Rep. Tusli Gabbard (D-Hawaii) announced on Twitter that 65,000 people have donated to her presidential campaign, meaning she is now eligible to participate in the June Democratic primarydebates.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to meet House Democrats' request to hand over 6 years of President Trump’s tax returns by the Wednesday's deadline, stating he needs more time for review, but providing no details as to whether he will comply.
Details: Mnuchin said in a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) that his agency has consulted with the Justice Department to review the lawfulness of the request. He said it "raises serious issues concerning the constitutional investigative authority, the legitimacy of the asserted legislative purpose and the constitutional rights of American citizens."
The Pentagon has approved a request to find and secure housing for about 5,000 unaccompanied migrant children through September 30, Reuters reports.
Details: Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan approved the request from the Department of Health and Human Services, but the petition doesn't require the Pentagon to actually house the children, per Reuters. The announcement comes 1 day after President Trump said his administration does not plan to separate families along the southern border, per the Texas Tribune.
All 4 Democratic members of the Gang of 8 — which has received the most classified briefings on the Russia investigation out of anybody in Congress — condemned Attorney General Bill Barr's comments about intelligence officials "spying" on the Trump campaign in 2016.
The backdrop: Barr on Wednesday told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that he believes spying by law enforcement officials on the 2016 Trump campaign "did occur," and that he would be reviewing "both the genesis and conduct" of the Russia investigation. The so-called "spygate" scandal, which relates to alleged FISA abuses by the intelligence community, has been frequently promoted by defenders of President Trump. It has not been corroborated.
Ronald Vitiello will vacate his position as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, an agency spokesperson confirmed to Politico.
The backdrop: President Trump abruptly pulled Vitiello's nomination on April 5 for the director position, saying he intends to move the federal enforcement agency in a "tougher direction." ICE has not disclosed details of Vitiello's replacement, though Matthew Albence — the acting deputy director — is technically next in line. Vitiello has been in the position since June 2018.
Democrats in the House and Senate introduced a bill on Wednesday to repeal President Trump's controversial travel ban on seven countries, five of which are predominantly Muslim.
Details: Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-Cali.) introduced the bill with the support of Muslim Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), as well as every Democratic presidential candidate in Congress, per the Washington Post. The NO BAN Act would repeal all three versions of Trump's travel ban, completely prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion for immigrants and limit any broad executive authority to issue new travel bans.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has raised $6 million in the first three months of her presidential campaign, reports Politico.
Details: About 135,000 people gave 213,000 contributions that average about $28 per donation, per Politico. Warren has already spent nearly 85% of her funds campaigning.
The House voted on Wednesday to pass the Save the Internet Act, which restores the FCC's 2015 rules that prohibit internet service providers from blocking, throttling or allowing "fast lanes" for web traffic on their networks.
Why it matters: It's a victory for Democrats, who have been pushing for re-instating the Obama-era rules ever since they were overturned by the Trump administration in late 2017. The telecom industry opposes the legislation that opens internet carriers like Verizon, AT&T and Comcast to stricter regulation.
Almost a third of new applications for the high-skilled worker H-1B visa were denied in the first quarter of this fiscal year — a higher rate than any annual H-1B denial rate in at least a decade, according to a new analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy.
Attorney General Bill Barr told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday that he believes spying by law enforcement officials on the 2016 Trump campaign "did occur," before clarifying at the end of the hearing: "I am not saying that improper surveillance occurred. I am saying that I am concerned about it and I’m looking into it."
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig confirmed at a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday that there is "no rule that would prohibit the release of a tax return because it's under audit," in reference to an ongoing effort by House Democrats to obtain President Trump's tax returns.
Driving the news: Trump told reporters on Wednesday, the deadline given by House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal for Trump to release his tax returns, that he will not do so while under audit — a defense he has used for the past 3 years. Trump's lawyers sent a letter to the Department of Treasury counsel last week dismissing the request for returns as politically-motivated.
Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released her 2018 tax returns on Wednesday, continuing a trend for 2020 Democratic hopefuls as President Trump refuses to release his own.
The big picture: Warren released the previous 10 years of her tax returns in August 2018. In her 2018 returns — in addition to her Senate salary — she earned $325,000 in income from her books.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scored a fifth term in office with his election win yesterday, declaring that he will be "prime minister for all" even as he faces a slew of corruption indictments.
The big picture: Netanyahu's victory showcased both his skill as a master politician — at home and abroad — and shifting trends in the Israeli electorate, which allowed him to score a win in one of his career's most closely fought elections.
The seven officials in top "acting" roles in President Trump's administration are all white males, with an age range of 43 to 59.
The bottom line: Half the women are gone from Trump's Cabinet, leaving (with vacancies) 13% of Cabinet-level roles held by women, per CNN. Kirstjen Nielsen announced her resignation from the Department of Homeland Security on Sunday and the department's acting deputy secretary, Claire Grady, did the same on Tuesday.
The "personal space" uproar has left Joe Biden undeterred: He plans to announce his White House run toward the end of April (likely after Easter, which falls April 21), friends say.
The big picture: "Joe knows the field will try to crush him once he announces and he is totally prepared for it," one associate said. The former vice president is planning a couple of big speeches after his announcement, to build a substantive bulwark aimed at defusing claims he's a man out of time.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) vowed at a town hall near the Parkland school massacre site in Florida Tuesday he would make curbing gun violence his 2020 campaign priority, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
What he's saying: Standing beside Parkland activists Cameron Kasky, 18, and Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter died in the 2018 shooting, he said he'd discuss issues including education and climate change during his campaign. "But my pledge to you tonight is that this issue comes first," he said.
President Trump praised Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Tuesday, after U.S. lawmakers raised concerns about Egypt's planned Russian arms purchases, human rights issues and moves to keep the former general in power until 2034.
I can just tell you he’s doing a great job. Great president."
During a House Appropriations Committee hearing Attorney General William Barr said he is assembling a team to investigate counterintelligence decisions by Justice Department and FBI officials during the summer of 2016, reports Bloomberg.
What this means: Barr is essentially looking into claims that the investigation into President Trump and possible collusion with Russia has been affected by those with anti-Trump sentiments, per NBC.
