February 16, 2025

Sunday, February 16, 2025. Annette’s Roundup for Democracy.

First things first.

Domestic matters.

Important to understand about DOGE.

The Legal Challenges to Elon

Ever since President Donald Trump announced in November that he was creating something called the Department of Government Efficiency — cheekily shorthanded as DOGE — and it would be run by billionaire Elon Musk, it’s drawn intense skepticism and scrutiny.

For starters, a president can’t just create a new federal agency via executive order — that can only happen through an act of Congress. Then what is DOGE? In essence, what Trump did is rename the United States Digital Service — created within the Executive Office of the President under Barack Obama to improve all the federal and executive websites — into DOGE and retooled its mission to hunt down fraud and waste within federal agencies.

Naturally, chaos and uncertainty ensued. What authority does DOGE actually have? Are attempts to gain access to sensitive and classified data from federal agencies legal? And what can be done about it?

Can DOGE even exist?

The short answer is: We don’t know yet. The method of creating DOGE via executive order — and its authority — is the subject of a trio of lawsuits filed Jan. 20, the day Trump returned to the White House.

The three lawsuits — one filed by the progressive consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen, another by the pro-democracy organization Democracy Forward and a third by public-interest firm National Security Counselors — allege that DOGE shouldn’t be considered a federal agency but rather an advisory committee. They argue that not setting up DOGE as an advisory committee violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 which, among other requirements, states that all meetings are public record and that its membership be “fairly balanced” in its points of view.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion to consolidate all three lawsuits, but otherwise, there’s been no movement.

DOGE Attacks the Education, Labor and Treasury Departments

In the meantime, DOGE continues to wreak havoc on the federal workforce. On Monday, personnel with DOGE requested sensitive personal information and financial information from the Department of the Treasury. In response, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit on behalf of two federal unions and a nonprofit organization to block DOGE from accessing the requested Treasury information.

“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” the lawsuit said. “People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his ‘DOGE.’ And federal law says they do not have to.”

Until a federal judge rules on a motion for a preliminary injunction, the DOJ agreed to restrict DOGE Treasury access, save for two DOGE-affiliated special Treasury employees who were granted read-only access to payment records. Shortly after the agreement was reached, one of the DOGE-Treasury employees named in the order resigned after past racist social media posts were discovered.

A similar lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Democracy Forward — on behalf of a coalition of more federal unions — against DOGE to block access to Department of Labor (DOL) data. According to the lawsuit, some DOL staffers were ordered to give DOGE access to whatever they asked for, or risk losing their jobs.

“DOGE seeks to gain access to sensitive systems before courts can stop them, dismantle agencies before Congress can assert its prerogatives in the federal budget, and intimidate and threaten employees who stand in their way, worrying about the consequences later,” the lawsuit said.

Both the plaintiffs and the government struck a similar agreement to the one in the Treasury lawsuit, agreeing to block DOGE from accessing DOL data until a federal judge rules on the case, which is expected to come Friday afternoon.

“DOGE’s sweeping campaign to access highly-sensitive information and unilaterally dismantle federal agencies is unlawful and must be stopped,” Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement. “The Court must not allow DOGE to seize control of the highly sensitive, personal data held within the Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics. We will use every tool available to prevent this hostile takeover of yet another critical federal agency.”

On Friday, Public Citizen filed yet another lawsuit to block DOGE’s efforts to gain access to sensitive Department of Education (ED) data. The lawsuit said that DOGE’s access to information like student loans and financial aid data violates federal law — specifically the Administrative Procedures Act and the Privacy Act.

“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is enormous and unprecedented,” the lawsuit said. “The personal data of over 42 million people lives in these systems. These are people who trusted ED with their sensitive personal information when they filled out the FAFSA and applied for federal student loans and grants, in reliance on the agency’s rules and other representations.” (Democracy Docket).

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World News

Zelensky calls for creation of 'army of Europe' amid US support uncertainty

President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Europe to create its own armed forces amid uncertainty over further U.S. support against potential Russian aggression.

"Let's be clear: We cannot rule out the possibility that America may refuse to cooperate with Europe on issues that threaten it," Zelensky said on Feb. 15 during his speech at the Munich Security Conference.

"Many leaders have talked about Europe needing its own army. An army of Europe. I really believe that the time has come. The armed forces of Europe must be created," Zelensky added.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized European NATO members for not spending enough on defense and said that Washington wouldn't defend Europe in case of Russian aggression.

Following Washington's calls, only Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, some of Ukraine's closest allies, have announced spending increases in the wake of new potential threats for Europe.

