Committee

• On the 25th, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced that the government will not submit the prosecution reform plan developed by the Prosecution Reform Promotion Team, despite maintaining a basic position to abolish the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority. • Advisory committee members condemned the decision as "irresponsible," claiming Kim abandoned his official duties to prioritize his political ambitions for the Democratic Party's leadership election in August. • This conflict highlights a significant rift between the government's executive leadership and the specialized team tasked with implementing legal reforms.

• President Lee Jae Myung called for a thorough investigation into the National Election Commission on the 23rd, specifically citing budget waste and hiring irregularities. • Lee emphasized that because the Commission is a constitutionally independent body, the government lacks the authority to intervene in its management or control. • The move follows a rebuke from the National Assembly's special committee on state affairs, which questioned whether the Commission was engaging in collective misconduct.

• House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (AR-02) announced the committee's official activity schedule for July 2026. • The schedule features a Full Committee Hearing titled “The Federal Reserve’s Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report.” • This hearing is critical for congressional oversight, as it allows lawmakers to review the Federal Reserve's current monetary policy and economic outlook.

• The European Parliament's committees are convening this week to address a diverse range of global and regional issues, including support for Ukraine and the International Criminal Court (ICC). • Key discussions will feature high-level participants such as Pascal Lamy and Sabine Weyand, focusing on economic security, Israel, Switzerland, and Africa. • The agenda includes critical policy reviews on the EU's performance framework regulation, market integration, minimum wage protection, and the EU Strategies on Ports and Maritime Industries.

Excoriating article under Caroline Dinenage’s name remains on ConservativeHome website It was a crisis that toppled a BBC director general and his head of news. After contentious accusations of bias by a former external adviser, Michael Prescott, both Tim Davie and Deborah Turness quit the corporation.At the height of the media storm that ensued last November, the corporation was struck by another blow. A key figure in scrutinising the BBC – the chair of the Commons culture, media and sport committee – delivered an equally damning verdict. Continue reading...

Plan comes after major New York Times report alleges files became source of crisis within Trump administrationDemocrats on the House oversight committee, led by Representative Robert Garcia, plan to call on JD Vance to testify on the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files following a major report Wednesday from the New York Times, which described how the Epstein files became the source of an internal crisis within Trump’s administration.Garcia will call on the committee chair, James Comer, to summon the vice-president to speak, according to a post from Max Cohen, a reporter with Punchbowl News. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether Vance would agree to appear. Continue reading...

Microsoft co-founder to appear in closed-door session as part of lawmakers’ investigation into convicted sex offenderBill Gates is set to testify in front of the House committee on oversight and reform on Wednesday as part of the panel’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The Microsoft co-founder will appear in a closed-door session, where lawmakers are expected to question him about his past relationship with Epstein. A transcript of the interview is expected to be released at a later date. Continue reading...