from the egg. https://ab-ovo.net/ 2026-09-22T00:00:00.000Z https://ab-ovo.net/blog/sec-proposes-rescinding-rule-14a-8/ 2026-09-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-22T00:00:00.000Z

A proposed rule published 21 September 2026 at 91 FR 59904 would rescind Rule 14a-8 in its entirety and 'leave determinations about the role of shareholder proposals to State law and company governing documents'. The Commission's first ground is that the rule 'exceeds the Commission's authority under section 14(a)'. A companion amendment to Rule 14a-4(c) would let companies vote proxies at their own discretion on proposals they were not required to include, subject to a check box. Comments close 20 November 2026.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/epa-repeals-carbon-standards-and-proposes-no-authority/ 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z

Two documents published together on 17 September 2026. A final rule at 91 FR 58954 repeals most of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards on what EPA calls distinct legal and technical grounds. A supplemental proposal at 91 FR 59002 argues that Clean Air Act section 111 'does not authorize the EPA to regulate emissions from power plants in response to global climate change concerns' at all.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/sec-innovation-exemption-tokenized-nms-stock/ 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z

An order of 17 September 2026, Release No. 34-106402, exempts a complying 'Tokenized Securities Venue' from the Exchange Act's definition of 'exchange' and qualifying liquidity providers from the definition of 'dealer'. Trading is capped at 75 symbols and 0.25 percent of prior-month average daily share volume for the most liquid tier.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/fomc-hikes-september-2026-unanimous/ 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z

The Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds target range to 3-3/4 to 4 percent on 16 September 2026, by a 12-0 vote. A quarter-point increase was the majority expectation beforehand — prediction markets put it near 79.5 percent — but the unanimity was not. In July the Committee held, 9-3, over dissents from Hammack, Kashkari and Logan, who each asked for exactly this increase. The supply-shock sentence that had accompanied elevated inflation does not appear in the September statement.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/ballot-mail-first-circuit-denies-stay/ 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z

On 10 September 2026 a First Circuit panel refused to stay the injunctions against the Postal Service's ballot-mail rule, holding the rule is likely 'a regulation of the manner of holding elections' that the Constitution assigns to the States and Congress, 'and not to an executive agency'. Three days later a third district court enjoined the same rule, in a different circuit. The government's answer was that a stay from the Supreme Court would compel the others to follow. The Court refused it the next day.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/customs-line-turns-positive-august-2026/ 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z

The August 2026 Monthly Treasury Statement puts net customs duties at +$12,836 million, after -$25,556 million in June and -$8,546 million in July. Gross collections barely moved; refunds fell from $49.2 billion in June to $10.5 billion. Year to date the net is almost exactly last year's — $167,308 million against $165,191 million — but gross receipts are up 70 percent and refunds are nineteen times larger, so a flat number sits on two flows that have both changed scale.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-reopens-accountability-rule-to-publish-data/ 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z

A notice of 15 September 2026 at 91 FR 58387 reopens comment on OPM's half of the July accountability rulemaking for two weeks, and publishes seven years of separations data to support it. OPM reads the data as showing 'no significant increases' in FY2026 — but the FY2026 column covers nine months against full years elsewhere, and on a monthly basis it runs about 19 percent above FY2025, which itself ran 28 percent above FY2024.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-denies-ballot-mail-stay-26a305/ 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z

On 14 September 2026 the Court denied the government's third stay application in the ballot-mail dispute, No. 26A305, holding that 'the Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits'. Three weeks earlier the same Court had granted a stay in the same fight. Justice Kavanaugh concurred on a ground the First Circuit had not used and would have found the rule likely within the Postal Service's authority; Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas, dissented and faulted the plaintiffs, the lower courts, and the Court's own pace.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/election-assistance-commission-has-no-members/ 2026-09-12T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-12T00:00:00.000Z

The Election Assistance Commission's own website, dated 17 August 2026, lists no sitting commissioner and carries only a link to former ones. All four — Thomas Hicks, Christy McCormick, Benjamin W. Hovland and Donald Palmer — appear there with end dates of 2026. Under 52 U.S.C. 20928 the Commission may act only with the approval of at least three members. Executive Order 14248 of March 2025 directs it to do three things, and each requires Commission action.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/ofac-suspends-iran-aviation-general-licences/ 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z

A final rule published 10 September 2026 at 91 FR 57511 stays four authorisations under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, effective two days earlier. All four concern aviation: payments for overflights of Iranian airspace, specific licences for aircraft safety transactions, bunkering and emergency repairs, and the reexportation of civil aircraft on temporary sojourn. Transactions authorised on 7 September became unauthorised on the 8th, and willful violations carry criminal penalties.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/wotus-supplemental-perennial-flow/ 2026-09-09T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-09T00:00:00.000Z

A supplemental proposed rule published 9 September 2026 at 91 FR 57284 offers an option defining 'relatively permanent' as 'perennial bodies of water', dropping the wet-season limb the agencies proposed in November 2025 — an option on which they continue to take comment alongside the original. Comments close 9 October 2026.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/canada-section-338-escalates-to-import-ban/ 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z

Five proclamations of 8 September 2026 — the day Canada's counter-tariffs took effect — move Canadian alcoholic beverages, dairy and motor vehicles from additional duties to exclusion from importation under section 338(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, effective 29 September. Companion proclamations modify which products remain on the 50 percent duty, effective 15 September. Each ban carries a severability clause providing that if the exclusion is invalidated, the 50 percent duty applies instead.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/centcom-destroys-five-more-irgc-tankers/ 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z

US Central Command destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on 8 September 2026 — the M/T Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco in the Gulf of Oman and the M/T Derya near Kharg Island — after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a single US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice in two days. Three days earlier CENTCOM had destroyed three carriers after an attempt on two warships. Eight vessels in four days, with crews directed to abandon ship before each strike.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-accelerating-veterans-benefits-access/ 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z

An executive order of 8 September 2026 directs the Departments of War and Veterans Affairs to share all Official Military Personnel Files and Service Treatment Records permanently, and to deploy 'new digital tools using artificial intelligence and other emerging capabilities' within 180 days. The sharing mandate cites 38 U.S.C. 7332(e), the interchange exception to the confidentiality of records on drug abuse, alcoholism, HIV infection and sickle cell anemia. The order carries no privacy condition on the artificial-intelligence paragraph; the accompanying fact sheet says the tools will be 'secure' and 'consistent with applicable privacy protections.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/canada-counter-tariffs-match-section-338/ 2026-09-07T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-07T00:00:00.000Z

The Section 338 duties on Canadian autos, alcohol and dairy took effect at 12:01 a.m. on 22 August 2026 after the three-day suspension expired. Canada announced countermeasures on 25 August: surtaxes of 15, 25 and 50 per cent across 629 tariff items, drawn from the goods targeted by the US Section 338 and Section 232 programmes and set 'with individual product rates based on the matching U.S. rate for the same goods,' effective 12:01 a.m. on 8 September, alongside a $7.5 billion support package.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/ballot-mail-third-application-26a305/ 2026-09-06T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-06T00:00:00.000Z

On 4 September 2026 the District of Massachusetts replaced its 27 August restraining order with a preliminary injunction the Solicitor General describes as 'substantively identical', and purported to dissolve the earlier order. On 6 September the United States withdrew its pending Supreme Court application, No. 26A297, and filed a new one, No. 26A305, against the new injunction. Justice Jackson ordered any response by 4 p.m. on 9 September. It is the third application in this dispute in seven weeks, and no stay has been entered on either of the last two.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/usda-proposes-rescinding-2001-roadless-rule/ 2026-09-06T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-06T00:00:00.000Z

A proposed rule published 20 August 2026 at 91 FR 53827 would remove and reserve 36 CFR part 294 subpart B, the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule covering 58.5 million acres. The Idaho and Colorado state-specific rules are untouched. USDA calls the proposal economically significant under E.O. 12866 section 3(f)(1), with impacts that 'could exceed $100 million', and set a comment period of 32 days closing 21 September 2026, extended on 11 September to 6 October.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/ballot-mail-second-application-restraining-order/ 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z

After the Supreme Court's stay of 24 August, Judge Talwani lifted the second injunction against the Postal Service ballot rule, then on 27 August entered a fourteen-day restraining order against parts of it, expiring 14 September. The Portal went live when its system of records published on 1 September. The administration returned to the Supreme Court on 3 September as No. 26A297, with a response due 8 September; no stay had been entered when North Carolina and Alabama began mailing ballots on 4 September.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/centcom-september-strikes-irgc-tankers/ 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z

US Central Command struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defence, radar, maritime, mine-laying and communications targets on 1 September 2026, and on 5 September disabled or destroyed three IRGC crude oil carriers after ballistic missiles were fired at two US Navy warships. Admiral Brad Cooper framed the second action as a price: 'If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours.' Iranian state media reported that the 1 September wave killed civilians at a wedding in Sirik county, which Vice President Vance said the United States was investigating while calling himself 'extremely skeptical.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/ofccp-rescinds-eo-11246-regulations/ 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z

An OFCCP final rule published 21 August 2026 and effective 26 October rescinds 41 CFR parts 60-1, 60-2, 60-3, 60-4, 60-20, 60-40, 60-50 and 60-999, carrying Executive Order 14173's revocation of EO 11246 into the Code of Federal Regulations. The Department concludes that the race- and sex-based affirmative action regulations 'are unconstitutional' and that it 'lacks statutory authority for significant portions' of the framework. It drew 917 comments and eliminates an estimated 9,875,221 hours of annual burden.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/ofccp-section-503-vevraa-modifications/ 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z

Two OFCCP final rules published 21 August 2026 and effective 21 September modify the Section 503 and VEVRAA regulations. Section 503 loses the 7 percent utilization goal, the disability inquiry and the associated data collection, and the Department declines to retain the goal 'in any form' after commenters proposed a hiring benchmark; VEVRAA's hiring benchmark stands, removal having been ruled 'outside the scope of this rulemaking.' Part 60-30 is removed and reserved on 21 December 2026.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/sec-proposes-regulation-crypto-assets/ 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z

A Securities and Exchange Commission proposal published 21 August 2026 would create 'Regulation Crypto Assets', with two exemptions from Securities Act registration — $5 million over four years and $75 million in any twelve months — and a non-exclusive safe harbor under which a covered investment contract 'will be deemed by the Commission to have ceased to exist' for want of essential managerial efforts. Comments close 20 October 2026.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/title-vi-disparate-impact-deleted-across-agencies/ 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z

Between May 2025 and August 2026 at least seventeen federal agencies amended their Title VI regulations to eliminate disparate-impact liability, led by the Justice Department on 10 December 2025 under the Attorney General's coordinating authority. The Justice Department's rule removes the phrase 'or effect' and leaves 'purpose'. Almost every rule took effect on publication, using the 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2) exemption for rules relating to grants and benefits rather than the good-cause exception.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/august-payrolls-rebound-july-decline-revised-away/ 2026-09-04T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-04T00:00:00.000Z

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000 in August 2026 against a 55,000 consensus recorded by Forex Factory's calendar, and the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent. July, first reported as a fall of 23,000, was revised to a gain of 21,000 and June from 20,000 to 31,000. May stands unrevised at 63,000 against an original 129,000, leaving May and June 92,000 below their first prints.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/irs-private-school-tax-exemption-race/ 2026-09-04T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-04T00:00:00.000Z

A proposed rule published 4 September 2026 at 91 FR 56811 would codify the Bob Jones doctrine as 26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)-2 — and extend it. Racial discrimination would disqualify a private school from tax exemption 'regardless of the intent behind or the legality of such discrimination', naming as an example discrimination 'defended as serving remedial or diversity-related objectives'. Treasury estimates 18,000 schools and 750,000 students are affected.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/mspb-retires-the-douglas-factors/ 2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z

