US

Feb. 7, 2017 – Today, the Army Corps of Engineers notified Congress that—within the next 24 hours—it will issue an easement to allow the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation. The Corps also reversed its Dec. 4 decision and announced that it would forego […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. Feb. 8, 2017– Public Citizen, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Communications Workers of America sued the Trump administration today to block an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 30 that directs federal agencies to repeal two federal regulations for every new rule they issue. The plaintiffs are […]

BISMARCK, ND, Feb. 8, 2017 – Water Protector Legal Collective is outraged by the U.S. Department of the Army’s notification to Congress today that it intends to grant the easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to drill under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ stated […]

February 8, 2017 – On February 7, 2017, Senator Warren attempted to read the text of a 1986 letter from Coretta Scott King about the nomination of Jeff Sessions for a federal judgeship. The text of the letter is available below, or to download as a PDF here. The Honorable Strom Thurmond, Chairman Committee on […]

Feb. 7, 2017 – Today, the House Administration Committee, by a party-line 6-3 vote, approved the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Termination Act (H.R. 634) and a bill to dissolve the Presidential Election Campaign Fund (H.R. 133). H.R. 634 would eliminate the EAC, an independent government agency that sets security standards for voting machines and functions […]

February 7, 2017 – Americans United for Separation of Church and State today expressed disappointment at the Senate’s confirmation of Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos, a school voucher proponent, as U.S. Secretary of Education. “The leader of our public education system should be an advocate for improving public schools, not dismantling them,” said the Rev. Barry […]

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. Feb. 7, 2017— Days before the full Senate votes on Scott Pruitt’s nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a national investigative watchdog group, alleges in a new lawsuit that as Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt has violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act for failing to […]

WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 6, 2017 – In response to President Trump’s recent executive orders on immigration and refugees, a coalition of leading human rights, civil rights, legal, and faith-based groups launched a joint initiative today to protect the rights of refugees and immigrants at U.S. borders.  As a first step, they are demanding President Trump […]

February 6, 2017 – In a letter sent today to members of the House Administration Committee, a group of 38 organizations and individuals with expertise in governance issues strongly opposed bills being considered tomorrow by the committee to terminate the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).  (See below for a full […]

NEW YORK, NY, February 6, 2017 – The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) has asked the District of Columbia federal District Court to safeguard roughly 8,000 pages of privileged correspondence between nine climate scientists. Under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Judicial Watch, a conservative group, has sued for emails of scientists employed […]

Feb. 6, 2017 – There’s an outpouring of anger and mistrust about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s abrupt decision late last week to delete from its website inspection reports on some 9,000 licensed facilities that use animals, including commercial dog breeding operators, Tennessee walking horse show participants, roadside zoos, animal research labs, and other operations […]

SEATTLE February 3, 2017 – A federal judge in Seattle today granted Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s request to immediately halt implementation of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on immigration nationwide. The Temporary Restraining Order will remain in place until U.S. District Court Senior Judge James L. Robart considers the Attorney General’s lawsuit challenging key provisions […]

February 3, 2017 – The Environmental Protection Agency’s website has begun to transform under the Trump administration. A group of researchers have found what are likely the first steps in a major overhaul of a site that’s been closely watched since President Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Federal climate plans created under former President Obama, […]

ALEXANDRIA, February 3, 2017 – Virginia’s lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s immigration ban will be moving forward after Judge Leonie M. Brinkema granted Virginia’s motion to intervene in the case to challenge the ban. Virginia’s participation in the case expands the scope of affected individuals to also include visa holders as well as lawful permanent residents (green card […]

Feb. 3, 2017 – President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order restricting immigration to the United States from several Muslim-majority countries violates religious freedom rights and should be put on hold, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Attorneys with Americans United yesterday filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, State of Washington […]

Feb. 3, 2017 – In a close vote, the House of Representatives voted today to repeal a popular, common-sense Bureau of Management rule limiting methane waste by oil and gas companies on public and tribal lands. This was made possible by the Congressional Review Act, an obscure, last-resort tool used successfully only once in American […]

Feb. 3, 2017 – Today’s decision by the Republican-led U.S. Senate to overturn a rule designed to stop oil companies striking corrupt deals with foreign governments is a grave threat to U.S. national security and an astonishing gift to big oil, said Global Witness. The news comes just two days after Rex Tillerson, a longstanding […]

Feb. 3, 2017 – Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Better Markets, and Consumer Federation of America (CFA) put out the following statement on President Trump’s Memorandum for the Secretary of Labor regarding the Conflict of Interest (Fiduciary Rule). President Trump continues his streak of throwing middle […]

SEATTLE, WA, Feb. 2, 2017 – Civil and immigrant rights groups asked a federal court last night to lift the unconstitutional ban blocking Muslim immigrants lawfully living in the United States from becoming U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and asylees, among other things. The class action lawsuit challenges provisions of President Trump’s January 27 executive order […]

SEATTLE February 2, 2017 – Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced the filing of an amended complaint in State of Washington v. Trump, the state’s lawsuit challenging key sections of President Trump’s immigration Executive Order as illegal and unconstitutional. The amended complaint filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District […]