The News Not Noise Letter: Should He Stay or Should He Go?
A dilemma for the president and the Democratic Party. Plus: Supreme Court bombshells are overshadowed by the post-debate freak-out.
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On days like this, I’m very glad I work at News Not Noise instead of a network newsroom. That’s because I don’t have to immediately declare a “take” seconds after a presidential debate ends. A lot has happened in the almost 24 hours since then. Here, we’ll get into the fallout from Thursday’s debate and what could play out before Democrats meet in August. But first, a look at the major decisions the Supreme Court handed down today.
Here are today’s major Supreme Court rulings:
Goodbye, Chevron: The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 today to overturn the “Chevron doctrine,” a 40-year legal precedent that gives federal agencies the power to interpret and enforce regulations.
What was Chevron? Under Chevron, federal agencies (like the EPA or HHS) were able to determine how to enforce a regulation whenever there was ambiguity (e.g., how to enforce a specific section of the Clean Water Act). This helped agencies operate efficiently and meant Congress could craft legislation relatively broadly, rather than detailing every possible enforcement scenario. Without Chevron, corporations can now more easily sue agencies when they don’t like a regulation. This will make enforcement inefficient, and could hamstring federal agencies and the services they provide.
What’s the argument for overturning it? Those who cheer this ruling, argue that agencies have too much power and this decision puts the onus back on Congress and the courts to determine how laws are applied.
What happens now? This will dramatically weaken the government’s ability to enforce laws regulating the environment, healthcare, workplace protections, energy, immigration, the economy, and basically everything else.
Jan. 6 Charges: The Court ruled a Jan. 6 rioter can’t be charged with obstruction of an official proceeding. Practically, this means this defendant will face a much lighter sentence if convicted for his other Jan. 6 charges – as might hundreds of other Jan. 6th rioters charged under this law.
What About Trump? CNN reports Trump’s legal team will try to use this ruling to get the federal obstruction charges against Trump dismissed. And Trump called the ruling a “BIG WIN!” on Truth Social today. But the special counsel has already argued that he has evidence against Trump that complies with the Court’s new, narrow reading of the obstruction law in question. The Court will rule Monday on whether Trump is immune from federal prosecution.
Homelessness: The Court ruled 6-3 on ideological lines that cities may ban sleeping in public – even when there are no beds available at homeless shelters. This will dramatically impact how local governments police homelessness, with many critics saying the laws essentially criminalize homelessness. Justice Sotomayor read her dissent from the bench, calling the decision “unconscionable and unconstitutional.”
Bye-Bye, Bannon: In the least-surprising ruling of the day, the Court ruled Steve Bannon is indeed subject to the law like anyone else. Bannon asked the Court to delay his prison sentence while he appeals his conviction for contempt of Congress. They said no. He must report to prison on Monday.
There’s also a lot going on in the rest of the world today, but we don’t have room for it all today. Worth noting that Iran held an election to replace recently-deceased President Raisi today, and the first wave of France’s elections takes place Sunday.
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The Debate
If you have somehow been spared the clips and instant analysis of the last night’s debate, the fallout from Biden’s “widely panned,” “stumbling,” and “halting” performance is the stuff of campaign nightmares. Trump is championing a victory and declaring the campaign “JOE-ver.” But Biden’s real problem is Democrats. They are, depending on who you read, “bedwetting,” in a “state of shock,” or in full blown “freak-out.” Already some Serious Democrats and many unserious partisans on X are suggesting Biden will – or should – drop out. CNN ran a banner that read “Democratic Source: “We are F***ed.” And in an editorial the NY Times called an exit “the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform.”
In all this excitement to clear a path for an imagined ticket of magical Trump Slayers, the political elites aren’t explaining how difficult – and ugly – it would be to replace a major party ticket four months before the election. So I’ll assume the duty.