Nicandro Iannacci  //  1/24/19  //  Daily Update

After a protracted dispute with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Trump said he will deliver his State of the Union address after the government reopens. A bill containing President Trump’s proposal to end the shutdown contains new restrictive measures on DACA, TPS, and asylum. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen has postponed his scheduled testimony before Congress on February 7, citing recent comments from President Trump and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. HHS granted a waiver to a Christian ministry in South Carolina to participate in the federally funded foster-care program, even though the ministry will only work with Christian families. The EU says it will impose nearly $23 billion in tariffs if President Trump imposes tariffs on EU cars and auto parts. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is fighting the Trump administration’s request for extradition with a request to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to require U.S. prosecutors to unseal any charges against him.

TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS & LITIGATION

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen has postponed his scheduled testimony before Congress on February 7, citing recent comments from President Trump and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani (WaPo, WSJ, BuzzFeed, Politico).

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is disputing the claim of Special Counsel Robert Mueller that he intentionally lied to federal prosecutors (NYT, Politico, The Hill).

• Manafort’s latest court filing is here.

IMMIGRATION

A bill containing President Trump’s proposal to end the shutdown contains new restrictive measures on DACA, TPS, and asylum (Forbes).

• The bill would also expand ICE’s power, notes César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández at CrImmigration.

President Trump asserted that a border wall will reduce crime, but history and data do not support his claim (NYT, WaPo).

In a new directive, USCIS staffers were warned not to leak information to the public (BuzzFeed).

CIVIL RIGHTS

HHS granted a waiver to a Christian ministry in South Carolina to participate in the federally funded foster-care program, even though the ministry will only work with Christian families (WaPo, WSJ).

• By granting the waiver, the administration is “opening the door to federally funded discrimination justified by religious belief,” writes Charlotte Clymer at HRC.

The government shutdown is disproportionally harming Native Americans, writes Stephen Pevar at the ACLU.

DEMOCRACY

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to take up a dispute over the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, thus bypassing the Second Circuit (How Appealing).

• The judiciary should pay more attention to bad motives behind the administration’s conduct, writes Michael Dorf at Verdict.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is fighting the Trump administration’s request for extradition with a request to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to require U.S. prosecutors to unseal any charges against him (The Guardian).

Iranian journalist Marzieh Hashemi testified before a federal grand jury and was released from custody (WaPo).

The Trump administration recognized the Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate leader of the country, over the protests of President Nicolás Maduro (NYT).

The Trump administration’s approach to solving the Israel-Palestine is flawed, writes Andrew Miller at Lawfare.

A recent Pentagon report on the effects of climate change lacks important details and analysis, writes Mark Nevitt at Just Security.

REGULATION

The EU says it will impose nearly $23 billion in tariffs if President Trump imposes tariffs on EU cars and auto parts (The Hill).

CHECKS & BALANCES

After a protracted dispute with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Trump said he will deliver his State of the Union address after the government reopens (NYT).

President Trump renominated 50 judicial nominees that were not acted upon before the end of the last congressional session (CNN). 

• The nominees are mostly white and male, and are likely to be rammed through the Senate, notes Dahlia Lithwick at Slate.
• However, 23 nominees were not renominated, including Thomas Farr, who drew criticism for his voting rights record, notes Harsh Voruganti at The Vetting Room.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will open an investigation into the Trump administration’s security clearance practices (WaPo).

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