Monday, March 22

· California Sens. Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein called on President Joe Biden to restore California’s authority to set clean car standards and to “follow California’s lead and set a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold be zero-emissions vehicles.”

· Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) made public a series of pictures showing a crowded detention facility on the United States-Mexico border that houses migrant children, increasing scrutiny of the Biden administration’s handling of an influx of underage migrants.

· Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned the US. public against using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, saying that they are “highly volatile” and “not really useful as a store of value.”

· The Senate confirmed former local union leader and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as secretary of labor, completing the Senate confirmation of all 15 of Biden’s cabinet picks.

· The Justice Department announced federal investigators have found evidence that may lead to sedition charges against many involved in the Jan. 6, far-right extremist riot at the Capitol that left five dead.

Tuesday, March 23

· National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy met with oil and gas industry representatives to discuss how companies can align with the White House’s climate goals. According to Reuters, the discussion focused on methane emissions and plans to decarbonize the U.S. economy.

· On his first visit to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to “rebuild partnerships, first and foremost with our NATO allies” and to “revitalize the alliance” in a shift in tone from former President Donald Trump, who said NATO was obsolete and reportedly considered withdrawing from it.

· Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the federal government must take more action to limit the damage done to the economy by the coronavirus pandemic and promote a full economic recovery.

· U.S. and Mexican officials met to discuss how to address the “root causes” of the migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

· Following the back-to-back mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia, Biden called for sweeping gun control legislation like a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. “I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future,” Biden said.

Wednesday, March 24

· Biden named Vice President Kamala Harris as lead on the White House’s efforts to stem the flow of immigration to the U.S., working with Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Harris said the increase in border crossings, especially the recent wave of unaccompanied minors, is a “huge problem” that would not be solved “overnight.”

· Thirteen Republican-leaning states led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sued the Biden administration to end a suspension on new oil and gas leases on federal land and water and to reschedule cancelled lease sales.

· The Senate confirmed Dr. Rachel Levine as assistant secretary of health. Levine previous served as the top health official in Pennsylvania and is now the first openly transgender official to win the Senate’s confirmation.

Thursday, March 25

· The Pentagon approved a request to house unaccompanied migrant children at military facilities in Texas. “[Health and Human Services] will maintain custody and responsibility for the well-being and support for these children at all times on the installation,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said.

· The U.S. and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on the business interests controlled by Myanmar’s military, including telecommunications, mining and real estate, following its Feb. 1 coup and deadly crackdown on dissent in the country.

· Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced the U.S. would give $15 million from the Agency for International Development to Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to help fight COVID-19.

· Seven House committees launched a comprehensive investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, along with the intelligence and security breakdowns leading up to it.

· The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a measure to repeal a 19-year-old authorization for the use of military force in Iraq. Committee Chair Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said the authorization is outdated and serves no operational purpose.

Friday, March 26

· Although not offering a precise timetable, Biden said he “can’t picture” U.S. troops in Afghanistan next year. Trump previously struck a deal with the Taliban to leave the country by May 1, which Biden said will be a hard deadline to meet.

· Biden said North Korea was at the top of his foreign policy agenda following news that the state test launched a new type of short-range “tactical projectile.” “There will be responses if they choose to escalate,” Biden warned. “We will response accordingly.”

· Biden welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to be included among the 40 nations participating in a U.S.-led global summit on climate change in April.

· House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tapped Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, to be the House’s first Black sergeant-at-arms, revamping security measures in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot.

Saturday, March 27

· China sanctioned the chair and vice-chair of the U.S. government’s Advisory Commission on International Religious Freedom, Gayle Manchin and Tony Perkins, as well as two Canadian officials, in response to sanctions performed by the two countries last week over alleged human rights violations against Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region.

Sunday, March 28

· Hundreds of Cubans gathered in Havana to demand the end of a longstanding U.S. trade embargo against the country.

· Rep. Judy Chu (D-Cali.) called on authorities to bring hate crime charges against the perpetrator of the March 16 shooting spree in Atlanta spas that killed eight people, six of them Asian women.