10/6/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the two cases challenging the March travel ban, arguing that they are now moot. Tensions with President Trump are making it more difficult for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to build diplomatic relationships. President Trump has agreed to “a broad strategy” to challenge Iran’s ballistic missile program, but his Administration has yet to clarify its position on the Iran nuclear deal. Senator John McCain stated that the Senate Armed Services Committee will support efforts to challenge Russia’s disinformation campaign in the United States.

10/5/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration’s phase-out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program begins on Thursday night. New York prosecutors were close to charging Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. with felony fraud in 2012, and the timeline suggests that political donations to the district attorney helped thwart the indictments. The EPA will soon announce its proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s major climate change regulation. Senate Intelligence Committee leaders also announced their conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections.

10/4/17  //  Daily Update

Two new legal challenges have been filed against the Trump Administration’s latest travel ban. At a hearing, General Mattis and other top military officials endorsed staying in the Iran deal, contradicting President Trump’s earlier position. Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the EPA, has spent much of his time meeting with industry officials, some of whom have high-profile matters pending before the agency. President Trump’s nominee to serve as a Federal District Judge in Oklahoma received a rare “not qualified” recommendation from the ABA. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has asked his team of lawyers to research the limits of the pardon power.

10/3/17  //  Daily Update

Los Angeles filed suit against the Department of Justice, arguing that it is unconstitutional for the federal government to withhold funds because of the city’s immigration policy. Over 90 civil rights groups are preparing to challenge the Trump administration’s decision to halt an equal pay rule, which required companies to submit data to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Following the Las Vegas shooting, the White House said it was too soon to discuss gun control measures. Leaked emails reveal that Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort attempted to use his campaign position to solicit money from Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Russian government.

10/2/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration is working hard to reauthorize FISA. The VA is trying to repeal an ethics rule preventing its employees from owning stakes in for-profit colleges receiving hundreds of millions in G.I. Bill funds. Health and Human Services Director Tom Price has resigned over the chartered flights scandal. The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee has turned its attention to whether then-FBI Director James Comey ended his investigation into Hillary Clinton too soon.

9/29/17  //  Daily Update

The California legislature sent to the Governor's desk a law that would require presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns in order to appear on the ballot. The President waived the Jones Act to permit aid to more easily flow into Puerto Rico. And the President released a tax plan that set-off a wave of commentary.

9/28/17  //  Daily Update

White House officials are circulating hard-line immigration proposals that include the hiring of 10,000 additional immigration enforcement agents. The Second Circuit expressed skepticism of the DOJ's new anti-gay stance. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch’s speech at the Trump International Hotel raised questions of independence. The House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the travel of senior Trump Administration officials.

9/27/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump’s newly announced proclamation banning entry of individuals from specific countries deemed to “pose a security or safety threat” continues to receive criticism and coverage. The Fifth Circuit has allowed Texas to enforce parts of a state law seeking to punish sanctuary cities. A DOJ attorney told the Second Circuit that Title VII does not protect gay workers from discrimination, contradicting the EEOC’s brief in the case. Congressional democrats will hear testimony from Obama-era Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson regarding election cyber security. A coalition of constitutional lawyers, scholars, and public interests groups called on Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch to cancel his planned speech at the Trump International Hotel. Robert Mueller will begin interviewing current and former White House officials this week.

9/26/17  //  Daily Update

The Supreme Court cancelled oral arguments in the revised travel ban case and asked parties to brief whether the new ban, issued over the weekend, renders the case moot. Senate Republicans have released the Succeed Act, the replacement for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The Trump administration says that the US has not declared war. North Korea’s foreign minister alleged that the US declared war in a tweet and said that North Korea has the right to shoot down US warplanes. At least six White House officials used private email accounts to discuss Trump Administration matters.

9/25/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump issued a proclamation modifying and extending the travel ban. The pending Supreme Court cases challenging Trump's second revised travel ban might now be moot. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded two Obama-era policies relating to college sexual-assault investigations. The federal government alerted twenty-one states that hackers targeted their voting systems in the 2016 presidential election. HHS Secretary Tom Price is under investigation for use of government funds to pay for private flights. Jared Kushner has used private e-mail accounts for some White House business since taking office. Finally, President Trump tweeted criticism of the NFL and certain players; these tweets were met with a firestorm of criticism.

9/22/17  //  Daily Update

Reports emerge about controversial document requests by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The President is reportedly reviewing a security report that may serve as the basis of a new or revised Muslim travel ban.

9/21/17  //  Daily Update

Due to concerns about processing 50,000 applications, the Department of Homeland Security has recommended cutting the number of refugees allowed into the country in 2018 to 40,000. Trump says he has made a decision on the Iran deal, but has not announced the decision. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and other watchdog groups filed a motion seeking a federal court order requiring the Trump Administration to explain the decision to withhold visitor logs from Mar-a-Lago. President Trump endorsed the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill, the latest effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested from the White House documents about the firings of former F.B.I. director James Comey and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

9/20/17  //  Daily Update

Additional briefs are filed in the Supreme Court in the travel ban case, and commentary ensues. Reports emerge about close industry ties for several of the President's pending nominees. And the Senate confirms a new Solicitor General in a close vote.

9/19/17  //  Daily Update

DACA recipients have filed suit against the Trump Administration over President Trump’s decision to end the program. Lambda Legal has filed an amicus brief in the travel ban case, arguing that President Trump’s ban is an unconstitutional violation of religious freedom. President Trump has called on the U.N. to reform itself, but stated that the Trump Administration will be “partners in your work.” Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has recommended that regulations on 10 national monuments be loosened or downsized.

9/18/17  //  Daily Update

A federal court granted a nationwide preliminary injunction, ruling against Justice Department’s effort to withhold funding from sanctuary cities. The Pentagon issued guidance stating that transgender troops serving in the military can re-enlist, while the Defense Department determines how to enact Trump’s transgender troops ban. The Department of Justice has moved to dismiss a lawsuit by over 200 members of Congress that challenged President Trump’s failure to divest from his business as violative of the Emoluments Clause. California’s Assembly approved a bill that would require presidential candidates to release tax returns in order to appear on the primary ballot.