A final rule published 3 September 2026 at 91 FR 56549 and effective 5 October adds 5 CFR 1201.56(b)(3): an agency's choice of penalty 'is entitled to substantial deference', and the Board will review it only for whether it falls 'within the tolerable limits of reasonableness'. It applies to appeals under 5 U.S.C. 7513 only. About 676 comments were filed.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/casa-preliminary-injunction-eo-14418/ 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z

On 2 September 2026 Judge Deborah L. Boardman preliminarily enjoined Executive Order 14418 as applied to the Rule 23(b)(2) class certified in CASA, Inc. v. Trump, Civ. No. DLB-25-201 (D. Md.), holding the order 'almost certainly unconstitutional as applied to the certified class' because Trump v. Barbara had already decided the class members are citizens at birth. The injunction does not run against the President, does not reach section 2(d), and expressly leaves section 3(b) — the 30-day public-guidance requirement, due 5 September — unenjoined.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/hr6500-enacted-fy2027-stopgap/ 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z

The House concurred in the Senate amendments to H.R. 6500 on 1 September 2026 by 370-48, under suspension of the rules, and the President signed it on 2 September. Federal agencies are funded through 11 December 2026. The House abandoned its own stopgap, H.R. 9770, which had run to 4 December and passed 220-205 in July; the Clerk still files the vote under the bill's original description, 'AGOA Extension Act.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-probationary-appeals-rule-part-751/ 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z

A final rule published 3 August 2026 at 91 FR 49072 and effective 2 September establishes 5 CFR part 751, moving appeals by employees terminated in a probationary or trial period from the Merit Systems Protection Board to the Office of Personnel Management. Only two issues are appealable — discrimination on partisan political or marital grounds, and a procedural failure where the termination rests on pre-appointment conditions. The employee carries the burden on all of them, and 'a party cannot obtain judicial review of a decision under this part.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-reduction-in-force-rule-performance-first/ 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z

An Office of Personnel Management final rule published 3 August 2026 and effective 2 September rewrites 5 CFR part 351. Employees are ranked by a numerical performance credit of 7, 5, 3 or 0 points, to which veterans' preference adds 5 or 3; tenure splits the registers and then breaks ties. Probationers, employees on appointments of a year or less, and Schedule C and Schedule G employees cease to be 'competing employees' and may be separated without RIF procedures. Commenters argued the point scale cannot be squared with 5 U.S.C. 3502(b) and (c); OPM answers that those subsections give a 'meaningful retention preference, not a categorical right to be retained ahead of every non-veteran regardless of performance.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-rif-rules-take-effect-mspb-replaced/ 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z

An Office of Personnel Management final rule published 3 August 2026 and effective 2 September makes OPM, rather than the Merit Systems Protection Board, the adjudicative agency for reduction-in-force appeals, and codifies at 5 CFR 351.901(c)(4) that 'a party cannot obtain judicial review of a decision under this subpart.' Of 1,252 comments, OPM records that 99 percent opposed the proposal. Appeals are decided on the written record unless OPM finds a hearing 'necessary and efficient,' and RIF actions may no longer be taken to grievance arbitration.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/election-interference-emergency-continued-2026/ 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z

A notice of 31 August 2026, published 2 September at 91 FR 56547, continues for one year the national emergency declared by Executive Order 13848 on 12 September 2018. It is the eighth annual continuation. What it carries past 12 September 2026 is a post-election timetable: a Director of National Intelligence assessment within 45 days of the conclusion of a United States election, an Attorney General and Homeland Security report within 45 days of receiving it, and a Treasury instruction to 'impose all appropriate sanctions.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-stays-white-house-ballroom-injunction/ 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z

On 31 August 2026 the Supreme Court granted the government's application in No. 26A203, National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation, staying the injunction against above-ground construction of the White House ballroom pending certiorari. The per curiam holds the Trust likely lacks Article III standing because 'mere offense, disagreement, or distaste' is not a concrete injury. Chief Justice Roberts, who had entered the administrative stay ten days earlier, dissents, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson, reading 40 U.S.C. 8106 to bar the construction absent express authority of Congress.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/warsh-jackson-hole-in-our-time/ 2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z

Chairman Kevin Warsh delivered 'In Our Time' at the Kansas City Fed's Jackson Hole symposium on 28 August 2026. Where the July FOMC minutes recorded that some participants thought financial conditions might not be sufficiently restrictive, the Chairman says he would be 'hard pressed' to call them restrictive at all. He restates the 2 percent PCE objective as 'a firm, fixed target' that is 'not self-executing', and rests his reading of underlying inflation on how broadly prices are rising across the 199 components of the PCE basket.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14421-bulk-power-system-emergency/ 2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-26T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14421 of 26 August 2026 declares a national emergency over the foreign supply of bulk-power system electric equipment and prohibits acquisition, importation, transfer or installation where the Secretary of Energy makes a two-part finding. It rests on IEEPA section 1702, the National Emergencies Act and 3 U.S.C. 301. The first such emergency, declared by Executive Order 13920 on 1 May 2020, was suspended by Executive Order 13990 and terminated on 1 May 2021 for want of a continuation notice.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/canada-section-338-duties-suspended-three-days/ 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 11056 of 18 August 2026, published 24 August, suspends 'for a period of 3 days' the Section 338 duties imposed on Canadian alcohol, dairy and motor vehicles by Proclamations 11046, 11047 and 11048 of 20 July. It does so by amending the Annex II chapeau of each to delete the effective date 'August 19, 2026' and insert 'August 22, 2026.' The proclamation was filed for public inspection hours before the amended date took effect and published two days after it. Senior officials reported that Canada 'has expressed a commitment to remove the discriminations.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-stays-california-injunction-ballot-mail-rule/ 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z

The Supreme Court on 24 August 2026 granted a stay in No. 26A124, Trump v. California, holding the Government likely to prevail on its argument that the District of Massachusetts lacked jurisdiction under two justiciability doctrines. The Court acted by per curiam opinion over dissents by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson, and denied a parallel Alabama-led application as moot. A second injunction, in League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump, is untouched and blocks the Postal Service nationwide.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/treasury-operation-economic-outcast-iran/ 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z

The Treasury Department announced Operation Economic Outcast on 24 August 2026, issuing determinations against five sectors of the Iranian economy — digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping — designating nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels, suspending general licences that had authorised remittances and Iranian access to US cultural and academic institutions, and issuing guidance on the sanctions risk of complying with Iranian demands for Strait of Hormuz transit. Secretary Bessent said the objective is 'to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/fomc-july-minutes-six-meeting-proposal/ 2026-08-19T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-19T00:00:00.000Z

Minutes of the 28–29 July 2026 FOMC meeting, released 19 August, record that the Chairman observed 'six scheduled meetings per year, held roughly every two months' would let more information accumulate between meetings, and asked the Committee for input; no decisions were made and the 2026 schedule is unaffected. The minutes also record that 'many participants assessed that policy tightening would likely be necessary if inflation did not decline,' and describe payroll gains as having strengthened this year — a characterisation the 7 August employment report had already overtaken.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/islamabad-memorandum-window-lapses/ 2026-08-19T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-19T00:00:00.000Z

Paragraph 3 of the Islamabad Memorandum gave the United States and Iran 'maximum 60 days extendable with mutual consent' to reach a final deal. Signed 17 June 2026, that window ran out on 16 August. No extension was recorded, and the presidential documentary record for 16 to 19 August — Truth Social posts and press pool reports — contains no reference to the memorandum, to Islamabad, or to an extension. What it does contain, on 19 August, is the President on the Strait of Hormuz and on what else might be sanctioned.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/blanche-confirmed-attorney-general-50-49/ 2026-08-10T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-10T00:00:00.000Z

The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as Attorney General by 50-49 at 4:17 a.m. on 8 August 2026 (Roll Call Vote 230; PN1078). Senators Collins and Murkowski voted no; Senator McConnell did not vote. Blanche was sworn in on 10 August as the 88th Attorney General, moving up from Deputy Attorney General. The Department's own record lists Pamela J. Bondi as Attorney General '2025 to 2026.' Blanche represented President Trump in three of the criminal cases brought against him in 2023 and 2024.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/senate-passes-fy2027-cr-on-agoa-shell-vehicle/ 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z

The Senate on 8 August 2026 passed H.R. 6500 — a January bill extending African Growth and Opportunity Act duty-free treatment and customs user fees — after striking everything after the enacting clause, inserting the 'Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027,' a four-division package running to 11 December 2026, and amending the bill's title to match. The House's own stopgap, H.R. 9770, ran to 4 December and passed 220-205 on 21 July; the House has not voted since 23 July.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/senate-passes-graham-russia-iran-sanctions/ 2026-08-07T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-07T00:00:00.000Z

The Senate passed H.R. 5334 by 86-11 on 7 August 2026, inserting the 'Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026' into a bill that had been an educator expense deduction. Section 112 directs the President to raise duties on Russian goods to up to 500 percent ad valorem 'notwithstanding any other provision of law'; section 113 reaches up to 100 percent on countries among the five largest buyers of Russian crude or gas. An amendment to strike section 113 failed 32-64. The House has not acted.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14418-14419-citizenship-after-barbara/ 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14418 of 6 August 2026 states the policy that no agency shall issue or accept documents recognising citizenship in four non-exhaustive categories: an alien-enemy parent, a foreign-government-employee parent, a commercial or fraudulent transaction to obtain citizenship, and birth in a territory where no federal statute confers citizenship. It rests on the order's own reading of Trump v. Barbara. Companion Executive Order 14419, 'Ending Birth Tourism,' delegates the President's authority under INA § 215(a) to the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/economic-ledger-war-tariffs-august-2026/ 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

By 3 August 2026 the macroeconomic record registers the policy decisions of the spring in sequence: June CPI energy up 15.7 percent over the year with Brent gaining roughly 24 percent in July on the resumed Iran war; June customs receipts net negative — $23.6 billion collected against $49.2 billion refunded — as IEEPA refunds flow; Q2 growth slowing to 1.5 percent with core PCE prices at 3.4 percent; the FOMC holding 9-3 over three dissents for a hike; the 10-year Treasury at 4.75 percent and the 30-year mortgage at 6.66 percent. Four documented policy items remain open without enacted resolution.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-suitability-appeals-replace-mspb/ 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z

A final rule published 3 August 2026 at 91 FR 49034 and effective 2 September rewrites 5 CFR part 731 subpart E so that suitability action appeals are heard by OPM rather than the Merit Systems Protection Board. 'A party cannot obtain judicial review of a decision under this subpart.' OPM's answer to the objection is that moving the decision out of the MSPB moves it out of the category 5 U.S.C. 7703 makes reviewable. Unlike the probationary rule of the same day, the agency keeps the burden on the merits.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/senate-cr-continuing-appropriations-extensions-act-2027/ 2026-08-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-02T00:00:00.000Z

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins released the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 on 2 August 2026 — a stopgap continuing current funding 'until December 11th,' one week past the House-passed H.R. 9770's 4 December date, with adjustments for WIC, shipbuilding and the Disaster Relief Fund, and a provision that 'prevents the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)'s proposed rule regarding federal financial assistance from taking effect.' Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate was 'hoping to vote next week,' before the August recess, 60 days from the 1 October fiscal-year start.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/trump-cancels-iran-attack-deal-parameters/ 2026-08-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-02T00:00:00.000Z

In a social media post on the evening of 1 August 2026 President Trump said he had agreed 'to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,' claiming Mideast allies reached parameters including 'the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat.' The reversal followed a Saturday call from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a week in which joint US-Saudi strikes hit IRGC-directed targets in Iraq, Iranian drones struck Kuwait, Hormuz transits fell 77 percent in a day, and the Pentagon's main war tally reached 18 US dead and 624 wounded.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/senate-confirms-clayton-dni-51-47/ 2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z 2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

