Today’s notice: The courts vs. Trump on deportations. Democrats vs. Jeffries on how to fight back. Lobbyists vs. everyone on carried interest.
A New Court Test
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador is set to visit the White House today amid a convoluted legal landscape on deportations that’s careening toward a crisis.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Trump administration “to facilitate” the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego García, the Maryland legal resident mistakenly deported to El Salvador, upholding U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’ lower court order. On its face, it seemed like a win for Abrego García and his supporters.
But Trump’s Justice Department was celebrating the court’s ruling, and by Sunday argued that the Supreme Court only meant the U.S. had to remove “any domestic obstacles” to Abrego García’s reentry into the country, not work to get him out of a Salvadoran prison. The administration is relying largely on a line in the high court’s opinion that acknowledged the “deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
“The federal courts have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner,” DOJ lawyers wrote Sunday in response to Xinis’ Friday order they provide regular updates on efforts to get Abrego García home.
The administration is now clearly signaling a willingness to push the envelope on how it’s responding to the lower courts (even though SCOTUS told them they had to).
NOTUS’ Casey Murray reports that the pushback and slow-walking could be a sign of bigger issues to come.
“This administration is taking a maximalist view towards their authorities in this matter, which raises the very concerning prospect that Mr. Abrego García is going to continue to be detained in this prison indefinitely, while the government stalls,” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration lawyer, told Casey.
Back to today and the rest of the week: The White House is welcoming Bukele, and while it’s a seemingly prime opportunity to ask about Abrego García, a defiant Trump gave no indication he’s planning on doing any such thing.
Trump told reporters this weekend he’d listen to the Supreme Court if it ordered him to send someone back, but, “I’m not talking about the lower court.” A weekend post on Truth Social made no mention of Abrego García, just that deportees were “now in the sole custody of El Salvador.”
Trump’s refusal to listen to the lower court could come to a head on Tuesday, when Xinis is set to hold another hearing.
—Shifra Dayak | Read Casey’s story.
Recess Is a Time for Reflection
Congress is out for two weeks, with Republicans headed home to sketch out their plans for the reconciliation bill and Democrats thinking about something a little further off in the distance: 2026.
The party needs to rebuild and convince voters it’s worthy of their attention (and donors that it’s worthy of their campaign cash.) Everyone is trying to find the person who they can point to and say, see? That’s what Democrats are about. NOTUS’ Riley Rogerson and Daniella Diaz write that, increasingly, House Democrats are feeling that their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is maybe not that person.
“He has a lot of really good qualities,” said a senior House Democrat who requested anonymity to speak freely. “I’m not sure those qualities are well-suited for this moment.”
Riley and Daniella have a lot on what people want more of — more profile, more of that striking-fear-in-all-who-oppose-her Nancy Pelosi magic. But part of the issue for Jeffries is that as a leader of the minority party, he’ll always have critics.
But Jeffries and other top Democrats say the moment they finally have the GOP on the run is fast approaching. During recess, Democrats have planned another round of town halls targeting Republicans in their home districts, as NOTUS scooped this week.
Jeffries is scheduled to be a big part of it all, giving him a chance to rally his team by saying a lot of, you wanna know what we’re about?
—Evan McMorris-Santoro | Read the story by Riley and Daniella.
Front Page
- WorldPride Organizers Are Warning International Travelers About ‘Potential Risk’ of Attending: Organizers of the festivities in Washington have run into hurdles posed by the Trump administration.
- Rep. Zach Nunn Is Talking With His Family About a Potential Run for Governor: Nunn is getting pressure to run in the hours after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she wouldn’t seek reelection.
NOTUS Scoop: House Democrats Want Answers on Language
More than four dozen House Democrats sent a letter to Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday demanding answers on an executive order last month that made English the official language of the United States, NOTUS scooped. The letter, spearheaded by Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus leaders, asks how the order impacts resources for people around the country who aren’t proficient in English.
They also want answers on how the administration is going to fill the gaps created by DOGE cancelling at least 10 agency contracts that provided language services. (NOTUS reported last month on those cancellations, as the letter notes).
“It’s outrageous,” Rep. Judy Chu told us. “This rescission will have dire effects on these communities across the United States.
—Shifra Dayak | Read the story.
Lobbyists vs. Trump on Carried Interest
Quietly, but expensively, an all-out lobbying effort is underway to try once again to stop a president bent on killing private equity’s “favorite tax break,” NOTUS’ Taylor Giorno reports. Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Trump have all tried to close the carried interest loophole, and failed. The lobbying plan this time around is “to shore up support among Republican allies more beholden to the president than traditional pro-business policy,” Taylor writes.
Among the former carried-interest-loophole maintainers now in the lobbying world: Kyrsten Sinema. She “did not respond to interview requests” regarding carried interest.
Congress’ Dentists vs. RFK Jr. on Fluoride
We concede there may never be a better headline: “Three Out of Four of Congress’ Dentists Agree: Fluoride Should Stay in Drinking Water.”
There are four dentists in Congress, NOTUS’ Emily Kennard reports, and all of them are Republicans: Reps. Brian Babin, Mike Simpson, Paul Gosar and Jeff Van Drew (“who sports a tooth-shaped American flag pin on his lapel,” natch.) After Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he plans to order the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to no longer recommend fluoridating drinking water, only Van Drew expressed opposition to municipal programs doing just that.
Week Ahead
- The FTC vs. Meta trial is set to begin Monday in Washington.
- Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez are scheduled to blast off into space from Blue Origin’s launchpad in Texas.
- Quarterly FEC reports are due Tuesday.
- So are your taxes.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to visit D.C. Thursday for tariff negotiations.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- Law students say they want to work for the firms standing up to Trump by Daniel Barnes for Politico
- CDC’s cruise ship inspectors laid off amid bad year for outbreaks by Alexander Tin for CBS News
- The Mystery of ICE’s Unidentifiable Arrests by Jonathan Blitzer for The New Yorker
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