Kate Berry, Ian Eppler  //  10/26/17  //  Daily Update

Following a ruling in her favor, the undocumented teen at the heart of a recent court battle over reproductive rights gained access to care.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is investigating possible money laundering by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.  New details have emerged regarding the Clinton campaign’s funding of a controversial dossier regarding President Trump’s Russia ties.

IMMIGRATION

President Trump reiterated that he would support a DACA deal only if it includes funding for a border wall (LA Times).

CIVIL RIGHTS

Following a ruling in her favor, the undocumented teen at the heart of a recent court battle over reproductive rights gained access to care (The Hill, LA Times, NYT, WaPo).

DEMOCRACY

Democratic members of President Trump’s voter fraud commission urge greater transparency as delays plague the commission (LA Times).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, warned that on-going violence in South Sudan may foreclose future aid from the United States (WaPo).

• Ambassador Haley was later evacuated from a refugee camp after residents began protesting when they were informed they could not meet with her (The Hill, Politico).

Reports indicate the United States deployed Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) forces following the ambush of a Special Forces team in Niger (WaPo).

• Senior White House officials initially believed multiple soldiers were missing (WaPo).
• President Trump repeated his claim that he remembered the name of Army Sgt. La David Johnson during a call with Johnson’s widow (WaPo).

The United States imposed sanctions on eight individuals and one business affiliated with the Islamic State in Yemen and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (NYT).

Private prison company GEO Group has become more successful during the Trump Administration while increasing its political activities (WaPo).

Military experts worry that President Trump’s generals are too engaged in political matters, writes Mark Perry at Politico.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

A contractor hired to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electric grid threatened to stop work after San Juan’s mayor questioned the company’s ties to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (The Hill).

• The company is small and has limited experience with contracts of this size, report Deborah Acosta and Jack Healy in the New York Times.

Reversing its position at oral argument in CREW v. Trump, the Department of Justice no longer concedes that the Foreign Emoluments Clause applies to the president (Josh Blackman’s Blog).

Companies employing members of President Trump’s now-disbanded business advisory councils spent millions of dollars on lobbying (CREW).

REGULATION

A federal judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction forcing the Trump Administration to continue making cost-sharing reduction payments under the Affordable Care Act (Politico, The Hill).

• The opinion is available here.

 Vice President Pence broke a tie in the Senate to repeal a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule limiting the use of mandatory arbitration agreements (CFPB Monitor, The Hill, WaPo).

The Department of Labor has proposed repealing an Obama-era regulation on tip pooling by employers (The Hill).

The Trump Administration intends to roll back regulations on commercial drones (WaPo).

The Department of the Interior has removed discussion of climate change from its strategic plan (The Hill).

The Federal Communications Commission intends to vote on repealing regulations preventing media consolidation (WaPo).

While President Trump distracts the public with tweets, Trump administration officials are dismantling key regulations, contends Reuben Guttman at ACS Blog.

President Trump’s nominee to oversee chemical safety at the Environmental Protection Agency will provide insufficient industry oversight, writes Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) at The Hill.

An advocacy group filed a lawsuit to obtain Department of Labor documents concerning attempts to repeal regulations on overtime pay and the fiduciary standard for retirement plans (American Oversight).

• The complaint is available here.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE 

Cambridge Analytica, a data analysis firm employed by the Trump campaign, contacted Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to seek Clinton’s emails before the 2016 election (Politico).

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is investigating possible money laundering by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort (WSJ).

Senate investigators are seeking documents from the estate of Peter Smith, a former Republican campaign staffer who acknowledged seeking Clinton emails from Russian hackers (ABC News).

New details have emerged regarding the Clinton campaign’s funding of a controversial dossier regarding President Trump’s Russia ties (NYTimes).

Cold War-era counter-propaganda efforts can provide a guide to responding to future Russian influence campaigns, argue Ashley Deeks, Sabrina McCubbin, and Cody M. Poplin in Lawfare.