The Tap: Friday, February 3, 2017

   ← Feb 2

Feb 4 →   

---

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

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #51 of The Tap, which was published on February 4, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

SCOTUS Confirmation Timetable

• In an interview with Roll Call, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced his intention to complete hearings on Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court within a six-week timetable. The timetable coincides with the start of the U.S. Senate’s Easter recess, which is tentatively scheduled to run from April 10 to 21, 2017, according to the U.S. Senate’s legislative calendar. According to Sen. Grassley, “We will try to have the hearing in one day, but before that one day that you ask him questions, there’s going to be one day of speeches by members of the committee, and the candidate’s going to have to sit there, and listen to that … That could be a short day if we’ve got one round. Or if we’ve got two rounds or three rounds, it could get to be a long day, but ... my intention is to get it done that one day.” A third day of hearings would be dedicated to testimony from outside witnesses. The U.S. Supreme Court’s final argument sitting of the court’s current term begins on Monday, April 17, so if Judge Gorsuch is not confirmed before the Easter recess, it is unlikely he would sit for any cases during the court’s current term.

Senior Status

• Judge Sue Robinson, a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, elected to take senior status, creating an Article III vacancy on that court. The court has four active judicial positions. Judge Robinson’s retirement created the lone vacancy on that court. Judge Robinson’s decision to take senior status created the 91st vacancy among 673 life-term federal district judge positions, making 13.5 percent of the active life-term positions on these courts vacant.

Dodd-Frank Executive Order Signed

• President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on financial regulation. The first order is a directive to, within 120 days, gather input and solicit recommendations from heads of regulatory agencies on parts of the Dodd-Frank Act to change. The second order directs the Department of Labor to delay implementation of the Fiduciary Rule, a rule establishing retirement advisors as fiduciaries—i.e., advisors legally required to act in the best interests of their clients rather than their own financial interests. The Fiduciary Rules was originally scheduled to go into effect in April.

An Interim Replacement for Sen. Sessions

• Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley narrowed down the list of candidates to replace U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) to six. Sessions was chosen by President Donald Trump to be the next U.S. attorney general. The candidates are Rep. Robert Aderholt, Director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Jim Byard, former state Rep. Perry Hooper Jr., state Sen. Del Marsh, state Rep. Connie Rowe, and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange. Bentley’s pick will serve as an interim replacement for Sessions until the special election is held coinciding with next year’s general election. Strange has already declared that he will seek election in next year’s special election.

Local

Las Vegas Filing Deadline

• FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline passed to run for the Las Vegas City Council and both the mayor’s office and city council in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The primary election for both cities will be held on April 4, 2017, and the general election will be held on June 13, 2017. Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada and the 30th-largest city in the U.S. by population, and North Las Vegas is the fourth-largest city in Nevada and the 96th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #50 of The Tap, which was published on January 28, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

Senior Status

• Judge Sue Robinson, a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, will take senior status, creating an Article III vacancy on that court. The court has four active judicial positions. Judge Robinson’s retirement will create the lone vacancy on that court. Judge Robinson’s decision to take senior status will create the 91st vacancy among 673 life-term federal district judge positions, which is 13.5 percent of the active life-term positions on federal district courts.
  • For more, read our report on federal judicial vacancies during President Trump’s first term.

Local

Las Vegas Filing Deadline

• FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline will pass to run for the Las Vegas City Council and both the mayor’s office and city council in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The primary election for both cities will be held on April 4, 2017, and the general election will be held on June 13, 2017. Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada and the 30th-largest city in the U.S. by population, and North Las Vegas is the fourth-largest city in Nevada and the 96th-largest city in the U.S. by population.