President Donald J. Trump delivers his presidential inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2017.
President Donald J. Trump delivers his presidential inaugural address at the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2017.[/caption] This week marks the year anniversary of President Donald Trump winning the White House. We’re taking stock of the biggest legal developments and industry news stories tied to Trump’s presidency.
➤ Supreme Court Newbie, Justice Neil Gorsuch
Many Republicans see the addition of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court as Trump’s greatest accomplishment as president. Gorsuch, a former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and a stalwart conservative, was confirmed in early April. As Supreme Court correspondent Tony Mauro has observed, he’s been no “shrinking violet” in arguments, fueling reports that he’s been irritating his colleagues. Gorsuch delivered his first opinion June 12 in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA but the rookie’s real impact will be felt this term as the court takes up a series of hot-button cases touching on voting rights, surveillance, arbitration, gay marriage and whistleblower protections.
Trump closed his first week as president by issuing an executive order banning travel from seven majority Muslim nations. Chaos followed. And who did the nation turn to? Lawyers. Litigation Daily editor Jenna Greene wrote of the new-found appreciation for attorneys “as the heroes of the Trump resistance.” There was even a social media meme that said “Hug a lawyer today. They are now the first responders.” The legal establishment is backing suits that oppose the administration’s policies with an unusual fervor and Trump’s repeated attacks on the judiciary is drawing a backlash. Law school administrators say they’re feeling the energy on campus, though at least so far there hasn’t been a surge in applications.
It was Trump’s line after the Ninth Circuit blocked his travel ban order. But it might as well be the rallying cry of his opponents. Sanctuary cities, DACA, transgender individuals in the military, the border wall, deregulation, voting rights, student loans, environmental rule changes, health care. Name an issue where Trump has taken action and you’ll find a lawsuit that seeks to stop it in its tracks. There’s also litigation over Trump’s business holdings and his use of Twitter. One powerful force in opposition comes from Democratic attorneys general in solidly blue states such as California and New York. And though using the courts to impede a president’s agenda is nothing new, the legal resistance has been swift and unrelenting.
Turn away from Twitter, tune out the epic court clashes, and you’ll see what may be the most significant impact of Trump’s election—a quiet and deliberate campaign to erase industry regulations. Working with the White House, Republican lawmakers have nullified scores of Obama-era rules using the Congressional Review Act, a law that was employed only once before Trump’s inauguration. Where rules can’t simply be erased, they’ve been delayed, as for instance with the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule. And bigger regulatory rollbacks are underway, including steps to rescind the Clean Power Plan, limit application of the Clean Water Act and reverse net neutrality. Having trouble keeping up with the changes, check out this deregulation tracker from The Brookings Institution.
Any new presidential administration stirs up the legal industry as officials exit agencies and new faces replace them. The Trump transition involved a few memorable exits with the politically charged ousters of acting Attorney General Sally Yates, FBI Director James Comey and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in New York’s Southern District. The exodus to government has been felt particularly keenly at Jones Day, which has sent a legion of lawyers into the executive branch—including White House counsel Donald McGahn II and Solicitor General Noel Francisco. Like other appointees, lawyers tapped to serve in the administration must file government ethics disclosures and provide details of their Big Law earnings.
