Congress Does Something

Today’s notice: Too little, too late for the housing bill? Tucker Carlson made an announcement (last week). A big night tonight if you enjoy watching Democrats fight with each other. SCOTUS keeps the suspense. And: American parents fall out of love with the name “Donald.”

THE LATEST

What comes after the housing bill? The Senate passed a version of a housing-policy bill yesterday that seems destined to become law. It’s as though we’re living on Earth 2 this week — there’s a long-standing problem that all sides agree needs to be solved, they crafted legislation to address it and appear poised to pass it with the promise of a presidential signature.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act links the political goals of people as disparate as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Donald Trump, NOTUS’ Raymond Fernández reports. That includes an attempt at a limit on private equity’s control over rental housing and a loosening of environmental-review standards for some new developments. Warren told NOTUS the bill is “a big deal.”

Everyone wants to take credit for doing something people actually want. “I’m already talking about it now,” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) told NOTUS.

“We have been,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-Lousiana) told us when asked if Republicans will campaign on it. “I think y’all ought to print it: ‘This bill is better than sex.’” Go ahead, put that on a bumper sticker.

Let’s get real. Bills take time to work, and it’s not clear the various sides will want to run on something that A) makes their opponents look good and B) makes concessions to get opponents on board. “It is important to remember that Congress over the last 18 years has passed over 40 major housing bills, and none of them have really worked the way they were intended,” Tobias Peter, the co-director of the generally anti-regulation American Enterprise Institute Housing Center, told Jasmine on C-SPAN earlier this month.

The “where are they now?” file

Speaking of other Earths, imagine it’s a year ago and Tucker Carlson has left the Republican Party, as he apparently did recently. Big news, pretty much immediately. But after months of alienating mainstream MAGA voters with his regular criticisms of Trump, particularly over the Iran war, it appears not to have moved the needle much. “I’m out,” Carlson said of the GOP on a podcast that was released last Thursday. His comments hardly registered online until … yesterday.

“If I’m out, then I think a lot of other people are out, too,” Carlson said. Is that a fact or wishful thinking?

Open tabs: Keir Starmer has resigned, paving way for a 7th U.K. prime minister in 10 years (NPR); Five Arrested as Part of Trump’s Reflecting Pool ‘Vandalism’ Crackdown (NOTUS); Trump expected to meet with defense contractors Wednesday amid Iran peace talks (CBS); Trump’s July 4 Blowout Will Shut Down the National Mall (NOTUS)

From the campaign trail

Primary night preview: A slew of closely watched House primaries come to a close tonight, most of them adding new data points for those looking to see where Democrats are headed after the party’s reputational collapse in 2024.

In blue New York, the left-versus-establishment storylines are everywhere. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has thrown his support behind former city Comptroller Brad Lander to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District Democratic primary. In the 13th District primary, progressives are hoping the Mamdani effect lifts activist Darializa Avila Chevalier over Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

The progressives are fighting each other in the 7th District, where Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America are backing state legislator Claire Valdez but the Working Families Party joined many unions in backing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. The real fireworks have come from Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who is retiring from the seat. She endorsed Reynoso and has been torching Mamdani any chance she gets.

But the highlight is of course the 12th District, where every Democrat in a 100-mile radius seems to be running to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. There are as many storylines as candidates here — Jack Schlossberg! George Conway! The incredibly charming mom at the end of this clip! — but as NOTUS’ Samuel Larreal notes, the most important result for Democrats’ future may be the one around AI policy.

State legislator Alex Bores, a former Palantir employee, has been pushing for more stringent AI regulation. AI-industry money groups have been spending heavily on the race, sometimes against one another. Everyone seems to think what happens here will tell us a lot about the politics of AI.

In Utah, progressives hope to nominate a lefty for the state’s new, blue 1st District and prove their politics can be a framework for party success even in unlikely places like, well, Utah. But NOTUS’ Christa Dutton reports that most in the district expect the moderate — former Rep. Ben McAdams — to win tonight on a message of being more palatable to conservatives.

“In two years, this congressional district is going to be torn apart by the Republican Party, and we’re going to have to have someone who is a moderate-enough voice to be able to contest a race,” Jeff Merchant, a former chair of the Utah Democratic Party, told Christa. He voted for McAdams.

Meanwhile, Republicans will have their say in primary runoffs in South Carolina, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson are facing off for the gubernatorial nomination. Voters will not get help from Trump on this one — he endorsed both candidates last week. (Evette’s team notes that Trump endorsed her alone on the first primary ballot on June 9.)

From the nation’s highest court

Saving the best for last continues to be the Supreme Court’s approach to its most controversial cases.

There are 17 cases left to be decided in the last days of this term. Those include:

• Trump v. Barbara, on the constitutionality of the president’s birthright-citizenship executive order
• Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., on the constitutionality of banning trans athletes from female sports
• Trump v. Cook, a case evaluating whether Trump can unilaterally fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

The big days to track: Today and Thursday are the only opinion days remaining on the calendar as of now, though the court could add more days this week or push into next week.

NOTUS METRO

Sign up for our new local newsletter. NOTUS has added some of the best reporters covering D.C.-area news, sports and culture. Sign up for all the latest.

Local news: How Janeese Lewis George Won, by NOTUS’ Michael Brice-Saddler and Martin Austermuhle

Arts desk: In This D.C. Area Play, Sally Hemings Is Given a Voice, by Zachary Pincus-Roth

NOTUS PERSPECTIVES

Who are the “SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE” vandalizing D.C.? NOTUS’ Dana Milbank set out to investigate.

NEW ON NOTUS

America is running low on Donalds: In 2025, the baby name “Donald” hit its lowest point of popularity in U.S. history, according to data maintained by the Social Security Administration and reviewed by NOTUS’ Dave Levinthal.

The name peaked in popularity in 1934 and remained within the top 100 baby names through 1990. By the time “The Apprentice” premiered in 2004, it was No. 263 on the list. The rise of The Donald that began then did not bring with it a rise in the birth of more Donalds.

More: Federal Judge Tosses Subpoenas Targeting Tim Walz and Minnesota Democrats, by Jenna Monnin

Trump Pledged a ‘Golden Age’ for Farmers. They Can’t Access Help. By Tyler Spence

NOT US

• Democratic turnout is up, even in Republican districts, Post analysis finds, by Eric Lau and Erin Cox for The Washington Post
• The Totally Bonkers Race to Replace Elise Stefanik, by Nick Reisman for Politico
• Democrats’ Great Alaskan Hope, by Marc Novicoff for The Atlantic
• Greenspan Left a Lasting Mark on America—and Me, by Greg Ip for The Wall Street Journal

BE SOCIAL

Oh.

Thank you for reading! If you liked this edition of the NOTUS Newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please sign up — it’s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@notus.com. And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@notus.com.

The newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe, Thomas Burr, Brett Bachman and Andrew Burton. Photo by Jenny Kane/AP.