Axios

Three Columbia University administrators were removed from their positions for engaging in text messages that "disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes," university officials said in a letter Monday.

The big picture: Columbia was propelled into the spotlight for being a catalyst to nationwide protests on college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war, and administrators faced scrutiny for how they handled the demonstrations.

President Biden's future as his party's 2024 nominee faces a potentially pivotal test Tuesday when Democratic senators meet for the first time since his disastrous debate performance.

Why it matters: Senate Democrats returning to Washington on Monday made clear they have a lot to hash out regarding Biden's future — with several allies in the chamber where Biden served for more than three decades raising questions about whether he should step aside.

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) on Monday joined the list of congressional Democrats publicly calling for President Biden to withdraw his 2024 candidacy.

Why it matters: Smith's call comes after Biden attempted to shore up support on Capitol Hill with a Monday morning letter telling Democrats to "end" discussion about him dropping out of the race.

President Biden has not received a cognitive test, and he has no plans to pursue one.

Why it matters: As concerns about the president's age and fitness threaten to plague his 2024 campaign, allies and opponents alike are calling for him — and former President Trump — to undergo a cognitive assessment to test for neurological conditions and mental acuity.

President Biden will call into a Congressional Black Caucus meeting on Monday evening as he tries to parry calls from Democratic lawmakers to withdraw his 2024 candidacy.

Why it matters: The Black Caucus has emerged as Biden's most loyal bloc of supporters within Congress, with a raft of its members calling for him to remain in the race on Monday.

The 2024 Republican Party platform adopted Monday does not include language supporting a national ban on abortion, the latest sign that the Trump-led GOP is trying to soften its tune on the politically potent issue.

Why it matters: Abortion is one of the GOP's biggest potential political vulnerabilities, and former President Trump, who has repeatedly taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade, now says that restrictions should be left to the states.

Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge in connection with two fatal 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, per a Department of Justice court filing late Sunday.

Why it matters: If approved by the judge overseeing the case, the deal would brand one of the largest aerospace companies in the world a felon — a standing that could hurt its defense business.

House Democrats are returning to Washington prepared to hash it out once and for all this week over President Biden's candidacy.

Why it matters: More lawmakers are going public with concerns about Biden remaining in the race, with the president attempting to to tamp down talk of his withdrawal as the weeklong recess comes to a close.

President Biden claimed Monday that the "average voter" wants him to stay in the 2024 presidential race, but post-debate polling tells a different story.

Why it matters: Biden has insisted he won't end his bid for a second White House term despite increasing calls for his withdrawal following his widely panned debate performance.

President Biden told congressional Democrats that it's time to "end" the pressure on him drop out via a Monday letter sent just ahead of Congress' return from its July 4 recess.

Why it matters: Lawmakers have told Axios they expect calls for Biden's withdrawal to grow once lawmakers are back in town. Biden's letter is a clear attempt to tamp down those calls before they arise, but initial reaction shows it could be stoking additional ire.

A defiant President Biden expressed frustration Monday at Democratic "elites" who have called for him to drop out of the race, daring critics to "challenge [him]" at next month's Democratic convention in Chicago.

Why it matters: Ahead of a pivotal week to prove his skeptics wrong, Biden called into MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to reinforce a simple message: He's not going anywhere.

U.S. adults are divided on the question of whether former President Trump should serve prison time for his historic felony conviction, according to an AP-Norc poll out Monday.

Why it matters: The new findings underscore a deep partisan rift about the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's N.Y. hush money trial, which enraged many Republicans.

Let's take stock of VP Kamala Harris' energy and climate record as President Biden's status sits on the knife's edge.

Why it matters: Her stances — both past and present —will face GOP attacks and get renewed environmentalist support if she becomes the standard bearer.

Republicans long fantasized about a very different government: one run by a strong president indifferent to media pressure, empowered by a Republican Congress, backed by a conservative Supreme Court and lower court system, and free of administrative state handcuffs and hostile federal employees.

Why it matters: This dream — a true decades-long, unfolding nightmare for Democrats — is closer to reality than at any point in our lifetimes.

• If you're a Republican, you probably love this. If you're a Democrat, you probably loathe it. Either way, readers should be clear-eyed about the totality of sweeping change in governing power.

President Biden's team is bracing for a brutal week in D.C., amid signs of more congressional defectors urging him to drop his campaign, donors' threats to stop writing checks, and a stream of revelations about the 81-year-old Biden's limitations.

Why it matters: For Biden, it's likely going to get worse before it gets better.

WURD radio station and host Andrea Lawful-Sanders have "mutually agreed" to immediately "part ways" after President Biden's aides helped draft questions she asked him in an interview, the company announced Sunday.

Why it matters: The Philadelphia talk radio station noted in a statement that the July 3 interview was Biden's first since his lackluster June 27 presidential debate — which the president and aides blamed on a cold and jet lag, but which has resulted in some Democrats calling for him to end his 2024 candidacy.

At least four House Democratic committee leaders said on a Sunday afternoon call with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) that President Biden should end his 2024 candidacy, according to three senior House Democrats.

Why it matters: The private pronouncements add to public calls from five House Democrats and concerns raised by many others in Biden's orbit about the 81-year-old president's mental acuity and ability to defeat former President Trump.