Trump’s second term so far: I guess this is what “draining the swamp” looks like
It may have been the most basic and early of Trump’s campaign promises, back when he was first running for president: to drain the swamp. Making illegal immigration less easy was another, of course, and the more general Make America Great Again, which seemed to me to primarily be referring to making the country economically more independent and prosperous, and making us more respected as a superpower abroad that meant what it said and said what it meant and was willing to back it up.
But draining the swamp was, as Trump would say, YUGE. And in his first term he lost that battle, YUGELY. In fact, the swamp came very close to draining him. Meanwhile, he had learned more of the perils of the swamp: where the quicksand is, where the most dangerous creatures dwell. And now he’s fighting them as best he can, with a group of capable people, many of whom have learned firsthand up close and personal how dangerous the swamp can be.
The swamp is bigger than he ever thought, but he has more help this time. The swamp, of course, is fighting back. So far his attack has been a blitzkreig type, very fast. But don’t underestimate the power of the swamp to regroup and fight back very very hard.
The USAID is an especially hidden area of the swamp, and shining a light in there has caused a great deal of turmoil among those who have benefited from its largesse. And the FBI and the DOJ have been attempted agents of Trump’s (and the J6ers) destruction – not everyone in those agencies by any means, but some portion of the higher-ups who decided to twist the law into a pretzel to get those on the right they perceived as enemies.
We on the right used to complain that there were no consequences for any of the wrongdoing we saw. Well, now the attempt is to bring those consequences at last.
I believe there only will be legal prosecution for a few, and that’s okay with me. There also will be many legal challenges from the swamp, and judges on the left (and perhaps even on the right, if the case is sound) may find for the plaintiffs. But nevertheless, an enormous and sweeping effort is being made and I believe a significant portion of it will be successful.
There’s so much going on that I can’t cover everything in depth. What I’ve been doing, and what I plan to keep doing, is concentrating on the efforts I find most interesting or important, and also providing overviews such as this one. And of course links such as these:
From Ace, “USAID and the CIA Funded Trump’s First Impeachment.”
At Legal Insurrection, “US State Department Recalls All USAID Staffers from Foreign Assignments.”
From The Federalist, “The Constitution Vindicates Trump’s Firing Of 17 Inspectors General.”
From The Federalist, “If Presidents Can’t Control Executive Agencies, Elections Are Fake.”
There’s much, much more.
It’s also one thing to make light of the reaction of the left, such as “heads are exploding.” But there’s really nothing light about this. The press and the left are labeling it a coup, a dictatorship, an illegal takeover. The grounds for believing that – even on the part of relatively moderate Democrats – have been prepared for many many years. This is an extremely volatile situation.
Interesting times.
Agree with it being a volatile situation. I’m pleased with the efforts so far, but I do have concerns about angering some people to the point where there is another assassination attempt on Trump himself, or on one of the other controversial figures he’s using to drain the swamp, like Elon Musk, RFK Jr., or Tulsi Gabbard.
“This is an extremely volatile situation.”
Thanks for pointing that out. As I’ve noted since the inauguration, average democratic people I’ve known for years are in a state of extreme anger and paranoia. If such people are that worked up, it won’t take much from the leadership to push them over the edge into violence.
What Trump et al are doing, in my view, is wonderful. But the 40% aren’t just going to sit by and watch it happen.
https://x.com/BehizyTweets/status/1887616112017481906
Shadow’s right. It’s not just the funding, it’s the entire apparatus that helps them win elections and keeps their staffers on ice and ready when campaigns spool up. They’re not just cornered, digging deeper + more public revelations might = the destruction of their party, and when it comes to whack jobs that lack compunction, they’ve got an ultra-deep bench.
One hopes CC™’ isn’t among the exploding heads.
I’ve noted that one journalist on The Telegraph’s Ukraine The Latest podcast hasn’t figured out the delta between President Trump’s style and his deeds; he’s in a panic, can’t fathom what the left has been up to since 2016. Anders Puck Nielson also seems to be buying the left’s portrait of the death of western civilization and freedom at the hands of President Trump. Consequences of eurosocialism.
