Putting democracy above decorum

March 7, 2025

Note: I will hold a Substack livestream on Saturday, March 8, at Noon Pacific / 3:00 PM Eastern. The livestream is open to everyone who has the Substack App on their phone or tablet (The App not available on computer). I have moved the livestream later in the day because Jill and I will be traveling by train from Edinburgh to London on Saturday. I will host the livestream after we arrive in London.

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Overview

There is a lot going on—to the point that it feels overwhelming. Which is Trump's point. Democrats can fight back in court on some of Trump's efforts but must rely on political blowback to slow or undo the damage that he is causing in other areas.

Democrats are doing great work in protesting and calling their representatives. Don’t let anyone tell you that such efforts are ineffective. To the contrary, they are grabbing the attention of every member of Congress, especially Republicans. We must keep up the fight on all fronts.

Trump continues to cause chaos in global trade markets, the American economy, and the lives of Americans who depend on the federal government to help keep them safe, healthy, and financially secure.

Trump's chaos will harm every American—ensuring that a backlash will eventually overwhelm Trump and his enablers. We must endure, we must not quit, we must turn our outrage and anxiety into action.

This period will not only pass but it will be recognized by future Americans and historians as a period of great peril during which ordinary citizens held the line against the forces of chaos and hate. They will regard your resistance as one of America’s finest hours. So, let’s keep our heads down and continue the hard work of defending democracy. Together, there is nothing we cannot do.

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Trump backtracks on tariffs—slightly.

Trump is flip-flopping on tariffs within 48 hours—changes that are causing as much economic harm as the tariffs themselves. See AP, Trump's erratic trade policies are baffling businesses, threatening investment and economic growth.

Don’t be fooled by the headlines: Trump has not paused tariffs against Mexico and Canada. It is true that he has paused some tariffs on certain goods, but tariffs will remain on billions of dollars of goods. Per The Hill,

Officials said roughly 62 percent of imports from Canada are not covered by USMCA and would still be subject to tariffs, while 50 percent of imports from Mexico are not USMCA-compliant. . . . the White House’s unpredictable approach to tariffs has rattled financial markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 all taking on losses earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, per the Irish Times, China has issued a rebuke to the US after Trump announced tariffs against that country. Per the Irish Times,

China’s ministry of foreign affairs has promised that China will “fight to the end” with the US in a “tariff war, trade war or any other war”, marking China’s strongest rhetoric on US president Donald Trump since he entered the White House.

Tariffs are taxes on Americans! Tell a friend!

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Interim US Attorney Ed Martin in D.C. threatens Georgetown Law Center over DEI

In a truly despicable, Orwellian move, Interim US Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin has threatened to investigate Georgetown Law Center unless it agrees to “remove DEI” from its curriculum. Ed Martin wrote, in part,

It has come to my attention that Georgetown Law School continues to teach and promote DEI. This is unacceptable. I have begun an inquiry into this and would welcome your response to the following questions:

First, have you eliminated all DEI from your school and its curriculum?

Second, if DEI is found in your courses or teaching in anyway, will you move swiftly to remove it?

At this time, you should know that no applicant for our fellows program, our summer internship, or employment in our office who is a student or affiliated with a law school or university that continues to teach and utilize DEI will be considered.

The dean of Georgetown has responded, saying in part,

The First Amendment . . . guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how to teach it. The Supreme Court has continually confirmed that among the freedoms central to a university’s First Amendment rights are its ability to determine, on academic grounds, who may teach, what to teach, and how to teach it.

Given the First Amendment protection of a university’s freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the [letter’s] constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic Institution. [¶]

We look forward to your confirming that any Georgetown-affiliated candidates for employment with your office will receive full and fair consideration.

The legal profession has been doing a great job in standing against ethical violations by attorneys promoting Trump's unlawful agenda. The attack on Georgetown is unethical and depraved. It deserves to be condemned by every lawyer in America. The American Bar Association should issue a condemnation of Ed Martin’s tactics and suggest that the licensing authority for D.C. open an investigation into Ed Martin’s ability to practice law in the District of Columbia.

