Summary of the day
Here’s a recap of today’s developments:
The US supreme court shot down a fringe legal theory that observers said posed a considerable threat to democracy, ruling that state courts have the authority to weigh in on disputes over federal election rules. Civil rights groups praised the court’s ruling. The court will release more opinions on Thursday. The nine justices have seven cases left to decide, including those dealing with affirmative action and Joe Biden’s student loan relief plan.
Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy insisted that Donald Trump is “stronger today than he was in 2016”, hours after he appeared to question whether the former president was the strongest GOP nominee to win the 2024 election.
A new federal law that requires employers to provide accommodations to pregnant and postpartum employees took effect on Tuesday, providing protections to millions of eligible people.
A group of House Democrats are calling for an independent investigation into US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, following reports that he received lavish gifts and financial support from the Republican mega-donor and billionaire real estate developer Harlan Crow.
Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, announced a special session for lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional district maps after the US supreme court earlier this month declared that they were unfair to Black voters.
Walt Nauta, the valet to Donald Trump who was indicted alongside him for charges related to the classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago, missed his arraignment today. The hearing will now take place on 6 July.
A New York appeals court ordered that Ivanka Trump be dismissed from a civil fraud case filed by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, against Donald Trump, the Trump Organization and three of his adult children.
Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, vowed to succeed where Donald Trump failed and to “actually” build the wall between the US and Mexico, as the two held dueling campaign events in New Hampshire.
The third “Florida Man” in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Miami mayor Francis Suarez, suffered an embarrassment during an interview with a conservative radio host when he was asked about the plight of the oppressed Uyghurs, a Muslim minority in China.
Updated
Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, has announced a special session for lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional district maps after the US supreme court earlier this month declared that they were unfair to Black voters.
In a statement released by her office, Ivey called for the session to begin 17 July and said Alabama’s legislature “has one chance to get this done”. She added:
Our Legislature knows our state, our people and our districts better than the federal courts or activist groups do.
It comes after the supreme court upheld a three-judge panel’s ruling that the state of Alabama illegally diluted the political power of Black voters by having only one majority Black congressional district.
The ruling meant Alabama would have to redraw its congressional map to add another district where Black voters comprise a majority of the district’s voting age population. The court’s surprise decision is a major victory for the embattled Voting Rights Act.
Updated
Donald Trump has responded to a leaked audio recording from July 2021 in which he repeatedly talked about a document on Iran that he described as having come from the “defense department”.
The audio of the recording, played publicly for the first time by CNN and obtained by the Guardian, casts doubt on his recent assertions that the material he was referring to was a stack of printed news clippings.
The tape reveals the full extent of Trump’s discussion that was only partially included in the indictment and could make for a compelling presentation if deemed admissible at trial.
Trump said he “didn’t even see the recording”, adding that he was a “legitimate person”.
Trump responds to leaked audio obtained by CNN showing he lied about classified documents at Mar-a-Lago:
— The Recount (@therecount) June 27, 2023
“My voice was fine … I didn’t even see the recording … We had a lot of papers stacked up. In fact, you could hear the rustle of the paper … I’m a legitimate person.” pic.twitter.com/nAQpVHCdi0
A New York appeals court has ordered that Ivanka Trump be dismissed from a civil fraud case filed by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, against Donald Trump, the Trump Organization and three of his adult children.
James’s lawsuit, filed last September, accused Trump of lying from 2011 to 2021 about the value of his properties, including his Mar-a-Lago estate and Trump Tower penthouse, as well as his own net worth, to receive favorable loans. The lawsuit alleged that Trump’s children were involved in a conspiracy to commit the crimes.
The lawsuit seeks at least $250m in damages from the former president, his sons Donald Jr and Eric, his daughter Ivanka and the Trump Organization, and to stop the Trumps from running businesses in New York.
