The U.S. House of Representatives on 12 June narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s first rescissions package, a cornerstone of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) agenda once overseen by Elon Musk. The measure, passed 214–212, would cancel $9.4 billion in previously appropriated spending and now moves to the Senate, where only a simple majority is required for enactment.

Under the bill, about $8.3 billion would be withdrawn from U.S. Agency for International Development programs, while roughly $1.1 billion earmarked for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting—which funds NPR and PBS—would be clawed back over the next two fiscal years. Supporters said the cuts represent an initial effort to curb wasteful spending; opponents warned they would undermine global health initiatives and eliminate free educational and emergency‐alert services provided by public media.

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U.S. Senate Republicans on 13 June revised President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending proposal, commonly called the “Big Beautiful Bill,” ahead of floor consideration.

Reuters reported that the Senate draft now includes language restricting federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions that block administration policies, tightening but not eliminating judicial oversight.

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Circle Internet Financial Inc.’s shares continued their blistering run on Friday, climbing as much as 26% to about $128 during regular trading and extending gains to roughly $137 in after-hours dealing. The stock had finished Thursday at $107, leaving it about 241% above its $31 initial public offering price just weeks ago.

Market participants attributed the surge to two pre-market announcements tied to the stablecoin industry and growing anticipation of a congressional vote on the GENIUS Act, slated for early next week. The legislation is expected to lay out a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged tokens, a business core to Circle’s operations.

Circle’s rally stood out on a day when most U.S. equities fell, underscoring investor appetite for firms perceived to benefit from clearer digital-asset rules. The stock has added roughly 37% this week alone, reinforcing its status as one of 2025’s strongest debut performers.

Conservative lawmakers and right-leaning commentators are intensifying demands for the United States to prohibit—or forcibly seize—farmland and other property owned by Chinese nationals or entities, especially tracts located near military installations.

The renewed push follows widely publicized reports that Israel staged drone attacks from within Iran and that Ukraine has carried out similar operations inside Russia. Advocates of the ban argue that foreign-owned acreage adjacent to U.S. bases could be used to launch hostile drone strikes on American soil.

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The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation that would reduce or eliminate federal spending on foreign aid programs and public broadcasting. The measure is framed by supporters as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to curb “waste, fraud and abuse” across federal agencies.

The bill also aligns with the administration’s broader fiscal agenda, including the proposed "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which seeks to consolidate and streamline government expenditures. Details on the precise scope of reductions will move to the Senate for consideration, where lawmakers are expected to debate potential impacts on international development efforts and domestic media services.

Republican members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee mounted an aggressive line of questioning against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during a two-day hearing on 12-13 June that examined state and local "sanctuary" policies toward undocumented immigrants. Walz, one of three Democratic governors called to testify, was repeatedly pressed on Minnesota’s limits on cooperation with federal immigration authorities and on remarks he made in 2018 comparing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the Gestapo.

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A group of six Hispanic Republican members of the U.S. House has asked Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Lyons to shift the agency’s deportation efforts toward migrants facing violent-crime charges rather than those with no criminal record. In a letter dated this week, the lawmakers warned that “every minute” spent tracking individuals with clean records is time taken away from apprehending violent offenders and potential terrorists.

The legislators—whose ranks include Florida Representative Salazar—also requested detailed statistics on how many of those recently arrested by ICE have prior criminal histories. They argued that the agency’s limited resources should be concentrated on the most serious public-safety threats, citing reports that enforcement officers have recently stepped up arrests of non-violent migrants.

Their appeal coincides with a broader Republican push on Capitol Hill. The House majority has passed seven immigration-enforcement bills since January; 85 Democrats voted for at least one of them, with five Democrats supporting all seven and 11 backing six. The lawmakers said better targeting by ICE would complement those legislative efforts.

New York has adopted legislation requiring companies that file Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices to specify whether any layoffs are caused by the adoption of artificial intelligence, robotics or other technological innovations. The measure, approved on 13 June 2025, makes New York the first U.S. state to mandate such disclosure.