The Senate confirmed Walter 'Jay' Clayton as Director of National Intelligence on 28 July 2026 by 51-47 on Roll Call Vote 211 (PN1092), party-line, after 51-43 cloture the prior day; Senators Darline Graham and Mitch McConnell did not vote. Politico reported the nomination's delay caused Section 702's 12 June expiry. After the White House initially delayed the swearing-in — with acting director William Pulte, who touted an approximately 30 percent ODNI staff cut, urging Trump to let him stay — Pulte announced on 1 August that the transition 'will take place this coming Monday.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-efile-mandatory-for-claims/ 2026-07-31T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-31T00:00:00.000Z

Two direct final rules published 31 July 2026, at 91 FR 48231 and 91 FR 48236, require federal employees to use OPM's eFile system to bring compensation, leave and Fair Labor Standards Act claims from 29 September. Absent an approved exemption, OPM 'will not accept the filing of a claim, evidence, or other supporting documents via electronic mail or postal mail'. Both took the direct final route, effective unless significant adverse comment is submitted by 31 August.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-removes-ugesp-references/ 2026-07-31T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-31T00:00:00.000Z

An interim final rule published 31 July 2026 at 91 FR 48234 removes every reference to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures from OPM's civil service regulations, and takes effect the day it is published. The stated reason is an Office of Legal Counsel opinion of 9 June 2026 holding the Guidelines unlawful — an opinion binding inside the executive branch. Comments were invited for sixty days after the rule was already in force.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/house-passes-hconres89-war-powers-iran/ 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z

The House passed H. Con. Res. 89 by 214-208 on 23 July 2026, directing the President under section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran; four Republicans voted yes and no Democrat voted no. Section 5(c), 50 U.S.C. 1544(c), operates by concurrent resolution, a form not presented to the President. The Senate rejected the joint-resolution companions 47-49 and 49-50; under 50 U.S.C. 1546(c) it owes the House measure a committee report within fifteen days and a vote within three.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/fomc-july-hold-three-dissents/ 2026-07-29T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-29T00:00:00.000Z

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 on 29 July 2026 to maintain the federal funds target range at 3½ to 3¾ percent, with Beth M. Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie K. Logan dissenting in favour of a quarter-point increase — the first dissents of Chair Kevin Warsh's tenure, after June's unanimous hold. The statement cites 'elevated' inflation driven in part by supply shocks 'including energy' amid the Middle East conflict, and states 'The Committee will deliver price stability.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-301-forced-labour-tariffs-replace-section-122/ 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

The § 122 surcharge expired by operation of law at 12:01 a.m. EDT on 24 July 2026, its 150-day statutory ceiling; a presidential memorandum of 23 July (91 FR 47717) directs USTR to impose Section 301 forced-labour tariffs on the 60 investigated economies — 10 percent on seventeen economies with prohibitions, reciprocal-trade commitments or partial regimes, 12.5 percent on the rest, with EU and Taiwan capped at 10 percent total and Japan, Korea and Switzerland at 12.5 percent total, each net of MFN duties — plus an exemption annex and textile tariff-rate quotas for four economies feasible by 1 September.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/canada-section-338-tariffs-autos-alcohol-dairy/ 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z

Three proclamations of 20 July 2026 invoke Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 — its first known use in nearly a century, per Reuters — to impose an additional 50 percent ad valorem duty on Annex II lists of Canadian motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages and dairy products covering approximately USD 20 billion of imports, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on 19 August 2026; Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada 'stands ready to engage intensively' and his office called the new tariffs a 'direct violation' of the USMCA.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/house-passes-fy2027-cr-hr9770/ 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z

The House passes H.R. 9770, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027, by 220-205 on 21 July 2026 — Representative Thomas Massie the sole Republican no, six Democrats in favor — funding FY2027 at generally FY2026 levels through the earlier of 4 December 2026 or enactment of the applicable full-year bills; the Rules Committee reported the combined rule (H. Res. 1438) 8-4 on 20 July, and the measure heads to a Senate where a rewrite is expected, with zero FY2027 bills marked up on that side of the Capitol.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/ieepa-refunds-86bn-freestyle-world-order/ 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z

CBP's 13 July 2026 status declaration to the Court of International Trade reports $86.3 billion in IEEPA refunds certified and sent to Treasury for disbursement and $121.75 billion in claims accepted for processing as of 10 July, and in orders of 15 and 17 July Senior Judge Richard K. Eaton, in the lead case Freestyle World, Inc. v. United States, directs CBP to 'reliquidate, without regard to IEEPA duties,' the finally liquidated entries of the roughly 3,700 refund plaintiffs as the CAPE Phase 3 tool deploys, with a compliance report due 4 August and a settlement conference set for 5 August; the government's appeal over non-litigants' finally liquidated entries is pending at the Federal Circuit.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/iran-ceasefire-collapse-houthi-red-sea-blockade/ 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z

Two weeks after President Trump declared the Islamabad Memorandum ceasefire 'over' on 8 July 2026 — following Iranian strikes on three commercial vessels and CENTCOM retaliatory waves — the war's fronts have widened: the US reinstated its Hormuz-area blockade from 14 July, near-daily strike waves continued, the Houthis declared a Red Sea embargo of vessels serving Saudi ports on 20 July with two Saudi crude tankers turning back on 21 July, the Pentagon's casualty system counts 18 US service-member deaths and roughly 447 wounded, and President Trump threatened to strike the suspected Pickaxe Mountain enrichment complex while hosting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/schedule-policy-career-litigation-status-july/ 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z

Seven weeks after Executive Order 14410 reclassified roughly 8,000 positions into Schedule Policy/Career, no court has enjoined the framework: NTEU's amended complaint of 17 June directly challenges the reclassifications in its stayed D.D.C. case; the government's motion to dismiss PEER v. Trump remains pending in the District of Maryland; more than 50 congressional Democrats led by Representative James Walkinshaw and Senator Tim Kaine demanded reclassification transparency data from the President on 15 July; and Federal News Network reports the at-will workforce's attrition reality, including CDC's loss of roughly 46 percent of its career Senior Executive Service since January 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/senate-intelligence-advances-clayton-9-8/ 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z

The Senate Intelligence Committee votes 9-8 along party lines on 21 July 2026 to advance Jay Clayton's nomination as Director of National Intelligence, Chairman Tom Cotton announcing the result, a week after a contentious 15 July confirmation hearing in which Democrats pressed Clayton on the 2020 election — 'I'm not an election denier,' he told the panel — and on his own office's subpoenas of New York Times journalists as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Vice Chairman Mark Warner had announced he would vote no, and the nomination now goes to the Senate floor.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/lindsey-graham-dies-darline-graham-appointed/ 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), four-term senator and Budget Committee chairman, dies on the night of 11 July 2026 at 71, hours after returning from a trip to Ukraine, of an aortic dissection per the DC medical examiner's preliminary finding; Governor Henry McMaster appoints Graham's sister Darline Graham on 13 July, and she is sworn in on 14 July by President pro tempore Chuck Grassley — the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate — serving until a 3 November 2026 special election, with the Republican majority restored to 53-47.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/brazil-section-301-25-percent-tariff/ 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z

A presidential memorandum of 15 July 2026 (91 FR 45619) directs a 25 percent Section 301 tariff on goods of Brazil, and USTR's same-day Notice of Action (91 FR 45516) applies it to entries from 12:01 a.m. ET on 22 July 2026 with exemption annexes covering coffee, beef, oranges and orange juice, aircraft components and Section 232-subject goods; Brazil's government calls the tariff unjustifiable and says it will invoke its reciprocity law and pursue WTO dispute settlement.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-232-aircraft-proclamation-11040/ 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 11040 of 9 July 2026 (91 FR 43507), 'Adjusting Imports of Commercial Aircraft, Jet Engines, and Aircraft and Engine Parts Into the United States,' acts on the Commerce Department's Section 232 investigation without imposing duties — the second negotiation-track § 232 disposition, after the critical-minerals proclamation of 14 January 2026 — directing Commerce and USTR to 'jointly pursue or continue pursuing negotiations' with trading partners, monitor imports and keep the President informed, with an update due within 180 days and alternative remedies reserved.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/fed-monetary-policy-task-forces/ 2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z

The Federal Reserve announces on 9 July 2026 the leadership and objectives of five task forces reviewing the conduct of monetary policy — Communications, Balance Sheet Policy, Data, Productivity and Jobs, and Inflation Frameworks — co-led by external advisers including Mervyn King, Raghuram Rajan, Jeremy Stein, Raj Chetty, Doug McMillon and Marc Andreessen; Chairman Warsh: 'Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers' means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/doge-temporary-organization-terminates/ 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z

The U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization terminates on 4 July 2026 under § 3(b) of Executive Order 14158 with no successor instrument, no OPM extension regulation and no statutory replacement; the DOGE website goes dark, a 4 July post on the organization's X account says that 'while the formal mission of DOGE has come to an end, the mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse will continue' after a claimed $215 billion in savings, and OMB Director Russell Vought tells a House hearing the administration has 'no plans to do kind of a closing DOGE report.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eeoc-rescinds-title-vii-affirmative-action-guidelines/ 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z 2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z

A final interpretive rule published 6 July 2026 at 91 FR 40879 rescinds 29 CFR part 1608, the 1979 guidelines on affirmative action under Title VII, without notice and comment and applicable retroactively to 29 June. The practical effect is stated in the rule: employers 'will not be able to assert a defense under section 713(b)' for actions taken under an affirmative action plan. On whether Weber and Johnson survive, the Commission 'defers to DOJ's position'.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-suitability-reaches-sitting-employees/ 2026-06-30T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-30T00:00:00.000Z

A final rule published 30 June 2026 at 91 FR 39361 and effective 30 July extends 5 CFR part 731 suitability actions to conduct after appointment. OPM's stated reason is that agencies avoid the alternative: 'Agencies reported they often decline to act because the Chapter 75 process is perceived as too difficult.' The same conduct can now support either route, the agency picks, and OPM 'retains the right to take a suitability action even in those cases where the agency makes an adjudicative determination under another authority.' 1,479 comments were filed.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-strikes-down-birthright-citizenship-order/ 2026-06-30T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z

In Trump v. Barbara, No. 25-365, the Supreme Court holds 6-3 that children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present 'satisfy both elements of the Citizenship Clause' of the 14th Amendment — 'Under the Constitution, they are citizens at birth' — affirming the New Hampshire class-wide preliminary injunction against Executive Order 14160; Chief Justice Roberts writes; Justice Kavanaugh concurs in the judgment on statutory grounds; Justices Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch dissent.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-leaves-fed-governor-cook-in-place/ 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z

By 5-4 in Trump v. Cook, No. 25A312, the Supreme Court denies the government's application to stay the injunction protecting Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from removal while her challenge proceeds: treating the Fed's for-cause protection as displaceable 'would in effect transform the Federal Reserve's for-cause protection into at-will employment — an interpretive leap out of step with the statute Congress enacted and our Nation's tradition of central banking protected from political interference.' Chief Justice Roberts writes, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh and Jackson; Justices Thomas, Alito (joined by Gorsuch) and Barrett dissent — the day the Court overrules Humphrey's Executor for the FTC.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-overrules-humphreys-executor-trump-v-slaughter/ 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z

By 6-3 in Trump v. Slaughter, No. 25-332, the Supreme Court holds the FTC's for-cause removal provision 'contrary to the separation of powers' and overrules the 91-year-old Humphrey's Executor v. United States: 'the FTC unquestionably exercises executive power, and must therefore be controlled by the' President. Chief Justice Roberts writes; Justice Gorsuch concurs separately; Justice Sotomayor dissents, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, warning that 'Dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies.' The opinion expressly reserves the Federal Reserve's 'distinct historical tradition.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-ses-candidate-development-approval/ 2026-06-25T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-25T00:00:00.000Z

A final rule published 25 June 2026 at 91 FR 38235 and effective 27 July rewrites 5 CFR part 412 subpart C. An agency that runs a Senior Executive Service candidate development programme without OPM's prior approval 'may not submit graduates of the program for QRB review'. OPM may issue policy templates agencies 'must use', may run a governmentwide programme itself, and requires agencies to hit a minimum placement rate whose figure the rule does not state.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/quantum-eos-14412-14413/ 2026-06-25T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-25T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Orders 14412 and 14413 of 22 June 2026 pair a defensive and an offensive quantum agenda: EO 14412, 'Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks,' directs migration of federal information systems to NIST-approved post-quantum cryptography standards against collect-now-decrypt-later adversary activity, while EO 14413, 'Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation,' orders a National Quantum Strategy update within 180 days and establishes the QC-ADDS effort with the stated intent to deliver a discovery-scale quantum computer to a Department of Energy facility.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/alan-greenspan-dies/ 2026-06-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-22T00:00:00.000Z

The Federal Reserve announces 'with deep sadness' the death of Alan Greenspan, who served as the 13th Chairman of the Board of Governors from 1987 to 2006; the Board's statement of 22 June 2026 credits his 18-year tenure with 'a sustained era of price stability' and extends condolences to his wife, Andrea Mitchell.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/islamabad-memorandum-ends-us-iran-war/ 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran — a 14-point framework — is signed remotely on 17 June 2026, President Trump at the Palace of Versailles and President Pezeshkian in Tehran, with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signing as broker: 'immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,' a 60-day final-deal window, US naval-blockade removal within 30 days (announced by CENTCOM on 18 June), toll-free Hormuz transit for 60 days 'only' with demining in 30, a plan of 'at least' USD 300 billion for reconstruction, immediate Treasury oil-export waivers with a sanctions-termination schedule deferred to the final deal, and a reaffirmed Iranian commitment not to 'procure or develop' nuclear weapons with on-site uranium downblending under IAEA supervision.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/fomc-june-meeting-first-post-powell-chair/ 2026-06-15T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-15T00:00:00.000Z

The Federal Open Market Committee meets 16-17 June 2026, the first meeting under Chair Kevin M. Warsh, sworn in on 22 May 2026 for a four-year term ending 21 May 2030 after Senate confirmation on 13 May 2026 by a 54-45 vote — the narrowest Fed Chair confirmation in the modern era. The Committee meets against a policy backdrop of the US-Iran war underway since 28 February 2026 — with the Strait of Hormuz crisis driving what the IEA calls the largest supply disruption in the history of the oil market — Section 232 metals tariffs at 50 percent on primary metals under Proclamation 11021 of 2 April 2026, USTR Section 301 investigations of 16 trading partners proceeding under 19 U.S.C. § 2411, and the unresolved FY2027 appropriations cycle 109 days from the 1 October 2026 fiscal-year start.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/fy2027-appropriations-status-109-days/ 2026-06-13T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-13T00:00:00.000Z

On 13 June 2026 — 109 days before the 1 October 2026 start of fiscal year 2027 under 31 U.S.C. § 1102 — neither chamber had adopted an FY2027 budget resolution and no FY2027 bill had passed both chambers; the House had passed two of the twelve regular bills on the floor (Military Construction-VA on 15 May, 400-15; Agriculture on 4 June, 213-210) and reported two more from full committee (Labor-HHS-Education, 9 June, 34-28; Homeland Security, 11 June, 34-27) on 302(b) allocations approved 32-28 on 22 April, while the Senate Appropriations Committee had held no FY2027 markups and operates without enforceable allocations under § 302 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 2 U.S.C. § 633.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/doge-service-sunset-approaches/ 2026-06-12T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-12T00:00:00.000Z

Twenty-two days before the 4 July 2026 termination of the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization under § 3(b) of Executive Order 14158 of 20 January 2025, no successor presidential instrument, OPM extension regulation under 5 U.S.C. § 3161(b)(2) or congressional bill establishing a permanent statutory entity has been issued or introduced; the renamed United States DOGE Service (USDS, renamed from the United States Digital Service under § 3(a) of EO 14158) is not named in the § 3(b) sunset clause, leaving its post-sunset status to the administration.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/fisa-section-702-expires-after-house-rejects-extension/ 2026-06-12T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-12T00:00:00.000Z

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1881a, expires at midnight on 12 June 2026 — the first lapse of the program since its 2008 enactment by the FISA Amendments Act — after the U.S. House of Representatives on 11 June 2026 voted 198-218 to reject a three-week fast-track extension (intended to run through 2 July 2026), falling short of the two-thirds majority required under suspension of the rules. The expiration follows congressional impasse over the administration's plan to install Bill Pulte, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting Director of National Intelligence in succession to Tulsi Gabbard (who resigned in May 2026 effective 30 June 2026 citing her husband's cancer diagnosis), and the separate pendency of the nomination of Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York since April 2025 and former Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (2017-2020), as the permanent Director.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/cit-cape-phase-3-refund-tool-status-conference/ 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z

At a 9 June 2026 show-cause hearing before Senior Judge Richard K. Eaton in the consolidated IEEPA-refund proceedings (lead case Euro-Notions Florida, Inc. v. United States), CBP Executive Assistant Commissioner for Trade Susan Thomas testifies that Phase 1 refund claims cover roughly $90 billion of the $166 billion in IEEPA duties collected and that Phase 3 of the CAPE refund tool — for finally liquidated entries — will be operational by the end of July 2026; the government's 2 June appeal contests reliquidation of finally liquidated entries of non-litigant importers.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/federal-circuit-stays-cit-section-122-ruling/ 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

On 11 June 2026 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit grants the federal government's motion to stay pending appeal of the U.S. Court of International Trade's 7 May 2026 judgment in the consolidated appeals from Oregon v. United States and Burlap and Barrel, Inc. v. United States (Nos. 2026-1804, 2026-1805), which had held that Proclamation 11012 imposing a 10 percent global ad valorem tariff under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2132) exceeded presidential authority; the order, extending an administrative stay first entered 12 May 2026, finds the government showed a sufficient likelihood of success on appeal under Nken v. Holder and allows CBP to continue collection of the section 122 duties from the three enjoined plaintiffs during the appellate proceedings.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-301-forced-labour-investigation-status/ 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z

Three months after the 12 March 2026 launch of the parallel USTR Section 301 investigation into forced-labour practices across approximately 60 economies, the investigation has passed its public-comment and hearing milestones, sits ten days after the 2 June 2026 announcement of operative tariff remedy tiers stratified by severity of forced-labour findings, and runs nine months ahead of the 12 March 2027 statutory determination deadline at 19 U.S.C. § 2414(a)(2). The action proceeds in parallel with the structural-excess-capacity § 301 investigation covering 16 economies and 21 sectors and operates alongside the Tariff Act of 1930 § 307 ban on imports made with forced labour at 19 U.S.C. § 1307 and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-78).

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-301-investigations-three-month-mark/ 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z

Three months after the 11 March 2026 launch, the USTR Section 301 investigations into structural excess capacity across 16 trading partners and 21 manufacturing sectors are six weeks past the 5-8 May 2026 public hearings, six weeks ahead of the 24 July 2026 target action date set in the initiation notice, and nine months from the 11 March 2027 statutory determination deadline at 19 U.S.C. § 2414(a)(2).

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/senate-banking-committee-hearing-ai-american-dream/ 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z

On 11 June 2026 the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs holds a full-committee hearing titled 'AI and the American Dream: Promoting Innovation, Affordability, and American Dominance' under Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), with testimony from the Information Technology Industry Council, the Hudson Institute, the American Enterprise Institute and AI Now; NVIDIA Corporation president and CEO Jensen Huang declined Senator Warren's separate invitation to appear before the Committee on AI export controls to the People's Republic of China and the financing of large-scale AI infrastructure.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/customs-enforcement-eo-importer-of-record-and-penalty-framework/ 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z

Law-firm client alerts published on and around 10 June 2026 detail substantive implementation of Executive Order 14411 of 3 June 2026, 'Strengthening Customs Enforcement' (91 FR 35125, FR Doc. 2026-11595): sharply restricted eligibility for foreign entities to serve as importers of record (IORs); a minimum civil penalty floor of 50 percent of the statutory maximum for customs violations; and enhanced U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizure and disposal authorities for noncompliant merchandise. Implementation deliverables run on agency timelines of 45, 90 and 180 days from the date of the order.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/customs-enforcement-eo-week-one-implementation/ 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z

Seven days after Executive Order 14411 of 3 June 2026 escalating customs enforcement against tariff evasion, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issues CSMS # 68855869 with entry-filing guidance for the § 232 origin certifications taking effect 8 June 2026; civil enforcement architecture runs through 19 U.S.C. § 1592 with reverse-FCA exposure under 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1)(G), with EAPA § 1517 reaching evasion of AD/CVD orders that operate in parallel on covered imports.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/schedule-policy-career-week-one-separations-litigation/ 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z

Seven days after Executive Order 14410 of 3 June 2026 reclassified approximately 8,000 federal positions into Schedule Policy/Career, agencies complete the ordered personnel-action processing — SF-50s effective 3 June, transfers to be completed within seven days under Office of Personnel Management guidance of 8 June — while the pending challenges to the framework advance: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. Trump (D. Md.), amended in March 2026 to add AFGE and AFSCME as plaintiffs, and National Treasury Employees Union v. Trump (D.D.C.), where the court has accepted NTEU's proposal to amend within 14 days of any reclassification order.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-232-metals-week-one-downstream-effects/ 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z

Two days after the 12:01 a.m. EDT 8 June 2026 effective moment of the Section 232 metals modifications under the 1 June 2026 amending proclamation, four orders of downstream effects register: producer- and downstream-user-association responses paired with EU, Canadian and Mexican retaliation; CBP enforcement and CIT litigation; PPI and CPI pass-through and FOMC repricing; and the November 2026 midterm and § 122 Federal Circuit appeal arc.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/house-appropriations-fy2027-labor-hhs-ed-homeland-security-markup/ 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z

On 9 June 2026 the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations holds a full-committee markup of the Fiscal Year 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, reporting the measure favourably 34-28 with a $189.3 billion total discretionary allocation, three percent below the FY2026 enacted level, with funding emphasis on biomedical research and rural health and a stated objective to return education-program funding to state administration; the companion FY2027 Homeland Security bill, marked up in subcommittee the same week, is scheduled for full-committee action on 11 June. Both follow subcommittee markups of 5 June 2026.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/olc-disparate-impact-title-vii-opinion/ 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z

A memorandum opinion of 9 June 2026 for the Chair of the EEOC answers whether Title VII's disparate-impact provisions are constitutional as the Commission interprets them: 'They are not.' The Office of Legal Counsel does not disturb the 1991 statute. It reinterprets it by constitutional avoidance, so that liability reaches only practices reflecting 'a significant likelihood of intentional discrimination', background checks and aptitude tests become 'presumptively job-related', and the EEOC's validation-study and affirmative-action regulations are unlawful.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-232-metals-modifications-effective/ 2026-06-08T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-08T00:00:00.000Z

The 1 June 2026 § 232 metals proclamation enters force at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 8 June 2026. CBP collects under modified HTSUS Chapter 99 subchapter III subheadings (Annex I-A primary metals, I-B derivatives, I-C industrial equipment): 50 percent standard duty on primary metals, 25 percent on derivatives, 15 percent (rate-equivalent) for specified industrial-equipment categories under a four-tier country-of-origin structure; 85 percent US-melted-or-poured content threshold replaces prior 95 percent bar; no in-transit exception; framework runs through 31 December 2027.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/nspm-11-ai-in-the-national-security-enterprise/ 2026-06-05T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-05T00:00:00.000Z

On 5 June 2026 President Trump signs National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-11, 'Artificial Intelligence in the National Security Enterprise,' rescinding and replacing Biden-era National Security Memorandum 25 of 24 October 2024 and directing the Department of War, the Intelligence Community and other national-security-enterprise agencies on a four-pillar policy framework (Adoption, Adaptation, Assurance, Accountability) and a series of 90- and 120-day deliverables including an update to DOD Directive 3000.09 on Autonomy in Weapon Systems, a Committee on National Security Systems AI-governance policy, an AI test range, an AI National Security Strategic Reserve, an AI for National Security Curriculum, and a classified annex. The Assurance pillar at section 2(c) carries an express prohibition on any commercial entity or adversary possessing the capability to disable or modify an AI system without federal-government knowledge and approval.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/customs-enforcement-eo-tariff-evasion/ 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z

