Sunday Issues-February 16, 2025

Yet another danger alert for democracy and the Constitution

2017 Kremlin photo via Wikimedia Commons.

The week begins with an issue that might seem familiar. What’s going on with President Trump? The President’s apparent decision to declare Vladimir Putin the winner of the war he started in Ukraine is a dark day for the world. Ukraine and its people are being thrown under the bus. In exchange for unilaterally awarding land seized from Ukraine by Putin to Russia, Trump has asked Ukraine for vast mineral rights to compensate the United States for the aid awarded to it under President Biden.

I write about VP Vance’s European trip below, but the President’s post on Truth Social on Saturday upset me most this week. The President posted it twice, perhaps to emphasize its importance. The post reads, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”

The President, who has repeatedly claimed that he is “saving” America, admits that he sees himself above the law. Presumably, this includes laws against bribery, extortion, rape, sexual assault and even murder. This is no joking matter. Enemies of the President—anyone who thinks that Trump might view them as an enemy for any reason—should take this warning seriously.

I have read hundreds of Trump social media posts over the years. This one is the worst.

Trump’s hillbilly vice president lectures European leaders.

I cringed when I read that Vice President J.D. Vance met with Alice Weidel, the head of the ultra-right-wing Alternatives for Germany (AfD) party, during his visit to Deutschland last week. The AfD is referred to as a neo-Nazi party. It advocates strict limitations on immigration and urges Germans to “move past” Adolf Hitler.

Alternatives for Germany campaign poster calling for the deportation of migrants, 2024, via Wikimedia Commons.

Did Elon Musk, who admires the AfD and has lent his support to it, encourage Vance to make the visit? Or has Vance ingested enough of the Trump-Musk Kool-Aid to fully embrace policies that reek of racism?

Vance was on the Continent for the Munich Security Conference. He took the opportunity to lecture attendees on his insights into Europe. He told the group:

I’ve heard a lot about what you need to defend yourselves from. What has seemed a little bit less clear to me, and certainly, I think to many of the citizens of Europe, is what exactly it is that you’re defending yourselves for. What is the positive vision that animates this shared security compact that we all believe is so important? … If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.

Vance also told the group that Ukrainian membership in NATO is not possible because Putin will not accept it and that mass migration, not Russia, is the biggest threat to Europe.

What’s Hegseth doing hanging out with a Nazi?

Given the challenge of serving as Secretary of Defense with limited relevant experience and open questions over whether he has the personal discipline to do the job, one would assume that Hegseth would focus on his job during his recent trip to meet with NATO allies. That did not happen.

Hegseth invited right-wing conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec to accompany him on the trip. While it is unclear whether Posobiec made the trip, it is incredible that Hegseth was even thinking about it. Posobiec has made speeches calling for an end to democracy, has praised the January 6 insurrection, and has promoted the “Pizzagate” conspiracy. Remember Pizzagate? (Hillary Clinton eating babies at Comet Pizza on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C.)

Photo by Farragutful via Wikimedia Commons.

Musk called for judges blocking Trump’s efforts to deconstruct the federal government to be impeached. Two GOP House members are responding.

This was reported in The Hill:

Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said he is drafting articles of impeachment against Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York, who in a ruling last weekend temporarily restricted Musk and DOGE aides from accessing a Treasury Department payment system.

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) is working on an impeachment resolution against Rhode Island District Judge John McConnell Jr. over his ruling halting the Trump administration’s freeze on federal funding.

These resolutions will go nowhere. A two-thirds vote is needed to remove a federal official from office if they are impeached. That won’t happen.

Budget reconciliation.

This week, the administration’s effort to enact parts of its policy agenda that have not been enacted via Executive Orders moves to center stage. I will write more about it this week.

On Wednesday, my weekly column for Spy Community Newspapers will focus on Trump's proposals to undermine American higher education and educational opportunity. Later that day, I will post the column to my Substack. I’m upset.

I am already seeing signs that the Republican budget resolution and the reconciliation bill that makes the legislative changes necessary to sync spending and revenues with the resolution will depend on budget gimmickry to make the numbers work. Expect Democrats and budget gurus to condemn the “budget scoring” that supports the budget resolution.

I remain hopeful that the aggressiveness of Trump’s efforts to achieve extension—and enhancement—of his 2017 tax cuts will precipitate defections among at least a few Republican budget hawks. I’m not holding my breath, but it could happen. I hear that more than one or two Republicans think Trump is “going too far.”

Thank you.

I was going to write about President Trump’s plan to pave over the White House Rose Garden, which was reported in the NYT. While I find the idea ridiculous, it wasn’t worth discussing in light of this week's much more serious developments.

Thank you for reading.