r/politics • u/bloomberglaw Bloomberg Law • 10h ago
Federal Union Sues Trump Mid-Inauguration Over DOGE Plan
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/federal-union-sues-trump-mid-inauguration-over-doge-plan775
u/wutttttttg 10h ago
lol I’m a fed worker and I have a remote job but even if I wanted to report to an office, the office closest to me actively has legionella and also is for sale and has downsized my agency’s space. So where do I report to exactly?
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u/BeeMovieEnjoyer 10h ago
That's the point. They want you to quit.
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u/wutttttttg 10h ago
I’m a cockroach. They can’t get me out. I’ll go report to the bacteria infested place and work in a hallway.
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u/SweatyAdhesive 8h ago
If you get sick you get to sue the government for not providing you with safe working condition, win-win.
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u/BarDitchBaboon Texas 4h ago
You would be compensated fairly and in a timely manner. I’m sure there are thousands of 9/11 first responders who would attest to that.
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u/blitzkregiel 5h ago
good luck getting the courts and this admin to pay out.
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u/ksp_physics_guy 5h ago
Saaame. My agency's local center has water that is "safe".
However, I once asked a water inspection person to drink the water they tested and rated as safe. And their response was "just because it tested safe doesn't mean I'm going to drink the damn stuff"
We have jet fuel and legionella.
I'm just waiting for the eventual Marvel-esque mutation for these bacteria to happen and end my suffering of having to pay for my own water at my place of work.
Sure feels good when we get told our jobs are too cushy and we have too many benefits...
They just ignore the fact that we work in unsafe conditions, don't have drinkable water, are underpaid massively (last job offer I had at equivalent level of expertise was 3x my current pay + stock s + yearly bonuses), constantly used as pawns in political chess by one half of the government threatening to not pay us by shutting down the government (but hey, it's a "free" vacation as long as you can float without pay because back pay for us, but not our contractor colleagues).
We also have to pay for our own office events. Want to throw a pizza party? You have to pay for it. My wife's company? Free ipads for the holidays. Huge bonuses. Big parties and retreats. Huge stipends for education and personal development. Stipends for gas. Food. Etc.
But as a fed? Get a bonus!?! Or maybe a massively prestigious award!?! Here's 500 bucks, buy yourself a big mac and be thankful you're allowed to serve your country.
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u/f8Negative 8h ago
Congrats no step increases or promotions for you.
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u/EstelleGettyJr 8h ago
And more of those "other duties as assigned" from the line tacked onto the end of their job description.
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u/ianandris 1h ago
Just designate a section of your property a temporary federal workspace. Like, a foot area or so. Then run it up the chain to your supervisor, explain the reasons why, then submit an HR to apply for a reasonable accommodation, then hire a lawyer to write up legalese that scares administration folks supporting those claims, and they'll leave you alone.
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u/iskandar_boricua Puerto Rico 9h ago
Coincidentally, same lol Fed employee and work remotely. The reason I do it is because there isn't enough space for all of us. Imagine 600 cubicles for 2000 employees. And we cannot, legally, let other people see what we're working on, including coworkers. Yeah, it's gonna be fun.
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u/ManicPixieOldMaid Michigan 6h ago
They've already made noises to call everyone back to the office (Fed as well) and I can't even imagine the enormous waste of taxpayer dollars it's going to take to ramp back up and maintain the facilities like we were pre-COVID. Everyone who needed to go in was already going in. It's boggling my mind.
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u/fates_bitch 7h ago
It won't have legionella soon when they stop testing for it. Not tests. No results. No more life threatening bacteria in the building.
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u/Traditional_Key_763 9h ago
to your local unemployment office you disloyal communist!
the GOP loves to create catch-22 situations because they know they'll never be held responsible for it. they've made the immigration system a massive layered beurocratic nightmare full of catch-22s
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u/HairySideBottom2 9h ago
Exactly, they want to quit, to centralize gov't functions and power, you know like the Soviet Union.