The move forms part of a broader technology-focused agenda in Albany. On the same day, the State Senate advanced a separate bill that would compel social-media platforms employing addictive design features to carry clear labels warning users about potential mental-health risks; the proposal now heads to the Assembly for consideration. Lawmakers have also backed legislation aimed at curbing AI-related safety threats.

Stephen Miller, Deputy White House Director, engaged in intense discussions with Senate Republicans over funding for border security, including the construction of former President Donald Trump's border wall. Initial meetings saw confrontations, notably a shouting match between Miller and Senator Ron Johnson over the refusal to approve funds for enhanced deportation and immigration enforcement. Despite early tensions, Senate GOP members eventually expressed satisfaction with the proposed border-wall spending. Senator John Cornyn announced that the Senate GOP budget plan, referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” includes full funding for Trump’s border wall proposal and provisions to reimburse states like Texas for their border security expenditures. Cornyn highlighted that Texas had spent over $11 billion on Operation Lone Star and secured $13.5 billion in funding provisions within the bill to cover such costs under the Biden administration.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed three Congressional Review Act resolutions that nullify California’s landmark vehicle-emissions regulations. The action overturns the state’s plan to require all new passenger cars sold after 2035 to be electric or zero-emission, as well as separate clean-diesel and zero-emission truck standards adopted under a waiver of the federal Clean Air Act.

The resolutions, steered through Congress by Senator Deb Fischer and Representative Kevin Kiley, also block other states from enforcing identical rules they had adopted under California’s waiver—altogether covering roughly one-third of the US auto market. During a White House signing ceremony, Trump called the California mandate “a disaster” and said the move would “rescue the US auto industry,” while suggesting he could impose higher tariffs on imported vehicles.

Within minutes of the signing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit in federal court alongside 10 other states, arguing that Congress lacked authority to revoke the state’s Clean Air Act waiver. The litigation sets up a new clash between the nation’s most populous state and the Republican administration over the future of US emissions policy and the transition to electric vehicles.

Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced bipartisan legislation called the Higher Wages for American Workers Act to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. The bill also proposes tying future minimum wage increases to inflation. This effort marks the first push to increase the federal minimum wage since 2009, responding to rising prices and cost of living following persistent inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Japan has set a target to raise its minimum hourly wage to ¥1,500 by 2030 and aims for a 1% real wage growth as part of its new economic and fiscal management guidelines, which include measures to support productivity improvements and price pass-through countermeasures.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the HALT Fentanyl Act on June 12, 2025, sending the measure to President Donald Trump after earlier approval in the Senate. Passage caps years of debate over how to give law-enforcement agencies permanent authority to combat a drug officials say is driving the nation’s overdose crisis.

The legislation permanently classifies fentanyl and its chemical analogues as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act and stiffens criminal penalties. Among its provisions is a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence for trafficking more than 100 grams of fentanyl or related compounds. The bill also streamlines rules that have limited research into other Schedule I drugs.

Supporters say the tougher framework is needed to address a drug they estimate kills roughly 200 Americans each day and has become the leading cause of death among adults aged 18 to 49. Once signed, the law will replace temporary scheduling orders that have repeatedly been extended since 2018, giving prosecutors and investigators permanent tools to target traffickers.

President Donald Trump reiterated his hard-line immigration stance on 12 June, asserting that President Joe Biden had allowed “21 million unvetted, illegal aliens” into the United States and vowing to deport “all of them.” Trump said he had campaigned on—and won—a “historic mandate” for what he called the largest mass deportation program in U.S. history, adding that “saving America is not negotiable.”

A day earlier, the White House confirmed the administration will press ahead with mass deportations. The Press Secretary told reporters the effort is part of the President’s pledge to the American public and urged Congress to pass what Trump has dubbed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which would finance the hiring of additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers.

In multiple posts and public statements, Trump praised ICE personnel as “heroes” tasked with carrying out a “noble mission,” insisting the removals are necessary to relieve pressure on schools, hospitals and other public services. He also singled out California Governor Gavin Newsom for allegedly contributing to the influx. No timetable for the expanded operations was disclosed.

