Five more ministers announced in a joint resignation letter they have quit British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.
Meanwhile, The Mail+ reports Housing Secretary Michael Gove has also told Johnson that he must resign.
A.B. Stoddard: “A raped and pregnant 10-year-old crossing state lines for an abortion. A coup against our government led by a president eager to send a mob he knew was armed to threaten the vice president and members of Congress. A Supreme Court that rules against the majority of the country on guns, abortion, and climate change and may side with Republicans next year who want partisans to decide our elections. The attorney general of Texas admitting he would welcome the return of anti-sodomy laws.”
“After years of tumultuous change and accelerating division, these past days and weeks have made perfectly clear—even to those who had tried tuning it all out when Donald Trump lost the 2020 election—just what Republicans do with power.”
“A New York judge held real estate services giant Cushman & Wakefield in contempt of court for refusing to comply with subpoenas issued as part of the state attorney general’s civil probe into former President Donald Trump’s company,” CNBC reports.
“Some voters in last month’s special election to replace former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry in Nebraska’s 1st District won’t be represented by the Republican who won, Mike Flood, until January — and only if Flood wins again in November,” Roll Call reports.
“Meanwhile, it’s an open question whether anyone, besides the state’s two senators, represents them in Congress for the remainder of this year.”
“That’s because the Cornhusker State’s redistricting law called for using new district maps enacted last year for the June 28 special election to fill the remainder of Fortenberry’s term. But congressional rules define lawmakers’ constituents for the remainder of this year using the maps that were in place for the 2020 election, when Fortenberry last won.”
President Biden’s new anti-corruption czar is named Rich Nephew.
A new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds Gov. Greg Abbott (R) leading challenger Beto O’Rourke (D) in the gubernatorial race, 45% to 39%.
A Washington Post editorial warns the Supreme Court’s next move “might cripple our democracy.”
“Our democracy’s path rests mostly with the Supreme Court. If five justices overturn the North Carolina decision, they will know what they are doing, which is writing a recipe for election tampering. They will also know why they are doing it: not because the Constitution demands it, but because they can.”
Earlier for members: The Supreme Court Will Rule on Democracy Itself
“Former President Trump’s plans to announce his 2024 presidential campaign as early as this summer, well before what he previously indicated, throws a wrench into Republicans’ strategy for winning back the Senate and House majorities in November,” The Hill reports.
“Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made clear they want the 2022 midterms to be a referendum on President Biden and his handling of inflation and the economy.”
“But that strategy will run into trouble if Trump announces his plans to run for president again in 2022.”
“Pat Cipollone, Donald Trump’s former White House counsel, faces a Wednesday deadline to give sworn testimony before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Witnesses have said that Mr. Cipollone was present at many significant moments in the White House as Mr. Trump sought to cast doubt on the election result.”
A new YouGov poll finds that 69% of Britons — including 54% of Conservative voters — think British Prime Minister Boris Johnson should resign.
Just 18% think that Johnson should stay.
Robert Shrimsley: This is the endgame for Boris Johnson — but it may not be quick.
“Key House Republicans are threatening to subpoena records of the Jan. 6 committee if the GOP retakes the majority next year — an escalation of the party’s effort to undercut the investigation’s findings,” Axios reports.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s powerful Security Council said it’s “absurd” to think of punishing Russia for its war against Ukraine because the country has “major nuclear potential,” the Daily Beast reports.
Calling proposals to prosecute Russia for war crimes “legally void,” he said any attempts to do so “potentially threaten the existence of mankind.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) “reversed course Tuesday and turned over a June 23 White House email that confirms President Joe Biden intended to nominate an anti-abortion Republican to a lifetime appointment as a federal district judge in Kentucky,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
Politico: “Nine states have banned abortions either in almost all cases, unless necessary to save the life of the pregnant person, or after six weeks of pregnancy — a point at which many people don’t yet know they’ve conceived. Four have abortion bans poised to take effect in the coming days and weeks. And eight states have abortion bans on their books that have been blocked by the courts.”
“Gun violence spiked over Fourth of July weekend, with shootings reported in nearly every U.S. state that killed a total of at least 220 people and wounded close to 570 others,” CBS News reports.
“There were only five states where one or more shootings were not reported.”
Stephen Collinson: Why the horror from weapons used in mass killings won’t lead to them being banned.
CNN: “White House counsel Dana Remus had assured senior aides the Supreme Court wouldn’t rule on abortion that day. A White House press aide assigned to the issue was walking to get coffee when the alert hit.”
“Several Democratic leaders privately mocked how the president stood in the foyer of the White House, squinting through his remarks from a teleprompter as demonstrators poured into the streets, making only vague promises of action because he and aides hadn’t decided on more.”
“There is a leadership vacuum right now, and Biden’s not filling it… I sympathize with the argument that there’s very little they can do legislatively. But in moments of crisis, the president is called upon to be a leader. And when people are feeling scared and angry and outraged, they look to him for that, and they’re not getting much.”
— Adam Jentleson, former top aide to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted by the Washington Post.
Punchbowl News: “Schumer will submit text today to the Senate parliamentarian reflecting an agreement among all Democrats – including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) – to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug costs. The parliamentarian will then begin the ‘Byrd Bath’ review process to make sure the proposal conforms with the Senate’s arcane reconciliation rules.”
“At this point, the rest of the package – informally dubbed Build Back Manchin – is up in the air. This is the low hanging fruit. Manchin has always supported this policy, as do 49 other Senate Democrats. So Schumer is starting with the lowest common denominator.”
“But this is a big deal. It represents the first formal step in reviving a new reconciliation bill for possible floor action. And Schumer is taking a risk by making this official. The top issue for Senate Democrats and the White House this month now becomes whether they can get a deal. So there’s a lot riding on this for Schumer, Manchin and President Joe Biden.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.