Can he do that? How Trump could try to break the federal government

President Donald Trump’s picks to lead the next administration are talking about eliminating entire agencies and laying off tens of thousands of federal workers at the same time.

But can he and they really do it all?

Experts believe that Trump could go much further in this change of government system compared to his first term, in part because the traditional checks and balances are expected to work in his favor.

Next year, the House and Senate are on track to fall under Republican control. Trump also confirmed 226 federal judges and three Supreme Court justices during his last term in office, welcoming his ideas in the courts when they are challenged.

With that in mind, here’s how Trump might try to “break” the federal government:

A president can’t eliminate entire agencies, but he can take a page from Nixon to try to starve them.

Elon Musk, who Trump has tapped to lead a nongovernmental “Department of Government Efficiency,” has said he wants to cut $2 trillion of the $7 trillion in annual federal spending. His running mate, Vivek Ramaswamy, told Fox News that this would be achieved through “massive cuts” and that some government agencies could be “eliminated outright”.

At first it may seem far-fetched because the idea of ​​federalism imposes federal laws. The Department of Education, for example, was created in 1979, approved by Congress and signed by President Jimmy Carter.

Congress would have to pass new legislation to eliminate or significantly reform the Department of Education — an uphill battle even with a Republican-led Congress.

Enter the Trust Control Act of 1974. For much of the country’s existence, presidents could, in theory, reject money appropriated by Congress.

President Richard Nixon used the tactic of sitting on or confiscating federal money, essentially leaving the funds untouched in the US Treasury accounts, when he believed the spending was wasteful.

Democrats responded in 1974 by passing a law requiring a president to spend federal money as Congress wanted.

In a campaign video released last year, Trump said he would challenge the Seizure Control Act. They may also find the law unconstitutional and try to ignore it, inviting legal challenges that could take years to resolve.

“For 200 years under our system of government, it was undisputed that the president had the constitutional power to stop unnecessary spending through what is known as sequestration,” Trump said in a video during the GOP primary.

He later added, “When I return to the White House, I will do everything in my power to challenge the Seizure Control Act in the courts and, if necessary, get Congress to repeal it.”

Trump may make life so miserable for federal workers that they quit

Among the ideas Trump is expected to try again this term are making the lives of federal workers uncomfortable or moving jobs to remote locations.

During his first administration, Trump temporarily decimated the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management by moving its Washington headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado. The idea, officials said at the time, was to bring leadership closer to the land and resources they manage. But most of the staff left and the office never found a replacement.

Another tactic may be to make it harder for employees to file complaints or remove legal protections.

In the fall of 2020, in the final months of Trump’s first administration, he issued an executive order that would have created a new class of workers handling policy-related duties, essentially removing the legal protections that kept them in their jobs.

The idea of ​​Schedule F came too late to make much of an impact in the first Trump administration, but it is expected to be pushed early this time.

It is a dangerous tactic for taxpayers in the long run. While federal employee lawsuits and grievances can take years to resolve, the federal government can still owe back wages to workers who can prove they were wrongfully terminated.

“Taking a hammer on these things will have an impact today and for decades to come,” said Andrew Huddleston, communications director for the American Government Employees Federation, the largest union representing federal workers who opposed Trump’s election.

“Future generations will be the ones paying the price,” he said.

Trump will outsource budget plans, effectively hiding how decisions are made and who makes them

To rebuild the government, Trump will have to establish loyal allies at the highest levels of government and find ways to slow down the legal challenge.

Among his proposals is to outsource designated FBI background checks to private investigators, a tactic that would allow the hiring of people close to them despite security tapes.

Trump has called for the use of “recess appointments” in the Senate, a move common to past presidents. For Trump, however, it could allow his allies to make nominations without FBI security checks or financial disclosures if the chamber adjourns for 10 days or more. Sen. John Thune, the GOP’s choice as majority leader, said he has not ruled out the idea, even with the “advice and consent” of the Senate, of handing constitutional power to the president.

Another tactic for Trump to force change could be to develop his biggest plans in secret, making it harder for opponents to oppose him and mount legal challenges.

Ramaswamy said the new “Department of Government Efficiency” or DOGE will function outside the government as a sort of private advisory group. This means that its employees will not have to file financial statements or report conflicts of interest.

It will not be clarified who is doing the work of the DOGE or how the decisions are made. And while Musk has said he wants workers to work for free, it’s likely that industry lobbyists would eagerly sign up to be able to influence how future taxpayer money is spent.

Musk, who owns the rocket company SpaceX, has blamed federal regulations for slowing his quest to reach Mars and oversees billions in contracts with the federal government, including military satellites. Ramaswamy founded the biotech company Roivant Sciences and remains a player who could benefit financially depending on how future federal rules are written.

At last weeks gala hosted by the America First Policy Institute, Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy are the perfect pair to shake up the government.

“We’re going to cut regulation, waste, fraud and inefficiency, and these two guys are going to find a lot,” Trump said.