Two Trump Cases to Watch Today
A ruling’s been promised within hours in a broad challenge to the mass firings of federal employees.
Even though yesterday was a federal holiday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan held a hearing on a request for a temporary ban on firings in multiple government departments and on the Department of Government Effeciency’s access to information.
She promised a ruling within 24 hours.
One of the interesting things about the case brought by 14 Democratic state attorneys general is the government’s response to their complaint about “unchecked power” of someone who lacked Senate confirmation. Justice Department lawyer Harry Graver is quoted saying there was no evidence “to show that Elon Musk has any formal or actual authority to make any government decision himself.”
Musk’s designation as a “special government employee” title hasn’t yet been defined by a court.
More significant litigation today involves a request for a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces.
A Cabinet Vote and 7,641 Words
The Senate’s on track to confirm another member of Trump’s cabinet.
Later today, senators will vote on the nomination of Howard Lutnick, CEO of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, to lead the Commerce Department.
That job will make him a key player on trade negotiations and put him in charge of a wide-ranging bureaucracy that includes the Census Bureau and the National Weather Service.
Before that vote, the Senate has a tradition to continue. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) will read a 7,641-word essay that George Washington had published to serve as his final message to the nation.
It’s known as the Farewell Address even though it was meant to be read, not said.
Among many other points, the first US president -- whose cabinet included bitter rivals Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton -- warned about hyper partisanship: “It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.”
Though delivering it as a floor speech goes back to the Civil War, since 1900, there has been an extra layer of ceremony: the senator designated to deliver it as a reading inscribes some remarks for posterity in a special black leather-bound book.
- Bloomberg Government subscribers can click through to BGOV’s Congress Tracker for more on what’s up this week, with the Senate in session and the House in recess.
Delayed Firings Explained
If you’ve been wondering why the Trump administration moved so fast to get rid of some Biden ppointees and took a lot longer to get around to ousting others, Ben Penn has unraveled part of that head-scratcher.
His sources say U.S. attorneys from Philadelphia, Arizona, New Mexico, and other districts weren’t fired along with their counterparts because inexperienced political hires in the Trump administration sent their termination notices to the wrong email addresses. Read More
Meanwhile, the who’s-in-charge shuffle hit the Social Security Administration overnight. The Associated Press and The New York Times report that the acting commissioner stepped down over DOGE requests to access recipient information.
Bonus for Budget-watchers
Senators could soon hold a “vote-a-rama” — a marathon session of politically-charged amendment votes — as they consider their version of a budget resolution.
As Jack Fitzpatrick and Ken Tran report in this morning’s BGOV Budget Brief, it’s a rare chance for Democrats to force tough votes on the deficit, Medicaid, nutrition aid, and other issues. Subscribers can prepare for what’s ahead with this new OnPoint by analyst Karl Evers-Hillstrom: Republicans Push Dueling Budget Plans
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