None Dare Call It a Coup

Musk seizes the keys.

Article I. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives…. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States….— United States Constitution.

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If you're keeping track at home: the president has just unilaterally launched a trade war with our closest trading partners; and the world’s richest man — unelected by anyone to anything — has taken control of the US Treasury’s $6 trillion payment system, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the General Services Administration (GSA), while locking out actual government employees from computer systems that run the government.

This all may look like bureaucratic inside-baseball. But “these are not policy tweaks. They are a hostile corporate takeover of the federal state.”

So this seems like good day to dust off historic relics. Like the actual Constitution.

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I woke up today to a blanket of snow across the Wisconsin landscape and some questions: We have a Constitution and we have laws — a vast network of precedents, statutes and rules. But who is going to enforce them?

We have a Congress, vested with sweeping and exclusive powers over the nation’s purse. Has anyone heard from it lately? Or are its leaders just hanging out at some gerontological spa?

And the opposition party? “‘We Have No Coherent Message’: Democrats Struggle to Oppose Trump.” —NYT

Happy Sunday.

Yeah, I asked AI for this.

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Let’s start with Musk’s march through the federal government, shall we?

Sounds bad. Because it is. Here’s today’s Wapo: “Musk aides gain access to sensitive Treasury Department payment system.”

Billionaire Elon Musk’s deputies have gained access to a sensitive Treasury Department system responsible for trillions of dollars in U.S. government payments after the administration ousted a top career official at the department, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe government deliberations.

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved access to the Treasury’s payments system for a team led by Tom Krause, a Silicon Valley executive working in concert with Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” the people said.

David A. Lebryk, who served in nonpolitical roles at Treasury for several decades and had been the acting secretary before Bessent’s confirmation, had refused to turn over access to Musk’s surrogates, people familiar with the situation told The Washington Post. Trump officials placed Lebryk on administrative leave, and then he announced his retirement Friday in an email to colleagues.

What’s in these systems? Everything.

The sensitive systems, run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, control the flow of more than $6 trillion annually. Tens of millions of people across the country rely on the systems. They are responsible for paying Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to government contractors and grant recipients, and tax refunds, among tens of thousands of other functions.

Typically, only a small group of career employees control the payment systems, and former officials have said it is extremely unusual for anyone connected to political appointees to access them.

Musk is already boasting that he is using his access/power to unilaterally stop payments — including congressionally authorized payments to faith-based charities. At the same time, Musk’s flying monkeys have “locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.”

What does the law have to say about all of this? AYFKM?

Trump continues to fire civil servants, inspectors general, and prosecutors — all of whom have protections under the law. He’s also abolishing agencies without bothering to get congressional authorization. This is also illegal.¹

Over at the FBI, Trump’s enforcers are nakedly flouting the law and encountering some (temporary?) pushback. Via NBC:

Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll on Friday refused a Justice Department order that he assist in the firing of agents involved in Jan. 6 riot cases, pushing back so forcefully that some FBI officials feared he would be dismissed, multiple current and former FBI officials told NBC News.

The Justice Department ultimately did not dismiss Driscoll, the head of the bureau’s Newark field office who is temporarily serving as its acting director.

Kash Patel, President Trump's pick for FBI director and a critic of the bureau's investigations of Trump and Jan. 6th rioters, will take over if he is confirmed by the Senate. During his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Patel testified under oath that no FBI officials would be retaliated against.

“All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution,” Patel told Senators.

This is, of course, rank bullshit because Patel isn’t getting the FBI job because of his sparkling personality, his incisive wit, or his dazzling intellect. He’s getting it because he’s willing to do anything Trump asks him. And he’s all about retribution.

In a memo to the FBI workforce, Acting Director Driscoll explained that Trump’s DOJ had ordered him to purge eight senior FBI executives and turn over the names of every FBI employee involved in investigating Jan. 6 rioters. That list would include thousands of FBI employees — including Driscoll.

