Category: Federal
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Bernie Sanders leads Democratic pageviews for second consecutive week; Deval Patrick sees biggest increase in pageviews
Each week, we report the number of pageviews received by 2020 presidential campaigns on Ballotpedia. These numbers reflect the time investments of our community of thousands of readers who visit a Ballotpedia because they think the candidate is worth knowing more about, whether they believe the candidate has a strong chance of winning or is…
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FTC faces due process challenge to adjudication, administrative law judges
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on January 3 became the latest federal agency to face a constitutional challenge to its adjudication procedures, including the role of administrative law judges (ALJs). Axon Enterprises Inc. filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona arguing that the FTC’s adjudication procedures vest the…
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U.S. House passes CRA resolution to block Department of Education student loan rule
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 231 to 180 on January 16 to pass a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to block a final rule related to government forgiveness of certain student loan debt. Two hundred and twenty-five Democrats and six Republicans voted to pass the resolution while 179 Republicans and Justin Amash…
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Lawsuit claims new SNAP work requirements are unlawful
A group of states, the District of Columbia, and New York City filed a lawsuit on January 16 against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit argues that a December 2019 rule violated federal law and arbitrarily reversed decades of policies governing when states…
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Hunter becomes chair of Federal Election Commission
On January 1, 2020, FEC commissioner Caroline C. Hunter (R) assumed the role of Federal Election Commission (FEC) chairwoman. Hunter is serving her second non-consecutive one year term as FEC Chairwoman and 12th year on the commission. The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency created by Congress in 1975 to administer and enforce…
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Federal Register weekly update; 2020 page total exceeds 2019 and 2018
The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity. From January 13 to January 17, the Federal Register grew to 3,228 pages. Over the same period in 2019 and 2018, the Federal…
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U.S. Supreme Court issues opinions in two cases
On January 14, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued rulings on two cases, Ritzen Group Inc. v. Jackson Masonry and Retirement Plan Committee of IBM v. Jander. In the case Ritzen Group Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, Ritzen Group and Jackson Masonry both claimed that the other party breached contract after a sale…
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Traynor receives commission to North Dakota federal court
On January 13, 2020, Daniel Mack Traynor received his judicial commission to the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. Traynor was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on September 19, 2019, to succeed Judge Daniel Hovland, who assumed senior status on November 10, 2019. Traynor was confirmed by the…
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Chief Justice John Roberts, U.S. senators sworn in for impeachment trial of President Donald Trump
The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump (R) began on Thursday when seven House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), presented to the U.S. Senate two articles of impeachment against Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in as the presiding officer of…
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FLRA hears testimony in bid to decertify immigration judge union
The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) held a hearing on January 7 to consider testimony on a petition filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in August that seeks to decertify the union representing the agency’s immigration judges (IJs), the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ). Decertification of the NAIJ could give DOJ officials…