Some Americans were stunned – and angry – when they heard Dr. Anthony Fauci tell Congress that the six-foot social distancing rule that made life so difficult during the pandemic “sort of just appeared” and wasn’t supported by any specific scientific studies.
And many amateur chefs were chagrined with word President Joe Biden’s Department of Energy was proposing rules that could have meant the end of their treasured gas stoves.
In both cases, government agencies imposing these policies say the experts know best. Opponents counter that, as COVID reminded America, the experts aren’t always right. And while scientific and technical expertise is important, policy should be set by elected representatives of the people, not self-declared elites.
This battle has gone public thanks to a Biden administration initiative known as “Trump proofing” – changing bureaucratic rules to try to keep an incoming Republican president from reversing policies put in place by his Democratic predecessor.
Biden administration officials are invoking the premise of “scientific integrity” as they impose bureaucratic roadblocks to oversight by elected officials and their appointees. The White House tapped longtime National Institutes of Health (NIH) administrator Dr. Lyric Jorgenson as its designated scientific integrity officer.
In addition to assigning Jorgenson as the NIH’s watchdog, Politico reports, the White House has directed the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration “to strengthen their scientific integrity plans, both to ensure that research is rigorous, bias-free, transparent and reliable — and that nonpartisan civil servants are making the research decisions.”
But advocates for democratic oversight argue “nonpartisanship” is simply not a realistic goal. As President Barack Obama famously said, “elections have consequences.”
“I don’t think you can avoid politics and political agenda influencing where government money goes to fund research,” Dr. Jeffrey Singer at the Cato Institute told InsideSources.
The Council to Modernize Governance (CMG) sees Biden’s “scientific integrity” policy as a strategy to keep Democratic policies in place long after the administration is gone.
That includes new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that say “political appointees” can’t interfere or “inappropriately influence” the way that scientific activities or information are put together, proposed, conducted, reviewed, or evaluated. The Department of Health and Human Services adopted similar rules.
Biden’s EPA later announced that “scientific integrity” protections were in its new contract with unionized workers. This allowed EPA workers to complain if bosses or co-workers attempted what it called “inappropriate interference” into scientific work. It also gave the union power to negotiate any changes to the EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy definitions.
CMG Executive Director Curtis Schube suggested the changes insulated scientists from politics and, therefore, the consequences for their policies. American voters elect people specifically so they can oversee how the unelected bureaucrats spend their money.
These new policies, Schube said, “appear designed to resist both genuine scientific examination and legally appropriate agency supervision.”
Schube wants the federal government to make sure all research and reporting is nonbiased, honest, and transparent. He stressed it’s important to consistently follow the constitutional framework that puts federal workers “under the supervision and direction of the president or his officers.”
While presidents can revoke executive action through another executive action, Schube worried that any future president may have to issue specific orders focused more on agency decision-making.
That could run the risk of lawsuits from groups who oppose those actions.
For example, President Donald Trump created the Schedule F employee classification. Bureaucrats moved to that classification could be fired by the president at will and appoint a predecessor, without going through the civil service process.
The goal is to make government more responsive, but the National Treasury Employees Union sued over Schedule F shortly after Trump created the designation. And Biden revoked the Schedule F executive order soon after taking office.
Russ Vought, who ran Trump’s Office of Management and Budget and dealt directly with the federal bureaucracy, says the reform is needed.
“People need to understand this is not Bill Clinton’s big government,” Vought said in an interview. “It’s not Jimmy Carter big government. It’s a Barack Obama, Joe Biden infused, hybrid, militant, woke, and weaponized government that makes every decision on the basis of climate change extremism and on the basis of woke militancy.”
Schube said the Biden administration has made no secret of its goals. “[They] have openly acknowledged their plans to ‘resist’ a second Trump administration,” he said.
Taylor Millard writes about politics and public policy. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Reprinted with permission from DC Journal – By Taylor Millard
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
The arrogance of the American Communist party is beyond civility. What is scary is the lefties have gotten brainwashed by getting an all day dose of NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, and NPR for years…no hope for them. These are the same nimrods who think the Constitution is outdated. God help us!
Biden doesn’t remotely care what voters want. He’s trying to cement changes to keep Trump from doing what the voters will return him to the White House to do. Get lost Brandon!
I think the process to remove woke/liberal US government workers is going to have to go way beyond the first level or two of supervision. It is the managers/supervisors who have been hiring their subordinates. And I believe that they hired employees who mirror their liberal beliefs.
everything biden has done will be undone on day one. on day to a whole lot of directors and managers will be through. On day three is will be reduced regulations for you and me. On day four wray, majorkas, and garland ain’t no more.
The defeat of the Chevron deference makes it somewhat easier, IF the new admin has a compliant Congress, to turn this around. So we need both houses and the Presidency to be in agreement on uncomplicating government regulation, and getting rid of the climate hoax.
Biden doesn’t seem to care about democracy; he seems only to care about the leftist agenda and is willing to destroy the Country to promote it.