The appellate division in Manhattan, in today’s unanimous ruling, dismissed the claims brought against Ivanka Trump by James, noting that those claims were barred by New York’s statute of limitation. It said:
The allegations against defendant Ivanka Trump do not support any claims that accrued after February 6, 2016. Thus, all claims against her should have been dismissed as untimely.
The appeals court has returned the case to the state supreme court judge presiding over the case to determine whether the claims against the other defendants should be limited.
A trial is scheduled to begin 2 October.
Updated
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has said “what’s happening with the Uyghurs is disgusting” after her rival, Francis Suarez, appeared not to have heard of the persecuted Chinese minority group.
Haley, during a foreign policy speech about China in Washington, said:
We promised never again to look away from genocide, and it’s happening right now in China. And no one is saying anything because they’re too scared of China.
Part of American foreign policy should always be that we fight for human rights for all people. And what’s happening with the Uyghurs is disgusting. And the fact that the whole world is ignoring it is shameful.
2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks out on the Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang after fellow candidate Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was unaware of the issue:
— The Recount (@therecount) June 27, 2023
“What’s happening with the Uyghurs is disgusting and the fact that the whole world is ignoring it is shameful.” pic.twitter.com/y7yrbDcZRL
Updated
Kevin McCarthy says Trump 'stronger today than in 2016' hours after doubting his ability to win
Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy has insisted that Donald Trump is “stronger today than he was in 2016”, hours after he appeared to question whether the former president was the strongest GOP nominee to win the 2024 election.
McCarthy, in an interview with Breitbart News, said:
As usual, the media is attempting to drive a wedge between President Trump and House Republicans as our committees are holding Biden’s DoJ accountable for their two-tiered levels of justice.
He pointed to a Morning Poll published today that showed Trump with a three-point lead over Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head match. McCarthy said:
Just look at the numbers this morning – Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016.
It comes after he was asked, in an interview earlier today with CNBC, whether Trump could win an election despite all his legal troubles. McCarthy replied:
Yeah he can … the question is, is he strongest to win the election? I don’t know that answer.
Updated
Investigators from special counsel Jack Smith’s office are set to interview Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, in Atlanta, as part of the federal investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his advisers to overturn the 2020 election results.
Raffensperger’s interview, first reported by the Washington Post, will be his first with US justice department investigators.
Smith’s office subpoenaed Raffensperger back in December, but NBC News reports that the move was for documents and not for him to appear or testify in person.
In a phone call after the 2020 election, Trump demanded Raffensperger “find” the votes needed for him to win Georgia – a state Joe Biden won by nearly 12,000 votes.
Trump told Raffensperger:
All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.
Updated
A new federal law that requires employers to provide accommodations to pregnant and postpartum employees took effect on Tuesday, providing protections to millions of eligible people.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires that employers with more than 15 workers provide “reasonable accommodations” to people who are pregnant, postpartum or have a related medical condition, NBC News reported.
The legislation covers accommodations for a myriad of pregnancy-related conditions including morning sickness, pregnancy loss and postpartum depression.
Examples of possible accommodations include being able to sit and drink water, having flexible hours and having uniforms that fit properly, according to information from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Accommodations could also include time off for childbirth recovery and time to access an abortion, the 19th News reported.
Under the act, a pregnant employee can request accommodations from their employer, with both parties having a discussion on if the accommodation can be granted.
Harris says supreme court decision 'protects the voice and the will' of US voters
Kamala Harris is out with a statement cheering the supreme court’s decision in the Moore v Harper case out of North Carolina, but acknowledging that more must be done to safeguard voting rights across the United States.
Here are the vice-president’s thoughts:
Voting is the bedrock of our democracy. Today’s decision preserves state courts’ critical role in safeguarding elections and protecting the voice and the will of the American people. We know that more work must to (sic) be done to protect the fundamental right to vote and to draw fair maps that reflect the diversity of our communities and our nation. The President and I will keep fighting to secure access to the ballot box, but we cannot do this alone. We continue to call on Congress to do their part to protect voters and our democracy and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
Supreme court avoided 'beginning of the end of democracy' with election ruling – North Carolina Democrat
If the supreme court had ruled in favor of Republicans in a major election law case decided today, it would have represented a “truly horrible” blow to American democracy, a congressman from North Carolina, the state at the heart of the decision, said in an interview.
