The only power the president has regarding federal courts is the power to nominate federal judges at each level (district, circuit, and Supreme Court) and to propose legislation that might affect any particular court, like FDR’s (abandoned) Supreme Court-packing bill. Breaking up the 9th Circuit has some support among Republicans in some of the western states, such as Arizona, that are in the 9th Circuit. Though they are always quick to claim that the real basis for their proposal in creating a new circuit from western landlocked states that are red/purple such as Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana is primarily due to case backlogs and not because of ideological disagreements with 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ rulings.
I’m tickled pink imagining a scene where a very proud Trump takes the stage in front of his captive audience and goes “So I’ve learned a lot today, and you guys need to know this stuff, it’s so great. Did you guys know there were actually two Koreas ? Blew my mind. It’s confusing to be sure, but I’ll tell you a way to tell which is which : one is up, and one is down. Unless you’re holding the map upside down, but they’ve taught me how to not do that any more, there’s also a trick to it, it’s great. Anyway, so what I’ve learned is that Up Korea, as I like to call it, is actually not a very great place…”
(and, much like when Kevin regales the family with long rambling explanations on What I Learned Today Wot I’m Going To Teach You, everyone in the room suppresses a deep-seated impulse to yell “yes, WE KNOW, shut the fuck up !” and instead goes “Nooo ? And then what happened ?”)
two regulations issued by Obama that dramatically lowered legal limits on workers’ exposure to silica and beryllium, both cancer-causing toxins. In both cases, the Trump administration pushed back the deadlines for companies to comply with the new safety measures.
Employers can no longer be held accountable for keeping accurate workplace injury records for at least five years.
Student loan companies can levy hefty fees on borrowers trying to get out of default.
Internet service providers can collect and sell information about customers’ browsing habits without their permission.
About 75,000 mentally ill people determined by the Social Security Administration to be incapable of handling their own finances won’t be barred from purchasing guns.
Coal companies don’t have to obey new restrictions on pollution, nor do they have to monitor water quality in nearby streams.
Federal contractors won’t have to disclose safety, health and labor violations prior to being awarded government contracts, a requirement companies have criticized as a “blacklisting rule.”
Publicly traded oil, gas and mining companies won’t have to disclose payments to foreign governments.
Financial advisers get a reprieve from stricter standards designed to prevent conflicts of interest when they make investment recommendations to people saving for retirement.
Did Trump’s staff have custody of the cell phones of all those Senators during the no-obvious-content meeting?
Of course this sounds rather CT, but—did Trump’s staff have custody of their phones?
If so, it might explain the weird and unprecedented request that the Senators take busses to a make-shift SCIF under Trump’s control, as opposed to meeting in one of the established SCIFs at the Capitol.
It’s not difficult to imagine Trump musing that he’d like to know what certain Senators were saying–for example, those charged with investigating him. And cell phones can be…messed with.
What I haven’t been able to find is reporting that says the Senators did have to put their cell phones into the custody of Trump’s staff; all I can find is general information about what generally happens if you go into a SCIF:
It’s been discussed for years, since the 9th Circuit is so large. (caseload and geographically). Other circuits have been split before (5th became the 5th and 10th IIRC).
There are pros and cons, but it’s not a huge deal. He’d just have two circuits he’s pissed off at.
ETA: the former 5th became the new 5th and 11th. Not 10th.
What happens in general when you go into a SCIF is that you don’t bring your phone. Leave it in your office, leave it in your car, leave it with your personal assistant, lock it up in one of the boxes specifically provided for that purpose outside the SCIF door and take the key with you.
This is the mostly-invisible erosion of our democratic processes and policies that will hurt a lot to rectify when we finally put this loathsome pretend president out on his ass and into custody, preferably for good and all. Most folks aren’t even aware that these travesties have occurred. Thank you for listing them.
Student loan companies can levy hefty fees on borrowers trying to get out of default.
:eek::smack:…the headline, or this passage…