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News and updates

What We’re Reading this Week (October 7th-11th, 2019)

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Here is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team has read this week.

Impeachment Saga: UW Federal Relations continues to monitor the impeachment inquiry, especially as Congress prepares to return from recess next week. The Government is currently operating on a Continuing Resolution due to expire on November 21st, meaning appropriations are still an urgent concern. However, focus has primarily been on the whistleblower complaint against President Trump and his actions towards Ukraine. The White House is resolved not to cooperate, which will drag out the inquiry. For the latest updates, you can visit the Washington Post (or any other major news outlet, really).

NIH Examining Racial Bias in Grant Awards: A 2011 study by economist Dr. Donna Ginther revealed proposals authored by Black researchers were significantly less likely to receive NIH funding. Since then, NIH has been examining how this phenomenon occurs, although they have yet to produce solid answers. Some likely factors include that grant reviewers must be awardees, meaning if less Black applicants are awarded, less Black scholars will sit on the review boards. Additionally, the research suggested biases in favor of the topics which tended to be proposed by White researchers. You can read the full story at Science Magazine.

Middle East Studies Program Continues: The Duke-UNC Middle East Studies Consortium will continue to receive federal funding, after being ordered to revise its curriculum by the Department of Education. The Education Department accused the University of promoting a “positive view of Islam” and not including enough perspectives on Christianity and Judaism, leading to anti-Semitic bias. The Department did say, however, that they will continue to closely monitor Middle East studies programs throughout the country which receive federal funding. The full story is available from the Washington Post.

Ethiopian Prime Minister wins Nobel Peace Prize: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today for his efforts restoring diplomatic relations with Eritrea after years of hostilities, improving Ethiopian civil society, and empowering women. Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been riddled with border conflict and ongoing tensions. Restoring diplomatic relations allows for families to reunite, and for greater cooperation between the neighbor countries on a variety of issues. Prime Minister Ahmed also lifted Ethiopia’s state of emergency, removed censorships on the media, and granted amnesty to thousands of political prisoners. Experts hope Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki will institute similar positive reforms, including reintroducing the Eritrean Constitution. Full story at the New York Times.

Turkey Begins Offensive in Syria: Despite global outcry, including bipartisan condemnation from the US, Turkey began its assault on Kurdish-controlled parts of northern Syria this week. Turkey considers the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls the area, to be a terrorist organization. Previously, US troops in Syria worked closely with the SDF in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). However, President Trump has now withdrawn all US forces from Syria, allowing Turkey to move forward with an offensive against the SDF and Kurdish groups in the area. Many members of the international community are also concerned with what will happen to ISIS prisoners, who are being held in the area. Members of both parties have warned of serious national security implications, and have urged President Trump to take corrective action to protect Kurds in Syria. For the latest developments, visit BBC.

A Primer on Impeachment

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In late September, Speaker of the House, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Impeachment is when a legislative body levels charges against a government official. Similar to an indictment, it is the first step in the process of removing a government official from office because they have committed particularly offensive crimes, such as treason or bribery.

President Trump is accused of trying to solicit personal favors by threatening to withhold foreign aid to Ukraine. This was brought to attention through a whistleblower complaint from an Intelligence Community employee.

Only two previous Presidents have ever been impeached. President Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868, but was acquitted in the Senate. President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998, and was also acquitted in the Senate. Articles of impeachment were approved against President Richard Nixon in 1974 following the Watergate Scandal, although he resigned before the full House could vote to impeach him. No prior President has ever been removed from office as a direct result of impeachment.

The last government official to be impeached, found guilty, and removed from office was Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. Formerly a Judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Porteous was found guilty of perjury by the Senate in 2010 and was removed from office.

For Congress to impeach the President, here are the steps of impeachment, in a nutshell.

  • First, the House opens an inquiry. Power of impeachment rests with the House of Representatives, and is enshrined in Article II, Section II of the United States Constitution.
    • One area of contention in this inquiry has been voting. Under statute, the House is not required to follow any specific procedure to conduct an impeachment inquiry. In the past, a vote in the committee was required to issue subpoenas. Now, as a result of rule changes which occurred 2015, Democratic Committee Chairpersons have unilateral subpoena power (as the majority party). A vote would give Republicans the potential to seek unilateral subpoena power for the Ranking Members of the Committees (Republicans), allowing them to call their own witnesses and potentially change the direction of the inquiry. Speaker Pelosi asserts that the House Committee Chairpersons have all the necessary tools to conduct an inquiry, making a vote redundant.
  • Next, various House committees investigate. The Committees may seek evidence through calling witnesses, issuing subpoenas, and reviewing records. They will determine whether impeachable offenses occurred. The current inquiry is centered in the House Intelligence Committee, due to the nature of the whistleblower complaint, however multiple committees, including the House Oversight and Government Reform and House Judiciary Committee, are involved in the investigation.
    • In this inquiry, the White House has instructed the Department of State not to turn over evidence to House investigators, and has forbidden Department of State employees from testifying before the House. State Department employees are ultimately lead by President Trump, creating a sticky legal dilemma. The House Committees would have to initiate legal action in a federal court to obtain evidence.
  • Afterwards, the House Judiciary Committee reviews the findings. This is done after the various Committees have reviewed their evidence. The Judiciary Committee may recommend the entire House vote on articles of impeachment. To impeach a President, the entire House of Representatives must vote by simple majority. Voting is an involved process in and of itself, as the House must agree on voting method, when to vote, etc.
  • Impeaching a President doesn’t mean they are removed from office. The Senate must hold a trial overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The current Chief Justice is John Roberts. A trial can be lengthy because the Senate will need to establish procedures, review evidence, and actually agree to hold a vote. The President would then be removed if 2/3 of Senators vote in favor of removal. In this Congress, a 2/3 vote would require 12 Republican Senators, and all Democratic Senators, to vote in favor of impeachment.

