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More signs of desperation from the Trump administration
Trump is so desperate to force Democrats to surrender in the shutdown standoff that he is making stupid threats that are backfiring the instant he makes the threat. Alternatively, he is demanding that his acolytes humiliate themselves before Congress in what can only be described as acts of political self-immolation designed to distract the media from Trump’s plummeting public support.
The latest act of desperation is Trump’s threat to refuse to pay furloughed federal workers for the period they are furloughed. The threat is both stupid and silly because there is a federal law that specifically mandates paying furloughed workers for missed paychecks during a shutdown. Moreover, Trump signed that law into existence in 2019.
See the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which provides, in part,
Each employee of the United States Government or of a District of Columbia public employer furloughed as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations . . . at the employee’s standard rate of pay, at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends . . . .
A covered lapse in appropriations is one that occurs “after December 22, 2018.”
So, the federal government must pay furloughed workers for foregone pay during a “lapse in appropriations” (i.e., a shutdown”) as soon as possible after the shutdown is over. Indeed, when workers were furloughed, they received paperwork “guaranteeing that they’d get back pay upon their return.” See Axios, Congress erupts over Trump threat not to pay back furloughed workers.
The law is clear, and the moral obligation is even stronger. Members of both parties in Congress poured cold water on the threat. Per Axios,
Members of Congress in both parties bristled Tuesday at a White House Memo arguing that federal workers who have been furloughed as part of the government shutdown are not necessarily entitled to back pay.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters that threatening not to pay back workers is “bad strategy” and “probably not a good message to send right now to people who are not being paid.”
Indeed, Trump hasn’t actually threatened to withhold back pay. As explained by Josh Marshall in Talking Points Memo, the Office of Management and Budget has simply removed references to back pay from its “guidance” about the shutdown:
The step Vought has taken is to remove references to back pay from OMB guidance about the shutdown. The backpay rule is not based on OMB guidance. It’s federal law. And even better than that, it’s a federal law Trump signed.
Trump’s threat to penalize 750,000 federal workers to coerce Democrats to vote in favor of a Republican continuing resolution is stupid and self-destructive. Statistically speaking, the federal workforce (2.4 million employees) is so large that, under the Law of Large Numbers, the federal workforce mirrors the political diversity of the American electorate.
In other words, Trump just threatened 300,000 Republican federal workers with loss of wages that are owed to them under a law Trump signed. And those 300,000 Republicans have families that depend on their regular federal paychecks! And they have friends, relatives, fellow parish / synagogue / mosque members who understand the cruelty and desperation of Trump’s threat. See Axios, Federal workers erupt over latest White House threat to withhold their pay.
Moreover, the threat to lay off federal workers during the shutdown is also likely hollow. Assuming it is legal (a doubtful proposition), the draconian cuts imposed by DOGE have so badly hurt government efficiency that many agencies are rehiring the federal workers they laid off in the Spring. See Josh Marshall in Talking Points Memo, Don’t Believe the Hype: Trump Bum-Rushing DC Reporters Edition.
Marshall addresses the political and practical constraints on the ability of Trump to fire more federal workers. Marshall writes,
I noted a week ago that there’s another constraint most of the press seemed to ignore: self-interest and public opinion. The administration is already hiring back a substantial number of employees fired in the spring. They didn’t just start believing in public service. The firings were affecting both important MAGA coalition stakeholders as well as the President’s political standing generally. If the White House wanted to or felt it could fire more federal employees, it would.
So, like the threat to withhold back pay, the threat to lay off more federal workers because of the shutdown is likely empty. The Trump administration isn’t done downsizing the federal workforce; the fact that it may continue to do so during and after the shutdown is coincidental. Nonetheless, by laying off workers during a shutdown, Trump is adding an extra layer of cruelty to the layoffs.
But there are even more signs of desperation from Trump. He is apparently ordering Speaker Mike Johnson to keep the House in recess to delay the inevitable floor vote on the Epstein Transparency Act, which will be voted on as soon as Johnson swears in newly elected Rep. Adelita Grijalva from Arizona.
Early on Tuesday, Speaker Johnson said that he would swear in Rep. Grijalva “anytime she wants.” Hours later, Johnson backtracked to say that he would not swear in Rep. Grijalva until Democrats supported a continuing resolution. See KPNX Phoenix, Adelita Grijalva remains in limbo after House speaker flip-flops on swearing-in.
The reason for Republican reluctance to vote on the Epstein Transparency Act was highlighted during Attorney General Pam Bondi’s appearance before the Senate Oversight Committee. During the questioning of Bondi, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse asked Bondi,
There’s been public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half-naked young women. Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein’s safe or premises or otherwise?
Bondi did not answer the question, but instead attacked Senator Whitehouse for allegedly accepting campaign contributions from someone who was an Epstein friend. See Mediate, Bondi Asked About ‘Half-Naked’ Epstein Pics Involving Trump.
So, Trump, Johnson, and the Republican Party are dodging and weaving to blame the Democrats for the shutdown, and failing miserably in doing so. It is a spectacular failure to lose public support in a shutdown battle because the party in power appears to be protecting the president from a scandal related to a convicted sex trafficker.
Speaking of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s appearance before the Senate, that sorry spectacle also appeared designed to distract attention from Trump’s increasingly unpopular position in the shutdown. Read on!
