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Chris Murphy 🟧@ChrisMurphyCT · Feb 28, 2025

We are barreling toward a full blown constitutional crisis. Trump's announcement that he's ending thousands of aid…

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Summary

Trump is illegally terminating thousands of congressionally-funded foreign aid programs through USAID director Pete Marocco, a January 6th participant, defying court orders and violating constitutional separation of powers over spending. This constitutional crisis threatens humanitarian programs globally, U.S. soft power, and democratic governance itself.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    We are barreling toward a full blown constitutional crisis. Trump's announcement that he's ending thousands of aid contracts FUNDED BY CONGRESS is unconstitutional and illegal - and horrible for our security. 1/ A quick🧵on what's going on. apnews.com/article/trump-…

  2. #2

    2/ Back in January, Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid. It was a lie. He was always planning to eliminate USAID. But that's illegal and a court reversed it. Because Congress is in charge of spending, not the President - a foundational feature of our democracy.

  3. #3

    3/ Why is Congress in charge? Because if a unitary executive decides who gets money, then he can use it to reward friends and punish enemies. That's what despots do. So our founders VERY INTENTIONALLY put a politically diverse Congress in charge of spending.

  4. #4

    4/ But Trump didn't comply with the court. He said he couldn’t restart aid because of “serious questions about waste, fraud, abuse” and “hundreds of payments not in compliance with policy.” Bullshit. Totally made up. Auditors give USAID top marks. oig.usaid.gov/node/6841

  5. #5

    5/ The guy who invented these lies is a MAGA radical named Pete Marocco. He's buddies with Viktor Orban, pushes the big lie that Trump won in 2020, and was part of the Jan 6 riot at the Capitol. Yes, a January 6th guy in charge of USAID. nytimes.com/2025/02/18/us/…

  6. #6

    6/ And yesterday, Marocco made it official - he shut down nearly 10,000 foreign aid programs all over the world - all funded by Congress. Our counter China programs - gone. Our counter terrorism programs - gone. AIDS drugs - done. Famine relief - gone. apnews.com/article/trump-…

  7. #7

    7/ The effects will be absolutely devastating. Millions who depend on humanitarian aid to survive could die. China and Russia are popping champagne to celebrate America forfeiting its soft power. Tens of thousands of American jobs disappear.

  8. #8

    8/ More critically, it's a brazen violation of the Constitution. Last night, the Supreme Court granted Trump a little more time to explain. But it's clear that his shutdown of these programs is illegal. Any sane judge would rule as such. cnn.com/2025/02/26/pol…

  9. #9

    9/ And whether or not you care about foreign aid, you should care about what's about to happen. If either the Supreme Court allows Trump to seize control of spending, or they rule he can't do it and he ignores the ruling, our democracy is thrown into meltdown. A cataclysm.