Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 162: Listen and Learn -- Federal and State Powers (Con Law)
A divided federal appeals court has ruled that President Trump illegally fired Democratic FTC member Rebecca Slaughter and has ordered that she be reinstated to her position....more
Both unionized and non-unionized employers are familiar with the National Labor Relations Board’s authority to pursue and adjudicate unfair labor practice charges. Following high-profile charges brought against SpaceX and...more
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said the structure of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is likely unconstitutional and enjoined the agency from conducting trials of unfair labor practice...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ August 2025 decision that addressed the constitutionality of dual for-cause removal protections for administrative law judges (ALJs) at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has...more
On Sunday, August 3, most of the 62 Democratic members of the 150-member Texas House of Representatives left the state, blocking a scheduled Monday vote on proposed congressional redistricting maps. Their absence left the...more
Capping off two months of legal drama, the Supreme Court has stayed the ruling of U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox, which ordered the immediate reinstatement of the three U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)...more
Recently, the Supreme Court in a case involving President Trump’s without cause firing of the Democratic Commissioners on the Consumer Products Safety Commission stayed an order that had been issued by the U.S. District Court...more
The fired U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Democrats are back in their seats and stirring the pot, prompting the Trump administration to make an emergency plea to the Supreme Court for relief. What started as...more
The NRC is undergoing a period of transition, including the unexpected departure of Commissioner Christopher Hanson. Commissioner Christopher Hanson Dismissed On June 14, 2025, Commissioner Christopher Hanson was relieved...more
In a move that could have ramifications for lawsuits filed by former FTC and NCUA board members, by a vote of 6-3 the Supreme Court has issued a stay that prohibits the Democratic members of the National Labor Relations Board...more
The Supreme Court late Thursday permitted the Trump administration to bar former Democrat NLRB Member Gwynn Wilcox from her former position on the Board while the larger battle plays out about whether the President has the...more
The Supreme Court last week granted the stay requested by the Government enjoining the enforcement of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s orders involving President Trump’s firing of members of the National...more
Chief Justice John Roberts just ensured that President Trump’s unprecedented termination of Democrat NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox will stand for now – and it appears the battle could be heading to a final conclusion in the...more
President Trump issued more than 70 Executive Orders in the first 30 days of his new administration – nearly twice the amount his closest competitor (President Biden) issued in his first 100 days. These Executive Orders have...more
On February 18, 2025, the Trump administration issued its most straightforward attack on the discretion of what it described as “so-called independent agencies.” Executive order 14215, titled “Ensuring Accountability for All...more
“Besides disrupting policy in Washington, the Trump administration is looking to disrupt fundamentally how Washington operates. Thus, even as Trump’s team loses some prominent policy fights, it still sees value in the impact...more
Cybersecurity and national security collided in significant ways in 2024, with governments and private-sector entities grappling with the legal, technical, and policy challenges of a rapidly evolving cyber landscape....more
In today’s complex global marketplace, businesses are increasingly confronted with the challenges of supply chain disruptions, rising costs, and fierce competition—all exacerbated by trade remedy tariffs. While many of these...more
President-elect Donald Trump has made several recent statements concerning his intention to exercise his authority as President to raise tariffs unilaterally on goods from China, from Mexico and Canada (Washinton Post,...more
Following years of development, on October 28, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a final rule establishing its outbound investment security program (Final Rule). The new regime prohibits certain outbound...more
On August 26, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit narrowed the scope of a nationwide injunction that had barred enforcement of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 federal contractor vaccine mandate. In...more
Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! Today we're talking about three different topics in Constitutional Law that are sometimes tested together: executive authority, federal preemption, and commandeering. These topics...more
When various news outlets reported last week that President Biden was considering using his executive authority to ban or limit the use of non-compete restrictions, all manner of speculation arose from employers across the...more
The United States Supreme Court ruled on June 24, 2021, in Collins v. Yellin that a restriction on the President’s power to remove the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency at will is unconstitutional as a violation...more
In its decision earlier this week in Collins v. Yellin (previously captioned Collins v. Mnuchin), the U.S. Supreme Court, relying on its decision in Seila Law, held that the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s structure is...more