OTHER TRUMP DEVELOPMENTS

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

President Donald Trump has put more judges on the circuit courts this far into his first two years than other administrations had, thanks to Senate Republicans. The Senate on Thursday confirmed two more of Trump’s nominees, bringing to 26 the number of new appellate judges that have been approved this session of Congress. A Trump-nominated judge now holds one out every seven seats on the circuit courts, according to the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump is asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to file a federal lawsuit against certain companies that supply and manufacture opioids. Speaking during a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump said he’s directing Sessions to file a separate lawsuit, rather than joining existing lawsuits filed by states affected by the spread of the often-lethal, highly-addictive drugs.

Newspapers from Maine to Hawaii, including The Vindicator, pushed back against Trump’s attacks on “fake news” with a coordinated series of editorials in defense of a free press on Thursday, the same day the U.S. Senate passed a resolution with no objections stating that “the press is not the enemy of the people.”

Source: Associated Press