Executive order directs DHS, CBP, HSI and DOJ to escalate enforcement against tariff evasion, transshipment to disguise origin, and counterfeit imports. Operative statutory tools: 19 USC § 1592 customs fraud penalties; 19 USC § 1517 (EAPA) AD/CVD evasion proceeding; 18 USC § 542 and § 545 criminal entry-by-false-statements and smuggling; 31 USC § 3729(a)(1)(G) reverse false claims; 18 USC § 2320 counterfeit trafficking.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-reclassifies-8000-federal-positions/ 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z

Order 'Implementing Schedule Policy/Career in the Excepted Service' moves ~8,000 senior federal positions to at-will status under EO 14171.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/dni-succession-pulte-acting-clayton-nominated/ 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z

On 2 June 2026 President Trump announces William J. Pulte, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting Director of National Intelligence in succession to Tulsi Gabbard, whose resignation as Director of National Intelligence (announced in May 2026 citing her husband's cancer diagnosis) takes effect 30 June 2026; the President separately nominates Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York since April 2025 and former Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (May 2017-December 2020), as permanent Director of National Intelligence, with Senate Select Committee on Intelligence consideration and Senate confirmation under 50 U.S.C. § 3023(b) pending. Pulte is to retain his FHFA directorship concurrently with the acting-DNI role.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-promoting-advanced-ai-innovation-and-security/ 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order of 2 June 2026 directs CISA, the Department of War, the Treasury Department, OMB and OPM on 30- and 60-day cyber-defence and frontier-model deliverables, establishes a voluntary framework for developer-elective 30-day pre-release government access to designated frontier models, expressly disclaims any mandatory licensing, preclearance or permitting requirement, and directs the Attorney General to prioritize criminal enforcement against AI-enabled unauthorized computer access.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-232-metals-tariff-framework-updated/ 2026-06-01T00:00:00.000Z 2026-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

1 June 2026 proclamation modifies the § 232 framework for aluminum, steel, copper and derivatives: 50 percent standard duty on primary metals and 25 percent on derivative articles, with a 15 percent tier for specified industrial-equipment categories; US-melted-or-poured content threshold lowered from 95 percent to 85 percent; effective 12:01 a.m. EDT 8 June 2026; framework runs through 31 December 2027 with reversion to Proclamation 11021 rates thereafter.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-sides-with-trump-immigration-judges-speech/ 2026-05-26T00:00:00.000Z 2026-05-26T00:00:00.000Z

In Margolin v. National Association of Immigration Judges, No. 25-767, the Supreme Court summarily reverses the Fourth Circuit per curiam: the Civil Service Reform Act channels federal-employee personnel claims to the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the court of appeals decided the case on a theory the parties had not presented — 'Federal courts are not roving commissions.' The Court does not reach the First Amendment merits; Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Barrett, concurs separately on the merits; NAIJ's cross-petition (No. 25-1009) is denied.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/powell-chair-term-expires/ 2026-05-15T00:00:00.000Z 2026-05-15T00:00:00.000Z

The Senate confirms Kevin M. Warsh as the 17th Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on 13 May 2026 by a 54-45 vote — the narrowest Senate confirmation of a Fed Chair in the modern era and the most partisan vote on a Fed Chair nomination on record — and on 15 May 2026 the Federal Reserve Board names outgoing Chair Jerome H. Powell as chair pro tempore until Warsh is sworn in on 22 May 2026 for a four-year term ending 21 May 2030. Powell continues as a member of the Board of Governors through 31 January 2028 under the separate fourteen-year Governor term to which he was confirmed in 2014, an unusual choice for a former Fed Chair.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/russia-ukraine-three-day-ceasefire/ 2026-05-09T00:00:00.000Z 2026-05-09T00:00:00.000Z

Agreed, US-brokered Russia-Ukraine ceasefire over 9-11 May 2026 with a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange, announced by President Trump on 8 May; Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and President Zelenskyy confirm. The agreed pause follows the collapse of the week's dueling unilateral declarations — Russia's 8-9 May Victory Day truce and Ukraine's open-ended ceasefire from 6 May — and builds on the 28 December 2025 Mar-a-Lago 20-point framework.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/iran-ceasefire-islamabad-talks-naval-blockade/ 2026-05-08T00:00:00.000Z 2026-05-08T00:00:00.000Z

President Trump announces a two-week ceasefire on the evening of 7 April 2026 — less than two hours before his own 8:00 p.m. deadline — brokered by Pakistan on condition that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz; the Islamabad Talks of 11-12 April collapse over the nuclear program, Hormuz status and sanctions sequencing; a naval blockade of Iranian ports takes effect 13 April; and by 8 May the enforcement record runs through the seizure of the Iranian container ship Touska and a presidential letter declaring hostilities 'terminated.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/cit-strikes-down-section-122-tariffs/ 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

A three-judge CIT panel, 2-1, holds the § 122 import surcharge unlawful — the proclamation's recital of the goods trade deficit does not satisfy the § 2132(a) triggers — but grants a permanent injunction limited to the State of Washington, Burlap and Barrel, Inc. and Basic Fun, Inc., dismisses 23 state plaintiffs for lack of standing, and declines nationwide relief under Trump v. CASA.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/dhs-shutdown-ends-76-days/ 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z

President signs DHS appropriations bill ending the 14 February-30 April 2026 single-agency funding lapse — at 76 days, the longest single-agency funding lapse on record and the longest federal funding lapse by duration in US history. Two-track framework: immediate DHS reopening with ICE and Border Patrol funded through a forthcoming reconciliation vehicle.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-232-comprehensive-overhaul-proclamation-11021/ 2026-04-02T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 11021 of 2 April 2026 (91 FR 18201) amends the Section 232 aluminum (Proc 9704), steel (Proc 9705) and copper (Proc 10962) regimes into a unified framework effective 6 April 2026: 50 percent on covered primary metals applied to the full customs value regardless of metal content, 25 percent on select copper and derivative articles, a 200 percent rate on Russia, a UK carve-out, a 10 percent U.S.-content rate and a 95 percent U.S.-origin certification threshold; § 232 becomes the principal remaining statutory tariff vehicle after the Supreme Court's 20 February 2026 IEEPA ruling.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14399-citizenship-verification-federal-elections/ 2026-03-31T00:00:00.000Z 2026-03-31T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14399 of 31 March 2026 directs the Department of Homeland Security, to the extent feasible, to compile a State Citizenship List for every state from naturalisation, Social Security, SAVE and other federal records; directs the Attorney General to prioritise the investigation and, as appropriate, the prosecution of state and local election officials who issue federal ballots to ineligible voters; and orders the Postmaster General to open a rulemaking whose provisions must include, at minimum, one barring the Postal Service from transmitting ballots for individuals not enrolled with it on a state-specific list. Section 5 directs agencies to withhold federal funds from noncompliant states where authorised by law.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/dhs-shutdown-longest-in-us-history/ 2026-03-29T00:00:00.000Z 2026-03-29T00:00:00.000Z

On 29 March 2026 the DHS-only funding lapse reaches day 44, surpassing by one day the 43-day October-November 2025 full shutdown to become the longest federal funding lapse in US history by duration, and the longest single-agency lapse on record.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/strait-of-hormuz-closure-gulf-states-enter-war/ 2026-03-27T00:00:00.000Z 2026-03-27T00:00:00.000Z

By 27 March 2026 the IRGC bars vessels serving US, Israeli and allied ports after confirming closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early March; the UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2817 (13-0-2) condemning Iran's 'egregious attacks' on seven Arab states; Mojtaba Khamenei is named third Supreme Leader; Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait move from targets to belligerents; Israel invades southern Lebanon on 16 March; and the IEA calls the disruption the largest in the history of the global oil market.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/cbp-launches-cape-refund-portal/ 2026-03-12T00:00:00.000Z 2026-03-12T00:00:00.000Z

CBP's first status declaration to the CIT describes the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries module under development within ACE; importer-of-record filers will submit CAPE Declarations under § 1514 protest procedures.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-301-investigations-launched-16-partners/ 2026-03-11T00:00:00.000Z 2026-03-11T00:00:00.000Z

Investigations target structural excess capacity across 21 manufacturing sectors in China, the EU, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and 11 other economies.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/cit-orders-ieepa-tariff-refunds/ 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z

Senior Judge Richard K. Eaton of the CIT directs CBP to liquidate unliquidated entries and reliquidate not-finally-liquidated entries without the IEEPA duties — for all importers, not only litigants — implementing the 20 February 2026 SCOTUS ruling. Refunds proceed under § 1514, § 1520 and § 1505(c).

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/us-israel-strikes-iran-khamenei-killed/ 2026-03-03T00:00:00.000Z 2026-03-03T00:00:00.000Z

Joint US-Israeli air campaigns — Operation Epic Fury (US) and Operation Roaring Lion (Israel) — open before dawn on 28 February 2026 with strikes that kill Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, roughly 36 hours after US-Iran nuclear talks ended without a deal; Iran retaliates against Israel and US bases across the Gulf, the IRGC warns shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Hezbollah resumes attacks on Israel, and the President's 2 March war-powers message to Congress invokes only his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief — omitting the customary reference to the War Powers Resolution.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-122-replacement-tariff-imposed/ 2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 11012 of 20 February 2026 imposes a 10% additional ad valorem surcharge under § 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 from 12:01 a.m. EST on 24 February 2026, signed the same day as the order ending the IEEPA tariffs. § 2132(a) caps the surcharge at 15% and 150 days unless extended by Act of Congress.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-ending-certain-tariff-actions/ 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z

Same-day response to *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump*: Executive Order 14389 terminates the additional ad valorem duties imposed under nine IEEPA tariff orders; CBP halts collection at 12:00 a.m. EST on 24 February 2026. Underlying § 1701 national emergencies are not terminated.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-strikes-down-ieepa-tariffs/ 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

In *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump* (No. 24-1287), reported at 607 U.S. 229 and consolidated with *Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc.* (No. 25-250), the Court holds 6-3 that IEEPA § 1702(a)(1)(B)'s authority to 'regulate ... importation' does not authorise the President to impose tariffs. The decision invalidates the IEEPA tariff arc — EOs 14193, 14194, 14195, 14256, 14257, 14266, 14289, and successor amendments.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/epa-rescinds-endangerment-finding/ 2026-02-18T00:00:00.000Z 2026-02-18T00:00:00.000Z

A final rule published 18 February 2026 at 91 FR 7686 rescinds the 2009 findings of endangerment and contribution and repeals every greenhouse gas standard for new motor vehicles, effective 20 April. EPA finalises three bases: the best reading of section 202(a)(1), the major questions doctrine, and the futility of the standards.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/second-2026-shutdown-begins/ 2026-02-14T00:00:00.000Z 2026-02-14T00:00:00.000Z

DHS short-term continuing resolution lapses at 11:59 p.m. EST on 13 February 2026 after the Senate fails to invoke cloture on a successor extension; lapse limited to DHS, with the other eleven FY2026 regular bills enacted.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-schedule-policy-career-final-rule/ 2026-02-06T00:00:00.000Z 2026-02-06T00:00:00.000Z

Office of Personnel Management publishes the final rule "Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service" (RIN 3206-AO80; FR Doc. 2026-02375) in the Federal Register on 6 February 2026 (made available for public inspection 5 February 2026), codifying the Schedule Policy/Career framework in 5 CFR Part 213 and Part 302 and rescinding the April 2024 Biden-era rule "Upholding Civil Service Protections and Merit System Principles" pursuant to section 3 of Executive Order 14171 of 20 January 2025; the final rule completes the regulatory rescission and replacement directed by EO 14171.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/four-day-partial-shutdown-ends/ 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z

