, Jacqueline Sahlberg  //  1/15/18  //  Daily Update

Following a federal court ruling, the Trump Administration will begin accepting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications again. A leaked copy of the Pentagon’s Nuclear Posture Review shows that the government wants to update the nuclear arsenal with new types of weapons. The Trump Administration approved Kentucky’s plan to impose work requirements for Medicaid recipients, paving the way for other conservative states to follow suit.

IMMIGRATION

The Dreamers’ situation is tragic, but the federal court was wrong to enjoin the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, writes Zachary Price for Take Care.

• In light of the judiciary’s ruling, the NYTimes analyzes whether nationwide injuntions are appropriate.

Following a federal court ruling, the Trump Administration will begin accepting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications again (NYT, WSJ, LATimes).

• Read the announcement from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services here.

Controversy between lawmakers reaction to Trump’s shithole comment makes an immigration deal less likely (WashPo, Politico).

• PBS outlines the immigration proposals.

DEMOCRACY

The White House and President Trump claim the Wall Street Journal misquoted him and accuse the paper of publishing fake news (NYT, WashPo).

• The Wall Street Journal released a transcript and audio recording of the interview.

Democracy is not dying under President Trump, but there is cause for concern, writes Uri Friedman at The Atlantic.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

A leaked copy of the Pentagon’s Nuclear Posture Review shows that the government wants to update the nuclear arsenal with new types of weapons (WashPo).

• The Trump Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review is the wrong approach in an era that requires tighter rules, writes Bruce Blair at WashPo. 

The United States may withhold millions of dollars from the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (WSJ).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, arranged a $130,000 payment to a “former adult-film star a month before the 2016 election as part of an agreement that precluded her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump,” Michael Rothfeld and Joe Palazzolo report in the Wall Street Journal.

REGULATION

In the face of evidence that the record in the FCC’s recent action net neutrality was corrupted by over 1 million fake comments, the agency has done very little, writes Tejas Narechania in Take Care.

At one point, the White House was considering a plan to promulgate a series of progressive regulations which would then be disapproved by Congress under the Congressional Review Act, thereby preventing future Democratic administrations from proposing substantially similar regulations, reports Jonathan Swan in Axios.

The Education Department is proposing to make it more difficult for students to bring claims they were misled by for-profit educational institutions, by raising the burden of proof to a “preponderance of the evidence” standard, writes Erica L. Green in the New York Times.

RULE OF LAW

It is wrong for President Trump to accuse an FBI agent of treason, writes Robert Litt for Lawfare.

CHECKS & BALANCES 

The modern administrative state is threatened by the trend of ideological outsourcing, the outsourcing of government functions to private, ideological entities, argues Kate Shaw in Take Care

FEDERALISM

The Trump Administration approved Kentucky’s plan to impose work requirements for Medicaid recipients, paving the way for other conservative states to follow suit (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

President Trump’s suggestion that he may not submit to an interview with the special counsel flouts the expectations set by the U.S. Supreme Court in United State v. Nixon during the Watergate scandal, writes Bob Bauer in Lawfare.

Elected officials leading the Senate Judiciary and House Intelligence Committee investigations into Russian election interference are hoping to restore bipartisan cooperation after weeks of partisan acrimony, report Elana Schor and Kyle Cheney in Politico.

The transcript of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee reveals Republican senators trying, and failing, to discredit Simpson, writes Virginia Heffernan in the Los Angeles Times.

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski will testify before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russian election interference, reports Mike DeBonis in the Washington Post.