Today’s notice: Trump v. the courts. What the Senate left undone from its to-do list. RIP Beth (the vacuum). Purple-area Democrats’ plan. Rep. Case survives a deeper blue wave in Hawaii. Rep. Miller vows to stay put. Time to reset negotiations with Iran? And: Why trust in rural doctors is effective against medical conspiracies.
THE LATEST
Trump thumbs his nose at the Supremes? Early in Trump 2.0, there was a great deal of consternation around the idea that Donald Trump might directly ignore court rulings — including those from the Supreme Court. (These were not baseless worries; JD Vance specifically called for taking an Andrew Jackson approach to high court rulings the White House didn’t like in the administration’s second month.)
In practice, while federal judges have at times been outraged at what they have called open defiance of their rulings, the general consensus during Trump’s second term is that federal courts have successfully checked presidential power on numerous occasions.
Trending
This week opens a new conversation about obeying the spirit of rulings versus the letter of them. In June, the Supreme Court ruled against the president in upholding birthright citizenship and protecting the independence of the Fed. Then last week, the administration rolled out new executive orders limiting birthright citizenship’s reach, along with a new effort to fire Fed board of governors member Lisa Cook. Whether you see these moves as court defiance or reasonable responses to court orders depends on your point of view. Either way, they will more than likely end up back before SCOTUS at some point.
Keep an eye on this, from NOTUS’ Eric Katz: A federal judge ruled Friday that the Department of Veterans Affairs cannot cancel the existing contract with its union, as it had planned. When asked by NOTUS whether the VA would comply with the order, a spokesperson said he could not comment. Asked again whether the VA would honor the injunction, the spokesperson did not respond.
Mike Davis, a staunch Trump ally and founder of judicial advocacy group Article III Project who has advocated for the White House to ignore some lower court rulings, told NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright that the Trump administration is just exercising its available options.
“The Supreme Court issued rulings,” Davis said, “and now the Trump administration should do the necessary follow-up legal work, including stopping the Chinese birth tourism industry and providing Lisa Cook notice and opportunity to respond.”
Open tabs: Trump names Will Scharf as White House counsel (Reuters); Trump to Axios: “We are low keying it” with Iran (Axios); Israel Rejects Next Phase of Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan (WSJ); Ocasio-Cortez Says She Is Freezing Her Eggs and Still Mulling a Presidential Run (NYT)
From the Hill
The Senate powers through. Wow, these folks can really get moving when they wanna go on recess, huh? In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general and passed its version of a stopgap spending bill that ensures there will be no government shutdown before the midterms — as long as the House agrees.
What the Senate didn’t do: Pass a college sports bill (despite Trump’s urging) or cryptocurrency legislation. It also punted a Republican budget bill aimed at kick-starting money for new voter ID requirements and the Iran war.
The actual most important Senate news: Beth, Sen. Chuck Grassley’s long-serving vacuum, succumbed to old age over the weekend. She had devoted her life to cleanliness. RIP.
From the campaign trail
Normiemaxxing matters: Purple-area Democrats hope to win over the voters who don’t like Trump and don’t like Democrats — the so-called double-haters Trump won in 2024. They can’t do that if they’re seen as weirdos, NOTUS’ Alex Roarty reports. “The most important communication aspect of this is, ‘Hey, I’m a normal human being who’s going to focus on the economy. I’m not a crazy Democrat,’” is how one Democratic strategist explained the game plan for swing-district Democrats running at a time when a left-wing surge is dominating the national headlines.
The response to this plan kinda writes itself, as you’d imagine. “If Democrats wanted to run ‘normal’ candidates, they probably should’ve nominated some,” an NRCC spokesperson said.
Hawaii’s survivor: Democratic Rep. Ed Case beat back a challenge from progressive state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole on Saturday, breaking a streak of Democratic incumbents losing to primary challengers on their left. Case grabbed 56% of the vote to Keohokalole’s 36%.
Miller stays in: Republican Rep. Max Miller is vowing to stay in his fight for reelection, his spokesperson confirmed to The New York Times despite calls for him to resign over allegations of physically abusing his ex-wife and daughter. Miller would’ve had to withdraw by Saturday to allow party leaders to choose a replacement on the ballot by today.
From the White House
It’s time to reset negotiations with Iran while a settlement is still feasible — and desirable for both parties — but notably harder to reach, experts and officials familiar with the diplomacy told NOTUS’ Akbar Shahid Ahmed. With Iran’s reiteration this weekend of broad demands despite American military pressure, negotiating an end to the war has proved difficult for U.S. allies in the region trying to secure a commitment for a de-escalation in Washington. Trump doesn’t want to look like he’s giving in to Iran’s demands and remains continuously enthusiastic about revisiting military options, people familiar with the U.S. administration’s thinking told Akbar.
“Since Trump has proven himself, again and again, to be an unreliable negotiator, Tehran will not give away its most potent leverage unless and until the U.S. delivers on its own obligations,” said Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group think tank.
NOTUS METRO
Sign up for our local newsletter, written by Martin Austermuhle and Zara Norman.
Local news: D.C. Wins Fight Against Trump Administration Over Voter Rolls, by Martin Austermuhle
Sports desk: Laremy Tunsil’s Injury Deals a Major Blow to the Commanders’ Offense, by Martenzie Johnson
NEW ON NOTUS
A rural doctor vs. the conspiracies. West Virginia remains one of the most-vaccinated states in the nation; recent surveys show majorities of the population still support the strict vaccination requirements required to attend public schools in the state. NOTUS’ Margaret Manto dives into the why and finds trust between patients and generational, small-practice doctors like Mark Tomsho in Summersville.
Why this doctor is so effective: Connection. “People know you, and they know that you’ve extended yourself into the community, and you’ve been there and your practice has been there, both for their well-child visits and when their children are ill. They tend to trust you,” Tomsho told Margaret.
The future is moving away from this kind of medicine. Small private practices are closing at a rapid rate, and the large medical groups that replace them have created a facelessness to medicine that local public health officials say could break the trust doctors like Tomsho have built up. He’s 70 years old, and it’s not clear his kind of practice can be replicated.
These doctors have left a legacy of a belief in medical guidance. But those rules are encountering the same rising national distrust of public health that has led immunization rates to fall in many other places.
The question: Can West Virginia’s herd immunity against vaccine conspiracies survive the shift to Big Medicine?
More: Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Further Into His Body, His Son Says, by Angie Orellana Hernandez
Abdul El-Sayed Calls Streamer Hasan Piker’s Past 9/11 Comment ‘Dumb,’ by Jenna Monnin
NOT US
- Inside school investigations frozen under Trump: Racial slurs, sexual harassment and more, by Laura Meckler for The Washington Post
- Trump Crypto Took $100 Million From a Businessman With Red Flags, by Russ Buettner for The New York Times
- The ‘Jury Duty’ Scam That Cost This Family $25,000, by Joe Barrett for The Wall Street Journal
- Why Rhode Island may oust a sitting governor over a bridge, by Eli Okun for Politico
WEEK AHEAD
Tuesday
Primary Election Day in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin, and in four Alabama congressional districts.
Special Republican Senate primary in South Carolina.
Wednesday
Monthly Consumer Price Index released.
Thursday
Status hearing in the Phang v. Blanche lawsuit over the Epstein files.
Democratic National Committee summer meeting kicks off Austin, Texas. Runs through Saturday.
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire/AP.
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