This morning President Trump tweeted that he plans to announce his pick to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court on Tuesday at 8 PM. Trump previously narrowed the field to three potential nominees, Judge William Pryor of Alabama, Judge Neil Gorsuch of Colorado and Judge Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania.
The Senate must confirm the nomination, a vote that require 60 yay votes. This means Republicans will need eight Democrats to join them in supporting the nominee.
Last night, a Brooklyn judge halted parts of an Executive Order on Immigration the White House issued Friday that bars immigrants and travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US.
Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York issued a stay on the Administration’s immigration Executive Order issued Friday saying that individuals with approved US visas from being returned to their country of origin.
The Office of Federal Relations will continue to post and monitor on this issue as it evolves.
The White House issued a series of executive actions late Friday.
Last week, White House Chief of Staff, Reince Preibus, issued a memorandum to all executive departments and agencies to freeze new or pending regulations — giving the new Administration time to review them, which is a common practice for any incoming administration.
For any regulations that have yet to be sent for publishing in the Federal Register, the memo asks the agency to not send any regulation to the Federal Register until reviewed by someone selected by the President.
The memo makes an exception for “critical health, safety, financial, or national security matters,” and asks agencies to identify any regulations that can’t be delayed for other reasons.
Recently issued research-centered regulations that could be impacted include:
The Office of Federal Relations will continue to monitor actions coming from the Administration.
Some initial actions and comments from the incoming Trump Administration have prompted questions and concerns from faculty, researchers, and the media, regarding federal research. Particularly, questions have pertained to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants.
Here is what we know:
The UW’s Office of Sponsored Programs has information about these issues, including recommendations of what to do with grants in various stages of the process, on its web page under “Announcements.” This page is being vetted through a set of strict criteria.
The Federal Relations team will continue to gather and share information as it becomes available.