Monday, July 22

á           The Department of Homeland Security has finalized plans to bypass immigration courts and deport undocumented immigrants who are unable to prove theyÕve been present continuously in the U.S. for two or more years.

á           Lawmakers reached a budget agreement negotiated by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The bipartisan agreement includes billions for the Pentagon and domestic programs while extending the debt limit until 2021.

Tuesday, July 23

á           The House passed a resolution condemning the global boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel. The highly controversial resolution follows a battle between moderate and liberal democrats over BDS. Critics of BDS say that it seeks to delegitimize the state of Israel, while progressive Democrats say that the measure to condemn it is a violation of First Amendment rights.

á           The Senate approved legislation to permanently fund the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, guaranteeing full benefit to first responders who have become sick after the attacks.

á           The Senate Finance Committee revealed a legislative package to address high drug prices. The package would overhaul aspects of Medicare and Medicaid, including a crack down on drug companies that raise prices higher than the rate of inflation.

á           The Department of Justice launched an antitrust review into whether major tech companies, like Facebook and Google, are stifling competition and development.

á           The Senate confirmed Mark Esper, President TrumpÕs nominee for Defense secretary 90 to 8. EsperÕs confirmation ends the longest period without a Senate-confirmed Defense secretary in Pentagon history, almost 7 months.

Wednesday, July 24

á           The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its data privacy settlement with Facebook following a yearlong investigation triggered by the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal. The settlement includes a $5 billion fine and also requires Facebook to establish an internal Privacy oversight committee, designed to change FacebookÕs privacy culture and decrease future violations of user privacy, says FTC Chairman Joe Simons.

Thursday, July 25

á           The House Oversight Committee voted 26-to-16 in to authorize a subpoena for all work-related texts and emails sent or received by White House officials on personal accounts. The subpoena comes as part of a long-running investigation into whether senior administration aides have violated federal records laws by using private servers for official business, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

á           The Senate Intelligence Committee released a bipartisan report concluding that the election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016. The report follows former special counsel Robert S. MullerÕs warning that Russia was working to interfere again.

Friday, July 26

á         The Department of Justice announced its approval of the $26 billion T-Mobile-Sprint merger. The merger will combine the two carriers into one company with more than 80 million customers in the U.S.. 

á         In a 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court overturned an appellate decision and ruled that the Trump Administration could begin using the $2.5 billion in Pentagon funding for the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

á         President Donald Trump, in an attempt to slow the flow of migrants to the southern border, announced an agreement with Guatemala that requires migrants traveling through to the United States to seek asylum there instead.

á         Following previous sanctions, the Treasury Department allowed Chevron, the remaining major American oil company in Venezuela, three more months to produce oil and gas there.

á         Senate Democrats introduced the Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy Act that aims to educate the public on identifying misinformation on social media. This legislation creates a grant program through the Department of Education to assist states in developing media literacy programs and fund existing programs. The funds will also support training educators on this issue.

á         The Trump administration denied UtahÕs request to use federal funding to partially expand Medicaid and said they would not approve any other states requests on the grounds that it would invite continued reliance on the Affordable Care Act system.

Saturday, July 27

á           Trump announced that the U.S. is working with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on a ÒsubstantialÓ trade agreement.

Sunday, July 28

á           Trump Announced that Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats will step down to be replaced by Representative John Ratcliffe of Texas, a Trump loyalist.