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THE BIG DEAL—White House to end infrastructure talks with Capito, shift focus to bipartisan group: President BidenJoe BidenHouse Judiciary Democrats call on DOJ to reverse decision on Trump defense Democratic super PAC targets Youngkin over voting rights Harris dubs first foreign trip a success amid criticism over border MORE is cutting off infrastructure negotiations with a GOP group led by Sen. Shelley Moore CapitoShelley Wellons Moore CapitoTim Scott: Could be ‘very hard’ to reach police reform deal by June deadline OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican | Colonial Pipeline CEO grilled over ransomware attack | Texas gov signs bills to improve power grid after winter storm On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak MORE (R-W.Va.) after weeks of talks failed to produce a deal.

In a Tuesday statement, White House press secretary Jen Pskai said Biden “informed Senator Capito today that the latest offer from her group did not, in his view, meet the essential needs of our country to restore our roads and bridges, prepare us for our clean energy future, and create jobs.”

Biden will instead move forward on discussions with a bipartisan group of senators. The Hill’s Brett Samuels has the latest here.

How we got here: Talks between Biden and Capito seemed to be circling the drain for at least a week now, especially after a call between the two Friday yielded little progress.

• Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerBiden talks reconciliation with Schumer as infrastructure negotiations falter Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican White House: Biden considers Manchin a friend despite latest policy break MORE (D-N.Y.) said earlier Tuesday that negotiations between the White House and Capito “seem to be running into a brick wall” after weeks of back-and-forth proposals. 
• The Democratic leader also said he’s getting ready to move a reconciliation package on a parallel track to bypass a Republican filibuster in case bipartisan negotiations fail to produce a deal or in case any deal advances only a portion of President Biden’s $4 trillion infrastructure agenda.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton brings us up to speed on Schumer’s plan here.

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What comes next: 

• Momentum has now shifted to the talks between Sens. Kyrsten SinemaKyrsten SinemaOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican | Colonial Pipeline CEO grilled over ransomware attack | Texas gov signs bills to improve power grid after winter storm On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Biden talks reconciliation with Schumer as infrastructure negotiations falter MORE (D-Ariz.), Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican | Colonial Pipeline CEO grilled over ransomware attack | Texas gov signs bills to improve power grid after winter storm On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican MORE (R-Ohio), Jon TesterJonathan (Jon) TesterOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican | Colonial Pipeline CEO grilled over ransomware attack | Texas gov signs bills to improve power grid after winter storm On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican MORE (D-Mont.) and Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican | Colonial Pipeline CEO grilled over ransomware attack | Texas gov signs bills to improve power grid after winter storm On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican MORE (R-Alaska), who are aiming to release a proposal by the end of the week. 
• Psaki said Biden also spoke to Sinema, Sens. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinDemocrats try to pin down Manchin on voting rights OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican | Colonial Pipeline CEO grilled over ransomware attack | Texas gov signs bills to improve power grid after winter storm On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak MORE (D-W.V.) and Bill CassidyBill CassidyOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican | Colonial Pipeline CEO grilled over ransomware attack | Texas gov signs bills to improve power grid after winter storm On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Biden talks reconciliation with Schumer as infrastructure negotiations falter MORE (R-La.) and “urged them to continue their work with other Democrats and Republicans to develop a bipartisan proposal that he hopes will be more responsive to the country’s pressing infrastructure needs.”

Read more: Bipartisan group prepping infrastructure plan as White House talks lag

LEADING THE DAY

Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report: Some of the richest people in America had years in which they did not pay anything in federal income taxes, according to a report from ProPublica published Tuesday.

