JetBlue PAC donation to election objector spurs boycott calls
Contribution marked end of pause after Jan. 6 Capitol attack April 9, 2021 3:24 PM By Shaun Courtney (Updates with National Association of Business Political Action Committees comment in second to last paragraph.)
JetBlue Airways Corp. is standing by its donation to a lawmaker who objected to the presidential vote certification in January despite calls on social media for a boycott.
The airline became the first company to end its pause on donations to lawmakers who objected to the Electoral College vote count. It made a $1,000 contribution from its corporate political action committee to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), a member of the House panel that oversees aviation.
Democratic lawmakers want to give more funding to transit
Republicans say policy changes could spur âother inequitiesâ March 8, 2021 6:00 AM By Lillianna Byington
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pledged in his first note to his staff to âbreak new groundâ by âmaking sure transportation is an engine for equity in this countryâ â a pledge heâs tirelessly repeated on prime-time television and on social media.
Translating those calls for âequityâ into law requires defining the word and its goals, neither of which are bipartisan.
To Buttigieg and advocates who support his messaging, equity is about Black and brown communities that have suffered from moves like building highways through their neighborhoods. Some Republicans describe similar views on racial equity, but believe Buttigieg focuses too much on urban centers with expensive transit programs. Others simply donât see transportation policy as an appropr
Agencies to weigh label in deciding grant winners, per notice
NYC, Seattle, Portland lawsuit challenging marker unresolved February 9, 2021 6:01 AM By Courtney Rozen
New York City, Seattle and Portland are among cities that may still be cut out of eligibility for federal grants under former President Donald Trumpâs vow to punish them for protest-related violence, even with a new president in the White House.
At least two federal grant announcements published since Biden took office include a reference to the previous administrationâs âanarchist jurisdictionsâ label. Those two instances amount to one more than during the Trump administration, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis. The Trump administration crafted the marker last year to punish cities that saw large-scale demonstrations against police brutality beginning in May.
Team to play central role in vetting judge picks
Attorneys to oversee return of Obama lobbyist ban January 11, 2021 11:50 AM By Courtney Rozen and Dean Scott (Adds information about Megan Ceronsky in final two paragraphs.)
President-elect Joe Biden named more than 20 lawyers to his White House counselâs office, where they will help the new president revise ethics standards and put his imprint on the federal bench.
The attorneys draw on expertise in civil rights, health, and environmental law, all topics that Biden has also said will be focal points in his administration. They offer a broad array of firm, in-house, and government experience, including in President Barack Obamaâs Justice Department and firms such as WilmerHale LLP, OâMelveny & Myers LLP, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.