6/24/19  //  Daily Update

President Trump declared that he would delay nationwide ICE raids targeting undocumented families for two weeks, aiming to pressure Democrats into agreeing to changes to asylum laws. Detention centers on the southern border have devolved into disorder, sickness, and filth. The Trump Administration announced a plan to house migrant children at former internment camps in Oklahoma, inciting significant protests and backlash. The Department of Justice signaled in a Supreme Court filing that it would be open to drawing legislative districts based on equal numbers of eligible voters – a move which would disempower minorities with less access to the vote, such as Hispanic communities.

6/20/19  //  Daily Update

A district judge in Maryland said, in light of the new evidence, he would reconsider whether the Trump Administration’s decision to add the citizenship question to the 2020 census was motivated by discriminatory intent. President Trump announced his intention to nominate Army Secretary Mark Esper as the Secretary of Defense after the former acting Secretary, Patrick Shanahan, withdrew from consideration. The Trump Administration finalized its replacement for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which gives states more flexibility to set their own emissions goals.

6/19/19  //  Daily Update

In a tweet last night Donald Trump made vague claims that efforts to deport undocumented immigrants will be intensified. The House Oversight and Reform Committee is requesting an interview with Christa Jones after it was revealed that she talked to a GOP strategist about a possible census citizenship question. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan has withdrawn his nomination following reports of a domestic incident.

6/18/19  //  Daily Update

House Democrats plan to counter President Trump’s assertions of executive privilege by soliciting testimony from people who never worked in the White House. The Pentagon ordered 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East “for defensive purposes." Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) stated that bills to protect U.S. elections from foreign interference are not receiving floor votes in the Senate because of objections from the White House.

6/14/19  //  Daily Update

Hope Hicks will testify before the House Judiciary Committee next Wednesday. The DC District Court denied HHS’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit from two women who want to adopt refugee children and were denied from doing so by an HHS-funded group because they are a same-sex couple. President Trump has said he would accept information on political opponents from foreign governments during the 2020 election. Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would force campaigns to report assistance from foreign governments to the FEC and the FBI. The Office of the Special Counsel has recommended that the President fire Kellyanne Conway for violations of the Hatch Act.

6/13/19  //  Daily Update

Plaintiffs challenging the addition of a citizenship question to the census filed a motion asking the Supreme Court to remand for further proceedings in light of new evidence. The House Oversight Committee voted to hold William Barr and Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress. The Trump administration is exerting executive privilege over documents requested by the House Oversight and Reform Committee dealing with the addition of the citizenship question on the 2020 census. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff threatened to subpoena FBI Director Christopher Wray for not informing Congress about the status of a counterintelligence investigation into links between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.

6/11/19  //  Daily Update

House Democrats have appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals over an order rejecting their request for a preliminary injunction over President Trump's reprogramming of military funds for a border wall. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli will serve as the new acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. President Trump's acting budget chief called for a two-year delay of a ban that would restrict the U.S. government from doing business with Chinese tech firm Huawei.

6/11/19  //  Daily Update

The Senate voted to block Trump’s arms deal with Iran, but does not have enough votes to beat a veto. A federal judge in Massachusetts has enjoined ICE from making arrests in and around courthouses. The Ninth Circuit has ruled that the administration’s plan to ban federally funded family planning clinics from giving abortion referrals will be allowed to go into effect nationwide.

6/11/19  //  Daily Update

The House has voted to allow representatives to pursue civil suits to force information from stonewalling members of the administration. The Justice Department has agreed to turn key evidence in the Mueller probe over to the House in what might be a deal to avoid contempt charges. The Justice Department has released an OLC opinion saying that it is unconstitutional for Congress to prohibit executive branch attorneys from accompanying witnesses who are current or former executive branch employees called to testify before Congress

6/10/19  //  Daily Update

President Trump withdrew his tariff threat after the U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement on migration. A federal judge in D.C. ordered the release of certain redacted sections of former FBI Director James Comey’s memos of conversations with President Trump. At the instruction of the White House, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach refused to answer several questions from the House Oversight Committee about the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The FTC sent top antitrust officials to Silicon Valley to seek out complaints about anticompetitive behavior, signaling a greater interest in policing the tech industry.

6/6/19  //  Daily Update

With the President in London to tend to our special relationship with the United Kingdom, it’s been—comparatively, at least—a slow news day. The Trump campaign asked a federal court to sanction the DNC for its lawsuit over the campaign’s alleged ties to Russia. The SEC and HHS delivered a series of blows to consumer and abortion rights advocates. And Take Care debuted its symposium on an exciting new book on reproductive rights and the law.

6/5/19  //  Daily Update

A federal judge has dismissed the House suit over the border wall for lack of Article III standing. The Trump administration has asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to issue an emergency stay blocking construction on the border wall. The DOJ has denied allegations that a GOP operative was instrumental in getting the citizenship question on the 2020 census, calling accusations baseless. The House will vote next week on whether to hold Barr and McGahn in contempt for refusing to comply with its subpoena.

6/4/19  //  Daily Update

In a legal filing in an ongoing lawsuit, a luxury hotel in Panama alleged the Trump Organization evaded taxes in Panama and made false claims to Panamanian tax authorities. The Supreme Court rejected the Trump Administration’s request to fast track its decision on whether or not to hear the case over the President’s recession of DACA. A federal judge in DC ruled the House of Representatives lacks standing to sue executive branch officials over the border wall funding.

6/3/19  //  Daily Update

Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas to Mar-a-Lago and a Trump fundraising committee regarding activity by a Republican Party donor that may have violated campaign finance laws. The Second Circuit has fast-tracked President Trump’s appeal of an order requiring two banks to hand over the president’s financial records under a subpoena from the House. President Trump has announced tariffs on Mexican imports that will grow unless “the illegal migration crisis is alleviated through effective actions taken by Mexico.” The Administration announced a new policy that will require most visa applicants to provide their social media information. A Republican consultant concluded in 2015 that adding a citizenship question to the census would give Republican and white voters more clout, potentially providing new information about the government’s motive in adding the question.

5/31/19  //  Daily Update

Trump implied in a tweet that Russia did in fact help him get elected—and quickly moved to clarify. Mueller relied on OLC precedent in his comments earlier this week. Nancy Pelosi continues to stone-wall on impeachment.