Jeffries Insists on ICE Reforms
The latest on a possible compromise over DHS funding is that the political parties begin the week as entrenched as they were last week.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats are insisting on the party’s 10-point list of changes to the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates, María Paula Mijares Torres and Emily Forgash report.
“ICE is completely and totally out of control,” Jeffries said. “They have gone way too far, and the American people want them reined in because immigration enforcement should be fair, it should be just and it should be humane.”
Democrats’ demands include prohibiting DHS officers from entering private property without a judicial warrant, verifying individuals aren’t US citizens before detaining them, requiring agents to wear body cameras and identification badges, and preventing them from covering their faces.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s willing to strike a deal, but called the demands “unrealistic.”
Lawmakers have less than a week to make a deal or risk a shutdown at the department at the center of the immigration crackdown. Lillianna Byington looks at the dynamics ahead in today’s Congress Tracker.
Election Edge Grows
The new face is still edging out the former congressman in the special New Jersey primary, Greg Giroux writes.
Analilia Mejia, who was national political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, was leading former Rep. Tom Malinowski by 868 votes, or 29.1% to 27.7%, as of last night, according to incomplete tallies from county election boards. About 93% of the total vote has been counted, according to an AP estimate.
Malinowski’s campaign said there were “thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots still outstanding” and “we remain confident heading into the continued count.”
The Democratic nominee in New Jersey’s 11th District will face Republican Joe Hathaway, the mayor of Randolph township, in a special general election on April 16. The winner will complete the term of now-Gov. Mikie Sherrill in an upper-income district that leans Democratic.
Midterm Player to Watch
The crypto industry’s again positioned to have a big impact on congressional elections, Greg and Kate Ackley report.
Its super PAC, Fairshake, has hauled in at least $390 million since it launched in 2023, from Coinbase, Ripple Labs, other companies and industry executives. It had more than $190 million in the bank at the start of this year, the latest disclosures show.
The gargantuan stockpile, combined with winning 53 of 62 primary and general elections in 2024 where Fairshake and its affiliates backed or opposed candidates, means almost no one running for office wants to go up against them. For last cycle, the PAC spent $130 million on congressional contests.
“A lot of members don’t really care that much about crypto, but they would rather not be on the industry’s enemies list,” Chamber of Progress leader Adam Kovacevich said in an interview. Read More
See Also: Data Center Costs Supply Grist for Democrats’ Affordability Push
Eye on the Economy
You can draw a straight line from the price consumers pay for petroleum products to the stability of the oil supply, and recently what traders have paid attention to is the possibility of interruptions in the flow from the Middle East.
Late last week, Iran and the US engaged in talks in an effort to defuse tensions over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, with Tehran calling the session “a step forward.” President Donald Trump said there would be another meeting early this week.
With tensions in the Middle East easing, the near-term chances of potential supply changes have come down, Weilun Soon reports.
Also Read: Iran Hardens Crackdown on Political Dissidents After US Talks
Dissent Crackdown
A Hong Kong court sentenced former media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison, handing the pro-democracy activist the heaviest penalty yet meted out under a 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law.
Trump previously appealed for Lai’s release to Chinese leader Xi Jinping and is expected to visit Beijing in April as the two economies seek to maintain a fragile trade truce. Trump’s ambassador to China, David Perdue, characterized the issue as an “ongoing conversation” between the two leaders in an interview with Bloomberg Television last month. Read More
House China Committee Chair John Moolenaar says he will continue to “lead efforts to sanction those responsible for the repression of” Lai. Read More
Also Read: China Urges Banks to Curb US Treasuries Exposure on Market Risk
Tax Politics
Some big US-based companies are paying more in taxes to other countries than to their own, Michael Rapoport and Ryan Hogg report.
Tesla paid $28 million in US federal cash income tax versus more than $1 billion altogether in other countries—including $751 million in China alone. GM paid $277 million in US cash taxes versus $957 million elsewhere, including $364 million in Canada and $354 million in Mexico.
Some companies that reported higher tax payments abroad said US tax incentives are holding down their domestic tax bills, or that the global minimum tax is boosting their tax payments in other countries. A GM spokesperson said it gets research and development credits and other tax benefits on its major US investments. In addition, once state taxes are added in, GM paid more in the US than in any other individual country, the spokesperson said.
Companies didn’t have to release such details about their tax payments in the past, but disclosure is now required under US accounting rules that took effect recently.
Before You Go
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