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Today: Virginia Voters to Decide on Redistricting Plan That May ‘all but lock out Republicans’
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And that’s the way CNN described it in their piece. More from CNN: Virginia Democrats hope the new congressional map they’re asking voters to approve Tuesday will flip four Republican House districts, delivering 10 of 11 seats in a state former Vice President Kamala Harris won with just 52% of the vote in 2024. Here’s how they drew it up. The plan dramatically reworks entire sections of the state, slicing up deep blue districts in the Washington, DC, suburbs and around Richmond, and creates a new district running along the Blue Ridge Mountains that connects liberal cities ( CNN). Former Governor Glenn Younkin has been speaking up about it : Virginia in 2020 held a constitutional referendum, amended our constitution to have nonpartisan independent redistricting. Two-thirds of Virginians said, “we want politics out, politicians out.” And now we have Abigail Spanberger saying she’s going to ignore the voice of Virginians, override them, and try to adopt the most gerrymandered map in America ( X). Polling from Quantis Insights: Initial support: • Yes, approve: 51.2% • No, reject: 46.9%. After informing voters it would create 10 Dem-leaning districts and 1 GOP-leaning district until 2030: • Yes, approve: 49.6% • No, reject: 46.9% ( Interactive). More polling from Decision Desk: ( DDHQ).
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Trump Delegation Looks to Meet With Iranian Officials, But Fundamental Questions Loom; ‘We aren't sure who's in charge’
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The events we witnessed in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend underlines the degree of disintegration of command and control in the battered republic. Iran International: A US official said Washington is uncertain who is in charge in Iran as efforts continue to secure a deal and extend the ceasefire, Axios reported on Monday. “We aren’t sure who’s in charge and neither do they. That’s going to have work itself out,” it quoted the official as saying. “We thought they were negotiating with the right people, they had reached the cocktail of what they had agreed to, what could be announced. But what happened is the Iranian team went back and the IRGC and those kinds of people said ‘oh, no, no. You don’t speak for us,’” a second senior administration official said. “Now they have a real divide over there between these factions and we’re not sure who’s going to win it. We hope the team we negotiated with will” ( Iran International).
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Ship Seized in Strait of Hormuz Carried Chemical Shipments for Missiles
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The reporting is sparse on exactly what was on board. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley: The ship the U.S. seized in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend was headed from China to Iran and is linked to chemical shipments for missiles. It refused repeated orders to stop. Another reminder that China is helping prop up Iran’s regime—a reality that can’t be ignored ( Haley). Wall Street Journal: The Iranian cargo ship seized by U.S. forces in the Gulf of Oman this weekend is part of a fleet that often sails to China, one of Tehran’s most important backers—and includes vessels that have been accused of transporting chemicals for Iran’s ballistic-missile program. The ship, the MV Touska, visited the southern China port of Zhuhai twice in the six weeks before it was intercepted Sunday on its way to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, according to shipping analysts. The Touska ignored six hours of warnings from the USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, according to the Pentagon ( Wall Street Journal).
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A New Set of Supreme Court Leaks Further Damages Our Highest Court
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And all the leaks go in one direction.The leaked memos were published by the New York Times under the headline, “The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court” ( New York Times). Kerri Urbahn explains the potential motive behind the leakers: It’s a general criticism of this thing called the shadow docket, which is the emergency docket. It’s how the Supreme Court deals with emergency requests…. We have seen the lower courts over and over again blocking the Trump administration from every single thing they try to do. They put a halt on it. So, one option that the Trump administration has had—and also previous administrations have had—is to go straight to the Supreme Court and ask the Supreme Court, “Can you unblock the lower court from blocking us so that the policy goes into place as the case is litigated on the merits?” So in this particular administration, this Trump administration right now, the Supreme Court has done that for the administration, I think about 20 times. I think people are upset about that. And so what this piece does is say, “Well, guess what? You know who created this whole thing? It’s Chief Justice Roberts when he tried to stop, when he did stop President Obama from implementing his big clean power plan, which was a big deal to him ( Red Wave). Senator Mike Lee: The SCOTUS leaks seem to have one thing in common: They’re intended to undermine and harm the conservative justices ( Lee).
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Today: House Ethics Committee to Hold Hearing That Could Decide Future Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
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Newsweek: The case stems from accusations that the Florida Democrat embezzled millions of dollars in federal emergency funding, as well as allegations concerning illegal campaign financing and money laundering spanning years in office ( Newsweek). From the report of the Ethics Committee: The ASC [Adjudicatory Subcommittee of the Committee] found that the following 25 counts in the SAV were proven by clear and convincing evidence. Some of the counts – specifically counts 6, 7, and 15 – were based on conduct that overlaps with charges for which Respondent has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Included in the list: • Acceptance of Improper Campaign Contributions from Edwin Cherfilus • Acceptance of Improper Contributions from Respondent’s Sister • Acceptance of Improper Campaign Contributions from Nadege LeBlanc ( House). Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is pretty confident (speaking on Monday afternoon): She will be expelled for corruption TOMORROW. Enjoy your last day in Congress Sheila! ( Luna). From the press release of the Ethics Committee: The hearing will take place at 2:00 p.m. in 1310 Longworth House Office Building ( Ethics).
