Administration, Oversight, and the Courts

NAIL:   Nominations, Appropriations, Investigations, Legislation

Nominations 

• Extent of confirmation power
• Nominations: Senate data
• Cabinet nominations rejected or withdrawn
• Hearings:  Whitehouse and White; DeVos

Appropriations

• Limitation riders and the case of ACA

Investigation and Oversight

• GAO -
• CBO
• CRS
• Diminished institutional capacity

Legislation:  Executive Branch Organization and Laws on Reporting 

• Inspectors General  (POTUS WAS DISPLEASED!)
• Reporting requirements
• The old legislative veto and the Congressional Review Act.  Democrats do not like it now, but will like it more if they get unified control.
• Congress "organizes" the executive:
  --  The "organization" of DHS.
-- DNI and the intelligence community

26 USC 6103

Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.

Subpoenas and Contempt of Congress

• The definitive encyclopedia article!
• Inherent contempt
• Civil contempt 
• Criminal contempt

A check on the court:  jurisdiction-stripping, or court-stripping -- still in the news

Supreme Court Nominations

Clarence Thomas:






In hearings, senators try to get judicial nominees on the record.  NOTE WHAT ALITO SAYS (START AT 18:45) ABOUT STARE DECISIS.





Merrick Garland and "the Biden Rule" 

Gorsuch and the nuclear option 

Blue Slips and Senatorial Courtesy (Davidson, 369)

Suing the president... a Stag (Liz Wydra `98) explains it all: