Merck's Q1 2024 Lobby Spend Up From Last Year, But Still Below All Other Pharma Majors...

As the follow-on to mine below -- on the markets laughing off Trump's Sharpie scribbles -- on pharmaceuticals pricing. . . I'll set out the first in the series of pharma majors' lobby spend in the first quarter of 2025.

Do enjoy -- this will be one of five or seven in a series, depending on how ambitious I feel this week. [And whether the Qatari "trojan horse" deal gets done. Hah.]

. . .H.R. 1244, Reducing Drug Prices for Seniors Act; H.R. 1492, To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to equalize the negotiation period between small-molecule and biologic candidates under the Drug Price Negotiation Program; H.R. 1503/S. 2916, Prescription Information Modernization Act of 2023; H.R. 1968, Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025; S. 1040, Drug Competition Enhancement Act; S. 1339, Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act; S. 2076 Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions To End Up surging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act of 2021. . . .

Issues relating to [US House]: 340B program integrity; 340B of the Public Health Services Act; 340B issues; 340B drug pricing program; Drug pricing; Drug pricing and reimbursement issues; Prescription drug cost-sharing; Anti-microbial Resistance; Cost and value of medicines; Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) immunization; Vaccines issues; Vaccine misinformation; Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) immunizations; Package inserts, labeling issues, and E-Labeling authorization legislation; Pharmaceutical supply channel issues; Drug shortage issues; Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169), issues relating to drug pricing provisions; FY-2025 Budget and Appropriations Legislation; Intellectual property protection and trade issues; WTO IP Waiver for COVID therapeutics; Animal Health; Animal Health Technology Issues; Animal Health Policy Issues: Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) & Funding for Electronic Animal Traceability; One Health Issues; General pharmaceutical issues; Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP); Diversity in clinical trials; Accelerated approval reform; Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) policy issues; Pharmacy Benefit Manager reforms; Food and Drug Administration issues; Public Health Issues. . . .

H.R. 1244, Reducing Drug Prices for Seniors Act; Issues relating to [Senate]: Medicare; Medicare Part B and D drug pricing issues; 340B program integrity; 340B of the Public Health Services Act; 340B drug pricing program; Drug pricing; Drug pricing and reimbursement issues; FY-2025 Budget and Appropriations Legislation; Medicaid drug rebate program (MDRP). . . .

Issues relating to [House & Senate]: Tax reform and tax policy, generally; Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97); Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169), provisions relating to budget reconciliation and taxes. . . .

H.R. 8467, Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024; Issues relating to: United Stated Department of Agriculture; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Final Rule regarding use of electronic identification eartags as official identification in cattle and bison (89 Fed. Reg. 39,541 -- 39,566, May 9, 2024). . . .

Now you know. But this will now prove out. . . that Tangerine's silly Sharpie is no match for world class lobbying efforts. They've already (long ago) won the match -- in the House and Senate. Out.

नमस्ते

Power Alley: Pharma Stocks JUMP UP, ~3% To ~5% -- On The Day That Tangerine 2.0 Uses His Sharpie (Purportedly) To... "Drop Prices By 59%"?! Hah!

Sure -- there is a very slim chance he gets something meaningful done, on pharma pricing. But it is a vanishingly-slim chance.

He just this morning signed an unlawful solo executive order / Sharpie scribble -- telling big pharma to bring US retail drug prices "into line" with EU pricing. It is crystal clear this is not something he can achieve alone -- both as a matter of law, and of political will-power. He needs the might of Congressional acts, at a minimum. And he will never get it (see at right; lobby efforts -- in Congress, last year).

The savvy traders at Wall and Broad then gleefully. . . laughed at his impotence. That is my take. All major pharma names were trading up, all day. The smart money knows. . . he is already an utterly lame duck. So the traders rejoice -- threats to pharma from this nincompoop. . . are at an end, as a practical matter. Here's the latest:

. . .Pharmaceutical stocks like Pfizer Inc., Amgen Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly & Co., and Merck & Co. Inc. jumped on Monday, after US markets opened after Trump's announcement.

Pharma giant, Pfizer's shares jumped 3.3 per cent to hit the intraday high of $23.02 as of the early Wall Street session. The stock is now trading 2.92 per cent higher at $22.94 in Monday's market, compared to $22.28 in the previous US market close. . . .

And so -- his incompetence (just as in 2017-19) is once again very good news for drug-makers and bioscience companies. Onward, grinning --[and, I'll get Q1 2025 lobby spending summaries out this week, to be certain.]

