Thread was frozen as I was typing this response to mgh888 in the other thread:
In fairness to arch, when Biden was questioned during the debates on inflation, he blamed Trump when he should have mentioned what you did about it being worldwide and how the US weathered the storm better than the rest of the world. That was one thing in a littany of things that had things start to go downhill.
However, I have two things. One, in line with what arch is saying, when are we going to start getting off this wheel? Where bad things happen and then we start blaming previous administrations. At what point will constituents collectively say that there has to be accountability. I think it's pretty inarguable to say that there has been little accountability by the Democrats to take ownership of when things go wrong and zero accountability on the part of the Trump administration when things go wrong.
Two, at what point would Trump supporters say that this will become his economy? Like I mentioned before, most of the metrics I remember seeing touted how the US was ahead of other countries economically during the pandemic, and the US markets outperformed international markets. Now we are starting to see the flipside of that with US markets beginning to underperform international, coinciding with the fact that international markets are beginning to de-couple from the U.S. I mean, for crying out loud, we saw Japan, South Korea and China all shaking hands a few weeks ago in response to the tariffs. From both an economic - and a DoD perspective - that is a BIG problem.
Also, the economic impacts currently being experienced with everything being implemented, from DOGE to tariffs, are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from what the current administration pitched to its constituents. If I had been a supporter or a voter of this administration, I'd be pretty p***ed off.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
I agree with you on Biden (and Kamala) blaming Trump for inflation - and the other most obvious area of zero accountability is the numbers crossing the southern border ... yes, the Republicans stopped a bill that would have helped. That does not excuse the extrodinary numbers that we saw.
That said - and regarding today's economy. It is 100% Trumps. All indicators were positive and had been for a while. The US was doing better than about 95% of the rest of the industrialized world reagrding inflation and getting back on track to pre-covid economy..... it has all been undone by Trump and his instability and his tariffs.
Also - interesting on DOGE - I saw you mentioned in a post that spending has INCREASED despite all these fantastical (and unsubstantiated and often proven to be lies) claims that DOGE has cut spending. Do you have some source of validating this claim?
Last edited by mgh888; 05/01/2510:13 AM.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
I have my opinions on who's responsible for which parts of the economy....
but at this point, I'll just accept consistency. If you want to claim good news about the economy in the first 100 days in your first term, then you gotta take this 100 days on the chin. That's where Trump loses me, and his followers lose me when they accept his "... and I'm going to blame him again in Q2".
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
There is no doubt that Biden should never have blamed trump for the post Covid economy. I've stated many times they missed the message on that one. No president decided to start a pandemic. The consequences on the global economy was brutal. No developed nation on the globe avoided or prevented that. That's the message the Dems should have drove home to voters.
The only thing that could be controlled was how your nation recovered from it. And we recovered quicker than almost any nation in the world.
What we are seeing with the economy now are self inflicted wounds. Decisions being made and carried out that are purposefully hurting the economy. And the forensic team has gathered fingerprints to prove it.
Is there a possibility that "manufacturing will come back to America!"? Yes it is possible. But even then let's be realistic about that. And I'm not talking reality for some of us but for almost half of the Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. And let's look at pay.
How much do you think an American manufacturer can pay an employee to make shoes? How about clothes or jeans? Toys? How much can they charge consumers for those products and keep the cost of those goods at an affordable rate? How many of those jobs are still even done by "people"?
The real issue voters are facing now is how will they make it during and after this "temporary pain" trump talks about? It's going to take years for most manufacturing to return. It's not as if it can be done with a snap of the fingers. And even then many goods produced can't and won't be "good paying jobs".
As is often the case the wealthy are out of touch with many voters. With almost half of all workers living paycheck to paycheck they can't afford this "temporary pain". They can't afford these tariffs. They won't be able to afford many of the products that would be produced here even if manufacturing come back to the U.S. Does anyone really believe that wages will keep pace with these tariffs or the far more expensive goods that will be manufactured here if manufacturing does come back? If you do I ask you to please stop fooling yourself. Almost half of workers can barely make it now buying cheap foreign products.
But by saying the wealthy are out of touch, maybe some don't believe that. I can show you that the one who leads most of them is. Many are predicting a toy shortage over the tariffs. Here's a comment by trump yesterday that helps point out the disconnect..........
Trump on possible toy shortage: "Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30"
"Somebody said, 'oh, the shelves are gonna be open,'" Trump told reporters Wednesday. "Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more."
Trump hates the military men and women of this country. He has made that quite clear. To hell with vets, billionaires need that money… good luck with your future wars America. I wouldn’t tell anyone the military is a good idea again after this BS. As a matter of fact, anyone who enlist under Trump or a fascist MAGA regime is an idiot in my book. And anyone who obeys his illegal orders is a traitor.
I agree with you on Biden (and Kamala) blaming Trump for inflation - and the other most obvious area of zero accountability is the numbers crossing the southern border ... yes, the Republicans stopped a bill that would have helped. That does not excuse the extrodinary numbers that we saw.
That said - and regarding today's economy. It is 100% Trumps. All indicators were positive and had been for a while. The US was doing better than about 95% of the rest of the industrialized world reagrding inflation and getting back on track to pre-covid economy..... it has all been undone by Trump and his instability and his tariffs.
Also - interesting on DOGE - I saw you mentioned in a post that spending has INCREASED despite all these fantastical (and unsubstantiated and often proven to be lies) claims that DOGE has cut spending. Do you have some source of validating this claim?
Good post - as usual. Here is a link to the article:
One thing that really irks me about all this, too, on top of how dismally we federal employees have been treated, the House Oversight committee just voted to significantly reduce our benefits further. My paycheck would/will see a notable decrease and my retirement benefits would be gashed. A lot of people say "Why should we make billionaires pay for anything!? That's not fair to them" while we keep insisting that the middle class shoulder everything. This is just further proof. So, we just pay more as a country, lie about DOGE savings, focus on cutting around 0.1% of the budget, and still somehow to continue spending more than previously?
One potential out that the administration has is to say that we are operating on a CR instead of a formal budget, basically that spending levels are higher because we are going off previous spending levels + escalation. 1) That doesn't take into account the "supposed" DOGE cuts that happened. We should already be spending less than before because of the DOGE cuts. We aren't. So either DOGE lied, or we somehow increased our spending beyond what DOGE actually cut. Pick your poison. 2) Any budget that gets passed eventually by the dominant party better damn well meet campaign promises.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
I have my opinions on who's responsible for which parts of the economy....
but at this point, I'll just accept consistency. If you want to claim good news about the economy in the first 100 days in your first term, then you gotta take this 100 days on the chin. That's where Trump loses me, and his followers lose me when they accept his "... and I'm going to blame him again in Q2".
That's a good way to phrase it. How were the first 100 days in 2017 the results of Trump and the first 100 days in 2025 the results of Biden?
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Trump nominates ousted adviser Waltz as UN ambassador
President Trump confirmed he was removing Mike Waltz as national security adviser on Thursday but added the surprise announcement that he would be nominating him for the vacant UN ambassador post.
Why it matters: Waltz's removal is a dramatic shake up in the White House and will likely lead to more firings or resignations inside the National Security Council.
Trump announced that until a new national security adviser is appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also hold this job.
Driving the news: Trump's statement on Truth Social came after weeks of rumors that Waltz was about to be fired or to resign.
His status inside the administration had diminished as a result of the "Signalgate" affair and friction with other members of Trump's team.
Trump seems to have found a graceful way to remove Waltz.
Instead of firing him, he nominated him to fill the vacancy left when he asked Rep. Elise Stefanik to withdraw her nomination for UN ambassador so as not to further shrink the slim GOP majority in the House.
The intrigue: Waltz's confirmation process could be contentious, given his role in Signalgate and other Trump administration controversies.
What he's saying: "From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation's Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role," Trump wrote.
I couldn't possibly agree with you more about Biden and the Dems missing the message on the post Covid economy. Trying to point the finger at trump for the post Covid economy was foolish at best. I've stated many times on this board the Dems should have pounded the point home that it was a global economic issue post Covid.
