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.

10/25/17  //  Daily Update

The Supreme Court dismissed Hawaii’s challenge to the second Travel Ban as moot and vacated the 9th Circuit decision. The en banc Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered that an undocumented pregnant teenager in federal custody could obtain an abortion. The Senate approved a resolution to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule limiting forced arbitration. The Federal Communications Commission has repealed a regulation requiring broadcasters to maintain a studio in the area from which they broadcast. State election officials asked members of Congress for additional resources to secure election systems in advance of the 2018 election.

10/24/17  //  Daily Update

Experts say Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission may not be able to secure voter data. President Trump unsuccessfully attempted to secure the arrest of Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire living in the United States, after Steve Wynn, a businessman and Trump donor with ties to the Chinese government, hand-delivered a letter from the Chinese government to President Trump requesting Guo’s arrest. The Department of the Treasury issued a report criticizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s forced arbitration rule. The House Intelligence Committee will interview Brad Parscale, digital director of President Trump’s 2016 campaign, as part of its investigation into Russia’s influence operation on social media.

10/23/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump previously called for eliminating tax breaks to the NFL because of the protests, and now the Republican tax bill proposes to cut tax breaks for stadiums. President Trump has pushed the death penalty for Saipov, which could threaten the defendant’s chance for a fair trial. A group of House Democrats have filed a lawsuit to acquire documents from the General Services Administration on the Trump hotel in Washington. President Trump announced Jerome Powell as his nominee for chair of the Federal Reserve. Jared Kushner has turned over documents to the Special Counsel as part of its investigation into obstruction of justice in the firing of former FBI Director James Comey.

10/23/17  //  Daily Update

The undocumented 17-year-old in federal custody who seeks an abortion faces further delays after the D.C. Circuit ruled HHS has until October 31 to try to find her a sponsor so the Government need not “facilitate” her abortion. DOJ filed a formal notice of appeal to a federal judge’s decision blocking the Administration’s latest travel ban. The Trump Administration is defending its decision to cease cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments, but 18 states and D.C. are continuing their challenge. A federal judge refused to erase Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s conviction, even after President Trump issued his pardon. President Trump has pledged more than $400,000 of his own money to help cover his aides’ legal costs in the Russia probes.

10/20/17  //  Daily Update

DOJ appealed a federal district court’s order to permit an undocumented teenager in federal custody to get an abortion. Democratic senators asked the GAO to investigate President Trump’s voting fraud commission. President Trump suggested that the FBI may have fabricated the dossier alleging ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Officials from President Trump’s campaign pushed tweets containing Russian propaganda in the days before the 2016 election.

10/19/17  //  Daily Update

A judge for the U.S. District Court of the District of Maryland became the second federal judge to halt the implementation of President Trump’s latest travel ban. A U.S. District Court ordered the government to permit an undocumented teenager in custody to get an abortion. Judge Daniels heard oral argument on CREW v. Trump, a challenge to President Trump's receipt of emoluments.

10/18/17  //  Daily Update

A federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide injunction against President Trump’s revised travel ban, blocking the administration from enforcing key provisions of its policy. Today, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will have their first chance to question Attorney General Jeff Sessions since his confirmation. Today, a federal judge will hear argument in the emoluments case against President Trump brought by CREW and private plaintiffs.

10/17/17  //  Daily Update

A lawsuit has been filed against the groups that organized the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, which resulted in one death and many injuries. Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in anticipation of white supremacist Richard Spencer’s scheduled speech at the University of Florida. President Trump is considering abandoning his nominee for drug czar, Tom Marino, after reports emerged that Marino pushed legislation that would make it more difficult to stop the flow of painkillers to the black market. A group of mental-health professionals has launched “Duty to Warn,” a group advocating for the removal of President Trump using the Twenty-fifth Amendment. And, according to the New Yorker, President Trump “joked,” describing Vice President Pence’s views on gay people, that “he wants to hang the all.”

10/16/17  //  Daily Update

DOJ plans to assist in the prosecution of a man charged with murdering a transgender teenager in Iowa, reportedly at the urging of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. DOJ also may implement quotas for immigration judges to evaluate performance. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel denied that media licenses will be revoked because President Trump doesn’t like the coverage outlets generate.

10/13/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Jeff Session urged Congress to enact stricter asylum rules. A bill enhancing whistleblower protections for federal employees is headed to President Trump for signature, following unanimous passage by the House. President Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to develop regulations to expand access to health insurance policies that are less expensive and comprehensive than those currently on the market. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urged Congress to adopt legislation to restrict the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

10/12/17  //  Daily Update

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.

10/11/17  //  Daily Update

A challenge to the administration's second travel ban has been dismissed by the Supreme Court as moot. Hawaii has filed a legal challenge to the third travel ban. On Twitter, Trump threatened to revoke the NFL’s tax exemption and attacked an ESPN journalist who had criticized his response to national anthem protests. The EPA seeks to undo Clean Air regulations. And the GAO finds that the Trump transition team violated ethics rules. And a comprehensive new report concludes that President Trump likely committed criminal obstruction of justice through his efforts to impede the Russia investigation, including by firing former FBI Director James Comey.

10/10/17  //  Daily Update

The White House’s demands for the immigration bill could hinder congressional negotiations. Washington State has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s rules that allow employers to exclude contraception from the insurance plans that they offer to employees. The Trump Administration will formally propose repealing the Clean Power Plan adopted under the Obama Administration to reduce power plant emissions. Google discovered evidence that Russian operatives purchased ads on Youtube, Gmail, and Google Search products in an effort to interfere with the 2016 election.

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.