@davidlewisvu.bsky.social
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Public Service Viewpoint Survey
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ourpublicservice.org
I never thought I'd see a major newspaper do a story about a provision of the Uniform Grants Guidance. It's a good story, too. But the crucial point is that the guidance language doesn't give the admin the power to do anything it doesn't otherwise have legal authority to do. wapo.st/3Y5E2iW
These 5 words have killed millions in grants and advanced Trump’s agenda
Five words in an obscure regulation are being deployed by Trump’s appointees to kill grants unilaterally across the government.
wapo.st
Read this. Trump is claiming inherent power to name an acting head of a Senate confirmed board, where the Vacancies Act doesn’t apply (and there’s no agency succession provision). Forget removal. This is Appointments Clause madness. Means he could name folks to MSPB and NLRB without the Senate.
Kyle Cheney@kyledcheney.bsky.social · 2y agoJUST IN: The head of the US African Development Foundation is suing Peter Marocco and DOGE — and he is describing in detail the standoff in which he blocked DOGE from entering the agency's offices. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Turns out the person we all need in this moment is...an administrative law prof who also has a PhD in political science. More A+ content from @nicholasbednar.bsky.social (with runner-up points to @qjurecic.bsky.social for the phrase "Rumsfeld-ian deluge") www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...
Lawfare Daily: The Legality of OPM's "Deferred Resignations”
Discussing the "Fork in the Road" email.
lawfaremedia.org
For those interested in the Trump Administration's proposed buyouts. This is the best explainer I have seen.
Nick Bednar@nicholasbednar.bsky.social · 2y agoOver at @lawfare.bsky.social, I have a new post examining the legal foundations (or lack thereof) of the deferred resignation program (i.e., the buyout). I conclude with some thoughts about who may or may not take the offer. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/brea...
Over at @lawfare.bsky.social, I have an essay reviewing the executive orders and how they affect the federal workforce. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/pres...
President Trump and The Civil Service: Day 1
This week’s actions to reshape personnel policy enable the Trump administration to more easily politicize the ranks of the federal workforce and diminish its size.
lawfaremedia.org
I think Trump could take a Republican member already at a commission and make them an acting cabinet secretary—Hester Pierce? Hasn’t been done before: Presidents have drawn from other confirmed officials but haven’t turned to independent agencies. But you have a bunch of confirmed Republicans now.
Over at @lawfare.bsky.social, I have a primer on how the Trump Administration may seek to exercise its authority over the civil service. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/a-pr...
A Primer on the Civil Service and the Trump Administration
The broad discretion afforded to presidents to shape personnel policy poses a threat to the civil service during the Trump administration.
lawfaremedia.org
And he cannot be named under the Vacancies Act. (I did answer the query about Patriot Mindset). www.reuters.com/fact-check/v...
Fact Check: Vacancies Act cannot be used to appoint Matt Gaetz attorney general
After President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January 2025, he cannot use a federal vacancies law to install Matt Gaetz as attorney general without Senate approval, as posts on social media are suggesting he will do.
reuters.com
New, from Don Kettl & I: "Unelected bureaucrats" has become a political put-downs. The implication is that unelected means unaccountable, and therefore illegitimate. We explain the different ways civil servants are accountable, maybe more so than politicians donmoynihan.substack.com/p/unelected-...
"Unelected Bureaucrats" Are More Accountable Than You Think
Democratic accountability takes many forms other than elections
donmoynihan.substack.com