Neither trump nor Biden had anything to do with the pandemic spreading to North America. I don't think anyone can say with a shred of honesty that anyone wanted that to happen. I won't get into the response because that really has nothing to do with this discussion. But the economic ramifications of Covid wasn't the fault of any president. How it was handled and how we recovered from it was certainly in part the work of a president. And we recovered quicker than almost any other nation.
What we are seeing now is due to factors that have been inflicted on our economy by the direct actions of a president. The forensic team has gathered the fingerprints.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I have my opinions on who's responsible for which parts of the economy....
but at this point, I'll just accept consistency. If you want to claim good news about the economy in the first 100 days in your first term, then you gotta take this 100 days on the chin. That's where Trump loses me, and his followers lose me when they accept his "... and I'm going to blame him again in Q2".
That's a good way to phrase it. How were the first 100 days in 2017 the results of Trump and the first 100 days in 2025 the results of Biden?
Did everyone see his smug remarks about Xmas barbie dolls? Kids will have to make do with two instead of thirty, and you’ll pay a few bucks more. Winning in his book.
Within the year we’ll get to see what 1929 was like…
In fairness to arch, when Biden was questioned during the debates on inflation, he blamed Trump when he should have mentioned what you did about it being worldwide and how the US weathered the storm better than the rest of the world. That was one thing in a littany of things that had things start to go downhill.
Biden and Trump signed significant policy in their first 100 days. Biden with the 2.5 trillion spending bill that contributed to inflation. Trump with tariffs and creating chaos for the economy. Both should own it.
It's supposed to be hard! If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great!
In fairness to arch, when Biden was questioned during the debates on inflation, he blamed Trump when he should have mentioned what you did about it being worldwide and how the US weathered the storm better than the rest of the world. That was one thing in a littany of things that had things start to go downhill.
Biden and Trump signed significant policy in their first 100 days. Biden with the 2.5 trillion spending bill that contributed to inflation. Trump with tariffs and creating chaos for the economy. Both should own it.
And I don't have a problem in the world with what you said. My issue is people that think biden blaming trump, for 4 years on the economy?????? People blaming trump for the covid response? Keep in mind, it was a brand new epidemic that NO one had ever dealt with. I mean, people from every country (other than China) died from it, or rather, WITH it. Yet they blame trump.
I would love to have an adult conversation with people that are unbiased. Sadly, that cant and doesn't happen here. Even in the 4 years trump wasn't president, everything got blamed on him. It gets old. I just let the lib's/democrats speak their mind. Hell, we even have one that works for the government griping about not being able to work from home, griping about the temperature in the building, etc.
Yet, he's still posting on here daily, during work hours. when he's working on OUR dime. Sorry dawg. Just gotta call it like I see it..
Everyone that poo poo's away biden and his ineptness? You're just dumb. Anyone that thinks biden's son is innocent of using his daddy to make money? Even stupider.
And soon we'll see pit, and ocd defending biden and blaming trump.
And, go ahead, pit, ocd, Daman always late, correct me. Make stuff up to think you proved yourself right.
Well at least I finally see your true colors. Man, what a trash post. I had often stuck up for you in these threads because I thought you to be a decent person, and I frequently checked in with you and offered you support both via PMs and in the EE threads and now you just spew this utter, backstabbing nonsense. Hell, I just sided with an observation of your in this thread.
Here’s the thing, you displace your frustrations with other people’s politics and then attack them personally, and inaccurately mind you. But then when they respond in kind, you throw a hissy fit.
Let me truth tell you some here. Yes, I am employed by the Government. Yes, I do favor telework. Why? Because my command’s performance was at an all time high during the telework era. I’m also on the record saying I wouldn’t mind RTO if it made sense and there was rational flexibility built in. Do you think Elon did that? Do you think 47 did that? Hell no. We lost a lot of good people who were hired on remote packages.
