News snippet: By ordering that US military personnel receive paychecks even though the government is shut down, Donald Trump is seeing to the needs of a politically untouchable constituency that has been caught up in the congressional logjam over federal spending.
But experts who spoke to the Guardian warn that he is doing so in a way that is almost certainly illegal and, if left unchecked, bodes ill for Congress’s constitutional authority to control government spending. Some fear it could set the stage for the president to unilaterally fund other contentious decisions in the future, such as the deployment of the military on US soil.
natwashboard on
Throw it on the pile of dangerous precedents and violated norms. It’s the late Roman Empire round here.
N0limitZZ on
How many more fucking red flags have to be waved in your faces before you wake up?
edit: The next step will be to bypass Congress with executive orders. In fact, he just did it. Holy shit, wake up.
BTRCguy on
>experts who spoke to the Guardian warn that he is doing so in a way that is almost certainly illegal and, **if left unchecked**
Thank goodness we have two other branches of government to act as checks and balances on this sort of behavior.
/s
Muddled_Opinions on
He’s trying to buy their loyalty, it’s pretty obvious.
StarintheShadows on
Privately funded military? What could possibly go wrong? /S
Rbtmd78 on
It costs around 15 billion per month to pay active duty and reservists. So what really is this guy buying? Because it’s not paying the troops
fuck-nazi on
I could sue as a DoD employee. I’m not getting paid but the troops I work with are. That’s harming me
Fedquip on
“Kogan called the decision “super duper duper illegal” under federal law.” Does this really mean anything anymore in the USA?
anacondra on
An anonymous donor just bought the US military.
Could it not easily be a foreign nation like Russia or KSA?
Oppressedbytherich on
You mean letting billionaires pay your military salaries might become a problem? You don’t say. Trump and his oligarch buddies are destroying America, and MAGATS are too stupid to recognize the grift.
BuzzfeedMeDaddy on
Kinda wild that ensuring troops get paid during a shutdown is considered ‘dangerous.’ What’s actually dangerous is playing politics with people’s livelihoods! 🤔
Catspaw129 on
Is it an “official action”?
Yes?
Then it’s Okie-Dokie!
TAC1313 on
Is this donor an American citizen?
doobjank on
I try to keep out of politics, which is just totally a lie. Anyway I got to thinking about how that $130 million donation could pay 1.32 million troops and then I realized how. They going back to the best times in their minds:
During the Civil War A Union private earned $13 per month for most of the war, which was increased to $16 per month in June 1864. In contrast, a Confederate private was paid $11 per month, which was later raised to $18 per month in 1864.
Slavery would be legal again, which I’m sure is a huge plus for them.
AlexRyang on
And like usual, Do Nothing Democrats aren’t doing anything.
yorapissa on
He hopes to curry favor with his dogs is how he thinks
TiEmEnTi on
If I didn’t know any better this would totally look like he needs specifically the military to be loyal to him alone for some reason
BigGrooveBox on
Someone in another thread did the math and it’s like $100.00/ service member. I don’t think loyalty is being bought for that.
Buck_Thorn on
> But experts who spoke to the Guardian warn that he is doing so in a way that is almost certainly illegal
20 Comments
News snippet: By ordering that US military personnel receive paychecks even though the government is shut down, Donald Trump is seeing to the needs of a politically untouchable constituency that has been caught up in the congressional logjam over federal spending.
But experts who spoke to the Guardian warn that he is doing so in a way that is almost certainly illegal and, if left unchecked, bodes ill for Congress’s constitutional authority to control government spending. Some fear it could set the stage for the president to unilaterally fund other contentious decisions in the future, such as the deployment of the military on US soil.
Throw it on the pile of dangerous precedents and violated norms. It’s the late Roman Empire round here.
How many more fucking red flags have to be waved in your faces before you wake up?
edit: The next step will be to bypass Congress with executive orders. In fact, he just did it. Holy shit, wake up.
>experts who spoke to the Guardian warn that he is doing so in a way that is almost certainly illegal and, **if left unchecked**
Thank goodness we have two other branches of government to act as checks and balances on this sort of behavior.
/s
He’s trying to buy their loyalty, it’s pretty obvious.
Privately funded military? What could possibly go wrong? /S
It costs around 15 billion per month to pay active duty and reservists. So what really is this guy buying? Because it’s not paying the troops
I could sue as a DoD employee. I’m not getting paid but the troops I work with are. That’s harming me
“Kogan called the decision “super duper duper illegal” under federal law.” Does this really mean anything anymore in the USA?
An anonymous donor just bought the US military.
Could it not easily be a foreign nation like Russia or KSA?
You mean letting billionaires pay your military salaries might become a problem? You don’t say. Trump and his oligarch buddies are destroying America, and MAGATS are too stupid to recognize the grift.
Kinda wild that ensuring troops get paid during a shutdown is considered ‘dangerous.’ What’s actually dangerous is playing politics with people’s livelihoods! 🤔
Is it an “official action”?
Yes?
Then it’s Okie-Dokie!
Is this donor an American citizen?
I try to keep out of politics, which is just totally a lie. Anyway I got to thinking about how that $130 million donation could pay 1.32 million troops and then I realized how. They going back to the best times in their minds:
During the Civil War A Union private earned $13 per month for most of the war, which was increased to $16 per month in June 1864. In contrast, a Confederate private was paid $11 per month, which was later raised to $18 per month in 1864.
Slavery would be legal again, which I’m sure is a huge plus for them.
And like usual, Do Nothing Democrats aren’t doing anything.
He hopes to curry favor with his dogs is how he thinks
If I didn’t know any better this would totally look like he needs specifically the military to be loyal to him alone for some reason
Someone in another thread did the math and it’s like $100.00/ service member. I don’t think loyalty is being bought for that.
> But experts who spoke to the Guardian warn that he is doing so in a way that is almost certainly illegal
Another day, another illegal move by Trump.