Category: Federal

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination of William Barr to be U.S. attorney general by a vote of 12-10, along party lines. His nomination now heads to the Senate where he will need a simple majority for confirmation. Republicans hold a 53 to 47 majority.   Trump announced his intent to nominate Barr as…

U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall (R) announced Thursday that he would not seek re-election to Georgia’s 7th Congressional District in 2020. In a statement, Woodall referred to the death of his father in 2018, saying, “Doing what you love requires things of you, and having had that family transition made me start to think about those…

President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address on February 5. He called on members of Congress from both parties to work with him “to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans. Millions of our fellow citizens are watching us now, gathered in this great chamber, hoping that we will govern not as…

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works advanced the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to be Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator by a vote of 11-10, along party lines. His nomination now heads to the Senate where he will need a simple majority for confirmation. Republicans hold a 53 to 47 majority in the U.S.…

On February 4, President Donald Trump (R) announced that he would nominate David Bernhardt to serve as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Bernhardt became the department’s deputy secretary in 2017, and he has served as acting secretary since Ryan Zinke (R) resigned the position on January 2, 2019.   Trump tweeted, “I am pleased to…

In January 2019, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviewed 17 significant regulatory actions issued by federal agencies. The agency approved the intent of 13 rules while recommending changes to their content. OIRA approved one other rule without changes. Agencies withdrew three rules from the review process.   OIRA reviewed 20…

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 28 to February 1, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 936 pages, bringing…

The contemporary U.S. Supreme Court often divides along partisan lines. In Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group — a 2017 term case questing whether an administrative tribunal violated Article III of the U.S. Constitution — partisan lines weren’t so predictable. Neil Gorsuch and John Roberts were the only dissenting voices from an opinion…

U.S. intelligence officials delivered their annual assessment of global threats to national security to Congress, identifying cooperation between China and Russia as their top concern.   During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Wray, and Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel said that cyber…

The Trump administration said that it will suspend its obligations under the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, effective February 2, 2019. The administration said that Russia is not complying with the treaty.   In a statement, President Donald Trump explained the decision to leave the treaty, saying, “The United States has fully adhered to…