This Ain’t The Apprentice. Stop Calling Them Firings. They’re Purges.

David Kurtz, Talking Points Memo: “There is really no such thing as unilateral mass ‘firings’ or ‘layoffs’ in the federal government, and yet most of the coverage headlines Trump’s purges using exactly those words. Unilateral is the key there. Congress can pass laws to cut funding, to eliminate positions, to zero out programs, but it hasn’t. The president is doing this on his own in contravention of the laws Congress has already passed to fund these positions and to give them civil service protections.”