Daily Update | October 12, 2017
Rachel Chung, // 10/12/17 //
The Supreme Court dismisses as moot a challenge to Trump's travel ban version 2.0. Trump's words are not only cause for concern, but a possible basis for impeachment. McConnell suggests he will stop the practice of allowing Senators to block judicial nominees. The D.C. Superior Court finds that the DOJ overstepped by requesting IP addresses for anti-Trump protest organizers. Trump indicates that the U.S. will withdraw from NAFTA and that it should increase the size of its nuclear arsenal. And the Trump administration takes strides towards eliminating major Obama-era regulations, including the Clean Power Plan and the birth control-coverage mandate.
IMMIGRATION
The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the travel ban as moot (WaPo).
- A recap of the litigation and legal arguments is here.
The bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors called for the Administration to continue the DACA program (ImmigrationProfBlog).
Amnesties are central to how the U.S. legal system functions, argues Amanda Taub at the New York Times.
CIVIL RIGHTS
President Trump’s bully pulpit has serious consequences, since presidential speech carries more import than almost any other expression, contends Mark Joseph Stern at Take Care.
DEMOCRACY
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will no longer allow Senators to block judicial nominees (WaPo).
- The move is part of an ongoing fight over the judiciary (Politico, The Weekly Standard).
The D.C. Superior Court said DOJ overstepped when it sought 1.3 million IP addresses that had logged into a website that helped organize anti-Trump protests on Inauguration Day (ArsTechnica).
The self-professed anti-Trump resistance is part of a “thinly veiled legal revolt,”argues Josh Blackman at the National Review.
A group of former Obama Administration lawyers moved for a temporary injunction against the President’s Election Integrity Commission, arguing it threatened the proper functioning of our democracy (McClatchy).
President Trump tweeted that it’s “frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write” (WaPo) and seemed to threaten that broadcast licenses should be limited depending on network coverage (NYTimes).
- The President then clarified that he doesn’t think the press should be limited (WaPo).
- What would happen if President Trump cracked down on media critiques?, asks Paul Waldman at WaPo.
- Though often compared to Putin, the media comments resemble Turkish President Erdogan, argues Philip Bump at WaPo.
- President Trump’s response to the press is Nixonian, writes Aaron Blake (WaPo).
- President Trump neither values nor understands a free press, contends Callum Borchers (WaPo).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
President Trump is increasingly suggesting it’s “possible” the U.S. will drop out of NAFTA (NYT).
The U.S. military flew strategic bombers over the Korean peninsula as President Trump met with top defense officials to discuss possible responses to any threat from North Korea (Reuters).
President Trump is seeking a significant increase in the number of nuclear weapons in the country’s arsenal, bucking the trend of recent presidential administrations (WaPo).
- The President insists he seeks to modernize, not to increase, the arsenal (WSJ).
The President’s anger over the Iran deal has caused White House aides to scramble for possible compromises (WaPo).
- Undoing the deal would undermine the longstanding power of America’s word in global security, writes Roger Cohen at the New York Times.
- Even Ehud Barak, the former Israeli Prime Minister well-known as a hawk, urged the President to keep the deal (NYT).
Military officials at the Guantanamo Bay prison are waiting longer to intervene with medical attention when detainees go on hunger strikes (NYT).
President Trump will nominate Kirstjen Nielsen, deputy White House chief of staff and a cybersecurity expert, to replace John Kelly as Secretary of Homeland Security (WaPo).
REGULATION
The Trump administration moved to repeal President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which targeted carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants (NYTimes).
- The formal announcement can be found here.
New exceptions to the federal contraception mandate are unprecedented in scale, writes Linda Greenhouse (NYTimes).
- An explanation of eligibility for religious exemptions can be found here.
- An explanation of eligibility for moral exemptions can be found here.
- Pro-choice groups, such as the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Emily’s List, believe this action of the Trump administration provides a powerful mobilization tool (WaPo).
Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture, suggested that restricting access to food stamps for adults who can work would help lower enrollment in the plan (WSJ).
The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which prohibits the Justice Department from spending even a cent to prosecute medical marijuana users and sellers operating legally under state laws, may expire following an aggressive lobbying campaign by Attorney General Jeff Sessions (L.A. Times).
REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
President Trump’s words reveal his inability to carry out his oath of office and provide a basis for impeachment, argues Jennifer Rubin (WaPo).
- President Trump’s misuse of the English language, while egregious, is a violation of custom, not law, writes Greg Weiner (NYTimes).
Democratic Rep. Al Green (Tex.) read an impeachment resolution on the House floor Wednesday but did not appear later that day to offer the resolution for a vote (WaPo).
The Impeachment Clause is broad enough to allow for impeachment on the basis of incompetence, not just criminal activity, argues Gene Healy (Cato at Liberty).
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Senate Democrats fear the Trump administration is dragging its feet on dealing with a Russian cyber threat that could impact upcoming races and sway which party controls the Senate (Politico).
The Russian government has used anti-virus software manufactured by Kaspersky Lab as an espionage tool; officials say this could only have happened with the knowledge and consent of the company (WSJ).
- The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is planning to hold a series of hearings on Kaspersky Labs (The Hill).
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will release Russian-backed Facebook ads from the 2016 election season after officials from Facebook, Google, and Twitter testify before it (WaPo, WSJ).
Tags:
Topic Immigration Rule of Law Regulation Democracy Civil Rights Justice & Safety Removal from Office Russian Interference