The Anti-Constitution President

My last two posts discussed the first two unconstitutional executive orders signed by the new president. This post will continue on that theme, but without pulling any punches. We are witnessing, in real time, the actions of our country's first blatantly anti-constitution president. 

On July 1, 2020, the three cosignatory countries of the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) officially recognized the tenets of this trade pact, which then replaced those of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) which had been in effect since the early 1990's.

During Trump's first term, it was no secret that he did not like the terms of NAFTA, so it was no surprise that he negotiated the new agreement, USMCA. At the time, it was hailed as a landmark achievement by the US Trade representative, one that would spur manufacturing and investment in North America's economy. 

All but eliminating tariffs between the three countries was one of the main features which is generally the basis of a free trade treaty. Just as a reminder, free trade pacts were historically a foundational aspect of the GOP and conservatives. 

Since the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution, article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 gives Congress the power to regulate trade, the Congress in power in 2020 had to ratify the trade treaty before America could enter into it.

This does not mean that any president can't enact tariffs against another nation, as was done by Trump and Biden against China in the past two administrations, but it does mean that once Congress ratifies a treaty such as USMCA, they are the only ones who can void it.

Now technically, Trump's 25% tariff threat against Mexico and Canada is not necessarily against the Constitution, as he invoked the emergency powers of his office to justify his executive order to institute these tariffs, to be specific, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

However, there does not seem to be an economic emergency at hand. The US economy is strong, unemployment still hovers around 4%, the stock market is near its record high on all three indexes, and inflation, while still stubbornly stuck in the upper 2% range, is far lower than its peak of over 9% just two years ago.

In fact, even Trump himself has defended these tariffs as a border security issue by referencing both illegal immigrants and fentanyl as not being controlled aggressively enough by our northern and southern neighbors. 

To me then, this is another power grab by the dictator wannabe who doesn't honor the literal meaning or spirit of our Constitution when he uses his executive powers. And apparently either unknown or not important to his supporters, he is violating the terms of a treaty he advocated for and signed himself.

Of course, Congress is currently inhabited by men and women who are either too afraid to stand up to the president, or actually believe that when the president is from their party, anything goes, the Constitution be damned.

While the judicial branch will attempt to reign in some of these egregious acts, as a few district judges have so far, it is obvious that Trump believes that the Supreme Court will see it his way, since he clearly thinks that three of them owe him for appointing them, and two of the others have indicated their allegiance to him and his movement in their personal lives, let alone their rulings.

 

Since beginning this post, Trump has delayed the 25% tariffs for 30 days. And, to a degree, the threat has worked as both Mexico and Canada have agreed to more border patrols to stem the flow of illegal entry and fentanyl. Of course, it doesn't matter that Mexico was already working with the Biden administration to reduce the flow of immigrants south to north towards our border, nor does it matter that Canada had announced enhancements to its efforts to crack down on illegal drugs moving into America last year.

And of course, it doesn't matter that illegal immigrants coming from Canada account for perhaps one percent of those crossing from Mexico, and that illegal fentanyl that has been discovered being smuggled into America from Canada is far less than one percent of that emanating from Mexico. Seems strange that the tariff penalty would be the same when the level of problem is so drastically different. Perhaps Trump's problem with Canada has less to do with immigration and fentanyl and more to do with...well, I guess it doesn't matter since Trump has rarely been held accountable for his questionable or outright illegal actions.

And, since it is well known that much of the illegal fentanyl is being synthesized in China, why only 10% tariff on that country?

Finally, on another front, if again, only Congress has the power of the purse, how exactly are these DOGE employees being paid for their time, or even that DOGE itself even exists since Congress has not approved its creation. 

The simple fact that America's payment disbursement system is being accessed by people who are not federal employees, and even worse, that when initially declined access to such confidential information, it was the federal employees who were dismissed from their jobs, for protecting the information of their fellow citizens, and the DOGEmen who were defended by the current DOJ head. Yikes!

In the end, I am sure that there will be some money saved from the federal budget, especially money headed to such woke programs as Head Start and school lunch programs. So much for pro-life, but as I have said before, pro-fetus should be their mantra as they have no care for that fetus once it actually becomes a child.

And I am sure that thousands of federal employees will take the "offer" of eight month pay with benefits, especially those in the boomer generation who were thinking of retiring anyway. But for those who aren't ready to retire, and anyone who is considering a public service job in the federal government, I would imagine they will have to reconsider being employed in a hostile work environment where they are considered either too stupid or lazy or both to work in the public sector. 

After all, reduced environmental regulations and less accountability for the fossil fuel industry, plus less food inspectors, highway engineers, government agency auditors, people who man the phones at the various government agencies who help Americans gain the benefits they have earned, scientists at NIH and the CDC, even IRS agents who root out the rich who avoid paying their fair share of taxes, all of it, will allow the real welfare queens like Musk and his ilk to continue to steal huge sums of our tax dollars to enrich themselves while everyday Americans are left to die from poor air and water, poisoned food, and public health emergencies. Double Yikes!!

And so, the decline of America continues.