Partial funding lapse from 11:59 p.m. EST on 30 January 2026 to 3 February ends with House concurrence in the Senate package: a short-term DHS CR through 13 February plus five full-year FY2026 appropriations bills.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-on-cuba-secondary-tariffs/ 2026-01-29T00:00:00.000Z 2026-01-29T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14380 declares a new IEEPA national emergency and authorises tariffs on imports from third countries — principally Mexico, Venezuela and Russia — that supply oil to the Cuban Government. Effective 12:01 a.m. EST 30 January 2026.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/three-fy2026-appropriations-bills-signed/ 2026-01-23T00:00:00.000Z 2026-01-23T00:00:00.000Z

Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water Development, and Interior-Environment enacted as a second-stage FY2026 minibus, bringing enacted regular appropriations to six of twelve before the 30 January CR cliff.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/who-withdrawal-effective-one-year-notice/ 2026-01-22T00:00:00.000Z 2026-01-22T00:00:00.000Z

22 January 2026 marks the operative effective date of the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization under the one-year-notice condition imposed by the U.S. reservation in Pub. L. 80-643, 62 Stat. 441 (1948); the Secretary of State's January 2025 notice to the UN Secretary-General as depository terminates U.S. membership, voting rights at the World Health Assembly and seats on WHO technical bodies, while U.S. obligations under the International Health Regulations (2005) and bilateral health-security agreements continue independent of WHO membership.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/expanded-travel-ban-takes-effect/ 2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

Restrictions from the 16 December 2025 proclamation enter force at 12:01 a.m. EST on 1 January 2026 for nationals of 39 countries plus Palestinian Authority document holders, expanding Proclamation 10949 of 4 June 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/lumber-furniture-tariffs-delayed-one-year/ 2025-12-31T00:00:00.000Z 2025-12-31T00:00:00.000Z

Year-end proclamation defers the scheduled 1 January 2026 escalations on kitchen cabinets/vanities (25% → 50%) and upholstered wooden products (25% → 30%) to 1 January 2027; the underlying 10% softwood timber/lumber rate and the existing 25% cabinet/upholstered rates continue unchanged.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/trump-zelensky-mar-a-lago-meeting/ 2025-12-28T00:00:00.000Z 2025-12-28T00:00:00.000Z

Florida meeting advances a 20-point Ukraine framework Zelenskyy described as roughly 90% agreed; US offers a 15-year security guarantee; territory remains the unresolved question.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/travel-ban-expanded-39-countries/ 2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation imposes full or partial entry suspensions on nationals of 39 countries plus Palestinian Authority document holders, effective 1 January 2026; expands Proclamation 10949 of 4 June 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/antifa-ost-foreign-terrorist-designations/ 2025-11-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-11-20T00:00:00.000Z

On 10 November 2025 the Secretary of State designated Antifa Ost and three other groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Executive Order 13224. Published 20 November at 90 FR 52552 and 52554, effective on publication. Unlike the domestic designation of September, these engage 18 U.S.C. 2339B — and they reach named foreign organizations, one German and one Italian, not a domestic movement.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/wotus-nprm-defines-continuous-surface-connection/ 2025-11-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-11-20T00:00:00.000Z

A proposed rule published 20 November 2025 at 90 FR 52498 would write 'continuous surface connection' and 'relatively permanent' into the Code of Federal Regulations for the first time, two and a half years after the Supreme Court used both phrases without defining either. The proposed text reads 'abutting (i.e., touching)' — the majority's reading, not the four justices who said adjacent wetlands include those separated by a dike or berm. The agencies also propose to delete the interstate waters category, and their economic analysis is qualitative only.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/longest-shutdown-in-us-history-ends/ 2025-11-12T00:00:00.000Z 2025-11-12T00:00:00.000Z

President signs continuing resolution ending the 43-day shutdown (1 October-12 November 2025) — the longest funding lapse on record. Senate invokes cloture 60-40 on 9 November with eight Democratic-caucus senators joining; final passage 60-40 on 10 November; House concurs 222-209 on 12 November. ACA premium tax credits extension deferred to a standalone Senate vote; SNAP/WIC funding restored.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-hears-ieepa-tariff-arguments/ 2025-11-05T00:00:00.000Z 2025-11-05T00:00:00.000Z

Oral argument before the Supreme Court in *Trump v. V.O.S. Selections* (No. 25-250) and *Learning Resources v. Trump* (No. 24-1287). Solicitor General John Sauer argued for the government; Neal Katyal for V.O.S. Selections; Pratik Shah for Learning Resources. Question presented: whether IEEPA's grant at 50 U.S.C. § 1702(a)(1)(B) to 'regulate ... importation' authorises tariffs.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/off-year-elections-democrats-sweep-va-nj/ 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z

Abigail Spanberger (D) wins Virginia governor by ~15 points over Winsome Earle-Sears (R); Mikie Sherrill (D) defeats Jack Ciattarelli (R) by ~13 points in New Jersey; Zohran Mamdani (D) wins NYC mayor; PA Supreme Court Democrats retained; CA Prop 50 redistricting passes; held during day 35 of the federal shutdown.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/no-kings-protests-second-wave/ 2025-10-18T00:00:00.000Z 2025-10-18T00:00:00.000Z

Second nationwide wave organised by Indivisible, 50501, MoveOn, ACLU and other coalition partners; organisers' release estimates approximately seven million participants across ~2,500 events in all 50 states; held on day 18 of the federal government shutdown.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/government-shutdown-begins/ 2025-10-01T00:00:00.000Z 2025-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

Appropriations lapse at 12:01 a.m. EDT on 1 October 2025 after Senate cloture on the House-passed continuing resolution fails to clear 60 votes; OMB estimates ~750,000 federal employees furloughed and ~1.4 million in excepted roles work without pay pending statutory back pay under Pub. L. 116-1. Democratic caucus conditions cloture on extension of enhanced ACA premium tax credits expiring 31 December 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/lumber-and-furniture-tariffs-proclamation/ 2025-09-29T00:00:00.000Z 2025-09-29T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 10976 imposes 10% on softwood timber and lumber; 25% on upholstered wooden products (rising to 30% on 1 January 2026); 25% on kitchen cabinets and vanities (rising to 50% on 1 January 2026), effective at 12:01 a.m. EDT on 14 October 2025. Section 232 investigation initiated 10 March 2025; Commerce reported 1 July 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/countering-domestic-terrorism-memorandum/ 2025-09-25T00:00:00.000Z 2025-09-25T00:00:00.000Z

A presidential memorandum of 25 September 2025 at 90 FR 47225 builds the machinery behind the antifa designation: Joint Terrorism Task Forces to investigate funders, officers and employees of organizations; Treasury to guide banks on Suspicious Activity Reports; the IRS to refer tax-exempt entities and their officers to the Justice Department. Section 3 then creates a process by which the Attorney General may recommend future designations — three days after the first one was made.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/antifa-designated-domestic-terrorist-organization/ 2025-09-22T00:00:00.000Z 2025-09-22T00:00:00.000Z

A presidential order signed 22 September 2025 and published at 90 FR 46317 designates Antifa a 'domestic terrorist organization' and directs agencies to use 'all applicable authorities' against it and those who fund it. No federal statute provides for designating a domestic organization. The material-support offence that turns on a designation, 18 U.S.C. 2339B, reaches only foreign organizations designated by the Secretary of State.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/charlie-kirk-shot-killed-at-utah-valley-university/ 2025-09-10T00:00:00.000Z 2025-09-10T00:00:00.000Z

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk fatally shot at approximately 12:20 p.m. MDT during the 'American Comeback Tour' event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah; single shot from a rooftop; FBI joined Utah DPS in the investigation under FBI Director Kash Patel.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/scotus-grants-cert-in-vos-selections/ 2025-09-09T00:00:00.000Z 2025-09-09T00:00:00.000Z

SCOTUS grants cert in *Trump v. V.O.S. Selections* (No. 25-250) — cert from the Federal Circuit's 7-4 en banc decision of 29 August 2025 — and in *Learning Resources v. Trump* (No. 24-1287) on cert before judgment under Sup. Ct. R. 11; consolidates; sets oral argument for 5 November 2025; expedited briefing under Rule 25.3. IEEPA tariff collections continue under the Federal Circuit's stay of mandate to 14 October 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/reciprocal-tariff-scope-modified-september/ 2025-09-05T00:00:00.000Z 2025-09-05T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14346 modifies subdivision (v)(iii) of U.S. note 2 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS (adding bullion, certain critical minerals and pharmaceuticals to Annex II; removing certain aluminum, resin and silicone categories), establishes the Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners (PTAAP) Annex, and takes effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on 8 September 2025; issued one week after the Federal Circuit en banc 7-4 held the IEEPA tariffs unlawful.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14345-implements-us-japan-trade-agreement/ 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14345 implements the 22 July 2025 US-Japan Joint Statement framework: 15% reciprocal rate replaces the prior 25% country-specific rate; Section 232 auto/parts tariff reduced from 25% to 15% for Japanese imports; Japan announces ~$550 billion investment commitment. USTR Jamieson Greer and Minister Ryosei Akazawa negotiated; lineage 14257 → 14266 → 14316 → 14326 → 14345.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/federal-circuit-affirms-ieepa-tariffs-unlawful/ 2025-08-29T00:00:00.000Z 2025-08-29T00:00:00.000Z

En banc per curiam 7-4 holds IEEPA does not authorise the tariffs; vacates universal injunction under Trump v. CASA; stays mandate to 14 October.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/specialized-national-guard-public-order-units-eo/ 2025-08-25T00:00:00.000Z 2025-08-25T00:00:00.000Z

Executive order of 25 August 2025 directs the Secretary of Defense and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to establish trained and equipped Guard units for public-order tasks; operates on existing § 502(f) Title 32 and § 12406 Title 10 authorities; Insurrection Act § 252 / § 253 would be required to lift Posse Comitatus for Title 10 civilian law-enforcement use. Follows the 7 June California federalisation and 11 August DC § 740 direction.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/trump-putin-alaska-summit/ 2025-08-15T00:00:00.000Z 2025-08-15T00:00:00.000Z

Bilateral summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage — first US visit by a sitting Russian president since Putin's September 2015 UN General Assembly trip. Three-track agenda: Ukraine ceasefire, strategic arms control ahead of New START expiry on 5 February 2026, bilateral economic ties. Brief joint press appearance, no Q&A; no joint statement and no announced agreements.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/dc-police-federalized-national-guard-deployed/ 2025-08-11T00:00:00.000Z 2025-08-11T00:00:00.000Z

Executive order directs the Metropolitan Police Department under § 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act for federal purposes (30-day limit; extension requires joint resolution of Congress); Mayor Bowser opposes and DC files suit; ~800 DC Guard plus out-of-state Guard contingents deployed to support federal immigration enforcement.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/country-specific-reciprocal-tariffs-effective/ 2025-08-07T00:00:00.000Z 2025-08-07T00:00:00.000Z