नमस्ते

In The New Mexico v. Musk Matter, In DC -- Slightly Elongated Deadlines -- By Mutual Agreement, Before The Able USDC Judge Chutkan.

This one is up on appeal as well, so the reply to Musk's motion to dismiss need not be in any rush.

Ultimately, once again -- it will be finally determined that the world's richest but unregistered lobbyist (Musk, in violation of felony statutes) -- a guy who he himself says has "no formal role in the US government". . . cannot ransack USAID, and Treasury and IRS and Social Security databases. He just. cannot. Here's the new schedule, in DC:

. . .MINUTE ORDER: GRANTING [92] Consent Motion for Extension of Time. Plaintiffs' response to Defendants' [90] Motion to Dismiss is due by May 28, 2025. Defendants' reply is due by June 12, 2025. Signed by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on 5/12/2025. . . .

Now you know. Onward, to find some of my very favorite taco trucks -- now roaming the City of Big Shoulders' loop.

नमस्ते

The Cato Institute Files An Amicus Brief In USDC, ND Of FL, To Help Block Trump's Purported Tariff Attempts, As Beyond His Ken.

In that suit we've previously mentioned, where the Federalist Society honcho is suing Trump (25-cv-464, USDC NDFL, before USDC Judge T. Kent Wetherell II), for wrecking his US-based paper notions businesses in Florida, by imposing 135% tariffs on his China sourced / imported stationary products. . . the Cato Institute has filed a brief this morning, explaining clearly that these silly Tangerine 2.0 tariff moves fall in the exclusive province of the Congress, not 1600 Penn., acting alone -- under about 220-plus years of precedents.

Many of the Cato Institute's other public views I may vehemently disagree with, but in this matter, the Institute is absolutely correct on the law, thus:

. . .The Constitution vests the power to impose tariffs solely in Congress, U.S. CONST. art. I, § 8, and the Cato Institute writes separately to provide historical context regarding IEEPA’s purposes and the original understanding of Congress’s constitutional authority to impose tariffs.

For over a century, Congress exercised that power directly and in exhaustive detail, even during times of war and economic crisis. When Congress has chosen to delegate limited authority to the Executive to vary tariffs, it has done so explicitly and with clear statutory language.

The government’s reliance on IEEPA as a source of unilateral tariff authority breaks with this tradition and misreads the statute. IEEPA contains no reference to “tariffs” or “duties,” and no President had cited it to impose tariffs in the nearly 50 years since its enactment -- until now.

Congress knows how to grant tariff authority when it chooses to, as it did in the Tariff Act of 1922, the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, and the Trade Act of 1974. IEEPA, by contrast, was enacted to limit executive power, not to expand it. Courts should not credit interpretations of vague statutory text that, for the first time in decades, are “discovered” to confer vast economic powers on the President.

The government’s reading of IEEPA not only stretches the text beyond recognition, it also undermines the Framers’ designs for a separation of powers. Accepting the government’s theory would mean that Congress, through ambiguous text and legislative silence, can transfer sweeping legislative power to the President -- a result the Supreme Court has warned against. “Courts expect Congress to speak clearly if it wishes to assign to an agency decisions of vast economic and political significance.” West Virginia v. EPA, 597 U.S. 697, 716 (2022) (cleaned up) (quoting Util. Air Regul. Grp. v. EPA, 573 U.S. 302, 324 (2014)).

The Constitution, IEEPA’s text, and over two centuries of history point in the same direction: the tariff-setting power remains in the hands of Congress. . . .

Do go read it all. . . and oh my goodness, are these strange times -- how about those silly. . . Qataris!?

नमस्ते

"When You've Lost Powerline, MAGA-World..." Damn. Beware Qataris... Bearing ~$500 Million "Gifts".

Despite his fellow Powerliners saying there is/was "nothing to see here" -- in Trump's acceptance of a $500 million "gift" from a nation that supports terror in Gaza, and around the globe -- and is awash in dubious cash, in the hands of a few ruthless despots. . . Scott timidly raises his hand on Monday morning (very late!) to say. . . "maybe" this half-billion dollar bribe should be... re-evaluated.

Damn are these mediocre old whyte boys. . . precious.

Scott timidly intones that there may be some "question regarding the legality" of a sitting preznit accepting a luxury Boeing 747, from a terror-supporting nation -- a 747 that is to become the property of Trump's "library" in 2028. . . .

