Ian Eppler, Caroline Cox  //  7/18/17  //  Daily Update

Senators Jerry Moran and Mike Lee announced their opposition to the Republican healthcare reconciliation bill, all but guaranteeing its failure. The White House Voter Fraud commission is hoping to propose federal legislation that would put new restrictions on voting. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he will issue a directive on civil asset-forfeiture encouraging police departments to seize more property from criminal defendants. And Special Counsel Robert Mueller is likely to investigate the President’s senior advisor (and son-in-law) Jared Kushner’s repeated failure to disclose meetings with Russians on his security-clearance forms.  

IMMIGRATION

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a recent speech that sanctuary-city policies lead to more violent crime, misrepresenting the conclusions of two major studies on such policies, writes Nick Roll at Inside Higher Education.

A letter from 58 former diplomats and national security advisers urges the State Department to stop the contemplated relocation of the Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration (WaPo, Politico).

The Department of Homeland Security will allow U.S. companies to hire more temporary, non-agricultural workers through the issuance of up to 15,000 H-2B visas, explains Louis Nelson at Politico. 

CIVIL RIGHTS

A recent Fifth Circuit ruling on LGBT rights and religious freedom, with major implications for federal civil rights policy, is mistaken and should be reheard en banc, explains Joshua Matz on Take Care.

LGBT leaders are raising concerns about John Bush and Damian Schiff, who were nominated for judicial positions by President Trump.

• Lambda Legal along with 27 other LGBT groups are urging the Senate to oppose the confirmations, calling them a “grave threat” to LGBT rights (Lambda Legal).
• Mary Bonauto, who argued Obergefell v. Hodges in the Supreme Court, writes that the nominees could prove disastrous for the LGBT community (Bangor Daily News).

DEMOCRACY

President Trump’s decision to block users on Twitter may not be presidential, but it is unlikely to amount to a  First Amendment violation, argues the Editorial Board of the Los Angeles Times.

The White House Voter Fraud Commission is hoping to propose a federal law that would place new requirements on voter registration, writes Christopher Ingraham at the Washington Post.

The Voter Fraud Commission also recently responded to the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a temporary restraining order to stop the commission from collecting state voter-roll data (The Hill).

JUSTICE & SOCIETY

The Office of Global Justice, the principal adviser to the Secretary of State on U.S. policy responses to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, may be at risk, explains Beth Van Schaack at Just Security.

In a recent speech to the National District Attorneys Association, Attorney General Sessions said that the United States is facing “a multi-front battle” involving violent crime and the opioid epidemic. (Sentencing Law & Policy).

Attorney General Sessions announced that he will issue an asset-forfeiture directive to encourage greater police seizures of cash and property from criminal suspects, reports Christopher Ingraham at the Washington Post.

REGULATION 

The Republican healthcare proposal collapsed in the Senate when two additional Senators, Mike Lee and Jerry Moran, announced their opposition. (NYT).

The Trump administration has announced its goals for the renegotiation of NAFTA (Politico, WaPo).

The appointment of Lynne Patton, a former event planner for the Trump family, to direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the New York City area may harm low-income families, argue Jennifer Bellamy and Jake Flanagin at the ACLU’s blog.

Keith Noreika, President Trump’s appointee as Acting Comptroller of the Currency, has asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to delay a recent rule limiting the ability of financial institutions to impose mandatory arbitration (CFPB Monitor).

FEDERALISM

Certain states have resisted federal attempts to secure election infrastructure against outside interference as “federal overreach,” notes Ciara Torres-Spelliscy at the blog of the Brennan Center for Justice.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

The lawsuit against the Trump campaign by individuals who had private data released as a result of Russian hacking is likely to survive a motion to dismiss and proceed to discovery, writes Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is likely to investigate Jared Kushner’s repeated failure to disclose interactions with foreign nationals on his security clearance forms, and Kushner may face criminal liability (WaPo).

• But the ultimate decision on the future of Jared Kushner’s security clearance likely lies with President Trump (Politico).
• Donald Trump Jr.’s attempt to seek damaging information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government violated ethical norms of politics, even if it was not illegal, writes Bob Bauer at Lawfare.
• The Russian government’s interest in repealing the Magnitsky Act, which may have partially been the impetus for its interference in the 2016 election, demonstrates the law’s power, argue Rob Berschinski and Adam Nagy at Just Security.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, called for significant revisions to federal laws on ethics and conflicts of interest in the wake of shortcomings revealed by Donald Trump’s presidency (NYTimes). 

• Mr. Shaub’s list of recommendations is available here.

RULE OF LAW 

• Despite President Trump’s abuse of the removal power to fire former FBI Director James Comey, the FBI director should not be given for-cause removal protection, argues Robert Litt at Lawfare.
• Leaks from the intelligence community are doing long-term damage to the organizations, suggests Paul Rosenzweig at Lawfare.