Politics
Republican States Challenge Biden’s Offshore Oil and Gas Development Ban in Court

WASHINGTON (TC Tribune) – A group of Republican-led states filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging a ban announced by outgoing Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month on new offshore oil and gas development along most U.S. coastlines.
The lawsuit seeks a reversal of Biden’s ban with declaratory and injunctive relief, according to a court filing that argued Biden did not have the authority to impose such a ban and that the power to do so rests with the U.S. Congress.
Biden’s move announced on Jan. 6 was considered mostly symbolic, as it will not impact areas where oil and gas development is currently underway, and mainly covers zones where drillers have no important prospects, including in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The ban will affect 625 million acres (253 million hectares) of ocean and Biden said it was in line with his agenda to fight climate change. The Biden administration, which leaves office on Jan. 20 when Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes over, had no immediate comment.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana mentioned Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland as defendants, with the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia and Mississippi being the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs also include two trade groups – the American Petroleum Institute and the Gulf Energy Alliance.
Trump has said he will move quickly to revoke the ban but could find it difficult to do so.
The 70-year-old Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act allows presidents to remove areas from mineral leasing and drilling but does not grant them the legal authority to overturn prior bans, according to a 2019 court ruling – meaning a reversal would likely require an act of Congress.
Trump said he would take the matter to court if necessary.
Politics
Senate Nears Final Vote on Controversial Immigration Bill Named After Georgia Student

WASHINGTON (TC Tribune) — The Senate is heading toward a final vote on legislation that would give states the power to challenge federal immigration policies and require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, setting a new tone on immigration as Donald Trump enters the White House.
Newly in the majority, Senate Republicans have made the so-called Laken Riley Act — named after a Georgia student who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man — a top priority, potentially making it the first bill Trump signs as president.
On Friday, it cleared a key procedural hurdle 61-35, with 10 Democrats voting with Republicans to advance it to a final vote. The Senate is set to vote on final passage Monday after Trump’s inauguration, but the House will also need to take up changes made to the bill.
Democrats, who last year allowed similar legislation to languish, initially supported opening debate on the bill, signaling a new willingness to consider crackdowns on illegal immigration following their election losses. However, most voted against advancing the bill to a final vote after they were unable to make significant changes to the legislation.
“The American people are rightly concerned about the illegal immigration crisis in this country, and they sent a clear message in November that they want to see it addressed,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, who described the bill as “the first of many” on the topic.
In the early days of the new Congress, Republicans have dared Democrats to join them in efforts to restrict illegal immigration and deport migrants who are tied to crimes. In several cases, they have. Most Senate Democrats voted to advance the Laken Riley Act last week as they bartered for changes to the bill.
The votes have given Republicans some early wins as they enjoy a trifecta of power across the House, Senate and White House, though the bills have mostly retread on policy where federal authorities already have discretion to act.
Once Trump enters office and attempts to set up large-scale deportation operations, congressional Republicans will face intense pressure to pay for his priorities while also balancing their pledges to tame budget deficits and concerns about the economic, as well as humanitarian, impacts of mass deportations.
The Laken Riley Act does not have any new funding for immigration officials, but Democratic staff on the Senate Appropriations Committee estimate the bill would cost $83 billion over the next three years, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Democrats, meanwhile, are searching for a path forward on their approach to immigration. The party is divided between those who now prioritize restrictions on illegal immigration and those who argue the party should also champion help for migrants who are already here or who are seeking relief from violence or persecution in their home countries.
“We Democrats want to see our broken immigration system fixed,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who supported negotiations on the bill but voted against its advance Friday.
He pointed to Democrats working with Republicans on a larger bill last year that would have clamped down on the asylum process. That legislation was rejected by Republicans after Trump came out in opposition to it, but Schumer said he would still “stand ready” to work with the GOP on border security and immigration.
He criticized the Laken Riley Act because it would require immigration authorities to give priority to detaining migrants accused or convicted of crimes like shoplifting, but potentially force authorities to release others convicted of more serious crimes. Murphy said it would just “make the system more convoluted and more chaotic.”
The Senate will vote Monday on expanding the bill to also target migrants who assault a police officer or are accused of crimes that kill or seriously injure someone.
The legislation, as well as Riley’s name, became a rallying cry for Republicans last year as they spotlighted President Joe Biden’s handling of the border. Riley, a Georgia nursing student, was killed in February, and Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan man who entered the country illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case, was convicted of her murder.
Ultimately, immigration experts said the most lasting effects of the legislation could be the provision that gives legal standing to state attorneys general to sue the federal government for harm caused by federal immigration policies.
That gives states new power in setting immigration policy when they have already been trying to push back against presidential decisions under both the Trump and Biden administrations. Democrats unsuccessfully pushed to have that provision stripped from the bill, saying it could open the door to major changes in federal policy.
“We have a really overwhelmed and stretched immigration system as it is and additional litigation just adds chaos,” said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a lawyer and policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.
Politics
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s Tribal Land Ban Partially Lifted

(TC Tribune) = South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s banishment from all nine tribal lands in her home state has narrowed by one.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, which is the smallest in the state, announced Wednesday that it has lifted its nearly eight-month ban imposed in the wake of her repeated claims that her state’s tribal leaders benefit from Mexican drug cartels.
The tribe said in a statement that its view of the Republican governor’s comments has changed and that it welcomes “her nomination and eventual appointment as the Secretary for Homeland Security.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was banned from all nine tribal territories in her state after accusing her state’s tribal leaders of benefiting from Mexican drug cartels.
Noem’s U.S. Senate confirmation hearing for the post in the Cabinet of President-elect Donald Trump was Friday.
“Over the past several months, we have been made aware of many circumstances relating to the comments made by the Governor; only to find out that these issues are real and pose a grave threat to the stability of our Nations and the health and well-being of all our people,” the tribe said.
Anthony Reider, president of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, also recognized Noem’s past apologies on the matter in a letter addressed to her and obtained by the Sioux Falls paper, the Argus Leader.
“In several meetings before and after the resolution was passed, you not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe. You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the tribe and I appreciated,” Reider said.
The first tribe to ban her accused her last year of trying to “create a bogus border crisis” to appease Trump and secure the position of his running mate.
A tribal representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
It wasn’t clear on Friday whether any of the other eight tribes will also reverse course.
The state’s largest tribe, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was the first to ban her in February, with its president accusing her of using “Indian people and reservations … as a basis to create a bogus border crisis” and to appease Trump. Noem at the time was rumored to be under consideration as Trump’s vice presidential running mate.
Representatives of the Oglala Sioux Tribe also did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
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