Category: Federal

On February 4, President Donald Trump (R) announced that he would nominate David Bernhardt to serve as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Bernhardt became the department’s deputy secretary in 2017, and he has served as acting secretary since Ryan Zinke (R) resigned the position on January 2, 2019.   Trump tweeted, “I am pleased to…

In January 2019, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviewed 17 significant regulatory actions issued by federal agencies. The agency approved the intent of 13 rules while recommending changes to their content. OIRA approved one other rule without changes. Agencies withdrew three rules from the review process.   OIRA reviewed 20…

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.   During the week of January 28 to February 1, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 936 pages, bringing…

The contemporary U.S. Supreme Court often divides along partisan lines. In Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group — a 2017 term case questing whether an administrative tribunal violated Article III of the U.S. Constitution — partisan lines weren’t so predictable. Neil Gorsuch and John Roberts were the only dissenting voices from an opinion…

U.S. intelligence officials delivered their annual assessment of global threats to national security to Congress, identifying cooperation between China and Russia as their top concern.   During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Wray, and Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel said that cyber…

The Trump administration said that it will suspend its obligations under the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, effective February 2, 2019. The administration said that Russia is not complying with the treaty.   In a statement, President Donald Trump explained the decision to leave the treaty, saying, “The United States has fully adhered to…

Early 2016 primaries and caucuses three years ago beginning February 1, 2016, prompted a wave of candidates to withdraw from the presidential election that month.   From February 1 through February 20, seven Republicans and one Democrat dropped out of the presidential race. Below is a look at the timeline of the early 2016 primaries…

The Supreme Court hears its next case in a few weeks. But 229 years ago today, the Court’s first session was commencing.   On February 1, 1790, SCOTUS met to convene for the first time in New York City. No quorum was met that day, however, so the court officially came to order for the…

One-hundred-fifty-four years ago today, in 1865, the United States Congress passed the 13th amendment. The vote was 119 to 56— clearing the two-thirds majority by seven votes. The amendment was later ratified by the states and abolished slavery in the United States.   The exact text of the 13th Amendment: Section 1:   “Neither slavery…

Three years ago, Iowa was preparing for the first primary contest of the 2016 presidential election on February 1.   More than 180,000 turned out to the Republican caucuses, smashing 2012’s turnout record by 60,000 people. Sen. Ted Cruz took the top spot with 27.6 percent of the vote and eight delegates. Donald Trump came…