Latest news with #DCCircuitCourtofAppeals
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge halts Trump's order to end collective bargaining rights for many federal workers
A federal judge on Tuesday indefinitely blocked President Donald Trump's effort to terminate the collective bargaining rights for more than a million federal employees. Judge James Donato of the US District Court in San Francisco granted the preliminary injunction requested by a coalition of unions whose members would be stripped of their collective bargaining rights under Trump's executive order. However, Donato's decision clashes with a May ruling by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which lifted a different judge's block on Trump's order pertaining to another union's members. Donato, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said the unions that brought the case before him had 'demonstrated a serious question as to whether their First Amendment rights have been violated.' The judge said he was blocking the executive order pending a trial over the order's constitutionality. 'Plaintiffs have raised serious questions under the First Amendment that warrant further litigation,' he wrote, adding that the unions have shown they would face 'a strong likelihood of irreparable harm from the loss of their collective bargaining and allied rights.' The Trump administration has the option of appealing Donato's ruling to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. At issue is Trump's unprecedented executive order from March that seeks to abolish multiple agencies' union contracts in the name of national security. It would apply to departments including State, Veterans Affairs and Justice, as well as smaller agencies such as the National Science Foundation and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The order is aimed at stopping federal unions who have 'declared war on President Trump's agenda,' according to a White House fact sheet. It claimed the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers' union, has filed many grievances to 'block Trump policies.' The unions, led by AFGE, argue that Trump's actions are retaliation and violate the right to engage in constitutionally protected speech. Also, the suit alleges the administration is attempting to apply the national security exemption to eliminate the rights of workers whose primary duties are not related to national security. Donato said in his 29-page ruling that the White House fact sheet was 'solid evidence of a tie between the exercise of First Amendment rights and a government sanction.' 'The Fact Sheet called out federal unions for vocal opposition to President Trump's agenda. It condemned unions who criticized the President and expressed support only for unions who toed the line. It mandated the dissolution of long-standing collective bargaining rights and other workplace protections for federal unions deemed oppositional to the President,' he wrote. Also, while Donato wrote he would not second guess the president's national security determinations, 'a claim of national security does not, of course, automatically negate the Constitution, particularly with respect to the First Amendment.' The ruling by Donato follows a defeat for federal workers in a separate lawsuit filed by the National Treasury Employees Union, which argued that Trump's directive would strip union rights from about two-thirds of its members and deprive it of critical union dues that are deducted from members' paychecks. The 2-1 order from the DC Circuit last month said that the NTEU had not shown that it would be irreparably harmed without a court order blocking the executive order. The panel's majority — made up of a President George H.W. Bush appointee and a Trump appointee — said the harms alleged by the union were 'speculative,' in part, because the Trump administration had directed agencies not to terminate collective bargaining agreements before litigation over the order concluded. A President Joe Biden appointee who dissented from the appellate decision said that self-imposed restriction showed the Trump administration would not be harmed if the preliminary injunction issued by the district judge was left in place. CNN's Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Courts Rush To Beat Back A New Round Of Trump Lawlessness
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM's Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. The historic constitutional clash over President Trump's lawless immigration policies continues at a pace that is difficult for casual observers to follow on daily basis, but a burst of new activity Wednesday offers a chance to frame up where things now stand and where they're likely headed. The Contempt Proceedings The two cases in which a constitutional clash is ripest are already in the early stages of contempt of court proceedings, but they have been either slowrolled by the Trump administration or put on hold by an appeals court: Abrego Garcia: U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland has ordered expedited discovery into what the Trump administration has done and and plans to do to facilitate the return the mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia. She plans to use the information gathered to determine whether the Trump administration has acted in good faith or stonewalled her orders. But the Trump administration has slowrolled the discovery process, too. Just yesterday, the parties filed a sealed joint motion over a discovery dispute. While the exact nature of the dispute is unclear, Xinis issued a public order later in the day that revealed the administration is invoking state secrets and deliberative process privileges to thwart discovery requests, forcing another round of delays in the case. AEA deportation flights: U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of DC has already found probable cause that the Trump administration is in criminal contempt of court for ignoring his order not to deport detainees to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. This is the original AEA case, brought in a late night rush the weekend of March 15. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has imposed an administrative stay on the contempt proceedings, but has been fully briefed since last week and could rule at any Trump administration filed notice yesterday that it is appealing U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher's order that it facilitate the release from El Salvador's CECOT prison a Venezuelan man deported there on March 15 in violation of a 2024 settlement agreement protecting asylum seekers like original Alien Enemies Act case in front of Judge Boasberg has now morphed into a case focused on returning the AEA detainees in El Salvador and providing them with the due process they never received. In a hearing yesterday, President Trump's own words came back to haunt him. Boasberg repeatedly pressed a DOJ lawyer on Trump's admission that he could pick up the phone and secure Abrego Garcia's release and on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's public remarks at the Salvadoran prison that it was one of the 'tools' in the administration's toolbox. Those statements undermine the administration's already flimsy argument that the detainees are not in its control but rather the control of El Salvador. Boasberg seemed inclined to rule that the detainees are in the constructive custody of the United States and therefore can be returned and provided due process, though the exact contours of how that would work remain unclear. Boasberg ordered expedited discovery before ruling in the case, though he acknowledged that the Trump administration may slowroll him just like it's done in discovery in the Abrego Garcia news reports and evidence on the ground suggesting that the Trump administration was about to deport a group of Asian detainees to Libya yesterday aboard a U.S. military plane, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts issued an extraordinary emergency clarification affirming that his existing order barring removals to third countries applied to Pentagon flights, too. On his own initiative, Murphy also told the parties he is considering adding the Defense Department as a party to the case. All of this comes after the administration seemed to violate his original order in March that barred third-country removals by using a military plane to transport detainees from Gitmo to El Salvador. Murphy has ordered limited discovery to probe the circumstances of that flight, and this case could yet yield a contempt of court finding, but it's not quite as far along as the contempt proceedings highlighted above. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that detained Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk can challenge her detention in federal court in Vermont rather than Louisiana, where she is being currently held. Some major law firms have backed away from the kind of pro bono work in challenging President Trump's immigration policies that they engaged in during his first term, the NYT reports. The Trump administration is making plans to release the audio of the investigative interview Special Counsel Robert Hur did with President Biden in his classified documents probe, Politico reports. This was the interview that famously led Hur to conclude Biden was an 'elderly man with a poor memory.' The transcript of the interview has already been released. All 10 NEA arts directors are leaving the agency, according to the WaPo. Jeh Johnson, secretary of homeland security under President Obama, is retiring from Paul Weiss – which notoriously struck a deal with President Trump to get out from under his executive order targeting the firm – after being elected co-chair of the Columbia University board of trustees. I've seen a lot of coverage of Trump's attack on higher ed that blames the victims for becoming overdependent on government funding for research, as if universities are piglets sucking at the federal teat. The much more accurate description is of a mutually dependent relationship. But if I had to say who has the upper hand, it's much closer to the other way around: government – which is to say all of us – is dependent on higher end. Josh Marshall makes this point well: 'To listen to a lot of news reporting, and by no means only Trump-friendly coverage, you might think that the big research universities got here like so many academic Amtraks. Down on their luck industries that were falling apart and needed federal support to survive.' Only in a down-is-up world would anyone assess higher ed's contributions in the post-World War II era in pure science, research, and development across the whole range of technical and scientific disciplines and conclude that universities got a sweetheart deal and the federal government got rooked. The day before the publication of last week's disturbing NY Mag piece about Sen. John Fetterman's health, the Democratic senator broke down in a meeting at his DC office with teachers union representatives, the AP reports: Before long, Fetterman began repeating himself, shouting and questioning why 'everybody is mad at me,' 'why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do' and slamming his hands on a desk, according to one person who was briefed on what occurred. As the meeting deteriorated, a staff member moved to end it and ushered the visitors into the hallway, where she broke down crying. The staffer was comforted by the teachers who were themselves rattled by Fetterman's behavior, according to a second person who was briefed separately on the meeting. It's been too long since I shared volcano content:
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
5 things to know for April 8: Deportations, Gaza mass grave, Gun control, Military official fired, Measles outbreak