The activist left “cut down all the laws”. The winds, they have begun to blow. May justice sweep the land clean, down to the very bedrock.
The torygraph seems take ben smith originally journolister at face value
I do not understand how a Fed Judge can stop the firings from happening. I can understand putting some limits to Musk’s Whiz Kids (but not stopping access). Some other Judges need to put a stop to the activist Judges. And I do not have any faith in Roberts
Great post, BTW!
Now might be a good time to turn their own words against them—for a change. Like the Left has been trying desperately to make saying certain ‘Thangs illegal – that such is dangerous for the country, individual privacy, etc. Is “The press” allowed to shout “Fire” in a crowed theater just because they are “The press”?
Coup, Dictatorship, and Illegal Takeover—without proof— certainly sounds more dangerous on a National Security scale than shouting “Fire” in a crowed theater.
Not for me. School Teachers promoting Crimes Against Humanity – like Child Grooming & Child Mutilations should not get a pass. News Media & Reporters shouldn’t get a pass for shouting Coup, Dictatorship, and Illegal Takeover to a national audience without proof. Rule of Law includes the use of Lawfare…start charging people with crimes and let them hire lawyers or start ratting – spilling the beans and such.
You can’t Drain a Swamp one drop at a time…
Transparency is a good thing. And Trump is providing it in spades. Amazing that he and DOGE have revealed so much that’s been hidden for many, many years.
The NGOs have become a Democrat army funded by we taxpayers. All this shadow government funding has been enabled by passing the omnibus spending bills. No one had time to read them or know what was in them. But it’s getting exposed now.
No more omnibus spending bills. No more funding of NGOs. Annual audits of all government agencies. Serious people as IGs for government agencies. These things are now possible to implement because of transparency.
Just heard that 140,000 government employees have accepted the buyout offer. Well, it’s a start.
https://x.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/1887573475562590596
Annual agency audits sounds like a Good Idea, to me.
USAID started out as a do-good foreign aid and pro-US propaganda outfit. In the mid-60’s (maybe earlier) the CIA started using it for more… direct… action. As a result, the black operations became very obfuscated – their description, their name and their budget. Once the resulting black infrastructure was in place, partisan democrats (95% of DC) took advantage of it to fund and control USAID projects, which amazingly turned out to be the leftist wishlist.
“Volatile situation” with Democrat activists and their LIV cannon fodder? So they set fire to SF, Denver, Chicago, etc?
Either [yawn] or [heh!]. Your choice.
It’s also one thing to make light of the reaction of the left, such as “heads are exploding.” But there’s really nothing light about this. The press and the left are labeling it a coup, a dictatorship, an illegal takeover. The grounds for believing that – even on the part of relatively moderate Democrats – have been prepared for many many years.
The “exploding heads” are kind of amazing to me. They say, Elon’s shadow gov. have their dirty mitts on our money and our databases. Clearly, they want us to believe that the word our refers to US taxpayers or citizens, but to me it sounds like they are admitting to the reality of these slush funds and databases being owned by the Democrat party. And attacking and draining these lucrative institutions (which are the real shadow government) built over decades is a 5-alarm fire for the Democrat party. Things will get much hotter soon.
This USAID scandal reinforces my impression that the Dems and Deep State are basically grifters intent on money and power, not ideology.
Their current alliance with the left is just business.
While it is primarily the Dems who benefited from this money, so has the GOPe, and not limited to the Usual Suspects either. One of them, Marco Rubio, is helping DOGE and Trump; since these folks don’t have much in the way of principle they can probably be counted on to help as long as Trump seems to be winning.
Well, thank goodness for Elon and his Musketeers. And AI, stand up and take a bow!
As I understand it, USAID was using 55,000 shell companies to hide its shenanigans. I imagine humans could crack that eventually, but not in two weeks.
huxley:
Do the lefty exploding heads see the irony of AI and Its Brave New Tech (world) rooting out their mischief (euphemism)?
