WELCOME TO YEAR ZERO (updated)

Is this the most radical thing a president of the United States has ever done?

The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, according to an internal memo sent to agencies Monday....

The memo ... also calls for each agency to perform a “comprehensive analysis” to ensure its grant and loan programs are consistent with President Donald Trump’s executive orders, which aimed to ban federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and limit clean energy spending, among other measures.

Parts of the memo are written in untranslated Fox-speak:

NEW — OMB temporarily pauses all agency grants and loans programs. Per copy of memo: "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve."

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— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 6:04 PM

This is bad. Steve Vladeck writes:

... the consequences are potentially cataclysmic—for virtually all foreign aid (including the distribution of HIV drugs in poor countries); for medical and other scientific research in the United States; for tons of different pools of support for educational institutions; and for virtually every other entity that receives federal financial assistance. (The memo excludes funds paid directly to individuals, like Social Security or other benefits....)

The freeze purports to be temporary... But there is no guarantee that the spigot will be turned back on in two weeks; and in the interim, the withholding of so much money will almost certainly cause irreparable harm to at least some of the affected parties even if it’s fully restored at the end of the “pause.”

I think the Trumpers will resume funding relatively soon -- but on their terms. I disagree with Elizabeth Spiers, who writes:

They’re not trying to reform government; they’re trying to grind it to a halt.

I think what they're trying to do, with this and other initiatives (such as the effort to fire "disloyal" career civil servants), is make 2025 a Year Zero.

We have a government with laws, policies, and programs that were established over the years by conservatives, moderates, and liberals: Social Security and Medicare, but also right-wing gun and tax policies; subsidies for fossil fuels, but also subsidies for green energy. And so on. Previous presidents have lived with this hodgepodge and tried to change some aspects of it in their preferred direction. The Trump administration is trying to change all of it. Trump and the Project 2025 theorists who are really running the country want a 100% right-wing/Heritage Foundation government, with a Fox News enemies list.

This is blatantly illegal, as Vladeck explains: It violates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which requires the president to make a request to Congress in order to rescind appropriated funds. There's also a Ronald Reagan-era Justice Department memo noting that the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse and requires the president to see that laws, including laws that appropriate money, are "faithfully executed." By any reasonable reading of the Constitution and the law, Trump can't do this (although, of course, corrupt GOP partisans on the federal bench might rule that he can).

Many lawsuits will be filed. But Democrats should raise hell -- if not now, then once it's clear exactly what is being suspended. Politico notes:

... given the sweeping scale of the order, it seems unlikely these will all be glowingly liberal, woke-tastic DEI projects in coastal America. This order is going to affect communities the length and breadth of the country. Be careful what you wish for, Mr. President.

Surprisingly, Chuck Schumer is trying, on X and elsewhere:

Donald Trump’s administration is jeopardizing billions upon billions of community grants and financial support that help millions of people across the country.

— Chuck Schumer (@schumer.senate.gov) January 27, 2025 at 10:40 PM

It will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities, state disaster assistance, local law enforcement, aid to the elderly, and food for those in need.

— Chuck Schumer (@schumer.senate.gov) January 27, 2025 at 10:40 PM

I know that the message Democrats have largely settled on is "Hey, what about egg prices?" But when they choose not to talk about Trump's extremism in other areas, they strongly imply that the extremist acts are no big deal. This demoralizes Democratic voters and squanders an opportunity to send a message to people in the middle: that this is not normal, that it's bad for America, and that it's completely unlawful. So I'm glad Schumer is responding. More Democrats should.

In the last Trump administration, The Washington Post set out to enumerate all of his lies. In this administration, someone needs to enumerate all of his illegal acts. And just to send the message that someone in D.C. knows how bad things are, I'd like to see a Democratic member of Congress file articles of impeachment every month, or even every week, with a growing list of his violations of the law. Lists of those violations should be produced and turned into social media posts, TikTok videos, even physical billboards. Make the Trump 47 Presidential Crime List like the National Debt Clock: How many crimes now? What else has the bastard done?

The previous Trump presidency was full of aberrant (and abhorrent) acts, but this one is worse. Democrats need to make more noise, or risk making the crazier of the two Trump presidencies seem like the more acceptable one.

UPDATE: This is good: