Trump Appointee Who Threatened to Keep Working Despite Biden Firing Whines: I Can't Log In

[FSogol]

Trump-appointed Social Security commissioner Andrew Saul kicked up a major stink when he was fired by the Biden administration, vowing to carry on with his job whether the president liked it or not. But that threat almost immediately fell flat when he tried to log on to government systems as usual on Monday—only to find that his access has obviously been revoked. “I’m here to do the job... but I can’t do anything with the communications shut down,” Saul said in an impotent whine to The Washington Post. Saul, who is 74, said he was shocked to be fired in what he described as a “palace coup” last week, and threatened that he’d continue his work as the “duly confirmed Social Security commissioner.” However, his acting successor, Biden appointee Kilolo Kijakazi, has already taken over

https://www.thedailybeast.com/andrew-saul-who-vowed-to-ignore-firing-from-biden-whines-that-he-cant-log-in

[Casady1]

1. Put his belongings in a garbage bag

and let him pick them up.

[Demovictory9]

20. leave them on the back porch

[KentuckyWoman]

112. In the rain.

[nuxvomica]

2. Take the red stapler, Andrew

Oh, and, sorry, we ran out of cake.

[Ilsa]

82. Andrew, we've moved you to the basement.

I can't imagine why H.R. won't take your calls about not getting a payroll deposit.

Yes, take the red Swingline.

[EYESORE 9001]

3. ...

He could always set the building on fire.

[dflprincess]

101. Don't give him ideas. Nt

[COL Mustard]

127. He Was Working From His House

If he wants to set it on fire, he can be my guest!

[Omnipresent]

4. The trump crowd is really bad at taking rejection.

From all of those Jan6th insurrectionist to this guy.

[Tiger8]

35. They're Arrogant

Typical Republicans - they think only their votes should count - as if the USA is "their" country.

[wnylib]

66. Kinda stupid, I think, if he did not

realize that his access would be cut off.

But I think he knew that. The whole thing is political theater to defy Biden's authority and rally the magats.

[JohnnyRingo]

80. That has to be it.

Because actually crying and throwing a tantrum would be too obviously immature.

[Omnipresent]

92. Reagan's been gone so long.

They don’t know what they’re doing anymore.

[GoCubsGo]

5. Hard to figure out how much of this is Republican performance art,

and how much is outright stupidity.

[FSogol]

11. All the best people!

[MyOwnPeace]

15. You speak......

as if there's a difference!

[JohnSJ]

6. Milton from Office Space who wouldn't accept his termination

[malaise]

16. One of my all time favorite movies

[JohnSJ]

21. yes

[kirkuchiyo]

75. And the T***p admin DID try to burn that MF'er (US Government) to the ground...! nt

[lordsummerisle]

113. Thanks for the laugh, this made my day n/t

[lindysalsagal]

7. Hey, Andrew: Welcome to GP, and reality.

[MissMillie]

8. He couldn't possibly be surprised by this (n/t)

.

[JHB]

12. He'll pick up some (for him) pocket change from RW media appearances now.

[JHB]

9. Like all things Trump, this is theatrics and drama (and possibly dementia), not substance

"I was duly appointed to do the job of sabotaging Social Security, and now some political crony is preventing me from doing it!"

[NJCher]

48. this is theatrics and drama (and possibly dementia), not substance

My vote goes to dementia.

[treestar]

73. How much do we bet he had

someone video his trying to log in?

[FlyingPiggy]

126. My vote is on theatrics bc magats are jacked up on hate

And theatrics.

[twodogsbarking]

10. The feel good story for today.

Enjoy it friends, and enemies too.

[Vinca]

13. That's just nuts. But what should we expect from a Trump appointee.

[mdbl]

36. +1000

[Jon King]

14. Its an act, he knows he would have to appeal the firing through the courts....

This guy is just another Repug clown doing their for the media performance crap. Rich 74 year old whose daddy set him up way back when in business....back when white guys could get away with a lot more than they can today....he likely misses those days, hence his devoutness to Trump.

