President Joe Biden today signed a bill to remove one-time Ku Klux Klan member and late Congressman Clifford Davis’ name from Memphis’ federal building, the Daily Memphian reports. The 11-story courthouse and office building will now be named solely for the late Odell Horton Sr., the first African American judge to sit on the federal bench in Tennessee since Reconstruction. Horton had previously shared the name of the building with Davis. The bipartisan bill to remove Davis’ name was sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, and gained momentum after a report from the Institute for Public Service Reporting last year detailed Davis’ ties to the KKK. Horton served as a federal bankruptcy judge before being appointed to the U.S. District Court in 1980 by then-President Jimmy Carter.

The House Select Committee on Redistricting today voted to advance its own draft state map that would eliminate five House Democratic seats, the Tennessean reports. The proposal drew criticism from House Democrats, who argued Republicans reshaped the lines for political gain. Democrats released their redistricting plan yesterday. The committee also heard presentations on proposals submitted by the public, although most maps did not meet the House redistricting guidelines. Tennessee Lookout reports that a staff member for Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery was one of those submitting a plan, raising questions from some. Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, questioned whether the move was a conflict of interest since the attorney general’s office will have to defend the final maps if suits are filed. Slatery’s office said the staffer submitted the plan “on his own time and as a private citizen.” The committee is tentatively set to meet again the week of Jan. 10 to approve a new map for congressional seats.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill this week to remove the name of former congressman and KKK member Clifford Davis from a federal building in Memphis, Action News 5 reports. The bill now goes to the president for his signature. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, who sponsored the bill in the House, said the move is a “satisfying legislative accomplishment” and something he has worked on since first joining Congress. The building is currently named for Davis and the late Judge Odell Horton — the first Black federal judge appointed since reconstruction. Horton also was the president of LeMoyne-Owen College, served as an assistant U.S. attorney, and was the first Black member of Memphis Mayor Henry Loeb’s administration.

The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday approved legislation aimed at safeguarding the security and privacy of federal judges and their families, Reuters reports. The legislation was prompted by a deadly attack last year in which a disgruntled lawyer killed Daniel Anderl, the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. The committee voted unanimously to send the “Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act” to the full Senate for its consideration. The legislation would make it illegal for data brokers to knowingly sell, license or purchase the personally identifiable information of federal judges or their immediate family, including addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers. It would also allow federal judges to remove personal information of judges from government websites and fund security training for judges and their immediate family members.

Hamilton County resident Kenny Morgan has announced his candidacy for the Third Congressional District seat, the Chattanoogan reports. Morgan served in the U.S. Army Health Services Command at Madigan Army Medical Center, worked at Tennessee Donors Services, Erlanger Medical Center, Hamilton Health Care System and the Family Resource Agency. The Third Congressional District seat has been held by Republican Chuck Fleischmann since 2010.

President Joe Biden sent the nomination of Andre Mathis for the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to the Senate today. Yesterday, the president announced his intention to nominate Mathis for the seat currently held by Bernice Bouie Donald, who plans to take senior status when a replacement is confirmed.

The Biden administration’s requirement that all employers with more than 100 workers mandate COVID-19 vaccines or impose regular testing for staff will officially take effect Jan. 4, 2022, but challenges have already begun. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III and six other attorneys general today filed a petition with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the mandate. The group is asking the court to stay the emergency rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). They argue that OSHA lacks statutory and constitutional authority to take action against risks that are equally prevalent at work and in society at large since Congress specified that the rule making authority was designed to protect employees from dangers at their work places. National Public Radio also reports that other suits are expected from various groups of attorneys general and governors. And legislative challenges have been introduced in the U.S. Congress by Republican Tennessee lawmakers. Rep. Tim Burchett has introduced the “Keeping Our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act” to protect essential workers from termination under the mandate. Sen. Marsha Blackburn has introduced the same bill in the Senate, the Claiborne Progress reports.

The U.S. Senate this week confirmed Vermont Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New York, the ABA Journal reports. Her appointment marks the first openly LGBTQ woman to serve on a federal appeals court. Robinson was counsel to Vermont’s governor and a civil litigator at Langrock Sperry & Wool before she began her time on Vermont’s high court in 2011. Twenty-eight of Biden’s federal court nominees have won confirmation so far, which is the most confirmations at this point in a presidency in modern history.

U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Shelby County, this morning announced that bipartisan legislation has been drawn up that would alter the NCAA’s infractions and investigation process, the Commercial Appeal reports. The bill is a direct result of the fallout over the case of University of Memphis basketball player James Wiseman, who was suspended for 12 games after the NCAA ruled him “likely ineligible” due to inducements his family received before he enrolled at Memphis. The new bill, the NCAA Accountability Act of 2021, would establish and administer due process protections for NCAA member institutions, student-athletes, coaches or administrators who are involved in investigation related to alleged NCAA bylaw infractions. Kustoff is hopeful this legislation will put the NCAA’s enforcement and infractions protocols more in line with the traditional legal system.

U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty has promoted Michael Sullivan to his state director, succeeding Jim Henry who is retiring, the Nashville Post reports. Sullivan was campaign manager for Hagerty’s 2020 election effort. Previously, he was executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party and has worked on GOP campaigns in several states. He had been deputy state director under Henry, who previously served as deputy governor under Gov. Bill Haslam, minority leader in the state House, chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, and commissioner of the state Department of Children’s Services.