Attorney General Pam Bondi disgraces her office and desecrates the Senate during an oversight hearing
Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the Senate Oversight Committee on Tuesday. She delivered the most disgraceful, insulting, unprofessional performance by a witness to appear before the Senate—ever. In a just world, she should be impeached, convicted, and removed from office because of her disrespect. She should also be disbarred—and likely will be at some point in the future.
Bondi appeared before the Senate with a thick binder containing tabs for each Democratic Senator, which included handcrafted insults and smears of the Senator to be used in lieu of answering questions posed by the Democrats. Incredibly, some media outlets (CNN) focused on her “one-liners” and pushback against Democrats rather than the monumental disrespect shown to the Senate by the Attorney General.
Senator Durbin described Bondi’s behavior and ultimate consequences as follows:
You have shut down justice in this country. You’ve purged career prosecutors, dismantled ethics oversight, and turned the Department into a shield for corruption. But mark my words: you will be held to account. If not today, then soon.
I won’t dignify Bondi’s attacks on Democratic Senators by repeating them here or citing publications that do. Instead, I cite to Senator Adam Schiff’s summary of the questions that the Attorney General refused to answer. See The New Republic, Schiff Lists Every Question Pam Bondi Ignored as She Melts Down.
Here is the list of unanswered questions as compiled by Senator Schiff during his examination of Bondi:
Did Bondi consult with career ethics lawyers before approving Trump’s acceptance of a $400 million jet from Qatar?
Who ordered Trump’s name to be flagged in the FBI’s Epstein file review?
Did Tom Homan keep the $50,000 allegedly given by undercover FBI agents?
Did Homan pay taxes on that $50,000?
Did DOJ prosecutors find insufficient evidence to charge James Comey before his indictment?
What legal basis justified U.S. military strikes on Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean?
Did Bondi discuss indicting Comey with President Trump?
Did she approve firing antitrust lawyers who opposed the Hewlett Packard–Juniper merger?
Does she support a compensation fund for January 6 defendants?
Is she firing career prosecutors for working on January 6 investigations?
Does she believe government officials must follow court orders?
Bondi’s performance will forever stain the Department of Justice. Moreover, her refusal to answer the above questions confirms suspicions that corruption and ethical violations are rampant in the Trump administration.
Bondi’s appearance was a wild success as measured by her only goal: To please Trump. But to everyone else, Bondi came across as a snide, mean, smug person—the kind who terrorized the less popular kids in high school and who is, therefore, hated by everyone in the class. And yet, Trump believes that Bondi’s combative style will increase support his agenda. The polls say otherwise.
Reader meetings in DC and Boston.
See the links to sign up for reader meetings in DC (10/14 at 1:30 pm) and Boston (10/16 at a time yet to be determined). I am still working the Boston location.
Reader Meeting in DC Sign-up | Oct. 14 at 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Reader Meeting in Boston Sign-up | Oct. 16 at time to be determined
Also, for those attending the No Kings Rally in Concord on 10/18, please use the Mobilize.US link to register. Because of an expected overflow crowd, I will speak at a nearby location immediately after the No Kings Rally to ensure that Jill and I have an opportunity to connect with readers in Concord. Stay tuned for details.
Opportunity for Reader Engagement
A reader sent a note asking to amplify Joyce Vance’s column urging citizens to make their voices heard concerning a proposed rule change by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. See Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, A Thing You Can Do Right Now To Help Protect The Right To Vote.
As noted by Joyce Vance,
The epicenter of a new effort to attack the freedom to vote. The EAC is considering adopting a requirement that voters show a passport or other proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. [¶]
However, there are actions we can take right now to prevent this from happening. The EAC is accepting public comments on this issue. Anti-voter advocates have flooded their website with one-sided and misleading comments. We can fight back with comments of our own. Go here (let’s all go!) and explain our view on this subject, click here.
There is more detail in Joyce Vance’s column, which I commend to your attention. Imposing new and unnecessary ID requirements on the national level would further suppress the right to vote of minorities, the elderly, students, and women.
Concluding Thoughts
We continue to experience a particularly rough news cycle, and I didn’t even discuss the threatened deployment of troops to Chicago and Portland. Suffice to say that the legal advocacy groups and relevant state entities are fighting the good fight in court.
I acknowledge that it is challenging to remain motivated and engaged in the face of a news tsunami. In the face of such a daunting news environment, lean into activism. Rather than merely being an (anxious) observer, become someone who shapes the news through persistence and resistance. Force newspapers and cable news outlets to discuss you and your effort to defend democracy as the leading news story.
As an added benefit, ending your focus on the two-hour news cycle will expand your horizon and field of view. That is a liberating experience! We have seized the momentum and are winning. Together, there is nothing we cannot do! Stay strong!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Protest Photos
Below, UU Fellowship in Redwood City, preparing to canvass for Prop 50!
Below, two photos from reader Jonathan M., “Finally got a few photos from one of our weekly Stand Up for the Constitution protests in Brookline, MA.”
Below, a photo from the Glendale / Pasadena area of Los Angeles:
Below, a photo from reader Eric L. with a note: “Every Tuesday in Reno in front of our federal courthouse we have Tyranny Tuesday protests. Here are a couple pics from today.”
Below, a photo from Pasadena, CA:
Daily Dose of Perspective
NGC 2403 is a galaxy located approximately 9 million light-years from Earth**.** It’s notable for its active star formation, visible supernovae, and historical importance in measuring cosmic distances.
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