The Women & Trump 150 Index

Stay in the know this week: No Images? [Click here]( [Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics]( The week in review: March 11 - March 17 What's on tap next week: March 18 - March 24 What's on tap? Yesterday, Ballotpedia published the Women & Trump 150 Index, an analysis from the Sorock Research Group. This report provides a snapshot-look into a weekly panel survey of high-intensity female supporters of President Donald Trump. Sarah Rosier, Ballotpedia's Federal Desk Editor, said that Ballotpedia's interest in the SRG number stems from curiosity about how high-intensity Trump supporters are reacting to the daily and weekly events of the Trump administration. "At Ballotpedia, we keep close tabs on overall presidential approval. With the SRG numbers, we're also able to dig more precisely into how some of his highest-intensity voters view him, week-by-week. If their support stays consistently high, this is likely to be a good omen for Republicans in 2018 and 2020. Conversely, if their intensity of support slips, this is an early warning sign for the Trump administration and Republicans," Rosier said. [Launch the report: The Women & Trump 150 Index]( The Week in Review Monday, March 13 White House clarifies Trump’s wiretapping claims - During his [daily briefing](, White House press secretary [Sean Spicer]( clarified what President [Donald Trump]( meant last week when he tweeted, “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” Spicer said, “I think if you look at the President’s tweet, he said very clearly ‘wiretapping’ in quotes. … There’s been reports in The New York Times and the BBC and other outlets about other aspects of surveillance that have occurred. The President was very clear in his tweet that it was wiretapping, that that spans a whole host of surveillance types of options.” CBO releases report on AHCA - The [Congressional Budget Office]( (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released a [report]( estimating the cost of the [American Health Care Act]( (AHCA) and its impact on the number of uninsured. The report found that the AHCA would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion over 10 years, 52 million people would be uninsured by 2026, and that the bill would initially increase average premiums before lowering them compared to projections under Obamacare. - For more details on the CBO report and the provisions of the AHCA, [click here](. Puerto Rico debt plan approved - An [oversight board]( [approved]( Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló's fiscal plan to address the island’s $70 billion of defaulted debt. After the board rejected Rosselló's initial plan last week, he added "higher traffic fines, an increase in an excise tax on tobacco products, a tax on insurance, and the extension of an existing tax break for manufacturers on the island," [according]( to The New York Times. The board voted unanimously to enforce austerity measures if Puerto Rico failed to meet certain conditions by April 30, including decreasing the public pension system by 10 percent, furloughing workers, and eliminating holiday bonuses. Senate approves Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - The Senate [confirmed]( Seema Verma to lead the [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]( by a vote of 55-43. Verma, who worked with Vice President [Mike Pence]( when he served as [Indiana’s governor](, designed the Hoosier state’s [Medicaid program](. The state expanded Medicaid eligibility but required “beneficiaries pay premiums, contribute to health savings accounts and receive incentives for healthy behavior.” VERBATIM FACT CHECK [Has public opinion changed on the medical use of marijuana?]( Legislation in North Carolina to legalize the use of marijuana by patients who have received a recommendation from a physician passed its first reading in the state House on February 27 and was referred to committee. While discussing the bill with the Winston-Salem Journal, sponsor Rep. Rodney Moore (D-District 99) claimed, “[Medical marijuana is something that the public has changed its mind on, even in North Carolina](.” Polls do show North Carolinians’ support for the medical use of marijuana increasing, from 58 percent of respondents in 2013 to 74 percent in 2016. The results of national polls have varied, but a majority of respondents have consistently supported allowing doctors to recommend marijuana, and that support has increased over time. Support among Republicans is less than support among Democrats and independents. Tuesday, March 14 Judicial conference recommends 57 new Article III judicial positions - On March 14, 2017, the [Judicial Conference of the United States]( recommended to Congress that 57 new [Article III judicial positions]( should be created. The [recommendations]( included creating five new, permanent positions on the [United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]( and 52 new, permanent [district court]( positions. The conference further recommended that eight existing, temporary positions be made permanent. If Congress agrees, this would be the first comprehensive judicial expansion in 26 years. According to the conference's report, "since 1990, when