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The Federal Tap: Trump concludes second summit with Kim
From Ballotpedia
March 2, 2019Issue No. 150
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Monday, February 25
Senate rejects Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- The Senate rejected the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act by a vote of 53-44. It needed 60 votes to advance. The bill proposed making it a felony if a healthcare practitioner failed to care for a child who survived an abortion or attempted abortion.
- All Republicans and Democratic Sens. Bob Casey (Pa.), Doug Jones (Ala.), and Joe Manchin (WVa.) voted for the bill.
- Before the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke in opposition to the bill, saying, “The bill the Senate will vote on shortly is carefully crafted to target, intimidate, and shut down reproductive healthcare providers. Doctors across this country--Democratic doctors, Republican doctors--are lining up against the bill because it would impose requirements on what type of care doctors must provide in certain circumstances, even if that care is ineffective, contradictory to medical evidence, and against the family's wishes...It has always been illegal to harm a newborn infant. This vote has nothing--nothing--to do with that. Read the language. We are talking about situations when expectant parents tragically learn their pregnancy is no longer viable, and there is a fatal diagnosis. What happens in those circumstances should be decided between a woman, her family, her minister, priest, rabbi, imam, and her doctor.”
- Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), the sponsor of the bill, responded to Schumer’s comments, calling them false. Sasse said, “I want to ask each and every one of our colleagues whether we are OK with infanticide...Infanticide is what the abortion survivors--Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is actually about. Are we a country that protects babies who are alive, born outside the womb after having survived a botched abortion? That is what this is about. Are we a country that says it is OK to actively allow that baby to die, which is the current position of Federal law? That is the question before us, plain and simple...The bill's terms are simple: A child born alive during a botched abortion would be given the same level of care that would be provided to any other baby born at that same gestational age. That is it.”
Tuesday, February 26
House passes resolution to overturn Trump's national emergency declaration
- The House passed legislation to overturn President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency on the southern border. The resolution passed by a vote of 245-182. Every Democrat and 13 Republicans voted for the resolution.
- After not receiving the amount he requested for border security, Trump declared a state of emergency on the southern border and directed $8.1 billion to build a border wall on February 15, 2019.
- The resolution now heads to the Senate where four GOP senators will have to vote with every member of the Democratic caucus to send it to Trump's desk. If it passes, Trump said that he would veto the resolution. It would be the first veto of his presidency.
Senate confirms first federal judicial nominee in 2019 without support from home-state senators
- The U.S. Senate confirmed Eric D. Miller's nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on a recorded vote of 53 - 46. The vote was the first circuit court judge confirmation to occur without blue slip approval from home-state senators.
- A blue slip is a piece of paper a home-state senator returns to the Senate Judiciary Committee chair to express support for a federal judicial nominee. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) decided not to require blue slip approval for federal judicial nominees to the U.S. circuit courts of appeals.
- Opposition to Miller's confirmation from home-state senators:
- Home-state Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wa.) said on the Senate floor, "Confirming this Ninth Circuit court nominee without the consent or true input of both home-state senators, and after a sham hearing, would be a dangerous first for this Senate." Murray referred to Miller's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on October 24, 2018, which took place during a congressional recess. Two Republican senators attended the meeting. No Democratic senators were present.
- Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wa.) also spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to the nomination. She criticized the confirmation process, including the October 24 committee hearing. "Confirming Mr. Miller without a full vetting by both Democrats and Republicans is the wrong way to proceed on a lifetime appointment," she said. Cantwell also said she opposed Miller's confirmation because he had "spent much of his career fighting against the interest of tribal governments and tribal sovereignty."
- Support for Miller's confirmation:
- Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) supported Miller's nomination, saying, "All in all, his classmates, many of whom have also been his colleagues over the years, say that Mr. Miller is, 'extraordinarily well-qualified' to serve as a federal judge."
- Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Murray and Cantwell in 2018, when he was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Grassley wrote, "Miller appears to be a highly qualified and well-regarded nominee...I understand that both of you oppose Mr. Miller's nomination, but you have not expressed any substantive reasons for your opposition."
- On July 13, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Miller to the court to replace Richard Tallman, who had assumed senior status in March 2018.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, headquartered in San Francisco, California, currently has 23 active judges out of 29 active judicial posts. Sixteen of the court’s current judges were appointed by Democratic presidents.
- Miller received a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and a J.D., with highest honors, from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif. He also served as a topics and comments editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.
- After completing his legal studies, Miller clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States and for the Hon. Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. From 2012 to 2019, he was a partner at the Seattle-based law office of Perkins Coie LLP. He previously held positions in the U.S. Department of Justice and on the Federal Communications Commission.
- The Senate has confirmed 86 of President Trump’s judicial nominees—53 district court judges, 31 appeals court judges, and two Supreme Court justices—since January 2017.
Harris will not run in new NC-09 election
- Pastor Mark Harris (R) announced that he would not run in the race for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. A new election was called last week by the North Carolina Board of Elections following four days of hearings on alleged ballot tampering in two counties in the district.
- Harris, who had led the November 2018 election by 905 votes in unofficial returns, said in a statement, “Given my health situation, the need to regain full strength and the timing of this surgery the last week of March, I have decided not to file in the new election for Congressional District 9.”
- Harris has endorsed Union County Commissioner Stony Rushing (R).
- Businessman Dan McCready (D), who was the previous Democratic nominee, is running for the seat again.
- The state Board of Elections will meet March 4 to set the schedule for the new election.
Wednesday, February 27
Gov. Roy Cooper schedules special election in NC-3
- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced dates for a special election to represent North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District. The winner of the election will complete the term of former Rep. Walter Jones (R), who passed away on February 10, 2019.
- The filing deadline to run in the special election is March 8, 2019, and primaries are scheduled for April 30, 2019. There are two possible schedules beyond that, depending on whether a primary runoff is required.
- If no candidate receives more than 30 percent of the vote in either party primary, runoff elections will take place on July 9, 2019. In this case, the general election will be held on September 10, 2019. However, if no primary runoffs are held, the general election will be held on July 9, 2019.
- Six Republicans have already declared their intention to run for the seat. Jones faced two opponents in the May 2018 Republican primary but was unopposed in the general election last year.
- The special election is one of two special elections currently scheduled to complete a term in the U.S. House in the current Congress. The second is in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District on May 21, 2019.
- A third special election, in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, is also set to take place in 2019. The North Carolina State Board of Elections will meet on March 4 to set the calendar for that election.
- There is currently one special election scheduled to complete a term in the U.S. Senate. It is in Arizona, where voters will choose someone to complete the term that former Sen. John McCain (R) was elected to in 2016. McCain passed away on August 25, 2018.
SCOTUS releases four opinions this week
- The U.S. Supreme Court released opinions in three cases after another opinion had been issued on Tuesday.
- Justice Elena Kagan delivered the 5-3 decision in Madison v. Alabama, a case concerning an inmate’s mental fitness to be executed. It was her first opinion of the term. Justice Samuel Alito filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch joined. Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not take part in the case.
- Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the 6-3 opinion in Garza v. Idaho, a case concerning a trial counsel’s responsibilities in filing a notice of appeal. It was her second opinion of the term. Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Gorsuch and Alito joined.
- Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the 7-1 opinion in Jam v. Int'l Finance Corp., a case concerning whether international organizations can be sued in U.S. courts. It was his second opinion of the term. Justice Stephen Breyer filed a dissenting opinion. Justice Kavanaugh did not take part in the case.
- On Tuesday, Justice Sotomayor delivered the unanimous opinion in Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert, a case concerning claim-processing rules. It was her first opinion of the term.
- This was the court’s 10th unanimous opinion so far this term.