SRSLY?! "some question"?!?

These guys are so afraid of losing their clout in MAGA world, and the ad dollars, and their meager bit of relevance, as Trumpism dies off -- that they will sell their very souls, in their seventh decade of life -- to him.

[And for Scott, it is probably solely because the Qatari money also funds. . . Hamas, in Gaza. Not that it is a felony, to take bribes. What a set of. . . sad sacks they all are.]

Insane.

Out.

नमस्ते

The Mayor Of Newark Was Trying To Serve Papers, On A GEO Group Private Prison -- Where It Has No Certificate Of Occupancy.

D A M N.

These jamokes are a-holes -- and liars.

The hard right tells us that the entirely unarmed foursome of elected leaders "attacked a federal facility". Flatly false.

The "facility" is a private, for profit contract prison, run by a NY businessman controlling the GEO Group, a New Jersey company.

It recently greatly expanded this previously-acquired private property, inside Newark city limits. As such, it is required to get re-certified by the city -- AS A BUSINESS, before re-opening lawfully.

It is NOT a federal prison. At all. It is a for-profit / graft / Trumpian donor's BUSINESS operation.

For at least four days, lower level local authorities tried to serve papers telling the biz it was out of compliance with local ordinances and laws. The lower level city officers were refused entrance, and left the papers hanging on the concertina wire barriers at the gates.

Then, the Mayor arrived -- seeking to inspect the business, along with members of the US Congress. And to formally serve a notice of closure for failure to follow the law. [To appear in a Newark courtroom at a date 30 days hence, to explain why it hadn't followed the permitting process.]

When refused entrance, a scuffle ensued. No one stormed the capitol. No one beat officers unconscious. No one shot anyone. No one ransacked the Speaker's office, or stole the gavel. Or defecated on the marble floors.

In sum -- this is fish v. bicycles, compared to J6. [Four people -- as opposed to over 4,000 violent insurrectionists, trying to prevent a peaceful transfer of national power.]

Do sit this one out -- all you morons, on the frothy hard right.

Onward.

नमस्ते

There Have Now Been 12 Confirmed Mpox Clade 1b Cases In The UK In 2025... Ongoing Outbreaks. Lesson? Get The Vaccine, If Headed To Central Africa.

While the overall risk inside London is small, with my daughter back in northern Wales for a month, and making day trips into the city center by train. . . I'd be less than candid if I didn't say this is. . . worrisome. So she got the vaccine before she left the Chi last week.

In any event, the Bavarian Nordic jab is very effective, and has been shown in follow ups, to be almost completely free of serious side effects. Do consider it, if you're summer travel plans include DRC, Sierra Leone or Uganda. Here's the latest from UKHSA, reporting:

. . .On May 8, 2025, the UKHSA confirmed mpox clade Ib and clade IIb cases in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Up to the end of April 2025, 12 cases of mpox clade Ib have been reported in England this year. Most of these cases have reported direct or indirect links to travel to countries where mpox clade Ib is circulating, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

From 2023 to April 2025, 508 cases of mpox clade IIb have been reported in the UK.

Of these, 470 were in England (212 cases were presumed to have acquired mpox in the UK, 155 were acquired outside the UK and 103 are awaiting classification), 19 were in Scotland (4 were supposed to have acquired mpox in the UK, 9 were imported cases acquired outside the UK and six are awaiting classification), 10 were in Wales (4 were presumed to have acquired mpox in the UK, 2 were imported cases acquired outside the UK and four are awaiting classification), and nine were in Northern Ireland (5 were presumed to have acquired mpox in the UK, 3 were imported cases acquired outside the UK and one is awaiting classification). . . .

Now you know -- and Happy Mother's Day 2025 -- one and all! Onward.

नमस्ते

Sourced From The Private Offering Materials, It Sure Looks Like... The "Son Of" Theranos...

This is a follow up to the one I posted at noon-time, here.

Again, it may just be. . . a fever dream, created by a young man with way too much money, all to keep his incarcerated spouse... occupied, as she still has over eight years left to serve in the Bryan, Texas federal facility.

She can work on design notes, drawings, marketing plans. . . and maybe even do some organic chemistry work-arounds, on paper -- or in the computer library in her allotted few hours a week there.

She is undoubtedly a smart person -- and being locked away, with nothing to do. . . is torture for a smart person [and, trust me -- I speak from family experience, here].