the last comprehensive judgeship bill was enacted, appeals filings have grown 40 percent and district court filings have grown 38 percent (civil up 38 percent and criminal up 39 percent)." The conference also recommended that the next vacancies on both the [United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit]( and the [United States District Court for the District of Wyoming]( go unfilled due to the low number of filings in those courts. The Judicial Conference of the United States is comprised of the [Chief Justice of the United States](, the [chief judges]( of the 13 [U.S. courts of appeal](, a district judge from each of the 12 geographic circuits, and the chief judge of the [United States Court of International Trade](. Wednesday, March 15 Congressional committee sets deadline for wiretapping evidence - [House Intelligence Committee]( Chair [Devin Nunes]( (R-Calif.) [told reporters]( that he had not seen any evidence to support President [Donald Trump](’s claims that Trump Tower had been wiretapped at the direction of former President [Barack Obama](. “We don't have any evidence that that took place and, in fact, I don't believe—just in the last week of time, the people we've talked to—I don't think there was an actual tap of Trump Tower,” he said. Nunes, along with Rep. [Adam Schiff]( (D-Calif.), the committee’s ranking Democrat, said they could issue subpoenas for records if they do not receive evidence by March 20. That is the date of the committee’s hearing with FBI Director [James Comey](. Filing closes for South Carolina special election - Candidate filing closed for the [special election]( in [South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District](. The election will replace[Mick Mulvaney]( (R) who was confirmed as director of the[U.S. Office]([of Management and Budget]( on February 16, 2017. Fifteen candidates filed in the race: three Democrats, seven Republicans, and five third-party candidates. Primary elections will be held on May 2, 2017, with primary runoffs occurring on May 16 if required, and the general election will take place on June 20, 2017. Ballotpedia currently rates the race as safely Republican. Trump immigration order halted - After [Hawaii Attorney General]( [Doug Chin]( [filed a lawsuit]( against Trump's [second executive order](banning travel from majority-Muslim countries, Judge [Derrick Kahala Watson](, of the [United States District Court for the District of Hawaii](, ruled in favor of the state of Hawaii and [issued]( a temporary restraining order. In his order, Watson wrote, “The illogic of the Government’s contentions is palpable. The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed. The Court declines to relegate its Establishment Clause analysis to a purely mathematical exercise.” - You can read more about Trump’s initial order on immigration [here](, and we have covered the revised executive order [here](. In addition, we are following [opposition to the Trump administration](, including the lawsuits brought by state attorneys general. Grassley and Klobuchar introduce legislation to put cameras in federal courts - U.S. Senators [Chuck Grassley]( (R-Iowa) and [Amy Klobuchar]( (D-Minn.) introduced the [Sunshine in the Courtroom Act](. The Act, if adopted, would give the presiding judge of every federal court, including the U.S. Supreme Court, the discretion to allow cameras in the courtroom. Jurors and witnesses’ identities would be protected when necessary or upon request. The bill prohibits media coverage of private conversations between clients and counsel, between counsel and the presiding judge, and between counsel. The bill contains a three-year sunset provision in order to review the potential impact of the law. The bill was cosponsored by U.S. Senators [Richard Blumenthal]( (D-Conn.), [John Cornyn]( (R-Texas), [Dick Durbin]( (D-Ill.), [Al Franken]( (D-Minn.), [Lindsey Graham]( (R-S.C.), [Patrick Leahy]( (D-Vt.), and [Ed Markey]( (D-Mass.) With the exception of Sen. Markey, each sponsor and cosponsor of the bill sits on the [Senate Judiciary Committee](. Thursday, March 16 House committee approves healthcare bill - The [House Budget Committee]( voted 19-17 to advance the [American Health Care Act](. Three Republicans—Reps. [David Brat]( (Va.), [Mark Sanford]( (S.C.), and [Gary Palmer]( (Ala.)—voted against advancing the bill. The bill now heads to the [House Rules Committee](, the final step before the full bill is presented on the House floor next week. - See also: [115th Congress on healthcare, 2017-2018]( Second injunction against revised travel ban issued - Earlier this month, the [National Immigration Law Center]( and the [ACLU]( filed a lawsuit that asked Judge [Theodore D. Chuang](, of the [United States District Court for the District of Maryland](, to block President Trump’s revised executive order on immigration entirely. The suit, filed on behalf of refugee resettlement organizations, claims that the executive order lacks a legitimate reason for halting refugee resettlement. Chuang [blocked the portion]( of the order that affected the issuance of new visas to people from six Muslim-majority countries. Coats sworn-in as DNI - Former Indiana Senator [Dan Coats]( was sworn in as director