Thursday, February 28
Trump nomination of Rao to replace Kavanaugh on the DC Circuit Court advances out of committee
- The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 to advance Neomi Rao’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to the full Senate. Rao, who is currently serving as OIRA Administrator, was nominated by President Trump to the federal judgeship in November 2018 to replace Brett Kavanaugh upon his elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Rao is a champion of curbing the administrative state, and she has played a central role in the administration’s regulatory reform efforts. As the head of OIRA, she has overseen the regulatory review process as well as its information collection requests, statistical practices, and privacy policies. OIRA’s regulatory review responsibilities include reviewing and coordinating significant regulatory actions by federal agencies.
Trump concludes second summit with Kim
- President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met face-to-face on February 27 and 28, in Hanoi, Vietnam, for their second in-person summit.
- Trump and Kim were unable to reach an agreement on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Trump said that Kim wanted all economic sanctions to be lifted in return for closing some, but not all, of its nuclear weapons sites.
- Trump said, “I am never afraid to walk from a deal. … Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety and we couldn’t do that. I just felt it wasn’t good enough. We had to have more.”
- Trump’s previous meeting with Kim, the first-ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, took place on June 12, 2018, in Singapore.
- During the summit, Trump and Kim signed a document outlining a framework for future negotiations. They committed to working toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and recovering the remains of prisoners of war. In return, Trump committed to providing security guarantees to North Korea.
Senate confirms Wheeler as EPA administrator
- Andrew Wheeler, President Donald Trump's nominee for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 52-47, mostly along party lines. Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined 46 members of the Democratic caucus in voting against Wheeler's nomination. No Democrats voted for Wheeler’s nomination.
- Trump announced his intent to nominate Wheeler as EPA administrator on November 16, 2018. During a White House ceremony for Medal of Freedom recipients, Trump said, "He's done a fantastic job and I want to congratulate him." Trump formally nominated Wheeler on January 9, 2019.
- Wheeler will replace former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, who left the role in July 2018. Wheeler has served as acting EPA administrator since Pruitt resigned.
Friday, March 1
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) enters 2020 presidential race
- Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, announced that he was running for president, becoming the 13th notable Democrat to enter the race. He said in a video statement, “I'm running for president because I am the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation's number one priority.” His longtime adviser, Aisling Kerins, will manage his campaign.
Congress is in session
The House will be in session Tuesday through Friday. The Senate will be in session Monday through Friday. Click here to see the full calendar for the first session of the 116th Congress.
SCOTUS is out of session
The Supreme Court will not hear arguments this week. The justices will return for oral argument on March 18. To learn more about this term, read our review.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK
Saturday, March 2
Republicans to hold convention to select PA-12 candidate
- Republican Party leaders and representatives from the 15 counties that make up Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District will meet to choose their party's nominee for a special election to be held on May 21. There are six candidates who have declared their candidacy on the Republican side.
- Democrats already nominated Marc Friedenberg on February 12—Friedenberg was the only Democratic candidate who filed to run.
- The seat has been vacant since Tom Marino (R) resigned on January 23, 2019, to take a job in the private sector. He beat Friedenberg 66-34 in the 2018 election.
- This will be the first special election to fill a vacancy in the 116th Congress. The special election in North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District will be held on either July 9, 2019, or September 10, 2019, depending on whether primary runoff elections are necessary. The timetable for the special election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District will be established on Monday. One other special election is scheduled for 2020 for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona.
- There were 17 special elections held during the 115th Congress from 2017 to 2018. In those elections, Democrats picked up four seats, and two of those were in Pennsylvania.
Where was the president last week?
- On Monday, President Donald Trump met with state governors and then departed the White House for Hanoi, Vietnam.
- On Tuesday, Trump arrived in Vietnam and met with President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.
- On Wednesday, Trump met with Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He then met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
- On Thursday, Trump met with Kim and then departed Vietnam.
Federal Judiciary
- 151 federal judicial vacancies
- 59 pending nominations
- 19 future federal judicial vacancies
About
The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
