Category: Executive Branch

House Digs Deeper Into Chinese-Owned Battery Company’s Rescinded Grant From Biden DOE

House Republicans have voiced worries about the Biden administration’s energy-related spending, questioning a Department of Energy (DOE) official about how a Chinese-owned battery manufacturer was on pace to get hundreds of millions in taxpayer money before the Biden administration yanked the money away last month. That company, Microvast, somehow qualified for a $200 million grant…


EPA Official Finally Testifies to House on Controversial Emissions Rules After Refusal in May

The House is no longer “Waiting for Goffman,” a top Environmental Protection Agency official who appeared before Congress on June 21 after declining to show up to a similar May 17 hearing. In both cases, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability wanted the Office of Air and Radiation’s Joseph Goffman to discuss his agency’s…


House Republicans Fail to Overturn Biden’s Veto of Debt Relief Plan

The attempt by House Republicans to overturn President Joe Biden’s veto of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution aimed at nullifying the president’s debt relief plan has failed with a vote of 221–206. To successfully override Biden’s veto, it would have needed a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate, both of which…


Judge Sets Hunter Biden’s Date in Court Over Tax and Gun Charges

A federal judge has scheduled the first court appearance for President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who faces tax and gun charges. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, on Wednesday issued an order (pdf) requiring Hunter Biden to appear in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 26. Noreika…


FTC Sues Amazon for ‘Sabotaging’ Customer Attempts to Quit Prime Service

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken legal action against Amazon for allegedly enrolling customers in its Prime program without their consent and then devising an elaborate scheme to prevent them from unsubscribing. The consumer protection agency made the allegations in a lawsuit (pdf) filed on June 21 at the U.S. District Court, Western District…


US ‘Working to Disrupt’ Chinese Expansion in Cuba: State Department

WASHINGTON—The United States is “working to disrupt” Beijing’s ongoing efforts to expand its presence in Cuba, the State Department has told The Epoch Times. “Broadly, we are monitoring and responding to any PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempts to expand its military or security presence around the world, and we watch how potential PRC actions…


Durham: Rules Should Change so Heads Could Roll at FBI

The Department of Justice (DOJ) rules should change so that FBI agents lose their jobs when they lie to misuse the government’s spying powers in sensitive investigations, Special Counsel John Durham suggested to Congress. Durham, who recently released a report on his review of the FBI’s handling of the 2016 Trump-Russia investigation, acknowledged that he…


White House Declines to Appeal Supreme Court on Transgender Surgery Mandate

The White House will not seek a U.S. Supreme Court intervention for its requirement that health care organizations and hospitals perform and cover transgender medical procedures after it missed its deadline to file an appeal. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty legal group said in a news release that the Biden administration missed a June 20 deadline…


Consumer Groups Call on Washington and Brussels to Regulate AI Tech

A coalition of consumer advocacy groups in the European Union and the United States called on their governments to develop regulations for generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. These groups are concerned about AI tech that power tools like ChatGPT are developing so quickly that consumers’ rights may be grievously harmed if state regulators fail to get involved….


First Lady Hosts Media Preview of White House State Dinner

First Lady Jill Biden hosts a media preview at the White House at 4:30 p.m. ET on June 21 on the state dinner with the republic of India Thursday night. …