July 1, 2026

Sarah Blaskey & Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post (June 30): “White House officials last year secretly awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million for the construction of the East Wing ballroom in an unusual arrangement that sidestepped typical contracting procedures designed to control costs.... The White House routed the contract through the Executive Residence, the document shows, an office that is exempt from rules that require federal agencies to solicit competitive bids and disclose details to the public. The office is typically responsible for routine repairs, entertainment expenses, and the purchase of furniture, art and other items for the executive mansion.... Records also show that ... Donald Trump was directly involved in negotiating some costs for the project.”

See RAS's commentary below on Rep. Tom Kean's months off the job. 

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Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: on what Jefferson meant by “all men are created equal” and what that meant to others: “As Thomas Jefferson wrote it, the Declaration was less an affirmation of human equality than a pointed claim about the nature of political authority and a powerful assertion of the right of revolution, informed by the Enlightenment writings of John Locke and other social contract theorists. It was meant as an argument about the preconditions of government — an assertion of the purity of prelapsarian life — not a road map for emancipation.... As we mark, this year, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it is important to see that its meaning is dynamic. And that meaning, as we understand it, flows less from the men who signed it than from those who heard its words and took ownership of them as a standard for their freedom and independence — not from Britain, but from bondage.... It is this Declaration that shows us the way we might be truly exceptional.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although Bouie does not make this point at all, it seems fair to me to read our founding documents -- both the Declaration & the Constitution -- as affirmation that we were then, as we are now, a country in which a certain elite -- defined by wealth, social and business connections, particular education -- dominates and dictates the rules and circumstances under which we, the great unwashed, must abide. There may be a gloss of "democratic values," but it is more a Potemkin charade than a foundational value or anything akin to reality. 

⭐Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: “As we mark, this year, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it is important to see that its meaning is dynamic. And that meaning, as we understand it, flows less from the men who signed it than from those who heard its words and took ownership of them as a standard for their freedom and independence — not from Britain, but from bondage.“Trump reaped a stunning windfall in his first year back in the White House, including about $1.4 billion from his family’s cryptocurrency businesses, a new filing shows. All told, the president pulled in at least $2.2 billion, a figure that includes other parts of his vast holdings, such as his real estate assets. That compares to a minimum of $622 million his enterprises pulled in for all of 2024, before he returned to the presidency. One of his biggest hauls in 2025 came when an investment firm tied to the United Arab Emirates bought nearly half of the Trump family’s main crypto company, World Liberty Financial, a transaction that blurred the line between foreign policy and private enterprise. Mr. Trump also collected hundreds of millions of dollars from sales of his $TRUMP memecoin and World Liberty’s sale of its own digital tokens.... His crypto ventures, the report shows, are now some of his most lucrative enterprises, a remarkable turnabout for a man who once slammed crypto as a haven for drug dealers and scammers.

“The president’s finances, which had been something of a mystery, highlight a conflict in his crypto business: Mr. Trump is a major crypto industry operator and its top policymaker. It is hardly the only issue to arise from having a businessman serve as president. The president’s family business, the Trump Organization, has also capitalized on Mr. Trump’s popularity in certain parts of the world....” The link has been updated to one that appears to be a gift link. The Washington Post's story is here; the link is a gift link. An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Eric Lipton of the New York Times: “... never before in American history has there been anything like Donald J. Trump, a president who in his first year back in office has collected about $1.4 billion in new revenues from cryptocurrency businesses that directly benefited from his actions as president, a financial disclosure report made public on Tuesday shows.... Generally, throughout history..., historians said, American presidents have taken actions to try to separate themselves from corporate entanglements that might create conflicts.... Mr. Trump and his family have done the opposite, creating new business ventures that are profiting from actions Mr. Trump has taken since he returned to the White House. Those include the pardon Mr. Trump issued in October to Changpeng Zhao, the richest man in crypto, who founded the company Binance, which has been a critical business partner to the Trump family’s own crypto venture. They also include legislation that Mr. Trump signed last July to promote a form of cryptocurrency called stablecoins, four months after his family-backed firm introduced its own stablecoin.... [Historian and tax attorney Megan] Gorman said, his acts are 'a betrayal of the American social contract: that those who lead the country prioritize country over self — a premise that goes back to George Washington.'” The link has been updated to one that appears to be a gift link. ~~~

~~~ Marie: During a 2016 presidential debate, Hillary Clinton said that for the years Trump was forced to make public his tax returns, he paid no federal taxes. Trump responded, “That makes me smart.” No, that did not make Trump smart. He was a crook then; he's a bigger crook now. He wasn't smart then; he is even more stupid now. How stupid is he? you ask. Why, he can't even build a model that, as RAS put it, would last as long as “a head of lettuce in the noon day sun.” ~~~

