Closing the tabs ...

After President Trump left the White House in 2021, critics of his norm-breaking use of executive power implored Congress to tighten legal limits on when presidents can unilaterally reshape American government with the stroke of a pen. But lawmakers largely did not act.

On Monday, as Mr. Trump took the oath of office to begin his second term, he asserted a muscular vision of presidential power. He not only revived some of the same expansive understandings of executive authority that were left unaddressed, but went even further with new claims of sweeping and inherent constitutional clout.

Ed:  Come on, man. Did the NYT sleep through the last four years -- and for that matter, the last week before Trump assumed office?

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Today I'm affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified:

The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex. pic.twitter.com/oZtS6Q89zG

— President Biden (@POTUS46Archive) January 17, 2025

Ed: I guess the NYT doesn't remember this ... or ...

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President Biden on Friday declared that he believes that the Equal Rights Amendment has met the requirements of ratification and is now part of the Constitution, moving just days before leaving office to try to enshrine sex equality as a basic principle.

“In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

Ed: Read these two articles to appreciate the much different approach the NYT has with these two presidents. This article never even suggests that Biden was abusing his authority on a topic in which presidents have no authority whatsoever.

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2. Before we break this down, kudos to those who got it dead wrong and are now reflecting on why.

As a guy who said there would be no Antifa riots after the election and inauguration, I can explain why nothing happened.

— Mike Shelby | Do Your Area Study (@grayzoneintel) January 21, 2025

Ed: Interesting thread, so click over if you want to read it all. I suspect that Antifa is just a spent force after the 2020 riots exposed their fascist natures, but perhaps also because its adherents might have been demoralized about their actual impact. The next entry is a response to Shelby's hypothesis, equally interesting. 

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Antifa fought on behalf of (and for the benefit of) US institutions and entrenched power structures. I think Antifa leaders probably understood this in 2020, but I’d be surprised if the rank and file did. ...

Trump’s America First policies mean he’ll prioritize American workers at the expense of foreign workers. Not much there for a revolutionary to grab hold of. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a good percentage of Antifa folks voted for Trump last year (that’s just a guess based on nothing rn)He’s taken the wind from their sails. 

It’s hard to rally people to overthrow a system that’s already being overthrown. I think it’ll be a while before the far left finds an issue around which to rally its shock troops.

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NEW: Mika Brzezinski asks how Dems can compete with Trump, gets told they are getting demolished by the sheer volume that Trump and his supporters get online.

You are the media now.

Former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor admitted that conservatives are crushing Democrats in social… pic.twitter.com/bsH90M22Hl

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 22, 2025

Former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor admitted that conservatives are crushing Democrats in social media algorithms and said Democrats just needed to "try harder."

"Look at Donald Trump's inaugural day, he did 3 inauguration speeches. The real one, the overflow, the rally at night, then a press conference. It's a reality show."

The truth is that the left got complacent because they've controlled the traditional media for so long. The Right got scrappy and found ways around it through social media algorithms. (Much of this is not possible without Elon's acquisition of X)

Now, we are the ones who are reaching voters and the Left is playing catchup.

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Hours after he was sworn into office on Monday, Trump signed an executive order giving him more power over career federal workers, previously known as “Schedule F.” The move is a centerpiece in a broader effort to rein in the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy, an issue he and his ally, Tesla founder Elon Musk, spoke about a lot on the campaign trail.

"We're getting rid of all of the cancer — I call it cancer — the cancer caused by the Biden administration," Trump said as he signed the order.

The order restates one issued in the last days of the previous Trump administration and subsequently undone by former President Joe Biden that would create a new class of career federal workers who could be removed based on policy considerations. Previously, they would have been labeled “Schedule F” employees. This order would categorize them as “policy/career” employees.

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