It’s now definitely on life-support – at least for a few more months. Judge Breyer announced today that he is denying the Bush Administration’s request to expedite reviewing whether the recently issued revised social security no-match regulation satisfies the judge’s objections and will convince him to lift the injunction barring DHS from implementing the massive enforcement program. According to the San Francisco Chronicle:
Instead, Breyer set a standard schedule for consideration of a lawsuit by labor unions and business groups challenging the rule, with written arguments planned through Feb. 24. He observed that the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama might want to take another look at the issue, said Scott Kronland, lawyer for the AFL-CIO and several other unions in the case.
“There was no policy reason for trying to expedite things to prevent a new administration from looking at these last-minute rules,” Kronland said.
So the ball is now in President-elect Obama’s court. What a President Obama will do is far from clear at this point.