An estimated 2.2 million civilian federal workers serve at the pleasure of the president, despite only 4,000 being designated as political appointees. Donald Trump’s first priority as he prepares to retake office must be to establish that he can fire any of them. Whether they hold political appointments, Senate-confirmed positions, or civil service roles, all federal employees are subject to the president’s authority to terminate their employment. This includes workers in any department or so-called “independent” agency. If a congressional statute conflicts with his authority to fire someone, that statute is unconstitutional and must yield to the president’s plenary firing authority. Ironically, Trump’s biggest failure in his first term was his reluctance to say his famous line, “You’re fired!” To succeed in a second term, he must remove anyone who does not share his campaign vision. His primary promises are to reduce inflation and eliminate the deep state. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is already challenging both promises, presenting Trump with an early test of his resolve. 'If any power whatsoever is in its nature Executive, it is the power of appointing, overseeing, and controlling those who execute the laws.' When a Politico reporter on Thursday asked Powell if he would comply if Trump asked for his resignation, Powell responded flatly, “No.” When pressed on whether he is legally required to resign, he tersely repeated, “No,” asserting his belief that no legal basis exists for firing him. Legally, Powell has no foundation to stay in his post if the president fires him, which Trump must do. While the legislature dominates in setting public policy and the federal budget, the president decides who serves in executive positions. The Senate can confirm high officers and may refuse to confirm a new appointee after the president removes someone senators support. However, the Senate cannot force the president to keep any personnel he wishes to dismiss, even if it passes a law granting tenure to that individual, as in the case of Powell, whose term doesn’t expire until 2026. The Supreme Court ruled in Ex Parte Hennen (1839) that the president’s power to appoint executive officials includes the power to remove them. This authority was upheld in Myers v. United States (1926) in a 70-page opinion by the chief justice, former President William Howard Taft. If a president can appoint anyone to head an agency within reason, Congress cannot restrict him to choosing or retaining any specific individual. Some argue that the Federal Reserve must remain independent, but that is a political stance, not a legal one. Constitutionally, there are only three branches of government. Since the Fed is neither legislative nor judicial, its governors are subject to the president’s authority to remove them. Congress can defund or abolish an office and refuse to confirm the president’s nominee, but it cannot impose a tenure law on the president. James Madison explained this separation of powers in a letter to Thomas Jefferson: [Congressional tenure laws] overlook the important distinction between repealing or modifying the office and displacing the officer. The former is a legislative, the latter an Executive function; and even the former, if done with a view of re-establishing the office and letting in a new appointment, would be an indirect violation of the theory and policy of the Constitution. For example, although Congress passed a law entitling the FBI director to a 10-year term, President Bill Clinton, at the recommendation of Attorney General Janet Reno, fired FBI Director William Sessions in 1993 during his sixth year in office. No executive branch figure operates outside the president’s authority. If an individual is not subject to the president’s authority, that individual is, by definition, not part of the executive branch. Therefore, the president can fire any civil service worker within main agencies and terminate anyone serving in independent commissions, such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Merit Systems Protection Board. Based on his campaign promises, Trump has an obligation to exercise this authority. Although the Supreme Court once deviated from the originalist view espoused by Chief Justice Taft — in cases like Morrison v. Olson (1988) involving the independent counsel — that era has ended. The current Supreme Court is likely to support Trump’s power to fire executive officials. Just four years ago, the justices ruled 5-4 that the president has full authority to remove the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. With Amy Coney Barrett now on the court, Trump would likely have six votes in favor of a decision to fire someone like Powell. The president may not be a king, but he is the CEO of the executive branch. As James Madison said in 1789, “If any power whatsoever is in its nature Executive, it is the power of appointing, overseeing, and controlling those who execute the laws.” It’s time to exercise that power to the fullest.