As SIR Winston Churchill once remarked “Socialism/Communism is the philosophy of failure,the creed of ignorance,and the gospel of envy.” Many South and central American countries have embraced communist dictators and the Biden/Obama regime have embraced illegal aliens from those countries invading our borders,not for charity but for votes.
Start and Stop with Control; The focal point / nucleus of all that has been presented, all that has been instigated , is solely about the Deep State controlling the worlds population. All of it; scare to control, lawfare to control, (two tier justice system to control- there’s your proof– its their way or you’re in the way).. i.e., Pres. Trump, innocent Jan.6ers jailed- some 3 yrs. now; 70 y.o. woman protesting an abortion clinic, Dr. Peter Navarro
Our “Democrats” are a long way past pushing legislation for the good of “the people”, who they forgot about many years ago.
They push or kill legislation for the good of themselves, exclusively.
First thing on day one, fire the Scientific integrity officer and eliminate that office. Period
I believe anything done by the current administration can be reversed by the next administration. It is interesting the current powers think they can be permanent. We will see about that. They will be doing their best. From what I have seen, I doubt that this is any better than a “C” on a grading scale. But when I look at the current republican majority in congress, a slim majority looks pathetic.
Trumps first act should be to hire more cops and fill the prisons with leftie’s . Kyle L.
This president didn’t care about democracy since day one. Good riddence to him and his crooked family, now maybe he’ll retire to his beach home and eat ice cream cones for the rest of his days.
Nothing Fauci or Biden and the democrats said was Facts or Scientific Facts being backed by the liberal media. It was all about power and control with lies. Remember SWAMP QUEEN pelosi running off at the mouth that we follow the science. Another one of her famous lies just like obamacare when she said we have to pass it so we will know what’s in it. We all saw how that was a lie for them to ruin our medical care.
And they passed it when the American people were against it. The same goes for their six foot distance which I said from the beginning was BS. It was about tracking and spying on us.
Biden violated Federal law when he had to put forth whether people wanted to wear mask or not which he didn’t for power and control.
Too bad Biden doesn’t literally “fall on a sword” like any traditional Japanese political failure would do who has shamed his country.
Don’t forget the Supreme Court reversed the Chevron Doctrine, taking away the power for Federal agencies to make rules and regulations unless passed by Congress. Everything Biden’s administration tries can not stick if it comes via EPA, IRS, xyz blah, blah blah.
Defund the departments, decertify the unions. Problem solved.
Congress is the legislative branch of government that writes the nation’s laws, the President signs or vetoes the proposed laws, and if the laws are not written correctly, the Supreme Court decides if the law is Constitutional or not.
Seems to me the leaders that have been elected have forgotten their basic job. A sitting President should NOT be dictatorial in trying to hinder a following President based on his thoughts of what should or should not be changed after his term is over. That is over stepping the Executive Branch’s authority.
Our Founding Father’s designed our Constitution that has worked very well for almost 250 years with adjustments when an elected leader starts messing with the original checks and balances, he is destroying the nation that most people try to come to escape from a tyrannical, dictortial, oppressive system.
Biden needs to finish up his term and just do his daily job and quit trying to mould a different legacy.
Great article! Sad but True. It’s falling on US to SAVE AMERICA from this evil plot. The first thing the Left did was to attack Education – reading and writing, Math, Sciences, no more History, no more Skills Training. What’s left? basket-weaving? This is exactly what ALL historical coups have DONE to the populace. Win them over with lies (propaganda). Tell them they can do ‘whatever they want’. Douse them with promises for the future. Immerse them in Hate and Blame. Deprive them of Knowledge and Facts! Then Brand them with their Duty to Protest anything ‘Old’. All these things are what our Left has done to America! because IT WORKS! It’s been done over and over, time and again! And they get RICH off the backs of all the unsuspecting who ‘believe them’. And this state of the people is what BO cashed in on! and took to a whole new level!
Biden did exactly what he wanted in place and didn’t want to have it changed. That is not acceptable. As citizens, we need to be able to have a say and debate over these decisions. Not an emperor,dictator, or king.
Remember the hard-hat worker that approached Biden during his first campaign? When the worker stated to Biden that; “Sir, you work for me”, Biden responded, “you’re a jackass”! These people truly think that because they were elected, they are now some sort of supreme monarch! As Dan Bongino says; they don’t care if you think they are arrogant hypocrites! It’s hierarchy, not hypocrisy! We’re in charge now! Not you! So, piss-off!
Every one of these anti-American, constitution hating, American flag hating communist pigs must be gotten rid of ASAP!
Personally the Democratic Party is Destroying the USA. They have no morals or God fearing hearts. They are only out for themselves and Democratic party and followers. Abortion, LBGQT, IS A SIN and abomination against Jesus Christ. I pray and ask for God’s intervention in this up coming election.
All you auto union people better vote for Trump m,or yougonna be sittin at your table trying to figgure out how nto eat a electric car. / Kyle L.
Arrest all these traitorous bureaucrats in the swamp and place in concentration camps in Nevada desert without a chance for parole period.!!!!!