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On Sunday, a federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump's appointment of Cuccinelli violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, thereby canceling two policies Cuccinelli implemented as acting USCIS chief. Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told lawmakers Tuesday that the administration will appeal the decision and that Cuccinelli remains the "senior official performing the duties of the director.” DHS, Wolf said, is “determining what to do” about the two invalidated policy directives, while on Monday, Cuccinelli told Fox News that they will be "effectively reissued and validated."
“The law specifically says that an agency can't do that,” Rebecca Jones, policy counsel at the Washington-based Project on Government Oversight, told Morning Shift. The vacancy law says “an agency may not ratify any acts taken in violation" of it, according to a report by Congressional Research Service legislative attorney Valerie Brannon. Sunday's ruling leaves other Cuccinelli orders vulnerable to legal challenge, Jones said.
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In the world of government waste, there’s shrimp on a treadmill, and then there’s the F-35.
Both have become synonymous with the proverbial phrase “waste, fraud, and abuse,” though there’s one very important difference between the two: their cost. Even the most generous estimates of the widely mocked “shrimp on a treadmill” government-funded study put its total cost at $3 million over the course of 10 years. That’s not chump change, but, in the context of the federal budget, it’s also barely more than a rounding error.
In contrast, the F-35, which is supposed to be the latest, greatest tactical fighter ever produced, runs more than $100 million per plane [according to reporting by the Project On Government Oversight]. Including development costs, as well as operations and maintenance, the F-35 fighter initiative is estimated to cost well over $1 trillion during its lifetime.
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The effectiveness of congressional subpoena power, already severely damaged over the past 15 years, has plummeted to a dangerous new historical low after a relentless and successful scheme of obstruction by the Trump administration during the House impeachment inquiry and last week’s devastating D.C. Circuit Court ruling that Congress lacks standing to seek judicial enforcement of subpoenas in federal court. The White House, four executive branch departments, and nine current or former administration officials refused to comply with subpoenas upon instruction from the president throughout the impeachment process. Dozens of other administration officials and associates defied subpoenas at the direction of the White House prior to impeachment. A total of at least 82 congressional information requests, including 42 subpoenas of executive branch personnel and their associates, have been obstructed by the Trump administration. Keep reading. |
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“Abuse of federal vacancies is not unique to the Trump administration. However, this kind of gamesmanship feels unprecedented, as does the president's blatant admission that he prefers acting officers to confirmed ones,” said Project On Government Oversight Senior Investigator Nick Schwellenbach. Persistent reliance on them is “an unconstitutional disregard of the Senate's obligation to evaluate and vote on the president's nominees,” he said, which could “risk taxpayer dollars with potentially ineffective leadership [and] risk our national security with extended unqualified leadership.”
Schwellenbach argued that Congress should shorten the length of time acting officials can serve to disincentivize presidents from circumventing the formal confirmation process. Additionally, Congress should consider requiring that acting directors, like permanent directors of national intelligence, have national security experience, he said.
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Press statement released by Representatives Quigley, Nadler, and Johnson
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“For decades now it has been apparent that the federal judiciary operates with too much opacity and secrecy,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Policy Analyst with the Project On Government Oversight. “The 21st Century Courts Act will provide a long-overdue jolt of accountability and transparency to the federal courts by implementing a range of common sense reforms, including directing the Supreme Court to write an ethics code for itself, modernizing financial disclosures, providing insight into recusal patterns by requiring that judges explain their recusal decision, and enhancing public access to the judiciary by providing live audio streaming of court proceedings and increasing the public’s ability to access court records. Representative Johnson, Quigley, and Nadler should be commended for leading the way on this transformational legislation.”
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Others, like the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), say the court should uphold the limits on the president’s ability to fire the CFPB director at will.
“Even in its weakest interpretation, petitioner’s arguments would render unconstitutional critical elements of the federal government, including the Social Security Administration, the Office of Special Counsel and the Federal Housing Finance Agency,” POGO said in an amicus brief. It would also “fly against” the court’s own precedent and Congress’ historic power to determine how the President carries out its will.
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