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Welcome to logoff. Today's edition concerns a court order that pushes back Elon Musk's deadline for federal workers to take him to a postponed offer of resignation. That may sound niche, but it's important for those who rely on functional governments. It also provides insight into how the courts derail Donald Trump's broader agenda.
What's the latest? Midnight appears to be the deadline for workers to decide whether to steal their masked dogs with an offer to resign at the end of September, and up until then they were (probably) to take paid leave. However, a federal judge suspended that deadline until Monday and set up tenure-by-tenured hearings to determine whether an offer to “deferred resignation” is even legal.
So is it legal? Well, a professor at the Georgetown law school told Vox:
Are people making Doge offers? The White House says about 40,000 federal workers have accepted the offer. The federal government employs around 2.4 million people, but not all are offered acquisitions.
What is the point of the offer? Though relatively few workers have taken it to date, the offer is a broader plan to reduce the federal workforce at a federal speed, along with the threat of massive layoffs. It is part of. It is a gamble that Trump's team can quickly cut their workforce without compromising the government's ability to carry out the critical services we rely on.
What is the bigger context? Instead of pushing his agenda through Congress, Trump has advocated a massive new power for the administrative department, particularly for himself. But for it to work, he has to go to court with him. If they don't, Trump has to ignore the courts – either bringing about a constitutional crisis that is even bigger than what we already are, or seeing a big chunk of his agenda collapse.
And so, it's time to log off…
Hypothetically, do you say you've been experiencing anxiety recently? And on top of that, did you have a hard time focusing? I can relate. So this Vox's work on journaling was very helpful. It's about “solid scientific evidence that the simple act of writing about our emotions is good for our brains,” and it's a great reminder to take care of ourselves. Please come back here tomorrow.
