Unfortunately, there are some things Trump can't do, even if he says he can

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Start with unrealistic promises that have proved impossible:

Then there’s the legally impossible, at least in the opinion of two conservative, pro-Trump commentators I’ve always found to be sound.

Legal Insurrection: Trump Wants to Revoke Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status

The IRS can revoke Harvard’s status, not the president. Even then it has specific criteria to revoke tax-exempt status.

“The IRS has strict criteria to follow to revoke tax-exempt status. Despite Harvard becoming an antisemitic cesspool…it’s not on the list:

  • Private Benefit/Inurement: Activities cannot serve private interests or certain individuals. It has to serve the public. Income and assets cannot benefit insiders.

  • Lobbying: These “activities cannot be more than an insubstantial part of its overall activities.”

  • Political Activity: No electioneering. None.

  • Unrelated Business Income: Earning too much income from unrelated activities that aren’t related to the organization’s exempt purpose. The IRS said, though, “there are some modifications, exclusions, and exceptions.”

  • Annual Reporting Obligation: Must fill out one of the Form 990 series every year.

  • Operation in accord with stated exempt purposes: Don’t deviate from the purpose given on IRS form for exemption.

“I’ve seen people point to H.R.2676, the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, but after reading it, I found that it specifically states that no federal official can tell the IRS to investigate a taxpayer to increase trust in tax enforcement.”

The next one is equally disappointing, even if the effect would be pretty much insignificant except as a message:

John Hinderaker, powerLine:

Goodbye to NPR and PBS?

Yesterday, President Trump issued an executive order to the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, directing the Board not to fund National Public Radio (NPR) or the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The order makes the policy case for defunding these organizations, with which I agree. One should note, however, that NPR and PBS, as well as their local affiliates, receive only a small percentage of their revenue from the federal government, so they will continue to operate regardless of Trump’s order.

This order, like several others Trump has issued, raises the issue of how control over spending is divided between Congress and the President under Articles I and II of the Constitution.

Trump’s argument would be that he runs (under Article II, he is) the Executive Branch, and therefore he can direct the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as to how to spend its money. In this instance, his order functions much like a line-item veto–a power which, I believe, most governors enjoy, but which the President has not traditionally been viewed as possessing.

One obvious question is, has Congress specifically authorized money to go to NPR or PBS? I searched the 2025 federal budget for references to the Corporation, and found this:


While I am no expert on the federal budget, it appears that Congress has simply allocated money to CPB and left the distribution of that revenue to CPB’s discretion. That supports the idea that the President, as head of the Executive Branch, can direct the CPB’s Board not to fund NPR and PBS. On the other hand, the vast majority of CPB’s spending goes to NPR and PBS, and Congress obviously intended that it do so when it appropriated around a half-billion dollars to CPB for the current fiscal year.

It remains to be seen how the Supreme Court will ultimately sort out the constitutional issues relating to spending. Remarkably, in our more than 200-year history the Court seems not to have resolved the questions surrounding this important subject. (Contrary to what is sometimes alleged, in the Train case the parties apparently never made any constitutional claims, and the Court did not address any constitutional issue.) Intuitively, I think the President’s position will be strongest when he withholds or redirects spending because fraud or waste have been uncovered in a federal program, and weakest when he simply disagrees with a policy that Congress has adopted–here, funding public radio and television.

Shocker of the day — well, the afternoon, at least

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Shot: 

California’s high-speed rail leaders sound alarm over project’s financial future.

As California’s High-Speed Rail Authority awaits word from the Trump administration over its future support for the train, leaders who oversee the project sounded the alarm about its financial viability.

The authority’s board of directors voted Thursday to approve contracts for the development of Central Valley station designs and to solicit and approve construction bids for the Fresno station. Ahead of the votes, board member James Ghielmetti raised concerns over the potential loss of funds from the Department of Transportation and the risk of moving forward on payment commitments when federal funding is in jeopardy.

