Axios

Former President Trump called President Biden a "worthy debater" ahead of their June 27 showdown in an episode of the All-In Podcast that aired Thursday.

The big picture: Trump, who has questioned Biden's mental acuity and physical stamina, has previously baselessly suggested his rival relies on drugs for such public performances.

Melinda French Gates endorsed President Biden on Thursday, her first-ever presidential endorsement, she wrote on the social media platform X.

Why it matters: French Gates is one of the most wealthy women philanthropists in the world. While she hasn't immediately committed any money to Biden's campaign, the endorsement is a signal boost for the president as other mega-donors have backed former President Trump.

A profane, pro-Trump political ad in the Miami New Times features several uncensored uses of the N-word and displays a misleading quote from President Biden using the slur in 1985.

Why it matters: The full-page "advertorial" does not disclose who bought it, but directs readers to a conspiracy-laden website affiliated with Blacks for Trump, a local fringe political group whose signs often appear prominently at Donald Trump rallies.

"The freedom to start a family with IVF is under threat" from Republican policies, former Rep. Gabby Giffords and husband Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) wrote in a People Magazine essay discussing their own experience with fertility issues.

The big picture: The essay from the former congresswoman, who was scheduled to receive fertility treatment two days after she was shot at point-blank range, and her senator husband comes following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling briefly froze access to IVF treatment in the state.

Former President Trump's legal team on Thursday requested the recusal of New York Judge Arthur Engoron in his civil fraud case.

Why it matters: Trump's team accused Engoron of "engaging in prohibited communications" with a real estate attorney ahead of final judgment in the case.

The battle has begun over what should become of former President Trump's signature tax law — many provisions of which are scheduled to expire next year — and Trump's former vice president is leading a new offensive to extend them.

Why it matters: Mike Pence's group Advancing American Freedom plans to spend $10 million to try to influence the tax debate over the next 18 months, pushing a pro-business tilt that contrasts with both the Biden administration and some populist Republicans who have Trump's ear.

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on WTOP on Thursday that "he didn't seek" former President Trump's endorsement in his Senate race and that he has "no interest in it."

Why it matters: Hogan said that he was "surprised" by Trump's endorsement last week, especially after the ex-president's campaign had slammed Hogan after he said to "respect the verdict" in Trump's New York criminal trial.

The Commerce Department will ban all new sales of Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab's cybersecurity and antivirus software in the United States next month.

Why it matters: The move sends the strongest signal to-date against a foreign-owned security vendor over concerns that a company could be coerced into working with adversarial governments.

Judge Aileen Cannon, the judge overseeing former President Trump's classified documents case, rejected suggestions from two of her superiors on the bench to pass the high-profile case to a more experienced judge, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, has come under intense scrutiny over her handling of the classified documents case, with critics accusing her of intentionally slow-walking it.

Key Senate Democrats agreed in a closed-door meeting Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) should force a vote on a bipartisan tax package that includes a potentially powerful Democratic election-year messaging tool.

Why it matters: Schumer is now facing pressure from multiple facets of his caucus  — including several vulnerable Democrats — to allow a vote on the package, which includes an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit.

Democrats no longer hold the robust advantage among Latinos they once did on immigration, according to a new poll.

Why it matters: Latinos are increasingly identifying as independent, and working-class voters are leaning more toward the GOP.

1. Thousands of Venezuelans will be granted legal immigration status in Colombia through a decree published yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• The measure would benefit half a million Venezuelan adults who are parents or tutors of children and teens with a special migration permit called PPT.
• Colombia hosts the largest number of people who have fled from Venezuela in the last decade, about 2.8 million.

2. Mexico's President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum doubled down yesterday on a controversial judicial reform proposal to make judgeships, including in the Supreme Court, elected positions.

• Sheinbaum said passage of the reform will be an initial priority in Congress, where her Morena coalition will have the majority come October's inauguration.
• The reform has been criticized by NGOs that warn the election of Supreme Court judges would politicize the courts.

