New: In two new cases (Slaughter and Cook), SCOTUS eliminates long-standing precedent that protected independent agencies from at-will firing by a vengeful president — BUT also creates a Federal Reserve carveout. Some baby splitting here as Court protects Fed from Trump's whims. Roberts writes both

Wow, big one — SCOTUS lets states continue to count ballots mailed by Election Day but received afterwards. Barrett writes for majority with Roberts and the libs, rules against the RNC. Avoids chaos and certain disenfranchisement for the midterms

New: The Supreme Court’s rightwing majority rules that courts cannot review the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to terminate temporary protected status for refugees fleeing particularly dangerous countries.

New: Judge blocks big sections of Trump's attempt to hamper/take over mail-in voting. Enjoins admin from "taking any steps to create a new federal program to superintend + control Plaintiff States’ maintenance of their voter rolls" and

lefties ascendant -- in New York, it manifested as a historic night for Zohran Mamdani-backed Democratic socialists. In Maryland, it looked like liberals picking off the old guard that broke with party orthodoxy on ICE and redistricting talkingpointsmemo.com/news/incumbe...

“Whether or not they actually at the end of the day caused bodily harm is not the measure of whether or not they committed a serious federal crime,” said Minnesota US Attorney Rosen. 8 felony charges against the protesters include assault on a federal officer talkingpointsmemo.com/news/minneso...

SCOTUS already used Purcell in the Alabama map case to GOP's benefit, ruling that making AL adopt a legal map 5 mos out was too close to the 2022 election. If they do it again to achieve the same end, they're blessing changing to a discriminatory map with the election so close that voting has begun

New: As expected, Alabama just appealed the preliminary injunction to the Supreme Court in an attempt to use the now-blocked racially discriminatory map for the midterms

Breaking from Alabama lower court: "Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination." Expect AL to now go back to SCOTUS to try to lift injunction on "tainted" map

Choking on the blistering injustice of the Callais decision, even normie Democrats are starting to make noise about drastically remaking the Supreme Court. But if they get the chance, will they have the stomach? talkingpointsmemo.com/news/democra...

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As my editor @johnalight.bsky.social wisely points out, Cassidy's loss (and Massie's potential loss tonight) likely have Trump high on his own supply, leading to the 11th hour Paxton nod talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-t...

Thomas and Alito seething in dissents from Supreme Court order blocking the 5th Circuit's ruling that would reimpose restrictions on mifepristone while a major case plays out.

Alito's administrative stay on the 5th Circuit mifepristone ruling - that would restore in-person dispensing requirements, stopping the drug from being mailed - lifts at 5 pm ET

Do Dems Have the Courage Required to Restore and Reform American Democracy? (Do You?): Today's #BradCast Guest: @kateriga.bsky.social of @talkingpointsmemo.com; Also: SC Senate leader blocks U.S. House gerrymandering; Primary results from WV, NE... FULL STORY, LISTEN: bradblog.com?p=16757

Wow - following floor speech by SC Sen Majority Leader Massey (R) against the redistricting effort, the amendment fails with five Republican defections. First GOP resistance to Trump's pressure for maximalist redraws we've seen since Callais. Massey had spoken to Trump but still opposed redrawing

New: Plaintiffs in Alabama case asking the district court to issue a temporary restraining order so that the state's old map, which was found to be racially discriminatory, cannot go into immediate effect. They require this relief after SCOTUS unblocked that map via the shadow docket yesterday

In short - SCOTUS is allowing Alabama to use a map which was found to intentionally dilute Black voters because...who knows. Majority does not bother to explain its reasoning days after Alito *insisted* that Callais did not affect this case, because it involved an additional constitutional claim

Breaking: Supreme Court vacates stay on Alabama's old map — previously found to be unconstitutional for diluting Black voters — sending it back down to the district court "for further consideration in light of Louisiana v. Callais."

New: Stay extended in the big mifepristone case until Thursday at 5 pm ET. Few more days, at least, of mifepristone being available through telehealth/mail before the Court will decide whether it stays available as usual while the case plays out

In Louisiana's reply brief in the big mifepristone case, attys ask the Court - if it maintains its stay on the 5th Circuit's ruling - to take up the case for argument before summer recess due to the "harm" of abortions happening (the restrictions they're fighting were formally codified 3 years ago)

Microcosm of the horror of this post-Callais moment: the Mississippi House plans to hold its redistricting session in the Old Capitol where they seceded & instituted Jim Crow. They'll meet there aiming to erase Bennie Thompson's district — the one majority-Black district in a state that's ~40% Black

Gonna be interesting to see how Alito et al navigate Alabama's request to lift the injunction on their one majority-minority district map. Alito insisted that Callais is different than 2023's Allen v. Milligan so as to not look stupid (which Kagan mocked mercilessly in her dissent)

Two years ago, anti-abortion doctors' attempt to ban/restrict mifepristone flopped because they couldn't prove an injury. Attorney Erin Hawley said then that the effort would continue with red states swapped in as the plaintiffs. That's what's happening now talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mifepri...

