Tag: federal government

  • Federal Register weekly update: Biden administration’s highest weekly page total to date

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    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 February 22 through February 26—the sixth week of the Biden administration—the Federal Register grew by 1,408 pages for a year-to-date total of…

  • OIRA reviewed 16 significant rules in February

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    Image of the south facade of the White House.

    The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviewed a total of 16 significant regulatory actions issued by federal agencies in February 2021. The agency approved no rules without changes and approved the intent of eight rules while recommending changes to their content. Agencies withdrew eight rules from the review process. OIRA reviewed…

  • Senate expected to confirm at least two Biden Cabinet nominees this week

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    Senate confirmation votes are expected this week for two of President Joe Biden’s (D) Cabinet nominees: Tom Vilsack for secretary of agriculture on Feb. 23 and Linda Thomas-Greenfield for ambassador to the United Nations by Feb. 24. Vilsack previously served as the secretary of agriculture for eight years in the Obama administration. He was unanimously…

  • Federal Register weekly update: Tops 10,000 pages

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    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 February 15 through February 19—the fifth week of the Biden administration—the Federal Register grew by 1,006 pages for a year-to-date total of…

  • Final executive clemency update of Trump presidency

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    The U.S. Constitution, in Article II, Section 2, grants the president the power of executive clemency. Executive clemency includes the power to pardon, in which the president overturns a federal conviction and restores “an individual to the state of innocence that existed before the conviction.” From 2017-2021, Donald Trump (R) issued 143 pardons and 94 commutations.…

  • U.S. Senate acquits former President Trump of incitement of insurrection

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    The U.S. Senate acquitted President Donald Trump (R) of incitement of insurrection on Feb. 13. All 50 Democrats and seven Republicans voted guilty. The other 43 Republicans voted not guilty. The seven Republicans to vote guilty were: ◦ Richard Burr (R-N.C.) ◦ Bill Cassidy (R-La.) ◦ Susan Collins (R-Maine) ◦ Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) ◦ Mitt…

  • Federal Register weekly update: Biden administration publishes first significant final rule

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    Image of the south facade of the White House.

    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 February 8 through February 12—the fourth week of the Biden administration—the Federal Register grew by 896 pages for a year-to-date total of…

  • Biden signs 28 executive orders in first two weeks in office

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    President Joe Biden (D) signed 28 executive orders, 11 presidential memoranda, and five proclamations in his first two weeks in office. That is more executive orders than his three predecessors combined—Presidents Donald Trump (R), Barack Obama (D), and George W. Bush (R)—signed over the same period of time. Executive orders are directives written by the…

  • U.S. Census Bureau says it will deliver apportionment data by April 30, redistricting data after July 31

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    On January 27, 2021, Kathleen Styles, an official at the U.S. Census Bureau, announced at a National Conference of State Legislatures event that the bureau would release its final apportionment report by April 30, 2021. Styles also said the bureau hoped to release detailed redistricting data after July 31, 2021. Census results are used to…

  • Three-hundred and forty-four elected officials at the state and federal levels sought another office in 2020

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    In 2020, Ballotpedia tracked 344 officials in Congress and state legislatures who ran for a different office than the one to which they were elected. Of those 344 officials, 162 (47%) won election to a new position. Fourteen members of the U.S. House and eight members of the U.S. Senate sought election to a different office. Four…