GSA takes down list of properties it might sell
The General Services Administration (GSA) removed a list of 443 properties it was potentially looking to sell on Wednesday just a day after posting the listings.
A page featuring a previously lengthy “non-core” property list now says a list will be “coming soon.”
“We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties, for disposal. Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces,” a message on the site reads.
“Disposing of these assets helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.”
Major real estate locations including the headquarters of the Justice Department, FBI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were up for review on the page on Tuesday.
Department of Government Efficiency Deletes a Claim and Resurrects an Error
The Department of Government Efficiency has deleted one of its more bizarre claims: that it had saved taxpayers $53.7 million by “canceling” a federal contract that had actually ended in 2005.
The New York Times reported on that mistake last week. It was part of a pattern at DOGE, which has repeatedly posted errors on its “wall of receipts” that inflated its success — and seemed to demonstrate a basic unfamiliarity with the machinery of government.
On Wednesday, DOGE removed any mention of the long-dead contract from its website.
But, at the same time, the group resurrected one of the largest errors it has made so far — claiming that it had saved $1.9 billion by canceling an Internal Revenue Service contract for tech help with a Northern Virginia company.
That company’s contract was actually canceled in November, under President Joseph R. Biden.
DOGE removed any mention of a long-dead contract from its website, where the government-cutting team has repeatedly posted erroneous “receipts” inflating its success.
www.nytimes.com
Sanders Calls Out Trump’s “Outrageous Lie” on Social Security in Scathing Speech
In a scathing response to President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) sharply criticized the president for repeating a widely debunked claim that Social Security checks are going toward deceased people, calling it an “outrageous lie.”
During his address, Trump said that there are “shocking levels” of “fraud” within Social Security, claiming that there are millions of Social Security recipients aged between 100 and 360 years old — a completely false assertion circulated by Trump and Elon Musk in recent weeks.
“By slashing all of the fraud, waste and theft we can find, we will defeat inflation, bring down mortgage rates, lower car payments and grocery prices, protect our seniors and put more money in the pockets of American families,” Trump said, ignoring the fact that his administration has rapidly ushered in warnings of a “Trumpcession” just a few weeks into his second term.
Sanders called out Trump’s lie in a speech delivered after Trump’s address, saying that it’s meant to pave the way for cuts to Social Security — which is the most effective anti-poverty program in the U.S., lifting tens of millions of people above the poverty line each year.
“Tonight, Trump claimed that millions of dead people between the ages of 100 and 360 were collecting Social Security checks,” the senator said. “That is an outrageous lie intended to lay the groundwork for cuts to Social Security and dismantling the most successful and popular government program in history.”
Trump is repeating lies about the crucial anti-poverty program to lay the groundwork for cuts, the senator said.
truthout.org
USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is now trying to rehire them
An Agriculture Department spokesperson told NBC News that officials are "working to swiftly rectify the situation."
www.nbcnews.com
Why isn't it surprising to see incompetence at this level? Well, for one, trump.
Perhaps the primary reason being the people in his admin were hired on ideological grounds. Not their expertise. Oh, BTW, regarding Musk, who is responsible for quite a few of the fuckups.........
There Is No Musk Exception in the Constitution
Mr. Musk’s power also is squarely at odds with concrete constitutional provisions. While the Constitution is largely silent on removal — Mr. Trump’s arguments that the Constitution gives him limitless power to fire are atextual — the document is quite specific when it comes to appointment.
Supreme Court cases make clear that individuals who serve in “continuing” positions and who exercise “significant authority” on behalf of the United States must be appointed consistent with the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. As far as I can tell, Mr. Musk hasn’t been.
The Appointments Clause — part of Article II, the source of Mr. Trump’s virtually boundless conception of presidential power — sets forth two methods of appointment of what are called “officers of the United States.” “Principal” officers must be nominated by the president and are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. For “inferior officers,” the Constitution allows Congress to give the appointment power to the president alone — that is, without Senate confirmation — or to the head of a department, or to the courts of law. Inferior officers must be subject to the supervision of someone other than the president; if you report directly to the president, you’re a principal officer.
This means that the individuals who wield the most authority — principal officers — are subject to both the public scrutiny and the check that is supposed to be imposed by Senate confirmation.
Trump is on shaky ground when it comes to the way he has empowered perhaps the most important figure in the new administration.
www.nytimes.com
These guys are breaking things faster than they can be fixed. Maybe that's the point.