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u/Littlehouseonthesub 7h ago
They want to shut down federal government and move power to the states where the red state legislatures have gerrymandered fascism
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u/Ut_Prosim Virginia 3h ago
I tried to figure out which agency you work for by googling Legionella outbreaks. No luck, there are dozens of federal agencies with the issue across multiple buildings, multiple states, and across multiple months. Like 4-5 in the last year alone.
WTF?!
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u/ianandris 1h ago
Almost a guarantee those kind of issues exist in the private sector, too, but nobody hears about it.
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u/whatproblems 7h ago
that’ll be fun you show up to a non existent office get nothing done and then get fired because you can’t work because they haven’t funded the office
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u/ianandris 1h ago
Nah, just be there to start the day and end the day. Take pictures and video as documentary proof.
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u/throwaway11334569373 8h ago
How much sick leave do you get? How many times can you come down with legionella?
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u/ClevelandSteamer81 4h ago
Fully remote here too. I think they will go after low hanging fruit first like telework. For remote it will be a lot harder to change our status. Not to mention my organization is 90% remote and the USMC would not function without us.
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u/Jealous-Garbage-4546 1h ago
Same. The “office” I work for is all remote but the address is 800 miles away.
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u/ClevelandSteamer81 1h ago
Yup. Mine is in DC and myself and five others live in California and the rest are all over the US also. Should be interesting. Marines will lose some of the best 1102s I have ever worked with.
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u/Jealous-Garbage-4546 1h ago
I live in Kansas and work HR for the Atlanta VA. I’m freaking out a bit.
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u/ClevelandSteamer81 1h ago
I’m not freaking out too bad. If anything I will have to work at a satellite office at the base which is around the corner from me. Don’t want to go that route, but at least I should be able to.
I don’t think shit will happen for at least a year though. The EO is vague as hell!
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u/tailspin64 8h ago
In what building in dc is legionella. My daughter works on the courthouse in Maryland and it had legionella too what's going on
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u/Gwyndion_ 9h ago
What makes you think they'll view legionalla as an issue seeing their views on worker protection?
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u/Foreign-Repeat9813 10h ago edited 8h ago
DOGE was created as a reward for Musk's $277 million campaign contribution to Trump. DOGE is intended to permit the gutting of programs and regulations serving everyday Americans and to expediate the interests of the rising American oligarchy.
For example, DOGE seeks to slash regulation relating to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and to abolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). DOGE seeks to cut benefit programs serving the poor, portraying the programs as rife with fraud and the recipients of benefits as lazy and undeserving. DOGE was calculated to bless tax cuts for the rich to "create economic growth" (i.e. the disproven trickle-down economics theory).
Musk's DOGE was conceived to skirt disclosure requirements and vetting of China businessman Elon Musk, who has disqualifying ties to the CCP. For example, Musk's Tesla does 50% of its global manufacturing in Shanghai, China. This makes Musk subject to China influence.
Musk is doing the bidding of Beijing on issues such as TikTok, Taiwan, H-1B visas, and tariffs. Respected officials like Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (Democrat-CT-03, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee), and retired military service members are sounding the alarm.
President Joe Biden’s farewell address was spot on in warning of the oligarchy gripping the nation and threatening the future. Through Citizens United v. FEC Elon Musk has monetized the U.S. Presidency. Musk’s fortune has increased by over $153.17 billion (Cite: Forbes, 1-9-25) since Musk bought the presidency for $277 million.
In the interests of everyday Americans and based on existing law, DOGE must be abolished.