~~~ If you think the planned 250-foot Arc de Trump will be a disaster, RAS has discovered that the small model of it that enjoys pride of place at the so-called Great American State Fair is a bad omen: ~~~

~~~ Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "The vinyl covering, stapled over a wood frame and emblazoned with 'One Nation Under God,' had begun 'buckling' under the combined assault of high temperatures, humidity, and rain." There are now hazard cones placed to keep people from walking under the arch & being hit by falling debris. (Also linked yesterday.)

Oftentimes, the "news" is what news organizations decide it is. "But the emails!" and "If it bleeds, it leads" are examples of that. But all the stories about Trump's concentration on his vanity decorating & "improvement" projects do not simply reflect the media's penchant for clickbait. ~~~

~~~ Clara Morse, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump spent Sunday morning touring several of his Washington construction projects — inspecting a park across from the White House, walking the grounds of a golf course he hopes to expand, and taking his motorcade on a slow drive around the traffic circle where he plans to build a 250-foot triumphal arch. He also visited fountains and statues that his administration has worked to clean up.... Sunday was emblematic of a broader trend: Trump has been mentioning his construction and beautification projects more than ever, a Washington Post analysis found. Trump invoked projects such as his planned White House ballroom, renovations to the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool and the restoration of Washington’s fountains on four out of every five days in June.... That is up from about one-third of the days in January and an eighth of days last June. For the past three months, Trump has talked about his construction projects at a greater frequency than topics such as health care and wages, and about as often as he has talked about inflation and prices.”

Benjamin Weiser, et al., of the New York Times: “The writer E. Jean Carroll asked a federal judge late Tuesday to order ... [Donald] Trump to pay a multimillion-dollar civil judgment awarded to her three years ago by a jury that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming her. The request came a day after the Supreme Court declined Mr. Trump’s petition that it review the case.... The jury ruled in Ms. Carroll’s favor and awarded her $5 million. Mr. Trump, who has consistently denied even knowing Ms. Carroll much less attacking her, placed the money in a court-supervised escrow account while he appealed the jury’s verdict. Ms. Carroll’s lawyers, in court papers submitted Tuesday to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of Manhattan federal court, said she was entitled to collect the damages now that the Supreme Court has decided not to hear her case. The judgment, the papers said, had climbed to just under $5.8 million, including interest....

“Mr. Trump, 80, continued to rail against Ms. Carroll..., writing on the Truth Social site that her lawsuit was 'a Fake Case' and saying he would 'continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength.' Ms. Carroll’s lawyers said in their court filing on Tuesday that a lawyer for the president had contacted them on Monday after Mr. Trump posted his comments to ask if Ms. Carroll would agree to a further delay in enforcing the judgment. Mr. Trump, the lawyer said, planned to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision, according to Ms. Carroll’s lawyers.”

ICE Confiscates Nun's Rosary, Arrests Her While She Was on Her Way to Church. Arelis Hernández of the Washington Post: “Sister Leticia 'Letty' Ugboaja was walking to Sunday Mass in McAllen, Texas, when federal immigration officers stopped her, confiscated her rosary and put her in handcuffs. The Catholic nun from Nigeria was released hours later after Democratic and Republican lawmakers intervened.... Ugboaja’s arrest was the latest to trigger anger from both sides of the political aisle in South Texas, highlighting how Hispanics in a region that supported ... Donald Trump in the 2024 elections are growing wary of his administration’s deportation campaign. An unlikely bipartisan consensus has emerged in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley to protest several recent immigration arrests, including those of three teenage mariachi musicians, numerous construction workers, and cases involving children and people who had been granted protection from deportation. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican who flipped her House district that includes the Texas border in 2022, has joined Democrats in the predominantly Mexican American region in calling for the release of immigrants with deep ties to their local communities and no criminal record.”