But if the website that just appeared this afternoon, out of India is intended to be a functioning diagnostics company. . . well, it is. . . eerily similar to the old failed "Edison" / Theranos device renderings (and prototypes), from around 2016.

And upon further review of her SEC settlements, I think she is only barred from acting to raise public money, for the Haemanthus Labs entity, and/or from serving as a director, officer or more than one per cent beneficial owner of the entity -- for ten years.

So, is this all just. . . a fascinating coincidence -- or does Billy Evans really intend to run a "Theranos 2.0" company, here?

We shall see. And watch this space, for updates.

Grin.

नमस्ते

Well... You Couldn't Make This Up -- If You Tried: Elizabeth Holmes' Intimate Partner Said To Run A "Blood Flower" Startup, Doing Bio-Testing?! She Will "Consult" -- From Prison?!

First -- the caveats: the guy is a trust fund billionaire, so if any of the "investors" lose their shirts, they'll know exactly where to go -- to get their money back. Still, "a fool and his money, soon go separate ways. . . ."

But. . . second, if memory serves, prior to her criminal indictment, Ms. Holmes signed a civil settlement with the SEC agreeing not to work in life sciences for ten years (I think). Now, probably that means "for pay" -- and she will say she's an "unpaid" consultant.

Finally, it may turn out that her well-heeled partner has ginned all this up, just to keep her mind busy -- in the dreary, deadly hot and long nights, in dusty rural West Texas federal lockup. She may have ideas -- and this is just a way for her to fill up a bunch of notepads, and transfer them to him, at their twice a month family visiting hours. I dunno.

All that said -- if anyone is actually putting real cash into this (and they aren't Evans' family members). . . I am highly. . . amused. "Blood Flower"?!? Seriously? Here's NPR, on it all:

. . .The partner of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has raised millions of dollars for an artificial intelligence startup hoping to introduce a product that can be used in medical testing and other settings, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the endeavor who could not speak publicly because the company has not yet officially launched. The company is called Haemanthus, which is Greek for "blood flower."

Since being imprisoned at a federal facility in Bryan, Texas, Holmes has been providing advice to her partner, Billy Evans, on the startup, according to the sources. The precise nature of Holmes' supporting Evans on the venture is unclear.

About a dozen people are part of the startup. Some of those working on the company formerly worked with Evans at Luminar Technologies, which develops sensors for autonomous vehicles, according to the company's patent and Delaware incorporation paperwork. Evans has raised money mostly among friends, family and other supporters so far, according to one of the sources. . . .

The truth, they say. . . will always be. . . far stranger. Indeed. Grin.

नमस्ते

Just For Handy Reference -- Here's The Second Cir. Opinion, In The Habeas / Rümeysa Öztürk Matter -- Out Of Vermont...

As I said in my last post, this is a very powerful and ancient tool against abuses by government / law enforcement detention. . . without due process of law. It comes to us from the middle English common law -- and the time of abuses, by evil kings. Do read it all.

And it is -- since 1787 -- embedded in Art. I of our Constitution. It provides a device for the freeing of those wrongfully detained, when all other avenues are failing. In sum, when bad men are shirking their duties. So -- here is that muscular opinion, from just yesterday -- one that coincidentally also bolsters Mr. Khalil's case for release (also from Jena). And a bit:

. . .Rümeysa Öztürk is a graduate student who had, until recently, been living in Massachusetts lawfully on a student visa. On March 25, 2025, six plainclothes law enforcement officers arrested Öztürk near her home without warning and drove her away in an unmarked car. Unaware of her location and unable to contact their client, Öztürk’s counsel brought a habeas petition in the District of Massachusetts. The petition alleges that Öztürk was arrested and is now detained based solely on an op-ed she wrote over a year before her arrest. But, when the petition was filed, Öztürk had already been driven across state lines to Vermont. And when the government eventually disclosed Öztürk’s location nearly twenty-four hours later, she had again been moved, this time to a correctional facility in Louisiana.

The habeas petition filed in Massachusetts was transferred to the District of Vermont, and the district court has set an expeditious schedule for a bail hearing and to resolve the constitutional claims made in the habeas petition. . . .

Now you know -- and this is exactly why Tangerine 2.0 is talking about trying (preposterously) to suspend. . . this, the "Great Writ". But the Fifth Amendment says "persons" -- not "citizens" -- and not "landed gentry", so he will fail.

Damnation -- deeply bizarre times.

