Category: Federal

A revamped North Carolina State Board of Elections is expected to go into effect on or after January 31, 2019, following the dissolution of the old board last month.   Gov. Roy Cooper (D) will appoint three Democrats and two Republicans to the board from a list of nominees provided by each state party. Democratic…

On January 24, 2019, the U.S. Senate rejected two proposals to end the partial government shutdown that began on December 22, 2018. The plan backed by President Donald Trump failed by a vote of 50-47. It needed 60 votes to pass. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) was the only Democrat who supported the bill. Sens. Tom…

Former West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda (D) suspended his 2020 campaign for President of the United States on Friday. Ojeda served in the West Virginia State Senate from 2016 through 2019. He lost a bid to represent the state’s 3rd Congressional district in 2018 to Carol Miller (R).   Ojeda was one of nine…

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 21 to January 25, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 212 pages, bringing…

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.…