Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's abrupt decision Wednesday to retire next month unleashed an intense partisan debate over how to handle the confirmation of his successor, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer insisting it must be done after the midterms.
"Our Republican colleagues in the Senate should follow the rule they set in 2016: Not to consider a Supreme Court justice in an election year. ... Millions of people are just months away from determining senators who should vote to confirm or reject the President's nominee. And their voices deserve to be heard."
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, leaving room for a second Trump nomination and putting vulnerable Senate Democrats on the spot during the confirmation process, expected to take place this fall.
The big picture: Conservatives have been on a recent winning streak at the court, withKennedy a frequent tie-breaking vote. This potentially protects those rulings and moves the court further right.
What's next: House Republicans are expected to turn their focus to a more narrow bill that addresses migrant family separation and would overrule the Flores Settlement, which currently does not allow minors to be detained for more than 20 days.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s upset win over Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley shouldn't be viewed as a larger phenomenon in the Democratic Party, according to multiple media reports.
What she's saying: Pelosi shrugged off whether Democratic Socialism is a trend —"It’s ascendant in that district perhaps" — and said the loss doesn't point to a demand for a new generation of leaders. “I’m female. I'm progressive. What's your problem?" she said, according to RollCall.
Late night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien recorded a joint sketch poking fun at President Trump and the digs he made against them at a South Carolina rally this week.
The backdrop: Trump called Colbert a "lowlife" and Fallon a "lost soul" at the rally, asking the crowd, "Honestly, are they even funny?"
A California federal judge ruled late Tuesday nightthat the government can't separate immigrant families at the border and must reunite all those who have already been separated within 30 days — and kids under 5 must be reunited within 2 weeks.
Why it matters: This is meant to light a fire under Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security to quickly reunite the more than 2,000 children in HHS custody who have already been separated from their parents. But this doesn't change anything long term, as the Flores Settlement prevents the Trump administration from keeping families together in detention longer than 20 days.
The White House will not propose new investment restrictions on China or other countries, outside of what Congress was already planning to do, according to senior administration officials.
Be smart: This modest approach comes as Senate Republicans have been considering ways to limit Trump's authority on trade, and is likely to be cheered by Wall Street.
America's allies in Europe are worried about Donald Trump's expected meeting next month with Vladimir Putin. Senior officials from four NATO member nations told me their worst fear is that Trump clashes with America's allies at the NATO summit in Brussels on July 11-12 and then shortly afterwards lavishes praise on Putin.
Why it matters: They say that would leave Europeans feeling abandoned and would advance Russia's goal of dividing European and transatlantic alliances.
We reported last week that U.S. national security officials were saying one of the most urgent issues leading into the Trump-Putin summit will be Moscow's covert intrusion into American politics.
What we're hearing: Tony Blinken, who served as deputy national security adviser and John Kerry's deputy in the Obama administration, told us that Trump "has an opportunity to reverse the narrative that he's too hard on our allies and too eager to cozy up to Putin." He would do so by demonstrating a "strong, unified alliance" with NATO members and then "go to Putin and put front and center the widespread concerns across our allies about Russian meddling in our democracies."
A federal judge in San Diego has ordered the government to reunite families separated at the border by the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy.
Why it matters: The controversy over the separation of more than 2000 migrant children from their parents forced the White House to issue an executive order reversing its policy last week, but the fate of the already separated families has remained unclear.
Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Utah. He hopes to fill the vacancy left open by Sen. Orrin Hatch come November.
Take note: Despite his criticism of President Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump has given Romney his full endorsement. Romney has said that if he wins the general election, he'll support Trump when he agrees with him but will still call him out when he doesn't.
