Category: Federal-State Relations

DeSantis: 3 Years Later, Biden Still Pushing ‘Failed’ Fed COVID Policies

On March 16, 2020, President Donald Trump and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) issued “15 Days to Slow the Spread” of COVID-19, guidance that “advised” individuals and businesses to adopt social distancing measures such as working from home and closing many retailers and restaurants. Citing that guidance from the CDC, many…


Pro-Life Activists Challenge FACE Act, Say Law Is Unconstitutional

Calling the law unconstitutional, 11 pro-life activists are asking the court to dismiss charges of violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act that could put them in prison for up to 11 years. The group believes the Department of Justice (DOJ) is singling out people with pro-life views for FACE prosecution,…


House Republicans’ Deregulation Drive Could Be Derailed by Spate of Train Wrecks

House Republicans’ fast-track push for federal regulatory reform could be derailed by a nationwide spate of railroad accidents, including the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, that forced hundreds to flee their homes for days in fear that leaking toxic chemicals would explode. With residents exposed to still-undetermined health risks from…


Federal Judge Sides with Biden Admin, Ruling Missouri Second Amendment Law ‘Unconstitutional’

A Missouri law that would have penalized police for enforcing federal gun laws was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge Tuesday, handing a win to the Biden administration Department of Justice that filed suit against the law last year. The DOJ alleged the law was undermining federal drug and weapons investigators by placing heavy fines…


Supreme Court May Back Out of Ruling on Doctrine Empowering State Legislatures to Regulate Elections

The U.S. Supreme Court signaled late March 2 that it is considering dropping a high-profile pending case in which Republicans are asking it to rule that state legislatures have greater power over federal elections. The case, Moore v. Harper, court file 21-1271, is currently being deliberated by the justices after they heard almost three hours…


House Committee Passes Resolution Against New Biden Water Rule

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a joint resolution against the Biden administration’s new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule during a Feb. 28 markup, the latest in an ongoing dispute as to federal authority over the nation’s waters. “I would argue that this may be the most important vote, one of the…


Abortion Pill Challenge: Democrats and Republicans Square Off in Lawsuits Against FDA

Democrats and Republicans are squaring off in dueling legal efforts in opposition and defense of the widely used abortion pill. Dozens of attorneys general from both red and blue states are taking sides in a battle that will ultimately determine the fate and availability of the widely used abortion pill. Blue states are suing the…


State AGs Seek Answers From FBI, DOJ Over Targeting of Traditionalist Catholics

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and 19 other Republican state attorneys general expressed “outrage and alarm” Friday following the Feb. 8 leak of an internal FBI memo that characterized Catholics as “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists.” Seeking answers, Miyares pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland for information on how the…


All the States That Have Banned School Vaccine Mandates

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adds COVID-19 vaccines to its routine immunization schedule for children and adults, at least 20 states have passed legislation or issued rules barring vaccine mandates to attend school. The National Academy for State Health Policy, in an update this week, shows there are about two-dozen states…


House Takes on Biden’s Waters of the United States Rule

Representatives at a Congressional hearing moved closer to challenging President Joe Biden’s new rule defining the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act, an issue pitting many farmers, ranchers, and other landowners against many environmentalists and federal bureaucrats. The meeting brought together members of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on…