“Call it like you see it” well, you better get bifocals my friend because you see it wrong. You’re just mad and lashing out. Let me enumerate the truth:
1. YOUR dime doesn’t pay me. Right now I cost you nothing, zero, zilch, nada. There are a host of current foreign allies that procure our systems that have to go through the USG. I am currently negotiating on their behalf. My salary and benefits come out of a bucket they pay into. I cost you nothing. I also say “current” allies because I don’t know how much longer they’ll stick around with 47.
2. Again, I would be fine with RTO if it wasn’t to a building put on the demo list, it had an inside temp below 82 degrees, the bathrooms were cleaned more than once a week and there were things like soap and paper towels. You get after me for complaining about that, while other posters tell me I should reach out to the press about it. What would you have me do, arch? Write a letter to the administration thanking them for my working conditions, and for akso proposing to cut my benefits to the detriment of ke and my family?
3. Posting daily..during work hours. Let me paint a picture for you, arch. Like I said I work for a lot of foreign allies. They don’t start their work day at the same time. I used to get up very early in the morning to support status calls with them during THEIR normal business hours. Now, I have to do it in person because nO TeLeWoRk!!! After those are done, I fire up three desk monitors and usually have my email/IM up in my right screen, current project up on the middle/main screen and DT up in my small left screen. Whether it’s taking a break, checking on things during a status call, getting away from crunching numbers/reviewing contracts/drafting provisions/etc, yes I do refresh the DT screen. It’s my one outlet. Like I said, I also begin my day before normal working hours and end after normal working hours. Some weeks are slower and some are insane. Face to face negotiations with contractors can exceed 70 work hours.
4. Here’s another thing. I’m good at what I do. If I reverted back to going on “YOUR dime” the amount of money I have saved you vs what you theoretically invested in me would be your greatest return. Contractors HATE me. I wear it like a badge of honor. Several years ago, one of the public company’s CEOs mentioned a program I was working during a shareholder quarterly call. The program was presented as a significant cost risk to them because of “aggressive efforts” the Government was setting forth to decrease pricing in negotiations. I got named Employee of the Year for that effort. But yeah, go ahead and bag on me because I post here during what you think of as the “work day” and I’m “wasting your money.” No clue whatsoever.
But hey “we’re just dumb.”
Honestly, man…
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
In fairness to arch, when Biden was questioned during the debates on inflation, he blamed Trump when he should have mentioned what you did about it being worldwide and how the US weathered the storm better than the rest of the world. That was one thing in a littany of things that had things start to go downhill.
Biden and Trump signed significant policy in their first 100 days. Biden with the 2.5 trillion spending bill that contributed to inflation. Trump with tariffs and creating chaos for the economy. Both should own it.
I don’t really disagree with the caveat that both issued stimmies when it wasn’t necessary and both contributed to inflation.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
In fairness to arch, when Biden was questioned during the debates on inflation, he blamed Trump when he should have mentioned what you did about it being worldwide and how the US weathered the storm better than the rest of the world. That was one thing in a littany of things that had things start to go downhill.
Biden and Trump signed significant policy in their first 100 days. Biden with the 2.5 trillion spending bill that contributed to inflation. Trump with tariffs and creating chaos for the economy. Both should own it.
And I don't have a problem in the world with what you said. My issue is people that think biden blaming trump, for 4 years on the economy?????? People blaming trump for the covid response? Keep in mind, it was a brand new epidemic that NO one had ever dealt with. I mean, people from every country (other than China) died from it, or rather, WITH it. Yet they blame trump.
I would love to have an adult conversation with people that are unbiased. Sadly, that cant and doesn't happen here. Even in the 4 years trump wasn't president, everything got blamed on him. It gets old. I just let the lib's/democrats speak their mind. Hell, we even have one that works for the government griping about not being able to work from home, griping about the temperature in the building, etc.
Yet, he's still posting on here daily, during work hours. when he's working on OUR dime. Sorry dawg. Just gotta call it like I see it..
Everyone that poo poo's away biden and his ineptness? You're just dumb. Anyone that thinks biden's son is innocent of using his daddy to make money? Even stupider.
And soon we'll see pit, and ocd defending biden and blaming trump.
