Principals

1. SCOTUS rules on presidential immunity
2. Biden’s NATO test
3. NATO summit announcements
4. Dem senator criticizes Biden campaign
5. Fringe Biden replacement theory goes mainstream
6. SCOTUS curbs fed power

PDB: Biden campaign pulled in $127 million in June

Job openings data out today ... Orban in Ukraine … NYT: Israeli generals want a truce in Gaza

Supreme Court hands Trump an immunity win

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Donald Trump — and all presidents — are immune from prosecution for official acts taken while in office. That includes presumptive immunity for pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to subvert the 2020 election results. (Presidents can still be prosecuted for unofficial acts, though it’s unclear what kind of conduct that entails.) The historic decision dramatically expands the powers of the presidency and will further delay Trump’s Jan. 6 election subversion case. The 6-3 ruling came down along ideological lines; Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the ruling “effectively creates a law-free zone around the president.”

President Biden, in a hastily scheduled a speech last night from the White House, condemned the ruling, calling it a “dangerous precedent” that “undermines the rule of law of this nation.” Notably, he said the court did a “terrible disservice” to the American public by delaying Trump’s trial on the election subversion charges, and said it would allow Trump “to do whatever he pleases” if he is reelected.

— Caroline Anders

Can a NATO summit help Biden turn things around?

There will be a political undercurrent to next week’s NATO summit, which some Democrats see as an opportunity for President Biden to to turn the page on his dismal debate performance that spiked anxiety across the party. “Certainly, something on the international stage is a place where he can help himself,” Jim Kessler, vice president for policy at the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, told Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant. A person familiar with the administration’s thinking said that the summit would present a good opportunity for Biden to showcase his leadership and diplomatic achievements on the world stage. While an official event, the NATO summit in a normal moment carries political upsides. But Biden’s condition will also be closely scrutinized. European officials took note of his debate performance last week, and are now more expectant of Trump returning to power.

NATO to speed up procurement of key weapons

NATO allies are expected to commit to speed up the procurement of key weapons at the summit in Washington, as the alliance seeks to address critical gaps in its military readiness in the face of Russian aggression, Semafor’s Mathias Hammer reports. A five-year plan put forward by NATO’s three Baltic states would see the alliance redouble efforts to acquire long range missiles, air defense systems, and ammunition that have proven crucial on the battlefield in Ukraine and could be used in the event of a large-scale conflict. NATO also plans to station a senior civilian official in Kyiv and set up a new command in Germany to coordinate military equipment shipments to Ukraine while helping to train Ukrainian troops, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Democratic senator criticizes Biden camp after debate

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., criticized the Biden campaign’s “dismissive attitude” when attempting to quell intensified questions about the president’s age after his debate performance last week. “I really do criticize the campaign for a dismissive attitude towards people who are raising questions for discussion,” the Vermont Democrat told Semafor’s Joseph Zeballos-Roig, referring to the Biden camp’s description – “bedwetters” – of those raising concerns. Welch said the party has a greater responsibility to ensure victory in November. CNN also reported that other Democratic officials criticized the language used by the campaign as “disrespectful” and “disgusting,” but Welch’s criticism stands out because he issued it publicly.

How did the media miss the biggest story in American politics? Many journalists were shocked by Joe Biden’s decline on the debate stage. Did the media fail to see the President clearly, ask the wrong questions, or fall for White House spin? In this emergency pod, Nayeema, Ben, and Max separate conspiracy from reality, exploring theories about Jill Biden’s role and more. They welcome spicy takes from top editors and media elites, and predict where we go from here, including who might be the most media-savvy Biden replacement (...if it comes to that).

Listen to the full story on Mixed Signals.

Vivek Ramaswamy leads the Biden replacement theory victory lap

The idea that President Biden would be replaced on the November ballot had been on the fringes for months — until last week’s debate. It was the sort of thing Republican candidates tossed out at rallies and on podcasts, as a warning to their own party not to renominate an aging former president, and then as part of the broad implication the Democratic Party is a kind of rigged system of its own. But now the idea has entered mainstream Democratic thinking, and the theory’s proponents want you to remember where you heard it first, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott and David Weigel write. “All people remember later is you said something crazy — without remembering what it was, when in fact the crazy thing that you said turned out to be true,” former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told Semafor.

The Supreme Court deals blows to agency power

The administrative state has been the big loser in this Supreme Court term. On Monday, the justices gave companies longer to challenge federal regulations by ruling that the six-year statute of limitations for filing lawsuits begins when a company starts feeling the effects of a regulation, rather than when it is issued. The 6-3 ruling fell along ideological lines; Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned that it could “devastate the functioning of the federal government.” Notably, it comes on the heels of the ruling late last week in which the justices significantly eroded the federal government’s regulatory powers by overturning the decades-old “Chevron deference.” That ruling already has conservative groups corporate lobbyists eyeing new lawsuits to curb federal regulations, The Washington Post reported.

Beltway Newsletters

Playbook: Democrats are privately starting to point fingers at President Biden’s staff, while some are complaining about Biden’s own lack of outreach following last week’s debate. He hasn’t spoken to Hakeem Jeffries or Chuck Schumer.