• The news outlet obtained IRS data, covering more than 15 years, about the tax returns of thousands of the wealthiest Americans. 
• ProPublica said that it obtained the information from an anonymous source, that it doesn’t know the identity of the source and that it didn’t solicit the information provided.
• The subjects of the data include Amazon founder Jeff BezosJeffrey (Jeff) Preston BezosSenate passes long-delayed China bill On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Feds looking into release of wealthy Americans’ tax info MORE, Tesla founder Elon MuskElon Reeve MuskOn The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Feds looking into release of wealthy Americans’ tax info Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report MORE, former New York Mayor Michael BloombergMichael BloombergOn The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Feds looking into release of wealthy Americans’ tax info Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report MORE and billionaire investors Carl Ichan and George Soros, ProPublica reported.

The political moment: ProPublica’s article comes as President Biden and congressional Democrats are pushing for higher taxes on the wealthy. Biden’s American Families Plan proposes raising taxes on high-income Americans in several ways, including by increasing the top rate on ordinary income from 37 percent to 39.6 percent, taxing capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income for the highest-income taxpayers and taxing capital gains at death. 

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The IRS responds: IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said at a previously scheduled Senate Finance Committee  hearing that he can’t talk about the ProPublica article but can confirm that there is an investigation “with respect to the allegations that the source of the information in that article came from the Internal Revenue Service.”

The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda breaks it down here.

Biden administration seeks to thread needle on inflation: President Biden’s top economic officials and the Federal Reserve are trying to sell the benefits of inflation while soothing concerns about the potential risks as the economy emerges from the coronavirus downturn.

• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, economists fretted for years over the tepid pace of wage increases and the persistently low inflation that helped suppress workers’ salaries. 
• But with the U.S. now seeing both prices and wages rise at much faster rates, policymakers are attempting to keep Americans patient with an economic recovery pushing inflation higher.

For the Fed, the jump in prices is far from unexpected or even unwelcome. The central bank last summer adopted a new approach that called for letting inflation run slightly above the annual 2 percent goal long enough to make up for tepid wage growth and pre-pandemic underemployment. The Biden administration has also embraced the upward pressure on wages, dismissing the rate of price increases as a fleeting quirk of the COVID-19 recovery.

Even so, the recent rise poses considerable political challenges for both Biden and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that could lead to policy obstacles.

“Even if you don’t think it’s a problem, and I don’t think it’s a problem for the economy, it creates problems for the Fed and pressure on the Fed,” said Adam Ozimek, chief economist at Upwork.

I explain why here.

ON TAP TOMORROW:

• The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center hosts a webinar entitled “What Are the Effects of the Biden Administration’s Corporate Tax Proposals?” at 9:30 a.m.
• Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young testifies before the House Budget Committee on President Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget proposal at 11 a.m.
• The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing entitled “Universal Vouchers: Ending Homelessness and Expanding Economic Opportunity in America” at 12 p.m.
• A Senate Banking subcommittee holds a hearing on central bank digital currency at 2:30 p.m.
• The Joint Economic Committee holds a hearing on the gender wage gap at 2:30 p.m.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamTim Scott: Could be ‘very hard’ to reach police reform deal by June deadline On The Money: Biden ends infrastructure talks with Capito, pivots to bipartisan group | Some US billionaires had years where they paid no taxes: report | IRS to investigate leak Graham says family members aren’t working due to unemployment benefits MORE (R-S.C.) pressed the acting White House budget chief Tuesday on the impact of expanded unemployment benefits on the labor force, saying he has family members who refuse to work because of them.
• Ireland, one of the countries that poses a major obstacle in the push toward a global minimum tax rate, has deep ties to President Biden.
• IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said Tuesday that the agency needs more authority from Congress to issue regulations relating to information reporting about cryptocurrency.
• The U.S. trade deficit fell by 8.2 percent in April after reaching a record high the month before, according to data the Department of Commerce released Tuesday. 
• The World Bank is projecting global growth of 5.6 percent this year, the strongest post-recession recovery seen in 80 years.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) on Tuesday filed a lawsuit asking the court to declare Google a public utility, which would subject the Silicon Valley giant to greater regulation. 
• Five key parts of the Senate’s sweeping China competitiveness bill

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The Biden administration on Friday issued guidance to federal agencies that aims to streamline the implementation of the president’s “Made in America” executive order.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a memo to federal agencies and department heads outlining how the administration will seek to reduce waivers and increase transparency so the federal government outsources its manufacturing needs less often. The guidance was obtained exclusively by The Hill ahead of its release.

