insert thing you think there will be blowback over) since at least the early 70s and yet people keep voting for them.

i'm not posting this to say "you're wrong" i just... you and others make these kinds of posts all the time and i can't understand what chain of logic has lead you to the conclusions you make. i'm baffled, and i'd love you for you or somebody to lay this out for me so i get where you're coming from.


the implicit suggestion here is that trump is doing anything that republicans would be opposed to.
can you point out a single thing trump has done in either administration that wasn't nakedly the policy agenda of the GOP, just louder and brasher?

Grow a spine meaning they are not doing their job and actually being the check and balance to the executive when they think the executive is overstepping its constitutional authority. That is the job of Congress is to put checks on the Executive. Right now, not only are they agreeing with Trump in pretty much everything he is doing, that is wanting to INCREASE the debt by 4.7 trillion, want the President to have the ability to unilaterally decide if funds should be spent or not(Article 1 power), have no issue with the Executive branch closing down Agencies and Departments without Consent from Congress in order to do so(Article 1 power), the President or someone near him actively stating he should outright ignore any law or ruling he doesn't agree with(Both Article 1 and 3 powers), threatening to jail political opponents or anyone who speaks out on him, actively using the DoJ to politically target people and other such things, they are also actively trying to create laws AFTER he has created Executive Orders for him to do said things. They are actively removing their ability to actually hold the Executive Branch in check as shown in the US Constitution.

The Legislative branch, by the US Constitution, is supposed to be the strongest branch out of all of them and the Executive Branch is supposed to be the weakest. And that is by design to prevent monarchs, dictators or kings from becoming a thing. However, Congress is the one responsible for that to be a thing that never happens.

Congresses in the past have actively put a stop to all of that. Nixon did a few of those and he actively was going to get impeached and removed from office for what he did and it wasn't even a fraction of what is going on.

Because all they have done is roll over and show their belly. And any who decide to even remotely hint they may disagree with Trump are scared to lose their job as seen when Musk said he will put up $100 million to primary ANY who disagree or not vote 100% with Trump. They are spineless cowards that are more worried about their job then their morals, the welfare of their constituents or pretty much anything else. The thing is, most of them are already wealthy before coming into office so them losing their job isn't an issue of needing to feed their family or what typically happens with most people who work for a living where they are worried about losing their job and have no means to support themselves. All they are is self-serving wannabe tyrants that don't actually want to govern but just want to control people's lives by taking their rights away.

[Tech614]

the implicit suggestion here is that trump is doing anything that republicans would be opposed to.
can you point out a single thing trump has done in either administration that wasn't nakedly the policy agenda of the GOP, just louder and brasher?

Most republicans(and a hell a good portion of Dems also for the record) in congress are only for things that keep them in congress and reaping the benefits of lobbyists and insider trading knowledge. It's really not as deep as you think it is, republicans just have an easier grift into office than dems do so it's more common with them.

If their constituents start to turn on them, they aren't gonna be down with Donny boy for that long as they aren't going to sacrifice their careers as a politician for a guy they only claim to support because it was an easy grift into office. Ofc they supported him when it was the popular thing to do among the hog voting base of republicans but Trump loses their support and it's over.

You're going to find out real quick how many republicans there are who don't really have opinions on anything and just say yes to the popular thing among their voting base. I'd wager the ones deeply loyal to Trump are an extreme minority.

[gondrin]

So, in an effort to be the worst administration ever(yes, this includes the ones like Jackson, Buchanan and others), the Trump DoJ has decided that since they think that administrative law judges are unconstitutional that they won't protect them in the event someone wants them removed. Because, you know, why not. That is going to be the go to with this administration. "Because why not."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...52e431bb&ei=16

US declares administrative law judge removal rules unconstitutional

The U.S. Justice Department has determined that multiple layers of removal restrictions shielding administrative law judges are unconstitutional and will no longer defend them in court, top officials said on Thursday.

Chad Mizelle, the department's chief of staff, called the administrative law judges, who preside over administrative disputes in the federal government, "unelected and constitutionally unaccountable."

In a letter to U.S. Senator Charles Grassley that Mizelle posted on X, Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote that the Justice Department would no longer defend removal restrictions for administrative law judges against challenges in courts.

The Justice Department's policy shift comes as Republican President Donald Trump and his ally, the billionaire Elon Musk, seek to reduce the power of several federal regulatory agencies.

It also comes after several decisions curbing the authority of U.S. agencies by the U.S. Supreme Court, whose conservative justices have indicated skepticism toward expansive regulatory power.

Last year, the Supreme Court rejected as unconstitutional the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's use of in-house administrative law judges to decide enforcement actions protecting investors from securities fraud. Conservative and business groups have said the SEC has an unfair advantage litigating cases before its own judges.

Administrative judges operate separately from judges who preside over federal courts, who are known as Article III judges for the section of the U.S. Constitution that established the judiciary. Administrative judges adjudicate matters within agencies that come under the executive branch, which include the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

A spokesperson for the Association of Administrative Law Judges, a union that represents 910 administrative law judges who adjudicate cases at the Social Security Administration, said the group was waiting for more information.

Last week, the union asked a judge to block Musk and the Trump cost-cutting effort known as the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing their personal and employment records. The union said the disclosure of workers' personal information poses a security risk.

Justice Department lawyers representing Musk and Doge said in court filing on Wednesday that DOGE and the other defendants had not made any public disclosure of sensitive personal records.

Musk and DOGE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.