State Department Issues List of Countries Rubio Spoke to on Wednesday; Israel Not on It

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security completed an internal audit of its own operations and found that it was in full compliance with all applicable federal requirements, according to a report released Monday. The review, conducted by the department's Office of the Inspector General, examined DHS's adherence to reporting obligations, personnel management protocols, and its statutory requirements under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The report found no deficiencies.

The audit was initiated in February after a congressional inquiry into DHS's compliance with transparency requirements. At the time, the department was three months behind its statutory reporting schedule, had not filed required notifications to Congress regarding a series of interior enforcement actions, and had a backlog of Freedom of Information Act requests dating back eighteen months. The inspector general's report did not address these matters. It focused on compliance with audit requirements. The prior year's audit had found the department non-compliant on those same requirements. This year's audit found it compliant.

The audit team consisted of four DHS employees. Two were on secondment from other DHS components. One was currently the subject of a separate DHS inquiry into personnel matters. The fourth was on temporary assignment from a contractor. Their report ran to 114 pages. Its central finding was that the department had "implemented adequate controls to ensure compliance with applicable audit standards." The report's methodology section noted that the team had reviewed internal documentation provided by the departments under review. The departments under review were DHS components.

Senator Gary Peters, who requested the original congressional inquiry, said Thursday he was "reviewing the findings." He has not commented further. The House Homeland Security Committee scheduled a hearing for May. No witnesses have been confirmed. DHS is continuing its regular operations.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department has sent refund checks to fourteen companies that paid tariffs under the IEEPA tariff regime, following a court order requiring the administration to return duties collected under a now-prevailed rule. The checks were sent last Thursday. As of Tuesday, none of the fourteen companies had been able to cash them.

The issue, according to Treasury officials and attorneys for the affected companies, is the endorsements required on the checks. Each check must be signed by a Treasury Department disbursing official authorized under federal accounting regulations to certify government payments. The relevant position at Treasury has been vacant since March, when the previous disbursing officer left the department. The acting official currently listed in Treasury's records is a career employee who left the department in January. The permanent acting official appointed to replace her is, according to Treasury's own personnel system, an employee in a different division who left in November.

One company, a mid-sized Ohio-based manufacturer of industrial components that paid $4.2 million in tariffs last summer, received the check and attempted to deposit it at its bank. The bank declined to accept it without a valid endorsement. The company's attorney called Treasury's Office of the General Counsel. He was told the matter was being handled. He has received no further communication. A Treasury spokesperson said Tuesday the department was "working to resolve the disbursement issue" and expected a solution "within the coming weeks."

A CBP official involved in the refund process said the checks had been sent because the court order imposed a thirty-day deadline. "We had to send them within thirty days," the official said. "We sent them within thirty days. That's what the order required." The official said the endorsement issue was a "separate operational matter" being handled by Treasury. The official said the order did not require the checks to be cashable.

WASHINGTON — The White House press secretary announced at Tuesday's press briefing that the United States was ending its bombing pause over Iran and resuming strikes on energy infrastructure effective immediately. Two hours later, the press secretary posted to her personal account on X denying that the announcement had been made.

"I did not announce a policy change at today's briefing," the post read. "Any reporting to the contrary is inaccurate. The administration's position remains what it has been." The post was liked 81,000 times within an hour. Reporters who had attended the briefing noted that the policy change had been announced in response to a direct question about whether the bombing pause remained in effect. "The pause is over," the press secretary had said, according to three reporters who were present. The briefing had not been recorded by the official transcript system due to a technical issue.

The White House issued no formal statement revising or walkng back the briefing announcement. The transcript system issue was resolved by Wednesday morning. No transcript of Tuesday's briefing had been posted by press time.

Iran's foreign ministry responded to the original announcement Tuesday evening with a statement saying it "noted the reports" and was "monitoring developments." It did not respond to the denial. A Tehran-based newspaper ran the original announcement on its front page Wednesday under the headline: "U.S. Resumes Strikes." The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the denial.