“It requires agencies to examine current Made in America practices and develop plans to improve them. These efforts will work together to promote economic security, national security, and good-paying union jobs here at home,” Celeste Drake, director of the Made in America Office within OMB, said in a release outlining the guidance.

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The guidance on waivers will apply to more than 100 federal agencies, but will be phased in over the next several months. The waiver review process will start with 24 key agencies named under the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act, which includes Cabinet agencies and additional departments like NASA and the General Services Administration.

Friday’s memo requires agencies to designate a senior official by June 30 who will coordinate with Drake and the Made in America Office and strategize how to increase its use of American manufacturing. The designated official will also submit regular reports to Drake on their use of Made in America statutes, rules, regulations and orders.

The memo also includes guidance for agencies that wish to submit waivers to work around the Made in America order in an effort to cut down on the need for exemptions.

Government agencies are able to obtain exemptions for Buy American requirements in certain circumstances, including if the materials they are seeking aren’t available domestically, if the cost is deemed unreasonable or if it would violate trade agreements or deals with foreign governments.

As part of efforts to increase transparency, the administration will maintain a public database that displays all proposed waivers for Made in America laws. The site is expected to be up and running by early fiscal 2022, which begins in October. One goal of the website is to make it clearer to U.S. businesses what federal contracting opportunities are available.

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“Increasing consistency and public transparency of these waivers will build confidence that Made in America laws are operating as intended while strengthening U.S. manufacturing capabilities, supporting good jobs and ensuring the future will be Made in America,” Drake said of the guidance.

Biden in January signed an executive order to increase federal procurement of U.S.-made goods by tightening “Buy American” requirements. The order also established the Made in America Office.

Drake was appointed in late April to serve as the first director of the office. A former trade and globalization policy specialist for the AFL-CIO union, Drake’s position was created with the goal of reducing unnecessary waivers that allowed agencies to purchase foreign-made goods.

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A coalition of 28 environmental groups called on major corporate members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to leave the trade group unless it ends lobbying on behalf of the fossil fuel industry.

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In a letter shared with The Hill, signatories said that despite lobbying on climate issues by some members, the Chamber’s actions on climate issues have been predominantly “some limited rhetoric.” It cites a report by Royal Dutch Shell that noted the Chamber has not taken a position on either net-zero emissions goals or carbon pricing, and has also not issued a statement on carbon capture.

The signatories added a list of actions by the Chamber in the first quarter of 2021 it said were contrary to climate actions. The actions listed include asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to curtail its Climate and ESG Task Force and filing an amicus brief in support of pipeline firm PennEast, which is suing New Jersey for the right to seize state-owned land for pipeline construction.

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It also cites the Chamber’s public opposition to the White House’s halt of the Keystone XL pipeline and its joint press conference with the American Petroleum Institute in opposition to the administration’s moratorium on new oil and gas leases on public lands.

“In the first quarter of 2021 alone, the U.S. Chamber has worked to impede climate solutions by supporting lawsuits on behalf of polluters and partnering with the fossil fuel industry to criticize the necessary pause on drilling on federal public lands, among other actions,” the letter states.

The letter calls on members to ask for a meeting with Chamber leaders over its climate stances and make clear that it will quit the group unless there are policy changes.

Signatories include the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club and Public Citizen. Several local organizations also signed, including 350 New Orleans, California Businesses For A Livable Climate and the Colorado Small Business Coalition.

A spokesperson for the Chamber defended its climate stances in a statement to The Hill.

“We are proud of the work we’re doing across the broad Chamber membership to bring meaningful, achievable solutions to the global climate challenge,” the spokesperson said. “The business community is at the leading edge of innovation and investment in the technology necessary to reduce emissions, and will be an important voice in the international and domestic policy dialogue.” 

The chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee is pressing JBS USA to explain why it paid $11 million in ransom to a criminal group earlier this year.

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In a letter released Friday, Rep. Carolyn MaloneyCarolyn MaloneyHillicon Valley: House targets tech giants with antitrust bills | Oversight chair presses JBS over payment to hackers | Trump spokesman to join tech company | YouTube suspends GOP senator Teamsters refused to pay a ransomware attack in 2019 Oversight chair presses JBS on why it paid ransom over cyberattack MORE (D-N.Y.) asked JBS chief executive Andre Nogueira to turn over all documents related to the ransomware attack and records of its communications with REvil, the group the FBI believes to be responsible, by June 24.

“I am deeply troubled by this and similar ransomware attacks,” Maloney wrote in the letter.

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“Any ransom payment to cybercriminal actors like REvil sets a dangerous precedent that increases the risk of future ransomware attacks. Congress needs detailed information about the attack to legislate effectively on ransomware and cybersecurity in the United States.”

JBS admitted Wednesday that it paid $11 million in ransom to a Russian criminal group to prevent critical data from being destroyed. The ransomware attack temporarily disabled all of JBS’s meat processing plants, shutting down the country’s second-largest producer of beef, poultry and fish. 

“This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally,” Nogueira said in a Wednesday statement. “However, we felt this decision had to be made to prevent any potential risk for our customers.”

Even so, Biden administration officials and the FBI have urged companies not to pay ransom if they’ve been hit with similar attacks, arguing that it will only encourage more cybercriminals to follow suit.

The payment came a week after Colonial Pipeline also paid millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency to end a similar attack. The Justice Department was later able to recover much of the ransom.

The ransomware attack on JBS additionally reignited scrutiny of the company following a series of scandals related to its expansion within the U.S. 

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Lawmakers who’ve long been concerned about the dangerous consolidation within the agriculture sector cited the attack on JBS as a prime example. As the supplier of 25 percent of U.S. beef and 20 percent of pork and poultry, a prolonged disruption at JBS could trigger meat shortages and soaring prices across the country.

There has also been intense bipartisan concern about the means through which JBS USA became one of the largest suppliers of meat. 

Federal prosecutors alleged that J&F Investimentos, JBS SA’s parent firm, used U.S. banks, shell companies and an apartment in a bribery scheme that helped finance acquisitions of Pilgrim’s Pride and Swift & Co. The owners of JBS SA’s parent company paid a $280 million fine to settle allegations that they violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Updated 12:42 p.m.

Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenTrump asks Biden to give Putin his ‘warmest regards’ Progressives rally behind Omar while accusing her critics of bias US sanctions network with ties to Houthis, Iran MORE spoke with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, on Friday as Congress debates a bill that would ramp up the U.S.’s competitiveness with Beijing. 

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV first reported the conversation between Blinken and Yang, the director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of China’s ruling Communist Party. Yang reportedly expressed support for cooperation with the U.S. various issues but panned lawmakers in the U.S. for promoting a theory that the coronavirus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

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The call comes amid heightened pressure on the relationship between Washington and Beijing.

The Senate this week passed in a broad bipartisan vote a bill that intends to make the U.S. more competitive with China. Among other things, the legislation would invest about $52 billion into semiconductor production and $81 billion to the National Science Foundation to boost research and development in technology and innovation. The bill would also stand up a fund for the Department of Homeland Security to support companies that are struck by cyberattacks. 

The debate over the legislation coincides with efforts by the Biden administration to pressure Beijing on human rights in Taiwan and Hong Kong, its military presence in the South China Sea, ongoing trade disputes, the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region and more. 

President BidenJoe BidenJill Biden, Kate Middleton to meet this week Al Gore lobbied Biden to not scale back climate plans in infrastructure deal White House briefed on bipartisan infrastructure deal but says questions remain MORE is expected to rally allies behind a common approach to combatting China during his trip to Europe to meet with the Group of Seven (G-7), NATO and other European leaders.

