Government Relations Updates
Budget season begins in Philadelphia—not without drama—and the mayor had a full slate of public appearances. Meanwhile, Harrisburg saw major legislative movement and the governor announced FIFA Fan Zones in anticipation of the World Cup. Plus, two Democratic Senators were sworn in this week—Pennsylvania’s state legislature has reached a record number of women now serving in elected office!
The Bellevue Compass
DHS funding still remains the hottest topic in Washington, especially as legislators prepare to leave for two weeks on Easter recess. We broke down an eventful 72 hours and the potential reconciliation bill on the horizon, as well as the future of the SAVE America Act.
In Case You Missed It
The 40-day DHS shutdown ends—but ICE isn’t part of the package. The Senate voted early this morning to end the DHS shutdown and excluded Immigration Enforcement from the bill, likely in the hopes that the House will pass the bill without any changes and agree to debate the future of ICE’s funding at a later date. Is this the end of the airport chaos? Maybe not, as support in the House is looking spotty.
Big Tech isn’t as untouchable as it used to be—a recent ruling from the juries in New Mexico and Los Angeles trials found Meta guilty of failing to protect children from child predators and knowing that its platforms are addictive. This is something to keep an eye on.
Speaking of tech: AI’s boom is creating complications for the hard-won environmental restrictions placed on major tech companies. The commitments that major tech companies like Google have made on fossil fuels and clean energy are being tested as AI companies rush to build climate-damaging data centers.
G7 foreign ministers met today in France, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured reporters that the U.S. expects the conflict in Iran to end in “weeks, not months”.
Go Phillies! ⚾️
See you next week!
The Bellevue Team