President Joe Biden said on Tuesday his administration "will be ready when any ruling is issued" after Politico posted a story reporting that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The latest: Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One that if the leaked document becomes the decision of the court, it will put into doubt other Supreme Court decisions that expanded the right to privacy.
The Centers for Disease Control restated their recommendation Tuesday that travelers should still wear masks while traveling on planes, trains and other forms of public transportation, despite a federal administration mask mandate being struck down last month.
Why it matters: Health officials say American travelers aged two and up should still wear a properly fitting mask or respirator over their nose and mouth when commuting and while indoors at transportation hubs such as airports or bus stations.
Why it matters: Oklahoma is the second state to pass a law modeled after Texas’ six-week abortion ban, which encourages private citizens to sue anyone they suspect has helped a person receive an abortion.
Republican members of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation into the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The request comes as Republicans are making the leak and its impact on judicial norms the focus of their response, in contrast with Democrats who have largely seized on the contents of the ruling.
Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, a first generation Japanese American who paved the way to create the Transportation Security Administration, died Tuesday at age 90, his family confirmed.
The big picture: Mineta was one of the U.S.'s most high-profile Asian American political leaders, serving as a mayor, a 10-term congressman and a Cabinet secretary in two administrations during his career in office.
Barack and Michelle Obama issued a statement Tuesday condemning the Supreme Court's leaked draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and urged Americans to join activists in the fight to preserve abortion rights.
Driving the news: Late Monday, Politico posted a story reporting that the court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade — and published a leaked draft of that majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito.
The U.S. Senate has voted to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) while lawmakers work to eventually add compensation for excluded Hispanic and Native American families who lived near the world's first atomic bomb explosion.
Why it matters: The act, which awards financial reparations to people who lived downwind of the Nevada Test Site, is scheduled to sunset on July 15 but is likely to be renewed for two years.
The Senate Republicans' campaign arm is circulating a three-page memo, obtained by Axios, laying out how candidates and lawmakers can maximize their messaging on the U.S. Supreme Court's leaked draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Why it matters: The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) recognizes the decision will have major implications in this fall's midterms and the 2024 presidential race. The memo is its attempt to have its members speak to voters with a unified voice.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday vowed to hold a Senate vote on codifying abortion rights into federal law, saying the vote would enable Americans to see "which side every Senator stands on."
Driving the news: Late Monday, Politico posted a story reporting that the court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade — and published a leaked draft of that majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito.
Driving the news: "If the right to privacy is weakened, every person could face a future in which the government can potentially interfere in the personal decisions you make about your life," Harris said in reference to the Politico story from Monday night.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters Tuesday that the Supreme Court leaked draft document "rocks my confidence in the court right now.”
Why it matters: Murkowski is one of the few Republicans who support abortion rights, but she has also supported several of the recently appointed justices who signed on to the leaked draft ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said Tuesday they plan to uphold the filibuster in the wake of the leaked draft decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on overturning Roe v. Wade.
Why it matters: Democrats have very few legislative options to try to stop the Supreme Court from carrying out a decision that would end the nationwide right to an abortion. While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed to hold a vote on codifying Roe v. Wade, the measure — which as of now does not yet even have 50 votes — would fail to meet the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold.
Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the leaked Supreme Court draft document on the end of Roe v. Wade, but said it did not represent the court's final decision.
Driving the news: Roberts said the court will open an investigation into the leak.
Top Republicans in Congress are calling for an investigation into the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade.
Why it matters: Republicans say the leak is an unprecedented breach of judicial norms, and their focus on the leak shows they're less inclined than Democrats to grapple with the content of the ruling.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Tuesday reacted to the Supreme Court leaked draft document, saying that if it is "accurate," it is inconsistent with discussions she had with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.
Driving the news: "If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office. Obviously, we won’t know each Justice’s decision and reasoning until the Supreme Court officially announces its opinion in this case," Collins said in a statement.
Driving the news: "By every indication, this was yet another escalation in the radical left’s ongoing campaign to bully and intimidate federal judges and substitute mob rule for the rule of law," McConnell said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced her selection of Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.) as her lieutenant governor.
Why it matters: The move has significant ramifications on both state and federal politics as Delgado vacates a competitive House seat in upstate New York to become the second-ranking officer in state government.