During his speech, Zelensky said that defense spending is important, but it is impossible to defend the states with these expenses alone.

"It is no more complicated than standing firm against Russian attacks, as we have already done. But it is not just about increasing defense spending as a percentage of GDP. Of course, we need money, but money alone cannot stop the enemy's advance," Zelensky said.

"Without the Ukrainian army, European armies will not be enough to stop Russia. This is the reality. Only our army in Europe has real, modern warfare experience," he added.

"As we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe's future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe."

Zelensky previously said that Russia was possibly preparing for a major military escalation, potentially targeting NATO countries next year.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky said that Russia plans to deploy 15 divisions, totaling 100,000 to 150,000 troops, primarily in Belarus, a Kyiv Independent journalist reported from the event.(The Kyiv Independent).

One more thing.

In a conversation with the CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour after his speech, Mr. Zelensky also said that Ukraine needed to be at the table at any cease-fire talks, and he asked to meet with President Trump before any meeting that Mr. Trump has with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

“It’s up to them, they can discuss anything they want, but not Ukraine without Ukraine,” he said.

Ursula von der Leyen is a German politician, serving as the 13th president of the European Commission since 2019.👇

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America’s Vice President speaks for Fascism.

Vance Shocks Europe With a Message That He Has Long Promoted at Home.

The vice president’s speech in Munich, expressing support for far-right, anti-immigration parties and criticizing suppression of conservative voices, was a global extension of his core political themes.

Mr. Vance also met with the AfD party’s leader, Alice Weidel, during his visit to Germany, a spokesman for Mr. Vance said.

Mr. Vance had offered tacit support for the party in December when he waded into the social media backlash to a comment from Elon Musk, who posted, “Only the AfD can save Germany.” In his own post, Mr. Vance used his sharp-tongued online persona to mock criticism that Mr. Musk was promoting a dangerous group.

On Friday, Mr. Vance’s embrace of the far-right party was quickly rebuked by the Anti-Defamation League, which said in a statement that it was “deeply concerning” that Mr. Vance appeared to openly welcome a group with “an extremist agenda and a history that includes antisemitic, anti-Muslim, anti-democratic and xenophobic rhetoric.” (New York Times.)

German Chancellor Rebukes Vance for Supporting Party That Downplays Nazis.

At the Munich Security Conference, Olaf Scholz accused the U.S. vice president of unacceptable interference in Germany’s coming elections.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on Saturday accused Vice President JD Vance of unacceptably interfering in his country’s imminent elections on behalf of a party that has played down the atrocities committed by the Nazis 80 years ago.

A day after Mr. Vance stunned the Munich Security Conference by telling German leaders to drop their so-called firewall and allow the hard-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, to enter their federal government, Mr. Scholz accused Mr. Vance of effectively violating a commitment to never again allow Germany to be led by fascists who could repeat the horrors of the Holocaust.

“A commitment to ‘never again’ is not reconcilable with support for the AfD,” Mr. Scholz said at the conference on Saturday morning, in an address opening the gathering’s second day.

Mr. Scholz said the AfD had trivialized Nazi atrocities like the concentration camp at Dachau, which Mr. Vance visited on Friday. The chancellor said Germany “would not accept” suggestions from outsiders about how to run its democracy — or directives to work with such a party.

“That is not done, certainly not among friends and allies,” Mr. Scholz said. “Where our democracy goes from here is for us to decide.”

His speech drew standing ovations, in contrast to Mr. Vance’s speech the day before.

He also suggested that Mr. Trump’s administration was suppressing speech in the United States, after it moved on Friday to kick The Associated Press out of reporting pools and off Mr. Trump’s plane because the news agency refuses to go along with Mr. Trump’s directive to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

“We stick to the rules which are given by our democratic institutions,” Mr. Merz said. “Free speech remains free speech and remains part of our open, democratic society. And fake news, hate speech and offenses remain subject to legal restraints and controlled by independent courts.”
“I think I should say,” he added, “that in front of the events which took place in D.C. yesterday — we would never kick out the news agency, out of the press room of our chancellor.” (New York Times)

One more thing.

Someone afraid to face national leaders in Europe stayed in the States, but he tweeted to back his boy up or to let us know something terrible is coming.

Trump’s words are the words literally an attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte—right before he orchestrated a coup, seized absolute power, and crowned himself Emperor in defiance of democracy.

Scared? Do something!

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One personal favor please.

If you make any reference to Trump on media or social media or in print, please remember to call him a felon.

It seems the truth bothers him.

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See you on Tuesday. Traveling today.

Leaving

Soon

Yes, the first flag is the flag of Barbados.

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