A huge congrats today to Carlos Morales Jr., who recently graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with honors!

• Carlos earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology.
• He's headed to Northwestern University for graduate school.
• Carlos is the son of Mexican immigrants from San Luis Potosí.

A round of applause for Carlos!

🎤 Have you recently accomplished something you're proud of? Let us know by replying to this email!

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not qualify for the first presidential debate set for next week, CNN said Thursday.

Why it matters: Qualifying for the network's debate would have given the independent candidate a national platform to propel his long-shot presidential bid.

The Biden administration announced Thursday that the U.S. will facilitate the shipment of air defense systems to Ukraine by temporarily pausing deliveries to other allies.

Why it matters: Ukraine has been repeatedly pleaded for more air defense systems, as Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraine in recent months and launched a fresh offensive in the country's northeast.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) this month launched an investigation into Affinity Partners, the Saudi-backed private equity firm led by Jared Kushner.

Why it matters: Wyden is chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and as a member of the majority could get enough votes to subpoena documents that House Democrats have unsuccessfully sought.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is telling donors that the Arizona Senate race is "an absolute toss-up," despite the Democrat consistently leading in public polling, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The move signals GOP concern that the Arizona contest could fall down donors' priority lists in favor of other Senate campaigns where Republican candidates are polling closer to their Democratic opponents.

When Mona's opened in North Beach in 1936, owners and married couple Mona and Jimmie Sargeant imagined it as a bohemian space for writers and artists. But as their business grew, so did the club's dynamics.

Why it matters: It became the first openly lesbian club in San Francisco and paved the way for more lesbian clubs to flourish both in the Bay and across the U.S.

House members from both parties are forming a new group to crack down on China's role in the U.S. fentanyl epidemic as part of a more aggressive push to cut off illicit supply of the lethal drug.

Why it matters: Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids kill tens of thousands of Americans every year, tearing apart families while fracturing communities and disrupting the labor market.

Democrats no longer hold the robust advantage among Latinos they once did on immigration, according to a new poll.

Why it matters: Once reliably Democratic voters, many Latinos are increasingly identifying as independent, and working-class voters are leaning more toward the GOP.

Same-sex marriages climbed across the U.S. leading up to and following the Supreme Court's 2015 decision legalizing them nationwide.

• In fact, about 41% of current same-sex couples got married between 2015 and 2019, a new Census Bureau report finds.

President Biden's team is waging a furious campaign not just against former President Trump, but against a viral internet culture that threatens his image with key undecided voters.

Why it matters: One week from today, Biden and Trump will square off in a debate likely to spawn millions of online memes, TikToks and rapid-response videos churned out by both campaigns.

The Supreme Court is about to drop a string of blockbuster rulings, with abortion rights, gun rights and the Justice Department's case against former President Trump all hanging in the balance.

The big picture: Two years after overturning Roe v. Wade — and with questions about some of the justices' ethics and impartiality at a fever pitch — the court is squarely in the center of election-year politics. The remaining slate of high-profile cases is all but guaranteed to turn up the heat even further.

Editor's note: Read the latest on New Mexico's extreme weather here.

Two growing wildfires near a popular New Mexico resort town and historic Native American reservation killed at least two people and destroyed more than 1,400 structures as officials rushed to evacuate thousands of people on Tuesday.

The big picture: Fresh mandatory evacuation orders were issued on Wednesday in Lincoln County, N.M., including for Ruidoso, a mountain hamlet that's a hub for ski resorts and hiking trails, due to what the National Weather Service described as "life-threatening burn scar flash flooding" in the village of nearly 7,700 residents.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign raised $2.6 million in May and ended the month with $6.4 million cash on hand, per Federal Election Commission filings published Wednesday.

Why it matters: The figures are significantly lower than the previous month as Kennedy burns through money fast as he aims to sustain his campaign through November.