Speaking to the Guardian’s US politics live blog, Wiley Nickel, a first-term Democratic House representative from the Raleigh area, said that while the decision handed down might represent a victory in the battle against partisan gerrymandering, he still expects Republicans who control North Carolina’s state legislature to proceed with redrawing congressional maps to their advantage.
“We had something truly horrible that didn’t happen and it would have been the beginning of the end of democracy in America if the court had sided with Tim Moore in the Moore v Harper case,” Nickel said, referring to the Republican speaker of the state’s House of Representatives whose name was on the supreme court case.
But because the US supreme court has now ruled against North Carolina’s Republicans and declined to endorse a fringe theory that could have prevented state courts from weighing in on federal election rules, “It’ll mean that we have a check with the courts and with our constitution … it just moves us on to the next stage of the fight to make sure that we get fair maps in this next election.”
Nickel was elected last year after North Carolina’s supreme court struck down a GOP-drawn congressional map and replaced it with one that produced a 7-7 split between Republicans and Democrats in the state’s delegation following the midterm election. While Democrats still lost control of the US House, that ruling was one of many factors that helped the party’s lawmakers across the country perform better than expected.
In North Carolina, the GOP has since taken the majority on its top court, which, together with the party’s control of the House and Senate, will allow it to move forward with a partisan gerrymander of the state’s congressional districts.
Nickel expects that the boundaries of his district, which leans slightly Republican, will remain pretty much the same, but other Democratic congressional representatives may be at risk.
“It goes back to our state legislature and they’re going to draw maps and it’s going to be, I think, bad overall for Democrats,” he said. How bad it is will be yet another factor determining whether Joe Biden’s allies are able to retake control of the House in the next election, set for November 2024.
In the long run, Nickel supports federal legislation to end partisan gerrymandering, but acknowledges that among the current crop of Republicans in the House, “The majority of them right now, if anything, they’re going in the opposite direction.”
He takes some solace from another supreme court ruling released earlier this month that maintains parts of the Voting Rights Act and could help Democrats hang onto some districts in North Carolina and elsewhere in the south. Nickel also noted that if the Tar Heel State’s Republicans push too hard to make maps that disadvantage Democrats, it raises the chances a legal challenge against them will succeed.
“Every single time we talk about maps in North Carolina, the real question is, how greedy are they going to get? And if they get too greedy, the state courts, federal courts are going to get involved,” he said.
Updated
The third “Florida Man” in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Miami’s mayor Francis Suarez, suffered an embarrassment during an interview with a conservative radio host when he was asked about the plight of the oppressed Uyghurs, a Muslim minority in China.
“The what?” Suarez replied when asked by the presenter Hugh Hewitt if he would be talking about them during his campaign, reported by the Miami Herald.
“The Uyghurs,” Hewitt repeated.
“What’s a Uyghur?” Suarez asked.
“OK, we’ll come back to that. You gotta get smart on that,” Hewitt said.
“What did you call it, a Weeble?” Suarez asked at the conclusion of the 15-minute conversation.
In a later tweet, Hewitt called Suarez’s interview “pretty good for a first conversation”, apart from the “huge blind spot” on the Uyghurs.
Mayor @FrancisSuarez was pretty good for a first conversation on air about national security --except for the huge blind spot on the Uyghurs. "What's a Uyghur?" is not where I expect people running for president to say when asked about the ongoing genocide in China.
— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) June 27, 2023
In a statement, Suarez claimed he had merely misheard. “Of course, I am well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China,” he claimed.
