This Week in Democracy: Week 5 – The 'King' Purges His Generals
Zeteo's project to document the ongoing, week-by-week growth of authoritarianism in the Trump second term.
This week, President Donald Trump put a label on how he sees himself: “KING.”
Between his efforts to consolidate power under the executive branch and his defiance of the Constitution, Trump is certainly acting like a monarch, firing his top generals and claiming he is the law.
We know keeping up with everything Trump, shadow president Elon Musk, and their allies are doing is difficult – and exhausting. But Zeteo has you covered. Here’s a list of the many actions the Trump administration has taken just this week that threaten and weaken democracy, hurt Americans, and either violate or undermine the US Constitution:
Saturday, Feb. 15
In an openly autocratic post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “He who saves his country does not violate any law” – a quote that is sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.
NBC News reported that Trump’s Justice Department has fired multiple immigration judges, even as the court system faces a massive backlog of immigration cases.
Sunday, Feb. 16
Musk said the journalists behind CBS News’ ‘60 Minutes’ program “deserve a long prison sentence” following a segment on the Trump administration’s gutting of the USAID.
Trump falsely claimed in a post on Truth Social that the 14th Amendment, which guarantees birthright citizenship, was specifically written only to give citizenship to formerly enslaved people in the US.
The Washington Post reported that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sought access to sensitive systems at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that contain detailed financial information about taxpayers, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
In Trump’s first appeal to the Supreme Court in his second term, the Justice Department asked the justices to block an order by a federal judge to temporarily reinstate the head of a government ethics watchdog agency that protects whistleblowers, calling the move an “unprecedented assault on the separation of powers.”
Monday, Feb. 17
In a court filing, the White House argued that Musk is not actually an employee or leader of DOGE, but rather a “Senior Adviser to the President.” Just two days later, Trump said publicly that Musk was in charge of DOGE.
In an interview on Fox, border czar Tom Homan confirmed he asked the DOJ to investigate whether Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez broke the law by holding a “Know Your Rights” webinar about constitutional rights when it comes to complying with ICE officials. Ocasio-Cortez later said: “I am well within my duties to educate people of their rights.”
Representatives from Musk’s SpaceX visited the FAA’s command center to review the air traffic control system. The move sparks a possible conflict of interest, as SpaceX’s rocket launches are regulated by the FAA.
A federal judge declined to block DOGE from accessing sensitive Department of Education data systems.
The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration resigned after DOGE requested access to recipient data. Trump later suggested the official had been fired.
Ryan Crosswell became the eighth Justice Department attorney to resign over the Trump DOJ’s attempt to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. In a resignation letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Crosswell wrote that the decision to dismiss the case was "not based on the facts or the law."
More than 900 former DOJ prosecutors wrote a letter warning of the politicization of investigations, writing that federal prosecutors are facing “ethical challenges of a type no public servant should ever be forced to confront.”
Reuters reported that FDA staffers reviewing Musk’s brain implant company, Neuralink, were fired over the weekend.
US news organizations reported that hundreds of high-level employees at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including some who work to prevent Chinese hacking threats to US infrastructure, are set to be fired this week.
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia received a letter from the DOJ accusing him of threatening Musk after the lawmaker called the shadow president a “dick” and said in a Feb. 12 CNN interview, “What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy.”
Vice President JD Vance took to Twitter to call Zeteo’s editor-in-chief, Mehdi, a “dummy” and deny that the ongoing barring of the Associated Press from White House events constitutes a violation of the First Amendment.
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Asked about his administration’s restrictions on the AP, Trump said, “We’re going to keep them out until such time they agree that it’s the Gulf of America.”
Veteran federal prosecutor Denise Cheung abruptly resigned after reportedly declining a Trump administration request to launch a criminal investigation into a Biden-era EPA funding initiative.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the Trump administration from removing a Democrat who served as chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board while the court hears a lawsuit about whether her firing was unlawful.
A federal judge rejected a request for a temporary restraining order to block DOGE from accessing federal data systems at several federal agencies.
Trump signed an executive order to give the White House and the attorney general direct authority over independent regulatory agencies. The order states that the president “shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch.”
The Trump administration cut off legal aid for unaccompanied immigrant children. (The decision was reversed on Friday.)
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from firing 11 staffers from the CIA and the Office of Director of National Intelligence whose work involved diversity, equity, and inclusion projects.
Wednesday, Feb. 19
The Trump administration said the Transportation Department would move to end federal approval for New York City’s congestion pricing program.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the congestion pricing program “dead,” said New York was “saved,” and called himself “the king.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator,” said he has done a “terrible job,” and warned that he “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.” Trump later repeated these comments at a Saudi-backed business conference in Miami.
