Ian Eppler, Christina Ford  //  8/16/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump reverted to his earlier statement on Charlottesville, saying “both sides” are to blame for the violence. California is joining the city of San Francisco in its sanctuary city suit against the Trump Administration. The Justice Department is demanding information on visitors to a website used to protest President Trump’s inauguration. The Congressional Budget Office concluded that President Trump’s proposal to cut cost-sharing reduction payments to health insurers under the Affordable Care Act would increase premiums and the federal deficit.

CIVIL RIGHTS

President Trump reverted to his earlier statement on Charlottesville, saying “both sides” are to blame for the violence (NYT, CNN).

• You can read a statement of President Trump’s comments here.
• More CEOs have resigned from Trump’s manufacturing council in protest of President Trump’s response to Charlottesville (WSJ).
• President Trump has criticized the CEOs who have resigned from the council as “grandstanders” (Los Angeles Times).
• Commentators continue to speculate what President Trump meant by his “many sides” remark (NYT).
• David Duke thanked President Trump blaming the violence in Charlottesville on the “alt-left” (The Hill).

IMMIGRATION

California is joining the city of San Francisco in its sanctuary city suit against the Trump Administration (NYT).

• You can read the statement from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra here.

DEMOCRACY

The Justice Department is demanding information on visitors to a website used to protest President Trump’s inauguration (NYT, Slate).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The Trump Administration continues to lack a coherent strategy on North Korea (The Hill).

The standoff between President Trump and North Korea offers a test case on Presidential War Powers, writes Deborah Peterson at Just Security.

Especially in light of Charlottesville, the threat of unauthorized private military groups must be taken seriously, writes Philip Zelikow at Lawfare.

The Justice Department has blocked the DEA from conducting research on marijuana, among other standoffs (WaPo).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Current Emoluments Clause lawsuits may have erred in naming President Trump in his official capacity as a defendant, rather than in his personal capacity, writes Seth Barrett Tillman at Notice and Comment.

REGULATION

The Congressional Budget Office concluded that President Trump’s proposal to cut cost-sharing reduction payments to health insurers under the Affordable Care Act would increase premiums and the federal deficit (Health Affairs Blog, NYT, WaPo).

• The CBO’s analysis is available here.
• States can fund cost-sharing reduction payments on their own if the federal payments are terminated, notes Steven Chen at Health Affairs Blog.
• The Trump administration’s behavior has already led to increases in insurance premiums, writes Steven Rattner at the New York Times.

The Environmental Protection Agency is likely to loosen Obama-era regulations on water pollution from coal power plants (The Hill).

The administration will also rescind an Obama-era executive order requiring that plans for federally funded infrastructure projects take into account the potential impact of climate change (NYT, The Hill).

The Trump administration’s changing positions on regulatory issues puts career Department of Justice lawyers in a difficult litigating position, writes Dan Froomkin at ACS Blog.

Plans to review marine sanctuary designations may have an effect on rare species of fish, write Claire O’Neill and Matt Ruby at the New York Times.

CHECKS & BALANCES

The Trump administration’s judicial appointments are likely to have a particularly significant impact on Texas, with 13 current federal judicial vacancies in the state, writes Kevin Diaz at the Houston Chronicle.

FEDERALISM

There are many opportunities for states and local governments to act to protect the environment, writes Dan Farber at Legal Planet.

State attorneys general are stepping up to enforce labor laws in the Trump era, note Sharon Block, Terri Gerstein, and Jim Tierney at ACS Blog.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Trump campaign advisors repeatedly attempted to set up meetings with Russian officials (WaPo).

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation should be supplemented by rigorous Congressional investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, argue Danielle Brian and Faiza Patel at The Hill.