Public Policy

  • February 13, 2025

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Confirmed, Sworn In As HHS Secretary

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is officially the nation's top healthcare official.

  • February 13, 2025

    Kash Patel's FBI Director Nomination Goes To Full Senate

    The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10, along party lines, Thursday to send Kash Patel's nomination to be FBI director to the full Senate.

  • February 13, 2025

    More US Attorneys Out In Three States

    U.S. Attorney Dena J. King of the Western District of North Carolina announced that she is stepping down from her role as the district's top prosecutor, joining her counterparts in California's Southern District and the District of Maryland in the recent parade of U.S. attorneys to leave their posts since President Donald Trump retook the White House.

  • February 12, 2025

    Baltimore Sues To Stop 'Unilateral Defunding' Of CFPB

    The city of Baltimore sued Wednesday to block the Trump administration from defunding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, alleging the agency is in danger of being bled dry and left unable to protect city residents from financial abuse.

  • February 12, 2025

    Calif. Panel Upends Bakery's Bias Suit Win Over Gay Wedding

    A California appeals court on Tuesday reversed a California bakery's trial court victory in a discrimination lawsuit challenging its refusal to sell a wedding cake to a lesbian couple, finding that a wedding cake design standard the bakery had leaned on was facially discriminatory.

  • February 12, 2025

    Elon Musk Wants Judges Removed For DOGE Court Losses

    Elon Musk on Wednesday posted a number of tweets calling for "an immediate wave of judicial impeachments," specifically targeting federal judges who have recently blocked his DOGE Service Temporary Organization from freezing federal funds and accessing U.S. Department of the Treasury payment systems.

  • February 12, 2025

    House Republicans Launch Effort To Craft Data Privacy Law

    The Republican leaders of an influential House committee on Wednesday established a working group to draft privacy legislation that would be able to overcome hurdles that have long stymied efforts to set a national standard for how companies collect, use and share consumers' personal information. 

  • February 12, 2025

    Trump Picks Encore Fiduciary Founder As DOL Benefits Chief

    The Trump administration on Wednesday nominated Encore Fiduciary's principal and professional fiduciary liability expert Daniel Aronowitz to steer the US Department of Labor's employee benefits division, which produces and enforces federal regulations that apply to employer-provided retirement and healthcare plans.

  • February 12, 2025

    Trump's Federal Worker Resignation Offer Gets Green Light

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday lifted an order temporarily blocking President Donald Trump's federal worker "deferred resignation" offer and allowed it to proceed, ruling that unions representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers don't have standing to challenge the directive.

  • February 12, 2025

    8th Circ. Vacates Ruling In Minn. Tribal Reservation Dispute

    An Eighth Circuit panel on Wednesday remanded a dispute between a Minnesota tribe and Mille Lacs County officials to a federal district court with instructions to vacate, saying a recently amended state law upholds a 19th-century treaty that gives unqualified law enforcement jurisdiction to the tribe over its reservation's boundaries.

  • February 12, 2025

    Republican Senators Float Ending EV Tax Credits

    Republican lawmakers in the Senate on Wednesday unveiled a bill that would end electric vehicle and charging station tax credits that they dubbed "reckless."

  • February 12, 2025

    OpenAI Says Musk Takeover Bid 'Exposes' Intent Behind Suit

    OpenAI on Thursday told a California federal judge overseeing Elon Musk's lawsuit seeking to block OpenAI from becoming a for-profit enterprise that the Tesla founder has proposed acquiring OpenAI's business, saying the takeover effort reveals Musk's lawsuit to be "an improper bid to undermine a competitor."

  • February 12, 2025

    Arkansas Looks To Dismiss Cherokee Gambling License Suit

    Arkansas has urged a federal court to toss the latest version of a casino licensing suit by two Cherokee Nation businesses, arguing that they don't have the right to sue the state and that the court has already dismissed the state and its governor as defendants.

  • February 12, 2025

    VA Blocked From Quickly Appealing Systemic Racism Suit

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs cannot immediately appeal a Connecticut federal judge's refusal to slap down a lawsuit alleging systemic discrimination at VA hospitals because the case does not present novel issues requiring midstream clarification, the same judge who advanced the case last March has ruled.

  • February 12, 2025

    SEC Rescinds Stricter Gensler-Era Proxy Exclusion Guidance

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday rescinded Biden-era guidelines around excluding certain shareholder proposals from proxy statements, reverting the agency's posture to an era that was generally more receptive to companies seeking such exclusions.

  • February 12, 2025

    Bondi Says NY Failed To Enforce Feds' Immigration Policies

    Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice is suing New York over its Green Light Law, which she claims prevents law enforcement officers from doing their jobs.

  • February 12, 2025

    Unions Beef Up Suit To Keep DOGE Out Of Federal Agencies

    Unions and nonprofits seeking to stop Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the U.S. Department of Labor's data have enhanced their injunction request, looking also to shield the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's and Department of Health and Human Services' data and prove they have standing to sue.

  • February 12, 2025

    DOJ Removes For-Cause Protection For FTC, Other Agencies

    The U.S. Department of Justice has determined that for-cause removals for members of the Federal Trade Commission, National Labor Relations Board and Consumer Product Safety Commission are unconstitutional, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris informed Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking Democrat of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a letter Wednesday.

  • February 12, 2025

    Trump's Trans Sports Ban Challenged In New Hampshire Suit

    President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender individuals from competing in women's sports was hit with its first court challenge Wednesday, as two New Hampshire trans teenagers added the federal government to their lawsuit challenging a similar state-level policy.

