Category: Federal

U.S. Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) announced that he will resign from office on January 23, 2019, to take a job in the private sector. It’s likely he won’t be alone in leaving his Congressional seat early—20 members of the 115th Congress (2017 and 2018) did so before their terms expired.   Seventeen U.S. House members…

Yesterday’s congressional approval rating was 17 percent, according to Ballotpedia’s polling average. The congressional approval rating indicates public satisfaction in the job performance of the members of the United States Congress.   The 17 percent rating was the lowest rating since the week of September 24, 2018, when the rating was also 17 percent. Since…

A day after a federal judge in California enjoined new contraception rules in 13 states and Washington, D.C., a federal judge in Pennsylvania issued a nationwide injunction. The Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor announced the two final rules on contraception in November 2018. According to the agencies, those rules provide flexibility…

On January 16, President Donald Trump (R) announced six nominees to Article III federal judicial positions. Article III federal judges are appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and serve for life. The nominees are: Greg G. Guidry, nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. James Wesley Hendrix, nominee…

Andrew Wheeler, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, appeared before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Wednesday.   After the committee votes on Wheeler’s nomination, the full Senate will have to vote to confirm him. He needs a simple majority for confirmation. Republicans currently hold the majority with…

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing on January 15 and 16 for William Barr’s nomination to be United States Attorney General.   In his opening statement, Barr said that, if confirmed, he would “enforce the law evenhandedly and with integrity,” as he said during his confirmation hearing for attorney general in the George…

Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.), who has served in the U.S. House since 2011, announced Thursday that he will resign from Congress on January 23, 2019, to pursue a job in the private sector.   Marino served as the state co-chair for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 and was briefly a nominee to head the…

On January 13, 2019, Federal Judge Haywood Gilliam blocked Trump administration contraception rules from going into effect in Washington, D.C., and thirteen states. The plaintiff states are challenging two final rules announced by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor in November 2018. According to the agencies, those rules provide flexibility to…

Judge Jesse Furman of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a President Obama nominee, issued a ruling on January 15, 2019, holding that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by not properly following APA procedure when including a question regarding citizenship status in the 2020…

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said Friday that she planned to run for president in 2020. Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro (D), who formed an exploratory committee in December, also made a formal announcement of his candidacy on Saturday.    Earlier in the week, Democratic activist and founder of NextGen Climate…