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Today was an important day for Sphere, as the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing to address the largest national opioid pandemic since Big Tobacco. Sphere is proud to represent the largest group of lawyers holding pharmaceutical distributors accountable by suing them for their role in this epidemic. During Tuesday’s hearing, the executives of the five major distribution companies faced the House Energy Committee as they investigate their role in this crisis. In its efforts, Sphere has successfully organized a briefing for Mike Papantonio and one of his colleagues, two of the lawyers suing the distribution companies, on the Hill that drew aides for more than a dozen committee members. The lawyers distributed a six-page list of suggested questions for lawmakers to ask; m ...

Good morning! There is plenty going on in Washington this week, but most policy-oriented eyes will be on Saturday, President Trump’s deadline to decide whether the United States will continue to participate in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – better known as the Iran Deal. Billions of dollars in deals are on the line for companies that restarted business with Iran following the 2015 agreement and the lifting of sanctions. The House Foreign Affairs Committee will ponder the Iran Deal and the administration’s proposed fixes to the pact on Tuesday morning at a hearing, “Confronting the Iranian Challenge,” while on Wednesday the Hudson Institute hosts “Trump and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action: It’s the End of the World As We Know It?” Gina Haspel, President Trump’s nominee to b ...

Good morning! Congress is out of town for a week as members return home to campaign – something they will be doing at least one out of every four weeks until the November midterm election. The Supreme Court is finished hearing arguments for the term, so now we just wait for several important decisions expected between now and July – on whether anti-discrimination laws outweigh religious beliefs, whether a warrant is needed to collect historical cell phone records, and if states can enact online shopping sales taxes, among others. Stay tuned. President Trump is in town and will meet on Monday with the President of Nigeria, the first African leader to visit the White House this term. But much of Trump’s attention this week is likely to be on North Korea as his administration tries to p ...

Bon Appetit! President Trump will host his first state dinner on Tuesday honoring French President Emmanuel Macron. On Monday, the president and First Lady will host Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at a private dinner at Mount Vernon, in recognition of France’s role as America’s first ally, and on Wednesday he will address a joint session of Congress. The multiday soiree kicks off Monday afternoon at the Wilson Center with  “France’s Long Reconstruction: In Search of the Modern Republic.” Members of the president’s Cabinet will crowd Capitol Hill this week for budget hearings and other fun. On Monday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider the nomination of Mike Pompeo to be Secretary of State; it looks likely to vote against the nomination – which would make Pompeo the first ...

It’s debatable who fired the first shot, but there’s no doubt that President Trump and former FBI Director James Comey are at war. In a Sunday-morning tweetstorm, the president again called Comey a “slimeball” and propagated a list of things he said Comey left out of the book. Comey returned the favor Sunday night, calling Trump“morally unfit to be president” and a serial liar. When you drain a swamp, all that’s left is mud. Note to politicians: Try to avoid the phrase “Mission Accomplished” whenever possible. Twenty-four hours after President Trump declared the U.S. attack on Syrian chemical weapons facilities a success,  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military resumed strikes on rebel-held and civilian areas as he met with Russian advisers. The Syrian conflict is certain to be a topi ...