Oh, right, he doesn’t read what he signs.  But trying to blame shut down of National Parks on anyone other than the guy in the mirror?  Does he think we’re that stupid?

EXECUTIVE ORDER

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REVIEW OF DESIGNATIONS UNDER THE ANTIQUITIES ACT

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in recognition of the importance of the Nation’s wealth of natural resources to American workers and the American economy, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Policy.  Designations of national monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906, recently recodified at sections 320301 to 320303 of title 54, United States Code (the “Antiquities Act” or “Act”), have a substantial impact on the management of Federal lands and the use and enjoyment of neighboring lands.  Such designations are a means of stewarding America’s natural resources, protecting America’s natural beauty, and preserving America’s historic places.  Monument designations that result from a lack of public outreach and proper coordination with State, tribal, and local officials and other relevant stakeholders may also create barriers to achieving energy independence, restrict public access to and use of Federal lands, burden State, tribal, and local governments, and otherwise curtail economic growth.  Designations should be made in accordance with the requirements and original objectives of the Act and appropriately balance the protection of landmarks, structures, and objects against the appropriate use of Federal lands and the effects on surrounding lands and communities.

Sec. 2.  Review of National Monument Designations.  (a)  The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall conduct a review of all Presidential designations or expansions of designations under the Antiquities Act made since January 1, 1996, where the designation covers more than 100,000 acres, where the designation after expansion covers more than 100,000 acres, or where the Secretary determines that the designation or expansion was made without adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders, to determine whether each designation or expansion conforms to the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.  In making those determinations, the Secretary shall consider:

(i)    the requirements and original objectives of the Act, including the Act’s requirement that reservations of land not exceed “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected”;

(ii)   whether designated lands are appropriately classified under the Act as “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, [or] other objects of historic or scientific interest”;

(iii)  the effects of a designation on the available uses of designated Federal lands, including consideration of the multiple-use policy of section 102(a)(7) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(7)), as well as the effects on the available uses of Federal lands beyond the monument boundaries;

(iv)   the effects of a designation on the use and enjoyment of non-Federal lands within or beyond monument boundaries;

(v)    concerns of State, tribal, and local governments affected by a designation, including the economic development and fiscal condition of affected States, tribes, and localities;

(vi)   the availability of Federal resources to properly manage designated areas; and

(vii)  such other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.

(b)  In conducting the review described in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall consult and coordinate with, as appropriate, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the heads of any other executive departments or agencies concerned with areas designated under the Act.

(c)  In conducting the review described in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall, as appropriate, consult and coordinate with the Governors of States affected by monument designations or other relevant officials of affected State, tribal, and local governments.

(d)  Within 45 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall provide an interim report to the President, through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, summarizing the findings of the review described in subsection (a) of this section with respect to Proclamation 9558 of December 28, 2016 (Establishment of the Bears Ears National Monument), and such other designations as the Secretary determines to be appropriate for inclusion in the interim report.  For those designations, the interim report shall include recommendations for such Presidential actions, legislative proposals, or other actions consistent with law as the Secretary may consider appropriate to carry out the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

(e)  Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall provide a final report to the President, through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, summarizing the findings of the review described in subsection (a) of this section.  The final report shall include recommendations for such Presidential actions, legislative proposals, or other actions consistent with law as the Secretary may consider appropriate to carry out the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

Sec. 3.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 26, 2017.

Alan tells me there are no photos of our cats on Legalectric!  How can that be?  Here’s Maggie (the tortise) and Thor (white with grey) the day we got them, just after their much needed bath.  That was November 1 or so, the neighbors were moving and had all these kittens… I’d met their mother when she came over to our 100-mile garage sale and spent the day hanging out with us:

I’d put food out for her on the deck, put out a basket for her to lounge in, and wanted to bring her in to be spayed, because she was “living” in their little storage shed, but I couldn’t take that on then.  Drat, because maybe four months later, there were kittens running around.  Then they had to move, and had all these kittens, then it was down to two, and I saw one on one of the city’s fb pages, recognized the houses in the background, went over with a cat carrier.  They stayed in Summer’s HUGE dog crate for 2 weeks as they and the dog adjusted:

Next thing you know, Little Sadie has two new friends:

And then phone had “catastrophic failure” and there went all the photos!  … sigh… yes, CATastrophic, off into the interwebs.  Disaster… cute photos gone. Oh well, plenty more around.

Hot of the press, the WHite House briefing with Spicey and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin:

 

Trump has lost yet another battle in federal court, this time it’s his “Sanctuary Cities” Executive Order, where planitiffs have now won a Preliminary Injunction (yes, ANOTHER!) in a constitutional challenge to that EO, and the court found that they’d likely prevail on the merits.  Here’s the Order:

ORDER GRANTING THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA’S AND CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO’S MOTIONS TO ENJOIN SECTION 9(a) OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 13768

Oh, I love it when this happens…

Check out this punitive argument from tRump & Co., baldly brandishing it as a weapon:

And if there was doubt about the scope of the Order, the President and Attorney General have erased it with their public comments. The President has called it “a weapon” to use against jurisdictions that disagree with his preferred policies of immigration enforcement, and his press secretary has reiterated that the President intends to ensure that “counties and other institutions that remain sanctuary cites don’t get federal government funding in compliance with the executive order.” The Attorney General has warned that jurisdictions that do not comply with Section 1373 would suffer “withholding grants, termination of grants, and disbarment or ineligibility for future grants,” and the “claw back” of any funds previously awarded.

Order, p. 3.  The Court was pretty straightforward about its view on that:

Federal funding that bears no meaningful relationship to immigration enforcement cannot be threatened merely because a jurisdiction chooses an immigration enforcement strategy of which the President disapproves.

Id.  And dig this:

While the Government urges that the Order “does not purport to give the Secretary or Attorney General the unilateral authority” to impose new conditions on federal grants, that is exactly what the Order purports to do.

Order, p. 14.

Much like the previous court decisions, the judge laid it out clearly in the TRO — the government’s position is not credible and has no basis in law.

Yes, yet another Temporary Restraining Order against a tRump Executive Order.  What a loser.  Love it when this happens, just love it.

May 15th at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time

Save the date — it’s the Oral Arguments in Hawaii’s 9th Circuit:

17-15589 State of Hawaii v. Donald Trump – Appeal by the United States government of the district court’s preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of provisions of Executive Order No. 13,780. [1:17-cv-00050-DKW-KSC]

May 15th at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time

You can listen at the federal court site HERE, and CNN has been granted pool status to broadcast and distribute to other outlets.

Keep in mind that the Temporary Restraining Order was issued based on threshold that the Plaintiff’s would likely prevail on the merits, and conversely, that Trump would likely not prevail on the merits.  Here’s the Hawaii federal court order being appealed:

Judge Derrik Watson_Hawaii Federal District Court_06112723217_TRO

Read it before you watch the hearing — note the high threshold for a Restraining Order — and note the discussion of likelihood of winning on the merits.  This is important!

Also FYI, there was a request for a 9th Circuit en banc hearing which was not approved by the court.

Thus far in court, tRump’s been a loser — both of his Muslim ban Executive Orders, the Executive Order regarding fiduciary duty of financial planners, an Inspector General investigation of his pulling advertisements and outreach for Obamacare enrollment…  Let’s keep this trend going.

Here’s my earlier post about this case: