Latest news with #Biden-appointed
Politico
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Without naming Trump, Elena Kagan says court orders ‘need to be respected'
Kagan's tone was less urgent than Jackson's, though she raised many of the same concerns, including an increasing number of threats of violence aimed at judges. Kagan lamented the protests that erupted outside the homes of conservative justices' homes following POLITICO's 2022 report on the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning the federal constitutional right to abortion. She mentioned that some of her colleagues have children and that Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home was targeted by an unsuccessful assassin during the same period. 'That is scary stuff,' Kagan said. Kagan's most significant criticism of the court she serves on was directed at its handling of cases on the emergency docket, sometimes referred to as the shadow docket by critics. That docket has received a flood of appeals from the Trump administration in the first six months of Trump's second term. Trump has won the vast majority of them, as the Supreme Court has overturned district court orders and allowed the administration to mass-fire federal employees, cancel federal grants, exclude transgender people from the military and enact other sweeping parts of Trump's agenda. Kagan spoke one day after she sharply dissented from one such emergency-docket decision: a ruling allowing Trump to fire Biden-appointed consumer safety regulators despite a federal law saying they can only be dismissed due to misconduct or inability to serve. Kagan offered a veiled critique of her conservative colleagues' approach, suggesting they 'understand interference in an elected president's ability to execute his agenda as sort of automatically irreparable harm' that entitles the administration to emergency relief from the high court. 'I think we're going to continue to have disagreements about that,' she said. But Kagan's main complaint about the emergency docket was that the high court's rulings are often not explained much and sometimes not explained at all, leaving lower courts and the public to guess at the court's rationale. 'That's not the right way to approach it,' she said. 'As we have done more and more on this emergency docket, there comes a real responsibility that I think we didn't recognize when we first started down this road to explain things better.' Kagan said she is often disappointed on the current court by finding herself 'on the losing end with two fairly predictable women.' 'I don't enjoy that. I find it frustrating. I find it disappointing. I find it sometimes even maddening,' she said. 'It's just a fact of the matter that this sometimes happens on cases that I care strongly about. … You just sort of have to turn a page.'
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First Post
24-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Supreme Court green lights Trump's removal of 3 Democrats from consumer safety panel
The US Supreme Court has allowed the removal of 3 Democratic members from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, siding with the Trump administration in a dispute over presidential authority. The decision overturns a lower court ruling that had reinstated the Biden-appointed officials. read more Ties between the US and Pakistan have improved under Donald Trump. File Photo/Reuters The US Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the removal of three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), siding with the Trump administration in a dispute over presidential authority. The three officials, appointed by President Biden to serve seven-year terms, were fired by Donald Trump in May. A federal judge had reinstated them, calling the firings unlawful, but the Supreme Court overturned that decision in response to an emergency appeal from the Justice Department. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The administration argued that the CPSC, like other federal agencies, falls under presidential control—giving the president the power to remove commissioners without cause. The court's three liberal justices dissented. The CPSC, created in 1972, is tasked with protecting consumers by issuing recalls and enforcing product safety rules. By law, the five-member panel must be bipartisan, with no more than three commissioners from the president's party. The ruling reflects broader legal tensions over the extent of presidential power. In June, a Biden-appointed judge, Matthew Maddox, had ruled that the CPSC's structure offered some independence from the executive branch, unlike agencies where firings had been upheld. The case could eventually lead to a challenge of the 1935 Humphrey's Executor ruling, which held that presidents cannot fire members of independent agencies without cause. That decision has long frustrated conservatives, who argue federal agencies should answer directly to the president. Attorneys for the ousted commissioners warned that allowing such removals could undermine the agency's independence and its ability to function free from political pressure.