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Trump is threatening to shutter the Department of Education

Per CNN, Trump will sign an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education. Per CNN,

President Donald Trump could decide this week to take the first steps to eliminate the Department of Education, people familiar with the matter said, as he looks to dramatically shrink the size of the federal government.

White House officials have prepared an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of dismantling the department, the sources said.

Trump recognizes that he cannot close the Department of Education without legislative action by Congress that would require overcoming the filibuster. But the need for congressional action has not stopped Trump from closing USAID without formally doing so. By the simple expedient of placing most employees on administrative leave, all work at the agency will stop.

Although such an approach is plainly unconstitutional, the Courts have yet to restrain Trump's willingness to engage in unlawful efforts to illegally do that which he cannot do legally.

In preparation for the move, the Trump administration has leaked copies of the executive order to several media outlets—even as Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt calls the reports “fake news.”

Trump's willingness and ability to shut down congressionally created agencies within the federal government demonstrate that he no longer views the Constitution as binding on his actions. This is an unequivocal sign that Trump has mounted a coup against the Constitution.

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Federal Judge orders Trump to resume distributing grants to states

US District Judge John McConnell has extended indefinitely his order requiring Trump and his administration to distribute funds to 23 states that sued to force Trump to resume distributing funds appropriated by Congress.

See CBS News, See Judge extends block on Trump's federal assistance freeze indefinitely.

Per CBS,

U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued a preliminary injunction Thursday that prohibits agencies from halting the flow of federal funds awarded to the states through grants, contracts or other financial assistance based on a memo from the Office of Management and Budget issued during President Trump's first days in office.

Judge McConnell wrote:

The executive's categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government. The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance — but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the executive put itself above Congress.

Good for Judge McConnell! His ruling exposes the attack by Trump on the fundamental concept of separation of powers under the Constitution. If this case makes its way to the Supreme Court, the issue will be joined in a way that will force the Court to resolve the question head-on. We should not fear that confrontation! We are on the right side of the law and history. We will be vindicated by the Court. And if we are not, we will know everything we need to know for the struggle to come.

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Trump fires FEMA lawyer who refuses to prepare a memo defending clawback of $80 million in FEMA funds

See The Handbasket, FEMA’s top lawyer placed on leave after less than one week in role.

Per The Handbasket,

Josh Stanton [a FEMA senior lawyer] was asked sometime this week to write a memo stating that the mid-February seizure of $80 million from the city of New York meant for migrant shelters had legal justification; this was despite the fact that it almost certainly did not.

The money that was taken back was lawfully obligated by FEMA pursuant to congressionally allocated funds. Stanton reportedly refused to write such a memo, The Handbasket has learned, and then he was put on leave.

We need more lawyers like Joshua Stanton to stand up against Trump's illegal actions. It only takes a handful of resisters to open the floodgates!

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Concluding Thoughts

I have run out of steam and must end here, even though there are other significant stories to cover. But I cannot close without mentioning two unsettling developments within the Democratic Party on Thursday.

First, California Governor Gavin Newsom said during a podcast that it was “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to be allowed to compete in collegiate sports. Newsom’s comments are unfortunate and wrong on many levels. Trump and MAGA are attacking transgender people because they know they can get away with it. After Trump has succeeded in normalizing discrimination against transgender people, he will expand his target to include LGBTQ people and women.

We should defend transgender people because it is the right thing to do; but if that doesn’t convince us, we should defend transgender people because we are “next” if Trump succeeds in normalizing discrimination against any group.

Second, ten Democrats joined all Republicans in voting to censure Democratic Rep. Al Green for interrupting Trump's speech to the joint session of Congress. The ten Democrats are identified in this article: The Hill, 10 Democrats join Republicans in censuring Al Green.

Trump stood before Congress as a tyrant working to overthrow the Constitution and neuter Congress. As between Al Green’s comments during Trump's speech and the lies spewing from Trump's mouth, the problem is not Al Green.

Shame on the Democrats who are putting decorum and arcane rules above the need to defend democracy as vociferously and ferociously as we can. It is time to stop being polite. It is time to speak the truth, including by shouting it from the floor of the Capitol. Democratic leaders must break free of convention and custom to respond to the urgent need to defend democracy!

Talk to you tomorrow!