Alina Habba is again, child. And she or he’s higher than ever!
And by “higher” we imply much more hilariously indignant and mistaken concerning the regulation than when she was only a wealthy bitch harassing a waitress on the breakfast bar.
Right here she is on Fox this morning doing her greatest 90s imply lady act in an try to dunk on Senator Chuck Schumer.
“First, Chuck, your legal professional common will not be the legal professional common. We’ve got an legal professional common. That may be Pam Bondi,” she huffed. “And what your opinion is on what the regulation is doesn’t actually matter. It’s what the White Home Counsel says and what our legal professional common of the USA says.”
Habba’s interpretive dance was in help of Trump’s wildly unlawful freeze on just about all federal loans and grants. As first reported by unbiased journalist Marisa Kabas, the Workplace of Administration and Price range put out a memo yesterday “pausing” the disbursement of already allotted and contracted funds.
The letter begins off sturdy, suggesting that “In Fiscal Yr 2024, of the practically $10 trillion that the Federal Authorities spent, greater than $3 trillion was Federal monetary help, reminiscent of grants and loans.”
The precise spending was $6.75 trillion, however what’s a pair trillion by hook or by crook, amirite?
“Monetary help ought to be devoted to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer {dollars} to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the monetary burden of inflation for residents, unleashing American vitality and manufacturing, ending “wokeness” and the weaponization of presidency, selling effectivity in authorities, and Making America Wholesome Once more,” it went on. “To the extent permissible below relevant regulation, Federal companies should quickly pause all actions associated to obligation or disbursement of all Federal monetary help, and different related company actions which may be implicated by the chief orders, together with, however not restricted to, monetary help for international assist, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the inexperienced new deal.”
Yeah, they’re shutting down the federal government to allow them to do away with any point out of “pregnant individuals” and let Elon Musk take a machete to the funds. In the meantime, Medicaid and Head Begin cost portals are closed down, individuals in Africa are being reduce off from the antiretrovirals which were retaining them alive, and nobody is aware of if faculty lunches or Meals on Wheels are going to get the axe. It’s a flagrant violation of the Structure, which supplies Congress the ability of the purse, in addition to the Impoundment Management Act of 1974, which specifies the slender circumstances below which the president can refuse to spend funds. It’s additionally a violation of 1000’s of particular person contracts with organizations that are relying on getting the cash.
In the meantime, among the many individuals with the precise energy to set the federal funds, there appears to be common confusion — or a gaggle choice to faux it, anyway — about whether or not the federal appropriations invoice is basically A LAW.
However our pal Alina is an IRL lawyer, or performs one on TV anyway. And so she ought to perceive that the final phrase on LAW, HOW DOES IT GO??? doesn’t belong to the White Home Counsel and even the Legal professional Basic — though seeing the wonderful horseshit they’re going to prepare dinner as much as defend this clusterfuck could also be definitely worth the worth of admission. (JK, it is not going to.)
Fortunately, it’s simply Fox, so the one pushback she bought was from a dead-eyed John Roberts (the reporter, not the feckless jurist at One First Road), who identified that Pam Bondi hasn’t been confirmed but.
Within the meantime, everybody and their mom is submitting swimsuit to cease this insane energy seize. Possibly the White Home will deputize Habba to defend them. Her document is lower than stellar, however she’s keen to say actually any dumb factor, so…
Liz Dye lives in Baltimore the place she produces the Regulation and Chaos substack and podcast.
