Latest news with #EnsuringAccountabilityforAllAgencies
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US judge dismisses DNC election commission lawsuit, in a victory for Trump
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) claiming President Donald Trump's executive orders had threatened the independence of the Federal Election Committee (FEC), a significant – albeit rare – court victory for the president. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, said the DNC failed to demonstrate "concrete and imminent injury" – or the burden needed to justify their request for a preliminary injunction. He said that the concerns raised by the party about the FEC's independence as a result of Trump's executive order were far too speculative to satisfy the court's higher bar for emergency relief. At issue in the case was the executive order Trump signed on Feb. 18, titled, "Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies." Judges V Trump: Here Are The Key Court Battles Halting The White House Agenda Democrats filed the lawsuit just 10 days after the order was signed, arguing that the order threatened to encroach on the independence of the FEC and risked subjecting it to the whims of the executive branch. The lawsuit focused largely on the claim that the FEC is an independent regulatory agency and argued that the credibility of the entire regulatory enterprise would be "fatally undermined if the party controlling the White House can unilaterally structure campaign rules and adjudicate disputes to disadvantage its electoral competitors." Read On The Fox News App Who Is Judge Amir Ali? The Biden-appointed Federal Judge At The Center Of Trump's Usaid Battle Notably, Ali said Tuesday that he had not found any evidence to date that the White House or the Trump administration had taken steps to change or undermine how the FEC interprets federal election law, or target its independent role. The "possibility that the president and attorney general would take the extraordinary step of issuing a directive to the FEC or its Commissioners purporting to bind their interpretation of FECA is not sufficiently concrete and imminent to create Article III injury," Ali said Tuesday. Should that change, however, Ali said the DNC was welcome to submit an amended filing to the court to reconsider the case. "This Court's doors are open to the parties if changed circumstances show concrete action or impact on the FEC's or its Commissioners' independence," Ali article source: US judge dismisses DNC election commission lawsuit, in a victory for Trump
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump signs executive order giving himself more power over independent federal agencies
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday giving himself more power over federal agencies that Congress set up to function without the president's direct oversight – the latest move in Trump's effort to consolidate power. Agencies that range from overseeing major financial infrastructure, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, to critical national programs, such as the Social Security Administration, will now be required to submit their performances and proposals to the White House to ensure they align with Trump's agenda. Congress established these agencies to fall under the executive branch but operate on a day-to-day basis independent from the president's oversight. Instead, the president may appoint individuals to oversee the agencies for a fixed term. The order also gives the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, the authority to 'adjust' congressional-appropriated funding based on whether the independent agency's priorities align with Trump's. It's likely the executive order will face legal challenges as it is based on a fringe theory that requires adoptees to believe Congress does not have the sole power to fund the government – despite what the Constitution says. It is just the latest move in Trump's attempts to alter the fundamental structure of the federal government and remake it in his vision. The executive order also appears to provide legal support to Trump who is facing a lawsuit from the former head of the National Labor Relations Board and the former head of the Office of Special Counsel who he fired without reason. Presidents do not typically have the authority to remove independent agency heads at will – this core function is what makes independent federal agencies, independent. In furtherance of declaring his power over independent federal agencies, Trump stated in the executive order that only he and the attorney general may dictate what the law means for federal employees. 'No employee of the executive branch acting in their official capacity may advance an interpretation of the law as the position of the United States that contravenes the President or the Attorney General's opinion on a matter of law, including but not limited to the issuance of regulations, guidance, and positions advanced in litigation, unless authorized to do so by the President or in writing by the Attorney General,' Trump wrote. The order, named 'Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies', is one of the most deliberate initiatives outlined in Project 2025 that Trump has enacted since taking office. Vought, an architect of Project 2025, had advocated for policies that consolidate executive branch powers solely under the president rather than throughout the federal bureaucracy. He has also advocated for expanding the role of OMB director to assist the president in doing so.
