Week in Review

A federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts allowed a lawsuit to continue after the federal government tried to dismiss the case against an executive order issued by President Donald J. Trump that would restrict the use of mail-in ballots for future elections. Judge Indira Talwani found that states would struggle to update the election procedures in time for the November elections due to the requirements that each state must take under the executive order.. Judge Talwani noted that some states have already begun to prepare for the upcoming election, and the executive order would add multiple steps to the election preparation in those states. Judge Talwani dismissed claims relating to any elections after November 2026, however, stating that there will be enough time for states to implement the executive order after November.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, charging 455 defendants across 45 states with allegedly submitting over $6.5 billion in false claims to Medicare and Medicaid. The alleged schemes included fraudulent billing, providing medically unnecessary services, and illegal distributing opioids. The Takedown involved what the Justice Department described as unprecedented international cooperation, resulting in the apprehension of fugitive defendants in Estonia, the Philippines, and Cyprus, as well as the seizure of over $182 million in cash and other assets. The Justice Department described the action as the largest Medicaid fraud enforcement operation in its history.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new initiative to accelerate the rate at which new drugs reach the consumer marketplace. Coordinated by multiple federal agencies, the program includes a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal that aims to minimize the need for holds after drug identification and safely expedite the leadup to human clinical trials. Described by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as an effort to combat the recent exodus of clinical research overseas, the initiative also involves an investment by the National Institutes of Health in “artificial intelligence, human cell-based models, real world data, and practical clinical trial tools” to support domestic clinical research.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its Chairman Michael Selig, challenging the Commission’s order approving Kalshi’s BTCPERP contract as a futures contract rather than a swap. The BTCPERP contract is a cash-settled Bitcoin derivative that tracks the real-time U.S. dollar price of Bitcoin with no fixed expiration date. The distinction between futures and swaps matters because swaps face stricter regulation, including more demanding reporting requirements and less favorable tax treatment. CME contended that the CFTC departed from its prior policy of regulating such contracts as swaps without acknowledging or explaining that reversal and asked the district court to strike down the order.

The FDA approved the first single dose generic treatment for influenza, for use by patients who are at least five years old. The manufacturer, Genetech, Inc., previously trademarked the medication under the name Xofluza. In the United States, 90% of prescriptions are filled using the generic medication, rather than the name brand. In its press release the FDA stated that approving the generic medication would lead to a growth in competition in the marketplace for flu medication, which could lower cost of the medication for patients.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents may place green card holders who face criminal charges on parole when the green card holders attempt to enter the United States. When green card holders are placed on parole, they lose access to certain legal rights afforded to them by the green card, such as the right to work. Immigrant advocates argued that border agents need clear evidence to place a green card holder on parole, while the government claimed that border agents only need a “good faith belief” that the green card holder has a qualifying offence. The dissenting justices stated this decision could lead to green card holders losing their status based on assumptions, with later court dates set, allowing the prosecution to gather evidence in the meantime.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I cabinet approved a new age-based eligibility model allowing Division I athletes a continuous five-year eligibility period for intercollegiate sports, beginning when they first enroll full time in college or at the start of the academic year following their 19th birthday, instead of the previous standard of four seasons within five years. The rule replaced the prior eligibility framework with an age-based model and eliminates redshirts, sport-specific eligibility rules, and eligibility extension waivers. Current athletes and students enrolling in fall 2026 may choose the most favorable eligibility rule, while the new model exclusively applies to students enrolling in fall 2027 or later. Athletes have reportedly filed multiple lawsuits seeking an additional year of eligibility under the prior standard.

In a recent Brookings Institution commentary, Peter Dreier, the E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics at Occidental College, and Mike Bonin, the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State Los Angeles, examined the integrity of California’s mail-in ballot system amid President Trump’s claims of election fraud. Dreier and Bonin argued that California’s lengthy counting process reflects the state’s rigorous signature verification, ballot curing, and postmark deadline requirements rather than mismanagement, and that President Trump’s claims of cheating following the June 2026 Los Angeles mayoral primary were unfounded. Dreier and Bonin contended that a greater threat to election integrity would come from a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision that could prevent states from counting ballots received after Election Day, potentially disenfranchising over 400,000 California voters. Dreier and Bonin recommended increasing funding for local election offices to speed up ballot processing rather than weakening California’s election safeguards.

In a recent report, the U.S. Governmental Accountability Office argued that better coordination between federal agencies is necessary to identify and serve rural American communities that currently lack access to adequate drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Due to statutory constraints on its regulatory power, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can only collect comprehensive data on water systems that are public, have at least 15 service connections, or “regularly serve at least 25 people.” Similarly, the U.S. Department of Agriculture only collects data necessary to manage its grants and loans. GAO contended that joint efforts such as Closing America’s Wastewater Gap, a pilot program led by both agencies aimed at outreach and data sharing, can bridge gaps and help identify and address infrastructure problems in communities that remain unserved.