The Week of April 23rd, 2018

Care

1. Snuffing out secret science

The EPA pledges to get more transparent but with potentially disastrous consequences

On Tuesday, Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency head, signed a new rule restricting the type of research and studies that can be used by the EPA in formulating regulations. Specifically, the rule states that only studies with publicly available data and whose experiments can be reproduced may be used in developing policies. Mr Pruitt and his supporters, including Republicans in the House and Senate, have explained this as an effort to make the EPA’s decision making more transparent, and celebrate the rule as the end of “secret science” in the EPA.

Opponents beg to differ. Many scientists have pointed out that data from many studies include confidential health information about the subjects. This means that scientists, if they want their research to be used by the EPA, must choose between breaking the confidentiality agreement with their subjects, or have their research omitted from the EPA’s decision-making process. In other cases, with studies done on natural disasters such as oil spills, there is no way of reproducing the natural experiment. Less available research and data leaves the EPA with less of a basis to craft new regulations.

Tom Carper, a senator, was joined by six other Democratic lawmakers in a letter which called attention to existing laws and judicial decisions requiring the EPA to rely on the best available research in their decision-making, suggesting that this new rule would run afoul of those stipulations.

Sources predict that this new statute will be difficult for future administrations to overturn. Its timing is crucial, directly coinciding with a visit from Emmanuel Macron, France’s leader and a champion of the Paris Climate Change Accords. While Mr Macron’s visit is a good sign to those hoping for the Trump administration to build strong international alliances and come to terms with the global order, Mr Pruitt’s administration serves as a reminder that some things never change.

2. A legal tug-of-war

The latest ruling in DACA’s winding road

A federal appeals judge in Washington, DC challenged the Trump administration's hard-line immigration policies, with an order to re-open DACA’s application process. Created by former President Barack Obama in 2012 via executive order, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program allows so-called “Dreamers” (immigrants brought into the US illegally as children) to receive protections against deportation and become eligible for work permits. When first announced in 2012, the program was lambasted by Republicans as an example of executive overreach. During the 2016 election, then-candidate Donald Trump repeatedly condemned the program as dangerous and promised to scrap it with his first official act on "Day One". In September 2017, Jeff Sessions, the administration’s top legal officer, announced the program's repeal, tempered with a six-month delay to allow Congress to pass a replacement. Since then, the administration's decision has been subject to a flurry of lawsuits, as immigrants’ rights’ groups work to prevent what they see as cruel and inhumane deportations.

This week's decision was the latest, and most significant, step in this long legal drama. John Bates, the presiding judge and a George W Bush appointee, ordered the Trump administration to reopen the application process for DACA, arguing the decision to end the program was illegal because it was "virtually unexplained." However, Mr Bates did grant the Department of Homeland Security 90 days to articulate a more compelling rationale for dismantling the policy.

The move was immediately celebrated by 'Dreamers' and their allies, who hailed the decision as a relief against the looming threat of deportation. Meanwhile, conservatives have widely panned the decision: the National Review, a conservative magazine, decried it as another example of activist "judicial supremacy". In the short-term, this decision will undoubtedly serve as an obstacle to the Trump administration's efforts to roll back Obama-era protections; the more interesting question is whether it will turn into an insurmountable obstacle or merely a speed-bump in the administration's pursuit of a more rigid immigration policy.

3. El pueblo unido

Nicaragua’s strongman ruthlessly puts down protests

Protests erupted this week throughout Nicaragua as the people voiced their frustration with President Daniel Ortega’s increasingly dictatorial rule. Mr Ortega took power in a socialist revolution in 1979, and has enjoyed popular support stemming from his socially-conservative policies and generous welfare programs financed in part through aid from Venezuela, which subsidized Nicaragua as a fellow anti-American socialist country in its region. Taking advantage of this popularity, Mr Ortega has gradually abolished democracy in Nicaragua, banning opposition parties, stacking the supreme court, militarizing and threatening peaceful neighbors, and almost certainly rigged the nation’s most recent  election. As Venezuela’s socialist government is itself undergoing an economic meltdown, payments to Nicaragua have ceased. Without Mr Ortega being able to buy popular support, tensions about his anti-democratic steps and economic mismanagement over the past decade have quickly surfaced.

A reform to social security payments sparked the political powder keg, immediately causing thousands throughout the country to rise up against Mr Ortega. In true dictatorial fashion, Mr Ortega ordered his police to violently suppress the protestors alongside mobs of his supporters, while claiming the protests largely consisted of violent looters that needed to be put down. At least 63 protesters have been killed as a result, with hundreds more shot or seriously wounded, a massive list of casualties for a country that was considered peaceful and stable as little as a year ago. The US government and OAS has strongly condemned Mr Ortega and withdrawn diplomats, and the UN has called for further investigations and the Catholic Church attempts to arrange dialogues with the government. It is clear that Mr Ortega intends to rule Nicaragua as long as he is able and without regard for what measures he will have to take to achieve that. Hopefully the protesters will at least be spared further carnage over the coming weeks.

