El Salvador-Bound
Jonathan Tamari reports that a Democratic senator is headed to El Salvador today to fight on behalf of accidentally deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) drew a standing ovation from a Democratic-friendly crowd when he announced his travel plan at a town hall.
Abrego Gargia was living in Maryland when the Trump administration sent him to the Central American country’s most notorious prison despite a 2019 court order saying he couldn’t be sent to his native country. Abrego Garcia has never been charged with a crime, and the US Supreme Court ordered the government to “facilitate” his return.
Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign told a federal judge that “significant steps” have been taken to comply with that order. US District Judge Paula Xinis didn’t buy that, and said she would order depositions of administration officials. Read More
Eye on the Economy
Though happening in Chicago, it still counts as a big Washington event: a speech today by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell’s comments will be closely scrutinized for changes in the central bank official’s views on inflation and the outlook for the US economy, after President Donald Trump’s tariffs roiled stock markets and changed the cost of doing business.
His speech comes a day after the administration flexed its power in a way that dinged the profitability of a Silicon Valley company. The government is imposing export restrictions on an Nvidia chip because over concerns it could “be used in, or diverted to, a supercomputer in China,” according to a regulatory filing.
Nvidia said that move will lead to about $5.5 billion in writedowns. Read More
Two tariff-related announcements: China is retaliating against a US company, and Canadians are closing their travel wallets:
- China Orders Boeing Jet Delivery Halt as Trade War Expands
- US Economy to Lose Billions as Foreign Tourists Stay Away
And some insight into the negotiation process:
- China Open to Talks If US Shows Respect
- China Names New Trade Envoy as Tariff War With US Escalates
- Meet the Negotiator Tasked With Making a Deal for Japan
If You Have a Backyard Garden, Maybe Plant Extra
The Trump administration set the date to start collecting a 20.91% anti-dumping duty on most tomato shipments from Mexico. It’ll start after the Independence Day picnics but while summer’s in full swing: July 14.
Mexico’s Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue estimated that six out of 10 tomatoes consumed in the US are from Mexico, so brace for higher prices if you’re not growing your own.
“Their tomatoes are going to be more expensive — their salads, their ketchup and everything else,” Berdegue said. “We’re always looking for dialogue, so let’s see how this ends up.”
Mexico is the biggest source of American farm imports. Read More
Head Counters
Courtney Rozen reports the administration’s personnel cuts hit nearly every analyst and statistician who compiled human resources data on 2.3 million federal employees.
The Office of Personnel Management brain drain was partially because of layoffs and partially because the employees said yes to resignation incentives.
Without that staff verifying the accuracy of data, executive agencies, Congress, and researchers will be “flying blind,” said Peter Bonner, an HR executive who worked at OPM during the Biden administration. Read More
Malicious Pizza
Anonymous antagonists have been disrupting the tranquility of judges’ homes in a creative yet creepy way: pizza delivery. Judge Esther Salas of the District of New Jersey said at least 10 pizzas were sent to judges and their relatives in Los Angeles, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and other locations, listing the judge’s murdered son as the sender, Suzanne Monyak reports.
“Daniel’s name is being weaponized to bring fear to judges and their children,” Salas said during an online event about the threat landscape for federal judges. “You’re saying to those judges, you want to end up like Judge Salas? You want to end up like Judge Salas’ son?”
“These are alarming developments,” she said.
Many of the food recipients were handling legal challenges to Trump administration actions, though not all, which Salas read as an indication that the threats are part of a broader attack against the judiciary. Read More
Before You Go
A few more stories to dig into as the Washington workday begins:
- Though lawmakers’ stock trades are under fresh scrutiny on Capitol Hill, it comes as Congress operates without a functioning in-house ethics watchdog, Maeve Sheehey and Kate Ackley report. Read More
- A Trump directive tells bureaucrats to ditch the paper and make “maximum use of technology in environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects of all kinds, such as roads, bridges, mines, factories, power plants, and others.” Read More
- Gary Shapley, a Hunter Biden tax probe whistleblower, is in line to be the fourth person this year to hold the top job at the IRS, Erin Slowey reports. Read More
- In his first major speech since leaving office, former President Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration for “so much destruction,” saying, “They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration.” Read More
If you like Starting Line, go ahead and share — it’s free. Your friends and colleagues can SIGN UP HERE.
— With assistance from
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editor responsible for this story: