Written by Hudson Crozier
What’s happening: Activists and lawmakers are coming up with ways to stop former President Donald Trump from using the U.S. military like a “dictator” if he is reelected, according to NBC News.
- The narrative: The establishment hopes to “foil any efforts to expand presidential power” through the military beyond “constitutional norms,” the outlet reported. This involves, among other things, “preparing to take legal action and send letters to Trump appointees spelling out consequences they’d face.”
Why it matters: In practice, this means Trump’s enemies want to make the military less accountable to the president. Unelected bureaucrats commonly work against the interests of Trump and other conservatives, and the establishment wants to add military officials to its list of political tools. This comes as GOP lawmakers and presidential candidates, including Trump himself, seek to reform the bureaucracy.
- Flashback: Federal agencies spied on Trump’s allies, pursued baseless claims of Russian collusion, coordinated online censorship, failed to investigate Hunter Biden, and made other controversial moves — all during Trump’s presidency. The intelligence community even helped influence a 2020 presidential debate for his opponent.
The trend: The Defense Department has already drifted into partisan territory in recent years, working to fight online “misinformation” since Trump held office. Under President Joe Biden, it has integrated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) materials, critical race theory (CRT), and climate advocacy into its work and declared abortion funding its “sacred obligation.”
- Who’s the dictator? Biden’s Pentagon is accused in court of violating the First Amendment by helping to silence journalists who critique U.S. foreign policy.