नमस्ते

Acting US Asst. Atty. Gen. Yaakov Roth Seems To Have... Now Earned The Enmity Of An Able NJ USDC Judge, Tonight -- Working Late, On A Friday.

Mr. Khalil's case is looking more and more like that just decided in Ozturk v. Hyde (see below).

The detainee there was set free today. [Confidential nota bene -- to Mr. Roth: probably not a great idea to lecture a seasoned USDC Judge on how to run his docket.] Here are the latest fireworks in Newark's federal trial courts, though:

. . .TEXT ORDER:

On April 29, the Court afforded the Respondents an opportunity to unpack any venue arguments. See ECF 217. Doing so, see ECF 230, the Respondents [Noem/Rubio] have not moved the needle.

They have not explained whether and when the background jurisdictional rules -- applied here by the Court in its Opinion and Order at ECF 153 -- might be superseded in any habeas case by venue considerations.

And they have not persuasively explained why such venue considerations would favor dismissal in this particular case; here, venue considerations weigh on balance in favor of going forward in the New Jersey area, for reasons that are alluded to by the Petitioner, see ECF 243 at page 3, and that have previously been alluded to by the Court, see ECF 78 at page 26.

The Respondents have also used their venue letter, see ECF 230, to renew various jurisdictional challenges. The substance of those has been reached and resolved. (And the Court notes that its holdings on the two key jurisdictional questions -- as to habeas jurisdiction and as to jurisdiction-stripping -- now find added support in the Second Circuit's decision of this week. See Ozturk v. Hyde, 2025 WL 1318154 (2d Cir. May 7, 2025).)

To the extent the Respondents' letter at ECF 230 is focused specifically on arguments for lack of jurisdiction as to the newly-added aspects of the Third Amended Petition, the Court will reach and resolve those in due course.

For now, ECF 230, construed as a motion to dismiss for want of venue, is denied. So Ordered by Judge Michael E. Farbiarz on 5/9/2025. . . .

Flawless.

नमस्ते

Khalil UPDATE: This "Removal" Gambit Was Used Only Once Before -- Two Decades Ago, By DHS Sec. Ridge, Shortly After 9/11...

UPDATED @ 6 PM EDT -- Lawyers for Noem/Rubio point to three 1995 cases (i.e., three decades ago, not long after Desert Storm II), in their evening update letters, where this statute was used. In all three, Janet Reno had hard evidence of violent terroristic activity by foreign nationals on US soil. The three were actively in terror cells. None of that has even remotely been alleged here in these 2025 cases, let alone been shown by any evidence whatsoever -- other than that they showed up to student protests, or in one case, wrote a newspaper article -- or a classroom essay. All purely protected expressive activities.

Then Mr. Yaakov Roth (the lead Noem/Rubio lawyer) goes on, in a second letter -- to lecture the USDC Judge -- that (in his opinion) a sitting USDC Judge doesn't have the authority to act as a fact finder in his own court room. Mr. Roth seems only familiar with civil divorce proceedings -- this is not an argument over who gets the Bentley. . . a man is being held in a private prison in rural Louisiana. Without formal charges in any criminal court -- so he has properly filed for a writ of habeas corpus, in New Jersey -- from whence he was taken, by the Noem/Rubio forces.

Habeas is. . . called "The Great Writ" for a reason, Yaakov. You better believe a federal Judge can order fact finding, when the government ABDUCTS someone without due process -- just a man lawfully present on a NY street (months after attending a Columbia U protest), Mr. Roth. Damn.

Mr. Roth argues that all he owes is a "good faith" effort to answer the Judge -- and only so long as that effort is not allowed to impede other cases he is working on, for Tangerine. Riiiiiight. [If MAGA can't find enough lawyers willing to do its dirty work, it probably ought to stop abducting so many people, huh?!] It would all be preciously. . . hilarious -- if it hadn't meant Mr. Khalil missed the birth of his first child (while locked up in dank Louisiana). Expect blasts on all this, come Monday -- or maybe before -- from the able USDC Judge. End, update.

It goes without saying the nation (right after 9/11) was on edge under Bush/Cheney. The World Trade Centers -- once thought inviolate. . . were gone. And even so, this single "grabbing" of someone from West Africa lawfully inside our nation. . . was likely unlawful.

