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It’s Election Day!

Happy Election Day!

In a much hyped and talked about mid-term election, Americans are going to the polls for some exciting local and national races. Will the Democrats win the House? How many new Members of Congress will Washington state have? Will the Republicans gain seats in the Senate? Will most of our nation’s governors be in the Democratic party? We will start to find out tonight. However, given the peculiarities and peccadilloes of each state’s elections laws, we might not know who has won many elections for weeks.

Washington state has some very interesting races being watched on the national stage, and with Congressman Reichert’s retirement, we will have at least one new Member of Congress representing WA-08. Track the results for all Washington races here.

For national races, the New York Times will has it’s very popular Needle on their home page tracking election results again this year.  CNN will also have live updates. The Washington Post also has a fun tracker. Do not expect poll returns until later in the day. The Times has a story on when polls close.

For those of you that have been intensely interested in this election (Beto! Stacey Abrams! Dino Rossi!)  just keep in mind, the forecasts and models were very wrong last year.  It’s raining in every state east of the Mississippi River, and that’s sure to impact turnout.

For those intensely interested in what’s happening across the country at every level, here’s a handy-dandy election tracker that has all high-target political races this election.

 

Federal Relations will update this post as necessary throughout the day and have an election recap tomorrow.

 

 

 

OSTP Nominee Confirmed by Senate Committee

The scientist nominated by President Trump to head the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Kelvin Droegemeier, was approved yesterday by the Senate Commerce Committee.  Droegemeier, currently Vice President for Research at the University of Oklahoma, was tapped to head the office in August.  A severe weather scientist, he was a member of the National Science Board under both the Bush and Obama administrations.

Read more about him and the nomination here and here.

 

SCOTUS Nomination Expected, Congress Returns

In a televised address this evening, President Trump is expected to announce his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring from the bench at the end of July.  The upcoming nomination fight could overshadow almost everything in Congress this summer.

Congress returns this week after its July Fourth recess last week.

 

EPA Administrator Resigns

President Donald Trump tweeted today that he has accepted the resignation of EPA chief Scott Pruitt. Pruitt had been the subject of numerous ethics investigations involving his travel, spending, use of staff, and favors by industry lobbyists.

The agency’s Deputy Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, will act as the agency’s leader until a new administrator is nominated by Mr. Trump and confirmed by the Senate.

Administration Releases Proposal to Reorganize Agencies

Earlier today, the Trump Administration released a plan that it had been developing to reorganize federal agencies.

Called “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century,” the plan calls for a number of sweeping changes to a number of different federal agencies, including combining the Departments of Education and Labor into a single agency.  Among the other changes being proposed is a call to move all federal Graduate Fellowships to the National Science Foundation.

This plan is the culmination of a directive issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget after Mick Mulvaney was sworn in as its director at the beginning of the Trump Administration in 2017.

Many, if not most, of the proposals called for in the plan will require Congressional approval.

We will continue to monitor developments and provide updates.