It would appear that it's time for a civics lesson for the American people. No doubt you have heard the constant drum beat of complaining from the entrenched bureaucracy and their friends in the propaganda media. We have been told we are suffering through a constitutional crisis especially because Elon Musk is cutting programs and spending without having been elected. Some of you have probably forgotten the lessons you learned in civics while others don't even know what a civics class is. It's not about a car manufactured by Honda just in case you were wondering.

In America we have this document known as the constitution of the United states. It is the basis for all laws in this country. In Article 2 there is a vesting clause which delineates the separated powers of the three branches of the government. With regards to the executive branch all of the power vested to that branch is vested to one person, the President of the United States. The power given to that branch is to implement with care the laws of this country duly passed by Congress. The president is granted the ability to hire people necessary to implement those programs. To put into place mechanisms for implementing and monitoring the laws passed by Congress.

The president has the responsibility and obligation to get rid of personnel or programs that do not align with the Stated purpose of the executive branch. The president does not have the authority to cancel laws. Spending bills are laws passed by Congress. The president does not have the authority to cancel spending that is included in those spending bills. There is a gray area that has not really been discussed much, that being spending authorized by Congress that is beyond the scope of authority given to that body or the federal government in general. But in simple terms the president cannot cancel programs.

What the president can do and is doing upon the advice and counsel of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, is freezing spending that does not appear to be lawful. The president is also firing people who are deemed to be unnecessary to accomplish stated goals or have committed acts of insubordination. When the FBI shreds documents to hide their activities and says they will not obey a direct order from the president, the president has the right to fire them. When the Environmental Protection Agency says they will not comply with a direct order from the president that is also insubordination. They work for him at his discretion. Any one of us would lose our jobs for similar actions in the private sector.

Let's also not forget that the president is the only elected official in the federal government that is elected by the entirety of the American people. So, when the president runs on a specific flat platform to stem the overreach of the executive branch, to cut wasteful spending or unauthorized spending, to cut the graft among the political elite, the president has that moral authority and obligation to follow through upon their promises to the American people. When he says for example that he wants to take back $2 billion granted to a nonprofit established by Stacey Abrams, he has that authority and obligation. For those of you that don't know, Stacey Abrams' nonprofit, Power Forward Communities, was established in January of last year and received $2 billion from the green new deal to implement energy efficiency programs. To date it looks like the only money they have spent is on salaries for those executives running the nonprofit.

Congress has said they must be consulted on the hiring and firing of certain positions in the executive branch. The only authority they are given by the Constitution is to advise and consent on certain cabinet secretary positions. They tried to pass a law that said certain department heads cannot be terminated without prior notice to Congress. The Supreme Court has said in two recent cases that this law is unconstitutional and violates the vesting clause of the constitution. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton often disagreed on issues when founding this nation but were in complete agreement when it came to the authority granted to the president. Donald Trump is doing nothing more than what the law says. He is not only allowed to do but all is also obligated to do.

All this crying about federal employees losing their jobs because of the mean orange man is just an emotional response born of ignorance and hypocrisy. These same people didn't cry when Bill Clinton fired 377,000 federal employees. They scoffed when 14,000 pipeline workers lost their jobs when Joe Biden cancelled the Keystone Pipeline project—an  illegal act by the way. They cheered when Joe Biden told those workers to go get coding jobs. But somehow, they got mad at me when I suggested federal employees losing their jobs could go work construction or in the fields. Now I'm sure understanding history and the Constitution would not change their actions or opinions but at least those of you that have an open mind will now be able to respond with the truth.