Unpacking Trump's big SCOTUS win

Politico

4 hours ago

Presented by
THE CATCH-UP
The Supreme Court cleared the deck today as the justices wrapped up the final official decision day, handing down six rulings and delivering President Donald Trump a major victory as he seeks to carry out his domestic agenda.
Nationwide injunctions
The decision: In a big win for Trump, the court ruled in favor of the administration's request to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by judges that blocked his executive order intended to end the right to birthright citizenship. In the 6-3 vote along ideological lines the court 'sharply curtailed the power of individual district court judges to issue injunctions blocking federal government policies nationwide,' POLITICO's Josh Gerstein reports.
The justices said that in most cases, 'judges can only grant relief to the individuals or groups who brought a particular lawsuit and may not extend those decisions to protect other individuals without going through the process of converting a lawsuit into a class action.' Left untouched — at least for now — was the legality of Trump's order.
The opinion: 'The universal injunction was conspicuously nonexistent for most of our Nation's history,' Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in the majority opinion, adding that the nationwide injunctions apply 'only to the extent that the injunctions are broader than necessary.'
The dissent: 'The Court's decision to permit the Executive to violate the Constitution with respect to anyone who has not yet sued is an existential threat to the rule of law,' Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote. Notably, Justice Sonia Sotomayor read her own portion of the dissenting opinion aloud in court for 19 minutes, in a 'signal of the gravity of her concern and the importance of the case,' Josh writes.
The reaction: The White House was quick to celebrate the win. Trump dropped into the briefing room for an impromptu news conference shortly after the ruling, where he said he was 'grateful' to the court 'for stepping in and solving this very … complex issue and making it very simple.' Trump also heaped praise on Barrett — who has recently come under fire from the right — noting her decision was 'brilliantly written.'
What's next: 'It's very possible that nothing has changed re: nationwide injunction on birthright citizenship,' POLITICO's Kyle Cheney points out. 'While the court broadly limited nationwide injunctions, it said states may still be entitled to them if it's necessary for complete relief. Two of the birthright cases were brought by states, who argued they needed nationwide relief because patchwork citizenship rules would be devastating when people move from state to state. If district courts agree, then the nationwide injunctions will remain in place.'
And the majority opinion 'provides no clear roadmap except to say that the executive order 'shall not take effect until 30 days after the date of this opinion,'' POLITICO's Ankush Khardori notes. 'The absence of clear guidance on this point is likely to generate even more disputes — not the least of which is how the administration is going to enforce the executive order while at the same time defending the executive order against the states' pending challenges.'
Obamacare coverage
The decision: In another 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court preserved the provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurance companies to cover preventive health services at no cost to patients, POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein and colleagues report.
The analysis: 'Health policy experts and patient advocates who expressed relief that the Trump administration opted to defend Obamacare remain concerned that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials will now deploy that power to reshape what services must be covered by insurance without copays' and 'could also empower Kennedy to overhaul other advisory panels at HHS,' our colleagues write.
LGBTQ+ lessons
The decision: In another 6-3 ruling, the high court sided with a group of parents who opted to remove their children from classes that include books with LGBTQ+ themes. The decision comes after a group of Muslim, Christian and Jewish parents sued Marylans's Montgomery County Board of Education after the board prevented parents from removing their elementary school children from lessons citing religious reasons. More from POLITICO's Bianca Quilantan
And more …
More action on the way: 'Chief Justice John Roberts announced from the bench that the court plans to issue orders next week on Monday and Thursday,' Josh writes. 'Monday's orders are likely to include grants of review from a conference the justices held yesterday. Thursday's will likely address cases impacted by the decisions handed down this week.'
Catch up on all the news and analysis from from our colleagues on the SCOTUS live blog
Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at [e-mail].
7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: Another day, another slew of setbacks for GOP leaders over Trump's sweeping tax and spending legislation. As the Senate scrambles to meet Republicans' self-imposed July 4 deadline, Speaker Mike Johnson is now reluctantly admitting that they may not reach their goal, POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill reports. 'It's possible,' he told reporters of the timeline slipping, 'but I don't want to even accept that as an option right now.' Even Trump is softening his stance: 'It's not the end all,' Trump said today of the July 4 goal, per POLITICO's Adam Cancryn. 'It can go longer, but we'd like to get it done by that time if possible.'
