It’s tempting to envision a bunch of Biden cabinet members and staffers sitting around, giggling like little girls, thinking of how much more damage they can do before they’re tossed out of office next Monday.
What the Biden crew can do is limited only by their imaginations and the Constitution.
They’ve done so much damage already that it’s hard to catalogue it all. And they’re intent on doing as much — and spending as much — as they can before Jan. 20.
Let’s start with the big stuff. Alejandro Majorkas, Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security, last week issued an order protecting 850,000 illegal immigrants (some of whom are economic immigrants) with 18 months of “temporary protected” status, preventing their deportation.
That order is something that Trump can cancel.
Majorkas blamed the weather in El Salvador for his grant of the temporary protected status to 234,000 illegals from that country. He blamed economic conditions for the order’s inclusion of more than 600,000 “economic immigrants” from Venezuela, some of whom are probably members of the infamous and hyper-violent Tren de Aragua gang.
Some nations, including Venezuela, won’t accept the return of its illegal immigrants, so we’re apparently stuck with them.
Last week, the Maduro regime of Venezuela took two Americans hostage, alleging that they were mercenaries. It’s nonsense, of course, but it’s another mess Trump will have to deal with.
Majorkas also included illegals from Ukraine and Sudan in his order. (Ukrainian refugees’ special treatment expired in November. It probably should be extended.)
Ukraine is another special category. Last week Biden issued an order giving Ukraine another $500 million in military aid under his drawdown authority. A drawdown takes ammunition, weapons, and materiel from our forces and gives it to Ukraine.
This is on top of the $5.9 billion Biden has given Ukraine, in military drawdowns and funding, since the 2024 election. This column has always supported aid for Ukraine, but there has to be a limit especially when our forces are being deprived of weapons and ammunition.
And then there are the terrorist inmates of the Guantanamo Bay facility.
Biden’s military lawyers and judges agreement to a plea deal was upheld last week by a federal court despite Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attempt to cancel them. Austin’s failed revocation followed the overwhelming reactions of family members of 9-11 victims who demanded that the agreements be thrown out.
The plea deals allow for guilty pleas and in return guarantee that terrorist detainees won’t face the death penalty. Among the defendants who made those deals is the alleged “mastermind” behind the 9-11 attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed.
If that weren’t enough, Biden transferred 11 of the Gitmo inmates to Oman last week. Oman borders Yemen and will obviously release the Gitmo 11 (10 are Yemenis), allowing them to cross the Yemeni border and resume their jihad against America.
That action reduced the number of terrorists held at Gitmo to 15. Biden, and Obama before him, have always wanted to close Gitmo and transfer the remaining inmates to U.S. prisons where they will be guaranteed rights, especially the right to a speedy trial, under the U.S. Constitution. Trump can prevent that at least for the remaining 15.
And then there’s Old Joe’s possible preemptive pardons of Trump-haters such as Liz Cheney. The Constitution, in Article 2, Section 2, grants the power of pardons and clemency to the president, except in cases of impeachment. It is the least-limited power of the presidency.
Pardons are not usually granted unless a person has been indicted — and convicted — of a crime. That precedent was broken when President Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor, Richard Nixon, for actions that might have occurred during the Watergate scandal.
Who Biden may yet preemptively pardon for crimes uncharged is yet unknown. He has said that more pardons may be issued but has said that it depends on Trump’s statements in the last days of Biden’s presidency. He said, “It depends on some of the language and expectations that Trump broadcasts in the last couple days here as to what he’s going to do …There’s still consideration of some folks, but no decision.”
Biden can pardon anyone for anything, even preemptively. That, of course, would indicate that the person pardoned needed immunity for their actions. Liz Cheney, for example, has been accused of witness tampering in her pursuit of the January 6th congressional committee’s goals.
What the Biden crew can do is limited only by their imaginations and the Constitution. They have already issued an enormous number of economy-strangling regulations and will probably add more.
President-elect Trump should do several things on his first day in office. As this column has written previously, he should cancel all of Biden’s executive orders — each and every one —by Jan. 21. He can recall many of the regulations that haven’t been imposed yet, at least those which haven’t gone through the rulemaking process, and can act to cancel those which have, though it will take a lot longer to redo the regulatory process.
Biden has left Trump with a huge number of messes that the latter will have to clean up. Around the world, Trump is beset with Biden’s failures and corruption.
Only aggressive action by Trump will correct these failures. As Margaret Thatcher said to George H. W. Bush in 1990, this is no time to go wobbly
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