WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

1/ The Senate passed a $19.1 billion bipartisan disaster relief spending bill that does not include the $4.5 billion in funding for Trump's border wall. After months of negotiation, the bill passed with a vote of 85-8 just a few hours after both sides reached an agreement. The bill provides roughly $900 million for Puerto Rico, and includes a provision that would require the Trump administration to release another $9 billion in aid, which had previously been withheld from the U.S. territory. The House will vote on the bill when it returns from recess and the bill will be sent to Trump's desk. "I totally support it," Trump said. (CNN / BuzzFeed News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NBC News)

• A federal district judge heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by the House of Representatives against Trump's national emergency declaration. The suit argues that Trump's national emergency declaration to fund the construction of his border wall is unconstitutional and violates the separation of power between the branches of government. During the nearly three-hour hearing Judge Trevor McFadden appeared skeptical about involving the judiciary in a dispute between the administration and Democrats in the House. (CNN)

2/ Trump announced a $16 billion aid package for farmers hurt by his ongoing trade war with China. The bailout is the second deal aimed at limiting the losses of American farmers as a result of China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Farmers will be able to apply for direct payments for crops that are impacted by the tariffs. The USDA will also buy surplus products like milk and meat to distribute to food banks around the U.S. and provide $14.5 billion in direct payments based on the estimated impact to each country. It will also spend $1.4 billion to purchase goods and another $100 million to develop other markets for U.S. goods. (Bloomberg / ABC News)

• China says trade talks with the U.S. won't continue until the U.S. addresses its "wrong actions." China's Commerce Ministry didn't mention any specific U.S. actions, but Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng said that "if the U.S. would like to keep on negotiating it should, with sincerity, adjust its wrong actions. Only then can talks continue." (CNBC)

3/ A ten-year-old girl died in September 2018 while in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. She was the first of six migrant children that have died while detained by U.S. authorities. Rep. Joaquin Castro accused the Trump administration of concealing the girl's death from the public. "I have not seen any indication that the Trump administration disclosed the death of this young girl to the public or even to Congress," Castro said. "And if that's the case, they covered up her death for eight months, even though we were actively askin...

Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.