Trump exemplifies the massive hypocrisy of the Republican Party

Trump issues executive order freezing federal workers' pay in 2019

Partly this is just the asshole right's war on government.

But mostly it's the usual revolting hypocrisy of a party committed to slashing taxes on behalf of the rich and corporations and then slashing what those taxes pay for in deference to the plutocracy's preference that its capitalism be as gloveless as it was under McKinley.

"Aw, shucks. The government just can't afford it."

And his claim of statutory authority to do this is almost a big a whopper as his claim that trade is inherently a national security issue, and so he can invoke his legal authority to impose tariffs when national security is involved to impose tariffs ad lib.

Democrats looking for grounds for impeachment, are you paying attention?

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday freezing federal workers' pay for 2019, following through on a proposal he announced earlier in the year.

The move, which nixes a 2.1% across-the-board pay raise that was set to take effect in January, comes as hundreds of thousands of federal employees are expecting to begin the new year furloughed or working without pay because of a partial government shutdown.

Trump told lawmakers he planned to scrap the 2019 pay bump for federal workers in August, saying the federal budget couldn't support it. 

In addition to the 2.1% pay increase, the executive order also cancels a yearly adjustment of paychecks based on the region of the country where workers are posted, called the "locality pay increase," that was due to take effect in January.

The move does not affect a 2.6% pay increase for US troops next year that was passed as part of the massive defense spending bill Trump signed in August.

. . . .

In a letter to House and Senate leaders in August, Trump described the pay increase as "inappropriate."

"We must maintain efforts to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases," the President wrote.

Trump also stressed that a pay freeze would not affect the federal government's ability to attract qualified workers. 

He cited his statutory authority to adjust pay out of "national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare."