Ian Eppler, Jeffrey Stein  //  12/14/17  //  Daily Update

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen harshly criticized so-called “sanctuary cities” late Tuesday. Due to gerrymandering, Doug Jones lost all but one of Alabama’s congressional districts while winning the statewide race. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US is ready to talk with North Korea without preconditions, in comments that appeared to signal a shift in State Department policy. A conference committee reached a tentative agreement to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the Republican tax plan, but it is unclear whether the plan will attract sufficient support at final votes next week. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended Special Counsel Robert Mueller from criticism in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.

IMMIGRATION

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen harshly criticized so-called “sanctuary cities” late Tuesday, urging the rest of the nation to emulate Texas’ tough law banning them (NPR).

Speaking in Baltimore, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary Nielsen pitched a merit-based immigration system, blaming the current family-centric system for the growth of criminal gang MS-13 and the entry of terrorists to the country (The Hill).

CIVIL RIGHTS

The House Republicans have unveiled a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act that would continue the Department of Education’s attacks on the civil rights of students, including survivors of sexual harassment and violence, writes Jordan Dashow at Human Rights Campaign.

DEMOCRACY

Despite Democratic candidate Doug Jones’ victory in last night’s special election, the ACLU of Alabama and the NAACP of Alabama said that black residents in the state encountered complications while attempting to vote (Newsweek).

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill incorrectly told CNN that Judge Roy Moore could request and pay for a recount in Alabama’s senate race even if the margin is greater than 0.5%, writes Rick Hasen at Election Law Blog.

Due to gerrymandering, Doug Jones lost all but one of Alabama’s congressional districts while winning the statewide race (WaPo).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the US is ready to talk with North Korea without preconditions, in comments that appeared to signal a shift in State Department policy (CNN).

In the wake of President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Wednesday for the United Nations to replace Washington as a Mideast mediator and suggested he might not cooperate with the Trump administration’s much-anticipated effort to hammer out an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. (WaPo).

Congress will allow a deadline on re-imposing sanctions on Iran to pass this week, according to congressional and White House aids (Reuters).

Despite conservative media outlets’ claims to the contrary, the public’s confidence in the FBI is very high, write Mieke Eoyang, Ben Freeman, and Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare.

The head of USAID, the U.S. government’s international aid agency, said that the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen’s ports has not eased, cutting off aid from communities increasingly at risk of starvation (Reuters).

The election of Doug Jones could change the path of criminal justice reform efforts that have been stalled in Congress (The Marshall Project).

REGULATION

A conference committee reached a tentative agreement to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the Republican tax plan, but it is unclear whether the plan will attract sufficient support at final votes next week (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).

The Chief Technology Officer of the Federal Communications Commission warned that repeal of “net neutrality” rules “could lead to practices that are ‘not in the public interest,’” but the FCC is likely to vote to repeal on Thursday regardless (Politico).

RULE OF LAW

The Department of Justice asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to vacate a finding of contempt of court in the case of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio after President Trump pardoned him (Lyle Denniston Law News).

CHECKS & BALANCES

The Senate confirmed Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, President Trump’s nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Law360).

Two of President Trump’s judicial nominees, Brett Talley and Jeff Mateer, withdrew from consideration after criticism, including from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) (Politico, USA Today, WaPo).

Matthew Petersen, President Trump’s nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, struggled at his confirmation hearing, at one point unable to define the term “motion in limine” (National Law Journal).

While supporters of President Trump’s deregulatory initiatives have praised them as a restoration of the separation of powers, President Trump has actually taken actions that jeopardize the separation of powers to advance his agenda, argues Ilya Somin at Volokh Conspiracy.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended Special Counsel Robert Mueller from criticism in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee (NYT, Politico, WaPo, WSJ).