Derek Reinbold  //  8/23/17  //  Daily Update

The President may be considering pardoning controversial former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio. The Trump Administration is also reportedly considering providing legal protections for DREAMers who entered the country illegally as children. And Take Care's book symposium on Congress's Constitution continues.

SYMPOSIUM 

This week, Take Care is hosting a symposium on Congress's Constitution—an important new book by Josh Chafetz. Contributors will assess Congress's role in the separation of powers, with a focus on developments thus far under President Trump. 

• A round-up of the posts is here.
• Julia Azari asks whether members of Congress create their own narrative, or are doomed to react to Trump.
• Congress should advance a robust administrative separation of powers, using forceful bureaucracy to check the President, argues Jon D. Michaels.

IMMIGRATION 

The White House is considering offering protection to young people who entered the United States illegally as children, a step that would contradict a major campaign promise (McClatchy). 

President Trump’s visit to Arizona includes a meeting with Border Patrol officials (NY Times).

President Trump may pardon Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona law enforcement officer convicted of contempt of court, by sidestepping  the normal process (Daily Beast).

• Arpaio’s record shows that a pardon would amount to “a miscarriage of justice,” argues Brian Tashman at the ACLU.  
• Pardoning Arpaio would provide support to the former sheriff’s unconstitutional actions, writes Representative Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) at The Hill. 

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has taken into custody almost 60,000 people in the first five months of the Trump administration (Crimmigration).

• A release of data from the Executive Office of Immigration Review also shows an increase in orders of removal, voluntary departures, and final decisions under the Trump administration (ImmigrationProf Blog).

DEMOCRACY  

The U.S. Senators who voiced opposition to President Trump’s Charlottesville response must match their rhetoric with action against a Court of Federal Claims nominee, argues Kyle Barry at ACSblog.

The rise of “cheap speech” through the internet is endangering American democracy, argues Richard L. Hansen at the Los Angeles Times.

JUSTICE & SAFETY 

President Trump’s commitment of additional troops to Afghanistan will focus on regional cooperation and results rather than a strict timeline (AP). 

• President Trump initially showed strong opposition to increasing  troop levels in Afghanistan, but continued pressure from the generals in his Cabinet changed his mind (NY Times).
• Senator Rand Paul urges the United States to end the conflict in Afghanistan altogether at The Hill. 
• Travis Evans at Cato takes a look at conservative scholars’ opinions of the new Afghanistan policy. 

The Treasury Department has placed sanctions on Chinese and Russian individuals and firms that have allegedly supported North Korea’s nuclear program through their business with the country (WaPo).  

The Secretary of Defense has a legal duty to follow presidential orders even if those orders are unwise or dangerous, explain Sarah Grant and Jack Goldsmith at Lawfare.  

The United States embassy is severely curtailing its visa services in Russia in response to the new limits on U.S. diplomats allowed in the country (WSJ).  

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley says that President Trump has not decided what next steps to take on the Iran nuclear deal (WaPo). 

Federal prosecutors are also taking steps to target Chinese firms that are financially aiding the North Korean government (WSJ).   

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has decided to withhold $195 million in military assistance to Egypt over human rights concerns (WaPo).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST 

Louise Linton, wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, touted her wealth on Instagram, posting a photo of her stepping off an Air Force plane; responding to backlash, a Treasury spokesperson said: “The Mnuchins are reimbursing the government for [Linton’s] travel” (CNN).

• On Twitter, Susan Hennessey questioned why Mnuchin, unlike prior Treasury Secretaries, was flying a private government plane on a domestic trip, and linked to Federal regulations on the subject. 

REGULATION

Cutting ACA subsidies won’t cause the demise of Obamacare, it will lead to an expansion of the federal social safety net, writes Wendy Epstein at Bill of Health, breaking down a new CBO analysis. 

Nobody should escape accountability for breaking the law—the CFPB’s arbitration rule restores consumers’ legal right to have their day in court, argues CFPB Director Richard Cordray in The New York Times.

• The CFPB’s March 2015 study of consumer arbitration, which Director Cordray cites as proof that consumers fare better in class litigation, actually supports the opposite conclusion, argue Alan Kaplinsky and Mark Levin at Consumer FInance Monitor.

Having the independent voice of the Congressional Budget Office is more important than ever, argues Steven Rattner in The New York Times. 

The D.C. Circuit rejected the federal government’s approval of a natural gas pipeline project, citing climate change concerns (The Hill). 

Lawmakers pressed the Department of Transportation for details over its recent decision to abandon sleep apnea screening for truck, train, and bus operators (The Hill). 

History is replete with examples of the failure of American protectionism; unless our policymakers quickly relearn this history, we may be doomed to repeat it, argues Scott Lincicome at Cato at Liberty.

CHECKS & BALANCES

As legislative deadlines loom, President Trump’s relationship with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly “disintegrated” (NYTimes).

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Wednesday, Professor Jed Shugerman will be debating the impeachment of Donald Trump from noon to 12:45 pm (Shugerblog).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE 

Glenn Simpson, co-founder of a firm behind the controversial opposition research dossier on President Trump, spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee behind closed doors (The Hill).