4. Laughing all the way to the bank

Wells Fargo is levied with its largest fine ever

On it surface, the $1 billion fine levied on banking giant Wells Fargo last week may seem small change for the third-largest US bank. But digging deeper reveals fascinating undercurrents. The bank, which previously had a sterling reputation for largely avoiding the 2008 financial crisis, has been plagued by scandal in recent years: in September 2016 investigators found that approximately two million fake accounts were opened without customer approval. Despite the recent fine, all 12 members of the board have been re-elected in its aftermath, and there remains faith that the board and CEO Timothy Sloan, appointed after the fake-account scandal, are  moving the firm in the right direction.

The recent fine marks the largest punishment doled out to a bank by the Trump administration and the largest fine ever levied against Wells Fargo. The fine also took further steps reducing the bank’s autonomy, as the decision allows the government bureau charged with overseeing the bank to replace senior executives and impose further restrictions in the future. While many on the left worried that the CFPB’s relevance would shrink under director Mick Mulvaney, critics still worry about the agency’s independence from the executive branch. In December, President Trump tweeted that he would “cut Regs but make penalties severe when caught cheating!” regarding Wells Fargo.

Analysts worry about when the bank, the third-largest in the United States, will return to business as usual. Although prominent investors such as Warren Buffet have stuck with the firm, its share price has nonetheless dropped 16% since its January high. In the face of depreciation, bank-hawk Elizabeth Warren, a senator still sees the bank’s reforms as “utterly inept.” It is too early to see whether Mr Sloan’s changes  will bear any fruit for investors, consumers, and the banking sector writ large.

5. Resigned to losing power

Armenia’s prime minister steps down six days after winning the election

Serzh Sargsyan has stepped down as Armenia’s prime minister, only six days after winning the position for a second time. Mr Sargysan had previously been Armenia’s president since 2008. His party, the Republican Party of Armenia, has dominated politics in the country since 1999. After serving two five-year terms as president,—the constitutional limit—he was elected to the seat of Prime Minister this month. Mr Sargsyan’s move coincided with the country’s recent conversion to a parliamentary republic, which included transferring constitutional executive powers to the position of prime minister, effectively making the position one that supersedes that of the president.

In response, protesters took to the streets of Yerevan, the country’s capital and largest city, shouting “reject Serzh” to signal their discontent toward what they see as a nake power grab. The main opposition leader, former journalist and leader of the Armenian National Congress, a political party, Nikol Pashinyan, has lauded the success of this “velvet revolution,” seeing it as a demonstration of robust Armenian democracy. Mr Pashinyan also appeared to be taking advantage of his newfound fame, stating that, “either [he must be] elected with the support of the people, by their demand, or else no prime minister will be elected in Armenia.” Reports indicate that he is rallying his party for upcoming elections on May 1.

Armenia’s status as a post-Soviet republic has many outlets wondering how Mr Sargsyan’s decision will affect Russian geopolitics. Sargsyan has long-standing ties with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s strongman, and his close alliance with the Russian leader is a vestige of the nation’s Soviet legacy and the history of Azerbaijani-Armenian tensions in the area. The acting prime minister, Karen Karapetyan, reached out to Mr Putin for advice navigating the turmoil. Mr Putin replied that action must be taken “exclusively in the legal field, within the framework of the constitution.” Pashinyan on Wednesday told supporters that he disapproves of frequent Russian involvement in Armenian politics. While the debate over Russia’s increasingly brazen encroachment continues, it appears that for now, decision-making rests in the hands of the Armenian people, who demonstrated that they’re willing to hold their politicians accountable in a peaceful but effective manner.

Don’t Care

0. A state visit for the ages

Trump welcomes Macron to Washington

It was the best of times when it all began on Bastille Day last year: an unlikely friendship between US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. France’s grand military display reportedly stirred Mr Trump. Mr Macron may also have impressed Mr Trump with his forceful handshake a few months earlier at a NATO summit, a handshake Mr Macron called a “moment of truth”. This week Mr Trump repaid the favor by inviting Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte for the administration’s first state dinner. Predictably and ruefully for your correspondent, America’s media has been all too quick to shower praise on both leaders. There is little the Washington press corps like more than a slick-talking, sharply-dressed foreign leader. Look no further than Muhammad bin Salman’s visit stateside earlier this month, when news outlets expeditiously churned out stories exalting the young heir to the Saudi throne while at home Prince Muhammad directs a cruel war in neighboring Yemen and last fall oversaw a purge of prominent Saudis who might contend with him for power.

It is unsurprising to see the media swept up in the pomp and circumstance of this state visit. What is more disappointing is to see those tasked with covering Mr Trump engage in the performative song and dance that bestow credibility on the president during these events while the same president regularly bashes and degrades journalists and their outlets. Normalizing a man who continues to attack democratic institutions and values for a nice photo op in the Rose Garden is a dangerous practice.

Sachin Shukla, Dominic Bayer, Jose Trejos, Jason Frankel, Sophie Chen, and David Gernon contributed to this report.