First lady Melania Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump backdropped by a red carpet, arrive during an indoor inauguration parade at the Capital One Arena
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‘A common thing to do in a dictatorship’: Trump’s power-hungry acts of revenge are called out for allegedly being illegal

According to an ethics lawyer, Donald Trump is delivering on his promise to be a dictator on day one.

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Ex-White House ethics lawyer Norm Eisen accused the president of “nakedly illegal action,” saying that many of Trump’s week-one policy decisions exemplify him as an autocrat instead of an elected official. Eisen pointed to Trump’s late-night firing of over a dozen independent inspector generals as evidence of autocracy, a decision that major news organizations have chillingly labeled as a “purge.”

Trump claimed that the termination was a “very common thing to do.” Eisen agrees, with the caveat that the firings were a “common thing to do in a dictatorship.”

Former U.S. Department of the Interior Inspector General Mark Greenblatt called Trump’s decision to terminate him and his colleagues “troubling,” and issued a warning to Americans that the removal of inspectors general will cause a lack of impartial, independent oversight in the Trump administration — allowing the administration to pursue its political agendas without consequence.

According to Eisen, Trump spent his first week in office “testing and pushing the limits” of the executive branch, and the other branches of government are pushing back. Trump’s executive order to suspend birthright citizenship has been blocked by a federal judge on grounds that it violates constitutional rights. A Federal District Court judge signed a restraining order that temporaryily blocks the executive order from Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon — four states that sued over Trump’s decision.

A district court judge, John C. Coughenour, concurs with Eisen’s conclusion that Trump’s behavior constitutes a dire breach of ethics. Coughenour called the executive order “blatantly unconstitutional,” and went on to criticize the Trump administration lawyers who went along with it. “I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar would state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order,” said Cougehenour. “It just boggles my mind.”

The Trump administration has been sued by private citizens over its policy decisions as well. A transgender federal inmate brought a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the president’s executive order declaring that the federal government recognize only two biological sexes, determined at birth. The order also declares that the Federal Bureau of Prisons house trans women in men’s facilities, and to stop providing trans inmates with gender affirming care. The lawsuit seeks to block the executive order via a temporary restraining order, preventing the Trump administration from enacting the new protocols across the nation.

Trump’s “first buddy” Elon Musk will also have to contend with lawsuits; nonprofit groups sued the Trump administration minutes after Donald Trump took the oath of office in order to combat Musk’s cost-cutting agency DOGE. The groups argue that the agency — which is not an agency at all but rather an extra-governmental initiative helmed by two wealthy private citizens — was in violation of a law that stipulates federal agencies must be open to the public and must be “fairly balanced in the points of view of the represented.” DOGE, they argue, does not hold a diversity of viewpoints, but is rather led by a small cadre with a shared goal of government cost-cutting. The suits have petitioned federal judges to block the cost cutting effort until it complies with the law.

Compliance with the law, Norm Eisen warns, is not a concern of the Trump administration. According to Eisen, Trump’s decision to purge inspectors general across multiple government agencies is in direct violation of a federal law that stipulates that the president must provide Congress with 30 days’ notice before such terminations can occur. “He’s flouting the statute,” said Eisen. If Trump’s first week as president is any indication, he’s likely to flout many more.


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Sarah Fimm
Sarah Fimm (they/them) is actually nine choirs of biblically accurate angels crammed into one pair of $10 overalls. They have been writing articles for nerds on the internet for less than a year now. They really like anime. Like... REALLY like it. Like you know those annoying little kids that will only eat hotdogs and chicken fingers? They're like that... but with anime. It's starting to get sad.