Justice and goodwill will outlast passion.
- James A Garfield
“SEE YOU IN COURT”: Last night, a unanimous Ninth Circuit panel refused to reinstate the President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban executive order. If the Administration takes it to the Supreme Court, the current 4-4 liberal-conservative split suggests the Ninth Circuit will be affirmed. But, as our federal courts analyst Paul Glenchur believes, last night’s decision ignored sweeping statutory power granted the president in this area. Justice Kennedy, as Circuit Justice, or the full Court if referred to them, could ultimately rule for the president, concluding the appellate court decision encroaches improperly on executive and Congressional authority. If you’re interested in additional insight from Paul today, let us know
MAN WITH A PLAN?: Congressional Republicans have many ideas for replacing the Affordable Care Act, but the issue remains they can’t agree on which bill to move forward. They are looking to find a proposal that the whole party can back, but right now the different factions are debating internally. Senators Bill Cassidy and Susan Collins are out with a plan that gives the states the ability to craft their own health care plans. Senator Rand Paul’s proposal repeals Obamacare with minimal replacement. And, CA Representative Darrell Issa wants to open up federal employee health care to all Americans. This is just the beginning of plans to be rolled out over the course of the next few weeks, but Republicans on the Hill will defer first to newly-minted HHS Secretary Tom Price to get the ball rolling.
LABOR PAINS: While Democrats have very vocally opposed almost all of Trump cabinet nominations, Secretary of Labor-designate Andrew Puzder has received the most scrutiny. Now that the HELP Committee has scheduled Puzder’s hearing for February 16th, that outrage has grown. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, the AFL-CIO and other labor groups are calling for Trump to withdraw Puzder’s nomination, and in any other year, Puzder would be long gone following the revelation that hired an illegal immigrant. But this is not an ordinary year...
THERE’S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: Now that President Trump has his top law enforcement officer in place, he has begun the law and order segment of his executive orders. Trump signed three executive actions that are designed to “restore safety in America.” The orders aim to further prosecute drug cartels, prevent crime against law enforcement, and reduce crime more broadly. These orders set an aggressive agenda for new Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but he will need to work at #Trumpspeed.
DIRECTOR’S CUT: House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling has proven to be flexible when it comes to the CFPB. After years of trying to replace the director of the CFPB with a bipartisan committee, Hensarling has changed his mind and now the TX Representative is proposing to keep the role of director intact with a caveat that allows the president to remove him. He also plans to restructure the CFPB to act similarly to the FTC.
AUDIO REPLAY | TAX POLICY UNDER TRUMP: Yesterday we hosted a call with Dorothy Coleman, Vice President, Tax and Domestic Economic Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers, to discuss tax policy on the manufacturing sector. You can find the replay here.