But he knows he could not stay on. He does have to be fired 'with cause', but that does not mean he can still 'log in' or 'show up to work'.

It means he has the right to appeal the cause for his termination through the system, go to court, etc. But thats totally different from pretending you can still continue your job after termination and not go through a month to years long appeals process.

[MyOwnPeace]

19. Typical 'act'.............

just like Postmaster "No Joy" DeJoy at a Congressional meeting: "Get used to me!"

GAWD, I just LOVE seeing them being smacked down - one by one!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

102. I wonder when those

Two people are going to be put on the board of the post office so dejoy can get kicked out on his ass?

Better appoint them and get dejoy out before the election.

[SergeStorms]

28. More fodder for Carlson and Hannity....

and the rest of the right-wing commedia dell'arte propaganda machine.

It will be the outrage du du jour for the GOP shit-show. It does seem that's the only thing republicans have to call a "platform" since the Trump era barged into being.

[JHB]

89. Yep. Be on the lookout for their ramping up talk about Stalinist purges.

[RussBLib]

94. Outrage du jour

Fox and the rest of the RW nuts do that so well.

Corrupt media.

[True Blue American]

17. LOL

What did he expect? When the President fires you, you are fired.

[Jon King]

24. He has the right to appeal because its not an at the pleasure of the President job....

That position is not at the 'pleasure of the President' like some are. He must be fired "with cause".

But that is a formality, cause can be so many things, for example, some other employees of the agency have said he made lots of mistakes. So he has no chance of winning his appeal.

He does have the right to file an appeal to his firing, but that still means he is out of the job pending that appeal. Saying he would still "show up on Monday" was just for the right wing media and Trump nuts.

[mdbl]

37. firing him for cause should not be a problem

just like it should not have been a problem for the stupid GOP Senators to fire trump. Morons.

[True Blue American]

46. Thank you for that!

President Biden had many complaints about Saul and how he mishandled the agency. He will not have a bit of a problem proving just cause. He would need a competent Attorney.

I do not think Rudy is available now.

[mdbl]

96. Sidney seems busy too

others might be available but i recommend getting the fee in advance.

[greenjar_01]

43. The Supreme Court basically voided the rules on that for CFPB

I like what Biden's doing here. Obama would have said, "Well, I don't agree with the USSC decision in principle, so I won't do it." Biden is saying "Oh, these are the rules of the game now? Fine. Play on."

[NJCher]

51. republicans have no respect for process

so I doubt he'll even go down that road.

Furthermore, the process requires patience, ability to follow steps, preparing materials/research, finding competent people to represent oneself.

They don't have the ability to do that, either.

[karynnj]

70. Not giving Garland a hearing? McConnell used every bit of process to GOP's advantage

I suspect that he will NOT go though the process on this because he is both unlikely to win and making this a high profile fight is on OUR ground. Social Security is popular - it is a Democratic program. We support it completely and have been behind any improvements. The Republicans are more likely to try to nibble away at it.

Not to mention - the right has their case - that he was fired without cause. (Fighting it actually will make the case for why he was fired.)

One negative is that Trump in his overt partisanship has made these kind of positions - whether FBI, the Consumer Bureau, and this one, more likely to change with administration.

[JohnnyRingo]

84. You covered the situation pretty well there.

I believe he was installed as a saboteur, a sleeper who shifted into overdrive when Biden took the oath.

[The_Counsel]

87. So He Has to Be Terminated "With Cause," Eh...?

...well, how about "'cause the President wants to get somebody better in there who knows what the hell he's doing?"

Or...

"'Cause I asked that asshole to resign and he refused because he'd rather be a thorn in the People's collective side than a public servant?"

When are these people going to learn that "owning the libs" can't be the "be all that ends all?"

