Here is a selection of articles that the Federal Relations Team is reading this week:
Former House Speaker Boehner’s Interesting Take – Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who was replaced as Speaker by Paul Ryan (R-WI), continues to offer up views and statements on issues that he likely would not have made were he still in office. For example, take a look at his take on immigrants and their views on Trump here in Politico and his assessment of the Republican push to repeal Obamacare, also in Politico.
Transgender Bathroom Protections Rescinded – President Trump on Wednesday rescinded protections for transgender students that had allowed them to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity, overruling his own education secretary and placing his administration firmly in the middle of the culture wars that many Republicans have tried to leave behind. Read more from the New York Times.
Immigration Raids and Students – An immigration-law expert chimes in on how the recent detention of Daniel Ramirez Medina could affect students around the country who still benefit from the Obama-era policy. Read more from The Atlantic.
Research Today, Innovation Tomorrow – Federal agencies, with bipartisan support, are the primary investor of cutting-edge basic research that fuels industry’s ability to harness that knowledge into innovative products and business. But federal budgets, in real terms, have shrunk. Excellent research proposals, given the highest rankings by peer-reviewed scientists, go unfunded. Read more from Rush Holt, CEO of The American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Maria T. Zuber, chair of the National Science Board, on The Hill.
Anti-immigrant Sentiments and Violence Not Limited to the West – Anti-immigrant sentiments and violence, most often associated with the West, are not limited to that part of the world. Other parts of the world are dealing with such events as well. Read more here on BBC.