Perryman: “There’s no legal basis for what the president is doing.”
Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman joined MSNBC’s The Weeknight to discuss the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful attempt to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
Since Inauguration Day, President Trump has continued to overreach in his executive authority by removing officials from independent agencies and has attempted to politicize career civil service positions. Democracy Forward has taken legal action to defend the independence of agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, African Development Foundation, and National Transportation Safety Board. We will continue to monitor and take legal action to halt the politicization of independent federal agencies.
Key Perryman Excerpts:
- On Trump’s firing of Lisa Cook: “There’s no legal basis for what the president is doing. Today you saw in the cabinet meeting, he says, America wants a dictator, I can do whatever I want. And the same day, you see a court in Maryland saying, well, you actually can’t sue 15 federal judges — which is what he’s tried to do. So I think that you are going to see the same old, same old. There’s no legal basis for what he’s doing. The American people should be very concerned because the two things that have, in some ways, restrained this administration have been the courts and the markets. And you now have Donald Trump — he’s gone after the courts. The courts are holding up. But it’s a treacherous battle for our team at Democracy Forward and other teams every day. And now you have him headed for the markets and the independence of the Fed. That’s going to hurt every single American, but it’s unlawful. And I think that you’re going to see a really tough fought out legal battle ahead.”
- On the unpopularity of the president’s unlawful actions: “Not a single American in this country’s life is better since inauguration. There’s no concern anymore about working families, about the cost of goods. There’s no concern about the economy. All of those things seem to have totally left the president’s vocabulary, and he just seeks to create one ‘made for TV moment’ after another in order to detract from the fact that his administration is failing, he’s losing popular support, and he’s losing in court. And he doesn’t have the American people behind him. And I think that’s what you see. And then you have the Epstein files, which he continues to want to detract from. Are we going to lose our economy over the Epstein files? I mean c’mon. ”
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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.