Category: Federal

  • Federal Register weekly update: Tops 50,000 pages

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    Photo of the White House in Washington, D.C.

    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 overall regulatory activity, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions. From Sept. 6 through Sept. 10, the Federal Register grew by 934 pages for a…

  • A look back at government responses to the coronavirus pandemic, September 14-18, 2020

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    Although the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was confirmed on Jan. 21, 2020, it wasn’t until March when the novel coronavirus upended life for most Americans. Throughout the year, states issued stay-at-home orders, closed schools, restricted travel, issued mask mandates, and changed election dates. Here are the policy changes that happened September 14-18,…

  • President Biden announces eight additional nominees for Article III judgeships

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    President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate eight individuals to Article III judgeships on Sept. 8. With the addition of these eight, Biden has nominated a total of 41 individuals to Article III judgeships since the start of his term. To date, nine of Biden’s nominees have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.…

  • SCOTUS announces it will hear oral arguments in person

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    The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) announced on Sept. 8 that it would hear oral arguments in person for the first time since March 4, 2020, for its October, November, and December sittings. However, the court will not be open to the public, in accordance with its current precautions in response to COVID-19.…

  • SCOTUS grants review in capital case

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    The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Sept. 8 accepted a capital case to its merits docket for the 2021-2022 term. The case, Ramirez v. Collier, originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, located in New Orleans. John Ramirez filed an emergency appeal with the court on Sept. 7…

  • Biden withdraws Chipman from consideration for ATF director

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    President Joe Biden (D) announced on Sept. 9, 2021, that he was withdrawing David Chipman from consideration for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Chipman, a former ATF agent and senior policy advisor at Giffords, had been nominated in April 2021. The Senate Judiciary Committee declined to report on Chipman’s…

  • Federal appeals court rejects claim that Georgia requirement that voters pay postage for absentee/mail-in ballots amounts to a poll tax

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    On Aug. 27, 2021, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously affirmed a lower court’s decision finding that a Georgia law requiring voters to pay the price of postage for returning absentee/mail-in ballots does not constitute an illegal poll tax. The plaintiffs had argued that requiring absentee/mail-in…

  • Federal Register weekly update: More than 250 presidential documents issued so far in 2021

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    Graphic with the five pillars of the

    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 overall regulatory activity, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions. From August 30 through September 3, the Federal Register grew by 1,608 pages for a…

  • President Biden has appointed the most federal judges through September 1 of a president’s first year

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    President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the Senate has confirmed nine Article III federal judges through Sept. 1 of his first year in office. This is the most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies going back to President Ronald Reagan (R). The Senate had confirmed six of President Donald Trump’s…

  • Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for August 2021

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    In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies to all United States Article III federal courts from Aug. 2 to Sept. 1. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month. HIGHLIGHTS Vacancies: There have been four new judicial vacancies since the July 2021 report. There…