At 12:01 a.m. EDT on 7 August 2025, EO 14326 Annex I country-specific reciprocal rates take effect: EU/Japan/Korea 15%, UK 10% (Economic Prosperity Deal), India 25%, Switzerland 39%, Canada 35%, Brazil 50% (separate EO 14323). China handled separately at cumulative ~145%. V.O.S. Selections en banc opinion pending after 31 July oral argument.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14326-modifies-reciprocal-tariff-rates/ 2025-07-31T00:00:00.000Z 2025-07-31T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14326 modifies EO 14257 (as amended by EO 14266 and EO 14316) to set Annex I country-specific reciprocal tariff rates ranging from 10% to 50% for ~70 trading partners; effective 12:01 a.m. EDT 7 August 2025. EU/Japan/Korea 15%; UK 10% under Economic Prosperity Deal; India 25%; Brazil 50% under separate EO 14323; Switzerland 39%. China handled separately.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-232-copper-proclamation-10962/ 2025-07-30T00:00:00.000Z 2025-07-30T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 10962 of 30 July 2025 (90 FR 37727) imposes a 50 percent Section 232 ad valorem duty on the copper content of semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative articles effective 1 August 2025; refined copper (HTSUS 7403) is expressly excluded from immediate duties, with phased refined-copper duties of 15 percent from 1 January 2027 and 30 percent from 1 January 2028 contingent on a Commerce Department update due 30 June 2026.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14316-extends-reciprocal-tariff-pause/ 2025-07-07T00:00:00.000Z 2025-07-07T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14316 amends EO 14266's 90-day pause of country-specific reciprocal tariff rates, pushing the operative date from 12:01 a.m. EDT 9 July 2025 to 12:01 a.m. EDT 1 August 2025; underlying NEA declaration and IEEPA authority remain in force. China carve-out continues; V.O.S. Selections IEEPA appeal pending at the Federal Circuit.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/one-big-beautiful-bill-act-signed/ 2025-07-04T00:00:00.000Z 2025-07-04T00:00:00.000Z

President Trump signed Pub. L. 119-21 at the White House on 4 July 2025 after Senate adopted 51-50 on 1 July (VP Vance tiebreaker) and House adopted 218-214 on 3 July; CBO score is an estimated USD 3-4 trillion deficit increase over FY 2025-2034; Act makes TCJA individual-rate cuts permanent, repeals IRA EV credits, modifies SALT cap, raises debt ceiling by USD 5 trillion, and restructures Medicaid.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/trump-v-casa-restricts-universal-injunctions/ 2025-06-27T00:00:00.000Z 2025-06-27T00:00:00.000Z

On 27 June 2025 the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA, Inc. that universal injunctions likely exceed the equitable authority Congress gave federal courts under the Judiciary Act of 1789, granting the government's emergency stay applications in part against three preliminary injunctions issued against Executive Order 14160 on birthright citizenship and staying implementation of EO 14160 section 2 for 30 days, producing a 27 July 2025 effective date. Justice Barrett wrote for a 6-3 majority; Justice Sotomayor dissented joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, and Justice Jackson filed a separate dissent. The Court left open whether universal injunctions are ever permissible and did not reach the merits of the underlying executive order.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/iran-israel-ceasefire-announced/ 2025-06-24T00:00:00.000Z 2025-06-24T00:00:00.000Z

President Trump announced on Truth Social ~6:00 p.m. EDT 23 June that Iran and Israel had agreed to a 'Complete and Total CEASEFIRE' ending the '12 DAY WAR'; Iran was to halt at midnight EDT 24 June, Israel twelve hours later; Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani mediated. Iranian launch ~7 a.m. local 24 June prompted Trump's South Lawn gaggle remark and an Israeli radar-site strike before re-stabilisation.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/iran-strikes-al-udeid-air-base/ 2025-06-23T00:00:00.000Z 2025-06-23T00:00:00.000Z

Operation Annunciation of Victory: the IRGC Aerospace Force fires a salvo of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar; Patriot air-defence batteries intercept the inbound rounds; Qatar closed its airspace beforehand; no US casualties.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/us-strikes-iranian-nuclear-facilities/ 2025-06-22T00:00:00.000Z 2025-06-22T00:00:00.000Z

Operation Midnight Hammer: seven B-2 Spirit bombers drop 14 GBU-57 MOPs on Fordow; a U.S. Navy submarine fires more than two dozen Tomahawks on Natanz and Isfahan; ~125 aircraft over a 25-minute window. Trump announced from the White House at ~10:00 p.m. EDT 21 June; strikes hit at ~2:10 a.m. local time 22 June.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/california-national-guard-federalized/ 2025-06-19T00:00:00.000Z 2025-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

Presidential memorandum 'Department of Defense Security for the Protection of Department of Homeland Security Functions' federalises ~2,000 CA National Guard members under 10 U.S.C. § 12406(2)-(3); ~700 active-duty Marines from Camp Pendleton deploy in support.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/army-250-parade-and-no-kings-protests/ 2025-06-14T00:00:00.000Z 2025-06-14T00:00:00.000Z

Army's 250th anniversary military parade in Washington DC — Army-estimated cost $25-45 million — coincides with No Kings nationwide protests organised by Indivisible and 50501 across approximately 2,100 events, with organiser-estimated turnout of 4-5 million; one person shot at the Salt Lake City rally.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/federal-circuit-stays-cit-ieepa-ruling/ 2025-05-29T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

On 29 May 2025 the Federal Circuit issued an administrative stay of the CIT's 28 May 2025 permanent injunction against the IEEPA tariffs in *V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump*, No. 2025-1812 (consolidated with *State of Oregon v. Trump*), pending decision on a stay-pending-appeal motion under FRAP 8 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 62; CBP collections resumed.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/cit-strikes-down-ieepa-tariffs/ 2025-05-28T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

Three-judge CIT panel (Katzmann, Reif, Restani) rules in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. United States and State of Oregon v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security that IEEPA does not authorise the worldwide, retaliatory or trafficking tariffs.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/wha78-adopts-pandemic-agreement/ 2025-05-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-05-20T00:00:00.000Z

On 20 May 2025 the 78th World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement in plenary by consensus through Resolution WHA78.1, following a recorded vote in Committee A on 19 May 2025 of 124 in favour, 0 against, with 11 abstentions; the Agreement is the first international instrument adopted under Article 19 of the Constitution of the World Health Organization since the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003. The Agreement is not yet open for signature: Article 31 of the Agreement gates the opening of signature on adoption of the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex, which the Intergovernmental Working Group continues to negotiate. The United States, having transmitted its notice of withdrawal from WHO on or about 22 January 2025 under Executive Order 14155, did not participate as a member in the WHA78 deliberations or vote and is not a signatory or Party to the Agreement.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/mfn-drug-pricing-eo-14297/ 2025-05-12T00:00:00.000Z 2025-05-12T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14297 directs the Secretary of HHS to communicate, within 30 days, most-favored-nation prescription-drug price targets to manufacturers, relying on the CMS Innovation Center payment-model authority at 42 U.S.C. § 1315a; on insufficient progress HHS is to propose rulemaking. EO 14297 follows EO 14273 of 15 April 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/us-uk-trade-deal-announced/ 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z

Framework — not an FTA: 10% reciprocal baseline holds; § 232 auto rate to be cut to 10% inside a 100,000-vehicle quota; steel and aluminium tariff-rate quota to be negotiated; UK opens ethanol and beef quotas; auto track took effect 25 June 2025 by separate proclamation.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/duty-free-de-minimis-ends-for-chinese-imports/ 2025-05-02T00:00:00.000Z 2025-05-02T00:00:00.000Z

From 12:01 a.m. EDT on 2 May 2025, § 321(a)(2)(C) duty-free administrative treatment is unavailable for products of the PRC (including Hong Kong) under EO 14256 as amended by EO 14259 and EO 14266; postal-channel duty is 120% ad valorem or USD 100 per item (rising to USD 200 on 1 June).

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/religious-liberty-commission-established/ 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14291 establishes the Religious Liberty Commission as an advisory body to the White House Faith Office and Domestic Policy Council, administratively supported by the Department of Justice; Chair Dan Patrick (Texas Lieutenant Governor) and Vice Chair Ben Carson named the same day.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/auto-tariff-offset-proclamation-issued/ 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 10925 amends Proclamation 10908 to create a Section 232 import-adjustment offset: 3.75% of aggregate MSRP for US-assembled vehicles between 3 April 2025 and 30 April 2026, declining to 2.5% the following year. Companion EO 14289 sets anti-stacking precedence rules the same day.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14289-prevents-tariff-stacking/ 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-29T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14289 establishes precedence so that the Section 232 auto/parts tariff, the Canada/Mexico IEEPA fentanyl tariffs, and the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs do not all stack on the same article; § 301 China duties, EO 14257 reciprocal and MFN rates continue to apply cumulatively.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14287-targets-sanctuary-jurisdictions/ 2025-04-28T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-28T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14287 directs the Attorney General, 'in coordination with' the Secretary of Homeland Security, to publish within 30 days a list of designated sanctuary jurisdictions and to update it as needed; companion EO 14288 directs policing reforms signed the same day.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/trump-zelensky-meet-at-vatican/ 2025-04-26T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-26T00:00:00.000Z

Approximately 15-minute bilateral meeting in St. Peter's Basilica on 26 April 2025 — the first in-person presidential contact since the 28 February Oval Office meeting; afterwards Trump posted on Truth Social that Putin may need to be 'handled differently, through Banking or Secondary Sanctions.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/cbp-implements-end-of-chinese-de-minimis/ 2025-04-24T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-24T00:00:00.000Z

CBP guidance ahead of the 12:01 a.m. EDT 2 May 2025 end of duty-free de minimis treatment for Chinese- and Hong-Kong-origin merchandise directed by EO 14256 of 2 April 2025; the EO 14195 → EO 14200 (5 Feb 2025 pause) → EO 14256 lineage; postal-channel ad valorem and per-item rates apply.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14284-probationary-periods-rule-xi/ 2025-04-24T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-24T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14284 of 24 April 2025 creates Civil Service Rule XI, under which a federal probationer's service 'terminates before the end of the tour of duty on the last day of their probationary or trial period unless their agency certifies' that finalising the appointment advances the public interest. The employee bears the burden, the agency head decides in 'sole and exclusive discretion', and where an agency misses the deadline by administrative error only the agency head may ask for reinstatement. The order also declares an existing regulation inoperative before the rule rescinding it is written.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14281-deprioritises-disparate-impact-enforcement/ 2025-04-23T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14281 revokes presidential approval of DOJ's Title VI disparate-impact provisions, directs the Attorney General to seek repeal of every agency's Title VI disparate-impact rules, and directs all agencies to deprioritise disparate-impact enforcement; 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k), the FHA and *Griggs* remain in force.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/twelve-state-ags-sue-over-ieepa-tariffs/ 2025-04-23T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-23T00:00:00.000Z

Oregon AG Dan Rayfield leads twelve-state coalition filing *State of Oregon v. Trump*, No. 1:25-cv-00077 (Ct. Int'l Trade), challenging EOs 14193, 14194, 14195, 14257, 14259 and 14266 on the ground that 50 U.S.C. § 1702(a)(1)(B) does not authorise tariffs.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-11246-grace-period-ends/ 2025-04-21T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-21T00:00:00.000Z

The 90-day contractor safe-harbour under EO 14173 § 3(b)(i) expires on 21 April 2025; the False Claims Act certification requirement at § 3(b)(iv) has been preliminarily enjoined nationwide by *Chicago Women in Trades v. Trump* (N.D. Ill., 14 April 2025); OFCCP enforcement of EO 11246 ceased 24 January 2025 under Secretary's Order 03-2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/california-files-state-ieepa-tariff-lawsuit/ 2025-04-16T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-16T00:00:00.000Z

Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom file *State of California v. Trump*, No. 3:25-cv-03372 (N.D. Cal.), challenging the IEEPA tariff orders and asserting state sovereign, parens patriae and proprietary standing.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/drug-pricing-executive-order-april-15/ 2025-04-15T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-15T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14273 directs HHS to propose Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program guidance within 60 days, recommend Part D measures within 180 days, select a high-cost-drug payment model within one year, and streamline § 804 importation within 90 days; revives the framing of EO 13948 of 2020.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-232-inquiry-on-processed-critical-minerals/ 2025-04-15T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-15T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14272 directs the Secretary of Commerce to initiate a Section 232 investigation on processed critical minerals and derivative products on a compressed 90-day-draft / 15-day-comment / 180-day-final timeline; the EO extends the critical-minerals universe to include uranium beyond the USGS 2022 Final List.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/vos-selections-sues-to-block-ieepa-tariffs/ 2025-04-14T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-14T00:00:00.000Z

