Washington (AP) – When Elon Musk House Speaker, Capital recently started the government’s performance Mike Johnson Excuse and predicted that the incoming Trump administration would bring “A lot of changes around here.”
In three weeks, the change that the Trump administration has brought Obstruction of the federal government On an unprecedented scale, Eliminating late programsSpark Massive public screams And challenge the role of Congress in making the country’s laws and paying it.
Are official workers Is being pushed to resign. Whole Agencies are being closed. The states and non -profit organizations had federal funding Temporarily frozen. And most of all Sensitive information of the department Countless Americans were opened to the Musk’s Dodge team in unprecedented violation of privacy and protocol.
“This is the harvest of our democracy,” said Brian Riddle, a longtime economic adviser to the Conservative Republican at the Manhattan Institute think tank.
President Donald Trump The richest man in the world has tapped the Musk, so that the world’s oldest democracy can carry out the internal work, and its consequences are not surprising and illegal so far. Challenged in dozens of judicial cases Across the country
The Congress is proving little match for the Dodge as cautious legislators march through bureaucracy. Instead, a rush of legalization calls for an intervention to stop the Republican president’s team Unilateral government. And protests are erupting outside government agencies and preventing Congress’s phone lines.
“Whatever is doing, it is certainly not – not – in the great history of this country, it looks like democracy or ever,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Shammer.
Shamar posted on Musk’s social media site X, “An unelected Shadow government is occupying the federal government.
Musk replied on his platform: “Such a blatant reaction is that you know that the Dodge is working that is really important.”
The Congress is still here before, during the first term of Trump, he was tested with willing to break his principles and scratching foreign banks of legal status, especially when he took the Congress and defeated Federal. Give Military housing and construction funds To create parts of its promised wall along the US Mexico border.
But Trump’s second -term partnership with Musk, which About $ 200 million spent The confrontation is increasing on Trump’s White House bid and to hire a world ethics to move fast and break things. On a described struggle for saving money by rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, they are pushing US institutions forward, Eliminate Civil Service And leave a reformed or hollow out-of-the-federal government.
“If the effort is successful, it will be” disastrous for our government, “said Sharon Perot, president of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
“Many things they are doing are arrogant, and we have seen that the courts have agreed to intervene and interfere,” said Perot. “There is a real preparation and understanding about the stake.”
In many ways, Trump has been emphasizing that Republicans have long promised, but they have failed to provide through Congress action: shrinking the size and scope of the federal government. Anti -tax crusader Grover Nurkast, more than a decade ago, asked the government about the purpose of making the government so small to drown in a bathtub.
But Americans have a shock of their ranks to cut off programs, Republicans have repeatedly failed to meet their budget renovation goals even when they Congress and White Fully control the House, as they do now.
Although Congress has the authority to make legislation to provide funds for government operations, the president can veto the bills or sign the law. Instead, Trump Budget Director, Russia is examining an idea of ​​his nominee for the vote that the executive has the ability to “impress” federal funds, and return that money There are
North Dakota’s Republican Sen Queen Karmer said the Dodge provides “core” for some Republicans who want to cut federal funds, when the Congress failed to do so.
And other Republicans say they are particularly pleased with Trump’s intervals of some federal operations, especially US Agency for International DevelopmentWho sends assistance to the world. Closing the education department is next on the deck.
“We have been monitored,” said North Carolina’s Republican San Thom Tles. “If he goes too far, I will be the first person to step.”
Combining the administration and dodge operations is fast, relentless and open to debate.
Trump’s Office of Management and Budget move Suddenly freezing federal grants and loans As states and non -profit organizations, anger was created across the country, fearing that they need to provide housing, health care and other services. A day later, the White House Reversed course.
USAID to be closed to funds Widespread is seen as a test case for the Improvement Control Act, which the vote has discussed as a way to withdraw Congress -approved funds. All the Senate Democrats say they are in connection with the Senate confirmation this week.
And the Dodge has widely seen the private information of millions of Americans to access its payment system in the Treasury Department’s internal works-in which various entities for the White House are widely seen to prevent federal funds.
On Monday, US District Judge Loren L Elikhan Interference with the federal funds of the Congress, “administration with federal funding” is likely to some extent on a blurk of the Constitution. “
He wrote, “The defendants’ actions are suffering from constitutional intensity weaknesses,” he wrote, extending an order issued last week and frozen OMB’s clean funding. “Government resources are allocated to the Congress, not the executive branch, and a legal authority supports this basic separation of powers.
Senate’s top Democrat Washington’s San Patti Murray said that what he now gives his pause is that the Congress moves forward with the legislation to fund the government by the last date of March 14.
“What will happen if we do all this and come to an agreement … vote for it – and this administration says,” That’s it. We don’t have to go with it, “he said.” So the level of trust is the lowest that I have never seen here. “
Asked if the administration was doing its job, the speaker insisted, “There will be a suitable action for the Congress, but we have not yet set up what is happening to it.”
Pressure if Trump has the option to close the agencies, he said: “I don’t have all the answers.”
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Associated Press author Kevin Fraking and Video Journalist Mike Pasoli participated in the report.
