Latest News
Supreme Court Expands President’s Authority To Fire Officials of Independent Agencies
The Supreme Court at least temporarily blocked the firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in one of two rulings last week that redefined leadership control of independent federal agencies.
President Donald Trump tried to fire Cook on allegations of mortgage fraud.
Cook argued that as a member of an independent agency, the president lacked authority to fire her.
Cook is one of seven governors on the Federal Reserve Board, which supervises banks, oversees monetary policy and seeks to stabilize the U.S. financial system.
The Supreme Court largely agreed with Cook, but only in the short-term.
Supreme Court Upholds State Bans on Transgender Athletes in Girls' Sports
The Supreme Court ruled last week that states can bar transgender athletes from girls’ school sports.
The ruling results from challenges to bans in West Virginia and Idaho but applies equally to 25 other states with similar restrictions.
The lawsuit, West Virginia v. B.P.J., was filed by transgender students Becky Pepper-Jackson in West Virginia and Lindsay Hecox in Idaho.
They challenged the state law bans under Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. They also argued that barring athletes because of their preferred gender identity violated their rights to Equal Protection under the U.S. Constitution.
Attorneys general for West Virginia and Idaho argued that biological differences between the sexes justify separate athletic competitions to protect competitive equity and safety.
Former CIA Director Brennan Sues Justice Dept. Ahead of Potential Criminal Charges
Former CIA Director John Brennan is suing the Justice Department as part of an effort to prevent criminal charges from being filed against him.
He is seeking a court order that requires government attorneys to preserve any evidence they compiled against him for review by a federal judge.
Brennan helped investigate the 2016 Trump presidential campaign for possible ties to Russian officials accused of trying to influence the election. He served as CIA director from 2013 to 2017 during the Obama administration.
He says he is now being targeted for reprisal on charges that his legal team calls "phantom criminal conduct."
Brennan’s attorneys said in the lawsuit filed last week that they want the Justice Department investigatory files to prove that revenge – not criminal justice – is the government’s hidden motive.
Legal Briefs
Virginia Uses Speed Limiting Technology to Control High Risk Drivers
Virginia became the first state in the nation this month to allow courts to require speed limiting technology on vehicles of high risk drivers.
The technology consists of a hardware unit roughly the size of a deck of cards that can be installed onto a vehicle’s electronic throttle control.
It also represents a transition from passive enforcement, such as speeding tickets and traffic signs, to real-time intervention. The Virginia General Assembly established the Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) Program under House Bill 2096.
The bill's sponsor, Delegate Patrick Hope (D), said the program is a safety solution that controls high risk drivers while allowing them to maintain mobility for essential needs like work, school, and childcare.
The device uses real-time GPS mapping data to track a vehicle’s coordinates, constantly cross-referencing its location with a localized speed limit database. When a driver reaches the speed limit, the system caps acceleration after a few seconds, preventing the engine from generating the power required to speed up.
The software includes a brief built-in buffer, allowing a few seconds of additional throttle to allow a driver safely complete a passing maneuver before the electronic ceiling re-engages.
Costs of the hardware installation and monitoring would be paid by each defendant after conviction.
The ISA program continues Virginia’s tradition of strict traffic enforcement. Speeds 20 mph over the limit or exceeding 85 mph can be treated by Virginia courts as a criminal Class 1 misdemeanor reckless driving charge.
D.C. in Brief
Judge Grants Last-Minute Injunction to Block Education Dept. Loan Limits
Caps on Department of Education loans for graduate students that were scheduled to take effect last week were blocked by a last-minute federal court ruling in Washington, D.C.
The nationwide preliminary injunction rescues access to higher borrowing limits for hundreds of thousands of graduate students.
U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell sided with a coalition of healthcare and educational trade groups in ruling that the Department of Education likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act by concocting its own highly restrictive eligibility criteria for the loans.
Plaintiffs included the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Physician Assistant Education Association. They argued that the Education Department’s guidelines could shut some students out of vital, high-demand medical fields.
The guidelines would slash their federal financial aid by more than half.
The legal battle resulted from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress in July 2025. It restructured federal financial aid by eliminating the Grad PLUS Loan Program, which allowed graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of their educational programs.
Under the revisions, only students pursuing degrees in 11 legal, medical or theological programs could qualify for the full cost loans.
Dozens of other high-cost, advanced fields were classified as standard graduate programs, capping their federal loan access at $20,500 a year.
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