Bits n’ pieces from east, west and beyond
East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact.
A recent sampling:
Defying checks and balances: In an ABC interview Vice President JD Vance said “The president has to be able to run the government as he thinks he should. That’s the way the Constitution works.” Vance indicated those now in office who oppose court orders to comply with the Constitution are inclined to say make me. Experts and officials responded: Sen. Adam Schiff stated, “JD…we don’t have to be lawyers to know that ignoring court decisions we don’t like puts us on a dangerous path to lawlessness.” The Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program: the Trump Administration is “gearing up to defy a court order…the battle lines for our democracy have been drawn.”
Trump’s government funding freeze is impacting farmers. Many had USDA contracts for help on their farms, The Washington Post reported. A court order said the funds must be “immediately restored.”
Various media: Trump’s purge of insufficiently “loyal” government employees includes leaders at the Federal Elections Commission, the National Archives and Records Administration (which handles presidential records), the Office of Government Ethics and the U.S. Special Counsel (enforcers of whistleblower laws).
Trump’s director of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, a Project 2025 author, has closed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, per the plans of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. Since 2011 the CFPB recovered $17 million for consumers from fraudulent or predatory practices.
The Trump effort to hollow out USAID: The program of 20,000 workers uses about .6% of annual government spending, as compared to the Dept. of Defense. The latter is slated to spend $1.71 trillion in 2025 (13.3% of the entire federal budget, and more than the next nine countries combined), says USA Spending. The Congressional Research Service says USAID works overseas on programs like polio prevention, stopping pandemic viruses and starvation aid. The Vatican said gutting USAID could kill millions. Related headlines: Musk trying to disappear USAID as it was probing its deal with his company, and, Judge temporarily blocks Trump from placing USAID workers in paid leave.
During his confirmation hearings for Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to assure lawmakers that Medicare’s new ability to negotiate lower drug prices would be kept.
Vaccine breakthrough? Flublok, produced by Protein Sciences, addresses numerous vaccine concerns. The manufacturer says Flublok is entirely free of heavy metals, formaldehyde, latex, antibiotics, gluten and egg residues and live viruses. Protein Sciences invested $1 billion over 20 years to develop the vaccine. Flublok has a relatively short shelf life of nine months.
The new administration wants to cut medical research by billions of dollars, The Guardian reported. Sen. Patty Murray: “There will be dangerous consequences. Just because Elon Musk doesn’t understand indirect costs doesn’t mean Americans should have to pay the price with their lives.”
People in Denver, have taken action to protect undocumented neighbors from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The Guardian said of 30 arrests, a single gang member was taken into custody. An immigrant advocacy group gave a crash course in immigration law to 100 volunteer Colorado attorneys. Literature given to immigrants explained their legal rights.
Numerous media reported Trump is preparing an executive order to hollow out the Dept. of Education. Forbes wrote that the DOE provides supplemental funding to schools, Title I funding for high-poverty schools, student aid and loans for college students, and funds to help the disabled. While Trump cannot shut down DOE without Congressional approval, he can shrink the agency. The department employs 4,200 people and represents 2% of the budget, according to USA Spending.
Oxfam International: in 2024 billionaires’ wealth grew three times faster than the year before. For brevity, recent headlines: ‘We Haven’t Discussed That’: Trump Pressed On Whether Or Not He Has Put Any Limits On Elon Musk’s Powers; Did Trump Quietly Kill a Sensitive Pentagon Probe into Elon Musk? [Musk has numerous military contracts]; 13 states to sue over “DOGE” access to government payment systems containing personal data; Musk calls to impeach judge whose order blocks DOGE from Treasury systems access; Polls Keep Showing Americans Want Elon Musk and DOGE Out of Government; American Bar Association says "chaotic" Trump is attacking Constitution and rule of law; The Wall Street Journal Torches Trump for Trying to ‘Intimidate the Press’ With Crusade Over CBS-Kamala Harris Interview; EU vows countermeasures to Trump's tariffs; Federal court puts Trump's deferred resignation "buyout" program on hold; Chemical Companies Ask Trump’s EPA To Hide Potential Disasters; Ukraine "may be Russian someday," Trump says ahead of Zelenskyy meeting with Vance; and, HIV infections could jump over 6 times if US support is dropped and not replaced, UNAIDS chief says.
Blast from the past: “Education is what you get when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don’t.” Pete Seeger, 1919-2014, American folk singer, songwriter, social activist.