Five small businesses file *V.O.S. Selections v. Trump*, No. 1:25-cv-00066 (Ct. Int'l Trade), challenging EOs 14193, 14194, 14195 and 14257 on the ground that 50 U.S.C. § 1702(a)(1)(B) does not authorise tariffs; pleaded as ultra vires, nondelegation and APA counts.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/90-day-pause-on-reciprocal-tariffs-china-to-125/ 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14266 suspends the country-specific Annex I reciprocal rates for 90 days from 12:01 a.m. EDT on 10 April 2025, raises HTSUS 9903.01.63 (PRC) from 84% to 125%, and raises the China postal-channel low-value duty under EO 14256 from 90% to 120%.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/reciprocal-tariffs-imposed-eo-14257/ 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z

EO 14257 declares a national emergency over the US goods trade deficit and imposes a 10% baseline plus country-specific tariffs; companion EO 14256 ends China de minimis.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/eo-14248-integrity-of-american-elections/ 2025-03-25T00:00:00.000Z 2025-03-25T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14248 of 25 March 2025 directs the Election Assistance Commission to require documentary proof of citizenship on the national mail voter registration form within 30 days, to cut federal funds to states that do not comply with named provisions, and to condition funding on states adopting an Election Day ballot-receipt deadline. It also directs the Attorney General to enforce 2 U.S.C. 7 and 3 U.S.C. 1 against states counting late-arriving ballots, and directs Homeland Security, with the DOGE Administrator, to review every state's voter registration list.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/executive-order-directs-dismantling-of-education-department/ 2025-03-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-03-20T00:00:00.000Z

EO 14242 directs Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to 'facilitate the closure' of the Department of Education to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law; statutory abolition requires congressional action because the Reorganization Act of 1977 expired in 1984.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/steel-aluminum-tariffs-effective-canada-eu-retaliate/ 2025-03-12T00:00:00.000Z 2025-03-12T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamations 10895 (aluminum) and 10896 (steel) take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on 12 March 2025; Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announces 25% Canadian tariffs on CAD 29.8 billion of US goods effective 13 March; the European Commission announces countermeasures totalling approximately €26 billion.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/us-resumes-ukraine-aid-and-intelligence-sharing/ 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z

Joint statement issued at the close of 11 March 2025 US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah records Ukraine's acceptance of a 30-day ceasefire 'subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation,' the US lifting the pauses on military assistance and intelligence sharing, a humanitarian package, and an agreement to conclude a critical-minerals fund.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/us-pauses-intelligence-sharing-with-ukraine/ 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z

On 5 March 2025 CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed on Fox Business that President Trump had ordered a pause of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine; National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said the United States was 'pausing and reviewing all aspects' of the relationship.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/us-pauses-military-aid-to-ukraine/ 2025-03-03T00:00:00.000Z 2025-03-03T00:00:00.000Z

On the evening of 3 March 2025 a senior administration official confirmed to AP, Reuters and CNN that President Trump had ordered a pause of US military assistance to Ukraine, covering Presidential Drawdown Authority shipments and Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative obligations.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/trump-zelensky-oval-office-meeting-cut-short/ 2025-02-28T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-28T00:00:00.000Z

An Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended in a publicly broadcast exchange; the working lunch and joint press conference were cancelled and the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund framework was not signed.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/usaid-workforce-placed-on-administrative-leave/ 2025-02-21T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-21T00:00:00.000Z

USAID notice posted 4 February 2025 was to place all direct-hire personnel on administrative leave at 11:59 p.m. EST on 7 February; Judge Carl J. Nichols (D.D.C.) issued a TRO 7 February reinstating affected employees, then dissolved the TRO and denied a preliminary injunction on 21 February.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/independent-agencies-placed-under-presidential-review/ 2025-02-18T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-18T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14215 amends EO 12866 to extend OIRA pre-publication review, OMB-set performance standards, strategic-plan clearance and apportionment adjustments to the independent regulatory agencies defined at 44 U.S.C. § 3502(5); the FOMC's conduct of monetary policy is exempt.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/opm-offers-deferred-resignation-program/ 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z

OPM 'Fork in the Road' email to ~2 million federal civilian employees offers deferred resignation through 30 September 2025; ~75,000 (about 4 per cent) accept in the first round by the 12 February 2025 close, after a D. Mass. TRO is dissolved on standing and CSRA-channeling grounds.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/reciprocal-trade-and-tariffs-memorandum/ 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

Presidential memorandum directs the Secretary of Commerce and US Trade Representative, in consultation with Treasury and others, to investigate non-reciprocal trade arrangements and propose remedies; OMB Director reports fiscal impacts within 180 days. The memorandum itself imposes no duties.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/section-232-steel-aluminum-tariffs-restored/ 2025-02-10T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-10T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 10895 (aluminum) and Proclamation 10896 (steel) restore the full 25% steel duty, raise the aluminum duty from 10% to 25%, terminate the country exemptions and TRQs built up after 2018, expand derivative-article coverage, and take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on 12 March 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/bondi-confirmed-attorney-general/ 2025-02-04T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-04T00:00:00.000Z

Senate confirms Pam Bondi as Attorney General (RCV 33; PN11-2); Senator Fetterman the only Democratic yes; follows the 21 November 2024 withdrawal of Matt Gaetz.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/china-tariff-10-percent-takes-effect/ 2025-02-04T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-04T00:00:00.000Z

EO 14195's additional 10% duty enters force at 12:01 a.m. EST on 4 February 2025 via HTSUS subheading 9903.01.20; China's State Council Tariff Commission announces 10-15% retaliation effective 10 February and requests WTO consultations in DS633.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/canada-mexico-tariffs-paused-30-days/ 2025-02-03T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-03T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Orders 14197 and 14198 amend EOs 14193 and 14194 to defer the additional 25% IEEPA duties on Canada and Mexico until 4 March 2025; the national-emergency declarations remain in place. The 10% IEEPA duty on China under EO 14195 proceeds.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/usaid-merger-into-state-department-announced/ 2025-02-03T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-03T00:00:00.000Z

Secretary of State Marco Rubio notifies Congress that USAID 'may move, reorganize, and integrate certain missions, bureaus, and offices into the Department of State, and the remainder of the Agency may be abolished consistent with applicable law'; designation under FVRA implements EO 14169.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/tariffs-imposed-on-canada-mexico-china-under-ieepa/ 2025-02-01T00:00:00.000Z 2025-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

EOs 14193 (Canada), 14194 (Mexico) and 14195 (China) impose IEEPA duties — 25% Canada (10% Canadian energy), 25% Mexico, 10% China — effective 12:01 a.m. ET on 4 February 2025 and eliminate the $800 de minimis under 19 U.S.C. § 1321 for covered articles.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/omb-pauses-federal-financial-assistance/ 2025-01-31T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-31T00:00:00.000Z

Memorandum M-25-13 directed a pause of federal grants and loans (excluding Medicare, Social Security, SNAP and other direct individual assistance); a D.D.C. administrative stay halted implementation, and OMB rescinded the memo via M-25-14 before its 5:00 p.m. EST 28 January effective time.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/laken-riley-act-signed/ 2025-01-29T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-29T00:00:00.000Z

Pub. L. 119-1 amends INA § 236(c)(1) (8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)(1)) to add a new mandatory-detention class and creates a state-AG cause of action under § 4 of the act.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/affirmative-action-contracting-order-rescinded/ 2025-01-24T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-24T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14173 revokes EO 11246 (1965) and its amendment chain (EOs 11375 and 13672); § 3(b)(iv) ties False Claims Act materiality to compliance with federal anti-discrimination law and to a representation that the counterparty operates no unlawful DEI programs.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/hegseth-confirmed-defense-secretary/ 2025-01-24T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-24T00:00:00.000Z

Senate 51-50 confirms Pete Hegseth; Vice President Vance breaks the tie after Collins, Murkowski, and McConnell defect.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/executive-order-on-digital-financial-technology/ 2025-01-23T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-23T00:00:00.000Z

EO 14178 establishes the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, prohibits agency action to establish, issue or promote CBDCs in or outside US jurisdiction, and revokes EO 14067 and the Treasury Framework for International Engagement on Digital Assets.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/houthis-designated-foreign-terrorist-organization/ 2025-01-22T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-22T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14175 directs the Secretary of State to submit, within 30 days, a report recommending designation of Ansar Allah as an FTO under INA § 219, with formal designation action to follow within 15 days of that report.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/doge-established-by-executive-order/ 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14158 renames the US Digital Service as the US DOGE Service in the Executive Office of the President and establishes a temporary organisation set to terminate on 4 July 2026.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/executive-order-limits-birthright-citizenship/ 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14160 directs federal agencies not to issue, or to accept state-issued, citizenship documents for two categories of newborns whose mothers are unlawfully present or lawfully but temporarily present and whose fathers are neither US citizens nor lawful permanent residents.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/federal-dei-programs-ordered-terminated/ 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14151 directs termination of federal DEIA programmes; same-day Executive Order 14148 formally rescinds 78 Biden-era actions including EOs 13985 and 14035; a 21 January OPM memorandum sets a 5:00 p.m. EST 22 January deadline to begin agency implementation.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/national-emergency-declared-southern-border/ 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 10886 invokes §§ 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act, mobilises the Ready Reserve under 10 U.S.C. § 12302(a) and unlocks military-construction authority under § 2808(a); issued the same day as EOs 14159, 14165 and 14167 and Proclamation 10888.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/schedule-f-revived-as-schedule-policy-career/ 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14171 revokes Biden-era EO 14003, reinstates the 2020 Schedule F framework under the name 'Schedule Policy/Career,' and holds the April 2024 OPM rule inoperative pending rescission.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/trump-pardons-january-6-defendants/ 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Proclamation 10887 grants pardons to approximately 1,500 individuals charged or convicted in connection with the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack, commutes the sentences of fourteen others, and directs the Attorney General to pursue dismissal with prejudice of pending indictments.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/us-withdraws-from-paris-agreement/ 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14162 directs the US Ambassador to the UN to notify withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC, ceases US financial commitments under the UNFCCC, and revokes the US International Climate Finance Plan.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/us-withdraws-from-the-who/ 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z 2025-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Order 14155 directs the Secretary of State to notify the WHO and the UN Secretary-General of US withdrawal; the one-year-notice-and-dues conditions derive from the 1948 US Joint Resolution of accession, since the WHO Constitution itself contains no withdrawal clause.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/trump-wins-2024-presidential-election/ 2024-11-06T00:00:00.000Z 2024-11-06T00:00:00.000Z

Associated Press calls the race for Trump-Vance at 5:34 a.m. eastern time on 6 November; projected Electoral College result 312-226 and projected popular-vote plurality of about 49.8% to 48.3% on the AP tally as of 6 November; results subject to state canvass and certification through 11 December, the meeting of the electors 17 December, and Congressional certification 6 January 2025.

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/sackett-v-epa-adjoining-wetlands/ 2023-05-25T00:00:00.000Z 2023-05-25T00:00:00.000Z

Decided 25 May 2023, Sackett v. EPA holds that the Clean Water Act reaches only wetlands with a 'continuous surface connection' to a relatively permanent body of water, discarding the 'significant nexus' test that had governed since Rapanos in 2006. The judgment was unanimous; the test was not. Four justices concurred in the judgment only, leaving the new standard with exactly five votes, and Justice Kavanaugh wrote that it 'departs from the statutory text, from 45 years of consistent agency practice, and from this Court's precedents.'

https://ab-ovo.net/blog/project-2025-publishes-mandate-for-leadership/ 2023-04-21T00:00:00.000Z 2023-04-21T00:00:00.000Z

Heritage Foundation releases the 920-page Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise — the latest in a Heritage transition series Heritage has issued ahead of Republican presidencies since the Reagan transition in 1980. The book is the policy pillar of a four-pillar Project 2025 framework that also includes a vetted-personnel database, a Presidential Administration Academy training programme, and a 180-day post-inauguration playbook.