Latest in Appointments, Confirmations & Budgets
Gen. Lloyd Austin’s nomination for defense secretary has prompted many civil-military experts to criticize the pick as damaging to civilian control over the military. But the categorical assumptions the experts make are flawed.
Trump political appointee Michael Ellis has been named to an important career position. Congress should investigate the suspicious circumstances of the selection, and the Biden transition should think carefully about what to do on Jan. 20.
Last month, President Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. We reviewed several of Barrett’s writings to glean what they might reveal about her views on issues important to Lawfare readers.
What’s going on with the top positions in the Department of Homeland Security?
Who is running the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today? Nobody really seems to know.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf is serving in his position unlawfully. On Aug. 6, the Senate will have an opportunity to ask him about it.
A recent challenge to a set of directives issued by then-Principal Deputy Director of USCIS Ken Cuccinelli led a federal district judge to hold that Cuccinelli’s appointment violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
Judge Randolph Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that Kenneth Cuccinelli’s appointment on an acting basis to lead U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had been unlawful.
Lost in the tumult of the past 10 days over the Suleimani strike was the president’s announcement on Jan. 3 of his intent to nominate a new legal adviser, Ambassador C.J. Mahoney, to replace Jennifer Newstead, who resigned last April to become general counsel of Facebook.
Mea Culpa: It’s all my fault.
On Wednesday, press outlets reported that the chief of protocol of the State Department, Ambassador Sean Lawler, has been “suspended indefinitely” pending the conclusion of an investigation into his conduct. Lawler reportedly plans on resigning from his post.