“I’m very nervous about receiving the federal funding,” Ghielmetti said. “I want to make sure my fellow board members are aware that if the federal money does not come through, somebody’s got to backstop these contracts.”

—The L.A. Times, yesterday.

Chaser:

They’re right to be worried panicked this time:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy Announces Review of California High-Speed Rail Project

Thursday, February 20, 2025

WASHINGTON – Today, at the direction of Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) initiated a review of the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). This review will help determine whether roughly $4 billion in taxpayer money should remain committed to the proposed project to build high-speed rail in the California Central Valley between Merced and Bakersfield.

The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion. Today, the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone would cost more than the original total. The latest estimate for San Francisco to Los Angeles is $106 billion — more than three times the original cost estimate.

….

As recently noted by the California High-Speed Rail Office of the Inspector General, just the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment has a funding gap of at least $6.5 billion. That gap remains despite California being due to receive over $4 billion from the Biden Administration. The CHSRA Inspector General also found that even this limited project, with barely 2 million in annual projected ridership because it fails to connect California’s larger cities, is unlikely to be completed by 2033.

In March of 2023, the CHSRA Peer Review Group, charged with evaluating CHSRA’s funding plans, reported an “unfunded gap of $92.6 billion to $103.1 billion between estimated costs and known State and Federal funding” for the San Francisco-to-Las Angeles connection. Given the red flags raised about this project, FRA will investigate the delays and cost overruns through a compliance and performance review.

Oh, dear; so sad

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“Time’s up!”

PROMISE?! The Economist Says the UN Could Run Out of Money IN MERE MONTHS

“Last year the UN had a $200m cash shortfall, despite spending only 90% of its planned budget. This year will be much worse. Internal modelling suggests that the year-end cash deficit will, without cuts, probably blow out to $1.1bn, leaving the UN without money to pay salaries and suppliers by September.”

Bonus Material: Painted in the (60s?), seen and snapshot taken in a Catholic meeting hall in the 90s

So you're on your third wife, and reasonably happy, but what do you do with wives one and two? Where do you put them? The answer is coming.

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Just about to hit the market, 29 Taconic Road will offer three houses on 5.4 un-subdivisible acres, all for $5.395 million. (Part of ) the main house was built in 1751 and, although the interior pictures aren’t up yet, it looks fabulous. And it’s a much quicker trip to town now than it was back then.

Pending on Taconic

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26 Taconic Road, asking $6.950 million, pending after 15 days. It’s a good house: Alex Kaali-Nagy designed and built it in 2007 and put it on the market that year for $7.895 million. That was exactly the wrong time to enter the Greenwich market, and so it didn’t sell. Nagy ended up renting it to his brother, and when that arrangement eventually ended, the house was entirely renovated and put back up for sale in September of 2013, priced at $5.950. The market was still slow, so clients of mine — the present owners — were able to pick it up for $4.850 in March 2014. I thought we got a good deal, and still do. As I say, it’s a great house.

Well, of course he did

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A transgender swimmer obliterated the competition while winning five races at a recent national championship meet — which a high-profile critic likened to a “real-life South Park episode.”

Ana Caldas dominated the five individual events she [sic] entered in the women’s 45-49 age group division in the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship last weekend in San Antonio, Texas.

[Question: can a 25-year-old male also self-identify as a 49-year-old woman, or is biological age immutable? Asking for a friend]

The swimmer — who was born biologically male — smashed other competitors in the 50- and 100-yard breaststroke races by a whopping four seconds.

In the 100-yard freestyle event, he finished three seconds ahead of the next swimmer.

Footage circulating on social media showed Caldas far ahead of the women in his category as he easily secured one of his many gold medals — quickly sparking outrage.

“He won them all,” collegiate swimming champion and women’s rights activist Riley Gaines tweeted, refusing to use Caldas’ preferred pronouns.

Another activist, Beth Bourne, ripped Caldas’ medal tally as “insanity.”

“Anyone who competes in swimming at the national level knows this is unheard of in a 50-yard race where wins are often measured in a tenth or a hundredth of a second,” Bourne said in an X post.

