In the political landscape of America, President Donald Trump is engaged in a relentless struggle to "drain the swamp," a task that is proving to be challenging due to the persistent resistance and obstruction he faces.
The former President, Joe Biden, had filled the government with Democrats, some of whom were appointed during the lame-duck period. These individuals, who Trump is endeavoring to remove, are not going down without a fight, regardless of their expectations of victory, as reported by Politico on Monday.
According to Politico, Democratic holdovers leading federal agencies have managed to retain their positions, defying Trump's efforts to oust them. They have initiated legal challenges that delay their removal, even though the White House seems set to win the battle eventually.
This defiance persists despite the Supreme Court's repeated indications through its rulings that the president has the authority to overhaul the administration, allowing appointees to serve at the pleasure of the chief executive.
Lower-court rulings have granted some of these holdovers a reprieve, enabling them to "maneuver around the White House's orders and directives," as reported by Politico. These rulings have, in some cases, been made by judges appointed by Democrats.
Among the defiant Democrats are three dismissed members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which oversees PBS and NPR. These individuals, Diane Kaplan, Tom Rothman, and Laura Gore Ross, have remained active in board motions and votes, despite calls from the Trump administration for their removal.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Politico that Trump "exercised his lawful authority" because the CPB "is creating media to support a particular political party on the taxpayers' dime." Rochelle Garza, the Biden-appointed chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, is another individual who has managed to hold on to her position, according to the report.
In anticipation of administration turnover, the Democrats on the CPB altered its bylaws to safeguard their positions within the Trump administration. They stipulated that their removals could only occur after receiving two-thirds approval from board members. With agencies like the CPB filled with Biden-era appointees, this move effectively nullifies Trump's authority to have people serve at his pleasure.
Other holdovers defying Trump's will and forcing court decisions include three members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission dismissed in May and two Democrats on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) whom Trump sought to remove in January. The White House had not responded to Politico's request for comment on the Biden Democrats refusing to leave the Trump administration.
Don Kettl, former dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, told Politico that the legal battles could help resolve the issue in the future. "I think some commissioners, as a matter of principle, are hanging on by their fingernails waiting for courts to decide, but also as a way of creating a series of legal challenges that forces them to frame the questions," Kettl said. "It's a shadow-boxing match at this point. All sides are feeling each other out and trying to find a way to frame the ultimate legal questions in a way that's more likely to produce the results they want."
The CPB's alteration of the bylaws was a tactic that the Trump administration has yet to overcome. "Our bylaws prohibit any person, including the president of the United States, from removing a director without a two-thirds vote of the other directors," CPB chair Ruby Calvert said during a board meeting this month, as reported by Politico. "We will continue our mission, because the importance of a vibrant, independent public media system... is needed more now than ever."
The Trump administration and conservatives have long argued that officials from PBS and NPR cannot claim to be "independent" since they are either Democrats or Democrat donors. This sentiment was echoed by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, during a House hearing this spring.
The ongoing struggle to "drain the swamp" underscores the challenges faced by the Trump administration in its efforts to reshape the political landscape. The resistance from Biden-era appointees and their legal maneuvers to retain their positions highlight the complexities of the political process.
As the legal battles continue, the future of these holdovers and the impact of their defiance on the Trump administration remain to be seen.
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