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Baby food company Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. announced this week that it was voluntarily recalling some of its infant rice cereal after samples were found to have higher-than-normal levels of arsenic. 

In a notice published on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website, Beech-Nut said the recall was a “result of a routine sampling program by the State of Alaska which found that samples from that production lot of Beech-Nut Stage 1, Single Grain Rice Cereal tested above the guidance level for naturally occurring inorganic arsenic set by the FDA in August 2020.” 

The company noted, however, that the rice flour used had “been tested and confirmed as being below the FDA guidance level for inorganic arsenic.”

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“FDA has recognized that trace elements such as these are widely present in the environment, including water, soil and food; and has also stated that exposure to elevated levels of naturally occurring inorganic arsenic can pose a health hazard to young children,” Beech-Nut said in its announcement.

The company revealed that in addition to the recall, it had decided to exit the market for its Single Grain Rice Cereal, citing concerns about “the ability to consistently obtain rice flour well-below the FDA guidance level and Beech-Nut specifications for naturally occurring inorganic arsenic.” 

Jason Jacobs, Beech-Nut’s vice president of food safety and quality, said in a statement, “The safety of infants and children is Beech-Nut’s top priority.”

The company in its notice specified that no illnesses have been reported thus far in connection with the recalled product, and other Beech-Nut products are not impacted by the recall. 

The announcement comes after a February congressional report that found “dangerously high” levels of heavy metals in some baby foods spurred a series of lawsuits against Beech-Nut and other companies.  

The House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy in its study indicated that arsenic, lead and cadmium were present in baby foods manufactured by Beech-Nut, as well as Nurture Inc., which sells baby food under the brand HappyBABY, Hain Celestial and Gerber. 

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Weeks later, a class action lawsuit was filed in New York against Beech-Nut, accusing the company that labels its products “organic” and “natural” of “fail[ing] to warn consumers about the presence of heavy metals in its baby foods” including arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium.

A Beech-Nut spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill at the time that its products “are and have always been safe and nutritious,” but that it does not “comment on specific, pending litigation.” 

“We look forward to continuing to work with the FDA, in partnership with the Baby Food Council, on science-based standards that food suppliers can implement across our industry. Beech-Nut is committed to continually refining its internal standards and testing processes as technology and knowledge develops,” the spokesperson added.

The Pentagon will restore $2.2 billion to military construction projects that were stripped by the Trump administration to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Defense Department announced Friday.  

The money will go to 66 projects in 16 countries, 11 U.S. states and three U.S. territories in fiscal 2021, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks wrote in a memorandum.

Among those is $79 million for an elementary school for children of military personnel in Germany, $94 million for another such school in Japan, $50 million for a Marine Corps machine gun range in Guam, $10 million for a missile field expansion at Fort Greely, Alaska, as well as numerous other schools, hangars, housing, shops and facilities.

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The Biden administration in late April announced it would cancel border wall projects that had been funded through the Defense Department and return the funds to the military construction projects from which they were pulled during the Trump administration.

Former President TrumpDonald TrumpTrump DOJ demanded metadata on 73 phone numbers and 36 email addresses, Apple says Putin says he’s optimistic about working with Biden ahead of planned meeting Biden meets Queen Elizabeth for first time as president MORE had diverted billions in Pentagon construction, weapons and counterdrug funds — including $3.6 billion in construction dollars — toward building the wall, using emergency powers after Congress refused to fully fund the project directly.

But President BidenJoe BidenPutin says he’s optimistic about working with Biden ahead of planned meeting How the infrastructure bill can help close the digital divide Biden meets Queen Elizabeth for first time as president MORE in his first day in office canceled the state of emergency Trump had declared along the southern border and paused construction on the wall in order to conduct a review.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Friday that of an original 123 projects that had been stripped of their funds, the money meant for more than 50 of those had already been used for the border wall.

