August 23

DEA proposes reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III most significant federal

The Drug Enforcement Administration publishes a proposed rule to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I (no accepted medical use, high abuse potential) to Schedule III (accepted medical use, lower abuse potential) under the Controlled Substances Act, the most notable federal marijuana policy change since the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The proposed change follows Biden's 2022 direction to HHS and DOJ to review the scheduling. Reclassification would not legalize marijuana federally but would end federal prohibition on research and remove barriers to banking for cannabis businesses. A public comment period opens.

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Biden DOJ sues RealPage for algorithmic rent price-fixing

The Department of Justice, joined by eight state attorneys general, filed an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage Inc. alleging the software company's algorithmic pricing tools enabled landlords across the country to coordinate rent increases in violation of federal antitrust law. The suit alleged RealPage's YieldStar platform processed competitors' confidential pricing data to suggest above-market rents, affecting millions of renters nationwide.

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Trump calls Fed Chair Powell an enemy after the Fed's rate decision

President Trump posted on Twitter on August 23, 2019, asking "who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi," comparing the Federal Reserve chairman to the Chinese president amid a trade war. Trump had repeatedly attacked Powell as "clueless," "bone-headed," and a "golfer who can't putt" after the Fed raised rates four times in 2018. The White House counsel's office advised Trump that he lacked statutory authority to fire Powell for policy disagreements, establishing the legal dispute at the center of the modern Fed independence debate.

Lewis Powell circulates memo urging U.S. Chamber of Commerce to build political infrastructure

Corporate lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell sent a confidential memorandum to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urging corporate America to build a coordinated political infrastructure. Powell called for funding conservative think tanks, placing corporate representatives on university boards and media outlets, and mounting a sustained legal and political challenge to liberal governance. The memo remained confidential until after Powell's Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court in December 1971.