“China has a deplorable record on human rights and all people of faith suffer there. I didn’t recognize the pronunciation my friend Hugh Hewitt used. That’s on me.”
You can listen to the interview here.
Speaking of Donald Trump and 2024, Kevin McCarthy made a curious comment this morning in an interview with CNBC.
Asked if he thought Trump could win an election despite all his legal troubles, the Republican House speaker replied, “Yeah he can … the question is, is he strongest to win the election? I don’t know that answer. But can … anybody beat Biden? Yeah, anybody can beat Biden. Can Biden beat other people? Yes, Biden can beat them.”
Make of that what you will. Here’s the full clip:
Updated
During his campaign swing through New Hampshire, Ron DeSantis was asked about his views on the January 6 insurrection.
Donald Trump has repeatedly insulted DeSantis, who is his closest rival for the Republican presidential nomination next year, but that apparently isn’t enough to earn the Florida’s governor’s condemnation of the former president’s involvement in the attack on the Capitol:
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), when asked if Donald Trump violated the peaceful transfer of power on January 6th:
— The Recount (@therecount) June 27, 2023
“I wasn’t anywhere near Washington that day. I have nothing to do with what happened that day. Obviously, I didn’t enjoy seeing what happened.” pic.twitter.com/386NGQ87qk
Updated
Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House, has also praised the supreme court’s ruling in Moore v Harper.
Posting to Twitter, Pelosi said:
Today, the Supreme Court rejected a fringe, far-right assault on a sacred pillar of American Democracy: the right to vote.
With its ruling in Moore v. Harper, the Court refused the MAGA Republicans’ radical theory and reaffirmed our Founders’ vision of checks and balances.
However, it remains urgent and essential to reverse the Court’s attack on the Voting Rights Act ten years ago in Shelby v. Holder. The Congress must enact the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and our For The People Act to defend and expand the freedom to vote for all.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) June 27, 2023
The White House has responded to the supreme court’s ruling in Moore v Harper, calling it a “critical” move for voting rights.
White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton said the “extreme” legal theory would have let politicians undermine the will of the people.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis, at a campaign event in Hollis, New Hampshire, also vowed to tear down Washington’s traditional political power centers, AP reports.
Asked about people who had voted twice for Donald Trump because of promises to “drain the swamp” in the nation’s capital, DeSantis replied:
He didn’t drain it. It’s worse today than it’s ever been.
He said he would take power out of Washington by instructing cabinet agencies to halve the number of employees there, adding:
I want to break the swamp.
Updated
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has vowed to succeed where Donald Trump failed and to “actually” build the wall between the US and Mexico, as the two held dueling campaign events in New Hampshire.
DeSantis, at a town hall in Hollis, spoke about his new immigration policy proposal which includes calling for ending birthright citizenship, finishing the border wall and sending US forces into Mexico to combat drug cartels, AP reports.
He said:
We’re actually going to build the wall. A lot of politicians chirp. They make grandiose promises and then fail to deliver the actual results. The time for excuses is over. Now is the time to deliver results and finally get the job done.
A group of House Democrats are calling for an independent investigation into the US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, following reports that he received lavish gifts and financial support from the Republican mega-donor and billionaire real estate developer, Harlan Crow.
In a letter to the chief justice, John Roberts, the group of 18 House Democrats urged Roberts to set up an “independent investigative body” within the supreme court to probe “alleged ethical improprieties”.
Thomas’s relationship with Crow, and his failure to declare many gifts, has long been known. But in April, ProPublica detailed gifts from Crow to Thomas including luxury travel and resort stays, a property purchase and the paying of school fees. Democrats have called for Thomas to be impeached and removed.
ProPublica also reported that the supreme court justice, Samuel Alito, accepted a seat on a private plane owned by the conservative billionaire Paul Singer, flying to Alaska for a luxury fishing trip hosted by another rightwing businessman, then did not declare such gifts or recuse himself when Singer had business before the court.