And, go ahead, pit, ocd, Daman always late, correct me. Make stuff up to think you proved yourself right.
Here's the deal: This country is sunk.
Here's the real deal, Trump was responsible for the way we reacted to COVID. He Blew it. Remember, "it will just go away" and then a Million americans died. Brilliant.
You can try to change the narrative if you like, facts don't change.. The guy was a self serving Dufus and still is.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Don't mind Arch. He's been complaining about government employees for well over a decade now, at least since i've been on this board. His brother also works for the government, so when he's trashing you, he's really just taking more unprovoked shots at his brother
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Ttrumps response to covid killed many many americans. Bidens spending bill put america on a coarse to economic recovery faster than any other country. If trump had to orchestrate us out of the economy caused by covid I am sure he would have failed miserably.
I would love to have an adult conversation with people that are unbiased. Sadly, that cant and doesn't happen here. Even in the 4 years trump wasn't president, everything got blamed on him. It gets old. I just let the lib's/democrats speak their mind. Hell, we even have one that works for the government griping about not being able to work from home, griping about the temperature in the building, etc.
You sound like Trump... and I mean that in the worst way. Twisting words and ignoring context while throwing a temper tantrum complaining about people twisting words and ignoring context.
Yes, it is hard to have adult conversations in PP. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that was actually part of the intention of opening up this part of the forum (keeping the political bickering in one place, away from the others). If it's not worth your while, then don't post in here... ESPECIALLY if your response is just going to be more of what you're complaining about... with the cherry on top of attacking another poster. That makes you just as bad as the folks you complain about.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
It's a positive, but you may want to hold off on the victory dance. This month is a very slight dip from March, and some are saying that the true impact might not be felt for a little while. IMO, it's also possible that jobs aren't impacted at all with all the back-and-forth regarding the tariff dance going on.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
Well at least I finally see your true colors. Man, what a trash post. I had often stuck up for you in these threads because I thought you to be a decent person, and I frequently checked in with you and offered you support both via PMs and in the EE threads and now you just spew this utter, backstabbing nonsense. Hell, I just sided with an observation of your in this thread.
Here’s the thing, you displace your frustrations with other people’s politics and then attack them personally, and inaccurately mind you. But then when they respond in kind, you throw a hissy fit.
Hopefully you learned your lesson.
Quote
But hey “we’re just dumb.”
That's how a blind man sees it.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Why would that ruin anyone's parade? Nobody actually wants the economy to sink. Nobody wants to see a recession. A recession would hurt us all.
But Trump is bragging about it on social media which is to be expected. So in essence what it means is when reports are bad and people complain about the current economy it's "Biden's economy". When something good happens with the economy it's "Trump's economy". I guess we'll have to wait and see whose economy it is tomorrow.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
It's a positive, but you may want to hold off on the victory dance. This month is a very slight dip from March, and some are saying that the true impact might not be felt for a little while. IMO, it's also possible that jobs aren't impacted at all with all the back-and-forth regarding the tariff dance going on.
Yeah, all snark aside, I will never complain about more jobs. I think it’s important to take a step back and see how the bigger picture trends over time. There have been a lot of short term peaks, valleys, and reactions. It makes us take our eye off the overarching trends and I think that’s where the focus should be, because true impact takes time, whether positive or negative.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Trump budget proposes $1 trillion for defense, slashes education, foreign aid, environment, health and public assistance
(CNN) — The White House unveiled a budget blueprint Friday that would pump more money into defense and homeland security, while taking an ax to programs the Trump administration has already targeted, including education, foreign aid, environment, health and public assistance programs.
The proposal outlines President Donald Trump’s vision and provides recommendations to Congress for fiscal year 2026 spending, but lawmakers are not required to follow it. The blueprint released Friday is an outline, otherwise known as a “skinny budget,” with a more comprehensive plan expected to be released in coming weeks.
The proposal follows Trump’s priorities of beefing up the nation’s defense and immigration enforcement capabilities. It would increase defense spending by 13% to $1 trillion. It would also provide a “historic” $175 billion investment to “fully secure the border,” according to an Office of Management and Budget letter sent to Sen. Susan Collins, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, which was obtained by CNN.
