Category: Federal

Three years ago more than a dozen presidential candidates were storming through Iowa, making their final pitches to voters ahead of the February 1, 2016 caucuses. The Des Moines Register announced its endorsements of Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio. The New York Times reported that Michael Bloomberg was considering a run for president as an…

On January 22, United States Solicitor General Noel Francisco filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision made by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The district court ruled on January 15 that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by including…

The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) issued guidance to administrative agencies on January 14, 2019, allowing for the publication of significant regulations during the government shutdown that, if otherwise delayed, would negatively impact funded government functions. Under the prior publication standard, the Federal Register could only publish emergency rules, such as those necessary to…

On January 23, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) resubmitted 51 judicial nominations to the U.S. Senate. The nominees had been returned to the president earlier in January at the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress.   The list included 37 nominees for the U.S. district courts, nine nominees for federal circuit courts of appeal,…

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York, New York. The case concerns provisions of New York City’s premises license that prevent a gun owner from transporting a licensed, locked, and unloaded handgun to a home or shooting range outside city…

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its seventh unanimous ruling of the 2018-2019 term in Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., a patent law case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion affirming the ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It was Justice Thomas’ third opinion this term.…

On December 17, 2018, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) announced that he would not seek re-election to his seat in 2020. He was first elected to the Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in 2008 and 2014. Alexander was previously a two-term governor of Tennessee and served for two years as the U.S. Secretary of…

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) became the seventh Democratic elected official to enter the 2020 presidential race, announcing her run Monday on Good Morning America. She was first elected to the Senate in 2016 after previously serving as California’s attorney general.   Harris joins former Obama Cabinet member Julian Castro, former Rep. John Delaney (Md.), Rep.…

U.S. Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) announced that he will resign from office on January 23, 2019, to take a job in the private sector. It’s likely he won’t be alone in leaving his Congressional seat early—20 members of the 115th Congress (2017 and 2018) did so before their terms expired.   Seventeen U.S. House members…

Yesterday’s congressional approval rating was 17 percent, according to Ballotpedia’s polling average. The congressional approval rating indicates public satisfaction in the job performance of the members of the United States Congress.   The 17 percent rating was the lowest rating since the week of September 24, 2018, when the rating was also 17 percent. Since…