New: Appellants in Callais are asking SCOTUS to recall Alito's expedited judgment so they can request a rehearing. Jackson criticized Alito for rushing to certify the judgment (rather than waiting the usual 32-day period) the better to help Louisiana erase at least one majority-Black district

The long view of a gruesome day talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme...

Huge Supreme Court day so I'm circling back to TPS arguments this morning, in which SG Sauer says with a straight face that Trump's Haiti shithole comment isn't racist. "What about 'poisoning the blood?'" Jackson asks. "What about 'bad genes'? Also not racial?"

Alito flatly ignoring congressional intent in Callais — Congress specifically clarified that you do not need to prove racial intent when bringing a racial vote dilution claim because it's so hard to do. If the effects of the map are discriminatory, that used to be enough. No longer

Mollie Hemingway's new Alito book, a gushing hagiography of the Court's most open partisan, reveals the depth of right-wing fantasies about leftist violence. Fascinating look at the threats a movement premised in grievance but in complete control has to invent talkingpointsmemo.com/news/alito-h...

Is "Trump's Word Is Not His Bondi" anything?

let's not give them too much credit here talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme...

Important early sign - Roberts is skeptical. Calls examples of other groups that are excepted from birthright citizenship "quirky," questions how those narrow categories (children of diplomats, invaders) could be so expanded to such a big group

Biggest day of the term (maybe multiple terms) at SCOTUS. @joshkovensky.bsky.social and I have you covered. Hang out with us as we liveblog here: talkingpointsmemo.com/live-blog/su... And before arguments start, get up to speed: talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme...

New: Supreme Court holds that Colorado's conversion therapy ban violates freedom of (therapists') speech. Unusual split: Sotomayor and Kagan join majority opinion (and Kagan writes a separate concurrence, which Soto joins). Jackson is the solo dissenter

Like I wrote in 2024, America's actual publication of record, for people who want to understand the Republican Party's ratchet into authoritarianism over the last twenty- five years, is Taking Points Memo. talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

“This is a case about swinging dicks,” began 9th Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke (a Trump appointee) in his dissent that elided trans people with sexual predators. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-j...

Vance's anti-interventionist bona fides — critical for 2028 positioning, especially contra-Marco Rubio — are in the toilet as he stays silent amid Trump's new war.

eek Noem is currently taking questions about immigration from local law enforcement at the major cities conference ... not clear that she knows Trump has fired her ...

Come for Daines' seat gifting, stay for Montana's other senator extracurricularly helping break a veteran/protester's arm talkingpointsmemo.com/news/daines-...

if I'm Paxton, I am holding out for a very sweet job offer to lighten the blow of dropping out of the race where i'm arguably the favorite

Talarico will be the standard bearer for the Dems, while the Republicans duke it out for 3 more months. His plan to succeed in a Senate race where so many other Dems have failed is premised on expanding a welcoming big tent to those led astray by Trump/apathy. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/talaric...

Breaking: AP calls that Paxton and Cornyn are into the runoff. This is the Dem dream: three more months of bruising (expensive!) Republican infighting. The pressure campaign on Trump to endorse Cornyn will only intensify, as Paxton is seen as weaker candidate talkingpointsmemo.com/news/cornyn-...

Not enough being said about how little preemptive work the Trump admin put into getting Americans evacuated from countries near Iran. Only telling people on a long list of nearby countries to leave yesterday "via commercial means" when it was already too late to fly out?

For court watchers waiting for the Supreme Court decision that could doom the Voting Rights Act, Monday’s emergency docket ruling out of New York was ominous. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/new-yor...

There have already been at least 6 American casualties from Trump's Iran war — more than in Benghazi. Democrats, not learning from that experience, are reluctant to blame Trump for deaths that are actually his fault. They miss a chance to shape the narrative that the GOP never would.

Trump's new war is another episode in the withering of the legislative branch. Congress won't get to weigh in on Iran for days (thanks to GOP leadership). When it does, the delayed move to deny the ongoing war may not pass — and if it does, Trump will veto it. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/congres...

In back and forth over migrant detention case, U.S. District Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz in MN (a Bush appointee) unloads on the government, noting that ICE has violated over 100 court orders. "One way or another, ICE will comply with this Court’s orders," the he writes, threatening contempt. 🧵

Breaking: Hegseth appeals the ruling granting Mark Kelly a preliminary injunction, which blocked Hegseth from reconsidering his rank/retirement benefits after Kelly spoke out against the administration. Hegseth vowed to appeal the day the ruling came down a couple weeks ago

Breaking: Judge grants Mark Kelly a preliminary injunction against Hegseth, who is reconsidering his rank: "This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Sen. Kelly's First Amendment freedoms & threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) telling ICE/CBP heads that if the Pretti probe wraps and they find "nobody is to blame" and "no changes" are being made, "it destroys the trust in ICE." Says people don't trust it'll be a real investigation after administration comments — there have to be "repercussions"