Testing the limits of presidential power, Donald Trump this week tightened his grip on US government agencies that for years have taken pride in their independence in overseeing such matters as elections, stock markets and labor unrest.
Trump’s order on Tuesday was the latest show of force in a series that has removed critics from office, defunded federal programs, loosened government oversight, and frozen billions of dollars in spending approved by Congress.
Accountability?
The order by Trump allows the White House to shift the budget and policies of the Federal Election Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and other government agencies whose day-to-day activities are traditionally kept at arm’s length from the president.
The White House said such oversight provided accountability. Trump has been outspoken in his opposition to what he sees as burdensome regulations, saying they are killing jobs and curtailing Americans’ freedom.
Congress and presidents have traditionally supported the independence of these agencies, believing they needed to be insulated from political pressures to carry out their missions. But many of Trump’s fellow Republicans see them as unaccountable and overly stringent on the companies and people they oversee.
Trump has flexed his presidential muscle on issues big and small since taking office on January 20, saying voters gave him a mandate to pursue sweeping changes. He has fired and sidelined hundreds of civil servants and top officials at agencies, installed himself as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and called for a return to plastic straws.
Long Live The King?
In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump embraced the notion of a powerful monarch, writing “LONG LIVE THE KING!” with respect to his administration’s decision to rescind federal approval of New York City’s traffic congestion pricing program.
Official White House social media accounts posted a fake magazine cover showing Trump wearing a crown.
On Wednesday night aboard Air Force One, he threw his support behind calls for the federal government to take over the US capital city of Washington, D.C. He also signed an executive order instructing the heads of every agency to undertake a review of all regulations, working with members of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Americans are divided over Trump’s steps on executive power, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the past week.
Some 63% of Republicans think the country is in crisis and needs a president who rules without much interference from courts and Congress, the poll found, while 52% of Americans overall disagree.
‘Power Grab’
The Trump order on Tuesday required the defective-product recall overseers at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the bank insurers at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the power regulators at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to run any substantive policy changes by the White House.
Each must install a political appointee on its staff who consults with the White House.
The order bars executive branch employees from expressing legal opinions at odds with the president as the official view of the government. The White House says this will prevent a range of agencies from offering conflicting legal interpretations.
“For the Federal Government to be truly accountable to the American people, officials who wield vast executive power must be supervised and controlled by the people’s elected President,” said the order, which refers to the regulatory agencies as “so-called” independent.
Critics accused Trump of overstepping executive authority.
(with inputs from Reuters)
