We are in an Administrative Coup.

This is not a test — it’s not a “Test of the Constitution” or testing the “limits of presidential power.” It’s a fully-fledged coup attempt.

Coup d’état, or coups, are illegal or overt attempts to seize control of a government. You can have a coup by a democratically elected regime.

There are different types of coups:

  • palace coup — in which one faction of the government illegally displaces another faction;
  • putsch — secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government, typically by the military
  • self coup — in which a legally appointed leader tries to stay in government illegally, for example by saying the election is rigged
  • administrative coup (sometimes called a soft group) — illegal overthrow of a government, but achieved primarily without overt violence and relying heavily by claiming powers, intimidation, bullying, extortion, threatening media, and thereby seizing all powers.

We are in an administrative coup.

Actions that constitute this coup include:

  • Reuters reporting that Elon Musk has seized all personnel and payroll records and locked out government workers,
  • The illegal firings of government watchdogs, often in direct retaliation for their oversight of Elon Musk,
  • The seizure of over $3 trillion of our funds in federal funding (“federal freeze”),
  • The unconstitutional attempt to end birthright citizenship (and what media casually call a “test to the limits of Presidential authority”),
  • Suing media and companies to get them to comply and give him money,
  • Overt intimidation of government workers and asking for “loyalty”,
  • The legal but terrifying pardoning of violent insurrectionists — the first time any sitting President has freed thugs who helped them seize power.

These all add up to what Robert Reich describes:

Make no mistake. These initiatives are not about shrinking the size of the federal government. They’re about centralizing control of the federal government in Trump’s hands.

Trump’s attempted takeover of the US government is itself part of a larger strategy to replace American democracy with an oligarchy.

Concentrated power promotes concentrated wealth, just as concentrated wealth promotes concentrated power. The two are symbiotic.

Bernie Sanders described the situation succinctly (or watch him on instagram):

In the first two weeks of his Presidency, Donald Trump defied the constitution — by ending birthright citizenship, fired government watchdogs, allowed drilling along our coastlines, pardoned violent insurrectionists, suspended all foreign aid and tried to cut off virtually all federal funding.

Most importantly, the move toward oligarchy in our country — a government run by the rich and the powerful is proceeding rapidly. And it’s not being done secretly.

The three richest men in America at Donald Trump's inauguration. Pool photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson.

A little over a week ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term standing right behind him were the three richest men in the world (Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg). Men who have become over $200 billion richer since Trump was elected and who are now worth almost $1 trillion — more money than the bottom half of American society, 170 million people.

But it’s not just oligarchy that we should worry about. This country under Trump is moving rapidly towards authoritarianism.

Just a few examples: In violation of the Constitution and federal law, Trump attempted the other day to suspend all federal grants and loans. That means be blocked funding for Medicaid, food stamps, Head start, homeless veterans, etc etc. Tens of millions of Americans, some of the most vulnerable people in our country were impacted by that decision.

Fortunately, Americans all across the country stood up in outrage and say no, no. And with the help of the courts, much but not all of that freeze and funding was rescinded.

You may have noticed that Trump is intimidating the media with lawsuits against ABC, CBS, Meta, and the Des Moines Register.

If Trump does not like what the media reports, he is threatening them with lawsuits and undermining the first amendment. This is a direct movement toward

A range of many people have described this as an administrative coup:

  • Anat Shenker-Osorio: “In case anyone is into definition, what happened this week is an administrative coup. Trump and the broligarchs are refashioning our government to be of, by and for the billionaires.”
  • Joan Donovan, PhD: “This is an administrative coup and it’s been Bannon’s dream for years to grind the administrative state to a halt.”
  • Invisible SF: “Trump’s Administrative Coup Threatens Our Health and Safety”
  • Choose Democracy: “It’s an administrative coup. Trump has ordered tens of billions (maybe up to $3 trillion) of budget halted indefinitely in a blatantly illegal move. He’s claiming power to halt and potentially redirect funding that’s already been authorized by Congress — a classic authoritarian move.”
  • Literary Hub: “How Trump’s Illegal Administrative Coup Threatened Funding for Everything, Including Libraries”