The administration is pushing to have these increases included in the budget reconciliation bill Congress is currently assembling, which would allow it to be approved without Democratic votes in the Senate. Democrats have typically objected to raising defense funding without corresponding increases to certain non-defense spending.
The blueprint also calls for sweeping cuts to a multitude of discretionary programs that the Trump administration has been dismantling since it took office in January. It would slash $163 billion from non-defense, discretionary spending, a nearly 23% reduction, bringing it down to roughly $557 billion.
The administration “protected” Transportation, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and “numerous other priorities,” a senior administration official told reporters on Friday. The proposal also preserves funding for Title 1 funding for schools with many low-income students, special education funding, as well as Pell Grants.
But that means that other agencies and programs will bear the brunt of the cuts.
“This is a pretty historic effort to deal with the bureaucracy … that we believe has grown up over many years to be entrenched against the interests of the American people,” the official said, noting that the administration worked closely with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to prepare the outline. “We feel this is a joint project.”
The proposal calls for eliminating multiple diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, environmental justice efforts and other “woke” programs, according to the OMB letter.
Among the agencies and programs recommended for cuts are the National Park Service, climate science research, foreign economic and disaster assistance, UN peacekeepers, certain education funding to schools, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and rental assistance.
Overall, the discretionary budget would be $1.7 trillion, a 7.6% cut from the current fiscal year. The proposal does not make recommendations for so-called mandatory spending programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
The problem with DoD budgetary increases is that we don’t get more with more money. The contractors get more margin. Don’t believe me? Check their stock filings and share buyback metrics. Look at LMT and RTX for starters.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Judge strikes down 'unprecedented' Trump order targeting Perkins Coie law firm
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who called the executive order an attack on the American judicial system, said Trump’s directive “violates the Constitution and is thus null and void.”
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Coie in a blistering opinion calling the president’s efforts “an unprecedented attack” on the U.S. judicial system.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, issued a permanent injunction barring the enforcement of any part of Trump’s order from March, which focused on the firm’s representation of 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and its work with billionaire donor George Soros.
“No American President has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this lawsuit targeting a prominent law firm with adverse actions to be executed by all Executive branch agencies but, in purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,’” Howell wrote.
“The importance of independent lawyers to ensuring the American judicial system’s fair and impartial administration of justice has been recognized in this country since its founding era,” Howell wrote, referencing John Adams’ decision to represent eight British soldiers charged with murder in connection with the Boston Massacre.
She said Trump’s order “violates the Constitution and is thus null and void.”
A spokesperson for Perkins Coie said in a statement that the judge's ruling "affirms core constitutional freedoms all Americans hold dear, including free speech, due process, and the right to select counsel without the fear of retribution."
"We are pleased with this decision and are immensely grateful to those who spoke up in support of our positions. As we move forward, we remain guided by the same commitments that first compelled us to bring this challenge: to protect our firm, safeguard the interests of our clients, and uphold the rule of law,” the spokesperson said.
The Justice Department did not immediately provide a comment Friday night.
Trump’s executive order limited Perkins Coie employees’ access to government buildings, revoked security clearances at the firm, and ordered the heads of all federal agencies to terminate contracts with the firm and refrain from hiring employees who worked there.
"We are pleased with this decision and are immensely grateful to those who spoke up in support of our positions. As we move forward, we remain guided by the same commitments that first compelled us to bring this challenge: to protect our firm, safeguard the interests of our clients, and uphold the rule of law,” the spokesperson said.
The Justice Department did not immediately provide a comment Friday night.
Trump’s executive order limited Perkins Coie employees’ access to government buildings, revoked security clearances at the firm, and ordered the heads of all federal agencies to terminate contracts with the firm and refrain from hiring employees who worked there.
Howell had grilled Justice Department lawyer Richard Lawson at a hearing over the measure last week, and Lawson was unable to answer basic questions about the other firms that had reached deals with the White House to avoid their own executive orders.