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House Ethics Committee Publishes List of Ongoing Investigations of Members
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There seems to be fatigue over the willingness to look past serious accusations as long as they are on your side of the political aisle. New York Post: The 28 investigations spanned from former Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) — both of whom resigned from the House last week — to the late Rep. Wayne Hays (D-Ohio). In total, fourteen were Democrats and 12 were Republicans. The late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) was twice investigated for pursuing a “sexual relationship with a staffer in 2014 and again in 2020. The most immediately vulnerable Republican is Florida Rep. Cory Mills. More from the Post: The Ethics Committee no longer has jurisdiction over the Swalwell or Gonzales investigations after both left the House, though Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) remains under a probe for “[s]exual misconduct and/or dating violence.” An investigative subcommittee looking into the allegations was set up in November 2025, but President Trump still endorsed the Florida Republican in February. “The fact Congress keeps protecting him says everything about who we are as an institution,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said Monday, threatening an expulsion vote for Mills. At least half of the probes occurred just over the past decade, during which the ethics panel said it “has adopted a more aggressive and robust approach to allegations of sexual misconduct” ( New York Post). Full list: ( House).
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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer Resigns
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Her tenure was tumultuous. Washington Examiner: The resignation of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer marked the third member to leave President Donald Trump’s Cabinet in less than two months. Her departure comes after Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Chavez-DeRemer was embattled by allegations that she pursued an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. Her attorney has denied these claims. The inquiry also included questions about possible misuse of taxpayer funds…. Trump shied away from outright firings of his Cabinet in the first year of his second term, but the rapid turnover in 2026 in the White House marks a new era. It’s unclear whether the president will pursue any more Cabinet changes. However, the series of Cabinet shake-ups comes ahead of the 2026 elections, where Trump could lose control of Washington, meaning any Cabinet confirmations could have a steeper climb ( Washington Examiner). Jennifer Oliver O’Connell at RedState: Chavez-DeRemer was not considered by many to be a credible pick for Labor Secretary, including by this writer and across other outlets. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Pensions & Labor Committee voted against her confirmation to the secretary role, based on her prior sponsorship and championing of the PRO Act, which sought to force unionization and eliminate right-to-work in 27 states ( RedState).
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Supreme Court to Hear Key Religious Liberty Case: Can Colorado Exclude Catholic Preschools From Their ‘Universal Preschool’ Program?
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The case is St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy—and it;s challenging Colorado’s universal preschool law that excludes Catholic schools from participation based on the fact that they are Catholic. Fox News: The case could redefine how states balance anti-discrimination laws with religious freedom. The Archdiocese of Denver, which oversees 34 Catholic preschools, argues that its schools are an extension of the church’s ministry. To maintain the integrity of their religious environment, the Archdiocese says its schools admit only families who support Catholic beliefs, including on sex and gender ( Fox News). Daily Signal: “This court promised in Obergefell that religious groups would be protected when they dissent from secular orthodoxies about marriage and sexuality,” the St. Mary’s parish brief notes. “The free exercise clause simply cannot do that important work—which this court has described as ‘at the heart of our pluralistic society’—if it can be so easily evaded.” A district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld Colorado’s rules, finding that the Centennial State did not explicitly discriminate against St. Mary’s for religious reasons ( Daily Signal). Look for the case to be heard this fall.
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Trump Administration Believes Male Inmates Who Are Trans Out to Be Held With Other Male Inmates; Federal Appeals Court Agrees
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It’s a significant win for biological reality and for women’s safety. Mattathias Schwartz reporting for the New York Times: The Bureau of Prisons could soon move forward with the transfer of 17 incarcerated transgender women to men’s facilities, after a federal appeals court on Friday vacated rulings by a district court judge that had been blocking the transfers for more than a year. In a 27-page ruling, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that the transfers would constitute “cruel and unusual punishment,” in violation of the Eighth Amendment…. in the view of the Justice Department, the ruling was a victory for its side. “Today’s decision is a win for common sense and biology,” Emily Covington, a department spokeswoman, wrote in a statement. The appeals court “correctly held that the district court erred in preventing the Bureau of Prisons from housing inmates according to their biological sex,” she added. The transfers are a consequence of one of the first executive orders that President Trump signed after taking office. It mandates that imprisoned transgender women be housed in men’s facilities ( New York Times).
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Trump to Attend White House Correspondents’ Dinner; Legacy Media Not Happy
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The event is this Saturday night at the Washington Hilton ( WHCA). Trump had made a practice of boycotting the event. This year, he’s attending and will be joined by his wife Melania ( Newsmax). The left-wing establishment is palpably mad. New York Sun: On Monday morning, a group of more than 200 current and former journalists and several journalism organizations sent a letter to the WHCA urging the organization to “demonstrate opposition” to Mr. Trump. “The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of a free press in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who uphold it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks on the free press render his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of its purpose,” the letter said…. The signatories urged members of the WHCA to deliver a “forceful defense of freedom of the press, followed by a standing toast to the First Amendment and a pledge to continue upholding such a critical cornerstone of our democracy” ( New York Sun).
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