Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.
Survivors – Trump and Congressional Republicans have made it clear that a top priority if rolling back Obama Administration regulations, but there’s a significant amount of work that the incoming Administration cannot or will not want to roll back. Read more in Vox.
Don’t Give Up, Give Out – Debates over climate change and genome editing present the need for researchers to venture beyond their comfort zones to engage with the political establishment, and they should keep doing it. Read more in Nature.
Liberal Cities – Republican state legislatures are planning so-called preemption laws, which prevent cities and counties from passing new measures governing everything from taxes to environmental regulations and social issues. Read more in The Hill.
150 Banks – The debts of President-elect Donald Trump and his businesses are scattered across Wall Street banks, mutual funds and other financial institutions, broadening the tangle of interests that pose potential conflicts for the incoming president’s administration. Trump businesses’ debts are held by more than 150 institutions, which was repackaged into bonds—a process known as securitization, which has been used for more than $1 billion of debt connected to Mr. Trump’s companies. Read more in The Wall Street Journal.
Congressional Review Act – Regulatory reform is the talk of the Hill, and the upshot seems to be that at least a few of President Obama’s environmental regulations could be dismantled quickly by the Republican Congress, with President-elect Donald Trump’s approval. How so? The Congressional Review Act, enacted in 1996, allows Congress 60 legislative days, starting from the date the rule is submitted to Congress and published in the Federal Register, to overturn new federal regulations by submitting something called a “joint resolution of disapproval.” Read more in WaPo.
Tweet Tweet – Trump’s twitter feed is becoming an off-the-cuff sword for the incoming Administration’s agenda. It’s totally unpredictable and completely throwing Washington. Read more in Politico.
Russian Divide – The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on Russian hacking, which serviced to draw a divide between Hill Republicans and the President-elect. Read more in WaPo.
Ethical Snafu – House Republican’s push to neuter the Office of Congressional Ethics on the first day of a new Congress turned into a major public relations fiasco after the press, the public and president-elect himself came out against the move Tuesday. Read more in Politico.
Spot You – President-elect Trump has indicated that he is planning on asking Congress for money to build a wall along the border with Mexico, but that Mexico will reimburse the US. Read more in The Wall Street Journal.
Strutter Unrest – Texas State University dance team to perform at Trump’s inauguration, causing unrest on campus. Read more in The Houston Chronicle.