11 ABA advocacy wins from the 118th Congress

Although the 118th Congress may be remembered as one of the turbulent and least productive in modern history, the ABA Governmental Affairs Office achieved notable legislative successes through close collaboration with ABA leadership, entities and advocacy partners. These efforts were further complemented by substantial progress on various policy issues before federal agencies, commissions and other administrative bodies in the last two years that impact the legal profession, access to justice and the rule of law.

Jan 29, 2025 8:46 AM CST

Can Trump administration hold back federal grants? Federal statute, Constitution could be impediments

Updated: The Trump administration’s temporary pause on federal grants has been rescinded, but reviews of funding continue.

Jan 29, 2025 8:44 AM CST

DOJ fires officials who worked on Jack Smith’s Trump investigation

The Justice Department fired more than a dozen officials who worked on the special counsel team that investigated Donald Trump in two separate criminal cases, citing a lack of trust in them, a department spokesman said Monday.

Jan 28, 2025 7:12 AM CST

As Jan. 6 leaders call for retribution, judges warn against revisionism

Two newly freed leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups called for investigations into the prosecution of people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, assailing judges, jurors and prosecutors as they sought “retribution” after being granted clemency from President Donald Trump.

Jan 23, 2025 4:04 PM CST

Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ birthright citizenship order

A federal judge on Thursday issued a two-week restraining order blocking the Trump administration from moving forward on an effort to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants and foreign visitors, calling the directive “blatantly unconstitutional.”

Jan 23, 2025 3:38 PM CST

Bar associations could be targeted, Trump DEI order says, spurring response from 2 of them

Bar associations could be targeted for investigation under President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end “illegal preferences and discrimination” in government and the private sector.

Jan 23, 2025 10:55 AM CST

States, civil rights groups sue to stop Trump’s birthright citizenship order

President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship faced a flurry of legal challenges Tuesday from a bevy of states and civil rights groups, signaling that the effort could be tied up in court and unlikely to take effect next month as planned.

Jan 21, 2025 2:45 PM CST

Trump’s executive orders already face pushback, legal challenges

Two hours after being sworn in, President Donald Trump sat down in the President’s Room at the U.S. Capitol to sign the first of nearly 100 promised executive orders. But his pen strokes also kicked off a round of objections from opponents, scholars and other groups that said he’d exceeded the limits of his presidential power.

Jan 21, 2025 11:15 AM CST

Trump pardons almost all involved in Jan. 6 riot, commutes remaining 14 sentences

Jan 21, 2025 8:15 AM CST

Here are the executive actions and orders Trump signed on Day 1

Donald Trump began issuing executive actions Monday after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, kicking off his second term in office at a signing desk inside Washington’s Capital One Arena with family members and allies behind him onstage and a crowd of supporters in the audience. Many of Trump’s orders are expected to be challenged in court.

Jan 21, 2025 8:05 AM CST

Biden reaffirms belief that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law

President Joe Biden declared that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land Friday morning, using his bully pulpit to try to push forward the amendment, first proposed more than a century ago, that would enshrine sex equality in the U.S. Constitution.

Jan 17, 2025 12:15 PM CST

Biden commutes sentences of nearly 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders

President Joe Biden plans Friday to commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, making good on a promise to reduce the federal prison population before handing over the White House to President-elect Donald Trump.

Jan 17, 2025 9:52 AM CST

DC Circuit blocks accused 9/11 plotter’s plea after US balks

A federal court has blocked Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, from entering a plea deal Friday, granting an 11th-hour Biden administration request and ensuring the case continues into the incoming Trump administration.

Jan 10, 2025 10:45 AM CST

11th Circuit allows release of Trump Jan. 6 special counsel report

A federal appellate court has cleared the way for the Justice Department to publicly release special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 election, although the timing of that release remains unclear.

Jan 9, 2025 8:55 PM CST

In 5-4 vote, Supreme Court refuses to delay Trump’s hush money sentencing

A closely divided Supreme Court refused to delay Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case, clearing the way for the president-elect to face judgment in a New York courtroom on Friday and to be formally classified as a felon before he returns to the White House.

Jan 9, 2025 8:45 PM CST