Caroline Cox  //  11/28/17  //  Daily Update

A legal battle continues over who is head of the CFPB.  The Trump Administration has indicated that it may go to higher courts to postpone the enlistment of transgender individuals in the U.S. military. Special Counsel Robert Muller is looking into Michael Flynn’s role in a film financed by Turkish interests, and this investigation could implicate many other Trump Administration confidants and officials.

REGULATION

Debate over who will serve as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — Leondra English or Mick Mulvaney — continues after a federal judge held an emergency hearing yesterday afternoon (NYT; WaPo).

• Larry Tribe explains in the Washington Post why Mulvaney's appointment is invalid (here).
• Peter Shuck reaches a similar conclusion in the New York Times (here).
• The Wall Street Journal writes that Mick Mulvaney has taken control over the CFPB during the litigation.
• Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump nominee, heard the case on Monday, but declined to issue a judgment until further written responses are filed, according to the Washington Post.
• Marty Lederman has offerred a detailed analysis of DOJ's brief opposing a temporary restraining order (here).
• Scholars including Kent Barnett, Daniel Hemel, Noah Feldman, Marty Lederman, and Josh Blackman have weighed in on the merits and long term consequence of the lawsuit.
• Consumer Finance Monitor provides an argument for why Mick Mulvaney is the CFPB Acting Director.
• President Trump defended financial institutions against the CFPB in a recent tweet, writes the Washington Post.
• Mick Mulvaney has issued a temporary freeze on regulations and hiring at the CFPB (Politico).
• The battle over who will lead the CFPB is just one part of President Trump’s larger deregulatory charge (NYT).
• The CFPB sent letters to chief executives of numerous financial companies that urged the institutions to support customers gaining control over payment methods (Consumer Finance Monitor)

After the Trump Administration repealed net neutrality, Comcast has signaled an interest in instituting paid “fast lanes” (Ars Technica).

While the Trump Administration is understaffed, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act has ensured that many key positions are filled, at least temporarily (Lawfare).

Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s proposed resiliency regulation will do little to protect the electric grid (The Hill). 

The Trump Administration’s position on revealing vulnerabilities in software or hardware is more transparent than its predecessor (ACLU).

DEMOCRACY

The government should not politicize the 2020 Census, argues LDF Senior Counsel Leah Aden at ACSblog.

President Trump has again criticized CNN, this time asserting that CNN International “represent[s] our Nation to the WORLD very poorly” (NYT).

With a federal consent decree set to expire soon, President Trump may have an opportunity to ramp up voter suppression (Slate).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

President Trump’s opioid commission has not considered prevention of opioid addiction significantly (NYT).

The Defense Department were unable to provide answers to inconsistencies between the agency’s official statements and publicly available statistics about troop counts in war zones (WaPo).

CIVIL RIGHTS

The Trump Administration has indicated that it may go to higher courts to postpone the enlistment of transgender individuals in the U.S. military (Lyle Denniston).

RULE OF LAW

President Trump is moving aggressively to fill judicial vacancies, and these picks will have a profound impact on environmental law cases (ClimateWire).

Steven G. Calabresi’s proposal to expand the federal judiciary has proved controversial, but Calabresi and Shams Hirji argue that the proposal does not violate past practice or norms (Balkinization).

• At National Review, Josh Blackman argues that Republicans should not pack the courts (here).

President Trump will no longer campaign on behalf of Roy Moore, but he has warned against the Democratic candidate in the Alabama race (WaPo).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Special Counsel Robert Muller is looking into Michael Flynn’s role in a film financed by Turkish interests, and this investigation could implicate many other Trump Administration confidants and officials (WaPo).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE 

The Senate Judiciary Committee is relaxing a deadline for Jared Kushner to turn over documents related to its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election (Politico). 

President Trump’s approach to the Kremlin differs significantly from what a different president of either political party would have (Politico).