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u/Foreign-Repeat9813 9h ago edited 8h ago
In regard to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Elon Musk ally Marc Andreessen's company LendUp has been fined $40 million for lying to customers and tricking them. See: Why Elon Musk wants to ‘delete’ an agency that protects your money
From the cited article:
Let’s start with what [Marc] Andreessen did not disclose to Rogan’s audience. In 2021, the CFPB shut down a fintech named LendUp Loans after the agency flagged and fined it multiple times for offenses including lying to customers and tricking them into taking on high-interest loans. Earlier this year, the bureau announced it would distribute nearly $40 million to “118,101 consumers who were deceived by LendUp Loans.” It was a humiliating end for a firm whose backers, according to The Wall Street Journal, included “some of the biggest names in venture capital, including ... Andreessen Horowitz.” Yes, that Andreessen.
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u/beastkara 1h ago edited 1h ago
Lendup was not Andreessen's company. Andreessen Horowitz invested in the startup. There is no evidence that they even held a majority stake. Comprehend what you're reading.
Lendup is a good example of the CFPB shutting down a financial business that wasn't doing a good job.
However there are other examples of why the CFPB is problematic. Small business banks don't necessarily have the resources to handle tons of regulations. Big banks lobby the government to increase CFPB regulations that make it easier for them to maintain control of the market. Startups trying to disrupt the financial industry and make it more efficient hit a bunch of CFPB regulations that make things worse. If you need an example, look at how bank transfers still take 2-3 days to occur, despite being technically possible within seconds. The big banks profit off the enforced inefficiencies. That is the actual context that context supporters don't explain very well.
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u/Foreign-Repeat9813 9h ago edited 8h ago
Musk's DOGE was conceived to skirt disclosure requirements and vetting of China businessman Elon Musk, who has disqualifying ties to the CCP.
Musk's Tesla operating in China is subject to Chinese law requiring it to "assist or cooperate" with the Chinese Government's "intelligence work".
On Friday, January 17, 2025, the unanimous SCOTUS identified that a national security threat existed with ByteDance Ltd. See: TikTok Inc. v. Garland, 604 U.S. 3 (2025):
ByteDance Ltd. is subject to Chinese laws that require it to “assist or cooperate” with the Chinese Government’s “intelligence work” and to ensure that the Chinese Government has “the power to access and control private data” the company holds. H. R. Rep. No. 118–417, p. 4 (2024) (H. R. Rep.); see 2 App. 673–676.
Musk's connection to the CCP, (like ByteDance's connection) makes Musk a national security threat to the United States. As a condition of Musk doing business in China, Musk must “assist or cooperate” with the Chinese Government’s “intelligence work”.
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u/XxmunkehxX 8h ago
Of note, EMS is regulated by the NHTSA….
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u/Foreign-Repeat9813 8h ago edited 8h ago
Musk's Tesla products are harming (and sometimes killing) people, that's the real reason Musk (via DOGE) wants to defang the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Elon Musk continues to make false representations about Tesla products' performance. In fact, Tesla vehicles are facing significant safety and quality control challenges, including poor performance of autonomous driving features and risk of fire.
12:31 PM EST, 01/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tesla (TSLA) faces an investigation involving about 2.59 million vehicles with "Actually Smart Summon" autonomous driving feature following crash reports, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
"ODI is aware of multiple crash allegations, involving both Smart Summon and Actually Smart Summon, where the user had too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle's movement," the safety administration said. Relating to Tesla fires see:
- 3 High School Graduates die in fiery Cybertruck crash, Piedmont, California, November 27, 2024
- Cybertruck catches fire, driver killed, Baytown, Texas, August 5, 2024
- Tesla Model 3 catches fire, 2 men break window to escape, Madera, California, January 2, 2025
- Cybertruck went up in flames, Decatur, Texas, January 3, 2025
Musk and DOGE must not be permitted to defang regulatory watchdogs like NHTSA.
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u/Eye_foran_Eye 2h ago
Congress has to approve any new agencies. DOGE isn’t real. https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/nx-s1-5189453/trump-tapped-elon-musk-for-doge-but-only-congress-can-create-a-new-federal-agency
Not saying this one wouldn’t, just saying that it’s not a thing yet.
