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The Federal Tap: Special elections steal the show

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June 3, 2017Issue No. 68

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Week in review
On tap next week

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Here's what happened in federal politics last week. To see what happened in state and local politics, click here.

Saturday, May 27

Trump completes first foreign trip as president

  • On the second and final day of the G7 summit, Trump declined to commit the United States to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, but he did agree "to language in the final G7 communique that pledged to fight protectionism and commits to a rules-based international trade system," according to NBC News. After the summit concluded, Trump spoke at Naval Air Station Sigonella outside of Sicily. He thanked members of the U.S. military for fighting terrorism around the globe and promised to always support them and their families. Trump said, "The single greatest strength to our armed forces is you, you, all of you. You have poured out your hearts, your souls and even your blood for this nation, and we will pour out our gratitude for you, in return. ... You are the warriors of freedom, you are the protectors of that great American flag. And you are the ones who protect the God-given freedoms that are the birthright of every single American child." Trump returned to Washington, D.C., after his speech.

Monday, May 29

Trump honors men and women who died in combat in Memorial Day speech

  • On Memorial Day, Trump laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and delivered a speech honoring the men and women who have died in combat. In his speech at Arlington National Cemetery, he said, “Here at this hallowed shrine, we honor the noblest among us -- the men and women who paid the ultimate price for victory and for freedom. We pay tribute to those brave souls who raced into gunfire, roared into battle, and ran into hell to face down evil. They made their sacrifice not for fame, or for money, or even for glory -- but for country.”
    • Trump also honored Gold Star families in attendance, including Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and his wife Karen Kelly. Their son, Robert Kelly, died fighting in Afghanistan in 2010.

House Majority PAC commits $500,000 to ad-buy opposing Republican Karen Handel in GA-6

Tuesday, May 30

Trump releases infrastructure plan

  • President Donald Trump released an infrastructure plan as part of the 2018 budget. The plan calls for $1 trillion in investment, with $200 billion in direct spending from the federal government over the next decade, and the other $800 billion in incentives to state and local governments and private investors. Specific proposals in the plan include allowing states to toll federally funded highways, corporatizing air traffic control, and expanding the TIFIA loan program for transportation projects. The plan received praise from the Cato Institute, which wrote that, “Trump’s agenda sounds good to anyone who wants an efficient, user-fee-driven infrastructure program.” The Center for American Progress was critical of the selling of government assets, saying that, “Building infrastructure faster and without adequate study or time for community input may be good for developers, but it’s lousy for everyone else.”

SCOTUS issues rulings in four cases

  • The U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings in four cases on Tuesday.
    • The court issued a ruling Monday in BNSF Railway v. Tyrrell reversing and remanding a judgment of the Montana Supreme Court. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s opinion for an eight-justice majority – the first decision in a case in which Justice Neil Gorsuch participated as a sitting justice—held that provisions of the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) do not allow state courts to exercise general personal jurisdiction over liability claims for any work-related activity occurring beyond a state’s boundaries. Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the ruling perverse in an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.
    • In County of Los Angeles v. Mendez, the court heard an appeal from a judgment of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a unanimous opinion for an eight-member court by Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the judgment of the Ninth Circuit. In the case, the court struck down a Ninth Circuit rule, known as the provocation rule, because the rule contravened the requirements of the Fourth Amendment. The provocation rule stated that a police officer's otherwise reasonable, lawful defensive use of force was unreasonable as a matter of law if "(1) the officer intentionally or recklessly provoked a violent response and (2) that provocation is an independent constitutional violation." The Supreme Court held that because the rule conflated excessive force claims with other Fourth Amendment claims, the provocation rule permitted excessive force claims that could not succeed as standalone claims under the Fourth Amendment; therefore, the court struck down the rule.
    • In Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions, the court reversed a judgment of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Writing for a unanimous, eight-member court, Justice Clarence Thomas held that a California statute criminalizing consensual sexual intercourse with a minor—where a minor is defined in the statute as a person under the age of 18—did not subject Esquivel-Quintana, a lawful immigrant, to removal from the United States. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the generic federal definition of sexual abuse of a minor requires the victim to be under 16 years old.
    • The court reversed and remanded the judgment of the Federal Circuit in Impression Products v. Lexmark. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the opinion of the court. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in the case. Here, the court held that a patentee's decision to sell a product exhausts all of the patentee's rights to that item, regardless of any provisions or stipulations the patentee may impose on the buyer. This holding applies to items sold both domestically and internationally. Justice Ginsburg concurred with the holding for domestic exhaustion, but dissented from the court’s holding for international exhaustion.

