Felicia Sonmez

The Senate on May 11 voted to confirm law professor Alvaro Bedoya to serve on the Federal Trade Commission, solidifying a Democratic majority at the agency that will enable FTC Chair Lina Khan to move on her ambitious agenda to rein in Big Tech’s power. Fifty senators voted in favor while 50 voted against. Vice President Harris cast the tiebreaking vote in her role as president of the Senate.

President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on November 15, 2021. Republicans and Democrats gathered at the White House as Biden signed the legislation, which is aimed at improving the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections.

President Donald Trump is ramping up his efforts to make a public case for his border wall as the partial government shutdown is now in its third week, planning a prime-time address Jan 8 and a visit to the border Jan 10. Some Democrats responded to the news of Trump’s address with concern that he would mislead the American people about the situation at the border.

President Donald Trump said that the United States should launch its own state-run cable TV network that would compete with CNN for viewers across the globe, a suggestion that prompted comparisons to networks run by the governments of Russia and China. In afternoon tweets, President Trump said, "While CNN doesn’t do great in the United States based on ratings, outside of the U.S. they have very little competition. Throughout the world, CNN has a powerful voice portraying the United States in an unfair....and false way.

John Lansing, CEO and director of the US Agency for Global Media (formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors), which oversees Radio and Television Martí’s parent office, said that a probe is underway of a Spanish-language program describing George Soros as a “multimillionaire Jew” and espousing conspiracy theories about the billionaire philanthropist. The 15-minute segment was aired in May by Radio and Television Martí, which broadcasts news and other programs promoting US interests to audiences in Cuba.

President Donald Trump issued a new order authorizing additional sanctions against countries or individuals for interfering in upcoming US elections, but lawmakers of both parties immediately said the effort does not go far enough. The order would allow President Trump to sanction foreigners who interfere in the midterm elections to be held in less than two months.

President Donald Trump sought to clarify how much of the press he sees as “the enemy of the people.” He put it at about 80 percent. During an interview at the White House with Fox News, he was asked: “Is the press the enemy of the people?” “No, not at all. But the fake news is,” President Trump told Ainsley Earhardt of “Fox & Friends.” “And the fake news is comprised of — it’s a lot. It’s a big chunk, okay? Somebody said, ‘What’s the chunk?’ I said, ‘80 percent.’ It’s a lot. It’s a lot. If I do something well, it’s not reported.

Former Fox News Channel executive Bill Shine is joining the White House as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for communications, the White House announced. The long-anticipated move follows weeks of speculation that the former Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network co-president was a front-runner for the job, which has remained vacant since former communications director Hope Hicks announced her resignation in February.