The 66 remaining projects will receive funds that were not yet spent.

Kirby said the department determined which projects were going to get a piece of the $2.2 billion after speaking with Pentagon and service leaders as well as operational commanders.

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“We did this all across the department to make sure we chose those carefully,” he said.

He added that the money is meant for military construction projects and would not go toward any research and development or buying weapons or equipment.

It is unclear whether the Pentagon will have to pay any penalties to get out of any border wall contracts, and Kirby said he was “not aware” of such fines. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers head Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon told lawmakers this week the Department of Defense (DOD) is in the midst of canceling 20 contracts for border wall construction.

“We have 20 contracts that we’ve terminated for the government’s convenience. And we’re in negotiations now with each of those 20 vendors to work through what those final bills will be,” Spellmon told the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development subcommittee Wednesday.

Kirby also said he did not have information on the $2.5 billion Trump took from the department’s counterdrug funds or whether a portion of the money would be returned as with the construction dollars.

Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell later said the funds ran through this year but had expired, adding the DOD “has no mechanism to recapture these funds made available for border barrier projects.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced separately that it will redirect border wall funds appropriated directly to its agencies to repair infrastructure damaged by wall construction.

“In doing so, DHS will prioritize the remaining border barrier funds to address and remediate urgent life, safety, and environmental issues resulting from the previous administration’s border wall construction,” reads a DHS release.

According to the release, DHS will prioritize repairing breaches along the Rio Grande Valley Levee System in Texas, where the Trump administration excavated along the region’s flood mitigation system.

A similar project will address soil erosion near San Diego, where DHS claims “improper compaction of soil and construction materials” along border wall construction sites is causing dangerous erosion that could affect border communities.

And DHS will review environmental and remediation strategies for abandoned construction sites that don’t present an immediate danger, with input from local residents and community leaders, including tribal communities affected by border wall construction.

More than 340 miles of border wall had been built since 2019 using Pentagon dollars, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The United States on Thursday condemned Nigeria’s move to suspend Twitter in the country after its president had a post removed by the platform.

“Unduly restricting the ability of Nigerians to report, gather, and disseminate opinions and information has no place in a democracy,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. “Freedom of expression and access to information both online and offline are foundational to prosperous and secure democratic societies.”

Twitter deleted a post by President Muhammadu Buhari last week for violating its policy on abusive behavior.

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The post appeared to threaten secessionist groups in the southeast of Nigeria that had attacked government offices, which the platform determined should be taken down.

On Friday, the government announced via Twitter that the platform would be suspended. The next day the country’s attorney general announced that Nigerians dodging that ban would be prosecuted. 

The suspension has been criticized by many Nigerian users who have used the platform to criticize the government. Former President TrumpDonald TrumpTrump DOJ seized House Democrats’ data from Apple Iowa governor questions lack of notice on migrant children flights to Des Moines Senate confirms first Muslim American federal judge MORE, meanwhile, has cheered Nigeria’s ban on Twitter amid his own criticism of the company after it permanently suspended him following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Twitter was used to great effect to boost the EndSARS campaign in Nigeria, which called for an abusive police unit to be dissolved. 

The showdown between Twitter and the Nigerian government comes amid a broader trend of government intervention in social media from places such as China and Iran.

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Twitter has suspended author Naomi Wolf after she shared tweets with COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, BBC reported on Sunday.

Twitter shared in a statement to The Hill that Wolf’s account was permanently suspended for repeated violations of their COVID-19 misinformation policy.

Wolf, the acclaimed author of the feminist book “The Beauty Myth,” shared various posts of unfounded claims and theories of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

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According to the BBC, she shared posts claiming that the vaccine was a “software platform that can receive uploads,” compared White House adviser Anthony Fauci to “Satan” and tweeted that feces and urine of those who received the vaccine should be separated from society and that tests should be done to measure its impact on nonvaccinated people through drinking water.

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