Only 28% of U.S. homes sold above their asking price this spring, down from 32% a year earlier and the lowest share for the season since 2020, according to a new report from Redfin. The figures underscore waning bidding wars as elevated mortgage rates continue to cool demand.

Sellers’ price expectations are increasingly at odds with what buyers will pay. Redfin’s data show the median home was listed at about $426,000, while the median sale price was roughly $397,000—an almost $30,000 gap that marks the widest divergence in at least four years.

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Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, riot have filed a federal lawsuit seeking a court order to compel Congress to install a memorial plaque honoring law enforcement officers wounded and who protected the Capitol that day. The plaque was mandated by a 2022 law signed by President Joe Biden, which required its installation by March 2023. However, the plaque has not been installed, with the officers and their legal representatives alleging that the failure to display the memorial reflects an effort by former President Donald Trump and his congressional allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to rewrite the history of the January 6 attack.

The lawsuit highlights that 140 police officers were wounded during the riot. The officers involved in the suit include D.C. Police Officer Daniel Hodges and former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. The legal action underscores ongoing political disputes surrounding the commemoration of the events of January 6 and the recognition of law enforcement's role in defending the Capitol.

Congress is advancing legislation aimed at providing relief to home buyers from the practice of 'trigger leads.' These leads occur when credit bureaus sell mortgage application information to competing lenders, potentially leading to unwanted solicitations. The House Financial Services Committee has approved a bill addressing this issue, signaling a legislative effort to protect consumers during the mortgage application process.

A recent investigation by ProPublica has revealed that senior Salvadoran officials, including President Nayib Bukele, have obstructed a U.S. investigation into the MS-13 gang. Despite President Donald Trump publicly praising Bukele as a crime fighter and celebrating a deal to transfer gang members to El Salvador's CECOT prison, U.S. agents suspected Bukele and his inner circle of diverting USAID funds to MS-13 leaders and laundering money in exchange for political support and reduced crime.

The investigation sought to review U.S. bank accounts linked to Bukele, other senior officials, and their relatives. In response to these findings, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine, and Alex Padilla introduced legislation proposing sanctions against Bukele and other Salvadoran officials, including Vice President Félix Ulloa, Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill, and Defense Minister René Merino Monroy, for human rights violations and corruption. The senators condemned the use of U.S. taxpayer dollars in what they described as an illegal scheme violating constitutional rights. Additionally, international human rights organizations have criticized El Salvador's new Foreign Agents Law for undermining civil society and press freedom amid the country's deepening political and human rights crisis.

House Republicans are advocating for a risk-sharing plan that would require higher education institutions to reimburse the federal government for a portion of student loan debt that is not repaid. Concurrently, universities are responding to proposed cuts by the Trump administration to "indirect cost" or research overhead funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). An academic coalition has submitted a report proposing alternative reforms aimed at streamlining funding requests and maintaining support for research overhead, laboratories, and federal grants. These proposals seek to mitigate the impact of the administration's sweeping cuts on university research budgets.

House Republicans have advanced legislation proposing more than $450 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction, and related programs for fiscal year 2026. The House Appropriations Committee also approved a broader defense spending bill totaling $831.5 billion, passing it in a 36-27 vote largely along party lines, with Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez as the only Democrat supporting the measure. The defense appropriations bill, championed by Defense Chairman Ken Calvert, aims to maintain America's military superiority, support troops and their families, improve Department of Defense efficiency, and address international challenges. Key provisions include a 3.8% pay raise for servicemembers, $40 billion allocated for military healthcare, and $1 billion dedicated to combating drug threats. The legislation overcame Democratic amendments related to Air Force One and Ukraine funding.

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has set a new state record for vetoes in a single legislative session, rejecting at least 87 bills as of late 12 June, according to local media tallies. The Republican governor’s total surpasses the previous benchmark he established earlier in the week and comes ahead of a statutory Friday deadline for acting on measures passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

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