January 15, 2019
It was just a matter of time before the Democrats got one of their pet judges to issue an order reopening government. I figured they'd try the direct route, simply declaring it unconstitutional for Trump to lay those workers off. But they are using a more devious route.
From Bloomberg:
Plaintiffs and Claims
* Plaintiffs include the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Natca) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents 150,000 federal workers across 33 agencies, as well as four individuals represented by a Department of Transportation employee, Janette Hardy.
* NTEU has challenged an exception to the Antideficiency Act that addresses people’s safety and the protection of property. The union argues that a budget directive the administration issued just before last year’s brief shutdown impermissibly broadened the exception to sweep in "the ongoing, regular functions of government.â€
* Natca’s complaint warns of safety lapses and calls its workers’ pay their property, protected by the Constitution. "America wants its air traffic controllers to be laser-focused on landing planes safely and monitoring America’s runways, not distracted by financial issues ... caused by the government’s unlawful taking of their property without due process,†it says.
* Air Traffic Control Specialist Hardy said the government’s demand that employees work without pay -- on pain of punishment if they fail to show up or seek gainful employment elsewhere -- violates the 13th Amendment’s prohibition against involuntary servitude.
* The U.S. hadn’t filed a formal reply as of Monday evening.
Now, these Federal employees are working in positions that are deemed essential, and they are required to work whether they are paid or not. They are perfectly free to quit their jobs at any time. They also know they are going to receive back pay when the shutdown is over. I might point out there are laws in place making it compulsory to stay on the job in such an instance.
The Demo-Left has been using the courts as the only tool they have had to stop any of Trump's agenda, and it is a matter of time before they find a way to use them to force Trump to sign a funding bill. That will, of course, actually be a Constitutional Crisis, but will SCOTUS expedite the case? And nobody knows HOW they will rule; SCOTUS is, after all, part of the Judicial branch and would be reluctant to limit the power of the judiciary.
The unwillingness to accept the legitimacy of the Trump Administration by the democrats and their media allies is tearing the fabric of our system of government apart.
This falls well outside of Judicial review, and if this faux judge rules against him Trump should tell the judge to enforce his own ruling.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
11:16 AM
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