We've now seen it attempted three times in three months, under Rubio/Noem -- and there has been nothing like 9/11 (on our soil) -- for over a quarter century now. That alone tells the able USDC Judge that this is. . . a fever-dream / lawless power grab. Here's the government's letter in full as a PDF -- and a bit of it:

. . .Dear Judge Farbiarz:

Respondents (“the Government”) submit this response to this Court’s order (ECF No. 234). The Government refers to three instances below in which federal officials have invoked 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(C) to initiate the removal of individuals from the United States. To protect privacy considerations and avoid inadvertent disclosures, the Government has anonymized the information.

1. On April 24, 2004, Secretary of State Colin Powell recommended to Secretary of the Department of Homeland (“DHS”) Security Tom Ridge that the presence of an African national in the United States would have potentially adverse foreign policy consequences. Government authorities discovered evidence that the individual participated in and/or contributed to violent political activity while in Somalia. Based on this information, and in keeping with United States’ interests in promoting democracy, the rule of law, an effective governing institution in Somalia, Secretary Powell concluded that allowing this alien to reside freely in the United States would undermine the country’s foreign policy interests. Secretary Powell thus recommended that removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(C), and detained in the government’s custody until his removal could be effectuated to Somalia or, alternatively, a third country. . . .

The Government. . . hopes to provide an update later today.

The Government also continues to review its databases and files for any other invocations of 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(C)(i) to initiate removal proceedings. If other instances of the statute’s invocation become known, the Government will inform the Court as appropriate. The Government cannot provide a firm deadline for its complete review at this time because it has not yet been able to confirm the full universe of materials that need to be reviewed in the short period of time afforded to respond to the Court’s order. . . .

Note that the evidence back then showed contributions to VIOLENCE, while IN SOMALIA. There is no such evidence here.

The other three cases are all Rubio/Noem this year. This is comparing fish. . . to bicycles, in truth. More to come at 5 pm Eastern.

And whatever one thinks of what happened IN ISRAEL (opposite side of the globe) over a year and a half ago, now. . . there has been essentially only whyte domestic terror crime, here in the USA, since then. [And even if one labels a given student protest as "antisemitic" -- there is no evidence that any of the people detained were in any manner. . . ever. . . violent. None have committed crimes.] They are entitled to due process under the plain Fifth Amendment commands.

So, the right-thinking people of this nation must agree: this is simply demonizing people as retribution, solely for opposing Trumpian autocracy. Damn. More to come, tonight by 5 pm EDT, under the able Judge's orders. Onward.

नमस्ते

Chung Update -- SDNY Schedule.

We will shortly see the unsealing briefs, but this order today is about the Noem/Rubio/Trump attempt to say the courts have no role here. They filed a motion telling the USDC Judge to butt-out. It will fail, obviously. Here's the updated text order, out of Foley Square:

. . .ORDER granting [47] Letter Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply re [32] MOTION to Dismiss.

Application granted. The Government's reply brief is due by 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

Further, as agreed by the parties, the plaintiff's sur-reply is due by 4:00 P.M. on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

The Oral Argument is also hereby adjourned until Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 12:00 P.M.

Finally, the temporary restraining order that the Court issued on March 25, 2025 shall remain in full effect.

So ordered. Replies due by 5/14/2025. Surreplies due by 5/20/2025.

(Signed by Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald on 5/9/2025). . . .

Now you know. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

[U] Power Alley: Merck Announces A New Cap Ex / Investment In De Soto, Kansas -- For Animal Health Production... Y A W N.

Do recall that in March of 2017, Merck Animal Health made a major buy in Brazil (of ~$400 million), for ranch-animal health -- getting both a skilled workforce, and top of the line manufacturing facilities -- in a very modest wage geography (see the upper far right of the image; or this link).

Call me a skeptic, but as soon as Tangerine 2.0's bluster about tariffs on pharmacos folds. . . (and it will fold). . . these big splashy investments in high cost, high wage US facilities will. . . be removed from future Rahway budgets. The manufacturing jobs are not projected to exist before 2030 -- see below. And with that folding by Tangerine, so too will the more permanent job offers. . . vanish.

This tactic of building in existing facilities essentially lets the spend be turned on or off, like a bathroom faucet.

Still, it is good (if temporary) news, in De Soto, Kansas (and Wilmington, Delaware earlier last month). There will be some real high wage construction jobs, at least for a time. Here's the latest, but in point of fact -- I'll be surprised if more than 100 new jobs -- across BOTH these locations exist, even three years from now.