  • February 12, 2025

    Avangrid Unit's Counterclaim Cut From Plant Cleanup Fight

    The United Illuminating Co. cannot assert a counterclaim against the commissioner of Connecticut's energy regulator as they battle over the cleanup of the defunct and polluted English Station power plant in New Haven because the utility has not overcome the state's sovereign immunity, a state court has ruled.

  • February 12, 2025

    OSC Sues FEMA Worker Who Skipped Trump Houses

    The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, whose leader President Donald Trump is attempting to fire, filed a complaint Tuesday seeking to discipline a Federal Emergency Management Agency staffer who instructed employees last fall to avoid homes with Trump campaign signs.

  • February 12, 2025

    FCC Chief Says Comcast To Be Probed For Supporting DEI

    The FCC's new leader is going after Comcast and NBCUniversal for their efforts to be diverse and inclusive, revealing Wednesday that he had directed the agency to open an investigation into the pair of companies to ensure they aren't "promoting invidious forms of discrimination."

  • February 12, 2025

    OCC Departs International Network Focused On Climate Risks

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Tuesday became the latest U.S. government entity to withdraw from the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System, an international consortium focused on the financial sector's responses and resilience to climate change.

  • February 12, 2025

    Colo. Judge Tosses Online Fax Co.'s Junk Ad Suit

    A Colorado federal judge dismissed an online fax service provider's Telephone Consumer Protection Act suit alleging a group of companies overwhelmed its system with "junk" faxes, finding in a Wednesday order that the law's prohibition specifically applies to a "machine" that receives and prints faxes.

  • February 12, 2025

    DOJ Wants Nationwide Injunction Trimmed In Citizenship Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has called on a Maryland federal judge to narrow the scope of a nationwide injunction blocking the implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, saying it should apply only to the individuals identified in the suit. 

Expert Analysis

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

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    Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

  • SEC Motion Response Could Reveal New Crypto Approach

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    Cumberland DRW recently filed to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against it for the unlawful purchase and sale of digital asset securities, and the agency's response should unveil whether, and to what extent, the Trump administration will relax the federal government’s stance on digital asset regulation, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • What Employers Should Know For Next Round Of H-1B Filings

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    With the fiscal year 2026 H-1B visa period opening soon, employers should brush up on the registration and filing procedures, as well as organize applicable data, to ensure they are ready for this dynamic, multistep process, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Contractors Can Do To Address Material Cost Increases

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    In light of the Trump administration's plans to increase tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, construction industry players should proactively employ legal strategies to mitigate the impacts that price increases and uncertainty may have on projects, says Brenda Radmacher at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • 5 Things For Private Employers To Do After Trump's DEI Order

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    Following President Donald Trump's recent executive order pushing the private sector to narrow, and even end, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, employers should ensure DEI efforts align with their organization's mission and goals, are legally compliant, and are effectively communicated to stakeholders, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • What Calif. Bill Could Mean For Battery Energy Storage

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    A newly proposed bill in the California Legislature would place major restrictions on the development of battery energy storage system projects in the state — but with Gov. Gavin Newsom's strong support for clean energy technology, the legislation will likely face significant obstacles, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 3 Ways Trump Can Nix SEC's Climate Disclosure Rules

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    Given President Donald Trump's campaign statements and agency appointments, it's likely that his administration will try to annul the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules, but his options for doing so present unique opportunities and challenges, with varying levels of permanence and impact, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • A Compliance Update For Credit Card Reward Partnerships

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interest in credit card rewards programs could fade under the new administration, a recent circular focusing on both issuers and their merchant partners means that co-brand credit card partnerships with banks could be subject to increased scrutiny ahead, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Will 4th Time Be A Charm For NY's 21st Century Antitrust Act?

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    New York's recently introduced 21st Century Antitrust Act would change the landscape of antitrust enforcement in the state and probably result in a sharp increase in claims — but first, the bill needs to gain traction after three aborted attempts, says Tyler Ross at Shinder Cantor.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Foreign Trade Zones Can Help Cos. With Tariff Exposure

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    Companies navigating shifts in global trade — like the Trump administration’s newly levied tariffs on Chinese goods — should consider whether the U.S. Department of Commerce's poorly understood foreign trade zone program could help reduce their import costs, says James Grogan at FTI Consulting.

  • How FTC Consumer Protection May Fare Under Reg Freeze

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    Attorneys at Crowell & Moring consider how President Donald Trump's executive order directing agencies to freeze all pending rulemaking activity may frustrate any Federal Trade Commission efforts to change or eliminate rules that made it across the finish line before the inauguration.

  • Critical Steps For Navigating Intensified OFAC Enforcement

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    The largely overlooked SkyGeek settlement from the end of 2024 heralds the arrival of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's long anticipated enhanced enforcement posture and clearly demonstrates the sanctions-compliance benefits of immediately responding to blocked payments, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

  • Unpacking HHS' Proposal To Amend HIPAA Security Rule

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    While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' proposal to amend the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's security rule could face scrutiny under the Trump administration, it reflects a clear concern over health data security and could push entities to implement operational changes, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Expect Scrutiny Of Banks To Persist, Even Under Trump

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    Although the change in administrations brings some measure of uncertainty as to the nature of bank compliance oversight, if regulators in Washington, D.C., attempt to dilute the vigilance of federal superintendence, the states are waiting in the wings to fill the void, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

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