Howell also used a footnote in Friday’s order to criticize firms that took deals with the White House, writing that “some clients may harbor reservations about the implications of such deals for the vigorous and zealous representation to which they are entitled from ethically responsible counsel, since at least the publicized deal terms appear only to forestall, rather than eliminate, the threat of being targeted in an Executive Order.”
Trump has targeted numerous law firms via executive order, prompting some to strike deals with the White House that include committing millions of dollars in pro bono representation for clients and causes supported by the Trump administration and getting rid of internal DEI policies.
Concessions by firms such as Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps have generated backlash within the legal community, including a protest letter signed by dozens of Skadden alumni who were outraged by the firm’s deal with Trump.
In Friday's order, Howell wrote that Trump’s “multi-year history of lodging public attacks” on Perkins Coie and “his promises during the 2024 campaign to act on his displeasure” toward the firm if he won further demonstrates that the executive order “was issued to seek retribution against plaintiff for the Firm’s representation of clients in political campaigns or litigation, about which President Trump expressed disapproval, dating back to 2017.”
“This purpose amounts to no more than unconstitutional retaliation for plaintiff’s First Amendment protected activity,” she added.
They love a parade: President Trump and US Army to celebrate their June 14 birthdays
WASHINGTON — The Army is planning a major parade at the urging of the White House on June 14 — the day the service shares a birthday with President Donald Trump, according to a U.S. official.
Plans for the parade include 6,000 soldiers, helicopters, and armored vehicles, including Strykers, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and possibly Abrams M-1 tanks, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The Army had been planning a major celebration for its 250th anniversary on June 14 when White House officials suggested a parade. Soldiers march in presidential inaugural events, but it’s unclear if they have participated in a presidential birthday celebration. The official cautioned that plans for the parade remain tentative, but the event appears likely to happen.
The Associated Press first reported the parade plans. It is likely to cost millions of dollars, and the parade route is planned to go through the heart of Washington, DC, along Constitution Avenue, the official said.
During his first term, Trump appeared at the July 4 celebration in Washington. And the military supplied equipment, including Bradleys, at his request, as well as flyovers. He was criticized for politicizing the Independence Day event. There was also concern about damage caused to city streets by heavy armor, so the vehicles remained immobile, on display, so as not to chew up pavement.
The Army is planning a number of other events to celebrate its anniversary apart from the parade.
The law firm EOs are insane. I can’t find anyone who can objectively justify them. Even my Trump-supporting family takes a “yeah but everything else is still great” tone when discussing the EOs. Add in the fact that this admin is essentially ruling by a flurry of EOs in general. At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves if this is what had been contemplated by the founding fathers. Can anyone objectively say “yes”?
Edit - wanted to add that EOs have been rampant over several administrations but this is next level.
Last edited by dawglover05; 05/03/2501:15 PM.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
And that's the thing. This will be far from the only EO he has signed that courts will find unconstitutional. Once that line is crossed and continues to be crossed, our nation is in grave danger. Only kings and dictators have more power than the law itself. I still find it amazing that it seems the only amendment to the constitution trumpians seem to care about is the second amendment. Some people seem to be saying to hell with the law as long as they get what they want. But while they said this wouldn't happen and trump is just "trolling you", we warned them things like this would happen.
But they're in too deep now. They've backed this guy since he first came down that escalator in 2015. It would be far too embarrassing for them to admit how wrong they were now.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Here is another one they will ignore. And remember, they're the crowd claiming schools are indoctrinating our children..........................
New Oklahoma curriculum includes pro-Trump conspiracy theories
The Oklahoma Board of Education has approved new curriculum standards that include a Republican conspiracy theory touted by President Donald Trump.
The new standards mandate that teachers instruct kids that the 2020 presidential election was fraught with fraud or discrepancies, despite numerous court rulings and audits confirming that Donald Trump lost fair and square.
This lesson won't be part of a conspiracy theories course, but an official element of the new social studies curriculum developed by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters. In March, Walters said this lesson aimed to get 'students to think for themselves' and 'not be spoon-fed left-wing propaganda.'
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