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The Tap: Friday, January 20, 2017

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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 #49 of The Tap, which was published on January 21, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

Inauguration Day

  • President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were sworn in.
    • As the nation turns its eyes toward the new administration, Ballotpedia will be providing readers with an overview of the individuals forming the new administration, the policies they support, and the political environment that will dictate the outcomes of their efforts. The project will report on individuals, ideas, and events from a perspective that is deliberately disconnected from day-to-day media narratives. Beyond the first 100 days of the Trump administration, the project's pages will provide readers with a historical understanding of individuals, ideas, and actions that have shaped a presidency. Additionally, we will continue our You’re Hired briefing that tracks confirmation hearings and major policy initiatives.
    • A total of 70 House Democrats boycotted Trump’s inauguration. Following the lead of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), some decided not to attend the swearing-in ceremony because they believe that Trump’s failure to win the popular vote makes him an illegitimate president.

Day One of the Trump Administration

  • In our Tuesday edition of You’re Hired, our daily briefing on the Trump White House transition, we looked at some of the biggest issues that Trump has said he intends to address on the first day of his presidency. Throughout the 2016 election and as president-elect, Trump proposed dealing with a range of issues, including trade, ethics reform, immigration, energy, healthcare, and national security. Read more here.

Confirmation Votes: Mattis and Kelly

  • The U.S. Senate voted 98-1 to confirm James Mattis as secretary of defense. Federal law requires defense secretaries to have been retired from active duty military service for seven years. Because Mattis retired in 2013, Congress passed legislation to pave the way for his confirmation. The last time Congress made such an accommodation was in 1950, when President Harry Truman nominated General George Marshall to serve as defense secretary. Mattis is also the first senior military officer to serve as defense secretary since Marshall. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was the only senator to vote against the nomination. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who is President Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, abstained during the vote.
  • The U.S. Senate voted 88-11 to confirm John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, as secretary of homeland security. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who is President Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, abstained during the vote.

State

Ruling in Alabama Redistricting Case

  • A three-judge panel ruled 12 state legislative districts in Alabama as unconstitutional, arguing that race factored too heavily into how state official drew the districts’ lines in the 2010 redistricting process. The panel upheld 24 other districts that had been challenged. The Legislative Black Caucus and the Alabama Democratic Conference challenged the districts in 2012. After their challenge was rejected by the panel, they appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which, in 2015, issued an order for the panel to conduct another review. Friday’s ruling will require the state to redraw the lines for those 12 districts prior to the 2018 elections in Alabama. The judge who wrote the opinion for the ruling, William Pryor, is on President Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia. In his opinion for the case, Pryor noted, “The Alabama Legislature faced a difficult task in 2012. … the legislature had to draw districts of roughly equal population that were conscious enough of race to comply with the Voting Rights Act, but not so conscious of race that they violated the Fourteenth Amendment.” Legislators in Alabama are elected to four-year terms.

Local

Arcadia Unified School District Elections

  • FILING DEADLINE: The filing deadline passed to run in the general election for two of the five seats on the Arcadia Unified School District school board—one of the largest school districts in California, as measured by student enrollment. The election will be held on April 18, 2017. The Arcadia Unified School District served 9,582 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 0.1 percent of all public school students in the state.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #48 of The Tap, which was published on January 14, 2017. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

The inauguration of Donald Trump will take place at the United States Capitol on Friday, January 20. He will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the presidential oath of office. Prior to the presidential swearing-in, Justice Clarence Thomas will swear in Mike Pence to the office of vice president. Thomas will be the first black official to administer the oath of office during an inauguration.

This will be the 10th inauguration held on the west front of the Capitol. Prior to President Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration, the east front of the Capitol was used. The first inauguration of Thomas Jefferson was the first time the Capitol held the ceremonies, with that oath taking place in the Senate chamber.




The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
March: 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
April: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
May: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
June: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
July: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
August: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
September: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
October: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7• 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
November: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
December: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 31
January: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
February: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17
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