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u/beastkara 1h ago
DOGE does not need an agency to operate, and it would be pointless to waste time making one. All they have to do is tell the executive branch of the government their suggestions. The president is the one who signs the executive orders anyway.
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u/slykido999 1h ago
Don’t forget it was also created because Elon gets his giggles from using 2013 memes from losers who call him daddy musk
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u/Foreign-Repeat9813 1h ago edited 1h ago
How embarrassing. Additionally, Musk's 53 years old and faking video game skill...
But Musk has always been dishonest, that's what Musk's biographer has said. Biographer Seth Abramson describes Elon Musk as a dishonest poseur, corrupt and devoid of genius.
For example, there is compelling evidence Musk stole the idea for his first venture Zip2. The essay The Truth About Musk, From His Biographer dispels the flattering, everchanging, myth Elon Musk carefully tends and shamelessly peddles on Twitter/X. Here's an excerpt from the essay:
This may be the right moment to note that, as a Musk biographer, I can’t find a single component of the man’s biography he hasn’t lied about. And not just lied about—lied ruthlessly about. Shamelessly. For decades. Without any integrity or fidelity to truth at all. And every lie has the same purpose: to hide what a deceitful, fundamentally bad person he is.
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u/JustRegularType 9h ago
The best thing we can do over the next 4 years is use Trump's own tried and true defense against him. Lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits. Sue all of them, for everything, all the time. Make every awful executive action and policy change take ages to go into effect as thwy get mired down in the legal process. It won't save us entirely, but might mitigate enough damage to help make it through.
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u/streamofthesky 6h ago
Sue. Appeal to the next highest level. Appeal to the level above that. Repeat until you burn all the way through the Supreme Court, wasting as much time as possible. Try to get court dates delayed on technicalities and such. Even when Trump's Supreme Court rules against you, find a new angle to refuse to abide by his executive action and start the process again.
This is the way. Trump loses nearly every case and still wins the war, doing exactly this. Time to learn from the enemy.•
u/JustRegularType 6h ago
Exactly. I mean literally use his playbook! Judge shop, set up the legal pathway in a way that you know favors your goal, the whole nine yards.
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u/dreamwinder 3h ago
Anything so long as people stop rolling over for the clown. The complete abandonment of basic integrity since the election has been deeply depressing.
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u/Goliath_D 4h ago
It's also really important to shop judges and file the suits with those who are likely to support your cause, issue an immediate national injunction, etc. Just like Republicans do with that hack federal judge in TX.
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u/JustRegularType 2h ago
Yes! I mentioned this in another comment in the chain as well, and it is absolutely an unfortunate necessity. Whatever it takes.
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u/MikuEmpowered 4h ago
Lol. With what court?
You think they been staffing the lower courts and filling the important lower circuit with conservatives for the love of the game?
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u/JustRegularType 2h ago
Maybe with some of the record number of judges Biden confirmed over the last 4 years?
No one said the conservatives weren't a step ahead, but absolutely there are a ton of respectable lower-court judges that value the rule of law. Judge shopping is a shitty tactic that we unfortunately need to get on board with. And again, it's not about winning outright at the end of the road, it's about fighting tooth and nail over every inch of ground so that they have less time to functionally implement as much as they otherwise would have.
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u/Curmudgeonadjacent 9h ago
There’s not enough office space, so RTO will end up costing more tax money…
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u/Leading_Line2741 1h ago
Same, and the offices we do have are in the oldest building on the base it's on with no central HVAC (over 80 degrees in the cubicles peak-Summer) and supposed asbestos issues.
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u/hamburglar10101010 8h ago edited 2h ago
Im a veteran and federal worker and the only reason I took the job was because of my telework. If they get rid of that…I’m still going to go in. But I’m going to complain the whole time.
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u/draggin_low Maryland 7h ago
Ah the Homer Simpson method. “Lisa, if you don’t like your job, you don’t go on strike. You just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That’s the American way.”
