March 8

FDA REMS restrictions keep limiting mifepristone after Dobbs

The Trump administration's FDA maintained and tightened Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy restrictions on mifepristone, requiring in-person dispensing and provider certification despite the Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling returning abortion regulation to states. The REMS framework blocked telehealth prescribing and mail-order pharmacy dispensing in states where abortion remains legal. Reproductive rights advocates argued the restrictions exceeded FDA's statutory authority under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

J

Biden announces ban on US imports of Russian oil and gas We will not subsidize Putin war

President Biden announces that the United States will ban all imports of Russian oil, natural gas, and energy, becoming the first major Western nation to do so in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The ban takes effect immediately. Biden acknowledges it will cause pain at the gas pump for Americans, with gas prices already surging past $4 per gallon nationally. He calls on Congress to act on energy policy. European allies do not immediately follow, noting their greater energy dependence on Russia. The announcement comes two weeks after Russia's February 24 invasion.

Biden creates White House Gender Policy Council first in White House history

On International Women's Day, President Biden signs an executive order creating the White House Gender Policy Council, the first standalone council in White House history dedicated to gender equity. The council is co-directed by Jennifer Klein and Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon, and its mission includes advancing gender equity domestically and globally, coordinating across agencies, and advising the President on policies that affect women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people. The council is charged with developing a National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. It works on maternal mortality, women's economic participation, gender-based violence, and girls' education globally.

The Supreme Court declines Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission

Donald Trump and the Trump campaign filed or pursued Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission in Wisconsin after the 2020 election. The case asked federal courts to discard Wisconsin presidential results and open a path for the Legislature to appoint electors. The primary court document records that the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari on March 8, 2021.

Trump signs Section 232 tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum

President Trump signed proclamations on March 8, 2018, imposing 25% tariffs on imported steel and 10% on imported aluminum under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross submitted findings to Trump in January 2018 concluding that steel and aluminum imports threatened national security. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and White House adviser Peter Navarro pushed for the action. The tariffs took effect for most countries on March 23, though Canada and Mexico received temporary exemptions that became permanent in May 2019.

R

Trump invokes Section 232 to impose 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs on national security grounds

President Trump signs Proclamation 9704 and 9705, invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose 25% tariffs on imported steel and 10% tariffs on imported aluminum. The administration argues steel and aluminum imports from China and other countries threaten US national security by undermining the domestic industrial base. The tariffs set a precedent for using Section 232 far beyond traditional defense industries, paving the way for later Section 232 investigations into automobiles, uranium, and pharmaceuticals.

R

Halliburton wins no-bid Iraq War contract while Cheney still holds deferred compensation

The Army Corps of Engineers awarded Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a Halliburton subsidiary, a no-bid contract to manage Iraqi oil infrastructure days before the Iraq War began. Vice President Dick Cheney had served as Halliburton CEO from 1995 to 2000 and continued receiving deferred compensation payments from the company while in office. The Government Accountability Office and congressional Democrats raised conflict-of-interest concerns; Cheney insisted his financial ties did not influence the contract award.

Swain v. Alabama shields prosecutor peremptory strikes from review

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Robert Swain, a Black man sentenced to death in Talladega County, Alabama, could not challenge the prosecution's use of peremptory strikes to remove all six Black potential jurors from his trial. Justice Byron White wrote the majority holding that defendants must prove systematic exclusion across many cases to trigger Equal Protection scrutiny — a burden the Court acknowledged was nearly impossible to meet. The ruling gave prosecutors effectively unchecked authority to remove Black jurors for 21 years.