Category: What We’re Reading

Keep up with what’s happening in DC. Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.

SCOTUS Confirmation: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, with Democrats absent in protest. Democrats later forced a closed-door session in a failed attempt to stall bringing her nomination to the floor. The full Senate vote is scheduled for Monday. Full story.

Presidential Debate: In the final presidential debate on Thursday, candidates Biden and Trump squared off. Recap here.

Sudan-Israel Policy Win: The White House announced, alongside Israel and Sudan, that Sudan and Israel will normalize relations, following a similar move by the UAE and Bahrain. The announcement came after Sudan agreed to pay over $300 million to compensate victims of terrorism, and the US agreed to remove Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Story here.

Facebook and Twitter Subpoenaed: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve subpoenas for the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter. The majority is seeking a hearing, before election day, to review how the two companies restricted a NY Post story about Hunter Biden. The story was being checked for misinformation, according to the platforms, and contained “hacked material”. More here.

Judge Rules in Air Force Lawsuit: Judge Michael Fitzgerald of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that a sexual assault lawsuit against Air Force Gen. John Hyten can proceed. Gen. Hyten, now serving as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is accused of assaulting a now-retired colleague in a hotel room. Full story.

Keep up with what’s happening in DC. Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.

SCOTUS Hearings: Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett was questioned for 3 days in what many label as a relatively tame hearing. The vote on her nomination is scheduled for October 22, just 12 days before the election. Live updates.

Trump Recovery: The President’s medical team has stated that the President is negative for COVID-19 as he continues to participate in large events. Messaging from the White House has now turned to reopening. Full story.

Harris Limits Travel: VP nominee Senator Kamala Harris is limiting her travel after two staffers test positive for COVID-19. More.

Biden Article Blocked: Both Facebook and Twitter have taken controversial steps to limit distribution of an article claiming to reveal details of the Biden family’s relationship with Ukraine. The facts of the article are unverified. Twitter initially claimed the information was from hacked sources, however later backtracked and changed their policy. They now claim because the article contains personal contact information, it cannot be distributed. More.

Stimulus Strategy: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will again bring to the floor a $500 billion “targeted” COVID relief bill which includes supplement to the Paycheck Protection Program. Both the Administration and House Democrats oppose such a small bill, however Speaker Pelosi is facing internal pressure to accept a compromise. Read more.

Town Halls: On Thursday evening, President Trump and candidate Joe Biden held competing town halls. Recap here.

California Ballot Boxes: The California GOP has stated it will not comply with a cease-and-desist order from the State after setting up ballot collection boxes marked “official”. The GOP claims the boxes are legal, however the State contests that they are not. Full story.

Census Ends: The US Census will end counting on Thursday, after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Administration. Link here.

Detention Center Lawsuit: Former detainees are filing a class action lawsuit after alleging they were punished with solitary confinement for not cleaning the facility without pay. The lawsuit against CEO Group, Inc., a private ICE detention center operator, claims the punishment contradicts US Government standards and that company executives lied to Congress. Full story.

Keep up with what’s happening in DC. Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.

Trump out of Hospital: Following a controversial public appearance in a vehicle, the President was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and returned to the White House. Full story.

VP Debate: Vice President Pence and Vice President Candidate Kamala Harris debated on Wednesday night. Analysis and highlights here.

CDC COVID Updates: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially acknowledged that COVID-19 is airborne, and may infect people who are more than 6 foot apart in closed, indoor locations. However, the guidance does state that infection is most likely when people have close contact for at least 15 minutes. Read more.

FBI Announces Arrests in Michigan Plot: The FBI announced members of a militia targeting Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were arrested for plotting to kidnap her and other state government officials, and to overthrow the Government. Full story.

Aid for Airlines: Speaker Pelosi rejected a separate aid bill for airlines to avoid furloughing tens of thousands of employees. She said she would be willing to consider a separate bill, but only if there was a guarantee of a broader relief bill as well. Airline aid is one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement. Full story.

Legislation on Airport Lactation Rooms: The House passed, and President Trump is expected to sign, legislation originally introduced by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) which will allow small airports to use improvement funds to build lactation rooms. She previously successfully introduced legislation for large and medium sized airports. Read more here.

Jimmy Carter: Former President Jimmy Carter turned 96 years old on Thursday. More.

Iran Sanctions: The White House announced the US will impose additional sanctions on Iranian banks not already subject to secondary sanctions. European partners have expressed concerns that these new sanctions may have humanitarian consequences. Read more.

Twitter Changes: On Friday Twitter announced it will roll out changes designed to prevent voter interference and the spread of misinformation ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Read more here.

Keep up with what’s happening in DC. Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.

Presidential Debate: President Trump and former Vice President Biden met in Cleveland for the first 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace from Fox News. Analysis from Time Magazine here. VP Pence and Senator Harris are set to debate next week.

Food Box Controversy: There was serious uproar after it was discovered the Department of Agriculture was requiring Farmers to Families Food Boxes, given to those in need, to include a signed letter from President Trump. Some food bank managers spoke out against perceived political messaging. Other critics noted it would appear as if the boxes came from President Trump personally, as opposed to an appropriated program. More at Washington Post.

Olympic Oversight: The House passed a bipartisan, bicameral bill which would provide greater oversight and accountability regarding US participation in the Olympics and Paralympics, with the goal of protecting athletes. The legislation, which passed earlier in the Senate, was the result of a long Congressional investigation after widespread findings of abuse. Full story here.

President Tests Positive: In a tweet, the President announced he and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19. It is unclear how this will impact his official duties, as well as his campaign activities. The next debate is scheduled for October 15th.

VA to be Investigated: Senators Warren (D-MA) and Schatz (D-HI) announced the Government Accountability Office, a legislative branch agency, will investigate systemic racism issues in the Department of Veterans Affairs. An employee union reported 80% of members found racism to be a moderate to serious issue. Full story.

DHS Secretary Nomination: Chad Wolf’s nomination to be Secretary of Homeland Security advanced to the Senate floor after approval by partisan vote in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Read more.

Keep up with what’s happening in DC. Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.

Breonna Taylor: Protests erupted across the US after a grand jury declined to indict three Louisville police officers following in the death of Breonna Taylor in her home. One officer, Brett Hankinson, was charged with wanton endangerment for firing shots into another apartment. Live updates.

DeVos Under Investigation: It was reported that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is under investigation by the US Office of the Special Counsel for violating the Hatch Act by using government resources to campaign for the President. Inquiries were prompted after Department officials distributed a clip of the Secretary criticizing Presidential candidate Joe Biden as part of official communications. More here.

RBG: Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first woman ever to lie in state on Friday at the US Capitol. Read here.

Supreme Court Nominee: Amy Coney Barrett was nominated by the President to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court vacancy. After Senator Romney (R-UT) backed a floor vote on a new SCOTUS nominee, Majority Leader McConnell now has enough votes to proceed, potentially before the election. Only two Members, Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) and Sen. Collins (R-ME) said they would not support a vote before the election, in recognition that Republicans blocked a vote during the last Presidential election year. Barrett will still have to undergo a confirmation hearing and vote. Updates here.

Census: US District Judge for the Northern District of California Lucy Koh ordered the census to continue counting until the original October 31st deadline. Full story.