USAID was a test case. What agencies are next? (after CFPB)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe all of us:

Federal layoffs ‘likely’ if too few employees choose to quit, memo says

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/04/federal-government-layoffs-likely-memo/

The article only describes an email asking a portion of GSA to identify 50% of its staff for cuts. It says nothing about the entire federal workforce.

Again, any reorganization on the scale of reducing staff 50% across the board would require Congressional approval. It isn’t happening with the GOP’s narrow majorities.

Yeah right. Congress is paralyzed by fear and doing nothing to stop any of this. If they want 50% across the board, it will be 50%. Sad but true!

If they’re paralyzed, they can’t vote on it, so it won’t happen. If Trump tries anyway, he’ll be sued and stopped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe all of us:

Federal layoffs ‘likely’ if too few employees choose to quit, memo says

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/04/federal-government-layoffs-likely-memo/

The article only describes an email asking a portion of GSA to identify 50% of its staff for cuts. It says nothing about the entire federal workforce.

Again, any reorganization on the scale of reducing staff 50% across the board would require Congressional approval. It isn’t happening with the GOP’s narrow majorities.

Yeah right. Congress is paralyzed by fear and doing nothing to stop any of this. If they want 50% across the board, it will be 50%. Sad but true!

If they’re paralyzed, they can’t vote on it, so it won’t happen. If Trump tries anyway, he’ll be sued and stopped.

Let’s hope you are correct. Who will enforce court orders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe all of us:

Federal layoffs ‘likely’ if too few employees choose to quit, memo says

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/04/federal-government-layoffs-likely-memo/

The article only describes an email asking a portion of GSA to identify 50% of its staff for cuts. It says nothing about the entire federal workforce.

Again, any reorganization on the scale of reducing staff 50% across the board would require Congressional approval. It isn’t happening with the GOP’s narrow majorities.

Yeah right. Congress is paralyzed by fear and doing nothing to stop any of this. If they want 50% across the board, it will be 50%. Sad but true!

If they’re paralyzed, they can’t vote on it, so it won’t happen. If Trump tries anyway, he’ll be sued and stopped.

Let’s hope you are correct. Who will enforce court orders?

If Trump starts defying court orders, RIFs are the least of anyone’s problems.

[Anonymous]

At most you could have SEC enforcement folded into DOJ. There are other divisions in the SEC that deal with the capital markets (IM, TM, CF) and those functions wouldn't lend themselves to being within DOJ.

[Anonymous]

I fear all of Treasury will be eliminated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At most you could have SEC enforcement folded into DOJ. There are other divisions in the SEC that deal with the capital markets (IM, TM, CF) and those functions wouldn't lend themselves to being within DOJ.

No SEC is going away. Markets can regulate themselves. Anything progressive or put in place after 1929 is gone. FDIC is in the chopping block also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They backtracked on USAID and admitted they have to go through Congress. I think you’re right about where they’ll target, but I don’t see them pulling the same stunt. They’ve already said they’ll have to present a legislative proposal for abolishing ED and can’t just do it by fiat.

Aren’t the GOP eunuchs just going to rubberstamp everything?

I think they need 60 votes in the Senate to approve an agency reorganization, but don’t quote me on that. Even if they can approve it with a simple majority, not all Republicans will be on board with dismantling the agencies their committees spend all day overseeing.

Wonder how many moderate democrats will go along? I say more than 10 less than 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They backtracked on USAID and admitted they have to go through Congress. I think you’re right about where they’ll target, but I don’t see them pulling the same stunt. They’ve already said they’ll have to present a legislative proposal for abolishing ED and can’t just do it by fiat.

Aren’t the GOP eunuchs just going to rubberstamp everything?

I think they need 60 votes in the Senate to approve an agency reorganization, but don’t quote me on that. Even if they can approve it with a simple majority, not all Republicans will be on board with dismantling the agencies their committees spend all day overseeing.