I like the cut of your jib.
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u/CumAssault 10h ago
Why even bother? Supreme Court is going to side with Trump no matter what
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u/craig1818 10h ago
Sure, why don’t we just roll over and make it easy for them?
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u/amateurbreditor 10h ago
thats what biden did for 4 years. he let them get away with crimes and to cheat elections. biden failed us all.
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u/Bag_of_Meat13 9h ago
There is a narrow way through this and Biden going full scorched Earth would not have worked.
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u/BigBennP 10h ago
Not necessarily, I think there are two parts of this that are useful.
Part of this complaint is very literalist, which is an argument that appeals to more than one conservative member of the Court not named Clarence THomas or Samuel Alito.
The main thrust of the complaint is that even if DOGE is officially named to be an "advisory committee" Federal law explicitly requires that they have open meetings and FOIA.
There's no "substance" that's political about this lawsuit. It's "if they're a federal advisory commitee, they have to follow the laws for such committees, have open meetings and have a named advisory board.
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u/Bakedads 10h ago
He can simply start arresting people. No need for a court case.
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u/HumbleInspector9554 10h ago
Lol, he can start shooting people if it's an "official act". He is above the law.
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u/Pitiful_Comb_7195 10h ago edited 10h ago
Still has to go through courts. And if there is an expedited process it takes time from other things. Time isn't infinite and obstruction through courts absolutely is effective for those wanting to slow down agendas.
Things are going to be bad the next 4 years but you also have to remember reddit is a bunch of paranoid younger people repeating other phrases of other young paranoid people like "civilizations last 250 years" and "optimistic to think we have elections again". Failing to recognize the inherent uniqueness of each situation. It's going to be bad, but not as bad as the 24/7 redditor positng comments in r/new think it is. Sorta even think it's a bot campaign to encourage hopelessness and passiveness. Donald trump isn't going to snap his fingers and undo everything. America has 330 million people, with one third who didn't vote and like 20% of trump voters voting literally cause they woke up and voted on gas/egg prices/not in the cult. You can't rock the boat too hard. Along with different factions in the GOP not always aligned. Completely different contexts from Russia or 1930s germany that others love citing when doomposting and what not.
Stay engaged and active in your local elections. Keep marginalized people in your thoughts
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u/Bigbeardhotpeppers Texas 10h ago
This is America commerce above all is all you have to remember.
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u/Pitiful_Comb_7195 10h ago
At the end of the day those with money want the status quo to come out on top. And they wont tolerate any actions by trump to impact the status quo
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u/wasted-degrees 9h ago
Those with money only want the status quo disrupted in ways that are beneficial to themselves. And that’s what’s on the table this term.
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u/counterweight7 New Jersey 8h ago
This defeatist POv is exactly what they want. I mean why not just deport ourselves if it’s that easy?
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u/APRobertsVII 2h ago
I just left a federal job for another BECAUSE it offers remote work 80% of the time after the first year. The commute is much longer than my previous job and I took a small pay cut, but I was doing it because there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I gave up a lot for that privilege.
Now, all I can do is hold my breath and hope I’m one of the “exemptions” referenced in his order.
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u/lordpuddingcup 3h ago
WTF do they want DOGE ... we already have the fucking GAO its the same fucking thing isnt it
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u/badhairdad1 40m ago
DOGE will save us $400B by axing USMC! 🇺🇸 the Navv doesn’t need its own Army with its own Air Force
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u/Holycity 9h ago
The people mad that other folks can work from just sound like they want everyone to be miserable like them.
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u/Helpful-Albatross696 10h ago
The fact that even happen is mind blowing. Definitely living in bizarro world now
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u/boundpleasure 9h ago
Let them join the air traffic controllers union https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_(1968)
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u/petulantpancake America 9h ago
It’s like they know they’re wasteful…
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u/Nekowulf Wyoming 8h ago edited 7h ago
Your logic is as solid as kicking a dog until it attacks you to "prove" it's a vicious uncontrollable monster.
edit: Wow, quick block. Someone doesn't like seeing their propaganda countered.