[Captain Zero]

121. If he still wants a Federal job, he should hire on

as a letter carrier

[Trex666]

18. Why was he allowed to stay on as long as he did?

[Jon King]

26. Because to fire him they have to be able to show cause.

His position is one that can only be terminated for cause. So they took a few months to document the mistakes he made. I think I read numerous employees complained he was not doing things according to procedure.

So now if he appeals his firing, they can show the evidence of the reason for his firing.

[SergeStorms]

32. All Trump appointees.....

believe they were installed in their specific offices for life, just like TFG was installed as "President for Life" when the Russians procured the electoral college "victory" for him.

It's just another example of the separate reality the QOP has been inhabiting since 1/20/2017.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

22. Tombstoned!

"Here lies a disruptor. He disrupted poorly."

[niyad]

47. I wonder what kind of pizza he should get.

[Brother Buzz]

119. Tombstone pizza, of course, or is that a trick question?

[niyad]

120. I was just thinking of the flavour. You have the kind correct.

[Danascot]

23. He can get the job

but can he do the job?

[-misanthroptimist]

25. I guess qualification one for TFG appointees was "must be delusional"

[mdbl]

38. Don't they only have to have a degree from trump university?

[obamanut2012]

27. He can take his red stapler and retire

[2naSalit]

29. Sounds like he's got those "pack your suitcase blues"!

[lagomorph777]

30. He must be in a panic. He's probably been skimming millions.

Now the truth will come out.

[ecstatic]

31. It's so obvious that Pres Biden made the right decision

Every single trumper needs to go. Our national security is at stake.

[AllaN01Bear]

33. gee , i wonder why?!?! and whatever happened to internal security and cops escorting

the fireee out. not takeing away the keys is dangerous.

[llmart]

55. That was my first thought.

As a retired, 35-year HR professional I'm wondering why security didn't walk him to his office, hand him a box for his belongings and march him out the door. Plus, in my past experience, the IT department would be cutting off his access while he was packing his stuff and walking out the door.

[Beartracks]

65. Yep. ... Maybe he was still on telework...?

=========

[Bettie]

34. So, right wingers think

"you're fired" means "yeah, you can keep working and getting paid for a while"? Because no one else believes that. No one.

[SeattleVet]

125. Well, *some* do!

https://www.axios.com/trump-epa-kept-fired-employees-payroll-report-776ed13c-928e-425e-9c68-9f33b324e8fa.html

Fired EPA employees under TFG kept getting paid.

[tanyev]

39. Working from home...how does it work?

[DownriverDem]

40. When you're fired

you're fired. WTF!!!

[treestar]

83. When IQ45 says it, it means it

I guess Democrats can't say it!

[area51]

41. "Palace coup"

I didn't know Andrew Saul was a king.

Love it when the party that supports right to fire laws, themselves get fired and can't cope. Snowflake.

[Chainfire]

49. Palace coup is how Republicans described an election that they lost by a "landslide."

The king is dead, long live the king.....

[CaptainTruth]

42. Entitled much?

[Wounded Bear]

44. I wonder how many people he has done this to over the years...

Just sayin'

[durablend]

45. When is it DeJoy's turn?

[Evolve Dammit]

63. Yes please. USPS needs competent leadership badly. He really fucked it up. nt

[Blue Owl]

110. Can't happen soon enough

[chriscan64]

50. This is going to jeopardize

his chance of winning Employee of the Week. In other news, everyone's monthly checks are safe.

[DinahMoeHum]

52. I'm still hoping for a scene like this. . .

The story behind the photo:
https://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/sewell-avery-thrown-out/

[HAB911]

53. Truely tech-savvy MAGAT

[Botany]

54. Love it! DUers were right.

DUers were right once again just deny Saul access to the S.S.'s computers.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215615000

[DFW]

56. Maybe this would give him a hint:

[Jon King]

57. He has no more right to log into SS computers than I do....

He was terminated, so attempting to access SS computers would be illegal for him, as it would be for me.