The letter by House Democrats, led by New York congressman Dan Goldman and shared with NBC News, criticizes Roberts for saying the court can convince the public that it “adheres to the highest standards of conduct” without taking new action to address recent ethics questions. It reads:
The Court’s failure to conduct a meaningful, independent investigation into allegations against Justices Thomas and Alito only underscores widespread concerns that the Supreme Court is not subject to a code of ethics or an adequate enforcement process.
It continues:
If, as you say, the Court is capable of upholding the highest ethical standards, then we hope you will accept our recommendations to establish an independent and transparent investigative body and separate ethics counsel to regain the trust and confidence of the American people.
Updated
The day so far
Democracy advocates are cheering after the supreme court struck down an attempt by Republican state lawmakers in North Carolina to get the justices’ endorsement of a fringe legal theory that could have greatly worsened partisan gerrymandering nationwide. Meanwhile, Walt Nauta, the valet to Donald Trump who was indicted alongside him for charges related to the classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago, missed his arraignment today. The hearing will now take place on 6 July.
Here’s a rundown of what has happened today so far:
The supreme court will release more opinions on Thursday. The nine justices have seven cases left to decide, including those dealing with affirmative action and Joe Biden’s student loan relief plan.
Alabama’s Republican governor has called a special legislative session to redraw the state’s congressional maps, after the supreme court earlier this month ruled the current districts discriminated against Black voters.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic leader, outlined plans to find agreement with Republicans on a bunch of different pieces of legislation.
All kinds of people and organizations are weighing in on the supreme court’s ruling in Moore v Harper – including Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Yes, that Arnold Schwarzenegger – the one known globally for his friendship with Dylan, for being a good man to stick with if you want to live, and for being an all-around chill guy. Californians will also remember him as their former governor, and the most-recent Republican to hold the office.
Schwarzenegger, an avid Twitter user in the twilight years of his twin careers in Hollywood and Sacramento, took to the platform to express his happiness at the court’s ruling in the case that could have upended congressional redistricting nationwide, and also to continue his feud with Jeff Clark, a Donald Trump-era justice department official who played a key role in the former president’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election:
Hi Jeff! I know the Supreme Court went my way in Moore v. Harper and not yours, but I’m still here for leg training tips! You can get some free workouts and positivity here (it might help you!): https://t.co/vhhrgxQq1x https://t.co/2rUVJBcTHZ
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) June 27, 2023
Here was my amicus brief in the case. I’m so happy the Supreme Court sided with the people and not the politicians. https://t.co/gA6Zy2xaRm
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) June 27, 2023
Chuck Schumer may say that “Senate Democrats will continue to fight for free and fair elections”, but actually doing so is easier said than done.
Democrats’ slim majority in the Senate and the availability of the filibuster to the GOP means passing legislation to address the issues that worry democracy advocates most – think partisan gerrymandering, or restrictions on ballot box access that can disenfranchise certain groups – appears beyond their abilities in this Congress. And if those weren’t obstacles enough, the House’s Republican leaders have shown little willingness to consider such legislation.
Indeed, voting rights legislation wasn’t mentioned by Schumer in an interview published by Politico today, in which the Senate majority leader outlined his legislative priorities:
After spending six months focused on confirming President Joe Biden’s nominees and fighting off GOP regulatory rollbacks, the Senate majority leader is planning to pivot into bipartisan policymaking mode. During an interview with POLITICO, Schumer outlined an enterprising agenda that includes must-pass bills on defense, aviation and farm policy, as well as long-held priorities like marijuana banking and China competitiveness.
That’s on top of a rail safety plan that could run into a wall of GOP resistance and a challenging push to lower prescription drug prices — plus more. And any of those bills risk falling to a filibuster by Republicans who are deciding whether they’re in a mood to compromise before the 2024 election, which could give them control of the Senate.
