Ian Eppler, Sarah Mahmood  //  12/15/17  //  Daily Update

On a 3-2 party line vote, the Federal Communications Commission repealed Obama-era “net neutrality” regulations. After the Senate confirmed two Trump appointees to the National Labor Relations Board, the Board overturned an Obama-era ruling on joint employer status on a 3-2 party line vote. California sued the Department of Education over its failure to process student debt relief claims for students defrauded by for-profit colleges. Faith-based leaders have written an open letter warning President Trump that his anti-Muslim tweets threaten the First Amendment.

IMMIGRATION

Congress should move quickly on immigration reform for children of undocumented immigrants, urge Tim Cook and Charles Koch (WaPo).

CIVIL RIGHTS

In spite of voter suppression efforts, black voters turned out in large numbers in Alabama’s special election on Tuesday (ACLU).

DEMOCRACY 

Faith-based leaders have written an open letter warning President Trump that his anti-Muslim tweets threaten the First Amendment (Georgetown University Law Center).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Michael Dourson, President Trump’s nominee to oversee chemical safety at the Environmental Protection Agency, withdrew after criticism of his ties to industry (WSJ).

REGULATION

Despite the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate in the Republican tax proposal, states can protect this important provision by passing state-level individual mandates, argues Nick Bagley at Take Care.

Congressional Republicans still hope to pass the tax bill before Christmas, but are struggling to cover the costs of last-minute changes to the bill, report Alan Rappeport and Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times.

• Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced plans to vote against the bill unless the child tax credit is expanded (Politico, WaPo, WSJ).

On a 3-2 party line vote, the Federal Communications Commission repealed Obama-era “net neutrality” regulations (Ars Technica, NYTimes, Politico, WaPo, WSJ)

• A coalition of state attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, announced plans to file a lawsuit to block the repeal (Ars Technica, The Hill).
• There are several bases to challenge the repeal, notes John McKinnon in the Wall Street Journal.
• Potential implications include data discrimination and paid prioritization by internet service providers, suggests Jay Stanley at the ACLU’s blog.
• The repeal may harm the economy and is technically flawed, argues Barbara van Schewick at The Center for Internet and Society’s blog.
• Small internet businesses may suffer the most harm, notes Geoffrey Fowler in the Washington Post.
• But the implications are ultimately uncertain, writes Douglas MacMillian in the Wall Street Journal. 

At a White House event, the Trump administration announced its 2018 deregulatory agenda and reported that it had eliminated 22 regulations for every new regulation (NYTimes, Politico, The Hill, WaPo).

The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to revise a rule governing lead in drinking water (The Hill). 

After the Senate confirmed two Trump appointees to the National Labor Relations Board, the Board overturned an Obama-era ruling on joint employer status on a 3-2 party line vote (The Hill).

• The decision is available here.
• The Board also requested public comment on a proposal to repeal a rule that expedites union elections (The Hill).

RULE OF LAW

Attempts to delay or cancel special elections for partisan would be unconstitutional, argue Justin Florence and Cameron Kistler at Take Care.

CHECKS & BALANCES

The Senate confirmed former Texas Solicitor General James Ho, one of President Trump’s nominees to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Law.com).

Doug Jones’ victory in the Alabama Senate election may constrain President Trump’s judicial selections, argues Jonathan Nash in The Hill.

FEDERALISM

California sued the Department of Education over its failure to process student debt relief claims for students defrauded by for-profit colleges (The Hill, WSJ).

• The complaint is available here.

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

The analogy between bribery and obstruction of justice, often invoked by proponents of the view that President Trump could be prosecuted for obstructing justice by firing former FBI director James Comey, is flawed because accepting a bribe is never an official act, argues Andy Grewal at Notice and Comment.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

The Special Counsel has requested emails from Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm that worked with the Trump campaign (WSJ).

President Trump has consistently rejected evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, undermining efforts to secure future elections, report Greg Miller, Greg Jaffe, and Philip Rucker in the Washington Post.

A group of former national security officials filed an unusual amicus brief regarding Russian influence on the 2016 election in a lawsuit filed against Trump campaign officials by individuals who had their personal information exposed in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (Business Insider).

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee undermined Department of Justice employees, but reflects the fact that Rosenstein is trying to protect the Special Counsel investigation from President Trump and Congressional Republicans, suggests Ben Wittes at Lawfare.

While many Congressional Republicans have criticized the Special Counsel investigation, some Senate Republicans are defending the probe, notes Karoun Demirjian in the Washington Post.