Emily Morrow  //  10/18/19  //  Daily Update

President Trump plans to host the next G-7 meeting in June at the Trump National Doral Miami resort. Energy Secretary Rick Perry plans to resign from his cabinet position, reportedly by the end of the year. And Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said President Trump blocked military aid to Ukraine in part to compel the government to investigate corruption among Democrats in the 2016 presidential campaign.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

•  President Trump will host the next Group of 7 (G-7) meeting in June at the Trump National Doral Miami resort, raising potential legal and ethical concerns amid ongoing investigations and emoluments clause litigation(NYT, Politico, WaPo). 
• Climate change will not be a topic on the agenda, writesBrett Samuels at The Hill.

IMMIGRATION

•  The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Kansas v. Garcia, addressing whether federal immigration law preempts a state identity fraud law in a case involving prosecution of undocumented immigrants(ImmigrationProf Blog, SCOTUSBlog).

REGULATION

• Energy Secretary Rick Perry plans to resign from his cabinet position, reportedly by the end of the year(NYT, BuzzFeed News).
• U.S. Department of Education assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services, Johnny Collett, plans to resign at the end of this week, writesMichelle Diament at Disability Scoop.

DEMOCRACY

•  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a speech at Georgetown University defending Facebook as a safeguard for free expression even as it faces criticism for policies pertaining to political speech(NYT, Politico, WSJ).
• Highlighting free expression as a “paramount” value for Facebook is an important first step before the launch of an independent Oversight Board for content moderation, writesJohn Samples at Cato. 

JUSTICE & SAFETY

•  The U.S. and Turkey have agreed to a five-day cease-fire of Turkish attacks in northern Syria so that Kurdish fighters can withdraw from the Turkish border; in return the U.S. agreed to remove economic sanctions imposed this week(NYT, WaPo, WSJ).

IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

•  Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said President Trump blocked military aid to Ukraine in part to compel the government to investigate corruption among Democrats in the 2016 presidential campaign(NYT, Politico, WaPo, WSJ).
• U.S. ambassador to the E.U., Gordon Sondland, testified before House impeachment investigators that President Trump delegated U.S. policy with Ukraine to Rudolph Giuliani(NYT, WaPo).
• A transcript of Sondland’s opening statement is here.
• Initial analysis the testimony is available hereand here.

• House investigators have tentatively scheduled additional closed-door interviews next week, including with Bill Taylor of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine(WaPo).
• Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, who served as chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, died following health problems(NYT, WaPo)
• A federal judge ruled that the Department of Justice improperly redacted a court filing and must release the names of two key figures related to the Mueller investigation, writesHarper Neidig at The Hill.
• From a textualist perspective, the list inArticle II, Section 4 of “treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors” as grounds for impeachment might not be exclusive, arguesRichard Primus in Balkinization.

CHECKS & BALANCES

• The Senate failed to override President Trump’s veto of a resolution terminating the national emergency at the southwest border, thus federal funds may still be diverted for the construction of a border wall(NYT).