Protests outside Supreme Court as justices hear Planned Parenthood dispute
Demonstrators gathered in front of the Supreme Court ahead of arguments in a dispute arising from an effort by South Carolina Republicans to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
Supreme Court rules for the FDA in flavored vapes dispute
The Supreme Court today handed a win to the Food and Drug Administration over its refusal to approve flavored e-cigarettes.
The court threw out an appeals court ruling that found the agency unlawfully changed the rules in the middle of proceedings when it was deciding whether to approve various products.
With e-cigarettes, or vapes, more popular than ever, the case put the FDA’s role in the approval process under scrutiny. Despite the agency’s refusal to approve many products, flavored vapes have remained widely available.
Writing for a unanimous court, conservative Justice Samuel Alito stopped short of ruling definitively that the FDA had acted unlawfully on one particular aspect of the case: whether the agency should have considered the companies’ marketing plans as part of the approval process.
That issue will now be decided by the lower court.
N.Y. governor attacks ICE over ‘cruel’ detention of three children and their mother
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, advocacy groups and local school leaders have expressed shock and alarm over the detention of three children and their mother as Trump’s administration continues efforts to deport hundreds of noncitizens without any court proceedings or criminal charges.
The New York Immigration Coalition, a nonprofit that campaigns for immigrant rights, confirmed that the unidentified family — which included a third grader — was detained by ICE at a dairy farm in Sackets Harbor, New York. The family was then taken to the Karnes County Detention Facility in Texas, some 1,800 miles away, the nonprofit said.
Trump White House brushes off Wisconsin loss amid warning signs around Musk’s role
As Democrats celebrate a battleground-state win in the most expensive judicial campaign in U.S. history, Trump and the GOP are confronting a worrying early sign about what the intense spotlight on Elon Musk’s influence means for the party.
Musk, the billionaire White House adviser, played a starring role in the race, using personal funds and allied outside groups to put more than $15 million behind former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, the Trump-endorsed candidate who ran against Madison County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford. Crawford and her allies responded in kind, using Musk as a foil and scoring a decisive win.
Gallego blocks VA nominees to protest Trump’s plans to cut the agency’s workforce
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego announced yesterday he will block the confirmation of top leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs, raising the stakes in Democrats’ bid to get the Trump administration to back off plans to cut jobs from the sprawling agency that serves millions of military veterans.
Gallego, a Democrat and Marine Corps veteran, made the announcement just hours before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs was scheduled to hear testimony from three nominees for the VA who are military veterans themselves.
Trump administration outlines arguments for Alien Enemies Act deportations in new filing
The Trump administration argued in a legal brief overnight that its use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan members of the Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador was legal.
The brief said that the law gives the president the discretion to issue a proclamation "directing the apprehension, restraint, and removal of alien enemies when two conditions are found by the President to be met." It said first there has to be a "declared war," invasion, "predatory incursion," or threat against the U.S. and it also has to be a hostile action by a foreign nation or government.
"The Proclamation signed by the President satisfies both conditions," the administration said.
The administration also argued that it's not up to District Judge James Boasberg to say whether it can use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people.
“The Constitution simply provides no basis for a court to determine when this AEA trigger has been met, and thus there is no basis for second-guessing the policy judgment by the Executive that such an 'invasion' or 'predatory incursion' is occurring,” the filing said.
Plaintiffs in the case have argued that there’s no evidence that the people the administration deported to El Salvador were affiliated with Tren de Aragua and have also said that the administration doesn’t have the authority to flout court orders in the case.
Booker’s record-breaking speech ignites a Democratic base ‘desperate’ for a fighter
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., wanted to do something extraordinary. He knew Democratic voters were desperate for it.
So he took to the Senate floor with little fanfare and went on to deliver a marathon speech — excoriating the Trump administration for lawlessness and undermining American values and in the process breaking the record for longest Senate speech ever, yielding yesterday after 25 hours and 5 minutes.
Democrats see an opportunity in Musk’s main character energy: Takeaways from Tuesday’s elections
Yesterday’s elections in Wisconsin and Florida were kind to the favorites but not to billionaire White House adviser Elon Musk. And that result could stick around long after the votes are counted.
State Circuit Judge Susan Crawford won a pivotal election to maintain liberal control of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court despite a big push from Musk and his millions, while two Republican candidates in Florida won special House elections in deep-red districts. But even though their candidates won just one of the three contests on the ballot, it was a good night for Democrats.
Musk downplays Wisconsin Supreme Court loss after spending millions of dollars on the race
Tech billionaire Elon Musk downplayed the electoral loss of a Wisconsin conservative judge to the state Supreme Court after sinking millions of dollars into the race, saying in a post on X that he "expected to lose."
"I expected to lose, but there is value to losing a piece for a positional gain," said Musk, who is spearheading the Trump administration's efforts to slash the size of the federal government.
Susan Crawford was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, marking a win for liberals.
Musk also celebrated the adoption of a state ballot initiative to add an existing voter identification law to the state Constitution.
"This was the most important thing," he said on X.
Supreme Court hears South Carolina dispute over attempt to defund Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court today will hear a dispute arising from an effort by anti-abortion Republican officials in South Carolina to prevent reproductive health care provider Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
Although the divisive issue of abortion lurks in the background, the case focuses on a technical legal question of whether those eligible to use Medicaid, a program for low-income people administered by states, can sue in order to pick their preferred health care provider.