New Democratic PAC goes public

  • A new Democratic PAC, the People’s House Project, went public with the support of three Democrats in the House. The PAC was founded to support Democratic candidates for the House who want to distinguish themselves from Democratic leadership. According to PAC founder Krystal Ball, former MSNBC host and former Virginia congressional candidate, the PAC was formed as a response to Democratic image problems in Appalachia and Rust Belt states. Reps. Tim Ryan (Ohio), Dan Kildee (Mich.), and John Yarmuth (Ky.), all pledged support for the new organization, but noted that they saw the group as a complement to the DCCC.

Wednesday, May 31

White House releases ethics waiver list

  • The White House released a list of individuals who have received waivers from certain federal ethics rules. The Trump administration released 14 ethics waivers, including those for advisor Kellyanne Conway, chief of staff Reince Priebus, and former employees of Jones Day, a law firm where White House Counsel Don McGahn was a partner. One additional waiver specifies that all appointees in the office of the president can “ participate in communications and meetings with news organizations regarding broad policy matters.”

EPA stays methane regulations for 90 days under Trump executive order

  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stayed methane regulations on hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking) operations issued in 2016. The regulations included performance standards for oil and natural gas operations involving fracking aimed at reducing methane, a greenhouse gas linked to human-caused climate change. The EPA's decision stayed portions of the regulations for 90 days; companies subject to the rules are not required to comply with the regulations. The decision comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2017 directing the EPA to review oil and natural gas regulations enacted as part of former President Barack Obama's climate change policies. The EPA will accept public comments on changes to the regulation during the 90-day stay period.
    • Proponents of the regulation argue that it would reduce potential health risks to individuals living near oil and gas sites and reduce methane emissions proponents argue are linked to human-caused global warming and climate change.
    • Opponents of the regulation argue that it is duplicative of existing federal regulations limiting methane, would result in job losses, and is unnecessary due to industry-adopted technologies to reduce methane emissions voluntarily.
    • See also: Methane, Federal policy on climate change, 2017, and climate change

Conservative groups target Maddow

  • Two conservative organizations, the Media Research Center and Media Equalizer, began campaigns targeting MSNBC host Rachel Maddow in response to a Media Matters campaign against Sean Hannity. The two organizations published a list of Maddow’s advertisers in an attempt to pressure them to pull their support, just as Media Matters has done in previous efforts aimed at conservative commentators on Fox News. Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell said of the campaign, “Every network and cable news channel is today on notice that the MRC will be closely monitoring their leftist opinion programs and informing their advertisers and the American public when these programs and hosts go beyond political commentary and engage in smear, hate and political extremism.”

Simandle elects to take senior status

  • Jerome Simandle of the District of New Jersey elected to take senior status beginning on Wednesday. Judge Simandle's decision creates a third vacancy on that court. At the time of his decision to take senior status, Judge Simandle was serving as the chief judge of the district court. He is succeeded as chief judge by Judge Jose Linares. Simandle's successor on the court must be appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Simandle's decision created the 103rd vacancy (of 677 positions) among federal district judgeships, a vacancy rate of 15.2%. Based on data from the Congressional Research Service and the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, the last time a vacancy percentage among federal district judicial positions was this high was in October of 1993; then, the vacancy percentage was 16.5% (107 vacancies out of 649 authorized positions).
    • To learn more about potential judicial vacancies in Trump’s first term, read our report.

Trump administration plans expansion of birth control coverage exemptions

Ahn receives endorsement from former LA mayor in California’s 34th District special election

Thursday, June 1

Congressional Leadership Fund releases new ad opposing Democrat Jon Ossoff in GA-6

Trump announces U.S. exit from Paris Climate Agreement

  • President Donald Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Under the agreement, signatory countries pledge to reduce carbon dioxide and similar emissions in an effort to limit human-caused climate change. Further, signatory countries agree to a long-term goal of keeping an increase in average global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by the year 2100. Trump argued that the agreement was unfair to the United States, would reduce jobs, and would have little effect on global temperatures if fully implemented. Trump announced that he would either renegotiate the agreement's terms or negotiate a new agreement favorable to the United States. In addition, Trump said the United States would cease payments to the Green Climate Fund, a United Nations-managed plan to finance climate change mitigation efforts and emissions reduction programs for developing countries.
    • Proponents of the agreement argue that an international climate agreement between developed and developing countries is necessary to achieve reductions in potential temperature rises and reductions in carbon dioxide to prevent potentially harmful impacts from global warming and to spur additional private and government funding for renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power.
    • Opponents of the agreement argue that pledges from signatory countries like the United States, China, India, Pakistan, and others would reduce global temperatures by 0.2 degrees Celsius by the year 2100, which critics argue would not have a meaningful impact on global temperatures. Opponents also argue that policies to limit carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels would increase energy prices for consumers.
    • See also: Federal policy on the Paris Climate Agreement, 2017

