Week in Review

IN THE NEWS 

• Two federal judges ordered the Trump Administration to continue issuing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the federal shutdown using congressionally appropriated contingency funds. In Massachusetts, the court required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to report by November 3 whether it would issue benefits funded by the department’s contingency reserve, rejecting USDA’s theory that it was legally barred from using those funds. In Rhode Island, the court outright ordered USDA to make November SNAP payments using the contingency funds. In response, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Patrick A. Penn confirmed that USDA would use its $4.65 billion contingency fund to provide partial November SNAP benefits. The Trump Administration declined to redirect billions from child nutrition programs to provide full SNAP benefits, citing statutory limits and risks to school meal funding.
• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it will reduce air traffic in 40 high-volume airports around the country by 10 percent due to insufficient staffing of air traffic controllers. Although Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that staffing has been better during this shutdown than in prior ones, he has also noted that flight delays stemming from shutdown-related staffing issues are up 49 percent from pre-shutdown levels. Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, argued that the shutdown exacerbates an existing shortage of 3,800 fully qualified controllers and supported Secretary Duffy’s decision to keep the FAA’s controller academy operating despite the shutdown.
• A federal judge approved the move by the U.S. Department of Justice to dismiss its criminal case against aerospace company Boeing over two crashes that killed 346 people. Judge Reed O’Connor said that, although he disagreed that the dismissal served the public interest, he lacked the authority to reject it. In a prior hearing, Judge O’Connor questioned the Justice Department’s decision to forgo an independent safety monitor in favor of a Boeing-hired compliance consultant. The Justice Department argued that Boeing has improved flight safety and that FAA oversight has increased. Under the agreement, Boeing will add $444.5 million to a victims’ fund, pay a new $243.6 million fine, and invest over $455 million to bolster compliance, safety, and quality programs.
• A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation cannot tie funding for state roads and bridges to state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., wrote that the Transportation Department and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy “blatantly overstepped” their authority and ordered the policy set aside. A coalition of 20 states led by California filed the lawsuit. California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the ruling, saying courts have “repeatedly and firmly” rejected the Trump Administration’s attempts to pressure states on immigration.
• A group of 22 states sued the U.S. Department of Education to block a new rule limiting eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The program forgives federal student loan balances for borrowers who work in government or nonprofit jobs and make ten years of qualifying payments. The new rule redefined “qualifying employer” to exclude organizations the Education Department deems to have engaged in “unlawful activities,” including “supporting terrorism and aiding and abetting illegal immigration.” The states argued that the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act and undermines Congress’s intent to reward public service through loan forgiveness.
• California voters approved Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily replaces the boundaries of existing congressional districts drawn by the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) with new districts created by the California State Assembly. Analysts predict that the new congressional district map could yield five additional seats for the Democratic Party in the elections for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026, 2028, and 2030. The CRC—composed of five Republicans, five Democrats, and four unaffiliated members—normally draws California’s congressional districts every 10 years following the census. Proposition 50 was supported by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who framed the initiative as a way to counteract President Donald J. Trump’s calls for redistricting in Texas.
• China’s Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced that, starting on November 10, it will suspend some of the retaliatory tariffs adopted against the United States, following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent meeting with President Trump. Although a general 10 percent tariff and a 13 percent tariff on soybeans will remain, China will suspend a 24 percent tariff imposed in April 2025 for one year. President Trump issued a reciprocal executive order which suspends some U.S. tariffs until November 10, and confirmed China’s willingness to reevaluate export controls on rare earth minerals and purchase U.S. agricultural products.
• A federal court of appeals ruled that Florida can enforce a law that limits land purchases by people who are domiciled in China and are not U.S. citizens or green card holders. The court ruled that the law does not show clear proof of racism and was instead motivated by “national, individual, land, and food security concerns.” The law allows some non-tourist visa holders and asylum seekers to buy one home, but it must be at least five miles from a military base. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis praised the ruling, while the American Civil Liberties Union called the ruling “disappointing.”

WHAT WE’RE READING THIS WEEK

• In a recent article in the Iowa Law Review, Shelley Welton and Levi Phillips, from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and Nikki Luke, from the University of Tennessee, evaluated the potential of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)—the United States’ largest publicly owned power company—to serve as a model for public utility ownership. They argued that the TVA’s “decidedly mixed” record on local accountability and adoption of solar power is the result of fixable institutional design choices rather than failures resulting from public ownership itself. Welton, Phillips, and Luke claimed that the TVA mixes organizational elements from federal agencies and corporate boardrooms, creating a “hodgepodge that is incoherent” at guiding climate resilient development. But with reforms, they concluded, the TVA could become a blueprint for public utility ownership in the green energy transition.
• In a Brookings Institution essay, Jay C. Shambaugh, a fellow in economics at Brookings, argued that tariffs are an ineffective way to raise federal revenue because they either depress economic growth or encourage workarounds. Shambaugh noted that, because U.S. tariff revenue now exceeds 1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which is more common in small economies, tariff rates are now high enough to push buyers and firms into less efficient, costlier sourcing. Shambaugh explained that broadly applied tariffs can cut trade by 10 percent and leave GDP 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent smaller over time, while burdening consumers and straining U.S. diplomacy. He concluded that the government should use less harmful taxes for steady revenue and save targeted tariffs for special strategic needs.
• In a recent report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined how the U.S. Department of Defense manages the intellectual property and data rights needed to support major weapon systems. GAO found that the Defense Department’s current guidance focuses only on the initial acquisition of these rights, not ongoing data-rights planning, leaving some programs without the technical information needed to maintain weapon systems. GAO also found that fragmented tools and varying review processes make it difficult for officials to verify the completeness of data received from contractors, increasing costs and dependence on single suppliers. GAO recommended that the Defense Department improve intellectual property planning and assess data-review tools, and that Congress clarify rules for manufacturing data.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

• In an essay in The Regulatory Review, Kevin T. Frazier, a fellow at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, argued that the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of a “republic form of governance” provides a check on corporate concentration power. Frazier explained that modern multinational corporations—such as large technology firms—can create dependence that limits citizens’ agency, resulting in recent congressional scrutiny and antitrust litigation. He traced how state corporate law, particularly in Delaware, enabled expansive corporate discretion. Frazier argued that Congress could constitutionally set baseline duties for corporations operating across state lines, ensuring multi-state firms meet the same core governance standards everywhere.