Sarah Kliff & Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: “More than two dozen states sued the Trump administration this week over a regulation on new Medicaid work requirements, arguing that the guidelines are inconsistent with the law and will result in many sick and poor Americans losing coverage. The coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia is asking a federal court in Massachusetts to block parts of the regulation, which spells out how states must put in place the work requirements passed by Congress last year. The law says that beginning in 2027, adults without disabilities or young children would need to work, volunteer, or go to school at least 80 hours a month to be eligible for Medicaid. But the law also detailed a number of exceptions for certain categories of people, including those Congress described as 'medically frail.' The Trump administration had been informally telling states that it could look to patients’ diagnoses to decide who was frail enough to be exempt from the work requirement. But in early June, federal Medicaid officials released a regulation with much stricter requirements.”~~~

      ~~~ Marie: The audacity of Trumpists is astounding. Here is Donald Trump, feeding at the public trough to the tune of more than a billion dollars while his idea of "working" is to put together an expensive entourage so he can be driven around looking at the progress of monuments to himself (see WashPo story linked above). Yet his crew sees nothing wrong with forcing a person with end-stage renal disease to get a job.

Robert Jimison, et al., of the New York Times: “Far-right House Republicans blocked consideration of the annual defense policy bill on Tuesday, solidifying a legislative blockade and forcing an early holiday recess as they agitated for action on a voting restriction bill President Trump has championed. The rebellion paralyzed the House for a second consecutive week and dealt yet another blow to Speaker Mike Johnson, who has struggled to corral his fractious majority to act on legislation on the Pentagon, spending and other matters. Ultimately, Republican leaders were forced to abandon the rest of the week’s legislative schedule and send lawmakers home for the Independence Day recess earlier than planned and without the achievements they hoped to notch. It was the latest flare-up of a fight in the G.O.P. over Mr. Trump’s demand that Congress deliver him a sweeping measure to crack down on mail-in voting and impose strict new voter registration and identification requirements.” Politico's story is here.

Hailey Fuchs of Politico: “The House approved a measure Tuesday compelling the public release of records showing which House members have used taxpayer dollars to settle sexual misconduct charges levied against them and how much money was spent. The resolution, offered by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), directs the House Ethics Committee and the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights — which also handles claims of misconduct — to produce such information within 60 days. It passed nearly unanimously, 420-0, with only Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) — an outspoken advocate for victims of sexual harassment and assault — voting present.”

Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Representative Thomas H. Kean Jr., the New Jersey Republican who disappeared from Congress and the campaign trail in March with almost no explanation, said Tuesday that his lengthy hospitalization had been to treat depression.... [Speaking on the House floor in a formal session in which speeches are limited to five minutes] allowed Mr. Kean to say only what he wanted to about his long absence, avoiding the questions that journalists — and many of his own colleagues — wanted to ask. Earlier in the day, he had been silent in the hallways of the Capitol as reporters asked him where he had been, why he had not been more transparent about his health condition and whether he was still fit to serve.... Speaker Mike Johnson indicated that he had urged Mr. Kean to share more about his condition earlier.... 'If it were me, I would have been more specific about that,' he said, noting that Mr. Kean’s condition was very common.” (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I do want to congratulate Kean for being one of the few people who could cause me to say, "I agree with Mike Johnson on that." The shame is on Kean, not for being ill, but for using his public position to stigmatize a common illness and perhaps cause some people not to seek needed treatment. He had a duty to his constituents to tell them what was going on and to the public in general to be as open about his illness as he probably would have been about a broken leg. ~~~

     ~~~ Mia McCarthy & Simon Levien of Politico: “...  while colleagues of both parties expressed sympathy for his mental health challenges and gratitude that he has now returned, many hedged their comments by saying Kean could and perhaps should have said something earlier. 'You give up the right to privacy in a certain respect when you run for office and represent that many people,' [Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.)] said. 'And so I do challenge our colleagues to be more transparent when these things happen.'... Many fellow House members spoke carefully Tuesday about Kean’s condition while also making clear that it should not excuse him from accountability for how his absence was handled.”

