Washington (AP) – When Elon Musk recently debuted the Department of Government Efficiency in Capitol, House’s spokesman, Mike Johnson, enthusiastically predicted that the upcoming Trump administration would bring “a lot of change here”.
In three weeks, the change that the Trump administration has presented is a disturbance of the Federal Government on an unprecedented benchmark, dismantled long -term programs, triggers a widespread public outcry and in question, the role of the congress in question to the laws of the country To create and pay for your bills.
Government employees are pushed for resignation. Whole agencies are closed. The federal financing for states and non -profit organizations was temporarily frozen. And the most sensitive information of the financial department of countless Americans was opened for Musks Doge team in an unprecedented violation of privacy and protocol.
“This is an erosion of our democracy,” said Brian Riedl, a long -time economic advisor for conservative Republicans, now at the Manhattan Institute.
President Donald Trump has Musk, the richest man in the world to take over the inner work of the oldest democracy in the world, and so far the results are breathtaking, if not alarming and illegal and in dozens of court cases nationwide.
The congress proves little agreement with Doge because the cautious legislators see it marching through the bureaucracy. Instead, a rush of lawsuits calls for interventions to prevent the Republican President’s team from preventing the government’s unilateral abbreviation. And protests exclude outside of the government agencies and clog the telephone lines of the congress.
“Whatever does Doge, it is certainly not – not – not – what the democracy in the great history of this country looks like or ever looked,” said Chuck Schumer, the democratic chairman of the Senate.
“An unnecessed shadow government is carrying out an enemy takeover of the federal government,” Schumer wrote about Musks Social -Media -site X.
Musk replied on his platform: “Hysterical reactions like this know how you know that DOGE does work that is really important.”
The congress has already been here and was tested in Trump’s first term through his willingness to break the norms and avoid the external banks of legality, especially when he steamed the congress and military residential and construction in the federal government, to parts to build its promised wall along the United States -Mexico.
But Trump’s second-term partnership with Musk, who spent around 200 million dollars for Trump’s bid of the White House and uses the Tech-Wenthos to move quickly and break things, escalates the confrontation. On a declared striving to save money by wasting, fraud and abuse, take steps to improve American institutions, decimate the public service and leave a reformed or hollowed-out federal government in its place.
Sharon Parrott, President of the Center for Household and Political Priorities, said that it was “catastrophic for our government system” if the efforts are successful.
“Many of the things they do are brazen illegal, and we saw that the dishes were willing to intervene – and quickly intervene,” said Parrott. “There is a real willingness and understanding of the missions.”
In many ways, Trump with force is pursuing what the Republicans have promised for a long time, but were unable to deliver through congress measures: reduction of the size and the scope of the Federal Government. Anti-tax crusador grover norquist joked more than a decade ago to make the government tiny enough to drown in a bathtub.
But because they are exposed to the cutting of programs from their ranks that the Americans rely on, the Republicans have not reached their budget slashing goals repeatedly, even if they completely check the congress and the white house as now.
While the congress has the authority to adopt laws to finance government operations, the President can sign a veto invoice or law. Instead, Trump tests an idea that his candidate for the household director Russ, Russian, is used that the executive has the ability to “confiscate” federal money and to push the money back.
The Republican Senator Kevin Cramer from North Dakota said that Dogy had made some Republicans who wanted to shorten federal funds, if the congress had not done this.
And other Republicans say that they feel comfortable with Trump’s break from certain federal operations, in particular the US Agency for International Development, which sends aid worldwide. The end of the Ministry of Education is next on deck.
“We have supervision,” said Republican Senator Thom Tillis by North Carolina. “If he goes too far, I will be the first person who rises.”
Together, the actions of the administration and the Doge were quick, relentless and wide open to debates.
Trump’s office for management and budget to unsubscribe from the move of scholarships and loans from the federal government was outraged nationwide, since states and non -profit organizations feared from the means they need to provide living space, health care and other services . A day later, the White House turned the course.
The shutdown of funds to USAID is largely regarded as a test case for the Disability Control Act, which has used VOUGHTS in order to discuss the exploit as a way to affect the funds approved by congressions. The nomination of vougge is up to date this week to confirm the confirmation of the Senate, although all Senate Democrats said they would oppose him.
And Doge dipped into the internal work activities of the financial department to access his payment system-and the private information of millions of Americans in what is widely seen as a possibility for the White House, to finally stop federal funds for different companies.
On Monday, the US district judge Loren L. Alikhan said that the government’s measures with federal financing “may lead to a” bulwark of the constitution “by affecting the appropriation of the congress of federal funds”.
“The defendant’s actions seem to suffer from a constitutional size,” she wrote, extending a decision that was frozen in the break of OMBs last week. A wealth of legal authorities supports this fundamental separation of powers. “
Senator Patty Murray from Washington, the highest democrat of the Senate appropriation committee, said that she now gives a break, is how the congress is progressing to finance the government until March 14.
“What if we do all of this and come to an agreement? Turn it into a – and this administration says: »This is bunk. We don’t have to avoid it, ”she said. “So trust is the lowest that I have ever seen.”
When asked whether the administration could do what it does, Johnson, the spokesman, insisted that the congress will give an appropriate action, but we have not yet triggered what happens. “
Press if Trump had the authority to close agencies, he said: “I don’t have all the answers.”
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Kevin Freking and video journalist Mike Pesoli contributed to this report.
