A recently leaked and apparently genuine Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Budget “Passback” memorandum—the OMB’s official feedback mechanism for budget submissions from federal agencies—signals major changes to the...more
On April 14, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly ruled, in relevant part, that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) cannot require federal grant recipients to certify that their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)...more
On April 16, 2025, the State of California filed a complaint against President Trump, the Secretary of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) challenging the legality of tariffs imposed under the...more
Late in the day on April 10, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion relating to an order in the case of Noem v. Abrego Garcia....more
In a realignment of judicial review standards, the Kentucky General Assembly overrode Governor Andy Beshear’s (D-KY) veto of Senate Bill (SB) 84, effectively abolishing judicial deference to all agency interpretations of...more
On Friday, March 28, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson took the “extraordinary step” of broadly enjoining the newly installed leadership of the CFPB from “eliminat[ing] the agency before the Court has the opportunity to...more
In January 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed several Executive Orders immediately after being sworn into office. Executive Order 14151 “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Program and Preferencing” and Executive...more
On March 20, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos, which calls for federal officials “to have full and prompt access to all unclassified agency...more
On March 28, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that President Donald Trump likely has the authority to remove National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit...more
On March 13, 2025, twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration to stop its plans to cut the U.S. Department of Education’s workforce by roughly half. The case is in the U.S. District Court for the...more
Citing forfeiture, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the dismissal of a complaint against the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO). The complaint sought director review of a 2018 Patent Trial & Appeal Board...more
On March 6, 2025, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered that Gwynn Wilcox be reinstated to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and complete her five-year...more
After several Supreme Court decisions and Executive Orders upended many of the norms governing the relationship between governmental agencies and the constitutional branches, a recent decision by the Federal Deposit Insurance...more
A federal district court has held that Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board, was “illegally” fired from her job. The court ordered the Board’s current chair to restore her access to the Board and let...more
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Gwynne Wilcox, removed by President Donald Trump during his first days in office, has been reinstated by a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia....more
As Justice Kennedy remarked in the landmark decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act: “The Constitution’s guarantee of equality ‘must at the very least mean that a bare [governmental] desire to harm a politically...more
The first month of the second Trump Administration has been marked by a deluge of executive orders and federal agency directives aimed at implementing the new administration’s policy priorities. State Attorneys General have...more
Yet another challenge has been launched against President Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders, particularly EO 14151 (“Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing”) and EO 14173 (“Ending Illegal...more
On February 21, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Plaintiffs National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of...more
On Friday, February 21, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland entered a preliminary injunction halting provisions of two of President Trump’s executive orders that sought to effectively eliminate...more
On February 3, 2025, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore...more
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, created in 1990 under the Immigration Act, provides a pathway for foreign nationals to obtain U.S. residency through investments in American businesses that generate jobs. Tuesday,...more
On February 21, 2025, the US District Court for the District of Maryland issued an order temporarily blocking three key provisions of two January 2025 executive orders issued by President Donald Trump – Executive Order 14151,...more
By the narrowest of margins, the New York Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (“COELIG”) fended off a separation of powers challenge brought by former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The Court of Appeals, in a 4-3 decision...more
Despite court ruling, educational institutions face continuing enforcement uncertainty pursuant to the February 14 “Dear Colleague Letter” issued by the Department of Education - On February 21, 2025, a federal court in...more