There is so much press on the latest crazy thing Trump
tweets or says that you’d think that was all there is to worry about with his
presidency. Unfortunately those things are just the tip of the iceberg. I don’t
mean that in just the sense of scale but also in the sense of what is readily
visible as compared to the damage being done under that visible layer.
Although the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause prohibits
taking things of value, like money, from foreign nations or their leaders Trump
continues to profit from their spending at his various hotels and resorts. All
Presidents in the last century have avoided such things with those in our
lifetimes having put their businesses or investments in blind trusts or otherwise
even having the appearance of profiting from their office. Trump does it
proudly and often. What’s worse is that the Republican controlled Congress can’t
be bothered to take action to enforce it and the courts have thrown out
lawsuits filed by those who attempt to hold him accountable.
Trump has made numerous nominations or in some cases
appointments of people who were manifestly unqualified. In one case a judicial
nominee that couldn’t answer first year law student level questions. In another
case the nominee lacked experience and failed to disclose that his wife works
in the White House counsel's office. This from the man who when he
campaigned claimed that he always hired the best people.
Trump’s first Secretary of Health and Human Services, former
congressman Tom Price, was forced to resign over using tax payer funds to pay
for private travel expenses. Other cabinet members were caught doing the same
thing but managed to get away with it under cover of Price bowing out.
In addition to nominating those who are manifestly
unqualified he has been installing agency heads who have previously urged the
destruction or shrinkage of the agencies to which they’ve been appointed. First
among them is our on former governor, Rick Perry, who when he ran for president
said that the Department of Energy was one of the three agencies he wanted to
eliminate and now he is the Secretary of Energy. Perry publicly admitted after his
appointment he didn’t know that the Department of Energy is responsible for the
development and maintenance of the nation’s nuclear warheads.
At the Environmental Protection Agency Trump appointee Scott
Pruitt previously spent his career working to dismantle environmental
regulations that keep Americans healthy. Pruitt has simply ignored a 2015 law
that requires the agency to review areas of the country that aren’t meeting the
standard set in 2015 and force compliance in order to protect the health of
Americans in those area. Pruitt has begun replacing highly qualified scientific
and medical professionals who server on agency advisory committees with people
that have a track record of disagreeing with established scientific research
and in some cases have financial connections to polluting industries.
Trump has repeatedly attacked judges who have ruled against
him on issues like the travel ban. He has attacked the FBI which is
investigating allegations of collusion with Russian agents. He has attacked the
press and wants to enact laws to make it easier to sue for libel which would
weaken the protections afforded by the Bill of Rights.
He has done all this and more in his first year in office
and yet the only substantive legislation he has signed is a tax break for
millionaires. The damage to our nation and most importantly to our democracy
has only just begun.
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