Phyllis Fong, a 22-year veteran of the department, had earlier told colleagues that she intended to stay after the White House terminated her on Friday, saying that she didn’t believe the administration had followed proper protocols, the sources said.
In an email to colleagues on Saturday, reviewed by Reuters, she said the independent council of the inspectors general on integrity and efficiency “has taken the position that these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time”.
You’re under the mistaken assumption that this is a country of laws any more.
Rule of Law is being replaced by Rule of Power
I’m happy she made a stand, and its being talked about. I, like you, doubt anything will really come of it, but it does highlight the change.
She did the right thing by making them force her out
I’m pasting Timothy Snyder’s Twenty Lessons on Fighting Tyranny from the Twentieth Century here.
I think #1 is incredibly important in these dark times. Donald Trump and his cronies can make all the decrees they want, but these decrees depend on people obeying. Any resistance is better than none.
1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.
Beware the one-party state. The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.
Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
Remember professional ethics. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.
Be wary of paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.
Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.
Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.
Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.
Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.
Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the Internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble.
Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay.
Learn from peers in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. Do not fall for it.
Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.
Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.
Just saw this today as well which apparently has recently become very popular for obvious reasons: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26184
It’s a WW2 manual written by the CIA on how to combat Fascism from the inside. As I think was mentioned in another thread, it has a lot of violent action in it as it was written for war time but contains a lot of similar thoughts. Some if it is honestly hilarious: “Jam paper, bits of wood, hairpins, and anything else that will fit, into the locks of all unguarded entrances to public buildings.”
This is also pretty great. It has some modern suggestions:
https://specificsuggestions.com/share/EN/1255.html
Here are a few other sites that are very useful:
https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/how-you-can-protect-democracy
https://www.privacyguides.org/en/
https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/01/23/activists-guide-securing-your-smartphone/
This is amazing. I had never seen this before. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
He also wrote a short book that expands on each of those points: https://timothysnyder.org/on-tyranny/
I highly recommend his substack as well: https://snyder.substack.com/
To be fair, rule of law IS rule of power. Laws are only ever as good as how well they are/can be enforced.
I don’t want to criticize her too strongly because I absolutely think she did the right thing by ignoring the bullshit firing Friday night and going into work Monday, but why isn’t she commenting publicly on this and why are we only finding out days after the fact that this happened?
She could be seeking legal counsel, and their first rule is usually “shut the fuck up” until they get their ducks in a row.
I think that ship sailed when she told her coworkers that she was going to ignore Trump’s illegal order and continue coming into work, at this point more publicity on this is only going to limit what they can do to her
Just because she made a mistake in the beginning doesn’t mean that she should start making more mistakes now.
I don’t think she made a mistake by resisting Trump’s illegal firing order, that’s probably the smartest way to deal with a fascist American empire because it’s not like appeasement or running is any guarantee so you might as well resist, but now that she’s landed on the administration’s radar anyway it would be in her own interest and the country’s to push back publicly. It’s not like they’re going to forgive her for keeping quiet now and the more people who know her name the more political capital it will cost them to go after her.
Non partisan bureaucrats/government workers are important for a functioning government.
Had she come out loudly and vociferously condemning the Trump Administration they would have just accused her of being another partisan making it easier to dismiss her.
I’m sure privately she is pulling no punches. But it’s up to us to be outraged and incensed for them in this case and push the issue. These are people who did their job. Serving the public regardless of who was in power. And we all will be the ones to suffer from these fascists. Not just her.
Except they already dismissed her at that point, any possible influence she could gain by keeping this quiet was already gone
I don’t think that’s very helpful, we need public resistance
My therapist would tell you I’m doing my part and then some
She was doing her job up until the point she failed to keep the public informed about what was happening with their government
Totally agreed, a lot of us are at risk of suffering a lot more than a job loss and security escort
Dismissed her illegally. This is only just the start. And everything she is done at this point has been to strengthen her standing legally. While I don’t think much more unfortunately come of this. There will be plenty of government legal professionals helping and watching closely. Because they know they are being eyed on The Chopping Block as well unless they lick the taint.
If we need public resistance then let’s resist as the public. Calling for a private citizen to do the acts everyone else should be doing is just inane and counterproductive. But normal for so many of the counter productive Palestine shouters. Which help me refresh my memory. I seem to recall that you were one of the very vocal ones. Calling out and condemning people for asking people to vote for Harris against the actual fascist etc. How’s that all working out for you? Palestinians safe?
I’d like you to consider something for me. Perhaps there is more to resistance and pushing back than being loud visible obnoxious and divisive. Sometimes you need to remain a calm, composed. Keep your powder dry and know when and how to fight your battles.
As this is dragged through the courts and litigated. She will be a very sympathetic figure to many. Every time she shows up in the headlines it will reflect badly on this Administration. And because of her behavior she will be a lot harder to dismiss than someone like yourself. But it is absolutely necessary for someone like us to help keep this in the right guys and in the media. To keep people talking about it. They would love for it to be overwhelmed and forgotten amongst the Litany of other offenses.
How is the public supposed to tell journalists what happened in a USDA office this week? Most of us weren’t there.
There’s a lot of news happening all at once. Overwhelming is the goal.
No, we didn’t miss it, it’s only just being reported on today, and even then only because anonymous sources told us about it.
Fong should have made a public statement or held a press conference Monday afternoon raising the alarm on this, fascists have a harder time doing their worst when everyone’s watching and they’re forced to keep justifying their unhinged behavior. If nothing else, she’s already going to be punished like she did this anyway.
Overwhelming journalists too. She made her statement on Saturday.
I don’t see how she could have made a statement Saturday about being physically ejected from her office on Monday
Sorry, I misread or misunderstood something. She announced her intention to stay on Saturday, and was walked out Monday. The news picked it up today, Wednesday.
Like I said, there’s so much going on, and only so many journalists. They may not hear about it from someone at USDA immediately. It’s unlikely Fong would have called them up herself.
Which is where she’s making a mistake with how she’s approaching all of this. I think she’s done better than most just because she did try to resist in the first place, but she needs to stay the course and speak out, if only because she’s already done enough to land on the administration’s enemies list and it will be more difficult for them to do things to her if the entire country is watching.
Every country, no matter the system, is only as just and lawful as those with power enforce it to be. No human system of governance has overcome the problem of crooked individuals using power as they please.
But there is mechanisms in place to remove abusers of power, that also takes non compliance to the law in order for those with power to abuse it. Thanks sen Collins…
That only matters if the people with guns are the ones manning the mechanisms.
There’s still laws, they only apply to us though
Laws that protect but do not bind, and laws that bind but do not protect.
as it has always been.