Monday, March 15

á           The Justice Department charged two suspects, Julian Elie Khater and George Pierre Tanios, who allegedly collaborated to spray an unidentified but powerful chemical agent, possibly bear spray, on three Capitol Police officers, one of whom later died, during the Jan. 6 riot.

á           The Senate confirmed Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) as secretary of the interior, the first New Mexico politician and the first Indigenous person to head a cabinet agency in United States history. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.

á           A delegation of congressional Republicans led by California Rep. Kevin McCarthy toured the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas. McCarthy used the opportunity to slam the administration of President Joe Biden for its handling of an upsurge in migrant children held at detention centers at the border.

á           Acting House sergeant-at-arms Timothy Blodgett sent a memo to members of Congress explaining that the fencing surrounding the Capitol since the Jan. 6 riot will be reduced since he believes there is not Òa known, credible threatÓ that warrants the barrier.

Tuesday, March 16

á           Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined their Japanese counterparts in a top-level meeting in Tokyo where both sides agreed to warn China against Òcoercion and destabilizing behaviorÓ and called for a Òcomplete denuclearizationÓ in North Korea.

á           The Department of Homeland Security said the U.S. is on pace to face its biggest migrant surge in 20 years. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the majority of arrivals are being expelled under Title 42, a provision from former President Donald Trump that uses the pandemic to justify immediate migrant expulsion.

á           The Office of the Director of National Intelligence published a report assessing that the Russian government used Trump allies to try to meddle in the 2020 election with Òmisleading or unsubstantiated allegationsÓ against Biden. Russian officials called the report Òbaseless.Ó Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin Òis going to payÓ for this influence campaign.

á           John Sopko, the Department of DefenseÕs special inspector for Afghanistan reconstruction, told a House committee that the Afghan government could face collapse without U.S. military and financial support.

á           The U.S. sanctioned 24 Chinese officials involved in BeijingÕs ongoing crackdown on protests and dissent activities in Hong Kong, who are deemed responsible for eroding rights and freedoms promised to Hong Kong citizens when it was handed over from British to Chinese rule.

Wednesday, March 17

á           Ahead of a meeting between Biden and Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, a senior Biden administration official said the White House will not take sides in the British-European Union rift over the movement of goods to Northern Ireland.

á           Biden said it would be ÒtoughÓ for the U.S. to withdraw forces from Afghanistan in six weeks, as called for in an agreement negotiated by Trump with the Taliban.

á           A report from several branches of the U.S. federal intelligence community was declassified, concluding that Òracially or ethnically motivated violent extremistsÓ are the Òmost likely to conduct mass-casualtyÓ attacks against civilians in the country.

Thursday, March 18

á           North Korea said it will ignore all U.S. efforts to foster contact while the Biden administration continues to pursue what it describes as Òhostile policy.Ó

á           Reuters reported that internal White House draft memos reveal the Biden administration is in the early stages of planning to reset ties with the Palestinians, a foreign policy relationship that crumbled under the Trump administration.

á           National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that Biden sent Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) to Ethiopia to convey the presidentÕs Ògrave concernsÓ over the crisis in the Tigray region, where thousands have been killed in acts alleged to be ethnic cleansing.

á           White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. plans to send 4 million doses of AstraZenecaÕs COVID-19 vaccine to Canada and Mexico on loan deals.

á           The Biden administration reversed a Trump-era policy of granting only partial relief from federal loans if students were defrauded by their colleges. Now such students could see them fully cancelled.

á           Biden ordered U.S. flags flown at half-staff to honor the eight people killed in a series of shootings at massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia.

á           The Senate confirmed California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as secretary of health and human services.

á           The Senate unanimously confirmed veteran diplomat William Burns as CIA director.

á           The House voted 228-197, nearly along party lines, to approve a bill offering legal status to about two million Dreamers — individuals brought to the U.S. undocumented as children — along with hundreds of thousands of other migrants.

á           The Daily Beast reported that Òdozens of young White House staffers have been suspended, asked to resign, or placed in a remote work programÓ due to admissions of prior marijuana use. The following day, a White House spokesperson said five staffers lost their jobs after disclosing marijuana use.

Friday, March 19

á           An indictment was unsealed revealing evidence that led to four men described as leaders of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys being charged in the Capitol riot.

á           U.S. and Chinese diplomats held hours-long discussions in the first high-level in-person meeting between the two world powers in Alaska. Secretary Blinken said they found their interests intersected when discussing Iran, North Korea and economics.

á           Biden condemned the Atlanta shootings as an anti-Asian hate crime, linking it to the rise on attacks on Asians in the U.S. and anti-Asian sentiment in general stoked by the coronavirus pandemic, which was first identified in Wuhan, China.

Saturday, March 20

á           No news to report.

Sunday, March 21

á           Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in a previously unannounced visit. The talks concerned, according to a statement, the Òpeace process and concerns over rising violence.Ó

á           The Biden administration responded to criticism of its handling of migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border, with DHS Secretary Mayorkas saying the federal government has to rebuild an asylum system dismantled by the previous administration.

á           Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) called for a Òdeeper investigationÓ into whether anti-Asian racism influenced the Atlanta shootings, which FBI Director Chris Wray said that same day were not racially motivated.