The difference is he can appeal his termination for cause through the labor boards, and eventually through the courts. But as of this minute, he is no more an SS employee than any of us are.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

58. Of course he has no access to his computer account.

When someone is fired, one of the first things is to revoke his or her computer access. Duh!

[BradBo]

59. What an idiot.

This article made my morning. I’ve been watching this every day now. I knew he would do this.

[BumRushDaShow]

61. "his access has obviously been revoked"

Um yeah - probably some time over the weekend (maybe Sunday) and/or after the firing email was sent (with read receipt) and was confirmed as received, and (opened) read.

I had posted yesterday that the SS website had already been updated.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

62. Another Republican who takes the phrase "How stupid can you get?" as a challenge

[patphil]

91. Yeah, what did he think would happen?

Ok asshole, you're fired, but you can still have access to all of our systems...NOT!
Damn, doesn't he know how these things work?

[Baitball Blogger]

64. Man didn't even have to get out of his p.j.s

If he was serious about making a show of it, he would have put on a suit and walked into the office this morning.

[IronLionZion]

67. Give him one elderly person to take care of. Last name is Trump.

[Johnny2X2X]

68. What is the angle here?

What grift was this guy involved in that he was so intent on doing this job for Trump? It seems like he protested a little too much. Was he covering up a grift or actively involved in one? Trump only hires con artists, what was this guy doing?

[BumRushDaShow]

79. A portion from the WH statement that WaPo published Friday

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142767461

Angry advocates say he dawdled while millions of disabled Americans waited for him to turn over files to the Internal Revenue Service to release their stimulus checks -- and accused him of an overzealous campaign to make disabled people reestablish their eligibility for benefits. "Since taking office, Commissioner Saul has undermined and politicized Social Security disability benefits, terminated the agency's telework policy that was utilized by up to 25 percent of the agency's workforce, not repaired SSA's relationships with relevant Federal employee unions including in the context of COVID-19 workplace safety planning, reduced due process protections for benefits appeals hearings, and taken other actions that run contrary to the mission of the agency and the President's policy agenda," the White House said in a statement.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/andrew-saul-social-security-/2021/07/09/c18a34fa-df99-11eb-a501-0e69b5d012e5_story.html

I think his fucking around with the stimulus mandate - notably the latest legislation enacted (which was the "American Rescue Plan" ) that finally included disabled SS recipients for checks, with his delaying sending the info of those eligible to the IRS so they could cut the checks, while apparently insisting those eligible would have to prove again that they were disabled, was one of the straws that broke his back.

By doing that, he could manufacture outrage by that demographic (and their caretakers) against the Biden Administration for not carrying out the stimulus law in a timely fashion. And in this case, that group, along with adult dependents and some others, missed out on being eligible for, and receiving any money from the previous 2 stimulus laws, so it was now or never for those folks.

[True Blue American]

128. That alone is

Due cause.

Now,on to getting those Democrats on the Postal committee so they can fire DeJoy. He has been pretty quiet lately. No more boasting about being there for a long time. Evidence is building against him,too.

[BumRushDaShow]

129. "Now,on to getting those Democrats on the Postal committee"

All of them are confirmed and sworn in and the board is filled now as of this past June.

However an issue that was brought up in other threads, is that Democrat Ron Bloom, who was appointed in 2019 by TFG to serve out the rest of a term that eventually expired last December (and the option to extend for a year was invoked), was made the Chair by the then-smaller Board back in February, and he had supposedly been supportive of DeJoy. So hopefully there is a sword of Damocles hanging over his head to do the right thing and "un-support" DeJoy or not be renominated.

An additional idea that was also brought up was that the law for the Postal Board requires that no party has more than 5 (partisan) members, and Biden nominated (and had confirmed) someone who is NOT a member of the Democratic or Republican parties, but is officially listed as an "Independent". That means that the Board currently has 4 (D)s, 4 (R)s, and 1 (I), and it just so happens that this (I) (Amber McReynolds) is a mail-voting advocate.

