Vandalizing the federal government: some thoughts
The breathtaking dismantling of the federal government continues. The federal government is in chaos. Staff are being pushed to resign. Whole program areas that had been authorized by Congress are quietly slipping under the waves or being rendered ineffective. The nation that we thought we lived in is disappearing without notice or the consent of its citizens.
When the President asked whether he needs to follow the constitution, the President offered, “I don’t know.”(1) (He has twice taken the Presidential oath of office that he, “will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” “I don’t know” conflicts with that oath.)
It’s difficult to watch and understand what is going on — in part because reports are fragmentary, and federal employees dare not offer their opinions and commentary.
But we know enough. In the American experiment, we are, or should be, a nation of laws with an independent judiciary and legislatures. Imperial presidencies can’t exist if these men and women and all of us have the courage to do their jobs and preserve the republic. More fundamentally, American voters, too, have the responsibility to right the ship of state, especially now with nothing but class V whitewater ahead.
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