 
Abbie VanSickle & Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court lifted limits on Tuesday on how much political parties can spend on advertising and other expenses in coordination with candidates. The 6-to-3 decision, divided along ideological lines, is a major victory for Republicans and could undercut one of the Democrats’ financial advantages going into the midterms. The question before the justices was whether current federal limits on such spending — called coordinated party expenditures — violate the First Amendment. During oral arguments, Noel J. Francisco, a lawyer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which brought the legal challenge, told the justices that such limits were “at war” with previous decisions by the court that have found that restricting how money can be spent in politics amounts to limiting speech. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, agreed that the court’s campaign finance precedents required it to strike down a law that had established those limits and to overrule a 2001 decision that had upheld the limits.” The link is a gift link. Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Mark Sherman of the AP: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship, rejecting ... Donald Trump’s executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. The justices relied on a long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, and more recent federal laws in ruling that anyone born in the country, with very limited exceptions, is a citizen. The Republican president’s restrictions had been blocked by several lower courts and had not taken effect anywhere in the U.S.... By a 6-3 vote, the court struck down Trump’s order. A bare majority of five justices, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, held that the long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, makes a citizen of anyone born in the country, with very limited exceptions[.] A sixth justice, Brett Kavanaugh, disagreed about the constitutional ruling, but pointed to a federal law that he said broadly conveys birthright citizenship. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas would have upheld Trump’s proposed restrictions.” Includes Document Cloud copy of the opinions. Politico's report, by John Gerstein, is here. The New York Times report, by Abbie VanSickle, is here. MB: Both of these reports have been expanded since they were first published just before 10:50 am ET. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ “Not a Mere Spot Treatment for the Dark Stain of Slavery.” Angie Hernandez of NOTUS: “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson took direct aim at a dissent written by Justice Clarence Thomas in dueling opinions on birthright citizenship Tuesday, highlighting the longstanding divide the two Black members of the Supreme Court have over race and the Constitution.... 'Despite his longstanding endorsement of a “colorblind” Constitution, Justice Thomas now surprisingly suggests that the Citizenship Clause was a race-conscious remedial measure, relating only to “freed slaves such as Dred Scott,” … and those who shared with them certain characteristics,' Jackson wrote.... Jackson ... wrote that Thomas’ 'narrow vision' of the amendment 'bears little relationship to the history of its ratification.' 'Even worse,' she added, 'Justice Thomas’s telling elides the entire point of the Second Founding: The Reconstruction Amendments were an anticaste, antisubordination reset for the Nation, not a mere spot treatment for the dark stain of slavery.'”

~~~ Now Hear This. MB: If you can make the time, I highly recommend your listening to Chris Hayes & Sherrilyn Ifill discussing the birthright citizenship decision: ~~~

~~~ Amy Qin of the New York Times: “... some civil rights advocates, lawyers and legal scholars were surprised that four justices — Clarence Thomas, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch — said that they did not see birthright citizenship as a constitutional right for certain groups.... In the end, birthright citizenship as a constitutional right survived by one vote — the latest sign of how far the conservative legal movement has shifted on the issue. 'This should have been a 9-0 decision,' said Bethany Li, executive director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which filed an amicus brief against the president’s order.” Qin slightly explores the history of interpretations of the 14th Amendment. ~~~

~~~ So of course does historian Heather Cox Richardson: "Trump has called for ending birthright citizenship since his first term as part of his appeal to his racist supporters who want to end Black and Brown equality in the United States. But his argument would overturn the central idea of the United States articulated in the Declaration of Independence, that we are all created equal." MB: To be fair to Trump, it isn't only Trump's supporters who are racists; Trump himself has proved by his many racist remarks that he is a racist through and through. In fact, I consider some of his supposedly conciliatory remarks to be in-your-face mocking acknowledgments of his racism, the most prominent of them being some version of "no one has done more for 'the Blacks' than I have." 

~~~ Dan Diamond & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Congress to end birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional right and struck down his executive order seeking to redefine who is American. 'Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, calling the court’s ruling 'too bad' for the nation. 'They will have my Complete and Total Support!' The president further asserted that lawmakers could 'easily' address the issue through legislation — a claim that runs counter to decades of precedent, given Congress’s enduring gridlock on immigration, and some legal experts’ comments that a constitutional amendment would be necessary.... House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was talking to reporters when the decision was issued. He took a deep breath before saying he was disappointed by the decision.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bible Mike did opine -- correctly -- that “I’m sure the conclusion from this opinion is going to be that you got to have a — you got to amend the Constitution to fix that.” But, as Chris Hayes pointed out last night, just eight years ago the Republican Speaker of the House -- Paul Ryan -- said “obviously” Trump could not end birthright citizenship by executive order. It was just a fact then; today the Speaker is “disappointed” in the five Supremes for not kicking newborns back over the border. ~~~

     ~~~ Steve Benen of MS NOW: "... there is a bill pending in the House to undo birthright citizenship, which currently has 87 Republican co-sponsors, and a companion measure in the Senate has eight GOP co-sponsors. With the president’s online statement in mind, it’s likely that both bills are poised to get a fresh look from the party’s members and leaders."  

