This reminds me of the time when George W. Bush came out in favor of amnesty during his second term, and all the Democrats were like “wait, what, this is something we agree with”, and it took them about 24 hours to figure out a way to slam Bush for pushing their policy
(SF Gate/Associated Press) A dispute over acts of Congress in 1906 and 1937 has put the Trump administration in court — and into the unusual position of supporting a proclamation by former President Barack Obama.
Contrary to President Donald Trump’s numerous efforts to shred Obama’s legacy, U.S. Justice Department lawyers are in Obama’s corner as they defend his expansion of a national monument in Oregon.
That puts the Trump administration in direct opposition with timber interests that Trump vowed to defend in a May 2016 campaign speech in Eugene, 110 miles (180 kilometers) south of Portland.
However, that opposition may be temporary in a case full of ironic twists that centers on a unique habitat where three mountain ranges converge. It is home to more than 200 bird species, the imperiled Oregon spotted frog, deer, elk and many kinds of fish, including the endangered Lost River sucker.
A federal judge is being asked to consider limits of power among all three government branches. For the Trump administration, the case is about protecting the power of the president of the United States, even if it was Obama who exercised his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 that allows a president to declare a national monument.
During his last week in office, Obama nearly doubled the size of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in heavily forested southern Oregon, to more than 150 square miles (390 square kilometers). Commercial timber harvesting is prohibited in the monument except for ecological restoration, so logging companies and local governments were deprived of revenue from timber that was suddenly placed out of their reach.
Got that? President Trump (and there’s no mention as to whether Trump is personally involved in defending the expansion, or whether this is just the DOJ doing things) doesn’t really care about the environment, he’s just trying to protect the massive expansion of power afforded by his predecessor. Seriously, these people can’t just say “thank you” for protecting the area?
“I don’t see this at all as the administration siding with the environmentalists, but rather doing all they can to shore up presidential power,” said Rhett Lawrence, conservation director of the Sierra Club’s Oregon chapter.
The article does, in fact, highlight that the government lawyers involved are in fact “protecting” presidential power as it was handed to them by the Congress, going as far back as 1937, but, mostly it’s about those suing making the claim.
In December, Trump downsized two national monuments in Utah, following Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s recommendations. Zinke also has urged the president to shrink Cascade-Siskiyou and Gold Butte National Monument in Nevada.
A final irony: Even if Trump’s administration prevails in court in defending Obama’s expansion of the Oregon monument, the president might wind up reducing it.
Really? Provide proof. And this is the kind of thing that makes people not trust the media, when they’re pulling out a crystal ball and making an prognostication. There’s just no way Trump can win. His administration does something which his opposition should agree with, and they still find a way to blast him. It’s like dealing with a crazy girlfriend from one of those crazy girlfriend memes.