Currently, the House and Senate are controlled by opposing parties. As a result, it is unlikely the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate would both reach the same conclusion. The inquiry has also become highly partisan, with each side accusing the other of corruption and abuse of power. However, not all evidence has been reviewed or made publicly available. As of October 8th, the White House is refusing to cooperate with the inquiry. It is unclear what will happen next, but it is important to keep in mind impeachment is an extremely difficult and lengthy process.

Edit: This post originally stated that President Richard Nixon was impeached. While the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment, Nixon resigned before there was a vote in the House to adopt the articles. The post has been updated to reflect this.

Edit: This post originally stated that President Andrew Jackson was impeached instead of President Andrew Johnson. 

DACA Goes to the Supreme Court

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Many higher education organizations, including APLU, filed an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court, supporting University of California in Regents of the University of California v Dept of Homeland Security. The University of California argues the repeal of DACA  has violated the rights of the University and its’ students. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has already found the termination of DACA to be unlawful, however the Supreme Court has the final verdict. Universities around the country are concerned that without comprehensive immigration reform, repealing DACA will unduly harm hundreds of thousands of students who have made their home in the United States. UW continues to monitor the case, working closely with our nationwide colleagues.

You can read the full brief here.

UW President Cauce has been very vocal in support of DACA students, and you can find her updates here.

What We’re Reading this Week (September 30th-October 4th, 2019)

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Here is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team has enjoyed reading this week.

California to Allow Athletes to Profit from Image: California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill which would allow athletes at California universities to enter into brand deals, and profit from their image and likeness. The NCAA objects to this move, arguing that it would eliminate amateurism from college athletics and create an unfair recruiting advantage.  The bill will go into effect in three years, which allows time for the NCAA to mount a response. Visit LA Times for the full story.

NIH Weighs in on Foreign Influence: In an interview with Science, NIH Director of Extramural Research Michael Lauer offered his description as to how the US research enterprise is undermined by foreign influence. According to Lauer, this involves a two-pronged approach of infiltrating grant proposals and setting up overseas shadow labs. The US Government considers the breach of scientific research to be a national security concern, and warns researchers of failure to disclose ties to foreign institutions. Recent crackdowns on undisclosed foreign influence have left several institutions in hot water, and resulted in the dismissal of a number of faculty around the country. Of primary concern is China and the Thousand Talents Program, which leads some to argue that undue scrutiny is being placed on ethnically Chinese researchers.  For the full story see Science Magazine.

Word of Impeachment Gets Louder: The US House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry into President Trump, based on a whistleblower complaint and accusations of quid pro quo, is getting more intense. Trump confidant Rudy Giuliani has been issued a subpoena, the whisteblower is expected to testify before the House Select Committee on Intelligence, and there is further accusations of involvement against members of Trump’s cabinet. The President has lashed out at top Democrats, highlighting strong partisan divides which could potentially distract from other key issues. You can find the latest updates at The Washington Post.

Supreme Court Upholds Internet Deregulation: On Tuesday the US Supreme Court voted to uphold a ruling repealing net neutrality regulations. The Court found that the FCC was within its’ authority to deregulate internet service providers.  This decision earmarks a major victory for the Trump Administration, and could potentially allow internet providers to block content or charge premium prices for accessing certain websites. The Court did also find the FCC cannot bar state and local governments from passing their own regulations, so the debate will likely continue at the local level. For the full story, see The New York Times.

Harvard Wins Controversial Affirmative Action Case: A Federal Judge in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in favor of Harvard University, curtailing a highly controversial court case against affirmative action. The case was brought forth by a group representing Harvard-rejected Asian-American students. The group claims that the Harvard admissions process is racist in favor of Black and Hispanic students. Judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled that Harvard adhered to the constitutional standard for considering race in admissions. Race may be considered, however it must be one of many factors, and racial quotas are prohibited based on legal precedent. Universities nationwide have been watching this case closely, as college admissions processes have come under scrutiny in light of recent corruption scandals. Read more at The New York Times.

CR Signed, Now What?

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On Friday, President Trump signed the first continuing resolution of FY2020, buying everyone time until the end of November 21 to figure out the next steps in the appropriations process.

Fights over the border wall and abortion were going to be difficult enough to resolve; the new battles over impeachment will make the entire legislative process even more unpredictable.  Although the majority of Congress left town last Friday on a two-week recess, those involved in impeachment will continue to work on their investigations.