"I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”)." - President-elect Donald Trump in a statement
It does not appear that a US president can unilaterally create a new government department. This requires congressional authorization to allocate funding and the establishment of the legal framework for the department's responsibilities, scope and oversight.
@w7voa
CORRECTION:
It USED TO BE that no president could "unilaterally create a new government department."
But now that his #SCotUS has placed him ABOVE THE LAW, impossible to impeach (or even INVESTIGATE) for violating the #Constitution b/c it might distract him from his job, there is literally NOTHING he can't now do (and you KNOW he's going to put that to the test EVERY. DAMN. DAY. UNTIL #ScandalFatigue settles in. That's his M.O..)
No, that's not how it works.
A department that's not recognized by law is not a department, period. Any time a department wants to do something, it is asked, where does your department appear in law? And if they can't point to law, the department effectively doesn't exist.
This isn't about being above the law or below the law. The law just doesn't care about departments that aren't in it.
I believe even Trump's people themselves have recognized this and admitted that DOGE isn't a real department.
A president simply has no choice in this.