of national intelligence. The Senate [confirmed]( Coats by a vote of 85-12 on March 15. He is the fifth person to serve in the position. The office of the DNI was created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks with the goal of coordinating and integrating the efforts of the country’s various intelligence agencies. The DNI is the principal adviser to the president and the national security council on all security-related intelligence matters and serves as the head of the U.S. Intelligence Community, a group of 16 government intelligence agencies that includes the CIA. Tillerson comments on North Korean nuclear development - During the first stop of his [East Asian tour]( in Tokyo, Secretary of State [Rex Tillerson]( reaffirmed the United States' commitment to trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea against [North Korean nuclear development](, including the continued implementation of a UN security resolution imposing sanctions against North Korea. He [said](, "North Korea and its people need not fear the United States or their neighbors in the region who seek only to live in peace with North Korea. With this in mind, the United States calls on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and refrain from any further provocations. The U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan and its other treaty allies through the full range of our military capabilities is unwavering." Bipartisan bill introduced to put cameras in the U.S. Supreme Court - A bill was introduced by U.S. Senators [Chuck Grassley]( (R-Iowa) and [Dick Durbin]( (D-Ill.) to require open proceedings of the [U.S. Supreme Court]( to be televised. The bill, the Cameras in the Courtroom Act of 2017, was cosponsored by Senators [Richard Blumenthal]( (D-Conn.), [Al Franken]( (D-Minn.), and [Amy Klobuchar]( (D-Minn.). U.S. Representatives [Gerry Connolly]( (D-Va.) and [Ted Poe]( (R-Texas) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would require televised proceedings for any session of the court in which members of the public are invited to observe in person. Senator Grassley has [introduced]( similar legislation in every Congress going back to the 107th Congress (2001-2002). In every instance, the bill has been reported out of the [Senate Judiciary Committee](, but has never had a vote on the Senate floor. Trump submits budget proposal to Congress - President [Donald Trump]( submitted his $1.1 trillion [fiscal year 2018 budget proposal]( to Congress. It proposes increasing defense spending by $54 billion and cutting funding to 12 of the 15 [executive departments]( to offset the increase. The [Environmental Protection Agency](—a Cabinet-level agency—the [State Department](, and the [Labor Department]( would see the largest cuts. Along with the [Department of Defense](, the Departments of [Homeland Security]( and [Veterans Affairs]( would see increases in funding, which is aligned with Trump’s campaign promise to focus on [law and order](. - [Office of Management and Budget]( Director [Mick Mulvaney]( commented on the proposal, [saying](, “[We] wrote it using the President’s own words. We went through his speeches, we went through articles that have been written about his policies, we talked to him, and we wanted to know what his policies were, and we turned those policies into numbers. So you have an ‘America First’ candidate, you have an ‘America First’ budget.” Friday, March 17 Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet - President [Donald Trump]( and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a [joint press conference]( at the White House after they discussed NATO and [trade]( between the U.S. and the European Union. “I reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO as well as the need for our NATO allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defense,” he told reporters. Referencing reports from 2013 that the Obama administration had intercepted Merkel’s phone calls, Trump [added](, “At least we have something in common, perhaps.” A judicial anniversary - As President [Donald Trump’s]( first federal judicial nominee, [Neil Gorsuch](, prepares for his confirmation hearings next week, today marked the anniversary of the first federal judicial nomination of President Barack Obama’s presidency. On March 17, 2009, Obama nominated Judge [David Hamilton](, then of the [U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana](, as his nominee to the [United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit](. Hearings on Hamilton’s nomination were held before the [Senate Judiciary Committee]( on April 1, 2009, and on April 29, 2009. Hamilton’s nomination was reported by the committee chair, U.S. Sen. [Patrick Leahy]( (D-Vt.), on June 4, 2009. Hamilton was confirmed on a recorded 59-39 vote of the [U.S. Senate]( on November 23, 2009. The U.S. Senate will be in session Monday-Friday. The U.S. House will be in session Monday-Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court returns next week for its March sitting and will hear arguments beginning Monday, March 20. The court has 24 argument sessions scheduled through the end of April. Including cases consolidated for argument, the court will hear arguments on 28 