Happy Monday! It's National Guy Day. Yes, apparently that's a thing - an (unofficial) day to celebrate guys "and their role in society, culture, and in the life of every person," not to be confused with International Men's Day (November 19) or the Day of the Dude (March 6). We welcome suggestions for how we should celebrate this evening, but we noticed that it's also National Waffle Iron Day and National Almond Buttercrunch Day, so we're thinking the party's gonna be sweet!
Here's what we're really focused on this evening.
Supreme Court Expands Trump's Power, With One Big Exception
The Supreme Court again expanded presidential power on Monday, overturning a 1935 precedent in ruling that President Trump has the power to fire the heads of independent agencies without cause. In a decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court's six-member conservative majority said that legal limits on the president's power to oust top agency officials without cause violated the Constitution's separation of powers.
In a separate ruling, the court carved out a notable exception: the Federal Reserve. The justices voted 5-4 to block Trump from firing Fed governor Lisa Cook.
Trump celebrated the expansion of his power, which came in a case brought by Rebecca Slaughter, a former Federal Trade Commission member who challenged his firing.
"It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling, one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers," Trump wrote in a social media post, later adding: "Today's Historic Slaughter Decision by the Supreme Court is the Greatest Increase in Presidential Power in the last 100 years. Such a Monumental Ruling at such an important time!"
In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that the court's decision overstepped its proper constitutional role and would lead to the politicization of key government regulatory functions.
"Today, the majority replaces 90 years of proven, workable practice with a half-baked theory of executive power that is simultaneously all encompassing yet also subject to necessary but undefined exceptions," Sotomayor wrote. "The one thing that does appear to be clear going forward is that chaos will follow."
Another Fed fight ahead? Roberts wrote in a footnote that the decision in the Cook case does not forbid Trump from "trying again" to fire Cook "if he chooses to do so" using proper procedure, which would involve giving her notice and a chance to challenge her removal for cause.
Trump indicated on social media that he will keep targeting Cook, writing that the decision was based on procedural grounds and that "we will take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions concerning the Welfare of the United States of America!"
Trump has alleged that Cook engaged in mortgage fraud, but she denies wrongdoing and says that her case was not about mortgage documents she signed years before serving as a Fed governor.
"It was an attempt to remove me on a manufactured pretext because I refused to bow to political pressure and continued to set interest rates based only on what would best serve the American people," Cook said in a statement Monday. "Today's ruling affirms a principle that has underpinned sound economic stewardship for generations: that the Federal Reserve must make all its policy decisions guided by evidence and independent judgment, free from political interference."
Johnson Looks to Break House Gridlock Amid GOP Infighting
House Speaker Mike Johnson had hoped to make progress this week on Republicans' legislative agenda, including the annual defense policy bill. It's not clear yet whether a band of House conservatives will stymie those plans by continuing a monthslong intraparty fight over President Trump's prized election reform bill.
Johnson and GOP leaders were forced to cancel planned votes last week as conservatives effectively froze the House floor by promising to block procedural rules unless the Senate passed the SAVE America Act, the package centered on tighter voting restrictions that Trump has made a top priority. That election bill is stalled in the Senate, where it can't get the 60 votes it needs to pass and Republicans largely oppose killing the filibuster to pass it with a simple majority.
Trump last week called on House conservative rebels to stand down and allow the House to move ahead with votes, but key lawmakers signaled that they were not giving up their fight. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said she would look to attach the SAVE America Act to the defense policy bill, which would doom the legislation in the Senate.
Johnson on Monday urged his members to fall in line. "To my colleagues, whomever is thinking that stopping the work of House Republicans to make Americans safer right now and to bring down the cost of living - impeding that progress just because stubborn Senate Democrats won't do the job of the American people is self-defeating. It doesn't make any sense," the speaker told reporters.
Johnson said he had been at the White House to strategize on how to move ahead with legislation. He has proposed folding certain elements of the election bill into the GOP's planned third budget reconciliation package, but Luna and other GOP hard-liners have panned that plan and said that the voting provisions would not pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian.
Adding to the pressure on Republican lawmakers, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled in a 5-4 decision that states can count mail-in ballots that arrive late as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, delivering a blow to President Trump, who has long sought to restrict voting by mail. In response, Trump said that the SAVE America Act is now "even more important."
Which leads us to this:
Quote of the Day: Trump Calls Housing Bill a 'Yawn'
"I don't know. I think it's so unimportant by compared to the SAVE America Act."
− President Trump, when asked by a reporter Monday about his plans for the housing affordability bill that was recently approved by the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, had touted the housing bill as "one of the most significant pieces of housing affordability legislation in American history" and said it would increase housing supply and deliver on Trump's promise to lower costs.
Trump last week canceled a Capitol Hill ceremony that had been arranged for him to sign the bill, insisting that his election reform bill be passed first. On Monday, Trump downplayed the importance of the housing legislation. "When I look at that bill, it's a bill. But when I look at the SAVE America Act, it's about saving America," he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump said the bill had yet to reach his desk and that he would decide what to do with it once it arrives. The House reportedly sent the legislation to the president's desk Monday afternoon. The legislation can also become law if Trump does not act on it for 10 days.
"It's a yawn," Trump said. "Some people say it's wonderful. To me, compared to the SAVE America Act, just about everything is a big yawn."
Fiscal News Roundup
- GOP Infighting Threatens Critical Defense Bill – Politico
- Johnson: Blocking House Agenda Over SAVE America Act Is 'Self-Defeating' – The Hill
- Johnson Sends Landmark Housing Bill to Trump for Signature – Politico
- Trump Calls Housing Bill 'a Yawn,' Concedes SAVE America Act Unlikely to Pass – The Hill
- Trump Has Housing Bill in Limbo as Congress Sends It for Signing – Bloomberg
- Supreme Court Says Fed's Cook Can Keep Her Job for Now, but It Upholds Other Trump Firings – Associated Press
- Supreme Court Rules States Can Count Late-Arriving Mailed Ballots, Rejecting Trump-Led Challenge – Associated Press
- Supreme Court Lets $5 Million Sex Abuse Verdict Against Trump Stand – New York Times
- Hegseth Announces New Defense Policy Board After Clearing Out Previous Panel – The Hill
- American Pride Falls to 25-Year Record Low – Gallup
- PBM Lobby Goes on the Offensive – The Hill
Views and Analysis
- Supreme Court Victory for Fed Still Leaves it Vulnerable to Trump – Colby Smith and Tony Romm, New York Times
- 5 Takeaways on Divided Day for Trump at Supreme Court – Zach Schonfeld, Sophie Brams and Ryan Mancini, The Hill
- The Biggest Winner in Lisa Cook Case? Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh – Nick Timiraos, Wall Street Journal
- The Supreme Court Preserves Fed Independence - for Now – Noah Feldman, Bloomberg
- The Court's Hypocrisy – New York Times Editorial Board
- Supreme Court Mail Ballot Ruling Deals New Blow to Trump's Election Plans – Emily Davies and Nick Corasaniti, New York Times
- Fixing Social Security Is Urgent - and Difficult – Bloomberg Editorial Board
- How Warsh Has Begun to Change the Fed – Colby Smith, New York Times
- A Trade Deal Trump Should Reaffirm – Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal
- We Crunched the Data: There's a Grocery Price Emergency in America – Lael Brainard and Rohit Chopra, New York Times