Axios: Donald Trump intends to “immediately test the boundaries of presidential and governing power” if he is reelected in November.

WaPo: Third party candidates feel like they can capitalize on last week’s debate. Libertarian nominee Chase Oliver said he spoke with voters at a weekend pride parade who were considering dropping their support for Biden. “So many voters came up and said things like, ‘After that debate, man, I’m looking for other options,’ ‘I’m ready to vote for you,’ or ‘I’m going to give you an honest look because I just can’t with Biden anymore after the debate,’” Oliver said.

White House

• President Biden will receive a briefing on extreme weather today and announce a new proposed Labor Department rule to create a federal safety standard for excessive heat in the workplace. FEMA is also devoting $1 billion to hundreds of projects across the US to protect against heat, storms, and flooding.
• He’ll also headline a campaign reception in McLean, Va. this afternoon.
• Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are in San Francisco for a political event.
• Biden in an executive action extended overtime protections to 1 million workers who earn less than the median individual salary and is promising to take more action if reelected.
• Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki will sit for an interview in the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s probe into the US military’s exit from Afghanistan. — Axios
• First lady Jill Biden got the Vogue treatment.

Congress

• The House Judiciary Committee sued Attorney General Merrick Garland in their latest attempt to obtain the audio recordings of former special counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Biden.
• A bipartisan delegation of House members, including House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner, visited Ukraine.
• Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., has been charged with a weapons violation at Dulles International Airport after security officers found an unloaded handgun in her carry-on bag.

Outside the Beltway

The only three Republican women in the South Carolina Senate who helped stop a total abortion ban from passing in the state lost their primaries.

Courts

• Donald Trump has asked the New York judge who oversaw his hush money trial to set aside his conviction and delay his sentencing scheduled for next week after the Supreme Court ruled Monday that ex-presidents have broad immunity from prosecution.
• The Supreme Court punted on whether state governments can bar social media companies from deleting posts or banning accounts that violate their policies, sending the case back to lower courts.
• The Justice Department is looking for ways to salvage dozens of felony cases against Jan. 6 defendants after a ruling by the Supreme Court seemed set to upend them.
• Former Trump aide Steve Bannon began his four-month prison sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
• The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against three people in Mexico and China for allegedly laundering money for the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Polls

Ahead of the July 4 holiday this week, a new Marist poll finds that a majority of Americans believe that people in the US are less patriotic than they were a few years prior.

On the Trail

• The Democratic National Committee is considering formally nominating President Biden as early as the middle of this month to ensure he’s on the ballots in November as well as ending intraparty talk of replacing him after last week’s poor debate showing. — Bloomberg
• The Biden campaign announced this morning that it raised $127 million during the month of June — its best month yet of the cycle. That brings the total for the second quarter of 2024 to $264 million.
• Meanwhile, the Biden campaign released a new ad highlighting the president’s attacks on Donald Trump during a campaign stop in North Carolina on Friday, the day after their debate.
• Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is the only woman remaining under consideration to be Trump’s running mate, and she’s a long shot. — WSJ
• Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who is in a tough reelection battle, is standing by Biden following last week’s debate.
• Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy resigned as CEO from his company, Bridger Aerospace.

National Security

• Satellite images show the growth of Cuba’s eavesdropping stations that are believed to be linked to China, including new construction at a previously unreported location about 70 miles from the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay. — WSJ
• Illegal crossings along the US southern border fell to a three-year low last month, following President Biden’s drastic move to curtail asylum and ongoing efforts by Mexico to prevent migrants from heading north, preliminary data from Customs and Border Protection. — CBS

Foreign Policy

• Secretary of State Anthony Blinken defended President Biden’s after his shaky performance in the debate with Donald Trump last week.
• A group of House Democrats is urging the Pentagon to expand its training of Ukrainian F-16 pilots as Kyiv races to solidify its defenses against Russia.
• Dick Schoof, a former Dutch spy chief, becomes the prime minister of the Netherlands today, heading a right-wing anti-immigration coalition that reflects changes underway across Europe.
• Panama’s newly inaugurated president pledged to curb migrant crossings via the Darién Gap.

Technology

• The Biden administration is awarding $504 million under the CHIPS and Science Act to a dozen “tech hubs” across the US to spur research and development of advanced technologies.
• Meanwhile, the administration will kick off a program to develop the US computer-chip workforce in a push to stave off a labor shortage that threatens to undermine domestic semiconductor output. — Bloomberg

Media

• Hunter Biden has sued Fox News over a streaming miniseries he says includes “intimate images” of him without his permission, violating New York’s “revenge porn law.”

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: Elon Musk criticized Vice President Harris for “lying” about Donald Trump’s position on abortion.

What the Right isn’t reading: Former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney said that Trump is “not fit for office” after he shared a meme suggesting she committed treason.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons

Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Bob Vander Plaats is an Iowa evangelical leader and the CEO of The Family Leader, a socially conservative organization.

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