DHS acting secretary departure prompts questions about Trump admin.’s replacements November 1, 2019 9:29 am Tom Temin Federal Drive           The resignation of Kevin McAleenan has acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has brought up the question of acting officials and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. The law places restrictions on how a […]

  Experts in federal law are warning the White House against naming acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli to replace Kevin McAleenan as head of the Department of Homeland Security because it would violate U.S. law and the Constitution. Cuccinelli is a Republican politician said to be on President Trump’s short list for McAleenan’s job. […]

BY MDOGAN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Supreme Court Will Consider Whether Consumer Bureau’s Structure Is Constitutional California-based law firm is arguing the bureau’s director has been given too much authority, violating the separation of powers. OCTOBER 22, 2019    The Supreme Court has announced that it will consider the constitutionality of the consumer protection bureau established after […]

Trump administration has said it will not comply with the impeachment probe. EVAN VUCCI / AP How Trump’s Defiance of Impeachment Probe Could Leave Federal Employees Criminally Liable As White House pledges no cooperation, experts say employees have options to remain on a legal path. OCTOBER 8, 2019 05:34 PM ET Federal employees being asked to […]

OPM’s proposed rules on comparator employee standard raise controversy IN FOCUS: The comparator employee provisions in the Office of Personnel Management’s proposed regulations implementing President Trump’s civil service reform Executive Order 13839 would change the standard for comparator employees, fanning the flames of the debate over who qualifies as similarly situated, experts told cyberFEDS® in […]

President Trump at a White House news conference on Oct. 2. CAROLYN KASTER/AP Whistleblower is Vulnerable to Retaliation Due to Limited Intelligence Community Protections Under the law, the president is responsible for ensuring whistleblowers are protected, but experts say the law never accounted for a president leading the attack on a whistleblower. OCTOBER 2, 2019 05:28 […]

AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s fiction about whistleblower complaint President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence participate in an Armed Forces welcome ceremony for the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)   WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald […]

White House attorneys directed sealing of phone transcript WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Friday confirmed a key detail in the intelligence whistleblower’s complaint alleging that President Donald Trump abused the power of his office. A senior administration official acknowledged that the rough transcript of Trump’s July 25 phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr […]

Whistleblowers Dealing in Classified Information Present Legal Dilemma Several presidential administrations have maintained that whistleblower law can’t force disclosure of classified material to Congress. House Democrats, including House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, (D., Calif.), want to see an intelligence-community whistleblower complaint. PHOTO: SHAWN THEW/SHUTTERSTOCK Sept. 20, 2019 5:34 pm ET WASHINGTON—At the heart of an unfolding legal […]

President Donald Trump‘s communication with an unidentified foreign leader is at issue in this case. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo ‘A deficiency in the law’: How Trump accidentally exposed a whistleblower loophole What happens when the administration won’t tell Congress about a whistleblower complaint regarding the president? The answer to the once hard-to-fathom question is complicated. […]