more cases for a total of 71 argued cases this term. What's On Tap Next Week Saturday, March 18 Judicial transitions taking place on Saturday - [J. Daniel Breen](, [chief judge]( of the [United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee](, elected to take [senior status]( beginning on Saturday. Judge Breen’s decision created an Article III vacancy on the court. To enter into an [Article III position](, a judge must be nominated by the president. Nominations are then subject to the advice and consent of the [U.S. Senate](. Under current law, the court has five active judicial posts. Judge Breen’s decision will create a second vacancy on the court. - Judge [Eric Washington](, chief judge of the [District of Columbia Court of Appeals](, retired from active service on the court. Judge Washington will transition to a senior judicial position on the court. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals hears appeals from local courts serving residents of [Washington, D.C.]( Judge Washington was on the court for 17 years, serving as chief judge for 11 years - the longest tenure of any chief judge in the court’s history. Prior to his service on the D.C. Court of Appeals, Judge Washington was an associate judge on the [Superior Court of the District of Columbia](. Judge Washington will be succeeded as chief judge by Judge [Anna Blackburne-Rigsby](. Judge Washington’s seat on the court must be filled by a presidential nomination. That nomination is subject to Senate confirmation. The court currently has two vacancies out of nine active judicial positions. - Judge [Jeanette Clark](, a judge on the [Superior Court of the District of Columbia](, retired from the court. Judge Clark’s retirement creates a sixth vacancy on the court out of 62 active judicial positions. Judges on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia serve fifteen-year terms on the court. The court hears criminal and civil trials arising in [Washington, D.C.]( Judge Clark’s successor must be nominated by the president. That nomination is subject to the advice and consent of the [U.S. Senate](. Monday, March 20 Supreme Court nomination hearings get underway - The [Senate Judiciary Committee]( will begin nomination hearings on [Neil Gorsuch](, President [Donald Trump’s]( nominee to succeed [Antonin Scalia]( on the [U.S. Supreme Court](. Trump nominated Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on January 31, 2017. In February, the committee chairman, U.S. Sen. [Chuck Grassley]( (R-Iowa), indicated that he expected the committee hearings to last for three days, with one day devoted exclusively to testimony from the nominee.Grassley [said](, “We will try to have the hearing in one day, but before that one day that you ask him questions, there’s going to be one day of speeches by members of the committee, and the candidate’s going to have to sit there, and listen to that … that could be a short day if we’ve got one round. Or if we’ve got two rounds or three rounds, it could get to be a long day, but ... my intention is to get it done that one day.” On Monday, senators are expected to make opening statements with the nominee in attendance. Gorsuch is expected to testify on Tuesday, March 21. A third day of hearings on Wednesday, March 22, would be reserved for outside witnesses. - For more information, please read our [Supreme Court vacancy overview](. SCOTUS returns for its March sitting - The U.S. Supreme Court returns for its March sitting on Monday with arguments in two cases: - In [Murr v. Wisconsin](, the court will review a judgment of the [Wisconsin Court of Appeals for District III](. A [St. Croix County, Wisconsin](, ordinance prohibits the development or sale of privately owned, adjacent lots unless any one individual lot has at least one acre of net project area. The Murrs, owners of two adjacent lots in the county each less than one acre, are challenging the ordinance as a regulatory taking of their property without compensation in violation of the [Fifth Amendment](. - In [Howell v. Howell](, the court will review a probate case on appeal from the [Arizona Supreme Court](. Beginning in 1992, and pursuant to their 1991 divorce agreement, John and Sandra Howell received equitable amounts of John's military retirement pay (MRP). In 2005, John elected to take VA disability payments effective from July 1, 2004, which, under federal law, reduced the amount of disposable MRP that could be divided between John and Sandra once VA benefits were reduced from John's MRP. Sandra sued in 2013 seeking her equitable portion of the MRP prior to the reduction for VA benefits. An [Arizona]( family court granted her request back to December 1, 2011. A court of appeals upheld the ruling. John argued on appeal that a federal law, the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA), preempted the state court's ruling because VA disability payments are not considered divisible assets. The [Arizona Supreme Court]( rejected that argument and upheld the lower court's award to Sandra. Tuesday, March 21 SCOTUS hears two cases on Tuesday - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases on Tuesday: - In [Microsoft Corporation v. Baker](, the court will review a judgment of the [Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals](. After a federal judge denied class action certification to plaintiffs, a group of individual Xbox owners, in a lawsuit against Microsoft, the plaintiffs voluntarily moved to dismiss the case with prejudice, a motion which the court granted. Dismissing a claim with prejudice would permit the plaintiffs to bring the same charges again in future litigation. Despite the voluntary dismissal, the [Ninth Circuit]( noted jurisdiction and reversed, holding that the judge committed legal error in striking class-action allegations from the plaintiffs’ complaint. Microsoft claims that once the plaintiffs voluntarily moved to dismiss there was no cause for appellate review. - In [Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc.](, the court will review an [en banc]( judgment from the [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit](. In its ruling, the circuit court upheld the validity of two of its own precedents as binding in the law of patent exhaustion, that is, when a patent holder no longer has exclusive rights over the use of a patented item once that item has been sold. Impression Products argues that two recent [U.S. Supreme Court]( opinions in this area of law supercede the Federal Circuit's precedents. Wednesday, March 22 SCOTUS hears two arguments on Wednesday - The U.S. Supreme Court concludes the first week of its March sitting with arguments in two cases: - In [County of Los Angeles v. Mendez](, the court will review a [Fourth Amendment]( ruling of the [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit](. While executing a warrantless search for a wanted parolee, two [L.A. County]( sheriff's deputies, without notice, searched a shack within a homeowner’s property line where they happened upon two occupants who were living in the shack with the homeowner's permission. Upon notice of a weapon held by one of the occupants, the deputies fired fifteen rounds from their service weapons, injuring both occupants. At trial, the deputies asserted qualified immunity for the warrantless search and the resulting injuries sustained by the occupants of the shack, but a trial court and an appellate panel rejected that argument, holding that the deputies' actions were not consistent with the [Fourth Amendment]( and that the deputies were subject to civil liability because the deputies' actions provoked the shooting. - In [Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon](, the court will review a judgment from the [Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals](. Prior to any civil lawsuit, a party must be served process. The Hague Service Convention (Convention), to which the U.S. is a signatory, establishes requirements for serving process from one member state to another without the use of consular or diplomatic channels. Water Splash, Inc., a U.S.-based corporation, filed a civil lawsuit in a Texas court against an employee (Menon) who is a citizen of Canada. In hopes of expediting the servicing of process, Water Splash relied on a Texas rule of civil procedure that permitted notice by mail. When Menon failed to respond, Water Splash was awarded default judgment. On appeal, Menon alleged that servicing of process by mail was prohibited by the Convention and that the default judgment against her should be set aside. The [Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals]( agreed with Menon. Thursday, March 23 Confirmation hearing for Agriculture Secretary nominee Sonny Perdue - The [U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry]( will hold its [confirmation hearing]( for [Sonny Perdue](, President [Donald Trump]('s nominee for [Secretary of Agriculture](. Perdue (R), who served as [governor of Georgia]( from 2003 to 2011, was chosen by Trump as his pick for Secretary of Agriculture on January 18. The Trump administration filed Perdue's formal nomination with the Senate on [March 9](. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture employed an [estimated 100,542 individuals and had an operating budget of $155 billion](. Where was the president last week? On Monday, Trump’s executive Cabinet met for the first time as a group, and he signed the “Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch” executive order. On Tuesday, Trump met with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and he spoke with GOP leadership about the healthcare bill. On Wednesday, Trump visited workers and CEOs in the auto industry in Michigan before holding a Make America Great Again Rally in Nashville, Tennessee. On Thursday, Trump met with the Taoiseach of Ireland and spoke at the St. Patrick’s Day Reception. Federal Judiciary - 134 total federal judicial vacancies - 1 pending nomination - 14 future vacancies [Donate Securely Online]( The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Donations to the Lucy Burns Institute or Ballotpedia do not support any candidates or campaigns. Ballotpedia The Encyclopedia of American Politics 8383 Greenway Blvd., Suite 600 Middleton, WI 53562 Only want to receive state & local news? Adjust your Ballotpedia subscriptions by clicking "preferences," below. [Like]( [Tweet]( [Share]( [Forward]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](