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated two former top federal labor protection officials who were fired by the Trump administration — even though they worked for independent government agencies. With the return of Cathy Harris, chairwoman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board, a quorum has been restored and their offices may once again process cases involving federal employment disputes. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a significant victory yesterday when it ruled that he may invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and give immigration officials the wartime authority to rapidly deport alleged gang members. The unsigned decision also noted that going forward, people who are deported should be told they are subject to the act so they have 'reasonable time' to bring habeas complaints. By granting Trump's request, the high court tossed out a district judge's order, which temporarily blocked the president from enforcing the act against five Venezuelans who sued. Chief Justice John Roberts also temporarily paused a court-imposed midnight deadline to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the US. ICE mistakenly deported the Maryland man to El Salvador where he was placed in a notorious mega-prison. The Trump administration has conceded in court filings that Abrego Garcia was deported 'because of an administrative error' but claims it cannot get him back because he's in Salvadoran custody. Newly released audio and video contradicts the Israeli military's account of the March 23 attack on first responders in southern Gaza. On that day, an ambulance crew in Rafah disappeared, prompting the dispatch of a convoy of emergency vehicles. The fate of those emergency workers would also remain a mystery for over a week until rescue teams were allowed into the area. That's when they discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 15 first responders and their crushed emergency vehicles. The Israel Defense Forces claimed the convoy was moving suspiciously, without headlights or flashing lights, toward Israeli troops and that members of the emergency teams were militants. But a video found on one of the bodies showed the convoy's lights were on, their vehicles were clearly marked and the rescuers were wearing reflective emergency responder uniforms when the Israeli troops opened fire. The IDF said it has begun re-investigating the incident. The Supreme Court declined to rule on the constitutionality of a New York law that requires residents to have 'good moral character' to carry handguns. The law defined that term as 'having the essential character, temperament and judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others.' The court's decision, which was a victory for New York officials and gun control groups, also left in place most of the state's ban on carrying weapons in 'sensitive' public locations, such as government buildings, schools, hospitals, stadiums and Times Square. Gun rights groups had challenged the law, claiming it was too broad. President Trump has fired Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the US military representative to the NATO Military Committee, according to Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. It was not immediately clear why Chatfield was fired. The Senate unanimously confirmed her to the post in December 2023. A Navy pilot, Chatfield earned her 'wings of gold' in 1989 and was deployed in helicopter detachments to the western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf. According to her official bio, Chatfield was the recipient of numerous honors, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star and commendation medals from the Navy, Army and Air Force. She also taught political science at the US Air Force Academy and was the first female president of the US Naval War College. Her firing was just the latest in an ongoing purge of senior military brass. As the ongoing measles outbreak continues to spread, the public health response has been hindered by cuts to federal funding and staffing. Since the start of the year, at least 631 measles cases have been reported in the US and two children have died. Yet, only three members of the CDC are currently meeting with state and local officials to determine how to respond to the multi-state outbreak. Last week, the Trump administration announced sweeping layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, including an estimated 2,400 at the CDC. Additionally, over $11 billion in grants to state and local health departments were pulled back. As a result, New Mexico terminated contracts for 20 workers who were helping with vaccine orders and more than 50 immunization clinics in Dallas were canceled. Florida wins NCAA men's basketball championshipThe Gators came from behind last night to defeat the Houston Cougars 65-63. This is Florida's third national title; it would've been Houston's first. Celebrity feud endsMadonna says she and Elton John 'finally buried the hatchet' over the weekend after trading barbs for decades. When she went backstage following his performance on 'Saturday Night Live,' John reportedly asked for her forgiveness — and she gave it. Saturday … what a day'Happy Days' stars Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Anson Williams and Don Most reunited last Saturday at Steel City Con outside of Pittsburgh. The cast joined a panel discussion about their hit TV series and were honored by the Allegheny County Council, which declared April 5 as Happy Days Day. Tracy Chapman is backAnd she's belatedly celebrating the 35th anniversary of her self-titled debut album by re-releasing it in vinyl. The usually reclusive singer last returned to the limelight at the 2024 Grammys to perform her hit song 'Fast Car' with country star Luke Combs, who also released a cover of it. Archaeologists uncover ancient king's tombThe massive limestone burial chamber was discovered in January in Abydos, Egypt. Although it did not contain skeletal remains, researchers say it's likely the resting place of a mystery king who ruled between 1640 and 1540 BC. $75,000That's how much the NBA fined Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant for making a gun gesture with his fingers during a game. This was the second time he'd made the gesture despite being warned not to do so. 'We're just getting screwed.' — Matthew Schodorf, the owner of Café de Leche, a coffee shop in Los Angeles, on how businesses that sell coffee in the US will be affected by President Trump's tariffs. Check your local forecast here>>> Missing 2-year-old found in MichiganWatch the moment police located the toddler in a ditch near an interstate.
