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Welcome to logoff: Today, I'm focusing on removing Donald Trump's pure Democratic figure, another attempt to eliminate legal checks on presidential authority.
What's the latest? Trump has fired only two Democrats on the five board that runs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), one of the agencies responsible for enforcing laws that protect consumers and check business strength. Both commissioners say they plan to sue the shooting and claim they are illegal.
So is it illegal to fire? The President can legally fire FTC Commissioners who serve seven years of office for incompetence or fraud. It was the 1935 Supreme Court ruling that, according to the law that created the FTC, President Franklin Roosevelt broke the law when he fired a Republican commissioner for opposing his agenda.
Trump's team has not claimed either cheating or incompetent, and instead tells the commissioner that their services are “contradictory and they have been fired.” [the] Administrative priorities. “However, Trump has issued an executive order claiming that the president can freely fire any appointee.
What does FTC shooting mean to you? The FTC setup is intended to lean power towards a party in power as the president chooses a board chair. But it also reflects bipartisan priorities as few as three commissioners are expected to come from both parties. Unless Trump's firing is overturned, the board will only reflect Republican priorities. This means a loose, collaborative approach to enforcement of consumer protections, which Democrat critics say.
What is the overall picture? Since taking office, Trump has been continuing to push him to remove checks of his authority. In this case, Republicans controlled the agency; total Control – And that (legal) limitation on Trump's power was more than this administration could live on.
And so, it's time to log off…
Vox's friends Grey area The podcast runs a particularly appropriate episode today, entitled “How to Live in Uncertain Times.” I'm excited to listen to it at home on the way to work. If you want to join me, it is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, and more. If the podcast isn't yours, then partial transcripts are available here. Thank you for reading Logoff and I'll see you here tomorrow.
