The Supreme Court issued an opinion on Wednesday that is a shot across the bow of defenders of civil asset forfeiture. In a unanimous judgment, the justices incorporated the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the states. The Court didn’t rule on the dubious constitutionality of civil asset forfeiture, leaving that issue for another day.

Welcome to FreedomWorks Foundation’s second regulatory review of 2019! Our Regulatory Action Center proudly updates you with our favorite tidbits from the swamp. We want to smash barriers between bureaucracy and the American people by delivering regulatory news straight to FreedomWorks activists. Check back in two weeks for the next edition.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Timbs v. Indiana. The case centers around the use of civil asset forfeiture and whether or not to incorporate the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the states. Although the Court won’t decide the case until next year, the oral arguments show that most of the justices appear ready to deal a long overdue blow to civil asset forfeiture.

There was no shortage of fireworks in the Senate Judiciary Committee during the first day of the confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who has received a "well-qualified" rating from the American Bar Association. Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) hadn’t even completed the first sentence of his opening statement before Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) interrupted, beginning nearly 90 minutes of obstruction by Democrats who serve on the committee and frequent outbursts from protestors in the audience.

The late writer and politician Harry Browne had an old saying that went something like this: “The government is good at one thing. It knows how to break your legs, hand you a crutch, and say, ‘See? If it weren’t for the government, you wouldn’t be able to walk.’” Browne’s quote would be funny, if it weren’t so painfully accurate.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury have released a final rule that expands short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. The rule, which will be published on Friday and take effect in 60 days, will expand these plans to 12 months from three months and allow renewability for up to 36 months.

President Donald Trump named Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as the next associate justice on the Supreme Court on Monday evening to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring at the end of July after serving for 30 years on the bench. Judge Kavanaugh is President Trump’s second nominee to the Supreme Court, and he’s a good choice because of his experience and approach to the law, but he's not a home run nominee.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce his second Supreme Court nominee tonight at 9:00 pm. As one might expect, Democrats are losing their collective minds over Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement and the thought of another conservative jurist on the Court. But their primary argument for not confirming a nominee is very different from the set of circumstances that the Senate faced in 2016.