“There are a bunch of Republicans in the Senate who want to work with us,” Schumer said in an interview. “We’ll try to get as many [bills] done as we can. Legislating in the Senate with the rules we have is not easy, right? But if you push ahead, we’re going to get some good things done.”
After the supreme court’s ruling in Moore v Harper, the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said democracy advocates “can stand a bit taller.”
Here’s his full statement:
Today those who support democracy, fair elections and the rule of law can stand a bit taller. Today’s ruling reaffirms the longstanding precedent that respects our constitutional system of checks and balances. There is still much work to do to protect American democracy. As John Lewis said, ‘Democracy is not a state. It is an act,’ which is why Senate Democrats will continue to fight for free and fair elections.
There are some interesting names among amicus briefs filed with the supreme court over Moore v Harper – amicus briefs being, in the words of Cornell Law School, documents filed by “friends of the court” (“amicus curiae”), those being “a person or group who is not a party to an action, but has a strong interest in the matter [and] will petition the court for permission to submit a brief in the action intending to influence the court’s decision”.
One amicus brief in Moore v Harper came from the America First Legal Foundation. Influencewatch.org calls that group “a right-of-center nonprofit [co-]formed by former senior Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller … aim[ing] to use litigation to oppose left-of-center policies enacted by the Biden administration. The board is made up of former Trump officials including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker”.
Another amicus brief came from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group backed by the rightwing Koch donor network that the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington has described as a “rightwing network that brings conservative lawmakers together with corporate lobbyists to create model legislation that is cloned across the US”.
Also filing an amicus brief was Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit which successfully challenged campaign finance laws in a 2010 supreme court ruling which changed the landscape of US elections, unleashing corporate money.
One more amicus brief to note in Moore v Harper: that filed by John Eastman, law professor and chief ideologue of Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election who is currently fighting a move to disbar him.
With friends of the court like these…
In other redistricting news, Alabama’s Republican governor has Kay Ivey has called the state legislature back into session to draw new congressional maps:
I have called the Alabama Legislature into a special session beginning July 17 at 2:00 p.m., to address redistricting.
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) June 27, 2023
It is critical that Alabama be fairly and accurately represented in Washington. Our Legislature knows our state better than the federal courts do. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/UmVcMMuf3d
The catalyst is a supreme court ruling released earlier this month that found the state’s maps discriminated against Black voters. Alabama’s legislature is dominated by Republicans, but as a result of the decision, they are expected to draw a map that will create a second majority-Black congressional district – a seat Democrats may have a good shot at winning, given African-American voters’ tendency to support the party.
Moore v Harper: the impacts of the supreme court's ruling
The impacts of the supreme court’s ruling in Moore v Harper extend to redistricting, and beyond.
Its most immediate effect is to preserve longstanding norms over state courts’ ability to weigh in on legislatures’ actions when it comes to federal elections, as the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:
The 6-3 decision in Moore v Harper is a blow to North Carolina Republicans who had asked the court to embrace the so-called independent state legislature theory – the idea that the US constitution does not allow state courts to limit the power of state legislatures when it comes to federal elections. Such a decision in the case would have been a major win for Republicans, who control more state legislatures than Democrats do. Some of the conservative justices on the court had urged the bench to embrace the idea.
“We will have to resolve this question sooner or later, and the sooner we do so, the better,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a dissent at an earlier stage in the case that was joined by Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas. “If the language of the elections clause is taken seriously, there must be some limit on the authority of state courts to countermand actions taken by state legislatures when they are prescribing rules for the conduct of federal elections.”
The court’s decision means that state courts can continue to weigh in on disputes over federal election rules. State courts have become increasingly popular forums for hearing those disputes, especially after the US supreme court said in 2019 that federal courts could not address partisan gerrymandering.
But Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political science professor focusing on American elections, sees broader implications in the justices’ rejection of the fringe independent state legislature (ISL) theory, which Republican lawmakers from North Carolina has asked them to endorse in the case:
First, the ISL theory could have unraveled all instances where states implemented election policies for federal elections that did not include the state legislature. That includes voter-approved ballot initiatives for policies like mail balloting, same-day registration, etc.
— Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) June 27, 2023
Here’s more from Sam on the case:
Updated
And here are a few thoughts on the Moore v Harper ruling from Ari Savitzky, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s voting rights project:
The Supreme Court was right to reject the misbegotten independent state legislature theory. In our system, there is no room for a rogue legislature that can violate its own founding charter without any checks from other branches of government. This radical theory is totally contrary to the bedrock principle of checks and balances, and the court has correctly relegated it to the dustbin of history. The court’s decision confirms the important role of state courts and state constitutions in ensuring fair elections and protecting the right to vote for all.
Youth voter organization NextGen America has reacted to the supreme court’s rejection of an attempt by Republican lawmakers to promote a fringe legal theory that would have transformed redistricting in the Moore v Harper case.
Here’s what the group’s president Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez had to say:
We are glad the high court took a critical stance by rejecting North Carolina’s Republican lawmakers’ attempts to erode our nation’s checks and balances through the anti-democratic independent state legislature theory. Today, the Court ruled in favor of voters and protected state courts’ power to hold lawmakers accountable to state laws when it comes to our elections. This is a major win for voters and protects our democracy from attacks on voting rights and threats to our systems of free and fair elections.
Now, young voters nationwide call on Congress to work on behalf of the people who elected them and enshrine critical voter protections into federal law. The stakes are too big and without Congressional legislative action we are facing the degradation of democracy. Young people will not stand idly by as we see the blatant and unchecked attack on our rights and our freedoms and we won’t stop organizing, mobilizing, and using our collective power until we create a democracy that works for all of us.
Supreme court to release more opinions Thursday
The supreme court has announced that it will release more opinions on Thursday.
It has seven cases left to issue verdicts on, including challenges to Joe Biden’s plan to relieve some student loan debt, and a case that could see the court’s conservative majority dismantle affirmative action in college admissions.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine has a closer look at the supreme court’s decision this morning that represents both a win for America’s democratic norms, and a rejection of a fringe legal theory embraced by some on the right:
The US supreme court shot down a fringe legal theory that observers said posed a considerable threat to democracy, ruling that state courts have the authority to weigh in on disputes over federal election rules.
The 6-3 decision in Moore v Harper is a blow to North Carolina Republicans who had asked the court to embrace the so-called independent state legislature theory – the idea that the US constitution does not allow state courts to limit the power of state legislatures when it comes to federal elections. Such a decision in the case would have been a major win for Republicans, who control more state legislatures than Democrats do. Some of the conservative justices on the court had urged the bench to embrace the idea.
In the case of Moore v Harper, Republican lawmakers who dominate North Carolina’s general assembly asked the supreme court to endorse the independent state legislature theory.
If the justices had adopted it, state courts could have been stripped of their ability to weigh in on congressional maps drawn by lawmakers, potentially exacerbating partisan gerrymanders and transforming the battle for control of the US House of Representatives, as well as state legislatures.
But by a 6-3 vote, the supreme court declined to do so in their just-released decision, which advocates see as a win for safeguarding America’s democratic norms.
Updated
Supreme court rejects challenge to state courts' authority in redistricting
The supreme court has rejected a conservative challenge to the ability of state courts to weigh in on congressional maps, batting away a petition that could have transformed redistricting across the United States.
We are reading the decision just handed down in the case of Moore v Harper, and will let you know more about what it means for American politics.
Updated
Trump aide Nauta's arraignment delayed till 6 July
Donald Trump’s valet charged in the classified documents case will not be arraigned until early July after he was unable to find an attorney admitted to the Florida bar, and was also unable to appear in court after repeated flight delays, according to people familiar with the matter.
The valet, Walt Nauta, was scheduled to be answer the charges against him at federal district court in Miami on Tuesday morning, after he previously could not be arraigned at the same time as Trump because – unlike the former president – he did not have a lawyer admitted to the Florida bar.
