Author: Jace Lington
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New York sues U.S. Department of Labor
On April 14, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) arguing that it violated the terms of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) with a new temporary rule. James asked the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to block that…
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President Trump removes head of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
On April 6, Glenn Fine, the acting inspector general for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), lost his leadership position on the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) when President Donald Trump replaced him with Sean O’Donnell, the inspector general for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Trump asked O’Donnell to serve as inspector general of the…
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Federal court dismisses challenge to Trump regulatory budget executive order
On April 2, a federal judge ruled that a group of states lacked standing to challenge Executive Order 13771, which established a regulatory budget including a requirement that agencies eliminate two old regulations for each new regulation issued. Judge Randolph D. Moss, an Obama appointee serving on the United States District Court for the District…
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U.S. Supreme Court ruling makes it easier to challenge deportation decisions
On March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr that lower courts may review how immigration agencies applied the law in certain deportation cases. The court consolidated this case with Ovalles v. Barr, which posed the same question. The court ruled that deciding whether a deportee diligently pursued immigration officials to…
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Inspectors General assembled to oversee CARES Act spending
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law on March 27, created a committee of inspectors general to provide oversight of over $2 trillion available in response to the Coronavirus crisis. The committee, called the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), has the responsibility to promote transparency and to prevent and…
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U.S. Senate passes CRA resolution to block Department of Education student loan rule
The U.S. Senate voted 53 to 42 on March 11 to pass a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to block a final rule related to government forgiveness of certain student loan debt. 42 Democrats, 10 Republicans, and Angus King (I-Maine) voted to pass the resolution while 42 Republicans voted nay. The U.S. House…
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U.S. Supreme Court allows Trump administration to return asylum-seekers to Mexico for processing
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled March 11 to allow the Trump administration to have some asylum-seekers wait in Mexico while U.S. officials process their claims. The ruling in _Wolf v. Innovation Law Lab_ allows immigration personnel to follow the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), called the “Remain in Mexico” policy, while challenges to the policy work…
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Justice Gorsuch argues against deference in criminal cases
Justice Gorsuch released a statement critical of applying Chevron deference to laws involving criminal penalties following the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 2 decision not to hear Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case challenged the Trump administration’s decision to outlaw bump stocks through regulation. Under Chevron deference, federal courts must defer…
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Fifth Circuit upholds limits on presidential removal power over CFPB head
A panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided 2-1 to uphold the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The court’s March 3 opinion said that the legal restrictions on the president’s authority to remove the head of the agency were “valid and constitutional.” Judge Stephen Higginson,…
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Justice Thomas signals reconsideration of judicial deference doctrine
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote on February 24 that he would reconsider his 2005 Brand X opinion. He made his remarks while dissenting from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Baldwin v. U.S., which challenged Brand X. Thomas argued that Brand X appears to be “inconsistent with the Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA),…