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Trump talks of ending gov't weaponization, as he acts to target foes and the vulnerable
Trump talks of ending gov't weaponization, as he acts to target foes and the vulnerable
Newly returned to power, Donald Trump lashed out in a series of day-one orders. And: About those "acting" department heads.
Chris Geidner
Jan 21, 2025
In one of President Donald Trump’s first acts back in office, he signed an executive order on Monday purporting to end the weaponization of the federal government — while doing the opposite within the order itself.
The two contradictory acts are emblematic of many of the newly-returned-to-power president’s day-one actions, preaching “unity” at multiple points in his inaugural address while also unleashing a stream of executive actions throughout the day attacking his political opponents, using the levers of government to help his allies, and making life more difficult and dangerous for those already facing discrimination and hate. The attacks on immigrants and transgender people were particularly vicious, and the environmental and energy orders are particularly disturbing.
The orders I’ll be highlighting this morning are not all that came on Monday, and none of these descriptions comprehensively detail the orders covered. In other words, more to come — particularly as implementation begins or as lawsuits are filed. But, for now, this is a look into both how aggressively Trump lashed out on Monday and how much else needs to happen before we know what some — though not all — of these orders, memoranda, and more actually mean for the country and world.
In possibly Trump’s most clearly unconstitutional act on Monday, he set forth his effort to restrict birthright citizenship. It’s an appalling affront to the Fourteenth Amendment, but maybe Trump’s success at getting the U.S. Supreme Court to ignore part of the Fourteenth Amendment once already makes him think he can get them to do it again. ... Under the order, Trump claimed:
{snip}
Newly returned to power, Donald Trump lashed out in a series of day-one orders. And: About those "acting" department heads.
Chris Geidner
Jan 21, 2025
In one of President Donald Trump’s first acts back in office, he signed an executive order on Monday purporting to end the weaponization of the federal government — while doing the opposite within the order itself.
The two contradictory acts are emblematic of many of the newly-returned-to-power president’s day-one actions, preaching “unity” at multiple points in his inaugural address while also unleashing a stream of executive actions throughout the day attacking his political opponents, using the levers of government to help his allies, and making life more difficult and dangerous for those already facing discrimination and hate. The attacks on immigrants and transgender people were particularly vicious, and the environmental and energy orders are particularly disturbing.
The orders I’ll be highlighting this morning are not all that came on Monday, and none of these descriptions comprehensively detail the orders covered. In other words, more to come — particularly as implementation begins or as lawsuits are filed. But, for now, this is a look into both how aggressively Trump lashed out on Monday and how much else needs to happen before we know what some — though not all — of these orders, memoranda, and more actually mean for the country and world.
In possibly Trump’s most clearly unconstitutional act on Monday, he set forth his effort to restrict birthright citizenship. It’s an appalling affront to the Fourteenth Amendment, but maybe Trump’s success at getting the U.S. Supreme Court to ignore part of the Fourteenth Amendment once already makes him think he can get them to do it again. ... Under the order, Trump claimed:
{snip}
1 replies
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