The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term have come and gone, and one thing is clear: The administration is engaged in a three-dimensional assault on the principles of American government that have served as the foundation of executive policymaking for the past 80 years. Third, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Executive Office of the President is asserting the authority to review the rules of 40 “independent agencies” to see if they satisfy cost-benefit criteria, even though Congress explicitly insulated these agencies from direct control by the White House to prevent the abuse of power. He then appointed Elon Musk as the head of DOGE without seeking “the Advice and Consent of the Senate,” even though this is explicitly required by Article 2 of the Constitution for all “officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for.” Nevertheless, Musk and his subordinates have been firing experienced civil servants in a host of executive departments established by congressional statutes over the course of generations.
Author: Bruce Ackerman and Susan Rose-Ackerman
Published at: 2025-05-12 21:46:27
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