Category: Federal
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U.S. Supreme Court rules application of Blaine Amendment violates the free exercise clause
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue that the application of Article X, Section 6 of the Montana Constitution violated the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. Article X, Section 6, known as the state’s Blaine Amendment or as a no aid provision, prohibited the state from making direct…
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U.S. Supreme Court: CFPB structure is unconstitutional but the agency survives
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Seila v. CFPB that limiting the power of the president to remove the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) violates the separation of powers of the U.S. Constitution. Congress created the CFPB as an independent agency with a director insulated from direct presidential…
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U.S. Supreme Court limits SEC enforcement powers
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 22 ruling in Liu v. SEC limited the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement powers. The court ruled 8-1 that the SEC could ask courts to issue disgorgement orders, which require wrongdoers to give up money gathered illegally, with some restrictions. The court held that valid disgorgement orders must be…
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3,019 major party candidates filed for 2020 Congress elections
As of June 29, 3,019 major party candidates have filed to run for the Senate and House of Representatives in 2020. So far, 461 candidates are filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for U.S. Senate. Of those, 369—187 Democrats and 182 Republicans—are from one of the two major political parties. In 2018,…
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Federal Register weekly update; highest weekly final rule total since March
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 June 22 to June 26, the Federal Register grew by 1,410 pages for a year-to-date total of 38,740 pages. Over the same…
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Biden raised $37.0 million, Trump $24.9 million in May
Joe Biden outraised Donald Trump by nearly a three-to-two margin last month, while Trump ended the month with a greater than five-to-four advantage in cash on hand, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission June 20. The Biden campaign raised $37.0 million in May, 39% more than the Trump campaign’s $24.9…
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U.S. Senate confirms Trump’s 200th judicial nominee with Cory Wilson to 5th Circuit
The U.S. Senate has confirmed 200 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 53 appellate court judges, 143 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017. On June 24, the Senate confirmed Cory Wilson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The 5th Circuit…
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Candidate filing period for congressional races ends in Rhode Island
On June 24, the statewide filing deadline passed to run for U.S. Congress in Rhode Island. One U.S. Senate seat and both of Rhode Island’s U.S. House seats are up for election in 2020. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D) filed for re-election to his Class II Senate seat. He was first elected to the seat…
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U.S. District Court ruled that Idaho must allow Reclaim Idaho to collect electronic signatures or put the group’s initiative on the ballot directly
On June 23, 2020, United States District Court Judge Lynn Winmill ruled that Idaho officials must do one of two things: (a) allow Reclaim Idaho, sponsors of the Idaho Income Tax Increases for Education Funding Initiative, to gather signatures electronically, or (b) place the ballot initiative on the November ballot themselves. Judge Winmill concluded that…
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Candidate Madison Cawthorn’s key policy messages from his campaign
Madison Cawthorn, who defeated Lynda Bennett in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District Republican primary runoff Tuesday, filled out Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey so voters can discover what motivates them on political and personal levels. Select responses from Cawthorn are below, with Ballotpedia’s questions…