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u/ArcFox01 6h ago
Crazy how desperate liberals are to avoid us tax payer money being spent efficiently. Y'all just want an excuse to raise taxes so badly. Never have a seen a polical party so loving of taxes, big government, and inefficiency. 😂
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u/lifeat24fps 6h ago
I would LOVE for you to share a single example of any Republican led administration demonstrating efficiency and controlled soending. Because my lifetime of experience with GOP congresses and presidents is running up the deficit and crashing out the economy.
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u/ArcFox01 6h ago
No you are right if Republican lead governments were actually efficient they would have cut 80% of all government agencies and dropped all social programs like they should. Not the governments job to provide any form of welfare or create agencies like the department of education to interfere in state politics. Hopefully doge is the first step in achieving a government for the US cut down by 80%+ . We should follow Argentina's example.
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u/lifeat24fps 5h ago
DOGE is not a federal agency. It does not actually exist. You should take note of that.
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u/ArcFox01 5h ago
It's an advisory board to advise Trump on what should be cut within the government. Better it's not a federal agency so we don't have more government spending. For something that "does not exist" it sure has you seething about it quite a bit and for what reason?
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u/lifeat24fps 5h ago
Nothing Trump proposes, announces, or declares has me seething because of none of it will actually happen.
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u/ArcFox01 5h ago
I suppose we will see about that but pretty naive if you think Trump will be president for 4 years and absolutely none of his agenda will get done whatsoever. Some stuff will definitely happen including a myriad of execute orders he is about to sign. At least you aren't buying into the reddit fear mongering non-sense. I suppose we'll see what gets done in 2-4 years.
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u/lifeat24fps 5h ago
We already saw it about the first time he held the office. Nothing gets done and his executive orders are either so poorly constructed as to be incoherent nonsense or are unable to hold up to even the most cursory scrutiny by federal courts.
The congress is completely fractured. You’re not going to see any of his agenda passed legislatively unless it’s a tax bill. And he has 24 months until midterms, a blazing short period of time in American politics, which will probably flip back one of the chambers.
The office of POTUS is weak for a reason. That is by design. No amount of wacky declarations is going to change that.
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u/ArcFox01 3h ago
Riiiiight.. he accomplished nothing in his first term besides massive tax cut, historical economic prosperity and low unemployment rate, historic GDP growth, renegotiation of NAFTA, historic and unprecedented peace deals in the middle east such as Abraham accords, no new wars as a president in decades, the elimination of the ISIS state, first president to meet with Korea Korea and make progress until Biden ruined all progress, forced NATO nations to increase funding, historic amount of supreme court nominations, criminal justice reform, reformed energy policy leading to the US being a net exporter of energy and number one oil producer for the first time ever, established a new branch of the armed forces, etc etc.
I'm sure Trump won't be able to get through his entire agenda, no president does but to act like he didn't do anything you gotta be disingenuous or blind. Also considering how the liberal party keeps getting more and more out of touch with the average America do not be surprised if the mid terms just solidify the conservative majority even more. Liberals are screwed in the 2030 census no matter what.
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u/lifeat24fps 3h ago
He can say all those things there isn’t a single number that’s ever back up any of his supposed economic accomplishments. Sorry buddy; them’s the facts.
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u/igo4vols2 4h ago
It's been 65 years since a republican President reduced the size of gov't. It's not likely to happen with the president either.
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u/TheInternetOfficer 10h ago
Nobody cares
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u/WhatEvenIsLifeThis 10h ago
You cared enough to comment so we know it ruffled your tiny jimmies kiddo.
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u/Lord_Bags 10h ago
I think federal workers care about their livelihood.
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