. . .The biopharmaceutical company will expand its facility to 200,000 square feet and make an $860 million investment in the site’s existing manufacturing facility. Merck will also invest $35 million into its research and development laboratories, the company stated. . . .

The announcement will also bring jobs to De Soto. Merck estimated that. . . the expansion will create more than 200 new full-time roles when manufacturing operations begin in 2030. . . .

UPDATED: My apologies. I had forgotten that in early 2024, Merck acquired the old Elanco/Bayer fish farm animal health assets (a next-gen fish vaccine project), with a lab facility about a 20 minute drive, to the east of the De Soto warehouse -- just on the outskirts of Kansas City. That facility is a pure biologics R&D facility -- and maybe the idea is to scale up manufacturing out in De Soto, by 2030. In any event, when Trump is gone -- or maybe even before then -- when he's a lame duck, I predict this whole idea will be axed from a future budget review, at Rahway. See legacy graphic at left, or this link. End, updated portion.

Now you know -- 2030?! Seriously -- this is all on a very slow fuse. And as many have surmised, Tangerine 2.0 is likely to blow with the wind of whomever he's talked to last. As soon as Pete Navarro falls from favor (and he will). . . this will likely all unwind.

Moreover, for Merck investors, that will be positive news, too -- as making biological stuff in Brazil creates higher margins, when punishing 50% tariffs for importing it to the US. . . are no longer on the table.

Onward.

नमस्ते

An Entity Controlled By Leo Leonard Is Fighting The Departure Of His Suit From Florida, To DC. He Is A Federalist Soc. Guy Suing... Tangerine, On Tariffs.

We have mentioned this a few times, over the past month -- it seems many Trumpers are nonplussed that he is killing their once successful businesses (ones that rely on imported goods from China, or Mexico or even Canada -- let alone the EU).

Here's the latest, updated schedule -- on this rather embarrassing matter (for Trump):

. . .Defendants may file a reply addressing the “merits arguments” in Plaintiffs’ response. . . .

The reply shall be filed no later than May 19, 2025.

No extensions of this deadline (or the deadline for filing amicus briefs) will be granted in light of Plaintiffs’ unopposed motion to expedite disposition of the motion to transfer. See Doc. 21 at 35-36. . . .

Now you know -- they are plainly eating their own, day by day now.

नमस्ते

This Afternoon, Mr. Khalil Has Added To His Complaint At Law in Newark's Federal Courts...

The third amendment to Mr. Khalil's complaint is now on file.

It updates with newly discovered (and hideous) information -- on the Trump/Rubio/Noem campaign to suppress protected speech, using arrests and abductions by ICE / DHS without so much as a whiff of due process. But that was clear from the go, here:

. . .On March 13, 2025, when asked to justify the government’s actions, Troy Edgar, the Deputy Secretary of DHS, did not dispute that Mr. Khalil had not broken any laws and instead asserted that he was “agitating and supporting Hamas” by “put[ting] himself in the middle of the process of basically pro-Palestinian activity.” When asked directly if “any criticism of the Israeli government [is] a deportable offense,” if “any criticism of the United States [is] a deportable offense,” if “any criticism of the government [is] a deportable offense,” and if “protesting [is] a deportable offense,” Deputy Secretary Edgar did not dispute any of those statements. . . .

The [statutory] "Foreign Policy Bar" expressly prohibits the Secretary of State from issuing a policy to exclude or condition entry based on a noncitizen’s “past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations, if such beliefs, statements, or associations would be lawful within the United States,” unless the Secretary personally certifies to Congress that admitting the individual would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest. See id. (citing INA § 212(a)(3)(C)(iii)).

Upon information and belief, Secretary Marco Rubio has not provided any certifications regarding a determination under the Foreign Policy Ground concerning Mr. Khalil to the chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, Senate Foreign Relations, and House and Senate Judiciary Committees, as required by 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(C)(iv). . . .

This must be resisted. Peacefully, but firmly resisted. This is what. . . fascism looks like, in its early stages. Out.

नमस्ते

There is a New Pope. "Everything Dope Comes From... Chicago!"

Let us hope he follows Francis's lead. . . .

Cardinal Prevost has been elected the first American Pope in history. He’s a reformer who spent time in Peru. He will continue Francis’s legacy and he’s taking the name Leo the 14th! Very good news… even though I no longer follow those covenants:

“Everything dope comes from Chicago!”

नमस्ते

After Remand, Here's The Schedule -- For East Bay IV, In Oakland, Before The Able USDC Judge Jon Tigar...