In his email, Driscoll wrote: “As we’ve said since the moment we agreed to take on these roles, we are going to follow the law, follow FBI policy, and do what’s in the best interest of the workforce and the American people — always.” NBC reports:

In a message that circulated widely among bureau personnel, an FBI agent summarized what happened as: “Bottom line — DOJ came over and wanted to fire a bunch of J6 agents. Driscoll is an absolute stud. Held his ground and told WH proxy, DOJ, to F--- Off.”

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Meanwhile, Trump continues to hand out Get Out of Jail free cards to corrupt loyalists. Via Heather Cox Richardson:

Phil Williams of NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, Tennessee, reported on Friday that federal prosecutors were withdrawn from a criminal investigation of Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) for election fraud; Ogles recently filed a House resolution to enable Trump to run for a third term and another supporting Trump’s designs on Greenland. On Wednesday, federal prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss an election fraud case against former representative Jeffrey Fortenberry (R-NE). Trump called Fortenberry’s case an illustration of “the illegal Weaponization of our Justice System by the Radical Left Democrats.”

Exit take: What is your best memory of that whole rule of law thing?

Our dumbest war

In a world packed with dangerous enemies — Putin’s Russia, Xi’s China come to mind — Donald Trump has decided to go to war with Canada. And Mexico.

Until five minutes ago, war with Canada was a South Park joke. But now we all live in Trump’s cartoon world. I regret to tell you that THIS IS NOT A PARODY. Moments ago, our president posted:

As you know, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico; and a lesser 10% tariff on China. They are all expected to retaliate, which is how you get economy-crushing trade wars. I could load you with lots of charts and graphs explaining why this is economic idiocy, but I will defer to our Vichy State’s paper of record, Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal, which calls it, “The Dumbest Trade War in History.”

President Trump will fire his first tariff salvo on Saturday against those notorious American adversaries . . . Mexico and Canada. They’ll get hit with a 25% border tax, while China, a real adversary, will endure 10%. This reminds us of the old Bernard Lewis joke that it’s risky to be America’s enemy but it can be fatal to be its friend.

The effects will ripple throughout the economy — manufacturing, housing, and the automobile industry — while (get this) fueling the inflation that Trump had promised to ease. Once again, Trump is also ignoring our treaty obligations, but what really frosted Rupert’s wrinkly ass was the pure stupidity of the whole business.

None of this is supposed to happen under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that Mr. Trump negotiated and signed in his first term. The U.S. willingness to ignore its treaty obligations, even with friends, won’t make other countries eager to do deals. Maybe Mr. Trump will claim victory and pull back if he wins some token concessions. But if a North American trade war persists, it will qualify as one of the dumbest in history.

What could go wrong?

• “Hedge funds' massive bet on stock market crash raises alarm for 401(k)s - and risks ire of Trump.” — Daily Mail

• “Gas prices set to rise as Trump tariffs hit Canadian and Mexican oil.” — NBC

• “Alienating allies and partners that the U.S. desperately needs means that “America First” will be “America Alone.” — David Frum

Exit take: If only they had been warned to take Trump both seriously and literally.

Sunday dogs

Our buddy, Leo, turned 12 yesterday. And, of course, there was cake, which he shared with his sister, Fern.

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Leo and Fern show us how it’s done.

1. The NYT story does get around to mentioning the illegality of shuttering USAID until about 19 paragraphs in…

Lawmakers have argued Mr. Trump cannot unilaterally shutter the agency legally, as it was created by Congress and receives specific appropriations. The federal government, including U.S.A.I.D., is currently funded through March 14.

“Trump isn’t satisfied just to close programs and fire staff. He is now planning to ELIMINATE THE ENTIRE AGENCY. Maybe this weekend,” Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, wrote on social media on Saturday. “That would be illegal. He cannot unilaterally close a federal agency. Another assault on the Constitution.”