DEEP DIVE—AAPI GROUPS PILE ON CRITICISM OF TRUMP’S BUDGET: President Trump’s $4.8 trillion budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year is facing broad opposition from AAPI groups over steep cuts to social programs. Here’s what you need to know... The White House proposal slashes of billions of dollars from major programs such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and imposes stricter restrictions on Social Security Disability Insurance, according to Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum President and CEO Kathy Ko Chin . The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would also see a decline in funding. from major programs such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and imposes stricter restrictions on Social Security Disability Insurance, according to Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum President and CEO. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would also see a decline in funding.

The administration’s budget also seeks a nearly eight percent cut in education spending, which would “dismiss the fact that Southeast Asian Americans face […] barriers to educational opportunities” SEARAC executive director Quyen Dinh provided to The Yappie. in education spending, which would “dismiss the fact that Southeast Asian Americans face […] barriers to educational opportunities” SEARAC executive director said in a statement provided to The Yappie.

President Trump is also reviving a proposal to cut Japanese American Confinement Sites Grants, setting up yet another potential funding showdown with community activists. The grants are intended to preserve World War II-era Japanese American incarceration sites and stories, according to to cut Japanese American Confinement Sites Grants, setting up yet another potential funding showdown with community activists. The grants are intended to preserve World War II-era Japanese American incarceration sites and stories, according to the Japanese American Citizens League.

The budget represents the administration’s policy aspirations and priorities for the upcoming year but lacks binding power because federal spending is appropriated by Congress. Lawmakers are not expected to finish work on the final 2021 spending levels until after the November election. UPDATE — ISLANDERS’ MEDICAID BILL GAINS STEAM IN THE HOUSE: Juliet Choi described the fresh support of Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Washington) as a “game-changer.” A bill that would restore Medicaid access for citizens of the Marshall Islands, Palau and Micronesia who were promised coverage after U.S. nuclear-weapons testing but lost coverage in a 1996 welfare reform bill, now is now backed by three House Republicans, POLITICO reports. The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum’sdescribed the fresh support of Rep.(R-Washington) as a “game-changer.” Read more. WRAY SAYS OPEN TO BRIEFING ON FBI SURVEILLANCE: FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed willingness to brief Congress on the targeted surveillance of Asian Americans and Asian nationals during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last week. Responding to a question from Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California) on worries that Asian Americans could be caught up in accusations of spying, Wray said that the agency would be “happy” to brief lawmakers “on the counterintelligence efforts in the space you’re talking about.” Read more. Why this matters: The news comes one month after The Intercept The news comes one month after The Intercept published documents indicating that the FBI secretly singled out Chinese American scientists for decades, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC submitted testimony to the Judiciary Committee expressing concerns over “the FBI’s profiling and wrongful prosecutions for espionage of students, scientists, and researchers of Asian descent.” TRUMP YANKS LIU’S NOMINATION FOR TOP TREASURY POST: President Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Jessie Liu to serve as the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes—just two days before she was scheduled to testify before the Senate, Axios reports. Liu, who stepped down as the U.S. attorney in D.C. in December, oversaw several politically charged investigations, including the case against Trump associate Roger Stone. Read more. Meanwhile… President Trump plans to nominate federal prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Bloomberg Law reports. Komatireddy clerked for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. President Trump plans to nominate federal prosecutorto a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Bloomberg Law reports. Komatireddy clerked for Supreme Court Justicewhen he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Read more.

Speaking of judges: Sri Srinivasan took over as Chief Judge of the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday—succeeding Merrick Garland and officially becoming the first Asian American to serve as a chief judge for a U.S. Circuit Court. took over as Chief Judge of the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday—succeedingand officially becoming the first Asian American to serve as a chief judge for a U.S. Circuit Court. Read more. MENG RENEWS PUSH FOR AAPI MUSEUM: Rep. Grace Meng (D-New York), who serves as vice-chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, urged Congress last week to consider legislation that would establish a commission to examine the possibility of creating the nation’s first museum on AAPI history. Testifying before the Committee on House Administration with historian Beth Lew Williams and Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center director Lisa Sasaki, Meng said that museum would mark the “first step in elevating APA experiences.” Read more. CHU’S NO BAN ACT ADVANCES WITH PANEL VOTE: Rep. Judy Chu's (D-California) No Ban Act has advanced to the House floor for a full vote after clearing the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The measure, which would repeal President Trump's recently expanded travel ban and prevent the establishment of future restrictions without justification to Congress, received broad support from AAPI groups but has little chance of passing the GOP-controlled Senate. Read more. Enjoying The Yappie? Make a donation, forward this briefing to a friend. or subscribe here. You can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. — By Alex Li, Andrew Huang, Andrew Peng, Cathy Sun, Cheyenne Cheng, Giboom Park, Kyra Du, Shawna Chen, and Sunjay Lee