Judge Amy Coney Barrett's first term on the US Supreme Court revealed the division of the conservative wing of the court, though it gave a taste of its potential to transform American law in the years to come.
In a nine-month term held entirely behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, the judges strengthened property and religious rights, set limits on the voting law, and agreed to review potential blockbuster abortions and gun cases in the next term.
But the judges also gave clues as to how complicated a march to the right will be when Barrett and two other Donald Trump-appointed people settle in. The court's Conservatives took turns standing with the three Democrat-appointed judges to oversee the outcome of other cases, including a ruling that upheld the Affordable Care Act.
Along the way, Barrett hinted that she might be more interested in incremental changes than major overhauls, at least for now. She joined Chief Justice John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh to help curb the broader instincts of her Conservatives about health care and religious rights. Read more from Greg Stohr.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg
Suffrage battles are shifting to the states: A Supreme Court ruling that weakens the protections for access to voting rights under the Voting Rights Act is likely to spark a series of heated state battles over the conduct of elections.
The 6-3 ruling by the court's Conservative majority comes after the Republican opposition in the Senate blocked two Democratic proposals that would set national standards for voting and re-authorize federal review of restrictions. That means most of the upcoming voting actions will take place in lawmakers, state courts, and even corporate boardrooms as executives increasingly speak out against proposed restrictions. In some states, the fighting may move to the polling station itself as supporters put voting measures before voters. Read more from Ryan Teague Beckwith.
Done on the hill
Rail Fights is preparing for infrastructure talks: The rail is a sticking point in the transport negotiations, as legislators argue about how much money should be spent and how strictly the freight trains should be regulated. The House of Representatives voted yesterday with partisanship in favor of a five-year bill for land transport and water. House Democrats want to use it in talks with the Senate and White House about President Joe Biden's signature infrastructure package. The House of Representatives adopted several Democratic amendments to upgrade bullet trains, including the creation of a New England railroad authority. Congress is working to re-approve land transport programs while negotiating the broader infrastructure plan that Biden wants. Progressives are demanding substantial funding for rail passenger transport, as it is more climate-friendly than relying on cars. Read more from Nicole Sadek and Lillianna Byington.
Panel promotes funding boost for EPA, home affairs: Homeowners have submitted an expense bill of $ 43 billion that would bring both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Home Office an increase of around $ 2 billion for the next fiscal year. The bill, passed by the Budget Committee by 32-24 votes, would allocate $ 11.3 billion to the EPA for fiscal 2022, up from $ 2.1 billion over fiscal 2021. The Home Office would provide $ 15.6 billion Received $ billion, an increase of $ 2.3 billion from budget year 2021, more from Kelly Lunney.
Top antitrust lawmakers urge FTC on Facebook: Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate antitrust subcommittees are calling for the Federal Trade Commission to continue efforts to hold Facebook accountable for potential antitrust violations after a judge the agency's complaint this week has rejected. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) And Mike Lee (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate and Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) And Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Heads of the House Judiciary Antitrust Committee, wrote to FTC Chair Lina Khan urging her to take enforcement action against Facebook, the letter to the Bloomberg administration said. Read more from Rebecca Kern.
GOP Group Urges Biden To End Trump Trade War: A group of Republican lawmakers urged Biden to end the "self-inflicted harm" of his GOP predecessor Donald Trump by starting a multi-front trade war with Beijing and Europe Allies had caused. Seven Republican senators sent a letter to the government calling on Biden to lift tariffs and other trade barriers that Trump put in place during his tenure that affect a variety of industries including agriculture, automakers, and manufacturers. Laura Davison has more.
- Separately, a bipartisan group of senators asked US Trade Representative Katherine Tai to continue trade talks with Taiwan, which according to a letter is seen as a possible precursor to a free trade agreement. More than three dozen senators want Tai to give priority to talks under the framework trade and investment agreement and "take steps to lay the groundwork for free trade negotiations," the letter said, according to Brody Ford.
Politics & Influence
Hillbilly Elegy Author Enters Ohio Seat Race: Hillbilly Elegy's bestselling author JD Vance joined the crowded Ohio Republican field to defeat the retired Sen. Rob Portman in a major intermediate race in 2022 in which he said the country needed "a new policy for a new generation". Vance, who grew up in poverty but had a career as a venture capitalist at Yale Law School, said he was a "smart" fighter for purposes like dismantling big technology monopolies and raising taxes on companies that move jobs overseas to the detriment the middle class workers and against "bright" initiatives such as critical racial theory. Read more from Mark Niquette.
Democrats face opposition from judges at the Trump subpoena: A judge in Washington expressed skepticism about recent efforts by Democrats in the House of Representatives to get Trump's financial records from his accounting firm. At a hearing yesterday, US Judge Amit Mehta questioned a Democratic attorney on whether the materials the House of Representatives are requesting from Mazar's USA are really essential to its legislative goals. Read more from David Yaffe-Bellany.
Former Trump adviser launches social media platform: A former Trump adviser is launching a new social media platform, but the former president is not involved and does not plan to join, said a person familiar with the situation. Jason Miller, who played roles in Trump's two campaigns and worked alongside him after his return to personal life, took over a technology startup that helped launch Gettr, another person said. Read more from Mark Niquette and Jennifer Jacobs.
