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 […]
US
Groups File Legal Challenge to Trump’s ‘One-In, Two-Out’ Executive Order on Regulations
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 […]
Water Protector Legal Collective calls on Army Corps to Reinstate Waiting Period for DAPL
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 […]
Sen Warren: Letter from Coretta Scott King About Jeff Sessions
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 […]
House Committee Votes to Terminate Agency that Protects Voting Machines from Hacking
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 […]
Americans United Expresses Disappointment Over Confirmation Of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education
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 […]
Lawsuit Filed Against Trump Nominee Scott Pruitt for Denying Access to Polluter Emails
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 […]
Amnesty International USA, Coalition Partners Launch Campaign to Fight the Assault on Immigrant, Refugee Rights
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 […]
38 Reform Groups Oppose Efforts by House Admin. Committee to Terminate Presidential Public Financing & EAC
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 […]
Amicus Groups File Brief to Protect NOAA Climate Scientists
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 […]
Humane Society challenges USDA over mass removal of animal welfare records
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 […]
AG Ferguson obtains court order halting Trump immigration action
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 […]
The EPA Has Started to Remove Obama-era Information
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, […]
Virginia’s case against immigration ban expands from just green card holders to include holders of valid visas
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 […]
Americans United Files Brief In Washington State Lawsuit Challenging Trump Muslim Ban
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 […]
House takes extreme measures to promote methane waste from oil and gas
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 […]
Congress votes for corruption by overturning historic transparency law in gift to big oil
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 […]
Executive Order to Strip Millions of Middle Class Families of Retirement Savings Protections
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 […]
Lawsuit Argues Trump Immigration Ban Unlawfully Targets U.S. Residents Seeking Citizenship and Immigration Status
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 […]
Trump Executive Order lawsuit: hearing set for Seattle federal court Friday
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 […]