Carolyn Flowers Mathis

I stand with Ukraine. 🇺🇦🌻🇺🇦 Please MASK. Please get your vaccines regularly. Wife. Navy Mom. Nurse Educator. RN. 🇺🇸♥️🇺🇸 Thank you.

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

“Trump’s power grab over the executive branch is intensifying. Trump seems no longer to care much about electoral consequences. It’s almost as if he doesn’t expect elections to matter because he’s going to do everything he can to make them not matter.”

https://t.co/g3usu8pl5x

[Miles Taylor @MilesTaylorUSA]

Yesterday Donald Trump tripled the size of his personal political army inside the government. Illegally. And almost no one noticed.

Here's what happened:

He signed an order converting ~8,000 of the most senior career officials in government into employees he can fire for any reason, or no reason at all.

These aren't rando's. They're the directors, chiefs of staff, and the people who write the rules or decide who gets federal money, i.e. the lieutenants right below his political appointees.

Until yesterday, they answered to the law. Now they answer to him.

A president normally gets ~4,000 political appointees. People he can bring into government and fire at will. I was one of them at DHS. You serve at his pleasure, full stop -- so if you're gonna speak truth to power, you're prepared to quit (or get fired if he doesn't like it).

The rest of the federal government is PROTECTED from firing if they tell the truth.

But Trump just stripped those protections. Adding 8,000 more people to his personal army. Overnight. Without asking Congress.

With the stroke of a pen, those people now serve at the pleasure of the president. They're "his" people, whether they like it or not.

And the chilling effect is real. An official who can be fired this afternoon for "subversion of presidential directives" (the order's own words) doesn't need to be hand-picked to know what's expected of him or her.

The threat does all the work.

By the way, this order is illegal. The law only lets Trump reclassify jobs when "necessary" in exceptional circumstances. And this blows an 8,000-person hole in the merit hiring / firing system created by Congress.

Without permission, Trump has created a whole new category of stormtroopers inside the Executive Branch.

If this doesn't get challenged in court, you're going to see the U.S. government become a very different place.

Here's the full story: https://t.co/mJzrvzhxGR

[Gianl1974 @Gianl1974]

A truly criminal organization.

[Bruce W. Holsted @depayser]

@hallieshoffner You are from a smart family. Sadly, smart people are not much in demand these days which is why we are where we are.

[WooPigSTL @TulsaRazorback]

@hallieshoffner @Bishop_512 Tom Cotton has forgotten what state he represents.

[runningbeam @runningbeam]

@RalfusJ @hallieshoffner The first part of your statement is also true alone… Tom is a #hypocrite

[AmericaIsBetterThanThis @RalfusJ]

@hallieshoffner Tom prefers the company of men, men who are pedophiles and those who protect pedophiles

[June Deaton🐾 @JuneDeaton1]

@hallieshoffner Well, we know he never shows up in Arkansas unless he wants money.

[The Original Johnboy 🇺🇸 #WPS @johnboy02131989]

@hallieshoffner Nah, he’s going through a mid life crisis right now, because Trump wants out of a war with Iran, and that’s not good for Cottons donors, his real constituents!!!

He’s supposedly from Dardanelles, if I was YOU I would make a clip of yourself talking to locals around here

[Carolyn Flowers Mathis @FlowersMathis]

@WillyMasterson @hallieshoffner @Diana21437163 @PioneerHogwash https://t.co/AVFTsX6Ygk

[Hallie Shoffner @hallieshoffner]

@AlienSteveT Check out my priorities pages on my website https://t.co/QTOaNoPsgo.

[Nancy Morton @BongoJoplin]

@hallieshoffner Good plan Hallie!

[sassenachdarby @sassenachdarby]

@hallieshoffner @GaylaKilts The way Cotton treats constituents is embarrassing. Interns working the phones are juvenile and disrespectful. Their lack of training and preparedness yield unpleasant results for themselves as well as constituents. A good boss would take care of both.

[Hallie Shoffner @hallieshoffner]

They don’t read the bill, but they sure cash the checks. #omnibus #politics

[Hallie Shoffner @hallieshoffner]

Thank you to the over 100 people who came to my birthday party yesterday! My 38th year and every year from now on is in service to Arkansas!

#hallieshoffner #ussenate #arkansas #happybirthday

[THV11 @THV11]

Hallie Shoffner wants to fight for farmers to get Sen. Tom Cotton voted out https://t.co/F9NR9vdcCw

[Bill Madden @maddenifico]

Hallie Shoffner is going to remove the saprophytic toilet fungus that is Tom Cotton from the Senate. Arkansas can do so much better. Let's help Hallie make it happen. 🙌🙏👇

[Hallie Shoffner @hallieshoffner]

Tom Cotton is the version of the Grinch that never has a change of heart, and the people of Arkansas are on the sleigh.

[Hallie Shoffner @hallieshoffner]

If Tom Cotton has the president’s ear, why hasn’t he used it to deliver for Arkansas farmers?