On Heels Of Health Law Decision, Justice Department Won’t To Defending Federal Law Against Female Genital Mutilation
The move is seen as part of an alarming trend by the Justice Department -- only about once a decade since World War II has the agency declined to support a law enacted by Congress. “Imagine a world where an administration of one party passes a law and then a different president effectively invalidates it by having the Justice Department refuse to defend it in court,” said Joshua Geltzer, the executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law School. “You want elected lawmakers to draft laws, not lawyers at the Justice Department.”
The New York Times:
Justice Dept. Declines To Defend Law Against Female Circumcision, Citing Flaws
The Justice Department told a lawmaker this week that it had stopped defending a federal prohibition on female genital mutilation because of flaws in the law, two weeks after it also began fighting the Affordable Care Act in court rather than defend it. The department “reluctantly determined” that it could not appeal a federal judge’s decision to throw out a female circumcision case because the statute outlawing the practice needed to be rewritten, the solicitor general, Noel J. Francisco, wrote in a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Benner, 4/12)
In other news from the Trump administration —
The Washington Post:
CDC Blames Ground Beef For Mystery E. Coli Outbreak That Sickened More Than 100 People In 6 States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that E. coli-contaminated ground beef was the suspected culprit in an outbreak that infected at least 109 people in six states. Investigators are a step closer to tracking down the source of contamination that has perplexed them since health officials in Kentucky and Georgia notified them on March 28. The CDC said 17 people have been hospitalized, though no deaths have been reported. (Horton, Brice-Saddler and Sun, 4/12)
Reuters:
FDA Pulls Up Walmart, Kroger, Others For Selling Tobacco To Minors
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday it has sent letters to Walmart Inc, Kroger Co and 10 other convenience store chains for selling tobacco products to minors. In the letters, dated April 5, the FDA asked the companies to submit a plan of action within 30 days, describing how they will address and mitigate illegal sales to minors. (4/13)
