On Friday, President Donald Trump announcement It was midafternoon when Stephen Miller, the white nationalist behind Trump’s anti-immigration policies, would become his new chief of staff — generating headlines and the first news cycle since Tuesday that wasn’t some version of “Trump and the GOP erased.”
The outbursts will become commonplace now, following Tuesday’s blue tsunami midterm elections.
And yet, shortly before 5 p.m. on the Wast Coast, reality – and not staging – was in the spotlight, as the Ministry of Justice indicated. rejected his election lawsuit against California. It was a plaintive two-page document, denouncing the fact that the courts, including the United States Supreme Court, would not allow the administration to engage in a plan that everyone considered likely illegal.
On Saturday, Judge Ana Reyes reminded Trump officials of another path to accountability that can come from other branches, as she announcement his intention to appoint former DCUS attorney Jessie Liu as a special master to investigate whether Justice Department and/or Interior Department attorneys committed acts ethical violations as part of their work in the East Potomac Golf Course case. (Any notice from the parties on Liu’s intended appointment must be due by 10:00 a.m. on November 13, and a formal appointment order, if issued, will follow.)
Then there is Congress. As Michigan Senator Elisa Slotkin told the University of Chicago. event before the election, “we need to be accountable” – not just to Trump, but to those who have enabled him to do so throughout the administration.
With the Democrats Already With more than 250 seats in the House, several races still up in the air, and near-clarity that they will have a 56-seat majority in the Senate once Alaska and Mississippi are called, Slotkin’s call for accountability—in which she is, of course, not alone—is not only possible but imperative.
This is not just because of what Trump and his administration have done. While understanding what divided government is in our system of separation of powers (it job that he is “Mr. VETO” on Friday night), Trump is not even willing to acknowledge what that means when it comes to accountability.
Saturday, Trump posted a rant this largely amounted to a statement that he considered all congressional oversight of the executive branch to be “extortion” and “weaponization and entitlement” and, yes, a “criminal act.” He specifically went after Slotkin for her mid-October remarks, saying she “says she’s going to go after all the young people who believe in Republican values” — even though she said no such thing and nothing comparable.
Even before the October 20 elections, Greg Sargent reported has The New Republic that Republicans viewed Slotkin’s speech as a horrific attack.
Since Greg has already done the work, here is a very precise summary of the part involved:
You can watch Slotkin’s key monologue beginning right here. Slotkin says the Trump administration’s “accountability” requires Congress to cherry-pick high-profile examples of its “corruption.” She adds that such oversight should “not only focus on the president, but also on the people who have empowered him,” that is, on the officials “who carry out his orders.” Slotkin says she hopes real oversight can deter young people from joining the administration if they conclude that association with a corrupt administration will get them “a ton of trouble.”
Here is where the part where she talks about young people, because it was a complementary comment that was not part of her initial response. Specifically, she reiterated that she wanted to focus not only on Trump but also “the people who made it possible for him,” then added:
I want kids coming out of school to think, “Should I go work for the Trump administration? That sounds like fun. Maybe I’ll get an opportunity.” I want them to say, “Lord, this could buy me a ton of trouble that I don’t want, so let me avoid participating in this.” I want this message of deterrence to be sent.
Simply put, it’s true.
A young person should not want to join the Trump administration at this point. Trump has made clear his willingness to break U.S. laws, violate the Constitution, and violate international law; he has just promoted the architect of many of his most anarchic acts to the rank of chief of staff; and his attorney general has made it his goal to keep Trump happy and serve as an advocate for Trump and Miller.
Even if you were a true believer, you’d be a fool if you thought joining the Trump administration was a wise career move right now.
Trump and the executive branch – thanks in part to Chief Justice John Roberts and the Supreme Court – certainly have a lot of power. They will do things – and be able to do things – as long as they are in power that will cause great harm. This should not be forgotten and is part of why all accountability measures are so important.
That said, Trump and those who remain can rant and complain, but there is a new landscape coming and, in a way, already there. As for Congress, it will no longer be the Mike Johnson-John Thune show of “do whatever you want,” and Trump is inherently incapable of hearing “no.” From anyone.
But the “no” comes.
Conservation letters are just the beginning.
There will be requests for information, hearings, subpoenas, laws, actual retaliation against impoundmentlitigation, possibility of indictment, and more.
If you look at it that way, in a majority Democratic House and a heavily Democratic Senate, it makes sense that Trump would lash out on a Saturday afternoon.
However, this does not change the reality.
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