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In a reversal of an Obama-era order to phase out the use of private prisons, Attorney General Sessions issued a brief memo directing "the Bureau to reutrn to its previous approach."

The Justice Department will once again use private prisons to house federal inmates, reversing an Obama-era directive to stop using the facilities, which officials had then deemed less safe and less effective than those run by the government...

In a not particularly surprising move, President Trump weighed in on the government's role in protecting, or in this case not protecting, transgender rights.

The Trump administration on Wednesday revoked federal protections for transgender students who sought the right to use the public school restrooms that match their gender identity, taking a stand on a contentious issue that has become the central battle over LGBT rights.

Scott Pruitt, who has called for the dissolution of much of the agency’s authority, has been confirmed to run the Environmental Protection Agency.  He is a seasoned legal opponent of the agency and will now lead Trump's publicized efforts to dismantle major regulations on climate change and clean water and "get rid" of the agency.  At a time when our nation and the world would benefit from a more supported EPA, the exact opposite has occurred, an impossible pill to swallow.

While simultaneously placing a gas company executive at the top position in the State Department, the GOP-led House passed a resolution ending an SEC requirement that oil, gas, and mining companies disclose payments to foreign governments.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/02/01/one-of-house-gops-first-targets-for-regulatory-rollback-...

Based on a little-known law, any committee that creates tax policy can request any specific person's tax filings from the IRS. Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX-35) led efforts to get the House Ways and Means Committee to make this request for President Trump's tax returns.

By a vote of 23-15, Republicans just voted to not request President Trump's tax returns from the Treasury Department.

Democratic Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform took a strong and public step towards a full investigation of Lt. General Michael Flynn, the administration's National Security Advisor. 

“Today, all Democratic Members of the Committee write to you jointly to request that you either reconsider your decision and initiate this investigation, or step aside and allow the Committee to vote on conducting basic oversight going forward,” the Members wrote.

In an overnight vote, the Senate confirmed Tom Price to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services despite ethics issues regarding lucrative stock purchases of companies his legislation would directly impact. Price's primary role at HHS is expected to be overseeing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and rollbacks to medicare and medicaid. His past opposition to federal health care programs of all varieties appears to have been his primary positive attribute to Republicans in Congress and at the White House.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, born out of the financial crisis and intending to help even out the information gap between consumers and corporations, is under fire by the House Financial Services Committee led by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). According to a memo obtained by the Washington Post: 

A Republican plan to dismantle Wall Street regulations would strip the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of many of its powers, including eliminating its consumer complaint database and scaling back its enforcement abilities...

Jeff Sessions, one of the most conservative Republicans in the Senate and an early supporter of Trump, was confirmed as Attorney General by a 52-47 vote on Wednesday.  Sessions shares Trump's anti-immigration views and will play a leading role in defending the immigration and travel ban in the courts.  Sessions has called the ACLU "un-American."