What They Want You to Miss This Week
Four SCOTUS rulings. An Epstein deadline. Hungry kids. House Republicans too corrupt to govern. Here’s what they don’t want you to see.
They’re counting on your exhaustion. Don’t give it to them. Subscribe free or paid — and stay in the fight.
Take a breath. Before we get to everything they hope you miss, let’s start with what happened this morning at the Supreme Court. Four rulings came down today. Two strengthen democracy. Two do not.
The Court Ruled. Here’s the Scorecard.
This morning, the Supreme Court handed down four decisions in the final sprint of its term. Two land in the win column for democracy. Two do not.
First, the wins.
In Watson v. Republican National Committee, the Court ruled 5-4 that mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day can still be counted if they arrive a few days later. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion. Chief Justice Roberts and the three liberal justices joined her. Republicans have spent years trying to discard these ballots. Today, the Court said no.
In Chatrie v. United States, the Court ruled 6-3 that police need a warrant before accessing your smartphone location data, even from a third-party tech company. Justice Kagan wrote the majority. It is the Court’s first major digital privacy ruling since 2018. Your location history is now constitutionally protected. That matters for every activist, journalist, and organizer in this country.
Now, the not-so-good.
In Trump v. Cook, the Court blocked Trump from firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while her case moves through the lower courts. It is a narrow 5-4 win for the Fed’s independence. Roberts and Kavanaugh held. But the Court also made clear the issue is far from settled.
In Trump v. Slaughter, the Court ruled 6-3 that Trump can fire members of the Federal Trade Commission at will, overturning a 91-year-old precedent. Justice Sotomayor called the decision “grievously wrong.” The FTC, which polices big tech, pharmaceutical companies, and corporate monopolies, now has three Republican commissioners and no Democrats. The agency now answers to Trump, not the independent structure Congress created.
The birthright citizenship ruling in Trump v. Barbara could arrive tomorrow, the final day of the Court’s term. Civil rights advocates are gathered outside the building right now. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called Trump’s executive order “blatantly unconstitutional” and warned it would “place countless families at risk of exclusion in the only home they have ever known.” A loss for Trump is expected. But expected is not certain. Watch tomorrow morning.
The House Returns. Don’t Hold Your Breath.
The U.S. House returns to Washington today, and the Rules Committee meets at 4:00 PM ET to take up H.R. 8800, the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act, the must-pass defense policy bill.
Here is the context you need: a band of Republican hard-liners has blocked procedural floor votes, holding the entire chamber hostage over the stalled SAVE America Act. Even Trump called them out last week, posting they should “stop voting down ‘Rules’” and demanding, “No more grandstanding, please!” When Trump tells his own team to behave, you know the dysfunction has reached another level. Don’t expect a floor vote this week.
The Amendments Worth Watching
Buried inside today’s committee meeting are two amendments that reveal exactly whose values belong in our military.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) is offering an amendment to codify religious neutrality throughout the Defense Department. Commanders could not require subordinates to attend religious activities or tie promotions to religious affiliation. This is not abstract. The Trump administration has spent eighteen months elevating Christian nationalism inside federal agencies.
Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI) wants the Pentagon to formally study how the war in Iran and Trump’s tariffs have driven up the price of food and fertilizer. Americans feel those costs every time they buy groceries. Amo is building a paper trail. Evidence matters, especially with the midterms approaching.
The Epstein Deadline Is Thursday. Watch Closely.
By Thursday, July 2, the Department of Justice must either release unredacted Epstein files or explain in court why it will not. Judge Emmet Sullivan’s order, secured through journalist Katie Phang’s lawsuit, requires the DOJ to disclose co-conspirator names, foreign-language documents, and a full accounting of every redaction it has made.
This matters because Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche already missed a 1:00 PM court deadline last week, prompting Judge Sullivan to call him out by name. The DOJ was legally required to release these files by December 2025 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. It missed that deadline. Now it has until Thursday. Watch what officials do, and what they try to hide.
Hungry Kids Don’t Have a Lobby. These Two Members Do.
Here is a genuinely hopeful story hiding in plain sight. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) and Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) introduced the bipartisan Local Foods for Healthy Schools Act this week. The bill would permanently restore a USDA program Trump ended in 2025, funding schools to buy fresh, locally grown food for cafeterias.
Michigan alone would have received nearly $18 million under the program. The bill has support from the School Nutrition Association, the National Education Association, and the Michigan Farm Bureau. Kids get healthier meals. Local farmers gain reliable markets. Schools stretch their budgets. This is exactly the kind of legislation that could pass with broad bipartisan support, if it ever receives a vote. Your job is to help make sure it does.
Your Action List This Week
Watch the July 2 Epstein deadline. If the DOJ defies the court order again, call the DOJ comment line at 202-353-1555 and demand accountability from your elected officials.
Call your representative and ask them to cosponsor the Local Foods for Healthy Schools Act. Find your representative here.
Follow tomorrow’s birthright citizenship ruling. Check the NAACP’s website for real-time response and action steps as soon as the ruling drops.
Share this piece. The entire point of this week’s noise is to bury these stories. Don’t let it.
The Court gave us two wins this morning. Hold on to them. Build on them. Stay in the fight.
If you read this far, you already know more than they want you to.
Pass it on. Every person you send this to is one more person they can’t keep in the dark.
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