This case has percolated, due to Tangerine's foot-dragging (first time around), since 2017. And it concerns whether children will be treated as human beings, among other matters.

It has been up on appeal to the Ninth Circuit three times -- each time, Trump lost. It is back in the trial court now, to determine whether a Biden-era federal regulation is still good law (Trump has not even tried to repeal it -- yet). So onward, it rumbles, thus:

. . .The Court has reviewed the parties’ joint statement proposing how to proceed on remand. ECF No. 208. The Court agrees with the parties’ proposal to set a deadline for Defendants to notify the Court and Plaintiffs whether “the rule at issue in this case, Circumvention of Lawful Pathways, 88 Fed. Reg. 31,314 (May 16, 2023) (‘the Rule’),” which “will cease applying to new entrants after May 11, 2025,” has been extended. Id. at 1–2.

The Court also agrees that additional briefing would be helpful. However, the parties characterize the briefing as “supplemental motion for summary judgment brief[s],” id. at 2, when there is no motion for summary judgment pending. The Court construes the parties’ statement as requesting leave to file briefing regarding whether the Court’s summary judgment ruling, ECF No. 187, should be modified in light of the two issues noted in the Ninth Circuit’s remand order. . . .

Accordingly, the Court sets the following deadlines:

Defendants to file statement regarding whether the Rule has been extended: May 20, 2025

Plaintiffs to file supplemental opening brief, not to exceed 20 pages, and supporting declarations (if any): June 20, 2025

Defendants to file supplemental opposition brief, not to exceed 20 pages, and supporting declarations (if any): July 22, 2025

Plaintiffs to file supplemental reply brief, not to exceed 12 pages: August 8, 2025. . . .

Onward -- resolutely. But he is. . . a monster.

नमस्ते

Look -- We All Know Trump Has ALWAYS Been A Habitual LIAR. But This LIE Is Costing A Maryland Family Man His... Freedom. Disgusting.

Everyone paying attention now knows: someone in MAGA world photoshopped the image at right, of Mr. Abrego Garcia. They did it with racist intent.

Then the sitting preznit of the US not only repeated the lie, but amplified it. Then, he abducted the man to a torture prison in El Salvador. Then he invited a journalist to do a TV interview covering the topic. The journalist repeatedly -- on camera -- proved it was a photo-shop. Tangerine doubled down. And, TRIPLED DOWN -- calling the man a liar -- and insulting him.

But the fact remains:

Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump have relied on FAKED evidence -- to abduct Mr. Abrego Garcia. Now his wife and family are in hiding, due to MAGA threats of violence against them.

And the malignant liar keeps on. . . lying. [These are in no manner gang tattoos -- let alone MS-13 ones.]

Spread this far and wide -- and be warned: if we don't put an end to this evil lunacy, they may well come for YOU next. And then -- who will stand to defend. . . you? Out.

नमस्ते

As I Guessed -- Now Due Tomorrow, By Morning -- In Khalil's Case In Newark...

As I guessed, this looks like more Noem foot-dragging and the able USDC Judge Farbiarz is having none of it.

Not a week's delay; only a day -- here's that by a docket text note/order just now:

. . .TEXT ORDER:

As to the letters due today, the issue they concern was, as noted by the Respondents, raised by the Court on May 2.

Moreover, it is apparent from the Respondents' May 7 letter that they were already gathering and considering at least some of the relevant materials. The Respondents do not describe the possible scope of the materials, and so they afford the Court only a limited basis for understanding the possible scale of their task.

Against this backdrop, as to the letter due today at 9:30, its scope is narrow and does not seem to implicate any paper files. The Respondents shall expeditiously gather information, and provide their response, even if partial, on or before May 9 at 9:30am. As to the letter due today at noon, the Respondents shall expeditiously gather information, and provide their response, even if partial, on or before May 9 at 5:00pm.

If either letter provides a partial response, that letter shall include an overall update, that explains what remains to be done as to the relevant task and how much time, in the Respondents' judgment, it will take to compete the work. As to either letter, if there is a particular case that may be sensitive, the Respondents may make their filing as to that case under seal and explain why sealing is appropriate; if that does not obviate the Respondents' concerns, they shall explain why, and propose another way forward.

So Ordered by Judge Michael E. Farbiarz on 5/8/2025. . . .

Now you know. These government lawyers act as though they've never been before a federal judge before. Damn.

नमस्ते