THIS FUCKING GUY!
Donald Trump’s war on the federal government is sparking fresh, internal backlash: Welcome to the Resistance 2.0 [cracks knuckles].
- The Trump administration’s rampage against democracy feels overwhelming to millions of average people, journalists who have to cover it, and those who work for the government itself. The latest: Trump shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development headquarters after “First Buddy” Elon Musk’s aides forcibly gained access to classified internal data (two security officials were put on leave for trying to stop them). Over the weekend, Musk also said that it’s time for USAID — which saves millions of lives around the world — to “die.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio was named acting administrator of USAID, an apparent effort to shrink the agency under the State Department. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said he’ll block Trump’s nominees until he stops attacking USAID.
- But wait, there’s more! The Department of Government Efficiency, which isn’t an actual government agency and is run by the world’s richest man, gained access to Treasury Department systems. Musk vowed to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars worth of government loans after reviewing Treasury’s systems. Reminder: Musk isn’t an elected or confirmed official — he’s a private citizen whose college-aged cronies are taking over the government. How is this legal? “We don’t have a fourth branch of government called “Elon Musk,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said during a rally today .
- When Trump took over in January, many Democrats and federal workers declared themselves exhausted, without the energy to stage the kind of vigorous resistance that characterized his first term. But his attacks are stiffening spines, and kindling resentment and determination: “They win if we give up,” a federal employee, whose wife also works in the government, told What A Day. “I understand the temptation to get out and not have to deal with this shit. But we can afford to stand up [and] stand our ground.”
Some top officials are doubling down. James Dennehy, a highly respected and high-ranking FBI agent, urged his staff to “dig in” after Trump targeted agents who have investigated him for his role in the January 6 riots.
- Since Trump took office, a Reddit page about the federal workforce has become one of the site’s most popular, serving as a hub of resistance and a resource for people to share information. “HOLD THE LINE, DON’T RESIGN,” a user wrote, urging others against quitting their jobs. “They’re desperate to see you, the dedicated civil servants, America’s last vestige of hope against tyranny, resign and leave,” the user wrote. That post received over 11,000 upvotes in support. Another post told federal workers to call the police if people *cough* Musk *cough* tries to access government systems. A worker at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent an email blast to all employees, criticizing the new acting chair: “I will not cower to bullying and intimidation.”
- More than 50 federal workers have reached out to What A Day to share their perspectives on what’s happened over the past week. Many admitted that there’s no organized “resistance” right now, and their colleagues seem more fearful than hopeful. Some federal workers are looking into obtaining “pro bono lawyers and are reaching out to members of Congress — Republicans!! — to push back,” an Education Department official texted.
- “Everyone is pissed and demoralized and frustrated,” another employee told me. There’s a few small things they plan to do to push back: Get more information to the public (thank you, everyone!), slowing down their workflow, and testing how much they can resist certain assignments without getting in trouble.
- For many, just keeping their jobs is the ultimate pushback against Trump. “Honestly at this point, showing up to work and getting anything accomplished is a form of resistance,” an NOAA employee texted. “A friend also joked with me that punctuation and decent grammar would be a form of resistance lol.” We all know Trump hates those things!
These two weeks have been designed to overwhelm you. Close your eyes and take a deep breath — many of Trump’s actions might not go very far. I highly recommend listening to New York Times columnist Ezra Klein’s podcast on this very topic. Scroll to Light at the End for more resistance.
Got any tips? Reach me on Signal at 413-726-4767 or email at whataday@crooked.com. I’ll keep you totally anonymous — I’d love to chat.
JUSTIN TIME
Donald Trump’s promised North American trade war is on hold, now that he’s scored some meaningless, symbolic victories. It turned out to be a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing — for now.
Over the weekend, Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada, (aside from Canadian oil, which was to get a 10 percent tariff). China would also see a 10 percent tariff. The president himself, not known for admitting that his ideas are bad, lowered expectations: “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” he wrote on Truth Social.
Canada stood its ground — for a few hours. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that he’s “ripping up” a contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service because of the tariffs. A Canadian official described them as illegal, “unjustified and unreasonable.” Canada also published a list of U.S. goods that could’ve faced.
Then Trump called.
In a tweet, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he had a “good” conversation with the president, and that Canada would partner with the U.S. to provide “increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl” across the border. Canada, he added, will appoint a “Fentanyl Czar.” As a result, tariffs have been paused for 30 days.
That’s fishy for two reasons: Just 0.2 percent of fentanyl seizures at the U.S. borders come from Canada, according to federal data. Almost 97 percent, in contrast, comes from the Mexican border. And Trudeau announced the same exact plan to strengthen the border in December.
Trump also paused the tariffs on Mexico, after President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send 10,000 soldiers to the border, Trump wrote on social media.
But it’s downright weird that Trump is forcing the president of Canada to endorse his make-believe problem — fentanyl at America’s northern border — to save his economy from devastating sanctions. Likewise, former President Joe Biden got Mexico to agree to send the same number of troops up to the border, without all this hoopla.
In other words, it’s starting to look like what Trump was really after was just a way to claim he won — with meaningless, nonsensical victories.
Earlier today, when asked what it would take to reverse the Canada tariffs, Trump told reporters: “What I’d like to see — Canada become our 51st state.” Keep dreaming, Donnie.
Want more?
NEWS NEWS NEWS
Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order pulling the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council and stopping funding for the U.N. aid group that provides aid to Palestinians. He did both these things last time he was in office. But the timing seems intentional: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington to meet with Trump tomorrow.
Trump signed an executive order to create a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, suggesting that it could possibly be used to own part of TikTok, the wildly popular Chinese-owned social media platform. Trying to make a dent in domestic poverty? No. Buying a social media app? A top national priority.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent out his first agency-wide email to federal workers last night, urging his agency to “wipe away our tears” after last week’s deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C.: “You need to know when the blame lies elsewhere, I’ll fight for you,” he wrote in the letter, first obtained by What A Day. What an awkward way to put that. Doesn’t a good boss fight for his employees all the time, and not just when there’s someone else to blame?
Trump and Republicans are trying to repeal the Biden administration’s landmark rules that require all lead pipes in the country to be replaced and to lower the amount of lead in drinking water. This is just comically evil??? Make America Drink Lead Again???
The head of the World Health Organization called on other countries to pressure the Trump administration to rejoin the group, insisting that Washington will miss out on critical information about global disease outbreaks. “The roof is on fire, and we need to stop the fire as soon as possible,” German envoy Bjorn Kummel said. Global disease outbreaks? I can’t think of any recent examples.
The Trump administration will end temporary protection status for some 350,000 Venezuelan migrants who have sought refuge in the United States. These people could be forced to return to an autocratic regime, but it seems like DHS Secretary Kristi Noem only cares about how she looks in her cowboy hat “border costume.” Sad!
Trump vowed to punish South Africa over a new law that would allow its government to seize private land. “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” he wrote on Truth Social. Gee, what classes of people could those be? Maybe potential land reparations aren’t the worst thing, considering apartheid only ended 30 years ago, and there’s still a lot to figure out.
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