Welcome to the Federal Tap

February 20, 2021

We are glad you are back with us for another weekend! Below we have this week's top federal political news. As always, you can click below to see the full edition of the Federal Tap.

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U.S. Supreme Court to resume hearing oral arguments in February sitting

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to begin its February argument sitting on Feb. 22. The court is conducting oral arguments via teleconference and is providing live audio of the arguments. The court made the decision in accordance with public health guidance in response to COVID-19.
The court is scheduled to hear arguments in four cases for a total of three hours of oral argument this week:
- Feb. 22: Florida v. Georgia
- Feb. 23: Barr v. Dai (Consolidated with Barr v. Alcaraz-Enriquez)
- Feb. 24: Lange v. California
The court is scheduled to hear arguments in seven cases for a total of three hours of oral argument the following week:
- March 1: United States v. Arthrex Inc. (Consolidated with Smith & Nephew Inc. v. Arthrex Inc. and Arthrex Inc. v. Smith & Nephew Inc.)
- March 2: Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (Consolidated with Arizona Republican Party v. Democratic National Committee)
- March 3: Carr v. Saul (Consolidated with Davis v. Saul)

Congress is in session	SCOTUS is in session
Both the House and Senate are in session next week. Click here to see the full calendar for the second session of the 117th Congress.	The Supreme Court will hear three hours of oral arguments next week. To learn about the 2020-2021 term, click here.

Senate expected to vote on at least two Cabinet nominees

The U.S. Senate scheduled debate and a vote on Tom Vilsack's nomination for secretary of agriculture for Feb. 23. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held Vilsack's confirmation hearing on Feb. 2 and unanimously advanced the nomination to a full Senate vote.
The Senate will resume consideration of Linda Thomas-Greenfield's nomination for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Feb. 22. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced the nomination by a vote of 18-4 on Feb. 4.
The following committee votes are scheduled for next week:
- The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee scheduled a vote on whether to advance Isabel Guzman's nomination for administrator of the Small Business Administration to a full Senate vote for Feb. 24.
- The Budget Committee scheduled a vote on whether to advance Neera Tanden's nomination for director of the Office of Management and Budget for Feb. 24. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which also held a confirmation hearing for Tanden earlier this month, had not scheduled a vote yet as of Feb. 19.
Confirmation hearings for four nominees have also been scheduled for next week:
- On Feb. 22 and Feb. 23, the Judiciary Committee will hold hearings for Merrick Garland for attorney general.
- The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee scheduled a confirmation hearing for Xavier Becerra's nomination for secretary of health and human services for Feb. 23.
- The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee scheduled a confirmation hearing for Debra Haaland's nomination for secretary of the interior for Feb. 23.
- The Senate Finance Committee scheduled a confirmation hearing for Katherine Tai, Biden's nominee for U.S. trade representative, for Feb. 25.
So far, seven of Biden's Cabinet nominees have been confirmed, 11 nominees have had confirmation hearings, and five nominees have not yet had a confirmation hearing.

U.S. Senate votes to acquit former President Trump in impeachment trial

The U.S. Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump (R) on a single count of incitement of insurrection on Feb. 13. Fifty-seven senators voted to convict and 43 voted to acquit. Conviction in an impeachment trial requires a two-thirds majority of senators.
All 50 Senate Democrats (including two independents who caucus with Democrats) and seven Republicans voted to convict. Forty-three Republican senators voted to acquit.
The U.S. House voted to impeach Trump on the charge by a vote of 232-197 on Jan. 13. All 222 House Democrats and 10 Republicans voted to impeach Trump. One hundred and ninety-seven Republicans voted against his impeachment, and four did not vote. Although President Trump was impeached while he was still in office, the trial took place after he left office.
Trump is the third U.S. president to face articles of impeachment, after Andrew Johnson (D) and Bill Clinton (D), and the first to be impeached twice. Articles of impeachment were also drafted against Richard Nixon (R), who resigned before the House voted on whether to impeach. No U.S. president has been convicted in an impeachment trial.
Trump was first impeached on one count each of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The House voted 230-197 in favor of the abuse of power charge and 229-198 in favor of the obstruction charge on December 18, 2019. A 52-48 majority voted in favor of Trump’s acquittal on abuse of power, and a 53-47 majority voted in favor of his acquittal on obstruction of Congress. Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-Utah) vote to convict Trump on the abuse of power charge was the first time in U.S. history a senator had voted to convict a president from their own party during impeachment proceedings.

Where was the President last week?	Federal Judiciary
On Monday, Biden returned to Washington, D.C. from Camp David, Maryland. On Tuesday, Biden participated in a CNN Town Hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On Wednesday, Biden remained in Washington, D.C. On Thursday, Biden remained in Washington, D.C. On Friday, Biden toured and gave remarks at a Pfizer manufacturing site in Kalamazoo, Michigan.	62 federal judicial vacancies 0 pending nominations 26 future federal judicial vacancies

Biden issues executive order on faith-based and neighborhood partnerships

President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Feb. 14 relaunching the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The office was established by George W. Bush (R) and was aimed at partnering with faith-based and secular organizations to deliver services. President Donald Trump (R) did not appoint a director of the office during his tenure, creating instead the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives. Melissa Rogers, who served as executive director of the office under President Barack Obama, is reassuming that role under Biden.
Biden also issued an executive order on Feb. 17 rescinding Trump's executive order creating industry-recognized apprenticeships. Biden said the programs "have fewer quality standards than registered apprenticeship programs."
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Biden has issued 33 executive orders.
- Trump signed an average of 55 executive orders per year between 2017 and 2021.
- Barack Obama (D) signed an average of 35 orders per year from 2009 to 2017.
- George W. Bush averaged 36 orders per year between 2001 and 2009.
During their first month in office, from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20:
- Trump signed 12 orders.
- Obama signed 16 orders.
- George W. Bush signed 7 executive orders.

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