Summary
Senator Bernie Sanders condemned Trumpās order to freeze all federal loans and grants, calling it a ādangerous move towards authoritarianismā and āblatantly unconstitutional.ā
The directive, exempting Social Security and Medicare, is expected to impact universities, nonprofits, food assistance programs, health centers, and disabled veterans.
Sanders emphasized that Congress holds the āpower of the purseā and urged Americans to oppose the order.
Attorneys general are preparing legal challenges to overturn the freeze.
Weirdly enough, many if not most kings in history were not absolute monarchs and had to follow some rules and expectations or risk losing their power (and possibly life).
I read a book not too long ago with a line along the lines of āevery nation is in some ways a republicā. It was in the context of someone trying to convince a monarch on a course of action, but they hadnāt realized their opponent had already convinced everyone directly below the monarch to do the opposite. There was no outcome where the monarchās decision mattered, because without their knowledge their choice was actually going to impact if they got to keep their throne.
The constitution is just an established set of rules. The president is only the person those rules say gets to do certain things. Political power grows from the barrel of a gun, but at its core it is the ability to make people use those guns and to ensure that the only consequences they face are a pension and maybe a medal.