Interim US attorney for DC and former defense lawyer for insurrectionists Ed Martin opened an investigation into alleged threats against federal employees, including DOGE staffers and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. In an email to his staff, Martin also noted he is investigating Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer for comments he made against Supreme Court justices at a March 2020 abortion rights rally.
Two non-profit organizations asked a federal judge to hold Trump administration officials in civil contempt for defying a court order to lift a federal freeze on foreign aid.
A federal appeals court declined a DOJ request to reinstate Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said the federal government “should govern the District of Columbia,” and added that it “should take over Washington, DC.”
Climate and environmental advocates filed a federal lawsuit against a Trump executive order to reverse drilling protections for millions of acres of offshore federal waters.
Two federal lawsuits were filed against the Trump administration over the DHS’ decision to end temporary protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants in the US.
Thursday, Feb. 20
The Senate narrowly confirmed election denier, Trump sycophant, and right-wing extremist Kash Patel for a 10-year term as FBI director. Patel has pledged to “come after” US media organizations.
At a White House event for Black History Month, Trump asked the audience if he should run for a third term. Later, at a Republican governors dinner, Trump said he’s “not sure” whether it’s true that he can’t run again in 2028.
Trump reiterated his desire for Canada to become the 51st US state, said it can keep its national anthem, and referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “governor.”
A federal judge declined to temporarily block the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers.
Asked about the possibility of prosecuting Joe Biden at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), AG Bondi said that “no one is above the law,” despite the Supreme Court ruling in 2024 that gave presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
Speaking at CPAC, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon falsely claimed Democrats rigged the 2020 election and that Jan. 6 was a “fed-surrection totally set up by the FBI.”
Bannon said the Jan. 6 choir should perform at the Kennedy Center and the “elite” can spend the night in the “DC gulag.”
He also called for Trump to run for a third term in 2028, and he was accused of doing a Nazi salute. (He said it was a “wave.”)
A federal judge declined to hold Trump administration officials in contempt for failing to unfreeze federal foreign aid funding, but warned them not to defy the court order.
A new poll shows nearly 60% of Americans believe Trump has exceeded his authority as president since taking office.
The New York Times reported that the CIA is planning its largest mass firing in nearly half a century.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is planning to disband the governing board of the US Postal Service and absorb the agency into the Commerce Department.
Friday, Feb. 21
Trump fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the head of the Navy, the vice chief of the Air Force, and the top lawyers for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, in what the Times called “an extraordinary Friday night purge at the Pentagon.” Trump fired four-star general Brown, only the second Black American to hold the chairman’s job, via a social media post, and replaced him with a retired three-star general, Dan Caine, who is white.
Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills told Trump to his face that she would “see him in court” after he publicly threatened to cut federal funding to the state if it refused to comply with his ban barring transgender people from women’s sports.
In a Fox interview, Trump said Zelensky “has no cards” and added he doesn’t think it’s important for the Ukrainian president to be at meetings about the future of Russia’s war. He blamed Biden and Zelensky for the Russian invasion, claiming they “said the wrong things.”
Trump repeated his false claim that California “just finished” counting votes from the 2024 election (California’s secretary of state certified the results on Dec. 17). He also falsely claimed votes were still being cast “a week and a half ago.”
Following pressure from the DOJ, a judge took Eric Adams’ trial off the court calendar but declined to immediately dismiss the corruption charges against him.
AP filed a federal lawsuit against White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich, and press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 10 days after the news organization was blocked from covering presidential events.
The acting director of ICE was removed from his role, with the Wall Street Journal reporting the Trump administration is frustrated about the pace of deportations.
Missed the first four weeks? Catch up here.
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Thanks. Your work on this compilation is invaluable.
The only stage of mental/psychological development at which a growing human sees him/herself as boundless "king" is at 2yo, which is exactly the level of development at which Our Mad King 9wannabe) Donald the 1st is stuck, due to a terrifying traumatic abandonment at that age when his mother was suddenly rushed off to the hospital bleeding to death following her 5th child's complicated delivery. This has left him frozen in time and is the basis of his DSM psychiatric diagnosis of "Borderline Personality Disorder", and explains his extreme "rejection sensitivity" and obsession with "loyalty" (guarantees he won't be abandoned again). Also, he exhibits the traits of sociopathy, narcissism, impulsivity, grandiosity, sadism, splitting, paranoia, projection, identification with aggressors, regression, and others. He is deeply mentally ill and very dangerous, as any fool can see. He, also, demonstrates the features of Bipolar type 2 and ADHD. So, our baby "king", as best illustrated by a huge baby blimp with the obvious physical features of Our Mad King carried in demonstrations against his reign in Europe during his first reign. Simply Google "the baby Trump balloon".