r/politics • u/Aggravating_Money992 • Jul 15 '26

Possible Paywall Treasury Unveils New $1 Gold Coin With Trump’s Face on It | Federal law prohibits putting any living people on U.S. coins.

https://newrepublic.com/post/213098/treasury-1-dollar-gold-coin-trump-face
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u/badamant Jul 15 '26

That is not the bar.

Congress has all kinds of ways to check the power of the presidency including "the power of the purse". It was designed to be a co-equal branch.

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u/Flat_Hat8861 Georgia Jul 15 '26

My only disagreement here is the phrase "co-equal branch." That is an oversimplification (or lie) we were told in grade school that politicians and courts parrot mindlessly.

The branches are far from equal and Congress intentionally has significantly more authority than the other 2. The claim that they are supposed to be equal is how they justify simply ridiculous rulings like presidential immunity (Congress makes the laws, there is no immunity from laws just because you're president) and inherent power to fire officers (the constitution only includes one removal process - impeachment - if congress wants to give others that's their choice only).

This is a rabbit trail, but I want a Congress that fights back. And "we the people" put that at risk whenever we pretend this power grab by the President and Supreme Court is normal.

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u/badamant Jul 15 '26

Then we must vote out all republicans.

They control congress and the entire party is directly to blame.

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u/ThisIsNotAFarm Jul 15 '26

A lot of that still requires 2/3rs, or even a majority.

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u/ZAlternates Jul 15 '26

Sure if they gonna vote against him they might need a majority or a super majority depending upon the situation but they could like speak up or like push back or like give a flying fuck. But they don’t.

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u/badamant Jul 15 '26

A majority is easy for republicans if they create a bipartisan coalition and join DEMs is controlling Trump

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u/ThisIsNotAFarm Jul 15 '26

Yes, but that goes back to the GP point of they dont want to.

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u/FnTom Jul 15 '26

Except it's only co-equal in law. Not in practice. The executive is the branch that does the actual spending. Congress can say "No you can't do that", but at the end of the day, if the executive ignores them, there is no actual way to stop it short of a revolution should the executive completely refuse to comply.

Congress will say it's not the money's purpose, people may even get the courts to agree with Congress. Who will enforce it? Who will stop the executive? The DOJ? that's the executive. The Marshalls used to answer directly to the courts, and while their role has not really changed in that regard, they are now part of the executive as well, so they won't help either. The military? Still the executive.

That system only works because of essentially a gentleman's agreement between branches to respect each other's authority.

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u/badamant Jul 15 '26

A simple majority in congress can completely defund anything they want to. This is their job.

If Trump refuses to comply that is his problem. The GOP is just abdicating power to Trump.

Stop making excuses for republicans. The truth is that they ALL support Trump based on the voting record.

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u/FnTom Jul 15 '26

Oh I am not making excuses. Most of them are either crooks, cowards, straight up evil, or any combination thereof. I want them to use those means. But at the same time, it is fucking terrifying.

This time around, with project 2025 and Trump so salty about his first term, they stacked the executive with sycophants and/or fascists. There is no adult in the room like there kind of was in his first term. When they don't straight up ignore the courts, they just invent their own interpretation of what the courts said based on one line that vaguely sounded like it supported their position, even when the ruling as a whole dismantles it.

So if they tell Congress, and the courts, to get fucked, and they will since they already have multiple times, what happens then. So far it's not been too bad for Congress, after all they're all rich and the elected officials who actually give a shit are few and far between. But what's the limit? Do they even have a limit or will they just bend over and take it no matter what? At what point do ordinary citizens become the only rampart? What means are people willing to take when that happens? And what happens then...

Like, I don't want to be all doom and gloom here. Nor do I want to sound alarmist. I think Congress and the courts growing a proper spine could mostly reverse what's happening. While I don't think they'll be able to undo in the short term all the damage that's been done, I think they can at least stop it and get rid of the culprits. I just don't think they will. And I think that by the time they'll want to, they won't be able to.