Critics say tyrannical President Donald Trump signed illegal orders

In a move that has sparked widespread outrage and raised serious constitutional concerns, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday, unilaterally targeting seven federal agencies for elimination.

These agencies, established by acts of Congress, include the parent organization of the Voice of America, labor mediation services, and programs dedicated to preventing homelessness.

Critics are calling this action an illegal power grab, one that undermines the rule of law and threatens essential services relied upon by millions of Americans.

This executive order is the latest in President Trump’s ongoing campaign to dismantle the federal government, a campaign aided by his controversial adviser, billionaire Elon Musk, and a shadowy entity known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

The targeted agencies—such as the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness—play critical roles in labor relations, cultural preservation, and economic development.

By seeking to bypass Congress entirely, the president’s order has ignited a firestorm of legal and ethical questions.

“The president’s job is to faithfully execute the laws, not decide which ones he wants to enforce and which to do away with at the stroke of a pen,” said Lisa McCormick, a progressive activist who challenged former Senator Bob Menendez in the 2018 Democratic primary. “The White House cannot eliminate federal agencies that are created by law. Only Congress has the power to change the law. This is tyranny, plain and simple.”

McCormick is calling on Congress to institute impeachment proceedings seeking Trump's removal from office in accordance with the Constitution of the United States.

At the heart of this controversy is Elon Musk’s DOGE, a controversial unit operating outside traditional government oversight. DOGE has already been implicated in thousands of job cuts and program cancellations, many of which have been reversed by federal courts for violating the law.

Musk, who holds no formal government role, has been granted unprecedented access to sensitive government systems, including Treasury payment networks and classified databases. This has raised alarms about potential conflicts of interest and the misuse of power.

“Before our very eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has faced criticism for enabling some of these actions through stopgap spending measures.

Musk, the world’s richest man and a top donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign, has framed DOGE’s mission in ideological terms, decrying what he calls the “tyranny of the bureaucracy” and advocating for the “wholesale removal of regulations.”

Yet, his involvement has drawn sharp criticism from ethics experts, who point to his vast business empire—spanning SpaceX, Tesla, and other ventures—as a source of unavoidable conflicts of interest.

“He may not participate in any United States government matter that has a direct and predictable effect on his financial holdings,” said Richard Painter, former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush. “If he does, he commits a crime.”

The fallout from DOGE’s activities has already reached the courts. The Alliance for Retired Americans and federal employee unions have filed lawsuits to block DOGE’s access to Treasury payment systems, arguing that allowing Musk’s team to handle sensitive data—such as tax refunds and veterans’ benefits—constitutes a gross violation of privacy.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who previously presided over one of Trump’s criminal cases, has granted expedited discovery in a lawsuit brought by Democratic-led states challenging DOGE’s authority.

Meanwhile, federal judges across the country have delivered stinging rebukes to the Trump administration for its lawless purge of federal workers and its handling of January 6 defendants. In Maryland, U.S. District Judge James Bredar ordered the immediate reinstatement of thousands of probationary federal employees fired by the administration, ruling that the terminations violated federal law.

The chaos extends to the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, which Musk reportedly shut down without congressional approval. During a recent cabinet meeting, Musk clashed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the move, further highlighting the billionaire’s outsized influence in the Trump administration.

“In terms of rule of law, we are losing it rapidly,” said Eric Rubin, a retired ambassador with nearly 40 years of service. “Musk and DOGE are intentionally creating hundreds of potential court cases that could take months or years to resolve. But who knows what kind of damage they can inflict before that happens.”

As DOGE continues its unchecked rampage through the federal government, the stakes could not be higher. With access to sensitive systems like Social Security and Treasury payments, the potential for abuse is staggering.

“This is wrong. It’s illegal,” said Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer representing plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits. “You can’t have my data. You can’t have my spouse’s data. You can’t have my kid’s data. That information is too precious.”

McCormick, one of New Jersey’s leading progressive voices, summed it up this way: “Trump’s executive order is not just an attack on specific agencies—it’s an assault on the very foundations of American democracy. By bypassing Congress and empowering an unelected billionaire to dismantle the federal government, Trump is setting a dangerous precedent that could have far-reaching consequences for the rule of law and the rights of all Americans.”

The question now is whether the courts, Congress, and the American people will stand up to this unprecedented power grab before it’s too late.