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With his days in office numbered, here's what Trump may try to do
https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/07/opinions/what-trump-may-try-to-do-honig/index.htmlWith his days in office numbered, here's what Trump may try to do
Opinion by Elie Honig
Updated 3:40 PM ET, Sat November 7, 2020
...
Pardons. The biggest question: will Trump try to pardon himself? We don't know conclusively whether a presidential self-pardon is lawful -- primarily because nobody has ever tried it before. The Constitution places no explicit limitation on the pardon power and legal scholars differ on the issue. (My own view is that the drafters of the Constitution abhorred self-dealing and did not intend to permit a presidential self-pardon.) If Trump does pardon himself, federal courts could eventually give us a definitive answer.
Firings. While most administration officials will follow Trump out the door, some stand to outlast him. FBI Director Chris Wray is likely first on Trump's hit list. Trump nominated Wray as FBI Director -- a position that carries a ten-year term, under federal law -- and the Senate confirmed him in August 2017. Trump could cut that short, however, if he fires Wray on his way out of the White House. Trump has publicly criticized Wray, who has undermined Trump's false political narratives about widespread election fraud and the danger posed by Antifa. Note that if Trump does fire Wray, President-elect Joe Biden could choose to re-nominate him when he takes office in January 2021.
Trump also might try to take down inspectors general, the internal watchdogs within each federal agency. While every president has the ability to nominate and remove IGs, many who were appointed by prior presidents remain in place. Trump has shown no hesitation about firing those who have not supported his political agenda, including former Intelligence Community IG Michael Atkinson -- whom Trump himself had appointed -- as retribution for Atkinson's disclosure of information that led to Trump's impeachment.
Executive Orders. Throughout his term in office, Trump has tried to enact his policy and political agendas through Executive Orders. At times he has succeeded (the Supreme Court ultimately upheld his foreign travel ban, after the administration revised it multiple times) and at others he has failed (the Supreme Court rejected Trump's effort to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program). Trump might well try again to dismantle DACA on his way out of office -- the Supreme Court left the door open for the administration to issue a new order, utilizing proper administrative procedures -- or to enact other policy goals relating to the Affordable Care Act, environmental protection or immigration policy. Biden could try to rescind any such measures upon taking office but, as the DACA ruling showed, it's not a given that one administration can automatically reverse the executive actions taken by another.
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With his days in office numbered, here's what Trump may try to do (Original Post)
dalton99a
Nov 2020
OP
SCantiGOP
(13,874 posts)1. Concerning IGs
Biden should announce that any career federal worker, including all non-Trump appointed IGs, will be rehired on Jan 20 if fired after today.
70sEraVet
(3,524 posts)2. You left out 'Burn Down the White House'
And 'arrest all election workers'. There is no telling what a failing sociopath might do.