Ryan Hayward, Britany Riley  //  7/28/17  //  Daily Update

Pentagon officials have declined to reinstitute a ban on transgender troops serving in the military in the absence of formal policy guidelines. The DOJ has filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit arguing that employers are not prohibited from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation. The Trump Administration has asked the Ninth Circuit to again limit immigrants who fall under the definition of a bona fide relationship for immigration purposes. Senate movement on a “Skinny Repeal” bill has prompted numerous analyses.

PODCAST

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Charlie Gerstein and Easha Anand discuss a new lawsuit alleging that President Trump's campaign advisor conspired with Russians.

CIVIL RIGHTS

A D.C. Circuit ruling concluding that the Second Amendment must have the same application outside the home as it does inside it breaks new ground and creates a circuit split, argues Joseph Blocher at Take Care.

Pentagon officials have declined to reinstitute a ban on transgender troops serving in the military in the absence of formal policy guidelines from the President or the Department of Defense (WaPo, Slate, Politico, Vox).

• A tweet is not a law, notes Jeannie Suk Gersen at The New Yorker.
• Claims that allowing trans troops to serve would be expensive and disruptive are undercut by numerous studies, including one  commissioned by the Pentagon (WaPo, Vox).  
• “This is not about military readiness or cost. This is a calculated decision to discriminate,” argues veteran Noah Strangio on the ACLU Blog.
• The ban uses trans service members as political pawns, claims Chelsea Manning in an op-ed at the New York Times.

The DOJ filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit arguing that under Title VII employers are not prohibited from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation (NYT, Vox, The Hill).

• The brief can be found here.
• The ACLU called the arguments “shameful” and “galling”.
• This is another in a string of disappointing attacks on the LGBT community, argues German Lopez at Vox.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council hinted that the White House would soon announce further plans to expand religious freedom; LGBT advocates are concerned that further attacks may result (Washington Blade).

IMMIGRATION

 The Trump Administration asked the Ninth Circuit to again limit immigrants with “bona fide relationships” eligible to enter under the  Supreme Court’s ruling on the revised entry ban (Lyle Denniston Law News).

Efforts to  defund cities that don’t provide local jail access to ICE agents are ramping up (Vox, Boston Globe).

DOJ’s plan to deny federal grants to sanctuary cities is a dangerous attack on federalism and separation of powers principles, argues Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy.

DEMOCRACY

Felon disenfranchisement serves no public interest, and studies show permitting felons to vote may lower recidivism, argues Nancy Leong at Take Care.

The Election Integrity Commission’s search for duplicates on voter rolls will likely result in many false positives, argue researchers Stephen Pettigrew and Mayya Komisarchik at the Washington Post.

A recent lawsuit in Virginia may support the theory that President Trump’s blocking of Twitter users is a First Amendment violation, notes Eugene Volokh at The Volokh Conspiracy.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster fired Top Middle East advisor, Derek Harvey, who was one of few remaining appointees of President Trump’s controversial former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn (Just Security, WaPo,  Politico).

REGULATION

Discussion of Republican efforts to repeal and/or replace the Affordable Care Act continues.

• The so-called “skinny repeal” under consideration in the Senate is both hypocritical and irresponsible, argues Abbe Gluck at Take Care.
• The newly released Health Care Freedom Act will encourage states to submit farfetched waivers knowing that, once the waivers are granted, they won’t be held accountable for lost coverage, argues Nick Bagley at Take Care.
• Repealing the Affordable Air Act would be an unprecedented dismantling of the social safety net, argues Jamelle Bouie at Slate.
• “Skinny repeal” would leave 16 million more Americans uninsured within a decade (WaPo).
• Among other changes, the bill would eliminate the individual and employer mandates, while retaining mandatory coverage for preexisting conditions (WaPo).

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke placed a call to Senator Lisa Murkowski, insinuating that her vote against repeal would result in disfavorable treatment for Alaska (Vox, Alaska Dispatch). 

Industry is taking over the EPA, argues Dan Farber at Legal Planet.

RULE OF LAW

Congress could amend the constitution to take the question of a self-pardon off the table, argues Jeffrey Crouch at Take Care.

Discussion of President Trump’s public campaign against Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues (Slate).

• There is little upside for President Trump in firing Sessions, argues Vikram David Amar at Verdict.
• John Dickerson notes that even Jimmy Carter demanded loyalty of cabinet members and staffers.
• Senator Lindsey Graham has stated that there would be “holy hell to pay” if President Trump fires Sessions (Vox).

A Democratic representative from Texas is proposing a constitutional amendment to ban presidential self-pardons (Buzzfeed News).

Senator Lindsey Graham says he will introduce legislation to insulate special counsels from being fired by a president (WSJ).

Pardoning those connected with the Russia investigation would be obstruction of justice, argues Bennett Gershman at the Daily Beast.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

The Senate approved new sanctions on Russia and limited President Trump’s ability to rescind them (NYT, Politico).

• Whether President Trump will sign the bill is unclear (WaPo).

 Russia tried to spy on the campaign of French President Emmanuel Macron (The Hill).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

A construction lawyer in West Palm Beach, Florida has filed another emoluments clause suit against President Trump (Palm Beach Post).

FEDERALISM

Attorney General Jeff Sessions attack on sanctuary cities is also an attack on federalism and separation of powers, argues Ilya Somin at the Washington Post.

CHECKS AND BALANCES

 The federal obstruction of justice statute has become a singularly powerful check on the president, argues Eric Posner on his blog.