Yesterday, Trump appointed Jerome Powell to be the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve. This was yet again another break recent precedent, maybe not earth-shattering but a break nonetheless. Every Fed Chair since the Second World War has been re-nominated for a second term as Presidents of both parties tried to ensure at least some Fed independence and minimize politicizing the office. Not so Donald Trump. Powell is largely expected to continue the policies of Janet Yellen although no one really knows what his response will be if there is another economic downturn. But the fact that Trump chose to replace Yellen with someone who is expected largely to follow the same policies only highlights the fact that Trump is once again trying to eliminate any vestige of Obama. In addition, he is replacing a woman with a man who is, in purely academic terms, far less qualified. In essence, Trump has politicized the job without necessarily making any significant change in direction.
Also yesterday and again today, Trump attacked the Department of Justice, urging them to investigate Hillary Clinton. Said Trump, "But you know the saddest thing is that because I’m the president of the United States, I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department. I’m not supposed to be involved with the FBI. I’m not supposed to be doing the kind of things that I would love to be doing. And I’m very frustrated by it...I look at what’s happening with the Justice Department. Why aren’t they going after Hillary Clinton with her emails and with the dossier, and the kind of money?" Over the course of last night and today, Trump has tweeted, "Donna Brazile just stated the DNC RIGGED the system to illegally steal the Primary from Bernie Sanders. Bought and paid for by Crooked H....This is real collusion and dishonesty. Major violation of Campaign Finance Laws and Money Laundering - where is our Justice Department?"; "The
As David Frum notes, "President Trump is changing us. Had any predecessor said the things about FBI Trump said this AM, the country would have been convulsed." The idea that the President is threatening the FBI and the DOJ in an attempt to get them to investigate a political opponent over incidents where there is absolutely no evidence of any crime, much less wrongdoing, ought to shock us all. Part of the impeachment indictment against Nixon was for just such comments. Where are the calls in the House and Senate to hold hearings on Trump's interference, to somehow call him to account? All we hear is crickets as Republicans in Congress just shrug and try to somehow give enormous tax cuts to their billionaire bankrollers.
Trump has also inappropriately commented on the New York City terrorist by saying he should get the death penalty, once again polluting a prosecution. Today, Trump tweeted that the decision not to give Bowe Bergdahl any jail time was "a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military". In fact, the judge cited Trump's earlier comments about Bergdahl as "mitigating evidence" in rendering his decision.
All of these actions break the norms of governance and, as we see in the Bergdahl case, they can and do have a real impact. Republicans may shrug it off as just Trump being Trump. But precedents are made for a reason and the next demagogue may not be as ignorant and incompetent as Trump.
Paul Campos made a nice analogy when he describes the situation when one fan jumps onto the playing field. The police can handle that situation. But when hundreds join that one fan, police are powerless to stop it. It is only the norms of behavior that prevent that from happening game after game. In our world, Trump is the first fan onto the field and Republicans in Congress are the hundreds coming behind him. The game will never be the same.
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