Nov. 13 (UPI) – President Donald Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general bypassed the Senate, drawing a legal challenge and questions about its legitimacy.

Officials in Maryland contend Whitaker was unlawfully named by Trump to replace Jeff Sessions, who resigned last week on Trump's request.

The state seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent the federal government from responding to Maryland's healthcare lawsuit, which challenges a Justice Department decision against defending parts of the Affordable Care Act. Maryland also requests a declaration that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein be named acting attorney general – the succession plan called for under federal law – until the Senate can confirm a replacement.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera criticized Trump for making the appointment without input from the Senate as called for in federal law and the Constitution. The city currently has four lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Justice.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/11/13/Maryland-challenges-Trumps-appointment-of-Whitaker-as-acting-AG/6411542120661/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Schumer announced that he, along with Pelosi and other fellow Democrats who are ranking members on their respective committees, was sending a letter to the chief ethics officer of the Justice Department, asking him to issue guidelines regarding Whitaker’s potential recusal from matters pertaining to the Mueller investigation.

If Whitaker does not recuse himself, Schumer said he would attach a demand for Whitaker’s non-interference to “must pass” legislation such as the spending bill — then risking another government shutdown.

As Schumer said on “State of the Union,” some senators — who may or may not have standing to bring such a suit — are pursuing legal ….

https://truepundit.com/chuck-schumer-is-willing-to-shut-down-the-government-to-protect-the-mueller-investigation/

Edit: it’s a county level thing. Each county has a “board of elections”. https://www.countyoffice.org/elections/ Scroll all the way down to see list of responsibilities (including providing ballots). The person in charge of all this seems to vary from state to staye. In my state it is the county auditor. In Florida it is the Supervisor of Elections. This position is an elected office. Who are the members of the board?

In 37 states, the secretary of state is the chief elections officer with ultimate oversight over state elections and voter registration.

https://ballotpedia.org/Secretary_of_State_elections,_2018#Election-related_duties

The secretary of state is a state-level position in 47 of the 50 states. The position does not exist in Alaska, Hawaii and Utah. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the office is called the secretary of the commonwealth and differs only in name. The voters directly elect the secretary of state in 35 states. In the other 12, the secretary is appointed by either the governor or the state legislature. The duties of the position are generally administrative in nature, and no two states have identical responsibilities delegated to the secretary of state. Many are tasked with keeping state records, from registering businesses to recording the official acts of the governor. The officeholder also often serves as the chief election official in their state, administering state elections and maintaining official election results. The commissioning and regulation of notaries public, keeping of the official state seal and certification of official documents all typically fall under the purview of the secretary of state.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has missed a brief court session while recovering from a fall and broken ribs.

Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the 85-year-old justice would not join her colleagues Tuesday morning when the court took the bench. Arberg says Ginsburg “continues to improve and is working from home.”

The court previously said Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall last week.

The court did not hear arguments Tuesday but took the bench briefly for other routine business.

Ginsburg is the Supreme Court’s oldest justice. She fell in her office at the court last Wednesday, experienced discomfort overnight and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington on Thursday. She was released from the hospital on Friday…

https://apnews.com/2f5d8d8b68084c99b62d2d5d9c65dd56?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP_Politics

>>3884704

she will die on pneumonia

>>3884822

of pna