The women of "The View" are very upset with former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California after the Democratic leader criticized President Joe Biden for the Democrats' catastrophic election loss. Pelosi said that Harris might have been more successful as a candidate had Biden dropped out sooner, a common criticism among some Democrats. 'We will never know if the results had been different if there had been an open primary.' Whoopi Goldberg voiced her agreement when Ana Navarro expressed her disdain for Pelosi's comments."Why, Nancy, why? I find this so unproductive, so nasty, so unnecessary. She wants to make sure people know it wasn’t her. She has no blame in this," said Navarro. "I said Biden should have gotten out earlier. I said there shouldn’t have been a primary. Don’t blame me," she said in Pelosi's voice. "I think it’s really unseemly." Pelosi had said Harris might have been able to take her case to the public earlier if Biden had not waited so long to drop out of the campaign. "Look, we will never know if the result would have been different had Biden stepped off earlier," Navarro said. "We will never know if the results would have been different if he had stayed in. We will never know if the results had been different if there had been an open primary." Navarro went on to call on Biden to pardon his son Hunter Biden because President-elect Donald Trump had announced his intention to pardon some of the Jan. 6 rioters. Trump won the electoral college contest and looks to be well on his way toward winning the popular vote as well. The U.S. Senate will go to Republicans and the House of Representatives may also be controlled in the next session, barring a miraculous turn-around in voting. Democrats have been attacking each other and the voters in an attempt to explain how Trump could make historic gains in nearly every part of the country despite their vitriolic attacks. Some have blamed black and Hispanic voters, others blame Vice President Kamala Harris herself while many say racism and sexism are the culprits. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The American people have spoken. Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the Electoral College and popular vote has delivered a clear mandate for transformative change. Now, Senate Republicans need a leader who can work seamlessly with Trump’s expanded coalition of visionary leaders. That leader is Florida’s Rick Scott.The political landscape has fundamentally shifted. Trump’s victory has drawn an unprecedented alliance of talent and innovation: Tech leader Elon Musk, former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, populist champion JD Vance, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have all joined the America First movement. This diverse coalition of problem-solvers needs a Senate leader who shares their bold approach to governance and willingness to challenge conventional wisdom. Scott embodies these qualities.The next Senate Republican leader must be able to translate Trump’s mandate into legislative reality.As a former Florida governor and current senator, Rick Scott has shown the executive experience and political courage that this new era demands. His track record speaks for itself: He turned a $3.6 billion deficit into a surplus, cut taxes 100 times, and created 1.7 million new jobs. Like many in Trump’s coalition, Scott brings real-world business experience to government, having built one of America’s largest health care companies from scratch.Scott’s proposed “Rescue America” plan demonstrates his understanding of what Trump’s expanded base values — the need for fundamental reform of our institutions. While establishment figures recoiled, Scott recognized that an honest conversation about unsustainable government spending and institutional reform aligns with what the American people voted for in this historic election.Critics argue Scott is “too bold” to lead effectively. But Trump’s landslide victory and this unprecedented coalition show that Americans are ready for bold leadership. Scott’s record proves he can govern pragmatically while advancing transformative priorities. Like Musk’s approach to innovation or Ramaswamy’s challenge to corporate orthodoxy, Scott brings fresh thinking to entrenched institutions.Rick Scott’s journey from humble beginnings to business success to political leadership embodies the American dream that Trump’s coalition aims to restore. His rise from growing up in public housing to the Senate demonstrates his understanding of the value of individual initiative and the role limited government plays in creating opportunity.Scott’s ability to work with diverse coalitions while holding firm to core principles makes him particularly suited for this moment. Just as Trump has united figures as different as JD Vance and RFK Jr. in the pursuit of American renewal, Scott has shown he can build alliances while standing strong for conservative values. His business background aligns with Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s entrepreneurial spirit, while his willingness to challenge the establishment resonates with the independent streaks of Gabbard and Kennedy.The next Senate Republican leader must translate Trump’s mandate into legislative reality. Scott has consistently demonstrated his readiness to take on the establishment, whether by challenging Mitch McConnell’s leadership or opposing massive, behind-the-scenes omnibus spending bills. This kind of backbone is essential to work effectively with Trump’s coalition of change agents.Looking forward, the Senate needs leadership that can harness the energy and ideas of these new allies. Scott’s detailed policy proposals reflect his commitment to structural reform — the kind Musk advocates in tech, Kennedy promotes in health freedom, Gabbard supports in foreign policy, and Ramaswamy pushes in corporate governance. In his media appearances, Scott consistently and effectively argues for bold reform while countering Democratic opposition.The challenges America faces demand fresh thinking and bold leadership. The current strategy of reactive opposition and strategic retreats isn’t working. The American people have decisively rejected it. Rick Scott offers a different model: principled leadership unafraid to disrupt the status quo.The choice for Senate Republicans isn’t just about leadership style; it’s about whether the party will rise to this historic moment. The American people have delivered a clear mandate for change, and Trump has assembled a team of innovators and reformers. Choosing Scott would signal that Senate Republicans are prepared to act on this mandate rather than clinging to failed approaches of the past.The time for cautious leadership is over. Scott has demonstrated the vision, courage, and capability to work with Trump’s coalition to bring the change Americans voted for on Nov. 5. Now the question is whether his colleagues are ready to meet this moment with the bold leadership it demands.

