Friday, July 19, 2019
Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
1/ The Trump administration is considering admitting zero refugees next year. The idea was floated during a recent meeting with officials from the Department of Homeland Security, State Department, and the Pentagon. Homeland Security officials at the meeting suggested making the level anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000. The Trump administration cut refugee admissions from 110,000 in fiscal year 2017 to 30,000 in 2018. (Politico / CNN)
2/ The Trump administration is planning to update the naturalization test to become a U.S. citizen. Last year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalized more than 750,000 people and the average pass rate on the test was 90%. Since becoming president, Trump has cut the number of refugees admitted to the U.S., banned immigrants based on their nationality in a handful of majority-Muslim countries, made it more difficult to qualify for asylum, and proposed a visa system overhaul that would prioritize immigrants with advanced degrees, English-language skills and money. (Washington Post)
3/ The House Judiciary Committee asked Hope Hicks to clarify her congressional testimony after newly unsealed documents showed "apparent inconsistencies." The documents reveal that Hicks spoke on the phone with Trump and Michael Cohen about Stormy Daniels and the Trump campaign's attempt to stop Daniels from going public with the allegations about an affair with Trump. Hicks originally stated that she "had no knowledge of Stormy Daniels other than to say she was going to be mentioned in the story." Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said the new documents "raises substantial questions about the accuracy" of Hicks' original statements. (CNN / NBC News / Politico / Vox)
4/ The Hous...
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.