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Trump makes another power grab
The president is claiming total control over agencies that, by law, are independent.
Joey Sendaydiego for Vox
Patrick Reis was the senior politics and ideas editor at Vox. He previously worked at Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, Politico, National Journal, and Seattle’s Real Change News. As a reporter and editor, he has worked on coverage of campaign politics, economic policy, the federal death penalty, climate change, financial regulation, and homelessness.
Welcome to The Logoff. Today I’m focusing on the Trump administration’s effort to exert control over independent regulators, a power grab with implications for the government’s balance of power — and for your daily life.
What’s the latest? Donald Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday that would put a series of independent regulatory agencies (and their investigations and rulemaking processes) directly under White House control.
How does that change the way things work now? The dozens of independent agencies in the federal government have the power to interpret federal law and launch investigations into alleged rulebreakers. The president appoints the leaders to the agencies’ boards. But many commissioners’ terms are longer than a single administration’s, and the president can’t fire them simply because he doesn’t like their decisions.
Under Trump’s new rules, that autonomy would go away.
What are these independent agencies? There are dozens of them, including:
- The Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates the stock market;
- The Federal Trade Commission, which regulates businesses’ relationships with consumers;
- The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the airwaves and internet.
Are they all included? The order specifically exempts the Federal Reserve’s work to set interest rates, but that’s it!
What’s next? The executive order will almost certainly face legal challenges, and the question over the reach of executive power could get kicked all the way up to the Supreme Court. These agencies’ independence is protected by law, but the Trump team argues those laws are unconstitutional.
What’s the big picture? Trump is again attempting to expand the president’s power. Congress passed laws giving these agencies a measure of independence, and putting lawmakers in charge of their oversight. Trump is now claiming that power for himself, arguing their independence makes them unaccountable.
But how does it affect me? These agencies regulate so many facets of daily life — preventing everything from predatory business practices to nuclear reactor meltdowns.
And with that, it’s time to log off ...
How are you sleeping these days? If the answer is “not well,” I have a listen for you, courtesy of Vox’s Explain It to Me podcast. This week, they interviewed a sleep psychologist to get answers to questions like: Why am I a night owl? How can I nap responsibly? And what should I do about my chronic struggle to stay asleep? I hope you enjoy it. And I’ll see you back here tomorrow.
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