Category: Federal
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The 2022 Senate battlegrounds (so far)
Control of both chambers of Congress is at stake in the 2022 midterm elections. The Democratic and Republican caucuses currently split the Senate 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris (D) casting tie-breaking votes. Thirty-four Senate seats are up for election next year. Republicans currently hold 20 of those and Democrats, 14. Senate races in eight…
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SCOTUS accepts three cases for argument during the 2021-2022 term
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Nov. 5 accepted three additional cases for argument during its 2021-2022 term: Ruan v. United States (Consolidated with Kahn v. United States) Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan v. DaVita, Inc. Egbert v. Boule Ruan concerns the good faith defense available to defendants charged under…
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Iowa, Massachusetts enact new district maps
Iowa enacted new congressional and state legislative maps, and Massachusetts enacted new state legislative maps, on Nov. 4. Nationwide, legislative redistricting has been completed for 444 of 1,972 state Senate seats (22.5%) and 1,243 of 5,411 state House seats (23.0%). In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed new congressional and state legislative maps into law…
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SCOTUS hears arguments in second week of November argument sitting
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Nov. 8 continued its November argument sitting of the the 2021-2022 term. The court is hearing arguments in person and providing audio livestreams of arguments. This week, SCOTUS will hear arguments in five cases. Click the links below to learn more about these cases: Nov. 8…
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Federal Register weekly update: 604 new documents added
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, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions. From Nov. 1 through Nov. 5, the Federal Register grew by 1,506 pages for a year-to-date…
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U.S. Senate confirms two nominees to lifetime federal judgeships
The U.S. Senate on Nov. 1 confirmed two of President Joe Biden’s (D) federal judicial nominees to lifetime Article III judgeships: Beth Robinson, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, by a vote of 51-45 Toby Heytens, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, by a vote…
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President Biden announces new federal judicial nominees
President Joe Biden (D) announced a new slate of nominees to lifetime Article III judgeships on U.S. circuit and district courts on Nov. 3. Leonard Stark, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Jacqueline Corley and Trina Thompson, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Ruth Bermudez Montenegro,…
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Biden administration implements vaccine mandate through emergency rulemaking
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Nov. 4 issued an emergency rule effective immediately to implement President Joe Biden’s (D) proposed vaccine mandate on certain private business employees. The rule requires the roughly 80 million individuals who work for companies with 100 or more employees to receive a COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine or undergo weekly testing.…
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OIRA reviewed 42 significant rules in October
In Oct. 2021, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviewed 42 significant regulatory actions issued by federal agencies. OIRA approved two of these rules with no changes and approved the intent of 40 rules while recommending changes to their content. OIRA reviewed 53 significant regulatory actions in October 2020, 45 significant…