So the option exists this year for actually replacing an upcoming (R) vacancy (John McLeod Barger) with a (D) to result in (5) D, (3) R, and 1 (I), and I hope that happens.

[True Blue American]

131. Thank you for that!

Great explanation! I did not know that. Hard to keep up with everything.

[BumRushDaShow]

133. You are welcome!

I know the Postal Board and getting DeJoy out is going to involve a long game strategy, but the hope is that at the end, we have a solid Board that goes back to an era without all the loon drama.

As it is, the Board had vacancies from 2014 - 2019 because Turtle blocked Obama's Board nominees once the GOP took over the Senate. So the Board was incomplete until TFG did his appointments, and then DeJoy was installed in May 2020 to not only destroy the USPS, but to help destroy the election process.

How the Postal Service Became Donald Trump's for the Taking

By Alana Abramson
Updated: August 20, 2020 4:21 PM EDT | Originally published: August 20, 2020 3:48 PM EDT

(snip)

When the President took office three and a half years ago, he inherited an empty Board of Governors. For years, Congress had refused to confirm any of Barack Obama’s nominees to the Board, due to infighting on both sides of the aisle. Trump was therefore handed the opportunity to fill the Board of Governors with a majority of members—many of whom are business executives with ties to the Republican party—who shared his cost-cutting vision.

“I had never heard of anything like it in the U.S. government,” says James Sauber, chief of staff for the National Association of Letter Carriers, of the empty Board of Governors. “It was pretty extraordinary.”

There are nine slots allotted for the USPS Board of Governors. They function in a capacity akin a corporate board of a company, collectively appointing a Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General. The board is designed to be bipartisan by nature. While a sitting President appoints members when vacancies arise, no more than five members can be from the same party, and all nominees are subject to Congressional confirmation. Members are also elected to serve for seven year terms, ensuring that their tenure lasts through at least one Presidential administration.

By 2014, there were fewer than six members on the Board of Governors, which meant the body lacked a quorum and was unable to perform key functions. But while Obama nominated seven people to fill those vacancies, according to a 2018 report from the Congressional Research Service, none received a vote in the Senate.

https://time.com/5882006/usps-board-governors-trump/

[True Blue American]

134. McConnell

Has so much to answer for. There is nothing in him. He is just a putrid mass of bone and skins. I bet he is furious Bush was on this morning complaint about Biden ending his lie of a war.

I know I can get carried away on some Republicans but I am too old to change. I remember when we are respected. But consolation, President Biden is putting on the right path once again

Or, should I say Left path?

[BumRushDaShow]

135. ...

"Putrid mass" sums him up pretty good.

[True Blue American]

136. That word was complaining

SP changed it 3 times.

[Capperdan]

69. He never showed up before

Tom Hartman had a guy on yesterday who said he didn't even have a desk to clean out.

[NJCher]

98. But of course

He ended the telework policy for everyone else.
If nothing else, republicans are consistent about hypocrisy.

[Marcuse]

71. "You're fired. Leave the premises immediately."

[treestar]

72. DU thread yesterday

had a lot of posts suggesting just that!

Retire, dude. You are 74. Enjoy your grandchildren. They are more mature than Diaper Donnie.

[hadEnuf]

74. Hey Mr. Saul, you're fired.

And you are so incompetent you can't even understand why....

Clearly Biden did the right thing. Go cry with the Savage Weiner now.

[XanaDUer2]

76. He's working to harm ssdi and SS

Elderly and disabled. Biden has made me so happy with this firing

[msfiddlestix]

77. Now to get on with the next one on the list. what's his name? De Hate? or is it Hate Joy?

fire his ass too! Then file charges against him for tampering with the U.S. Postal Service! A FEDERAL CRIME.

[JohnnyRingo]

78. Stealing Andy Borwitz material.

It has to be harder & harder for Borowitz to write new articles.

