Lawmakers are back in D.C. this week after a two-week recess, and there is a lot on their agenda, starting with the GOP attempt to remove Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from office.
The House is expected to transmit articles of impeachment on Mayorkas to the Democratic-controlled Senate on Wednesday, but Senate Democrats likely have the votes to dismiss the case quickly.
This week’s schedule will include a joint meeting of the House and Senate to hear from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
For more on what’s happening in D.C. in coming days, read our Washington Week Ahead.
USTR announces acting transparency officer
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has a temporary new chief transparency officer. Acting General Counsel Juan Millán has been designated to serve as the agency’s CTO on an acting basis.
According to a USTR announcement, Millán will lead the agency’s efforts to put into place transparency principles that were released in 2021 after President Biden took office. Millán also is supposed to “identify further opportunities for improvingtransparency in the development of U.S. trade policy.”
The 2021 principles include finding “inclusive opportunities for the public to participate in the development of trade policy and trade initiatives, including changes in policy that affect existing trade programs,” according to the agency. USTR is promising to“facilitate participation in trade policy development by a broad range of stakeholders.”
USTR will seek public input with respect to new major trade initiatives when feasible even when not required by law.
Keep in mind: USTR has come under fire over the past year for the alleged influence that big tech companies have had on digital trade policy. Some in the ag sector and their allies on Capitol Hill don’t believe USTR is doing enough to reduce barriers to ag exports.
Wolf depredation confirmed for first time in Colorado following reintroduction
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have confirmed a wolf as the cause of a calf’s death for the first time since the species was reintroduced to the state in December.
The agency released 10 yearling and adult gray wolves onto state-owned lands in Summit and Grand Counties in December under a reintroduction plan it was directed to create under a 2020 ballot measure. CPW Area Wildlife Manager Jeromy Huntington said last week that an investigation of the dead calf “indicated wounds consistent with wolf depredation."
“The field investigation found multiple tooth rake marks on the calf's hindquarters and neck, and hemorrhaging under the hide, consistent with wolf depredation. Wolf tracks were also found nearby,” Huntington said.
Work continues apace at Port of Baltimore
President Joe Biden vowed “to move heaven and earth” to get the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuilt “as rapidly as humanly possible” even as crews work to clear shipping channels, he said at the Port of Baltimore Friday.
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The Army Corps of Engineers says it plans to have a “limited access channel” open by the end of April, and “USACE engineers are aiming to reopen the permanent, 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel by the end of May, restoring port access to normal capacity.”
The federal government also is “amending” a previous $8.26 million grant in order to make infrastructure improvements at Sparrows Point in the port that will expand access to receive cars and other light-duty vehicles.
The port is a major hub for automobile and farm machinery.
USDA seeks applications for export market development programs
The Agriculture Department’s Foreign Agricultural Service has opened up the application process for five of its programs targeted at developing export opportunities in foreign markets: the Market Access Program, the Foreign Market Development Program, the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program, the Quality Samples Program and the Emerging Markets Program.
Applications for all five programs will be due June 14.
Judge cuts punitive damages in Roundup case in Missouri
A state judge in Missouri has agreed to reduce punitive damages awards to three plaintiffs who sued over Roundup exposure from $1.5 billion to about $550 million, Bloomberg reported Friday, adding that Bayer plans to appeal the verdict because it believes the judge did not “apply the law correctly on damages.”
The judge reduced the award to comply with Supreme Court guidance that limits punitive damages to no more than nine times the amount of compensatory damages, which in the case were $61 million.
Philip Brasher and Noah Wicks contributed to this report.
