Daily Update | February 21, 2018
Caroline Cox, Britany Riley // 2/21/18 //
In response to the recent shooting at a Florida high school, President Trump announced that the Justice Department will propose regulations banning bump stocks. Despite Saudi Arabia’s refusal to accept nonproliferation safeguards, the Trump Administration is seeking to sell nuclear reactors to the kingdom. A lawsuit alleges that the Trump Administration is holding young adults indefinitely and illegally. A lawyer involved with Rick Gates and Paul Manafort pled guilty to making false statements to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the course of the investigation into Russian election meddling.
IMMIGRATION
A lawsuit alleges that the Trump Administration is holding young adults indefinitely and illegally (NYT).
When releasing orders on Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court did not act on the federal government’s petition for review of the Trump Administration’s termination of the DACA program (SCOTUSblog).
CIVIL RIGHTS
Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services alleging that the department provided funds to an organization that refused to allow a lesbian couple to even apply to serve as foster parents to refugee children (Lambda Legal).
DEMOCRACY
Transnational legal process may provide a framework for strategies to hold the Trump Administration accountable to international laws (Opinio Juris).
Despite increasing concerns about interference in American elections, local election administrators have few resources to dedicate to new voting equipment, writes Kate Rabinowitz for ProPublica.
JUSTICE & SAFETY
In response to the recent shooting at a Florida high school, President Trump announced that the Justice Department will propose regulations banning bump stocks, which can make semi-automatic rifles perform like an automatic weapon (NYT).
North Korea is growing and enhancing its cyber weapons program, writes Anna Fifield at The Washington Post.
Despite Saudi Arabia’s refusal to accept nonproliferation safeguards, the Trump Administration is seeking to sell nuclear reactors to the kingdom (WSJ).
Disagreements between China and the United States over American freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea have flared in the last several weeks (Lawfare).
The United States has played a large, though overlooked, part in the ongoing military conflicts in Yemen (Just Security).
The Supreme Court denied a petition of certiorari to hear a case on California’s waiting period for gun purchase (WaPo).
The United States has a moral duty and national security interest in assisting Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, argue Rep. Jackie Speier and Rep. Peter King at The Hill.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s lawyer, may have violated professional ethics rules by paying Trump accuser Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence on her alleged affair with the President, argues Michael Dorf at Dorn on Law.
REGULATION
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has a long history of advocating for environmental deregulation, and his tenure as Administrator has been marked by calculated efforts to undermine the agency, details Rebecca Leber at Mother Jones.
- Laura Peterson discusses the significant drop in EPA enforcement of environmental regulations at Project on Government Oversight.
While state and local action on climate change in response to the Trump Administration is admirable, it is unlikely to yield results without significant federal action, argue Cary Coglianese and Shana Starobin on The Regulatory Review.
As a condition of a recent civil rights lawsuit, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will implement the delayed Small Area Fair Market Rent rule, which will provide more housing opportunities for low-income residents of metropolitan areas (The Hill).
On the heels of Russian indictments, the DOJ announced plans for a cybersecurity task force primarily focused on election interference (The Hill).
- Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielson issued a statement promoting the department’s engagement with state and local officials on election cybersecurity (The Hill).
- But state election officials have voiced concerns that the administration is providing insufficient information to prepare (NYT).
CHECKS & BALANCES
Handling of judicial nominations continues to cause division in the Senate Judiciary Committee as Senator Chuck Grassley again advanced nominees without “blue-slip” approval from their home-state Senators (The Hill).
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Recent indictments of Russians who allegedly interfered in the 2016 presidential election indicate Special Counsel Mueller may have sufficient evidence to charge Trump campaign officials with criminal conspiracy, notes Jed Shugerman on Shugerblog.
A lawyer involved with Rick Gates and Paul Manafort pled guilty to making false statements to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the course of the investigation into Russian election meddling (NYT, Politico, Buzzfeed News).
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Tags:
Immigration Conflicts Checks & Balances Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Russian Interference