Biden in France: President Biden arrived in Paris this morning for a state visit that will include meetings with French President Macron and ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the June 6th D-Day invasion of Europe during World War II. D-Day, when allied troops went ashore at Normandy, marked a turning point in the war against Hitler and his Nazis. Biden also is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at Normandy and again at the G7 meeting next week in Italy.
Border: The American Civil Liberties Union says it will go to court to challenge the executive order signed yesterday by President Biden that puts into effect a similar provision of bipartisan legislation that was scuttled by Republicans. Donald Trump told Republicans in Congress to kill legislation to fix the border issues so he could continue to make immigration a campaign issue. The executive order shuts off asylum applications once the average number of illegal border crossings reaches 2,500 a day, reopening only after the daily number declines to 1,500.
Chinese supplies: During a hearing by the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said U.S. manufacturing companies should sue the Treasury Department because of rules contained in the Inflation Reduction Act. The rules govern what manufacturers have to do in order to be eligible to receive clean energy tax credits. Manchin told Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who appeared at the hearing, that the Treasury Department is hurting U.S. manufacturers by allowing supplies from China to be used instead of U.S. materials and granting tax credits to manufacturers using the Chinese materials..
Garland testimony: Attorney General Merrick Garland faced off against Republicans during a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee. Garland defended the Department of Justice against Republican charges that the department has engaged in political prosecutions of Donald Trump. He also said that Congress has no right to obtain an audiotape of an interview Special Council Robert Hur conducted with President Biden.
Toyota recall: Toyota is recalling more than 100,000 vehicles because of concerns that debris that was not cleaned out of the engine during manufacturing could cause the engine to lose power while driving or completely stall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the recall involves about 3,500 2022 and 2023 Lexus LX SUVs and about 100,000 2022 and 2023 Tundra pickup trucks. The exact fix hasn’t yet been determined but the engines may have to be disassembled in order to be cleaned.
Trump case hearing: Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, of the Southern District in Florida who was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump and is presiding in the case charging Trump with stealing top secret government documents, has made another ruling favoring Trump. She has scheduled a hearing to begin June 21 on a request by Trump’s attorneys to invalidate the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Trump. Cannon has ruled that political operatives, two former Republican Attorneys General, and others who are not directly involved in the case can participate in the hearing. Cannon has indefinitely delayed the start of Trump’s dpcuments trial and has not ruled on pretrial motions that other judges typically would have taken care of months ago.