Inconceivable, the irony.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Chesterton’s Fence. “Do not remove a fence until you know why it was put up in the first place.”
Trump/Musk just removed a fence, without understanding what it did. Yes, USAID ran a some stupid projects under Biden (trans comic books in Peru?); but throughout its history, USAID has also run big “soft power” humanitarian and pro-democracy projects… and was despised by anti-American regimes worldwide. Gee, wonder why?
That fence is now a smouldering ruin. Give it a few years. We’ll find out why that fence was there.
@Paul:Trump/Musk just removed a fence, without understanding what it did.
It looks to me like they understood quite well what USAID was doing; and I don’t see how sometimes doing good in foreign countries outweighs the harm they were doing here, by interfering in domestic politics.
This isn’t about “trans comic books in Peru”, though I’m sure Swamp Dwellers would like us to think it is. This is about using taxpayer money to interfere in US politics and lying about it, and refusing to obey when told to stop. This is about a bureaucracy deciding it is not accountable in any way to the electorate. This is about the Constitution: “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”
”This USAID scandal reinforces my impression that the Dems and Deep State are basically grifters intent on money and power, not ideology.”
No, it’s about power and ideology. Don’t get me wrong, the money’s nice too. But this is *how* they impose their ideology on us.
DataRepublican had it right. This is basically UBI for the foot soldiers of the left, keeping them available for tasks advancing the cause: men in this locker room, drag queens in that library, a riot in such and such a city. All in service of fundamentally transforming a country from within that would smash any army on earth attempting to do so from without.
DOGE is just getting started. USAID is only one such fund. The total rot runs well into 12 figures per year. Maybe 13.
Russell Vought was just confirmed for head of OMB. He is one of the authors of the project 2025 document. The Democrats filibustered the confirmation vote overnight and tried to disrupt the vote today, but did not work.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/russell-vought-confirmed-to-head-governments-leading-budget-office-after-dems-hold-30-hour-protest
@mkent:DataRepublican had it right. This is basically UBI for the foot soldiers of the left
She has also identified and named Republicans participating in the USAID grift, I linked to it before. Including Marco Rubio who is (for now) helping DOGE. For those who don’t click links:
Paul:
Apparently they are keeping some of it.
The DEMs & REPs both have filthy hands—tho neither side will admit it. Two Peas in same Pod…
The REPs have a ‘Party of Whites’ reputation that will never go away…one only needs to surf conservative message boards, blogs, social media, etc. to see it. Part of the REP DNA that trumps any denials.
Elon Musk’s top DOGE staffer Marko Elez quits over racist social media posts
‘Part of the REP DNA that trumps any denials’ – as in 50% of the REPs? Two picks and one ‘advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act and backed a ‘eugenic immigration policy”!?!?!?
@Neo
“Apparently they are keeping some of it.”
I hope so. But I read they were only retaining 300 out 10,000 employees. That’s 97% of the agency and its collective knowledge gone. It is, mathematically speaking, dead.
Thanks for running a great blog by the way. I don’t always agree with you, but enjoy your writing and perspective.
Guess ‘The Genie is out of the Bottle’ – the ‘Pendulum’s Swing returns’…
Melania and Ivanka’s close ties to USAID exposed as Trump goes scorched-earth on the ‘corrupt’ agency
Niketas Choniates has already pointed out that the GOP was also involved, giving Marco Rubio as an example.
The Queen of Hearts basically saw no little lies or just a white lie—all such were just plain ole’ Lies, with her response being ‘Off with their heads!’ 😉
@ Niketas
“This isn’t about “trans comic books in Peru”, though I’m sure Swamp Dwellers would like us to think it is.”
Actually, that was one of the justifications that President Donald J. Trump used to shut down USAID on Monday. Here’s the link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/uncategorized/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/
Not a Swamp Dweller’s justiciation. One of the President’s justifications.
“backed a eugenic immigration policy”
What does that even mean? It certainly sounds bad.