Meanwhile, an Independent Council on Women’s Sports spokesperson told Reduxx that Caldas’ wins were “absolutely insane” — especially for sprint races.

“He’s just laughing at these women,” the rep said.

And why shouldn’t he?

Originally from Portugal, Caldas studied in Scotland where he participated in the Scottish Open Short Course National Championships as "Hugo" before moving to the United States to finish his graduate studies while participating on the Ohio Splash swim team (a gay swim club). https://swimscotland.co.uk/meets01/sc01meet.htm

More sales (Updated)

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19 Bayside Terrace, Riverside. Listed @ $1.850 million, sold for $2.035.

22 Oak Drive, Riverside, never listed on the MLS, has sold for $5.450 million.

UPDATE — Add one more:

(Listed and under contract in February, you’ll — probably — notice)

22 Oval Avenue, listed at $2.850 million, closed today at $3.230. NYC (10010 Zip) buyers.

I have a better idea: save taxpayers your salary and just quit, you grubby little publicity hound

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“you’ll wait your turn, god damn it, and that time has not come!”

Connecticut has filed over a dozen lawsuits vs. Trump. Now more money is needed

William Tong's office has joined more than a dozen lawsuits against President Donald Trump's administration in recent months.

Now, the Connecticut attorney general is asking for help funding them.

Speaking to reporters this week after a news conference about Trump's first 100 days in office, Tong said he has asked legislators to allocate his office more money so he can continue aggressively fighting the president's agenda.

"I need as much help as I can get," Tong said. "It's a deluge, a nonstop avalanche of work."

…. Tong's office has been busy since Inauguration Day in January, joining other states in a slew of lawsuits that have helped block restrictions on birthright citizenship, blanket freezes on federal spending, cuts to medical research, the cancellation of public health grants and more.

Tong's most recent lawsuit, announced Tuesday, seeks to block the Trump administration from imposing deep cuts on AmeriCorps, which coordinates volunteer work nationwide.

Altogether, Tong said his office has filed "12 or 13" lawsuits against the Trump administration, an average of nearly one per week.

Tong explained Tuesday that blue-state attorneys generals coordinate their efforts so that offices take on different roles in different lawsuits. Connecticut, for example, has taken the lead on a case to protect Social Security from "unlawful layoffs and mismanagement."

Tong said his office is in court in each case and that he personally has attended proceedings several times, including for cases involving birthright citizenship and the Department of Government Efficiency. He plans to attend arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on May 15 in the birthright citizenship case, he said.

It has helped, Tong said, that other like-minded attorneys general, such as in New York and California, have much larger offices, with hundreds of attorneys available to work on suits. Still, he said he'd like Connecticut to do more.

“Do More”? Beginning the day he was sworn in as state Attorney General, Tong has been desperately positioning himself to occupy Dick Blumenthal’s Senate seat the instant that old fraud finally hangs up his Depends and returns to Greenwich. To that end, Tong has joined as a “me-too!” participant every available multi-state lawsuit against anyone and anything. His office’s role is de minimis, but it allows him to issue a flood of announcements to the press, every day, pounding his diminutive chest and proclaiming, “we’re doing … well, we’re doing something!”

You can find a full collection of 7 years of this badling’s publicity efforts on his press release website. Here are just a few items culled from 15 pages of such announcements from just 2019 alone. For this he demands a still-larger budget? Screw ‘im.

  • Attorney General Tong Announces $3.1 Billion Settlement with Walmart over Opioid Epidemic Allegations

  • Attorney General William Tong today announced that Connecticut has reached a settlement with Walmart to resolve allegations that the company contributed to the opioid addiction crisis by failing to appropriately oversee the dispensing of opioids at its stores. The settlement will provide more than $3 billion nationally and will require significant improvements in how Walmart's pharmacies handle opioids. State attorneys general on the executive committee, including Connecticut, attorneys representing local governments, and Walmart have agreed to this settlement, and it is now being sent to other states for review and approval.

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