The Trump Organizations and other entities tied to former President Trump agreed Tuesday to pay $750,000 to settle a lawsuit with the D.C. attorney general over payments to the Trump International Hotel in Washington during his 2017 inauguration.
Why it matters: The lawsuit, filed in January 2020, alleged that Trump's inaugural committee coordinated with the former president's business to overpay for event space.
Everything about last night's leaked draft of a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade is staggering.
Driving the news: Politico posted a story reporting that the court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade — and published a leaked draft of that majority opinion, written by Samuel Alito.
The White House and the Israeli prime minister’s office discussed holding a regional leaders' meeting as part of President Biden’s visit to the Middle East toward the end of June, two Israeli officials told Axios.
Why it matters: A regional leaders' meeting headed by Biden would signal U.S. leadership and commitment in the Middle East at a time when the U.S. is seen as withdrawing from the region.
Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) tells Axios he envisions a 2024 presidential primary field with 15 or more Republicans — not necessarily including former President Trump — scrambling for Trump's base, while "I want to go in a completely different direction, and I think that lane is wide open."
Driving the news: We spoke with Hogan ahead of his speech tonight at the Reagan Library in California. In prepared remarks reviewed by Axios, he doesn't say he's running but tells fellow Republicans, "We won’t win back the White House by nominating Donald Trump or a cheap impersonation of him. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."
Democrats across the board are calling for the Senate to eliminate its filibuster so it can codify abortion rights into federal law, following the leak of a draft ruling showing the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Why it matters: The drive to change the filibuster is a measure of Democratic concern about abortion being outlawed in many states. And highlighting that concern could drive up midterm voter turnout in swing contests, where state-by-state battles to keep abortion legal will be a key issue in state, gubernatorial and Senate races.
President John F. Kennedy in 1962 readied a speech that would have announced a punishing bombing run on Cuba, which could have led to nuclear war. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower drafted an apology speech in case the D-Day operation of 1944 failed.
Driving the news:Jeff Nussbaum, a veteran Democratic speechwriter who left the White House last month, unearths these historical gems in a new book, “Undelivered," out next week.
The big picture: As abortion rights advocates planned to hold protests across the U.S. on Tuesday, about 200 demonstrators gathered in front of barricades at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., late Monday. Most were pro-abortion rights protesters. A small group of anti-abortion demonstrators was also present.
A former Louisiana State Police superintendent is facing possible contempt charges for allegedly neglecting to hand over his personal journals related to the investigation into the custody death of Black motorist Ronald Greene, AP reports.
Driving the news: A bipartisan state legislative committee plans to move "as soon as possible" to charge former state police chief Kevin Reeves with contempt to compel him to submit requested documents on Greene's 2019 death, Republican state Rep. Tanner Magee (R-La.), the panel's chair, told AP Monday. Reeves' lawyers say he is cooperating.
The big picture: While the Supreme Court declined to comment on the extremely rare breach, Congress members flooded Twitter. Some called for an urgent investigation into the apparent leak. Others said Congress should immediately codify Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that guaranteed the right to an abortion.
Planned Parenthood on Monday issued a reminder that abortion is still legal in the U.S., following the release of leaked documents that show that the Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade.
Driving the news: "This leaked opinion is horrifying and unprecedented," said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in a statement.
A Philadelphia police officer was charged in connection with fatally shooting a 12-year-old boy in March, the city's district attorney announced Monday.
Driving the news: Edsaul Mendoza is facing first-degree and third-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Thomas "TJ" Siderio on March 1, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a press conference.
When President Biden travels to a Javelin missile factory in Troy, Alabama, on Tuesday, he’ll embrace a group his immediate Democratic predecessors kept at a distance: defense contractors.
Why it matters: Much like the energy industry, Biden needs defense contractors in this time of war. Not only does he want more anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, he also wants to send a clear message to Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Marc Short, former Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, has joined Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's campaign team as a senior adviser, Axios has learned.
Driving the news: Former President Trump has endorsed Kemp's re-election challenger, former Sen. David Perdue. Kemp is leading the polls in their May 24 primary, though, and Short has been brought in to turbocharge the governor's national fundraising ahead of a potential general election re-match with Stacey Abrams.
President Biden met with the parents of American journalist and Marine Corps veteran Austin Tice on Monday to reiterate his commitment to securing Austin's "long overdue return to his family," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday evening.
Why it matters: Tice was abducted in Syria in 2012 and is one of the longest-held and most high-profile American hostages.