Wonder how many moderate democrats will go along? I say more than 10 less than 15.

This is correct - they won't get 60 votes for anything, precisely zero dems will support and more than a handful of republicans will oppose. It will also be thoroughly associated with Musk who is not a popular figure, even among many republicans.

The question is what if the Admin just claims inherent authority? Will anyone stop them?

Also -- remember that Trump is willing to claim victory if he thinks it's getting too hot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They backtracked on USAID and admitted they have to go through Congress. I think you’re right about where they’ll target, but I don’t see them pulling the same stunt. They’ve already said they’ll have to present a legislative proposal for abolishing ED and can’t just do it by fiat.

Aren’t the GOP eunuchs just going to rubberstamp everything?

I think they need 60 votes in the Senate to approve an agency reorganization, but don’t quote me on that. Even if they can approve it with a simple majority, not all Republicans will be on board with dismantling the agencies their committees spend all day overseeing.

Wonder how many moderate democrats will go along? I say more than 10 less than 15.

You think a single Democrat will vote to abolish the Department of Education? Polling shows less than a third of the public supports that. I’d be more surprised if there aren’t multiple Republican defections.

[Anonymous]

50% of the Congress will be forced out at this rate.

[Anonymous]

Education will go. If anything, it's redundant. States already control their schools and this was extra admin on top of admin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Education will go. If anything, it's redundant. States already control their schools and this was extra admin on top of admin.

You sound uninformed.

[Anonymous]

All national security roles will be RIF'd.

[Anonymous]

They just reported the department of education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:USAID is/was a test case to see how congress and the courts respond to asserting control over an independent agency, in this case by moving it to state where leadership can be removed without cause.

Who’s next? CFPB is obviously done for, we’ve all known that. EPA leadership can already be removed without cause, I think.

IRS—I imagine they will just be gutted beyond belief.

SEC sued Musk right before the inauguration but that seems to be a really hard move to justify. I guess it would go under DOJ? Welcome back to the GS salary scale lol.

FTC and DOJ antitrust technically do the same stuff and Musk isn’t a fan of the FTC as they tell him what he can’t buy. If I read project 2025 right (and it is so poorly written that that is a significant assumption) then I think the wing nuts want FTC to be submerged by DOJ or possibly by state AGs (again: it is incomprehensible to me).

FAA tells him how he can’t blow up rockets but they might be slightly more insulated temporarily. Or maybe the crash will cause the opposite and provide justification for “accountability.”

FCC—quite frankly the FCC has always struck me as a bit irrelevant these days. Sorry guys. definitely a way to assert control over speech. section 230 insulates musk on twitter. current chair wrote the fcc section on project 2025 and that says they want to eliminate sections 230 protections. I think they will leave this one alone for now. Musk has enough money so if they did eliminate section 230 they’d probably just go after bluesky.

fed reserve—I am sure they want to but that would draw too much attention.

NASA—I’m sure musk wants it but gutting and privatizing it would provide him what he’s hoping to get (money)

Small business association—I saw some reporting about this recently? Musk trying to get in? Maybe they will just abolish it entirely because the monopolists have taken over anyways

then there’s some other wild cards. maybe peace corp will be dragged under state. NLRB probably treated like CFPB. GSA he’s already wiggled himself in, not sure much is left. FEC they will probably just gut, but I could also see that being one that gets pulled under DOJ.

FCC irrelevant. Huh. Do you like having a smartphone? Thank the FCC. It auctions and manages the spectrum that your devices hoover up and clears the road for all the infrastructure needed to support use of the spectrum. it manages interference so you can use your phone while someone sitting next to you uses WiFi. But yes, the agency is totally irrelevant. In all seriousness, the FCC will probably be treated gently because it offers a lot of goodies to industry generally and Elon specifically--notably, billions in subsidies for broadband access and approval to launch more Space X satellites. Someone's gotta make sure that happens.