Trump administration keeps U.S. embassy in Israel in Tel Aviv

  • President Donald Trump signed a waiver under the Jerusalem Embassy Act to keep the U.S. embassy in Israel in Tel Aviv rather than relocate it to Jerusalem. Every president since Bill Clinton (D) has signed this waiver. The White House indicated that the embassy would eventually be moved, saying, "As [Trump] has repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that move happens, but only when."

Department of Justice files Supreme Court appeal of Fourth Circuit ruling

  • The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of the United States, asking the court to review the ruling of the Fourth Circuit that was issued on May 25 in the case against President Trump’s executive order on immigration. The Fourth Circuit upheld the district court's preliminary injunction, ruling that the motivation for the executive order was religious in nature and that the order therefore violated the First Amendment. The DOJ argued that the precedent set by the ruling regarding judicial review of executive decisions on immigration and national security was worth a review by the justices. The petition also asked the court to make a decision before their summer recess on whether or not to review the ruling and to stay the two injunctions on the order in the meantime.
    • On Friday, June 2, the Supreme Court asked the group challenging the executive order to submit a response to the DOJ’s appeal by June 12.
    • If the Supreme Court decides to hear the case, it could hold a special summer session or defer arguments until its regular fall session.

Credit rating agencies downgrade Illinois credit rating

  • S&P Global Inc. and Moody’s Investors Service, credit rating agencies, downgraded Illinois’s credit rating. S&P also warned Illinois that it may downgrade its credit rating again in the next month if the state does not resolve its budget impasse. The downgrade places the state’s credit rating at one step above a junk rating. The state has not had a budget in two years due to disagreements between the Democratic state legislature and Republican Governor Bruce Rauner. According to S&P analyst Gabriel Petek, “the rating actions largely reflect the severe deterioration of Illinois' fiscal condition, a byproduct of its stalemated budget negotiations, now approaching the start of a third fiscal year.” Illinois already had the nation’s lowest credit rating before this downgrade. Due to the lack of a state budget, the state has been operating on court-ordered spending and stop-gap budgets. If downgraded again, Illinois would become the first state to receive a junk rating from a credit agency.

Congress is in session

The Senate will be in session Monday through Friday, and the House will be in session Tuesday through Friday.

SCOTUS is in session

The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded arguments for this term. The court will hold a non-argument session on Monday, June 5, in which orders are expected and in which opinions in pending cases may be announced. The court may also hold a second non-argument session to announce opinions during the week. To date, the court has issued opinions in 40 of the 71 argued cases this term.

WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Here's what is happening in federal politics this week. To see what happened in state and local politics, click here.

Monday, June 5

Doherty elects to take senior status

Tuesday, June 6

The intra-party battle among two Democrats to represent California's 34th Congressional District

  • Voters in California’s 34th District will head to the ballot box to choose who will fill the vacant congressional seat left by Xavier Becerra, California’s new attorney general. Democrats Robert Lee Ahn and Jimmy Gomez were the top two vote-getters in a primary election held on April 4. In the fundraising race, Ahn has outpaced Gomez, raising $353,000 between April 1 and May 17. His campaign capital was boosted by an additional $195,000 personal loan. In the same time period, Gomez raised $327,000. He has been favored in endorsements from key political figures, including backing from Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D), and Becerra.

Handel and Ossoff to face off in first of at least two televised debates

Thursday, June 8

Second GA-6 runoff debate airs with 12 days left until election day

Steele elects to take senior status

Where was the president last week?

President Donald Trump returned to the White House after his first foreign trip. On Memorial Day, Trump laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and delivered a speech honoring the men and women who have died in combat. On Wednesday, Trump met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Federal Judiciary

o learn more about federal judicial vacancies over the past month, read our most recent monthly report.

  • 140 total federal judicial vacancies
  • 9 pending nominations
  • 26 future vacancies


About

The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

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