Category: Federal

The U.S. Senate confirmed Eric D. Miller’s nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on a recorded vote of 53 – 46. The vote, which took place on February 26, 2019, was the first circuit court judge confirmation to occur without blue slip approval from home-state senators.   A blue…

Mark Harris (R), who ran in last year’s invalidated election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, announced on February 26 that he would not participate in the do-over election ordered for the seat. Harris cited health reasons for not competing in the new race. “Given my health situation, the need to regain full strength, and…

Senate Judiciary Committee member Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) expressed concern on Sunday about confirming Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator Neomi Rao to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit due to Hawley’s reading of Rao’s academic writings that he claims favor substantive due process.   Hawley stated in a…

The U.S. Supreme Court released its 10th unanimous opinion of the term.   Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the unanimous opinion in Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert, a case concerning claim-processing rules. It was her first opinion of the term.   The justices have issued 11 decisions, 10 of which were unanimous.

Republican Party leaders and representatives from the 15 counties that make up Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District will meet on March 2 to choose their party’s nominee for a special election on May 21. Six candidates have declared their candidacy on the Republican side. Democrats already nominated Marc Friedenberg on February 12—he was the only Democratic…

On February 22, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) announced that he would nominate Kelly Knight Craft to be the 30th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump tweeted, “I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations…Kelly has…

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously on February 21 to order a new election in the state’s 9th Congressional District following four days of hearings on alleged ballot tampering and election fraud.   The state Board will set the date for the primary and general election, unlike the nearby 3rd Congressional District,…

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) raised nearly $6 million in the first 24 hours of his 2020 presidential campaign, marking a record total for 2020 candidates with his initial fundraising haul and the number of donors—223,000—who contributed.   Sanders, who came in second in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary with 46 percent of pledged delegates,…

The U.S. Supreme Court released two unanimous opinions this week.   Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the unanimous opinion in Timbs v. Indiana, a case concerning the Eighth Amendment’s ban on excessive fines. It was her second opinion of the term.   Justice Neil Gorsuch delivered the unanimous opinion in Dawson v. Steager, a case…

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the following four cases next week:   *Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, a case concerning the First Amendment’s limitation on governmental restriction of free speech and public access television channels.   *Mont v. United States, a case concerning supervised release for criminals.   *United States…