The Supreme Court has delivered President Donald Trump plenty of good days. Today was not one of them. It started with the high court declining to consider the president’s attempt to overturn a 2023 jury verdict holding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll — forcing him to pay her a $5 million judgement, plus interest. The justices didn’t provide any explanation for their decision. Then, the court released a 5-4 decision rejecting Trump’s push to bar state election officials from counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day — a crushing defeat for Trump, who has argued incessantly and without evidence that mail-in voting is responsible for rampant election fraud, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein reports. The ruling impacts about 30 states, but it was especially closely watched in California, where Democrats are breathing a big sigh of relief, POLITICO’s Blake Jones and colleagues report. And in their final blow, the justices in another 5-4 decision sent a lawsuit over Trump’s attempt to fire Lisa Cook from the Fed board back to a lower court, allowing Cook to remain in her post while the litigation continues to play out. Trump is clearly bothered. In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump thrashed the court. He pledged to “continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me,” referring to the Carroll case, which he said “is really against the United States of America, and all it stands for.” He emphasized that the Cook case was sent back “on a strictly procedural basis” and promised to “take appropriate action immediately.” And he acknowledged that the mail-in ballot decision was a “tremendous loss.” The day wasn’t a total bust for Trump, though. While the justices’ mail-in ballot ruling was a legal loss for the president, it could prove to be a political win — handing him a new cudgel he can use to urge the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, which holdouts in the chamber so far have resisted. “[I]t is more important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump said on Truth Social, calling out Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy and Mitch McConnell. (Cassidy quibbled with his inclusion in a post on X, adding that it’s “irresponsible” for Trump to withhold his signature from the bipartisan housing bill.) The justices also agreed to take up an RNC-led appeal to review a lower-court decision over whether Arizona can mandate a proof of citizenship requirement for those registering to vote, a decision that could carry significant implications for voting laws nationwide, per POLITICO’s Erin Doherty and Andrew Howard. And in a 6-3 ruling along ideological lines, the justices found that his firing last year of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter was lawful, overruling Humphrey’s Executor, a 91-year-old precedent that said Congress can limit presidents’ power to fire Senate-confirmed leaders except in cases of “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” More from Josh and Victoria Guida That decision significantly expands Trump’s power over executive branch agencies and is a major success for the members of his inner circle who are proponents of “unitary executive theory,” a conservative legal doctrine that posits that the president has essentially absolute control over the executive branch. Trump lauded the decision for “greatly increasing Presidential Power at a time when it is most needed!” In the liberals’ dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor — joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — wrote that the court had in recent years “reinvigorated a maximalist view of Presidential power.” “The one thing that does appear to be clear going forward is that chaos will follow,” she added. As Sotomayor read her dissent, Kagan “looked overcome with emotion,” NYT’s Adam Liptak and Aishvarya Kavi note. Chief Justice John Roberts announced that tomorrow will be the next and final day for opinions this term. We’ll be watching for the blockbuster birthright citizenship decision. Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at isentner@politico.com.
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1. WAR REPORT: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff will lead a conference call at 4 p.m. today to brief all House and Senate members on the Iran peace talks, POLITICO’s Riley Rogerson, Meredith Lee Hill and Mia McCarthy scooped. It’s the first time top Trump administration officials have addressed a large group of lawmakers since Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran earlier this month. Off to Doha: Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s diplomatic duo, will meet with Iranian officials tomorrow in Doha, Qatar, following back-and-forth strikes over the weekend despite the active ceasefire in place. Trump said on Truth Social the request had come from Iran. More from POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels 2. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER: The Colorado Supreme Court today blocked five separate attempts to redraw the state’s congressional districts for the 2028 election from reaching the ballot, The Denver Gazette’s Michael Karlik reports. “The Supreme Court held that changing the state’s independent redistricting commission and approving new maps, either together or through separate ballot initiatives, violated the Colorado Constitution.” 3. IN THE CLEAR: The Senate Ethics panel dismissed a complaint against Sen. Rubin Gallego (D-Ariz.) after an investigation did not find evidence of allegations of campaign finance violations or inappropriate sexual conduct leveled by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), NBC News’ Sahil Kapur reports. “Today’s dismissal reaffirms what I have said about these accusations from the beginning: they were right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists like Anna Paulina Luna, the White House, and their allies,” Gallego said in a statement, adding that he looked forward to an apology from Luna. Drip drip drip: “Ruben Gallego’s Campaign Lawyer Created a Mystery Nonprofit,” by NOTUS’ Oriana González: “A person familiar with the matter told NOTUS that concerns about the nonprofit have been raised with Gallego.” 4. MAINE MAN: Graham Platner is statistically tied with Sen. Susan Collins in the Maine Senate race that could determine control of the chamber, according to a New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll out today. Platner leads Collins by 2 points among likely voters, which falls within the poll’s margin of error. A majority — 54 percent — of respondents said they hoped Democrats would control the Senate next year, but 10 percent of those voters said they’d still support Collins, suggesting a tough road ahead for the scandal-plagued oyster farmer. More from POLITICO’s Riya Misra 5. GAVIN AND CLAUDE: Amid the Trump administration’s clash with Anthropic, the AI giant and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have reached a deal to make Claude the first AI tool available to all state agencies and local governments in California, POLITICO’s Christine Mui scoops. The agreement cuts Claude’s price in half for agencies, cities and counties and includes free workforce training and technical support from Anthropic staff.
