It’s April 1, but this post is not a joke. I think we have BINGO. Or maybe we don’t. I think it depends on your perspective…
There have been 103 Executive Orders signed since January 20th. Not all of them can be acted upon immediately. Congress has power over some of them. For the EOs that have been acted upon, there are legal challenges. And then there’s DOGE out there strong-arming themselves into places and taking actions that are murky and rushed.
So let’s take the card a square at a time and go through as rationally as possible. This is going to change up the landscape a bit so I have made Red circles are definite stamps. Grey ones are things that are in progress, under dispute, or likely to come soon.
- Reduce corporate tax rate
- No. Corporate taxes are still 21%
- Maybe? there are plans in the Senate to propose corporate tax cuts in their spending bill.
- Abolish the FTC
- No. The FTC is still intact
- Maybe? The FTC’s cousin, the CPFB, is been DOGE’d and it looks like the FTC will be next.
- Citizenship question on census
- No. There is no citizenship question on the sensus.
- Maybe? It’s expected to be raised and go to court.
- End Department of Education
- STAMP IT. We can call the defacto end of the organization as its key activities have been shunted off to SBA and HHS.
- Maybe not? Technically, Congress has to agree to close the department.
- Allow drilling on public land
- STAMP IT. All of the previous protections in Executive Orders were rescinded on January 20th.
- Privatise weather service
- No.
- Maybe? DOGE’s dive into NOAA makes this a likely outcome.
- Appointees without Senate approval
- No. So far appointees have been Senate approved, but…
- Maybe? There are roles where “acting directors” were appointed while permanent positions are approved. Also DOGE, headed by Elon Musk, is a far-reaching, high level program impacting the Federal government across the board. It has no legislative approval, no oversight, and its work is not visible to the public.
- Defund NPR
- No.
- Maybe? DOGE is on the case and there have been bills proposed to cut funding
- New immigration agency
- No.
- Maybe? Looks liek DHS is getting a makeover in the near future.
- Ban Tik Tok
- STAMP IT It’s banned but on a pause.
- Maybe? We’ll find out on 4/5 what happens next.
- Fire bureaucrats
- STAMP IT. Schedule F + DOGE activity has gutted many departments.
- Ban porn
- No. State level activities, but nothing Federal
- Remove LGBTQ+ protections
- STAMP IT. Many EOs and DOGE actions have rolled back protections
- Nuclear Armament
- No.
- Maybe? The “Golden Dome” will boost the nuclear arsenal.
- Mass deportation
- No. Despite a lot of EOs, mass deportation hasn’t begun
- Maybe? It’s on the cards and there is an increase of illegal detentions and deportations.
- Restructure income tax
- No.
- Maybe? There’s a tax reform section in the Senate spending bill.
- Limit Medicaid
- No.
- Maybe? Budget proposal reduces Medicaid spending and introduces work requirement
- Use military for policing
- STAMP IT. Authorization for greater use of the National Guard at the border and in cities experiencing unrest
- National abortion ban
- No. States are setting their own rules.
- Ban Affirmative Action & DEI
- STAMP IT. Numerous programs have been cut and DEI terms erased from government websites and documents
- Exit United Nations
- No.
- Maybe? Various EOs have targets withdrawal from various UN agencies: WHO, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNRWA
- Don’t say Climate Change
- STAMP IT. Climate change is being scrubbed from websites and publications.
- Defund transit agencies
- No.
- Maybe? DOGE is hitting public transit project budgets
- Implement tariffs
- STAMP IT. On-again, off-again tariffs have started a trade war.
So we have BINGO now in 8 directions if you count the Maybes. If you eliminate the maybes, we are 2 stamps away in 5 different directions.
Let’s see what the rest of this month brings. We reach 100 days on April 30th. The game is almost over…