Trump CFO's luxury perks could lead to long jail sentences: Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, made $ 940,000 a year from 2011 to 2018, but much of it was "off the books," Manhattan prosecutors claim. Trump's longtime right-hand man was given a luxury Upper West Side apartment, Mercedes rented out for him and his wife, private schooling for his grandchildren, and other $ 1.76 million total perks that he and his employer received before Tax authorities hid 15 count charges from Manhattan Attorney Cyrus Vance. Read more from David Voreacos and Greg Farrell.
All about administration
Today's Agenda: Biden will receive the Los Angeles Dodgers at the White House today for a ceremony to celebrate their 2020 World Series victory. The President will greet the members of the team in a ceremony at 11:40 a.m. in the East Room, the White House said. Vice President Kamala Harris – who previously represented California in the Senate and whose husband Doug Emhoff is a Dodgers fan – will also be there, reports Justin Sink.
- Before the meeting, Biden will talk about the monthly report at 10:15 a.m. Olivia Rockeman and Vince Golle report that the workforce is forecast to grow by 711,000 for the month, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
- Biden at 2:30 p.m. will attend a naturalization ceremony to welcome U.S. citizens ahead of Independence Day.
- The President and First Lady Jill Biden will speak at 5 p.m. to the annual meeting and representative meeting of the National Education Association in the Washington Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Biden Says Surfside Families Are "Realistic" About The Rescue: Biden said the families of those who went missing after the collapse of a condominium tower in Surfside, Florida know the possibility of finding people living in the wreckage decreases. "They're realistic," Biden said yesterday after meeting family members and first responders in South Florida. "It's bad enough to lose someone," he said. “But the difficult, the really difficult, is not to know.” Read more from Nancy Cook and Jordan Fabian.
Biden Appoints Miami Politician To Monitor Unemployment Assistance: Biden will appoint José Javier Rodríguez, a union attorney and former Florida Senator, to head the U.S. Department of Labor agency that oversees the state unemployment insurance system and other programs to assist struggling workers to two sources familiar with the plans. Read more from Ben Penn.
Biden White House hires majority women: more than half of Biden's White House staff are women, and salaries are nearly the same between the sexes, according to a government report released yesterday. As of yesterday, 60% of the people appointed by Biden to the White House are women, according to a fact sheet attached to a report to Congress that lists the names, titles and salaries of their staff. Women make an average of $ 93,752 and men make $ 94,639, the report said. Read more from Jennifer Epstein.
US Attorney General Imposes Moratorium on Federal Executions: US Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered that state executions cease pending Justice Department review of death penalty policies and procedures. "The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is given not only the rights guaranteed by the constitution and laws of the United States, but that they are treated fairly and humanely," Garland said in a statement last night. “This obligation is particularly important in capital cases.” Read more from Bill Faries.
Despite global consensus on tax reform, obstacles remain: The Biden government and global allies pushing for a new, more balanced international corporate tax system won a major victory yesterday, but still face several significant obstacles to delivering an ambitious plan, that is in the works for years. The jolt came during a round table hosted by the OECD in which 130 countries approved a plan to set a minimum corporate tax. Read more from Christopher Condon and William Horobin.
Trump Officials Blamed for Political Failure in College Deal: A government internal surveillance report backed up Democrats' allegations that Trump officials improperly supported the sale of a for-profit college chain, the eventual collapse of which cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars . The report sparked a debate about how Trump oversaw the for-profit sector as the Department of Education prepares for sweeping new rules on federal student loans and college oversight. Read more from Andrew Kreighbaum.
"Made in USA" scams to face fines as FTC steps up enforcement: Companies that incorrectly use "Made in USA" labels are fined under a Federal Trade Commission rule that requires marketers to do theirs Products "all or virtually all" in the country. Any breach will result in civil law violations of up to $ 43,280, the regulator said in a statement. Read more from Brody Ford.
DOJ pulls out of broker cartel pact: The Justice Department said it was pulling out of an antitrust settlement reached with the National Association of Realtors during the Trump administration that settled a government lawsuit accusing the trading group of To impede competition between brokers. The DOJ's antitrust division announced yesterday that it is pulling out of the November 2020 deal as conditions prevent the DOJ from further investigating the association's rules. Read more from David McLaughlin.
US asking nations to take Afghans applying for visas: The Biden government has asked three Central Asian nations to temporarily house about 9,000 Afghan citizens who have worked with the US to flee the Taliban before NATO forces up withdraw on September 11th, so two people familiar with the discussions. The US has asked Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to host the Afghans who helped invade and occupy the country by the American military before the withdrawal was completed, said people asking not to be identified and discussed private matters Consultations. Read more from Peter Martin, Nick Wadhams and Jennifer Jacobs.
Publication note: The Bloomberg Washington government information will not be released on Monday, July 5th to mark Independence Day. We'll resume release on Tuesday, July 6th.
To contact the reporters on this story: Zachary Sherwood in Washington [email protected]; Brandon Lee in Washington [email protected]
How to contact the responsible editors of this story: Giuseppe Macri at the [email protected]; Loren Duggan at the [email protected]; Michaela Ross at the [email protected]