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NEWS YOU CAN USE — The massive fireworks show on the National Mall is not scheduled to begin until 11 p.m. on July Fourth, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said today, per NOTUS’ Anna Kramer. Viewers will be required to go through metal detectors and will not be allowed to bring coolers, chairs or bags. PROFESSOR PELOSI — Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is lending her name to an institute at the University of California, Berkeley, focused on American democracy, POLITICO’s Dustin Gardiner reports. The Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy will officially launch this January — shortly after the former speaker retires from office after four decades in the House. Pelosi will co-teach a course offering students “unprecedented access to an unequaled source of insight about the mechanics and nuances” of government, the school said. REVENGE OF THE SITH — “Man who played Star Wars music at National Guard members receives settlement,” by WaPo’s Dan Morse: “The music — John Williams’s ‘The Imperial March’ — lent Star Wars-inspired satire to a view expressed by many other D.C. residents: Deploying federal troops for crime control amounted to federal overreach. … But on a Thursday evening last fall, a Guard member from Ohio didn’t seem amused. He called D.C. police, several of whom arrived and detained [Sam] O’Hara in handcuffs for 15 to 20 minutes. … On Friday, the ACLU announced it had reached a financial agreement with the D.C. government and four of its officers, resolving part of the case.” MEDIAWATCH — "Comcast to Spin Off NBCUniversal, Ending a Long Union of Cable and Media," by NYT's Benjamin Mullin: "Monday’s announcement sent a shock wave through the media industry and raised questions about the future of both Comcast and NBCUniversal, the renowned film and TV company behind “The Office” and “Jurassic Park.” In addition to the Universal Pictures movie studio and the NBC broadcast network, NBCUniversal will also include the Universal Studios theme parks and Sky, the European media and telecommunications company." UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP — Betsy Fischer Martin will take over as director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics in August, succeeding interim co-directors Beth Myers and Ned Price. Fischer Martin currently leads the Women & Politics Institute at American University and spent more than two decades at NBC News, including as the longtime executive producer of “Meet the Press.” MEDIA MOVE — Matthew Klein is joining AP’s Decision Desk as an elections analyst. He most recently was at the Cook Political Report. TRANSITION — Michael Garcia has joined Monument Advocacy as VP in its cybersecurity practice. He previously served as associate chief of policy at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the Kennedy Center last night, where Bill Maher was awarded the Mark Twain Prize: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Allison Lutnick, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and Lisa Oz, DHS Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Gisele Fetterman, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Kaitlan Collins, Ted Sarandos, Caitlin Conant, Shannon McGahn, Don McGahn, Brian Bartlett, Erin McPike, John Crumbliss, Kamran Daravi, Jamie Johnson, Rebecca Karabus, Roma Daravi, Doug Braunstein, Samara Braunstein, Whitney Cummings, Arianna Huffington, Matt Friend, Stephen A. Smith, Jay Leno, Woody Harrelson, Pamella DeVos, Daniel DeVos, Drew Pinsky, Susan Pinsky, Brian Ballard, Mary Helen Bowers, Paul Dans, Louis C.K., John Mellencamp, Elizabeth Falcone, Joe LaFauci, David Webb, David Rubin, Katie Pavlich, Hogan Gidley, Mike Rubino, Liz Pipko, Bryn Jeffers, Stephanie Haridopolos, Taylor Budowich, Elliot Berke, Bronagh Donlon, Taylor Strand, JT Jezierski, Scott Gast, Alex Levy, Carolina Hurley and Erin O’Malley. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross. |
