Comment by DiogenesKynikos
15 days ago
The president has ordered the bureaucracy to ignore the 14th Amendment. You may be blasé about that, and even consider pointing that out to be "misinformation," but I'm not. It's a sign that Constitutional rule in the US is in serious danger.
I'm not even going to get into all the other unconstitutional actions Trump has taken, such as appointing Elon Musk to lead the most powerful agency in the federal government without Senate advice and consent.
> appointing Elon Musk to lead the most powerful agency in the federal government without Senate advice and consent.
You mean this senate? Many of them are not happy with the national debt and are willing to take risks if it gets fixed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA3ma1MeSIU
Senate consent is only required for actual agency posts. Elon's team is just a small part of the USDS which is part of the Office of the White House. Which doesn't require Senate consent. Elon also has a Top Secret clearance and is technically competent to do the job.
Now I'm not defending everything Elon does but I'm saying that I didn't see anything that looked illegal there about the job description and the hiring itself.
Personally, I'd be happy enough if they just gutted just the FDA. There's probably a lot of other agencies doing harm and are overfunded.
Also, was advice and consent from the senate obtained for all these billions of taxpayer dollars being wasted and given to other countries for things that aren't needed?
> Senate consent is only required for actual agency posts
The Constitution requires Senate advice and consent for all government officials, except minor officials specifically exempted by an act of Congress. Calling Elon Musk and DOGE "just a small part of the USDS" is laughable. You know that isn't true. They have the power to take over and shut down any federal agency they choose. He's not some minor official, and the Constitution is very clear that his position needs Senate approval.
> I didn't see anything that looked illegal there
Shutting down USAID is illegal. The president does not have the authority to arbitrarily shut down federal agencies and to not spend money that Congress has appropriated.
> was advice and consent from the senate obtained for all these billions of taxpayer dollars being wasted and given to other countries
Yes. Why are you even asking this?
> for things that aren't needed?
AIDS patients in Africa don't need antiviral drugs?