4 ms·

Could someone please cite for me in plain english what has transpired in the last 48 hours?

by potsandpans 2y ago

nosioptar 2y ago
[flagged]
- bckr 2y ago
  Wikipedia says he’s a citizen.
- epicureanideal 2y ago
  Isn’t the President able to appoint people to do these things? It’s not clear to me this is not permitted.
  - yibg 2y ago
    Does the president have authority shut down USAID?
    - walterbell 2y ago
      Statements today to Congress and public, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42926580 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42926580
    - dole 2y ago
      Can President Trump Dissolve USAID by Executive Order? According to Just Security, Trump can drastically curtail USAID with executive actions alone; however, he “may not unilaterally override” a statute by executive order. USAID was established by statute as its own agency via Congress in 1998 after first being created by executive order in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Since an act of Congress established it as an independent agency, an act of Congress would be necessary to dissolve it. - Forbes
      - __d 2y ago
        As with many such things, the letter of the law doesn't anticipate a determined effort to undermine it. Could the USAID agency could continue to exist, on paper, with a single staff member?
  - searke 2y ago
    tl;dr No. If this were permitted, then a president would just be a dictator. And he didn't even appoint Musk. Musk isn't head of any government department. He's just a random guy who has a ton of money.
- Mountain_Skies 2y ago
  >unelected Almost everyone in the government is unelected.
Clubber 2y ago
[flagged]
throw310822 2y ago
Also shutting down of federal agencies without Congress approval and getting access to their data: "Musk on the call also appeared to claim credit for the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development ... though the executive branch’s legal authority to do so without congressional action is highly in doubt, as the agency’s existence is established in law. Trump on Monday said he didn’t need an act of Congress to shut down USAID. USAID’s homepage has been shut down for days, as is its X account. Dozens of career staff at the agency have been put on leave, and hundreds have been shut out of agency computer systems. Musk aides have gained access to classified USAID information over the objection of agency security personnel, who were subsequently placed on leave, The Associated Press reported."
- walterbell 2y ago
  https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/03/rubio-acting-head-usaid-00202122 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/03/rubio-acting-head-u... > The Trump administration took a variety of steps Monday.. The most dramatic was naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting administrator of USAID.. The State Department said in its statement announcing Rubio’s acting role that he has also informed Congress that “a review of USAID’s foreign assistance activities is underway with an eye towards potential reorganization.” .. Rubio explained he was entrusting the duties of deputy administrator to Peter Marocco, the head of the State Department’s office of foreign assistance.. Marocco is also leading the review into USAID activities. State Department tweet: https://nitter.net/statedept/status/1886512412863684802 https://nitter.net/statedept/status/1886512412863684802 or https://xcancel.com/statedept/status/1886512412863684802 https://xcancel.com/statedept/status/1886512412863684802
- readthenotes1 2y ago
  [flagged]
maxerickson 2y ago
[flagged]
cf100clunk 2y ago
A poet? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42888756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42888756
binary_slinger 2y ago
[flagged]
- hackyhacky 2y ago
  > Trump and his colleagues are trying to reduce spending by cutting payments to things deemed unnecessary. Some feel the process in which they do this is questionable and opaque. That's not quite accurate. I would say: "some feel the process in which they do this is unconstitutional as the executive branch does not have the authority to dissolve programs." And furthermore: "some feel entrusting these vital government functions to an un-vetted non-employee with no oversight will lead to abuse and conflicts of interest."
quinncom 2y ago
Matt Kiser’s WTFJHT delivers useful daily summaries of all significant actions out of the White House. Here’s yesterday’s edition: https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/02/03/day-1476/ https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/02/03/day-1476...

Could someone please cite for me in plain english what has transpired in the last 48 hours?

nosioptar 2y ago

[flagged]

bckr 2y ago
Wikipedia says he’s a citizen.
epicureanideal 2y ago
Isn’t the President able to appoint people to do these things? It’s not clear to me this is not permitted.
- yibg 2y ago
  Does the president have authority shut down USAID?
  - walterbell 2y ago
    Statements today to Congress and public, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42926580 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42926580
  - dole 2y ago
    Can President Trump Dissolve USAID by Executive Order? According to Just Security, Trump can drastically curtail USAID with executive actions alone; however, he “may not unilaterally override” a statute by executive order. USAID was established by statute as its own agency via Congress in 1998 after first being created by executive order in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Since an act of Congress established it as an independent agency, an act of Congress would be necessary to dissolve it. - Forbes
    - __d 2y ago
      As with many such things, the letter of the law doesn't anticipate a determined effort to undermine it. Could the USAID agency could continue to exist, on paper, with a single staff member?
- searke 2y ago
  tl;dr No. If this were permitted, then a president would just be a dictator. And he didn't even appoint Musk. Musk isn't head of any government department. He's just a random guy who has a ton of money.
Mountain_Skies 2y ago
>unelected Almost everyone in the government is unelected.

Clubber 2y ago

[flagged]

throw310822 2y ago

Also shutting down of federal agencies without Congress approval and getting access to their data: "Musk on the call also appeared to claim credit for the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development ... though the executive branch’s legal authority to do so without congressional action is highly in doubt, as the agency’s existence is established in law. Trump on Monday said he didn’t need an act of Congress to shut down USAID. USAID’s homepage has been shut down for days, as is its X account. Dozens of career staff at the agency have been put on leave, and hundreds have been shut out of agency computer systems. Musk aides have gained access to classified USAID information over the objection of agency security personnel, who were subsequently placed on leave, The Associated Press reported."

walterbell 2y ago
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/03/rubio-acting-head-usaid-00202122 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/03/rubio-acting-head-u... > The Trump administration took a variety of steps Monday.. The most dramatic was naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting administrator of USAID.. The State Department said in its statement announcing Rubio’s acting role that he has also informed Congress that “a review of USAID’s foreign assistance activities is underway with an eye towards potential reorganization.” .. Rubio explained he was entrusting the duties of deputy administrator to Peter Marocco, the head of the State Department’s office of foreign assistance.. Marocco is also leading the review into USAID activities. State Department tweet: https://nitter.net/statedept/status/1886512412863684802 https://nitter.net/statedept/status/1886512412863684802 or https://xcancel.com/statedept/status/1886512412863684802 https://xcancel.com/statedept/status/1886512412863684802
readthenotes1 2y ago
[flagged]

maxerickson 2y ago

[flagged]

cf100clunk 2y ago

A poet? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42888756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42888756

binary_slinger 2y ago

[flagged]

hackyhacky 2y ago
> Trump and his colleagues are trying to reduce spending by cutting payments to things deemed unnecessary. Some feel the process in which they do this is questionable and opaque. That's not quite accurate. I would say: "some feel the process in which they do this is unconstitutional as the executive branch does not have the authority to dissolve programs." And furthermore: "some feel entrusting these vital government functions to an un-vetted non-employee with no oversight will lead to abuse and conflicts of interest."

quinncom 2y ago

Matt Kiser’s WTFJHT delivers useful daily summaries of all significant actions out of the White House. Here’s yesterday’s edition: https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/02/03/day-1476/ https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/02/03/day-1476...