Britany Riley ,  //  4/19/17  //  Daily Update

An Emoluments Clause suit against President Trump adds two new plaintiffs claiming his conflicts of interest have cost them business. The President signed an executive order that directs federal agencies to review employment immigration laws to promote “Hire American” policies. A miscommunication led the White House to announce that an American aircraft carrier was sent into the Sea of Japan when it was actually in the Sundra Strait. And amidst discord among officials, the Administration postponed a major meeting to discuss the future of the Paris climate agreement. 

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The amended complaint in CREW’s Emoluments Clause suit adds two new plaintiffs claiming President Trump’s foreign interests have cost them business (Bloomberg, NYT, The Hill,  CREW).

• The amended complaint can be found here.
• DOJ's claim that this is a political question unfit for federal courts is wrong, argues Joshua Matz at Take Care.  
• The plaintiffs can show an actual harm, strengthening their standing arguments, explains Jed Shugerman at Shugerblog.
• But the new plaintiffs may also add new standing issues, suggests Andrew Hessick at Notice & Comment.
• The amended complaint includes allegations relating to Trump's Chinese trademark (The Hill).
• Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio is now part of the emoluments litigation (NY Post).

The Emoluments suit could force President Trump to finally reveal his tax returns, notes Jennifer Rubin (Washington Post).

• But the tax returns would present an incomplete picture of the President’s financial dealings (NPR).
• Neil Buchanan (Dorf on Law) suggests Democrats can score political points by refusing to negotiate on the President’s promised tax reforms unless he releases his own taxes.

President Trump claims his growing hotel empire presents no ethical conflicts of interest, but a failed deal in Georgia indicates some business partners are unconvinced (Forbes).

Ivanka Trump’s continued business dealings abroad may also violate the Emoluments Clause (NYT). 

IMMIGRATION

President Trump signed an executive order that directs federal agencies to review employment immigration laws to promote “Hire American” policies (NYT).

• This could lead to curbs on foreign workers in the United States, notes the New York Times.
• Read background briefing on the executive order here.

Senate Democrats released a report stating that President Trump’s proposed border wall could cost three times estimates (NYT).

• Read the report here.

The Ninth Circuit held oral argument in Jenny Flores v. Jefferson Sessions, III, a case determining whether unaccompanied minors in Health and Human Service detention and removal proceedings should be entitled to receive bond hearings

CIVIL RIGHTS

It is surprising that Republican lawmakers are defending the move to repeal the FCC’s privacy rules for internet providers, argue Jeremy Gillula and Kate Tummarello on Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The ADA Education Reform Act, which would place the burden of identifying wheelchair accessibility barriers for businesses on people with disabilities will thwart, rather than improve, compliance with the ADA, argues Eve Hill on Take Care.

DEMOCRACY

The special election in Georgia to fill the seat vacated by now Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price may indicate an anti-Trump tide, reports the New York Times.

• President Trump tweeted that Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff “would be a disaster in Congress” (Politico).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

A miscommunication led the White House to announce that an American aircraft carrier was sent into the Sea of Japan as a deterrent signal to North Korea when it was actually in the Sundra Strait (NYT).

Vice President Pence assured Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the United States stands “100 percent” behind Japan in working to defuse risks from North Korea’s nuclear program (Associated Press).

President Trump has yet to nominate a State Department official responsible for diplomatic security, a shocking omission after making the 2012 Benghazi attack a centerpiece of his campaign against Hillary Clinton, argues Austin Wright in Politico.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions penned an op-ed in USA Today in which he states that violent crime is surging in American cities and argues for proactive policing

• Sessions’ view is contradicted by a report by the Brennan Center for Justice suggesting crime rates have dropped dramatically and remain near historic lows.

The new Enigma Labs Sanctions Tracker helps visualize and contextualize changes to U.S. sanctions programs.

REGULATION

The Consumer Finance Bureau is an embattled progressive defender against big banks and lenders, claims Gary Rivlin (NYT).

A proposed amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act places unfair burdens on those seeking public accommodations, argues Eve Hill at Take Care.

Claims of an Affordable Care Act death spiral are greatly exaggerated, argues Scot Lehigh (Boston Globe).  

Amidst discord among advisers, Trump administration officials postponed a major meeting to discuss the United States’ future in the Paris climate agreement (Politico).

• Several key advisers are urging the President to abandon his campaign promise to leave the agreement (NYT).
• Jean Chemnick and Evan Lehmann (Climatewire)describe the key players in the administration at odds over the issue.
• Brad Plummer (Vox) discusses the implications of remaining in the agreement.

The Trump Administration is undermining climate change data and research, argue Leah Litman and Helen Klein Murillo in Part Three of the Information Wars Series at Take Care.

• Obama administration Department of Energy officials attempted to highlight and encourage continuation of the agency’s climate change achievements, but to no avail (Climatewire).  
• Energy Secretary Rick Perry called for a study on the impact of renewable clean energy on coal and nuclear power plants (Climatewire, Greentech Media).

And that's our update today!  Thanks for reading.  We cover a lot of ground, so our updates are inevitably a partial selection of relevant legal commentary.  

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