The Trump DoJ asserted in court yesterday that, under its theories, his removal power is so all-encompassing that he could fire all female agency heads, as well as those over 40 years old. The startling admission came in response to a federal judge’s hypothetical. Via Talking Points Memo:
“Could the President decide that he wasn’t going to appoint or allow to remain in office any female heads of agencies or any heads over 40 years old?” Judge Karen Henderson, a Reagan appointee on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, asked Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric McArthur Tuesday in proceedings over the fired board members of two independent agencies.
“I think that that would be within the President’s constitutional authority under the removal power,” he responded, adding that “there would be separate questions about whether that would violate other provisions of the Constitution.”
Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee on the panel, then swooped in to try to salvage the moment, saying to the DOJ attorney that he didn’t think “you would have to go there,” pointing to the protections of the 14th Amendment.
The stunning moment, two minutes into arguments over the firings of board members at the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board, encapsulated just how broadly Trump’s vision of presidential power sweeps.
Basically, anything he wants!