The crunch: 'With the Senate not expected to start debating the bill until Saturday at the earliest, the House might not get the bill until Sunday. Johnson confirmed he plans to observe a House rule giving members at least 72 hours to review the bill before floor consideration begins. 'The House will not be jammed by anything,' he added.'
SALT on the table: The White House is 'close to clinching an agreement on the state and local tax deduction after a last-ditch flurry of negotiations with blue-state House GOP holdouts and Senate Republicans,' POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill reports. Johnson said 'a lot of progress' was made on the issue yesterday.
Quote of the day: 'This bill is like yogurt, not wine,' one senator told Semafor's Burgess Everett, who notes that the chamber is racing to 'vote basically immediately' once Republicans get their ducks in a row.
2. TRADING SPACES: The early July deadline for the Trump administration's tariff negotiations with top trading partners also seems to be a moving target. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted in a Fox Business interview today that negotiations could stretch as far as Labor Day, POLITICO's Jacob Wendler reports. 'We have 18 important trading partners — U.K., China are behind us for now — and then Secretary [Howard] Lutnick said yesterday that he expects 10 more deals. So, if we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18 — there are another important 20 relationships — then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day,' Bessent said.
3. TAKING STOCK: 'Historic Rebound Sends S&P 500 to New Highs,' by WSJ's Karen Langley and Krystal Hur: 'The S&P 500 on Friday touched its first new high since February, capping a dizzying 23% rally from the depths of April's tariff-induced selloff. The wild 89 trading days in between put the broad U.S. stock index on track for its swiftest recovery back to a record close after a decline of at least 15%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Stocks have climbed in recent sessions after the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Iran sent oil prices lower and fueled optimism that the Middle East could avoid a prolonged conflict.'
4. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: As the Trump administration continues to show confidence in the success of last weekend's strikes on Iran, lawmakers huddled in the Capitol today for a closed-door intelligence briefing on 'Operation Midnight Hammer.' Upon leaving the briefing, Johnson told reporters that the group discussed the need for Iran 'to engage with us in direct good faith talks, negotiations, not through third parties, not through other countries. They need to sit down at the table with us and ensure that this peace is truly lasting,' Johnson said.
Tensions remain high: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed military personnel today to prepare an 'enforcement plan' that would maintain 'Israel's air superiority, preventing nuclear and missile development, and responding to Iranian support for terrorist activity,' per CNN. Katz told local outlets he would pursue a ''policy of enforcement' against Iran despite a cease-fire, aiming to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its air power, advancing nuclear projects or developing 'threatening long-range missiles,'' NYT's Erika Solomon and Johnatan Reiss report.
5. INTEL ISSUES: Senate Intel Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has proposed in a new bill a radical reorganization of Tulsi Gabbard's Office of National Intelligence, proposing drastic cuts to its staff, shrinking numbers down from around 1,600 to 650, NBC's Dan De Luce and Gordon Lubold scoop. Gabbard has already slashed staff by 20 percent since stepping into her role as director, though the former presidential candidate reportedly has fallen out of favor with Trump in recent weeks. Still, a staffer notes 'Cotton and other Republican senators have been working on the proposed reform for months and that their effort preceded Gabbard's appointment.'
6. TRIGGER HAPPY: The Department of Government Efficiency has another target in its sights: gun restrictions. DOGE staff have been deployed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 'with the goal of revising or eliminating dozens of rules and gun restrictions by July 4' as the White House takes a wrecking ball to the regulatory agency, WaPo's Perry Stein scoops. 'The initial target was to change 47 regulations, an apparent reference to Donald Trump's status as the 47th president of the United States,' but staffers now have 'upward of 50 changes planned.' Though exact details are still unclear, there are also planned tweaks to the form most buyers have to fill out when purchasing a firearm.
