Supreme Court to reconsider a 90-year-old precedent protecting independent agency officials

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it will decide on reversing a 90-year precedent that has protected independent agencies from direct control by the president.

The court's conservative majority has already upheld President Donald Trump's firing of Democratic appointees at the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board. And in a separate order on Monday, it upheld Trump's removal of a Democratic appointee at the Federal Trade Commission.

Those orders signal the court is likely to rule for the president and that he has the full authority to fire officials at independent agencies, even if Congress said they had fixed terms.

The only hint of doubt has focused on the Federal Reserve Board. In May, when the court upheld the firing of an NLRB official, it said its decision does not threaten the independence of the Federal Reserve.

The court described it as "a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States." Trump did not share that view. He threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during the summer because he had not lowered interest rates.

And he is now seeking to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a Biden appointee, based on the allegation she may have committed mortgage fraud when she took out two home loans in 2021.

Trump's lawyers sent an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court last week seeking to have Cook removed now.

Long before Trump's presidency, Chief Justice John G. Roberts had argued that the president has the constitutional power to control federal agencies and to hire or fire all officials who exercise significant executive authority.

But that view stands in conflict with what the court has said for more than a century.

—Los Angeles Times

Gov. Greg Abbott signs Texas transgender bathroom ban into law

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed into law a bill prohibiting transgender people from using public bathrooms and similar spaces that align with their gender identity.

“This is just common sense,” Abbott said in a 13-second video he posted on social media.

Similar to the new congressional map, the governor did not hold a signing ceremony with other lawmakers present or where members of the media could ask him questions.

The law goes into effect Dec. 4.

Senate Bill 8 — known as the bathroom ban — by Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, would prohibit government entities such as cities, counties, school districts and universities from adopting policies that would allow transgender people to use private facilities of the gender they identify as. The bill also extends to facilities in state agencies and state correctional facilities.

Any local municipality, state agency or public facility that violates the law will be fined $25,000 for their first violation and $125,000 for future violations. Individual Texans would not be fined under the law. SB 8 also does not create any new criminal penalties. The bill also does not affect private businesses or entities.

Abbott’s signing Monday realized a goal long sought by some Republicans and grassroots organizations. When the Legislature tried to pass a similar bill in 2017, it died in the Texas House after former speaker Joe Straus, a moderate Republican, refused to bring it to the floor for a vote.

—The Dallas Morning News

LA petition alleges ‘ethnic cleansing’ by federal immigration agents, demands UN probe

LOS ANGELES — Denouncing federal immigration raids as a form of “ethnic cleansing,” Rep. Maxine Waters and a group of U.S. citizens announced Monday that they were petitioning the United Nations to investigate the Trump administration sweeps for potential human rights violations.

Sitting beside famed civil rights activist Delores Huerta, Waters told reporters that the crackdown was untenable and would tear the country apart if left unchecked.

“When people are targeted because of how they look or the language they speak, the government is absolutely failing,” Waters said. “We cannot rely upon the administration to police itself.”

Filed partly on behalf of four U.S. citizens, including a pregnant woman who was shackled and detained during one raid, the petition accuses federal agents of waging a campaign of ‘’ethnic cleansing against Latino minorities in the United States,” and calls on the U.N. Human Rights Council to appoint independent investigators to scrutinize “kidnapping arrests, prolonged detentions without due process of law and the brutal excessive use of force.”

The petition, which was filed by civil rights attorney Luis Carrillo, states that “the actions of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Border Patrol, F.B.I. and others have caused countless human rights violations that can only be remedied by this Council.”

Petitioners argue that domestic efforts to stop “roundups” of immigrants have failed, because the Supreme Court lifted a federal judge’s ban on “roving patrols” and found that agents can stop individuals based on their appearance, the language they speak, where they are located or their vocation.

In addition to the four U.S. citizens, the petition states that it was also filed on behalf of “millions of Latino immigrants and U.S. citizens within the United States.”

The announcement comes a day before President Trump is slated to speak before the U.N. General Assembly. Federal immigration authorities dismissed the petition as a dangerous stunt that would inflame tensions.

—Los Angeles Times

France recognizes Palestine at UN event co-led with Saudi Arabia

PARIS— France recognized Palestine as an independent state and, along with Saudi Arabia at a United Nations conference led by the two countries, called on Israel to end the war in Gaza immediately.

“One solution exists to break the cycle of war and destruction: acknowledging each other,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday. “We must recognize that Palestinians and Israelis are living in twin solitude.”

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, reading out a message from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wasn’t in New York, echoed those comments.

The push by France and Saudi Arabia for more countries to recognize Palestinian statehood highlights the increasing concern among world powers about the devastation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the war between Israel and Hamas has raged for almost two years. There’s little sign it will end soon, with Israel signaling a new ground offensive on Gaza City could last several months and Hamas unwilling to surrender.

The diplomatic initiative also underscores Israel’s deepening isolation. Beyond the U.S., its main ally, it has few countries supporting its continuation of the war. The European Union, Israel’s biggest trading partner, is discussing suspending Israel’s preferential commerce benefits, although some key German politicians have expressed their disapproval.

Israeli stocks are the world’s worst performers in dollar terms over the past two weeks as investors factor in an even longer and more expensive conflict.

The UK, Canada and Australia formally recognized Palestine on Sunday as part of the French-Saudi event. They joined almost 150 nations that had already made the move. Of those that don’t view Palestine as a state, the majority are in Western Europe and include the U.S. and Japan.

—Bloomberg News

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