Remember when candidate Donald Trump repeatedly promised supporters that Mexico would pay for a border wall? Now, the loyal members of his base are learning what many knew on the campaign trail -- it is highly improbable that Mexico will ever pay for a wall. Turns out Donald Trump has privately floated the idea of funding the construction through the U.S. military budget. Quick lesson in governing: Congressional budgeting is done with very specific instructions for how federal dollar amounts are spent. Any repurposing of funds requires congressional approval, which Trump is unlikely to get. There’s more Stormy weather hovering over the White House. Michael Avenatti, attorney for adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, has asked a federal judge this morning for permission to depose the president about his knowledge of an agreement to pay the porn star $130,000 a week and a half before the 2016 election. POTUS45 could definitely use some sunshine right now. Enter a former Disney Channel star. Twenty-two-year-old Caroline Sunshine, best known for her role in the Disney Channel show Shake It Up opposite Zendaya about teenage dancers, will join the Trump administration as a Press Assistant. If you feel the nation’s politics are a circus right now, it’s high time we have a clown. So, right on time, one is running for Congress. Steve Lough -- an Ivy League-educated professional clown -- is throwing his hat into the ring, running in the Democratic primary in South Carolina's 5th Congressional District and hoping to unseat Congressman Ralph Norman (R). In other news, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will “check-in” on Capitol Hill April 12th to testify before lawmakers. The company has been under fire ever since it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a data firm with ties to Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, reportedly accessed information from about 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge. And that’s not all. Fair housing groups filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday saying that Facebook continues to discriminate against certain groups, including women, disabled veterans, and single mothers, in the way that it allows advertisers to target the audience for their ads. Lastly, in a far too common headline, there’s this: a pair of white police officers in Baton Rouge, LA will not be prosecuted by state authorities over the fatal shooting almost two years ago of a Black man, Alton Sterling. Last year, the DOJ also declined to bring charges in the case. Time to push through. We’re kicking off Wednesday with this...
- Senator Bob Menéndez (D-NJ) kicks off re-election campaign.
- Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and CA AG Xavier Becerra weigh-in on police shooting of unarmed Black man in Sacramento, CA.
- Congresswoman Mia Love (R-UT) backtracks on guns.
- My Brother’s Keeper Alliance announces New Advisory Council with new members.
- FCC Chairman Ajit Pai names new member to diversity working group.
- HUD CIO Johnson Joy and several other staffers depart the agency.
- Former Xerox head Ursula Burns assumes CEO duties at VEON.
- Meet the new Program Director at the Committee to Protect Journalists.
- Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) to donate to charity to offset contribution from restaurateur accused of fraud.
- Judge throws out CHC Chair’s restraining order against former intern.
- Oprah wants to take the Times Up movement global.
- The pushback over adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census heats up.
- Former President Barack Obama to headline a Beverly Hills fundraiser in May.
- American Samoa residents sue for U.S. citizenship.
- Meet the first-ever Chief Content Officer at BuzzFeed.
- CHC BOLDPAC adds more endorsements.