He is alleged to have tweeted “you could not pay me to marry outside my ethnicity”. Is that a firing offense?
He is accused of tweeting, “99% of Indian HIB’s will be replaced by slightly smarter LLM’s, they’re going back, don’t worry guys.”
Is advocating repealing the Civil Rights Act really a firing offense?
Interesting nexus– the journalist credited for revealing his deleted tweets, Katherine Long, “before matriculating to Columbia, I worked for the federal government managing USAID projects in Central Asia.”
Seems TCS may have blinded you a tad, Brian E. The actual quote was:
His meaning seemed rather obvious to me.
More quotes:
As I said at February 6, 2025 at 9:52 pm – ‘REPs have a ‘Party of Whites’ reputation that will never go away…one only needs to surf conservative message boards, blogs, social media, etc. to see it. Part of the REP DNA that trumps any denials.‘
Fired?
@Karmi, the racism card was maxed out sometime between 2008 and 2020. If it takes racists to root this crap out, won’t keep me up at night.
The Daily Mail’s “gotcha” isn’t too well thought out: it’s wrong now to “[promote] USAID’s national reading program, which was donating on Trump’s behalf 1.4 million textbooks to the more than 5,600 primary schools in the poverty-stricken nation”? Lol. It’s now wrong to fund “women’s business initiative and an associated antipoverty program.” Lol.
Their terms are acceptable.
“But I read they were only retaining 300 out 10,000 employees. That’s 97% of the agency and its collective knowledge gone.” – Paul
From what I read, that was a decision (or at least concurred by SoS Rubio). According to him the employees were insubordinate and refused to recognize their position in the government hierarchy.
I think most Americans don’t want American taxpayer dollars promoting woke/transgender ideology, especially when in most instances it undermines the prevailing culture of the country the aid is being provided to.
I have not doubt there are plenty of bureaucrats in the State Department that can take up the slack in providing US aid to worthy projects in deserving countries.
Karmi, since it’s clear to you, what did he say that is being cast as “a eugenic immigration policy”. And rather than a characterization, what did he actually say?
You do realize that is a characterization of what his positions were and not an actual quote.
What’s TCS?
Karmi, I think you’re old enough to remember stupid stuff you said when you were young. Even provocative stuff!
Interesting take:
Niketas Choniates – I best save that quote…
@Karmi:Niketas Choniates – I best save that quote…
For what, Karmi? Is that a threat?
Need another copy? If it takes racists to root this crap out, won’t keep me up at night.
The “racism” smear is done, my friend. Trump wouldn’t be President now if it still worked.
So my wife’s very, very liberal niece found a note on her Tesla– “please trade in that swasticar”. She of course was extremely upset, since it would be a financial hardship to get rid of it (and they like the car. Her husband bought a Kia EV, but it doesn’t have the range of the Tesla, so they’re stuck since she drives long distances in her work).
The best she could come up with is a bumper sticker that says “We bought the car before we found out how horrible he is.”
That, of course, makes it alright.
I’ve avoided any comment, since I don’t want to trigger her.
The last two weeks have been exhilarating, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is going to happen to make it come to a crashing halt. Events are moving so fast that it all seems very fragile. I hope I’m wrong, and I especially hope that if something does happen it’s not catastrophic, like another 9-11. Five years ago the Deep State came up with a “pandemic” that effectively took Trump down. I have to believe they are plotting something.
Agree that there will be few prosecutions. Trump saw how his own prosecution rallied his base behind him and made him more popular. He doesn’t need to create martyrs for the left. Exposure and firing are punishment enough.
Brian E
🙂 New word I came up with here the other day. Trump Cultist Syndrome (TCD)…explained in that post.
Have said that I was a ‘World Class Scoundrel‘ – so yes. However, there is no denying or excusing that Marko Elez was caught whilst Musk & President Trump were gleefully spreading the news about how bad the DEMs were.
GOP has a racist issue…have had it for a long time, and it ain’t going to go away.