Trump Browbeats Congressional Republicans to Appoint Loyalists on Committee Assignments
Donald Trump’s attacks on the American political system began even before he was sworn into office, when he tried to dictate to Congress, a co-equal branch of government, who should be on key committee assignments.
The New York Times reports:
Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday removed Representative Michael R. Turner of Ohio from the helm of the House Intelligence Committee, in a shake-up that signaled he intends to align the pivotal national security panel more closely with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Turner, who emerged from a meeting with the speaker on Wednesday afternoon looking furious, has told people that Mr. Johnson informed him his ouster was the result of a request from Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a person familiar with those conversations. …
In jettisoning a Republican seen as insufficiently loyal to Mr. Trump, Mr. Johnson appeared to be paving the way for the president-elect to have tighter control over the committee that oversees intelligence matters.
This is not a violation of the letter of the law or the Constitution, but it is violation of its spirit. It breaks down the norm in which the president works in consultation with Congress, facing scrutiny even from members of his own party—rather than just giving orders to them.
The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.
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