"There is a risk that judges may determine that some of the dismissals were illegal, but any rulings in the president’s favor would establish precedents that would expand presidential power to control the federal government."

Trump’s Firings Could Bring Court Cases That Expand His Power The prospect of legal challenges to President Trump’s purges may be a feature, not a bug, for adherents of sweeping presidential authority.

Trump’s Firings Could Bring Court Cases That Expand His Power - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/u...

Between this and the forced reversal of the funding freeze, the idea that this administration is better planned and organized than in 2017 is fading away.

"Legal experts inside and outside the government strongly criticized the approach, arguing it almost certainly violates federal law and offers few protections for workers."

Musk team’s push to gut federal workforce bypassed key Trump officials Billionaire Elon Musk has worked behind the scenes on an initiative aimed at depleting the civil service, prompting questions about its legality.

Musk team’s push for federal worker buyouts bypassed key Trump officials - The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

“Trump is back, and so is the blowback,” said Matthew Bartlett, a Trump appointee to the State Department during the first term. “You didn’t know what was coming in 2017. You absolutely knew this was coming in 2025.”

White House regroups as funding freeze chaos recalls first term’s travel ban Democrats declared victory for blunting Trump’s momentum while the White House insisted it isn’t backing down.

White House regroups as funding freeze chaos recalls first term’s travel ban  - The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

In just eight days on the job, Trump has taken a wrecking ball to the federal government, and he and his aides apparently couldn’t be bothered to give any thought to the damage and chaos that would ensue.

Opinion | The Trump White House has no idea what the Trump White House just did At Karoline Leavitt’s first briefing, she didn’t have much to say about the crisis her boss created.

Opinion | Karoline Leavitt’s first White House briefing doesn’t go as planned - The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) argued that Trump’s offer to federal employees overstepped his authority.

“The President has no authority to make that offer. There’s no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work,” Kaine said. “If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you.”

What federal workers should know about Trump administration’s ‘deferred resignation’ offer Here’s what we know about the deferred resignation program offered to federal employees by the Trump administration.

How the Trump administration’s offer for federal employees to resign works - The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

He's shown us he can break things. The real question is if he can fix anything.

Amid the Chaos, Trump Has a Simple Message: He’s in Charge The new president has moved with lightning speed to purge officials he deems disloyal and rid agencies of policies he considers liberal.

Amid the Chaos, Trump Has a Simple Message: He’s in Charge - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/u...
In his first eight days in office, Mr. Trump mounted a lightning blitz against the federal government that has the nation’s capital in an uproar.

For 30 years, Republicans have used the threat of a national default to make Democrats negotiate over GOP demands. Democrats see an opportunity to turn the tables to cut off Trump’s agenda and take the debt limit off the table in future legislative battles.

Democrats flip the script, eyeing debt limit to block Trump’s agenda Republicans have leveraged the debt ceiling for years to block Democrats’ agenda. Now liberals see an opening to stymy Trump.

Democrats eye debt ceiling fight to block Trump’s agenda - The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Lawyers say the logistical hurdles of instituting a system that would determine which babies born in the United States do and don’t qualify for citizenship would add to government bloat. It could also result in delays and errors in obtaining proof of citizenship, even for the millions who do qualify

Though it is likely to face a lengthy battle in court, legal experts said that if it were to go forward, the policy would have vast and sweeping implications — and not just for the undocumented population.

What ending birthright citizenship could look like in the U.S. Legal experts say the undocumented population would grow and that all Americans would be impacted if Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship takes effect.

What ending birthright citizenship could look like in the U.S. - The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...