Donald Trump has released a 10-point plan to dismantle the deep state during his second presidential term, and it’s everything Americans have been asking for. “Here’s my plan to dismantle the deep state and reclaim our democracy from Washington corruption once and for all,” Trump began in his statement. “First, I will immediately reissue my 2020 executive order restoring the president’s authority to remove rogue bureaucrats and I will wield that power very aggressively.” “Second, we will clean out all of the corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus,” he continued, explaining that “faceless bureaucrats will never again be able to target and persecute conservatives, Christians, or the left’s political enemies.” Trump’s third point is to “reform FISA courts” as they’re “so corrupt that the judges seemingly do not care when they are lied to in warrant applications.” “Fourth, to expose the hoaxes and abuses of power that have been tearing our country apart,” Trump said, noting that he’ll do this by establishing a real “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” that will “declassify and publish all documents on deep state spying, censorship, and corruption.” In his fifth point, he explained that his administration will launch “a major crackdown on government leakers who collude with the fake news to deliberately weave false narratives and to subvert our government and our democracy,” and his sixth point focused on making inspector generals “independent and physically separated from the departments they oversee.” “Seventh, I will ask Congress to establish an independent auditing system to continually monitor our intelligence agencies to ensure they are not spying on our citizens or running disinformation campaigns against the American people,” he continued. Trump also hit on moving “parts of the sprawling federal bureaucracy to new locations outside of the Washington swamp” in his eighth point and banning federal bureaucrats from “taking jobs at the companies they deal with and that they regulate” in his ninth point. In his last point, Trump explained that he plans on pushing a constitutional amendment to “impose term limits on members of Congress.” Glenn Beck of “The Glenn Beck Program” is thrilled with Trump’s plan. “What is possibly objectionable about that? Everybody wants term limits, and he’s going for a constitutional amendment. Everybody wants it except for the people in Congress,” Glenn says. Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Actor Ben Affleck said that Hollywood needed to change how it worked in order to better align incentives for actors and the rest of the business. Part of that criticism is that actors take a big paycheck instead of creative control in order to protect against the threat of cancel culture and other pitfalls of the industry. 'I’m one errant remark away from being canceled, or I’m one movie bomb away from never working again.' In an interview with Deadline, Affleck explained how his venture with his buddy Matt Damon tries to realign incentives to improve the entertainment product being offered to audiences. "Part of what we’ve proposed to artists when they take on a greater responsibility around the movie is that you then get afforded a broader latitude and freedom to tell your story, but it only works when you have people that are really dedicated to it and bring real passion. When you have that, our belief is you’re going to get the best possible results creatively. You’ll have people that, from both a commercial and creative standpoint, care about what an audience experiences." Affleck and Damon founded Artists Equity to let actors invest in the projects they're acting in so that they have a greater stake in their success and participate more in the development process. "We’re all subject to this sort of insecurity in this business. Whether we’re actors or directors or writers, the phone could stop ringing for us," said Affleck. "I don’t know when this might go away," he explained. "I’m one errant remark away from being canceled, or I’m one movie bomb away from never working again, and I’ve got a family and so forth. Naturally, people seek to do what’s in their best interest."He cited his own movie, "Gigli," as an example of when he made millions as an actor despite the movie doing very very poorly at the box office. "I got a big cash payday for that," he said. "Well, it doesn’t feel right in retrospect because they lost money. It wasn’t the biggest money-losing movie in history even though it was the most famous bomb in history, perhaps. Nonetheless, that doesn’t sit right with me."Ironically, Affleck made headlines a decade ago when he vehemently attacked author Sam Harris for offering a criticism of Islam that was politically incorrect and violated Affleck's tender sensibilities. The viral video of Affleck's enthusiastic support of Islamic cancel culture can be viewed on ABC News' YouTube channel. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

One of the best feelings you can get in a building game is when you look down at all you’ve created, taking pleasure in thousands of machines working to bring order from chaos. It’s a feeling you can get in titles like Infinifactory, Factorio, Dyson Sphere Program, or Satisfactory, but one of its purest forms comes in Shapez 2. It's been making waves in early access since August, but now it has just had its price slashed in a sale that should bring it to a much bigger audience. Continue reading Satisfactory style building game Shapez 2 gets biggest ever discount MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best building games, Best management games, Best sandbox games

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