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Hi,
The New York Times has revealed that Donald Trump and his minions are plotting a terrifying power grab to transform the office of the presidency, should he regain the White House in 2024.
Trump’s plan is based on a fringe legal theory called the “unitary executive.” It would begin with a massive purge of the federal civil service workforce and then bring independent government agencies like the Justice Department under his direct personal authority, allowing him, for instance, to jail his political opponents.1
No president — even a progressive Democrat — should have this much concentrated, unchecked power. That’s why Congress must act now to protect our democracy from an authoritarian presidency.
Demand Progress has developed a series of steps Congress can take right now to prevent this massive power grab and preserve its own role in our democracy — but we need your help to fund this urgent campaign before it’s too late.
In the name of corporate profits, conservatives have long sought to undermine a core American principle — that the government is composed of three separate branches with overlapping powers to check and balance each other.
To defang the agencies that keep the air and water clean and food and drugs safe, the right wing has sought to concentrate unbridled power within the White House under the so-called unitary executive theory.
Trump’s plan is a maximalist version of this theory, allowing the president to fire longstanding, nonpartisan civil service workers whose jobs are now protected from political retribution. He wants every conceivable government agency to take orders directly from the White House and get the president’s personal permission before doing anything.2
In addition, Trump wants to provide the president with the power to block congressional spending by impounding funds for programs he doesn’t like — as Nixon did for water pollution control programs before Congress banned the practice.
Taken to the extreme, the unitary executive theory would upend our system of checks and balances and empower an authoritarian president. That’s why Congress must act NOW to nip this terrible idea in the bud.
The policy experts at Demand Progress have identified a series of legislative actions that Congress can take now to stop any president from seizing the authoritarian powers Trump and his team propose. But we must act now before it’s too late.
With gratitude for all that you do,
Tihi and the team at Demand Progress Action
Source:
1. The New York Times, "Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025," July 18, 2023.
2. Axios, "A radical plan for Trump’s second term," July 22, 2023.
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