When the rule of law means nothing | US federal government shutdown
As a national we are truly f*. Ronald Brownstein opines that the Democrats are going to lose on the shutdown because it should be about the loss of democracy, not health care cuts ("This Shutdown May Help Democrats, But Not Democracy"). I think it's both, even if the messaging is on health care..
But when there is no support by Republicans in Congress or the US Supreme Court to enforce the rule of law, or to restore old norms about country versus ideology, and when the average person doesn't think about the rule of law or democratic norms all that much, what can be done?
The messages on some of the federal government websites are over the top and certainly seem like a violation of the Hatch Act ("Government agencies are blaming the shutdown on Democrats. Ethics experts say it could be against the law," Politico). But the first Trump government proved the Hatch Act had no teeth. So again, norm led following of rules means nothing to Trumpers.
Although I do find it interesting that not all government agency websites include incendiary language about the Democrats. E.g., Homeland Security, Energy, Treasury, Interior to name a few.
While USDA is the worst, HUD is pretty bad too.
I love the message. Trump is the guy who cut medical assistance to fund tax cuts for billionaires, and in the realm of USDA, food aid both within the US ("What Happens to School Lunches in the MAHA Era?," New Yorker) and as foreign aid. Tariffs and trade wars have put significant sectors of farming products at risk, like soybeans ("Farmers fear they have soybeans ‘nobody wants’," Marshall Independent), and many farmers fear going bankrupt.
How is that supporting the agricultural sector?
HUD had an incendiary message before the shutdown ("HUD website blames looming shutdown on ‘Radical Left’," Federal News Network), and one not so great
In housing the Trump Administration aims to cut support to low income people receiving housing subsidies ("Millions Could Lose Housing Aid Under Trump Plan," ProPublica, "Trump Admin Makes Major Update on Section 8 Housing: What to Know," Newsweek), for homelessness services ("Trump admin looks at deep cuts to homeless housing program," Politico), and in housing development programs ("The Trump Administration Has Proposed $27 Billion in Cuts by Block Granting Housing Assistance. That Could Worsen the Housing Affordability Crisis," Urban Institute).
How is that helping the needy? Especially combined with cuts to medical care and food assistance?
Meanwhile, "HUD secretary ‘not worried at all’ about violating law with website blaming shutdown on Democrats," The Hill.
Labels: federal government
posted by Richard Layman @ 3:02 PM&Permanent Link
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Democrats finally have some leverage in the shutdown fight. They should use it | Robert Reich
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/02/the-shutdown-fight-has-finally-given-democrats-leverage-they-should-use-it
As a practical matter, the US government has been “shut down” for more than eight months, since Trump took office this second time.
Trump and the sycophants surrounding him, such as Russell Vought, the director of the office of management and budget, and, before him, Elon Musk, have had no compunction about shutting down parts of the government they don’t like – such as USAID.
They’ve also moved to fire, furlough or extend buyouts to hundreds of thousands of federal employees doing work they don’t value, such as those working at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
They’ve impounded appropriations from Congress for activities they oppose, ranging across the entire federal government.
On the first day of the shutdown, Vought announced that the administration was freezing $18bn that Congress had appropriated for funding infrastructure in New York City (home to the Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and the House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries).
All of this is illegal, but it seems unlikely that courts will act soon enough to prevent the administration from harming vast numbers of Americans.
Vought threatened to permanently fire more federal employees if the Democrats didn’t vote to continue funding the government. But nothing stopped Vought from doing it before the shutdown, and the shutdown presents no greater opportunity for him to do so.
In fact, the eagerness of Trump and his lapdogs over the last eight months to disregard the will of Congress and close whatever they want of the government offers another reason why Democrats shouldn’t have caved in.
Had Democrats voted to keep the government going, what guarantee would they have had that Trump would in fact keep the government going?
Democrats finally have some bargaining leverage. They should use it.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-explores-bailout-of-at-least-10-billion-for-u-s-farmers-258d2975
President Explores Bailout of Farmers
American farmers are harvesting one of the largest crops in history, fueling a glut that is driving down prices for corn and soybeans. Rising costs for equipment, fertilizer and other materials are also crimping profits. U.S. soybean farmers are estimated to lose roughly $100 an acre this year, according to federal data.
Trump Escalates Attacks on Democrats in a Government Shutdown Like No Other
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/politics/shutdown-trump-clinton-gingrich.html
“Trump is taking apart the world of the left,” Mr. Gingrich said. “I mean, this is a very methodical, aggressive cultural and political and economic offensive.”
during the shutdown, he spoke with Mr. Gingrich’s chief of staff every day.
But, Mr. Griffin said, the climate today is much changed.
“It was fun, and we had no interest in humiliating him,” he said. “The fundamental difference is the hostility and vitriol that are behind all of this. It feels very different.”
A Government Shutdown, Weaponized
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/10/government-shutdown-weaponized/684441/
This time, it took Trump fewer than 24 hours to turn a shutdown into a weapon wielded against the civil servants he once praised and the opposing party he has long derided. The administration has targeted Democratic districts, announcing holds on more than $25 billion in projects in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and elsewhere, with more cuts believed to be on the way. Trump has threatened to fire government workers en masse, casting the lapse in funding that led to their furloughs as an “opportunity” to further decimate their ranks and gut agencies he doesn’t like. Officials have defied ethics guidelines, with blatantly partisan out-of-office messaging and banners blaming Democrats for the shutdown splashed across government websites.
This is what happens when a partial closure of the government meets the president’s second-term campaign to expand his powers and punish his enemies. The dynamic has created widespread uncertainty, as some Republicans blanch at the brazen norm-busting and some Democrats begin to reconsider how much pain they’re willing to bear in what they hoped would be a fight over health-care subsidies.
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/ed-dept-out-of-office-emails-changed-to-blame-democrats-for-shutdown-staff-say/2025/10
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