CNN
08-04-2025
- Politics
- CNN
5 things to know for April 8: Deportations, Gaza mass grave, Gun control, Military official fired, Measles outbreak
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated two former top federal labor protection officials who were fired by the Trump administration — even though they worked for independent government agencies. With the return of Cathy Harris, chairwoman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board, a quorum has been restored and their offices may once again process cases involving federal employment disputes. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Get '5 Things' in your inbox If your day doesn't start until you're up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to your new favorite morning fix. Sign up here for the '5 Things' newsletter. The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a significant victory yesterday when it ruled that he may invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and give immigration officials the wartime authority to rapidly deport alleged gang members. The unsigned decision also noted that going forward, people who are deported should be told they are subject to the act so they have 'reasonable time' to bring habeas complaints. By granting Trump's request, the high court tossed out a district judge's order, which temporarily blocked the president from enforcing the act against five Venezuelans who sued. Chief Justice John Roberts also temporarily paused a court-imposed midnight deadline to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the US. ICE mistakenly deported the Maryland man to El Salvador where he was placed in a notorious mega-prison. The Trump administration has conceded in court filings that Abrego Garcia was deported 'because of an administrative error' but claims it cannot get him back because he's in Salvadoran custody. Newly released audio and video contradicts the Israeli military's account of the March 23 attack on first responders in southern Gaza. On that day, an ambulance crew in Rafah disappeared, prompting the dispatch of a convoy of emergency vehicles. The fate of those emergency workers would also remain a mystery for over a week until rescue teams were allowed into the area. That's when they discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 15 first responders and their crushed emergency vehicles. The Israel Defense Forces claimed the convoy was moving suspiciously, without headlights or flashing lights, toward Israeli troops and that members of the emergency teams were militants. But a video found on one of the bodies showed the convoy's lights were on, their vehicles were clearly marked and the rescuers were wearing reflective emergency responder uniforms when the Israeli troops opened fire. The IDF said it has begun re-investigating the incident. The Supreme Court declined to rule on the constitutionality of a New York law that requires residents to have 'good moral character' to carry handguns. The law defined that term as 'having the essential character, temperament and judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others.' The court's decision, which was a victory for New York officials and gun control groups, also left in place most of the state's ban on carrying weapons in 'sensitive' public locations, such as government buildings, schools, hospitals, stadiums and Times Square. Gun rights groups had challenged the law, claiming it was too broad. President Trump has fired Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the US military representative to the NATO Military Committee, according to Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. It was not immediately clear why Chatfield was fired. The Senate unanimously confirmed her to the post in December 2023. A Navy pilot, Chatfield earned her 'wings of gold' in 1989 and was deployed in helicopter detachments to the western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf. According to her official bio, Chatfield was the recipient of numerous honors, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star and commendation medals from the Navy, Army and Air Force. She also taught political science at the US Air Force Academy and was the first female president of the US Naval War College. Her firing was just the latest in an ongoing purge of senior military brass. As the ongoing measles outbreak continues to spread, the public health response has been hindered by cuts to federal funding and staffing. Since the start of the year, at least 631 measles cases have been reported in the US and two children have died. Yet, only three members of the CDC are currently meeting with state and local officials to determine how to respond to the multi-state outbreak. Last week, the Trump administration announced sweeping layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, including an estimated 2,400 at the CDC. Additionally, over $11 billion