Region: National
Government Hires Shouldn’t Have to Take a MAGA Essay Test
Schedule F was bad, But Trump’s latest move is even worse.
The Trump Administration has adopted new hiring procedures that will impose ideological litmus tests in federal hiring. Job applicants will be graded on essays about their allegiance to “America’s founding principles” and their commitment to implementing Trump’s executive orders. These new essay questions have little to do with the jobs of most government and employees and more to do with ideological conformity. They violate both the Civil Service statute and the First Amendment.
CONTINUE READINGImplications of the Seven County Decision
Possible limitations on NEPA analysis for climate effects and indirect effects
This is the third in our series of posts on the Seven County case. The first post was here, summarizing the key points of the opinion. The second post is here, providing our assessment of the analysis in the opinion. In this third post, we discuss the implications of the case for what have been …
Continue reading “Implications of the Seven County Decision”
CONTINUE READINGSupply-Side Regulations & Clean Vehicles
As Congress votes to undermine California’s sovereignty to set supply-side standards on polluting vehicles, CLEE’s research shows why these policies are so effective
In May 2025, both the U.S. House and Senate passed resolutions to revoke California’s Clean Air Act waivers, which allow the state to enforce stricter vehicle emissions rules than federal standards (see Ann Carlson’s post on this issue). If signed by the President—and if successful in the face of court challenges to their dubious legality—these …
Continue reading “Supply-Side Regulations & Clean Vehicles”
CONTINUE READINGA Critical Analysis of the Seven County Opinion
The court’s opinion ignores basic principles of law and statutory text in order to achieve a policy goal.
This is the second in a series of blog posts about the Court’s Seven County opinion. In our first post, we summarized the key points from the opinion. Here, we provide our assessment of the Court’s analysis. The Court’s analysis, especially in Part II.B, where it sets specific limits on the scope of NEPA, relies …
Continue reading “A Critical Analysis of the Seven County Opinion”
CONTINUE READINGClimate Lawsuits Now a Matter of Life and Death
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
What a week for watchers of climate litigation. Big new filings, claims of death and destruction, a landmark ruling, and a juicy hearing all in the span of 36 hours. First, there was what the New York Times described as “the first wrongful death lawsuit” to be brought against oil and gas companies over claims …
Continue reading “Climate Lawsuits Now a Matter of Life and Death”
CONTINUE READINGThe Outcome of the Seven Counties Case
Court emphasizes agency discretion and judicial deference in NEPA.
The Supreme Court issued its decision today in the Seven County NEPA case (available here). For background on the case, see our prior posts here, here, here, and here, as well as our article. In this post, we’ll provide a brief overview of the opinion. Next, we’ll undertake a brief analysis of the Court’s reasoning …
Continue reading “The Outcome of the Seven Counties Case”
CONTINUE READINGLeft NIMBYs Strike Out Yet Again
The Urban Institute study that they cite as evidence for stopping housing does not say what they claim.
The recent publication of Ezra Klein’s and Derek Thompson’s Abundance has the Alt-Left NIMBYs out in force. Again. Outraged by Klein and Thompson’s call for zoning reform, they argue that zoning reform has nothing to do with housing affordability. That’s their standard line. What isn’t standard is their reliance on a quality peer-reviewed study from …
Continue reading “Left NIMBYs Strike Out Yet Again”
CONTINUE READINGEnvironmental Rollbacks: Will the Trump Administration Overplay Its Hand?
The odds are good that Trump agencies will go too far out on a limb.
The Trump Administration’s tendency to rely on bold legal arguments rather than detailed technical ones is a disadvantage in court. Courts defer to agencies on factual matters, especially those that involve technical expertise. Now that Chevron has been overruled, however, legal arguments by agencies don’t get the same deference. Thus, the chances of a judicial reversal are higher when the agency relies on purely legal grounds.
CONTINUE READINGGas Price Politics and Desperate Moderates
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
In 18 years of working in newsrooms around Los Angeles, I talked with lots of political campaigns — but a phone call from Antonio Villaraigosa in spring of 2018 stands out. I was at my desk in the cramped newsroom of KCRW, sitting in between All Things Considered host Steve Chiotakis and producer Ben Gottlieb, …
Continue reading “Gas Price Politics and Desperate Moderates”
CONTINUE READINGTrump Goes Nuclear
Four new executive orders try to launch a nuclear renaissance.
Diluting safety and environmental reviews is also likely to lead to a lot of litigation, which will slow nuclear licensing to a crawl. In addition, the industry knows that what one President can do by executive order, the next President can undo. So it could be risky to make investments in facilities that will be around for many decades, based on what could be an evanescent presidential policy. And the public will have good reason to fear that public safety won’t be a priority.
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