Nauta’s hearing has now been rescheduled to 6 July.
Here come the supreme court rulings
In about three minutes, the supreme court will begin releasing decisions.
There’s no telling how many they will put out, or which cases they will issue opinions on, but we will follow it all here as it happens.
Updated
Trump aide Nauta's arraignment may be delayed
The arraignment of Walt Nauta, Donald Trump’s valet who was indicted alongside him over the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago, has been thrown into uncertainty, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports:
NEW: Currently unclear whether Trump valet Walt Nauta’s arraignment will take place today as scheduled — Nauta had difficulty getting down to Miami last night because of repeated flight cancellations, and his lawyer wanted him to meet Florida counsel candidates before retaining.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) June 27, 2023
Nauta was supposed to appear in a Miami federal court this morning to be hear the charges against him and enter a plea.
Meanwhile, Florida governor Ron DeSantis is barnstorming New Hampshire today as he tries to woo Republican voters away from Donald Trump – who will also be in the Granite State. The Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports on the two men’s unexpectedly close encounter:
Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign is struggling in the crucial state of New Hampshire and may have made the situation worse by scheduling an event on Tuesday in competition with a speech by Donald Trump to Republican women, prompting one prominent strategist to call the move “stupid”, Politico reported.
“It’s the worst strategic move he has exhibited thus far,” the New Hampshire Republican strategist, Mike Dennehy, told the website. “It’s just stupid, actually. You don’t take on the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women.”
An unnamed adviser to a rival candidate chimed in, saying: “If there’s one thing you don’t do in New Hampshire, it’s piss off the grassroots women.
This is how the supreme court could transform American life today
There’s no telling what decisions the supreme court will release at 10am eastern time today, but the chances are high that the nine-justice bench, where conservatives hold a majority and last year showed a willingness to upend longstanding practice in American society, will issue opinions on several weighty matters that they have been considering.
Here are some of the cases that could have the biggest impacts:
The court is considering a challenge to race-conscious admissions at universities. Proponents of the practice say it has helped schools admit more students of color and diversify their classes, while opponents equate it to racial discrimination.
Another case could see the justices endorse a legal theory that would strip state courts of their power to rule on congressional maps. This could have huge consequences for redistricting across the United States, and for the greater battle for control of the House of Representatives.
Several Republican-led states have sued over Joe Biden’s plan to relieve some federal student loan debt. The supreme court kept the program blocked while considering the challenges against it, and could kill it for good with a ruling.
The justices could weigh in on the case of Lorie Smith, a Colorado web designer who says her religious beliefs prevent her from making websites for same-sex couples. LGTBQ+ advocates fear a ruling in her favor could open up new avenues of discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people.
Updated
Affirmative action, student debt relief hang in balance as supreme court to issue more decisions
Good morning, US politics blog readers. The supreme court will release another batch of opinions at 10am eastern time today, and chances are high that we’ll get the conservative-dominated court’s decisions on several outstanding cases that could have big impacts on American life. The justices still have not weighed in on challenges to Joe Biden’s student loan relief act, a case that could transform the congressional redistricting process, or another that could lead to the end of affirmative action in college admissions, among others. There are no guarantees that decisions in those matters will come today, but chances are better than ever; this is the last week of the court’s term, and the supreme court has only 10 outstanding cases remaining.
That’s not all that’s going on today:
Walt Nauta, Donald Trump’s valet who was indicted alongside him earlier this month on federal charges related to helping hide classified government documents at Mar-a-Lago, will be arraigned in Miami.
Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a leading rival for next year’s Republican presidential nomination, are both campaigning in early primary state New Hampshire.
Anthony Fauci, the US public health chief who became a household name after Covid-19 broke out, will teach at Georgetown University in Washington DC after retiring from the National Institutes of Health last year.
