Monday, June 3

· The House of Representative Judiciary Committee lawmakers launched an antitrust probe into some of countries technology giants, including Google and Facebook. The investigation is intended to uncover weather the major high-tech companies have a monopoly on the industry and are engaging in anticompetitive behavior.

· Federal Judge Trevor McFadden rejected House Democrats attempt to stop President Trump from using $6.1 billion in unappropriated funds for construction of a border wall.

Tuesday, June 4

· The Trump administration placed new restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba, banning cruise ships landing the island (including ships en route at the time). New travel restrictions are part of an effort to pressure Cuba’s communist government to stop supporting Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro.

· Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, agreed to turn over documents from President Trump’s 2016 election, despite being instructed by the White House not to do so. Hicks was subpoenaed in May along with former White House lawyer Annie Donaldson. The documents will aid the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into President Trump’s business, campaign, and possible obstruction of the Mueller probe.

· House Democrats, along with several Republicans passed the latest version of the DREAM act titled, the DREAM and PROMISE Act of 2019. The legislation would provide millions of undocumented and documented immigrants with a pathway to U.S. citizenship. The White House issued a threat to veto the act now sits in the hands of the Republican-controlled Senate awaiting consideration.

Wednesday, June 5

· The Trump administration rolled out new restrictions on research that uses fetal tissue. The restrictions will prevent government scientists from conducting research and also terminate existing HIV research. The Health and Human Services agency also intends to impose new reviews on government funded research that uses fetal tissue.

Thursday, June 6

· President Trump signed $19.1 billion disaster relief bill. This legislation had been stalled for months due to partisan disagreements. The funds will provide aid to communities across the nation that have sustained natural disasters, including funding for Puerto Rico.

· The Federal Communications Commission voted to curb unwanted robocalls by allowing wireless carriers to automatically block them. Subscribers would need to opt out of this in order to receive these calls. This decision comes in response to the continued rise in robocalls which had become the FCC’s top complaint.

Friday, June 7

· Andrew Miller, Roger Stone’s former aid, turned over all text messages with Stone from October 2016 to March 2017 as well as Stone’s written agenda for the 2016 Republican National Convention following a federal grand jury subpoena. The documents will aide the government’s ongoing investigation into Roger Stone who was indicted on charges of lying to Congress and the FBI about his relationship to WikiLeaks during the 2016 election.

· A newly released letter from Deputy White House Counsel Michael Purpura to House Oversight and Reform Committee chairman, Elijah Cummings, shows that the White House tried to block former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach from testifying about the census on the grounds that Kobach’s conversations with Trump are protected by executive privilege. The committee memo said the White House “Interfered directly and aggressively” in an effort to keep Kobach from answering certain questions and that Kobach’s conversations are not protected under executive privilege because he has never worked for the executive branch.

· Trump announced on Twitter he is backing off on plans to impose tariffs on billions of dollars of imports from Mexico. The idea to impose tariffs met strong opposition on both sides of the aisle. The Trump administration said Mexico agreed to concessions, including to decrease the number of Central American immigrants entering the United States and to station 6,000 troops from its National Guard and their southern border. But Mexico had already agreed to these proposals prior to Trump’s threat to impose tariffs.

Saturday, June 8

· The Trump administration is pushing for new legislation that would strip convicted terrorists of U.S. citizenship and deport them.

Sunday, June 9^th

· Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) have joined in a bipartisan effort to stop the Trump administration’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The senators requested a report on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record under provisions in the Foreign Assistance Act that could potentially bring a vote to stop the arms sales.