7. CALIFORNIA STEAMIN': 'Gavin Newsom sues Fox News for $787M in defamation case over Trump call,' by POLITICO's Tyler Katzenberger: 'The California governor accused Fox News of defamation in a lawsuit Friday morning, alleging the network should fork over $787 million after host Jesse Watters claimed Newsom lied about his phone calls with Trump, who ordered National Guard troops to Los Angeles this month. Newsom's lawyers argue Watters' program misleadingly edited a video of Trump to support the claim.' The response: 'Newsom's transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him. We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed,' Fox News said in a statement.
TALK OF THE TOWN
OUT AND ABOUT — Courier Newsroom hosted a 'Like and Subscribe' happy hour at the Eaton yesterday, celebrating the launch of their podcasts and digital series. The event featured light bites and cocktails, including drinks such as the 'Panic World Paloma' and 'Exit Poll Espresso Martini.' SPOTTED: Akilah Hughes, Ryan Broderick, Grant Irving, Ashley Ray, Nick Kitchel, Patrick Stevenson, Tyler Steinhardt, Teddy Schleifer, Kara Voght, Nancy Scola, Matt Erickson, Colin Delany and Alex Wall.
— NBCUniversal and the Motion Picture Association co-hosted a screening of 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' last night. SPOTTED: Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Laura Friedman (D-Calif.), Phil Tahtakran, Charlie Rivkin, Maureen Dowd, Dan Glickman, Neil Fried, Stephen Hartell, Sena Fitzmaurice and Philip Reeker.
— The Washington AI Network hosted its first-ever speakeasy last night at The House at 1229, where guests enjoyed cocktails, karaoke, slushies and ice cream sandwiches. SPOTTED: Tammy Haddad, Jake Denton, Pierson Furnish, Adam Branch, Miriam Vogel, Max Fenkell, Ashley Callen, Mary Kozeny, Mitchell Rivard, Govind Shivkumar, Emma Mears, Cristóbal Alex, Josh Dawsey and Joanna Guy.
— SPOTTED at a NewDEAL happy hour at Crimson Whiskey Bar yesterday honoring New York state Rep. Alex Bores, Alabama state Rep. Jeremy Gray, Hawaii state Sen. Troy Hashimoto, Massachusetts state Rep. Tram Nguyen, Iowa state Rep. Megan Srinivas and Kansas state Rep. Brandon Woodard: Helen Milby, Andy Flick, John McCarthy, Kathleen Mellody, Jon Boughtin, Ted Koutsoubas, Alex Chanen, Scott Quinn, Jonathan Lozier, Ryan Ford, Natasha Dabrowski, Jonathan Dworkin and Aaron Wasserman.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Treasury is bringing in a slate of new senior staff: John Crews will be deputy assistant secretary for financial institutions, Connor Dunn will be deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs, Spencer Hurwitz will be deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, Ashtyn Landen will be deputy executive secretary, Parastu Malik will be counselor to the chief of staff and chief AI officer …
… Zach Mollengarden will be deputy executive secretary, David O'Brien will be deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, John Poulson will be deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs, Shane Shannon will be counselor to the general counsel and Cory Wilson will be deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection.
TRANSITIONS — Karen Paikin Barall is now chief policy officer at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. She previously was VP of government relations for Jewish Federations of North America. … Erica Goldman is joining Prologue as head of insights and analysis. She previously was managing director of research at Purple Strategies. … Jim Smythers is now senior director for government relations at Stratolaunch. He previously was in the Foreign Service and is a Senate Intelligence Committee alum.
… Lauren Dueck is now SVP and comms director at The Asia Group. She previously was comms director at NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service. … Claire Trokey will join LinkedIn's U.S. public policy team to lead engagement with the administration and congressional Republicans. She most recently has been policy adviser to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. … Catherine (Cat) Oakar will be the next executive director of Freshfarm. She most recently was special assistant to the president for public health and disparities in the Domestic Policy Council in the Biden White House.
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Elizabeth Pipko
Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
Send Playbookers tips to [e-mail] or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.