Christina Ford  //  10/9/17  //  Daily Update


On Friday, Attorney General Sessions issued sweeping new guidance on religious freedom, triggering a backlash from civil rights groups who say the guidance is a license for discrimination. The Trump Administration issued two interim final rules which will allow many more employers to exclude contraception from the insurance plans they offer to their employees. A draft proposal from the EPA indicates the agency plans to attempt to repeal the Clean Power Plan in its entirety. White House officials are cooperating with the Special Counsel in the hope that Mr. Mueller will declare that President Trump is not a target of the Russia inquiry.

 

IMMIGRATION

To let “Dreamers” stay in the US, the Trump Administration will require a crackdown on children fleeing from Central America (NYT).

Courts should consider whether it makes sense to apply strict scrutiny to laws and policies like the Travel Ban that are motivated by animus, writes Michael C. Dorf at Take Care.

There is no public safety justification for the revised travel ban, argues Alex Nowrasteh at Cato at Liberty.

The Director of ICE indicated agents will conduct new workplace and neighborhood raids in response to California’s new sanctuary law (The Hill).

 

CIVIL RIGHTS

On Friday, Attorney General Sessions issued sweeping new guidance on religious freedom, triggering a backlash from civil rights groups who say the guidance is a license for discrimination (WaPo).

  • You can read the statement of Attorney General Sessions here and the memorandum here.

The Trump Administration issued two interim final rules which will allow many more employers to exclude contraception from the insurance plans they offer to their employees (NYT).

  • Nick Bagley argues that the two rules have both procedural and substantive legal deficiencies at Take Care.
  • HHS provided a press release explaining the two rules.
  • California filed a lawsuit challenging the rules.
  • The ACLU also filed a lawsuit challenging the rules.

 

DEMOCRACY

There is no value to democracy from political gerrymandering for partisan advantage, writes G. Michael Parsons at Take Care.

Collective action and worker solidarity can provide an effective response to the President’s attempt to interfere in private employer’s personnel decisions, writes Charlotte Garden at Take Care.

 

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The Trump Administration is divided over how to handle the detention of an American citizen who is suspected to have supported ISIS (NYT).

  • Marty Lederman provided three observations on the detention at Just Security.

The United States is lifting sanctions on Sudan after two decades of embargo (WaPo).

Decertifying the Iran Deal could create major political and diplomatic blowback, writes Elena Chachko at Lawfare.

The newly relaxed rules of engagement in Afghanistan are indicative of the Trump administration’s determination to enhance the effect of U.S. combat power in Afghanistan, writes Geoffrey S. Corn at Just Security.

 

REGULATION

A draft proposal from the EPA indicates the agency plans to attempt to repeal the Clean Power Plan in its entirety (The Hill).

President Trump plans to issue an executive order easing federal rules governing health insurance and allowing consumers to buy insurance across state lines. (NYT; WSJ)

CMS intends to increase enforcement on qualified health plans’ coverage of abortions outside the Hyde Amendment (Health Affairs Blog).

A new Treasury Department report recommends making significant changes to the Dodd-Frank Act (NYT).

The Army Corp of Engineers is pushing back the deadline of a court-ordered environmental review of the Dakota Access pipeline project (The Hill).

 

CHECKS & BALANCES

The EPA’s Office of Inspector General is expanding a probe into EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s taxpayer funded travel (The Hill).

 

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

White House officials are cooperating with the Special Counsel in the hope that Mr. Mueller will declare that President Trump is not a target of the Russia inquiry (NYT).


Daily Update | December 23, 2019

12/23/19  //  Daily Update

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seek to leverage uncertainties in the rules for impeachment to their advantage. White House officials indicated that President Trump threatened to veto a recent spending bill if it included language requiring release of military aid to Ukraine early next year. The DHS OIG said that it found “no misconduct” by department officials in the deaths of two migrant children who died in Border Patrol custody last year. And the FISA court ordered the Justice Department to review all cases that former FBI official Kevin Clinesmith worked on.

Emily Morrow

Harvard Law School

Daily Update | December 20, 2019

12/20/19  //  Daily Update

Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated the House will be “ready” to move forward with the next steps once the Senate has agreed on ground rules, but the House may withhold from sending the articles to the Senate until after the new year. Commentary continues about the Fifth Circuit's mixed decision on the status of the ACA.

Emily Morrow

Harvard Law School

Daily Update | December 19, 2019

12/19/19  //  Daily Update

The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump. Some Democrats urge House leaders to withhold the articles to delay a trial in the Senate. Meanwhile, the Fifth Circuit issues an inconclusive decision about the future of the ACA, and DHS and DOJ proposed a new rulemaking to amend the list of crimes that bar relief for asylum seekers.

Emily Morrow

Harvard Law School