in grants to state and local health departments were pulled back. As a result, New Mexico terminated contracts for 20 workers who were helping with vaccine orders and more than 50 immunization clinics in Dallas were canceled. Florida wins NCAA men's basketball championshipThe Gators came from behind last night to defeat the Houston Cougars 65-63. This is Florida's third national title; it would've been Houston's first. Celebrity feud endsMadonna says she and Elton John 'finally buried the hatchet' over the weekend after trading barbs for decades. When she went backstage following his performance on 'Saturday Night Live,' John reportedly asked for her forgiveness — and she gave it. Saturday … what a day'Happy Days' stars Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Anson Williams and Don Most reunited last Saturday at Steel City Con outside of Pittsburgh. The cast joined a panel discussion about their hit TV series and were honored by the Allegheny County Council, which declared April 5 as Happy Days Day. Tracy Chapman is backAnd she's belatedly celebrating the 35th anniversary of her self-titled debut album by re-releasing it in vinyl. The usually reclusive singer last returned to the limelight at the 2024 Grammys to perform her hit song 'Fast Car' with country star Luke Combs, who also released a cover of it. Archaeologists uncover ancient king's tombThe massive limestone burial chamber was discovered in January in Abydos, Egypt. Although it did not contain skeletal remains, researchers say it's likely the resting place of a mystery king who ruled between 1640 and 1540 BC. $75,000That's how much the NBA fined Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant for making a gun gesture with his fingers during a game. This was the second time he'd made the gesture despite being warned not to do so. 'We're just getting screwed.' — Matthew Schodorf, the owner of Café de Leche, a coffee shop in Los Angeles, on how businesses that sell coffee in the US will be affected by President Trump's tariffs. Check your local forecast here>>> Missing 2-year-old found in MichiganWatch the moment police located the toddler in a ditch near an interstate.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top federal labor officials reinstated by full DC federal appeals court
Two former top federal labor protection officials were reinstated to their posts Monday by the full DC Circuit Court of Appeals – at least for now – amid a lengthy legal dispute over President Donald Trump's ability to fire leaders from independent government agencies. In a 7-4 decision, the full appeals court wiped away a previous ruling from a three-judge panel that allowed Trump to fire the officials: Cathy Harris, the chairwoman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which reviews federal firings and can reinstate wrongly terminated employees, and Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board. With these two officials returning to their posts, a quorum has now been restored at the NLRB and MSPB, allowing them to function at full strength and process cases involving federal employment disputes. These agencies are a critical bulwark against Trump's efforts to rapidly reduce the size of the federal workforce and fire thousands of employees. Both officials are Democrats appointed by former President Joe Biden whose statutory terms weren't set to expire for years. Federal law says they can only be dismissed for cause, but Trump is trying to fire them anyway, and the Justice Department has argued that it's unconstitutional to restrain the president's firing powers. This is not the final say in the matter, which many legal observers believe is eventually headed to the Supreme Court. The full DC Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday wiped away an emergency order from the three-judge panel letting Trump fire the officials while the appeals play out. But a smaller three-judge panel is still set to review the underlying merits of the case, and a hearing is scheduled for May 16. 'The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it,' the DC Circuit majority wrote in its ruling Monday. Previous Supreme Court rulings about presidential firing powers, which the Trump administration wants to overturn, 'remain good law' and are still 'in place,' the judges wrote, citing earlier cases. All seven of the DC Circuit judges who supported reinstating the labor officials were appointed by Democratic presidents, and the four dissenting judges who opposed it were appointed by Republicans. CNN has reached out to the MSPB and NLRB for comment. Both women challenged their firings in court, and trial judges concluded that their terminations were unlawful. The Justice Department then appealed those decisions and later secured a court order letting Trump fire the officials on a temporary basis while the appealed played out. That temporary order was vacated Monday, reinstating the officials.