Bianca Quilantan & Josh Gerstein of Politico: “The Supreme Court has upheld state laws prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports, dealing a major blow to anti-discrimination protections for trans students. In a 6-3 ruling Tuesday, the justices upheld laws in Idaho and West Virginia that ban trans athletes from women’s sports, saying federal law allows schools to divide women’s and men’s sports teams by biological sex. The high court’s majority also rejected claims that such measures violate the constitutional rights of transgender people.” The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Tara Bernard of the New York Times: “Two federal courts struck down a Trump administration rule that would have allowed the Education Department to disqualify employers from participating in a student loan forgiveness program for public servants. The rule had fulfilled an executive order issued last year, and appeared to target groups supporting undocumented immigrants, diversity initiatives or gender-affirming care for children under the age of 19, among others. The regulation could have pushed borrowers out of the program if their employers were deemed to be engaged in activities that had 'a substantial illegal purpose.' 

“Judge Myong J. Joun of Federal District Court in Massachusetts vacated the rule on Tuesday, just a day before it was scheduled to take effect. More than 22 states, along with several cities, counties, nonprofit employers and others, challenged the administration’s new rule, arguing that it would allow the government to target employers that disagreed with its policies. The judge found that the Trump administration had exceeded its authority, and noted that Congress had clearly described which types of workers were eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was written into law in 2007. The program is open to government and nonprofit employees like schoolteachers, public defenders and librarians.... In a separate case challenging the same regulation, Judge Amir H. Ali of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, found the new rule unlawful....”

     ~~~ Marie: I've either forgotten about this or I just plain missed it when Trump issued the executive order, but it sure reinforces what a vindictive creep he is. It's hard to believe any public official would stoop to such a level to punish ordinary people for doing their jobs and, in many cases, advocating for people who needed help. But there you go.

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Colorado Primary Election Results. ~~~

~~~ Gubernatorial Race. Jack Healy of the New York Times: “Phil Weiser, the Democratic attorney general of Colorado, won an upset victory in the state’s primary election for governor on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, defeating a sitting United States senator who had far more money and establishment support. A year ago, Mr. Weiser was trailing his Democratic rival, Senator Michael Bennet, by as many as 30 percentage points. But he prevailed by running a dogged upstart campaign, arguing that Colorado’s next governor needed to be a fighter who would take on President Trump and defend the Democratic-controlled mountain state from a barrage of administration attacks. As attorney general, Mr. Weiser filed more than 66 lawsuits against the Trump administration. The suits challenged funding cuts aimed at Colorado, the decision to relocate the U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama and President Trump’s immigration crackdown and tariffs. Mr. Weiser is heavily favored to win Colorado’s November general election.” NOTUS' report is here.

~~~ U.S. House Race. Emily Davies of the New York Times: “Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist, defeated Representative Diana DeGette on Tuesday in the Denver area, according to The Associated Press, in a show of force for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. The triumph by Ms. Kiros unseats a 15-term incumbent and further propels the insurgent coalition that swept a series of congressional contests last week in New York. Ms. Kiros, an immigrant and first-time candidate, was born the year after Ms. DeGette, 68, took office. Her victory in the solidly Democratic district all but ensures her election in November. A lawyer and doctoral student in public affairs, Ms. Kiros cast herself as a political outsider capable of addressing the affordability crisis that she argued the Democratic establishment had failed to resolve. Her opposition to U.S. support for Israel was also a cornerstone of her campaign and central to her political identity.” The Hill's report is here.

~~~ U.S. House Race. Emily Davies of the New York Times: “Manny Rutinel, a progressive state representative, defeated a moderate Democrat to win the primary election in Colorado’s most competitive swing district, according to The Associated Press. Now he will face Representative Gabe Evans, a Republican seen as vulnerable, in a race that will help determine which party controls the House. A Dominican American former animal rights activist and lawyer with a significant social media following and a knack for fund-raising, Mr. Rutinel appealed to voters with his multicultural biography in a suburban area north of Denver that is nearly 40 percent Latino. Late Tuesday, he was leading by more than 25 percentage points over Shannon Bird, a white moderate who had argued that she had broader appeal in the general election. In a statement,  Ms. Bird congratulated Mr. Rutinel and urged voters to unite against Mr. Evans.”

Tennessee. Madeleine Rubin of the New York Times: “The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has agreed to pay $1.9 million to a former professor who was fired for a private Facebook post denigrating Charlie Kirk after he was assassinated, the latest in a series of legal settlements offered to employees dismissed or reprimanded after criticizing the conservative activist. Tamar Shirinian, who was an anthropology professor at the university, sued the school and several top officials last year. She claimed that the university had violated her constitutional rights by penalizing her for comments that were made privately and protected by the First Amendment.”