The Senate on Wednesday voted 84-8 to pass a $4.6 billion bill that would appropriate funding for humanitarian aid for migrants and additional security measures at the southern border, after rejecting a House version of the bill that would impose greater restrictions on migrant detention centers.
The big picture: Democrats and Republicans have backed two separate plans to deal with reports of dangerous and unsanitary living conditions at migrant facilities on the southern border. The House and Senate must now reconcile the two bills or find an alternative solution before Congress leaves for its July 4 recess, with the Department of Health and Human Services warning that it could run out of funding to house migrant children by the end of the month.
President Trump said that "we should be suing Google and Facebook," adding "perhaps we will," during an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Regulators appear to be weighing antitrust investigations for some of the Big Tech giants. The Justice Department has claimed jurisdiction over antitrust issues related to Google and Apple, while the Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction over Facebook and Amazon.
"Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!"
The backdrop: Trump criticized Rapinoe earlier this week for not singing along to the national anthem before the start of World Cup matches during an interview with The Hill. She also kneeled during the national anthem before U.S. national team friendlies in 2016 in solidarity with the NFL's Colin Kaepernick, who kneeled to protest police brutality against African Americans, before the U.S. Soccer Federation enacted a rule requiring players to "stand respectfully."
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been put in a tough situation by President Trump and the market ahead of July's FOMC meeting, with his hand forced in the face of historic uncertainty — but he hasn't done much to help himself.
Why it matters ... The U.S. economy is at a delicate moment: trade and manufacturing data are worsening, jobs growth is volatile and slowing, and the bond market is bracing for the worst while equity investors keep expecting the best.
Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, were found dead Monday along the bank of the Rio Grande with her arm draped around his neck, suggesting she clung to him in her final moments, the AP reports from Mexico City.
Why it matters: The searing photograph of the sad discovery highlights the perils faced by mostly Central American migrants fleeing violence and poverty and hoping for asylum in the United States.
In tweets by the 2020 Democratic candidates, the economy exceeds the next five domestic issues put together, according to exclusive data provided to Axios by Hamilton Place Strategies.
Why it matters: The count of candidates' tweets about the "economy" includes jobs, wages, inequality, trade, taxes and business — highlighting how many separate issues related to the economy Democrats have to address, compared to far fewer issues related to health care and energy.
A federal judge rejected Tuesday another attempt by President Trump's representatives to stop a lawsuit alleging the Trump Organization is in breach of the Constitution's restriction on emoluments — gifts and payments — from foreign governments.
Why it matters: U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan's decision enables the nearly 200 Democrats in Congress to continue with the suit requesting the court demand Trump no longer takes funds that may violate the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause. It represents the first time federal judges have considered such clauses concerning a sitting president.
The House voted 230-195 on Tuesday evening to approve a $4.5 billion emergency funding bill for humanitarian assistance for migrants and additional security measures at the U.S. southern border.
Catch up quick: The bill aims to appropriate $934.5 million for "processing facilities, food, water, sanitary items, blankets, medical services, and safe transportation," ABC reports. The White House threatened to veto the House measure on Monday, citing "partisan provisions designed to hamstring the Administration’s border enforcement efforts."
Employees from the furniture company Wayfair are set to walk out Wednesday in response to the company's unwillingness to stop selling beds to the operators of migrant child detention centers.
The big picture: According to the Wayfair Walkout Twitter account, at least 547 employees have signed a petition asking executives to stop selling beds to the facilities after discovering an over $200,000 order was placed for a Texas facility. The employees are asking that all profits made from the transactions be donated to The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.
The fallout over reports of migrant children being housed in squalid conditions at a detention center in Texas reached new heights today, with a paralyzed Washington looking increasingly unlikely to do anything about it — at least in the short term.
Driving the news: Officials confirmed Tuesday that over 100 children had been returned to the center in question because of a lack of bed space and funding at other facilities, WashPost reports. Hours later, news of acting Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner John Sanders' resignation went public.
In an ongoing saga, federal prosecutors accused Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) of diverting campaign funds to finance extramarital affairs and other non-campaign activities, reports Politico.
Catch up quick: The Department of Justice claimed last year that Hunter and his wife funneled $250,000 in campaign funds toward personal endeavors, including school tuition for their children and vacations. Hunter's wife pleaded guilty to the misuses earlier this month and agreed to work with prosecutors, serving as a troubling sign for her husband's case.
John Sanders, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, announced in an internal email Tuesday that he had handed in his resignation letter — effective July 5 — to acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan on Monday.
Why it matters: Sanders' resignation as the administration's top border enforcer follows heightened scrutiny over the past week of the conditions at migrant children's detention centers at the southern border.
2020 Democratic candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a policy proposal on Tuesday outlining her plan to reform and secure the voting process across the U.S.
The big picture: Democrats — both in the House and on the 2020 trail — have made election security a top priority, citing continued cyber threats from Russia and other foreign nations. They've also spoken out against voting restrictions, which have disproportionately affected African Americans' ability to vote, especially across the South.
Lawmakers have focused for close to a year on what consumer data platforms like Google and Facebook collect. Now, another question is becoming increasingly central: How do they get that data in the first place?
Why it matters: Policymakers are digging into how so-called "dark patterns" and opaque algorithms affect the experience of people using the platforms, putting a spotlight on design practices many view as deceptive.
Bill Gates told Axios that he doesn't really understand the calls by some presidential candidates to break up Big Tech.
What he's saying: "It's unclear to me what benefit you want to gain," he told Axios' Amy Harder and Ben Geman on Monday in an interview, following his appearance at the Economic Club in Washington, D.C. "If your problem is bullying or privacy, does splitting companies apart — you have to really think of what the problem is."
Swing counties that backed President Obama, then flipped to President Trump in 2016, are struggling economically — a potential problem for his re-election bid, which depends heavily on the president celebrating national economic gains.
What's happening: The Economic Innovation Group, in a report provided first to Axios, found that these "flipped" counties "experienced slower growth in employment, a slower rise in the number of [businesses], and a more pervasive decline in prime-age workers than consistently Democratic or Republican counties."
President Trump wouldn't say during an interview with The Hill Monday if he has confidence in FBI Director Christopher Wray, stressing he disagrees with him over his administration's claims its agents spied on his 2016 campaign.
Well, we’ll see how it turns out."
— President Trump's response to a question on his level of confidence in Wray
President Trump told The Hill Monday that writer E. Jean Carroll was "totally lying" when she said he raped her in a dressing room of New York's Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s.
I’ll say it with great respect: No. 1, she’s not my type. No. 2, it never happened. It never happened, OK?"
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at a New York event Monday she told President Trump during a phone call last week he's "scaring the children" with his mass deportation plans.
The big picture: Trump said over the weekend he'd delay the planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids by 2 weeks, at the request of the Democrats. Acting ICE director Mark Morgan says he has the "green light" to remove undocumented migrants despite the delay.