The Hill
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Judge reinstates credit union agency members fired by Trump
A federal judge reinstated two Democratic appointees at the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) on Tuesday whom President Trump purported to fire. It's the latest decision reversing Trump's firings of independent agency leaders across the federal bureaucracy. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali warned in his 27-page ruling that accepting the administration's position would mean that Trump could also fire the Federal Reserve chair without cause. 'The overlap in powers wielded by the NCUA Board and the Federal Reserve, and their common role as financial regulators, supports the conclusion that Congress can insulate NCUA Board members from at-will removal,' Ali wrote. Ali did not reference Trump's recent flirtations with firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. But the Biden-appointed judge repeatedly suggested the government 'all but concedes' the point that they'd equally be able to fire Powell, too. The Justice Department declined to comment. The Hill has reached out to Harper and Otsuka's legal team for comment. Created in 1970, the NCUA is tasked with regulating and insuring credit unions. It plays a similar role to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures banks. The NCUA board members once served at the pleasure of the president. But within a few years, Congress removed that language and provided they should instead serve fixed, six-year terms, with no more than two of the three members coming from the same political party. In April, Trump purported to fire Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, the two Democrats on NCUA's board, without explanation. Harper and Otsuka soon sued. The administration in court did not purport to have cause, but it argued Trump has absolute authority to remove the duo at will and the courts had no authority to order their reinstatement. The NCUA is one of a handful of agencies where Trump has attempted to fire top leadership despite their traditional independence from the White House. The administration has a pending request with the Supreme Court to greenlight Trump's firings at the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It comes after the justices in May sided with the administration in its effort to fire officials at the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board. Other battles could soon reach the justices. On Monday, a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily halted a lower judge's order reinstating a fired member at the Federal Trade Commission.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Major victory for students and parents': Trump's education department dismantling plans get SC nod: 1,400 to lose jobs
The US Supreme Court has given the green light to President Donald Trump 's plan to dismantle the federal education department, allowing the administration to move forward with laying off nearly 1,400 employees. In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the justices paused a lower court ruling that had temporarily blocked the layoffs. The order, issued by US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, had reversed the dismissals and raised doubts about Trump's broader plan to shut down the department. The high court's decision now allows the administration to resume one of Trump's campaign pledges to dismantle the education department and shift its responsibilities back to individual states. Liberal justices dissent The court's three liberal justices dissented from the majority ruling, expressing concern over the impact of the layoffs and the wider implications for federal oversight of education. The Biden-appointed Judge Joun had previously granted a preliminary injunction against the move, saying it could cause 'irreparable harm' to thousands of students and families who rely on federal education services. His ruling questioned the legality of bypassing Congress in shutting down a federal agency and freezing its operations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Trump hails decision as 'major victory' Trump responded to the ruling on social media, calling it a win for his education agenda. 'This is a major victory for students and parents,' he wrote. 'The failing Education Department will now go BACK TO THE STATES.' The administration has argued that states are better equipped to manage education without federal intervention and that local control would lead to more effective and tailored learning policies. Critics, however, say dismantling the department could leave millions of students without consistent oversight, especially in underserved communities.
Indian Express
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Trump officials defend immigration raids after California worker dies
US Federal officials on Sunday defended the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement strategy after a Southern California farm raid left one worker dead. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to appeal a federal judge's ruling that blocks certain immigration tactics deemed discriminatory. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and border security advisor Tom Homan rejected allegations of racial profiling during recent workplace raids, calling the judge's decision flawed. 'We will appeal, and we will win,' Noem said during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, blaming a Biden-appointed judge for the injunction. Homan, speaking on CNN, claimed that physical appearance may be considered as one factor in assessing whether someone might be undocumented, though not the sole basis. 'Reasonable suspicion,' he said, allows officers to make stops based on a mix of factors, reported Reuters. The administration's defense comes days after a large-scale immigration raid at two cannabis farms in Camarillo, California, where 361 people were detained, as per Reuters. The operation was originally reported to have arrested 319 undocumented individuals, according to DHS, and also led to the identification of 14 migrant minors allegedly at risk of exploitation. During the raid at Glass House Farms on Thursday, one worker, Jaime Alanis Garcia, sustained fatal injuries after falling nearly 30 feet from a greenhouse rooftop. Garcia's family told NBC News that he broke his neck and skull and was placed on life support until his wife could travel from Mexico to be with him. He died on Saturday. DHS stated, as per NBC, that Garcia was not being pursued at the time of the fall. 'Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell,' Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. 'CBP immediately called a medivac.' The raid triggered widespread protests, with demonstrators clashing with federal agents. DHS Secretary Noem claimed on social media that agents were assaulted with bricks, rocks, and even gunfire. In response, federal officers deployed tear gas and less-lethal weapons. Democratic US Representative Salud Carbajal, who was present during the raid, accused federal agents of using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators and workers. 'I witnessed agents, in full military gear, fire smoke canisters and other projectiles into a crowd of peaceful civilians,' he wrote on X. Carbajal is also under review by the Justice Department for allegedly sharing an ICE officer's business card with protestors, according to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Senator Alex Padilla, also a California Democrat and son of Mexican immigrants, said the administration's strict arrest quotas have led to dangerous outcomes. 'It's causing ICE to get more aggressive, more cruel, more extreme, and these are the results… It's people dying,' Padilla said on CNN. President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, defended the immigration raids and protests response. Authorities should use 'whatever means is necessary' to arrest people who do not obey the law, he said. (With inputs from Reuters, NBC News)
