Donald Trump and his allies are following the fascist playbook to the letter, with plans to undermine democratic checks and balances and "reshape the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands," reports The New York Times.
If Trump wins the election, independent agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission would come under direct presidential control. Trump would also purge intelligence agencies, the State Department, and defense bureaucracies of officials Trump calls "the sick political class that hates our country."
As reported in The New York Times:
He wants to revive the practice of "impounding" funds, refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated for programs a president doesn't like — a tactic that lawmakers banned under President Richard Nixon.
He intends to strip employment protections from tens of thousands of career civil servants, making it easier to replace them if they are deemed obstacles to his agenda.
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"What we're trying to do is identify the pockets of independence and seize them," said Russell T. Vought, who ran the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump White House and now runs a policy organization, the Center for Renewing America.
