Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Trump, the Court and the Calculation: They will do anything for love, but they won't do that.

When I try to guess how Republicans—excluding True Believers and those who have left the party on principle—will react to Donald Trump, I always think in terms of the calculation.

The dilemma for smart Republicans has always been that Trump is likely to do long-term damage to the party (and to the country, though that seldom seems to figure here), but forcing him out would also do considerable damage. Therefore, the question has always been: which would be worse? You could see this in 2015, when the party establishment wavered between trying to squelch his campaign and simply hoping that he would go away. In the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, you saw it again—briefly. When it looked like Trump was a spent force, a large number of party leaders stepped forward to condemn his actions. As soon as it became apparent that he was, in fact, still in control of the party and would be difficult to dislodge, this opposition completely evaporated.

We are seeing something along very similar lines with the recent Supreme Court decision on presidential power—especially with the notable carve-out for the Fed.

"There is simply no principled way of ensuring the Fed’s removal protections stand while striking down those of all other agencies." Read @tphillips.bsky.social's article in light of the Supreme Court's decision that allows President Trump to remove heads of independent gencies, except for the Fed.

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— Lawfare (@lawfaremedia.org) May 23, 2025 at 6:05 AM



Every sane Republican knows that Trump going after Powell would almost certainly be disastrous for the country—and, more to the point in this case, for the GOP. The last time something comparable happened, the party was locked out of the White House for 20 years.


This bespoke exception for the Fed is one of the most brazenly made-up things I've ever seen the Supreme Court do (which is saying something). There is no principled basis to distinguish the Fed from other independent agencies. The conservative justices just don't want Trump to crash the market!

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— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjsdc.bsky.social) May 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM

This bespoke exception for the Fed is one of the most brazenly made-up things I've ever seen the Supreme Court do (which is saying something). There is no principled basis to distinguish the Fed from other independent agencies. The conservative justices just don't want Trump to crash the market!

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— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjsdc.bsky.social) May 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM

The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision reverses a precedent set in a unanimous decision by the court in 1935 and now says the president can fire heads of independent agencies like the FTC or NLRB. Except for the Fed. Why? Because tanking the stock market is where the conservative judges draw the line

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— Dare Obasanjo (@carnage4life.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 3:57 AM



Even for a Jim Steinman/Michael Bay collaboration, this video is ... something.


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