, Raquel Dominguez  //  5/4/17  //  Daily Update

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III has recused from the Fourth Circuit travel ban appeal. Today, the House is expected to vote on the American Health Care Act and President Trump is expected to issue an executive order relating to religious liberty protections. Trump has been sued for trying to undo Obama-era decisions that withdrew millions of acres of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from future oil and gas speculation. FBI Director Comey defended his actions prior to the 2016 election before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and refused to comment further on the investigation of Russian Interference.

IMMIGRATION

President Trump's revised travel ban reflects animus toward the American Muslim community, not just foreign or non-citizen Muslims, explain Joshua Matz and Amir Ali (Take Care).

When the en banc Fourth Circuit hears arguments next week in the travel ban case, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III won't participate, according to Zoe Tillman (BuzzFeed).

The Justice Department has not yet filed an appeal of Judge Orrick’s preliminary injunction against President Trump's executive order threatening sanctuary cities with loss of federal funds (Politico).

Some asylum seekers have been turned away by Customs and Border Protection, unable to plead their case, in violation of U.S. and international law, report Caitlin Dickerson and Miriam Jordan (NYT).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Matthew Stephenson offers an in-depth analysis of credible allegations that the Administration is exploiting public power for private gain (Take Care).

CIVIL RIGHTS

Ira Lupu and Robert Tuttle republished their analysis for Take Care of a leaked draft of President Trump’s “religious liberty" order, dated to roughly six weeks ago.  

However, as compared to the leaked draft, the executive order that Trump is expected to issue today may be far narrower and principally address rules barring tax-exempt churches from participating in politics (NYT).

President Trump’s appointee to Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Charmaine Yoest, has previously made transphobic statements (Rewire).

Controversy ensues over the prosecution of three protestors who allegedly disrupted Congress’s confirmation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions (NYT, ABA Journal).

DEMOCRACY

Noah Feldman notes that thinking of the Constitution as a living document prevents the founding document from deteriorating into archaism (Bloomberg).

Thomas Friedman surveys some of the Trump Administration's more unpredictable decisions (NYT).

The Judicial Association has encouraged its members to defend judges targeted by disparaging rhetoric (WSJ).

REGULATION

The GOP's proposed healthcare law includes a penalty for not being insured, which wouldn't pass constitutional muster as a tax under the Court’s first Obamacare decision, explains Leah Litman at Take Care.

President Trump has been sued for trying to rewrite two of President Obama’s decisions that withdrew millions of acres of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from future oil and gas speculation; Niko Bowie of Take Care analyzes the case.

To comply with the responsibilities of office, a President must have a basic understanding of the legislation he is signing, and Trump has failed this requirement with respect to his healthcare bill, argues Rachel Sachs at Take Care.

Republicans in the House are “extremely close” to voting on a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (Politico, WSJ).

• An amendment to add $8 billion to supplement risk pools switched the votes of two key Congressmen in support of the bill, Fred Upton and Billy Long (NYT, Politico).
• Some Congressional Democrats believe a vote to repeal the ACA in the House could be a gift for their party in the 2018 elections (Politico).
• California’s efforts to provide health insurance prior to the ACA demonstrates the pitfalls of the proposed House bill, which would give greater responsibility to states for health coverage, reports Noam Levey at the LA Times.
• Legislative changes that advocate for Medicaid flexibility are, in fact, code for decimating coverage critical to many Americans, argues Alice Wong at the New York Times.

Ben Carson, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, reiterated his belief that federal assistance leads to too much dependence on government (NYT).

The Administration continues to debate pulling out of the Paris Agreement, with much of the negotiations depending on whether a country can hatchet down its commitment without violating the deal (NYT).

The President’s proposed budget would severely hamper emergency preparedness, argues Jeff Schlegelmilch at The Hill.

Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, asserted that without coal the country’s electrical grid would be less reliable (The Hill).

RULE OF LAW

In his first 100 days, Trump sought incompetent lawyering and attempted to delegitimize the judiciary, argues Michael Dorf.

CHECKS & BALANCES

The House passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill to ensure the government averts a shutdown; the Senate is expected to pass the bill later this week (WSJ).

• Congress’ spending bill handcuffs the Internal Revenue Service, contends Andy Grewal at the Yale Journal on Regulation.

Senator Warren expressed concerns about the Administration replacing the Comptroller of the Currency (The Hill).

President Trump’s tweets led to an unexpected win for the White House: saving the filibuster, argues Carl Hulse (NYT).

• Trump's tweets attacking the Senate’s rules are an attack on democracy, writes Victoria Bassetti.

The House Financial Committee is expected to vote on the Choice Act this week, a bill aimed to overhaul financial regulations (Consumer Law & Policy Blog).

• Bob Bryan, at Business Insider, analyzes the main provisions of the bill.
• Who would protect against illegal student loan schemes if the Choice Act is passed?  So wonders Jeff Sovern at the Consumer Law & Policy Blog.

FEDERALISM

California is considering a cap-and-trade program, reports David Roberts at Vox.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director, James Comey, defended his actions prior to the 2016 election in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and refused to comment further on the investigation of Russian Interference (NYT).

And that's our update today! Thanks for reading. We cover a lot of ground, so our updates are inevitably a partial selection of relevant legal commentary. If you have any feedback, please let us know here.