[True Blue American]

132. Don't Call Saul!

[LiberalFighter]

81. Hopefully his computer got infected.

[Ilsa]

85. This shows he knows nothing about

the details of how things work in the real world. I guess he thought some trumpista in IT would make certain he had computer access to carry on. Or worse, that nobody would think to consider his online access.

[usaf-vet]

86. The sheer fact that he thought he was going to be able to work remotely show just how unqualified...

.... he was to hold down the job in the first place. Did he think his remote access was magic? I'll bet his computer access was cut off by the youngest IT tech in the building. And I bet it took less than 5 mins.

As a current retiree on SS, I saw that move coming the moment he refused to resign and bragged he was going to go to work on Monday from home.

Let's see more of that house cleaning Mr. President!

[ProfessorGAC]

105. Someone Here Yesterday...

...in IT, said they have programs written to purge all access routes. That person says it takes 30 seconds.
And, I wouldn't be surprised if an IT tech had their mouse pointer over "Execute" the moment they got a text.
Text chirp, click, buh-bye Saul.

[toughtony]

88. Communications Are Not Shut Down...

His account is locked and disabled leaving him with no access to government resources. If he has a outlook mailbox and/or a .pst, the network sys admins can get him a copy of of his mail, but that's it!! He's cut off! Next is his building access badge. It is policy to allow you 90 days of limited access to get copies of things like mail, electronic files, etc, but he can't be trusted! You see, he, like trump, and many others like trump are a national security threat. There is no telling where our Soc Sec data is going, trump, the kremlin, who knows. I have seen guys download complete databases from gov systems. so yeah, the comm is up for everyone EXCEPT HIM.

[smirkymonkey]

90. It takes a lot for these people to get the hint.

We're not politiely asking you to go. We're telling you to go. GTFO, Now!

[BobTheSubgenius]

93. I wonder how long he would have kept working, once payday had come and gone.

[twodogsbarking]

95. "I can't log in" Put it on a t-shirt.

People will buy.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

97. TFG supporters are idiots

[secondwind]

99. His paycheck won't be LOGGIN IN either.........

[IamHappy]

100. Who let him in the building? Call security.

[titanicdave]

103. .......NEENER!!!NEENER!!!NEENER!!!

[pamdb]

106. SS

Dude, you've been fired. Live with it.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

107. Precious...

I’d send a red stapler to his house if I could.

[Neema]

108. When folks got fired from the rinky-dink publishing company I worked for, IT cut off their

computer access while they were in the HR director's office and their swipe cards were taken away as they left with their stuff. This guy thinks he can just walk into a government office and still have access? How do MAGAs cross the street without getting run over?

[robertpaulsen]

109. About as believable an actor as Baghdad Bob

[orangecrush]

111. ...

[DBoon]

114. In a "real business"

All his access would have been removed the moment he was fired. You are escorted off the property by security and you do not return.

Any attempt to access either the premises or computer systems after that point would be prosecuted as trespass.

Private sector businesses have "palace coups" all the time. The losers don't get to whine to the media about it. They are just gone.

[ejbr]

115. Idiot

Did they always have this brain rot or did Trump just expose it?

[aggiesal]

116. Another Pendejo45 IDIOT. Kind of stunning actually! n/t

[jimlup]

117. I would enjoy watching him try to collect his paycheck.

what a fool

[calimary]

118. Fuck him.

That’s all I’ve got for these assholes anymore.

Fuck ‘em.

Fuck ‘em ALL!

[C Moon]

122. Next, he'll find himself in the basement with his red stapler.

[napi21]

123. If this dunce was too dumb to know the first thing that happens when someone gets let go is they

REVOKE YOUR PASSWORD, he wasn't capable of doing his job to begin with. That's usually done before you even get back to your office to clean out your desk! I'm surprised they even let him in the building on Monday.

[3catwoman3]

124. Put him in the Steam Pipe Trunk...

…Distribution Venue.

[Dukkha]

130. We "fixed the glitch"