… Several legal analysts, including attorneys handling the case, are downplaying the Supreme Court ruling late yesterday on mail-in ballots. But things are still very much up in the air on how this case will play out, with some concerned whether Trump will seek to exploit this narrow ruling by reading into it things that aren’t there.
… WaPo: “A divided Supreme Court eased the path for an executive order by Trump that would impose sweeping new restrictions on mail-in balloting for the midterm elections, but the complex and fast-moving legal fight is not over. The executive order would bar the USPS from sending mail-in ballots to voters not on lists of citizens created by fed agencies. States also would be obligated to send the ballots in envelopes that can be tracked to thwart fraud.”
… “The case now returns to the lower courts, and a key part of the executive order remains blocked because of a ruling in separate litigation that must also be resolved for the order to go into effect before November. The legal fights have been closely watched by election officials who have expressed concerns about a quick timeline to comply with the order.”
… “The high court’s decision was not on the merits of the executive order but on a narrower legal question: whether 23 states and DC had been harmed by the executive order and their challenge to the order met the legal bar. In the unsigned opinion, conservatives on the court affirmed the admin’s arguments that it was too soon to take legal action because agencies had yet to finalize the rules for implementing the order at the time the Trump appeal was filed. USPS published its rule late Friday and said it plans to make it official Wed.”
… Richard Hasen, a UCLA law professor and director of the school’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, in an online post called the ruling “narrow and technical” and said the issue could come back before the Supreme Court soon. He said it was “weird” that the court didn’t address the Postal Service issuing a new rule.
… The ruling postpones a final decision by a week or more, Hasen said, “when we will be even closer to the election and it will be impossible for states to comply with some of the rules that will come out.”
… Attorney Norm Eisen: “Please don’t overreact to Roberts Court decision on the contemplated USPS ballot moves. They simply held that the injunction came too early, before a final rule. Now we HAVE a final rule and we will litigate it. I’m as confident in our arguments here as in any of our cases!”
… VoteBeat, a nonprofit voting rights org: “The Supreme Court lifted one of two injunctions against Trump’s executive order restricting mail voting, but additional legal hurdles and practical considerations could make it difficult to implement it in time for the quickly approaching November elections.”
… “The unsigned ruling, which cut along ideological lines, focused on a relatively narrow legal question: whether the lower court’s injunction was premature. The majority made it clear that it was not deciding on the legality of Trump’s order as a whole, which is certain to be quickly challenged again in court as the admin moves to put its provisions in place.”
… Majority opinion: “The court’s disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the govt to implement the order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell.”
… While the admin’s request was still pending before the Supreme Court, the USPS issued its final rules for implementing the order, which it said it would not put into effect for this Nov’s election unless and until the Supreme Court cleared the way. The Court’s ruling addressed neither the second injunction nor the fact that USPS had issued final rules, leaving observers to wonder about how those developments might affect what happens next.”
… Hasen: “I expect that the trial court will now amend the injunction and issue a new injunction that will stop USPS from implementing its now final rule. And that too may end up at the Supreme Court within a week.”
… VoteBeat’s executive director Jessica Huseman: “I would urge the national outlets that published headlines suggesting that this recent SCOTUS decision ‘cleared the way’ for Trump’s executive order to rethink the accuracy of that headline and change it.”
… CBS legal analyst Jan Crawford: “As the decision and Justice Sotomayor’s dissent make crystal clear, the headline is that the Court is postponing a decision on the merits, ruling the states’ lawsuit was premature. That’s exactly what a 3-0 DC Circuit panel decided earlier.”
… Former GA Dep Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling: “Some, unfortunately are misreporting what SCOTUS did. They essentially said that states do not have standing to stop an executive from directing an executive agency from doing something. However, they can sue to stop a final rule that impacts them. The rules in question were finalized Friday. They can, and likely will today, sue to enjoin them and would likely succeed.”
… CNN legal analyst Elie Honig: “This goes back to an executive order that the president issued in March that really does two major things. First, it tells DHS you have to put together these state citizenship lists. It doesn‘t specify how, but it basically says you put together for each state a list of everyone who‘s 18 or over and a US citizen, then send those lists over to the states and prioritize prosecution of any state official who sends a ballot to someone who‘s ineligible.”
… “The second thing the order does is tell the postal service you are not to deliver any mail in ballots to or from anyone who is not on those state lists.”
… Reuters: “US public approval of the war with Iran fell to its lowest level since the conflict’s early days, helping to hold Trump’s popularity at a record low, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. The 4-day poll showed just 31% of Americans support US military action against Iran, down from 37% in a March Reuters/Ipsos poll and 34% earlier this month.”
… “The decline was driven by fewer self-identified Republicans backing the conflict. Some 69% of Republican respondents support the war, compared with 77% in March. The war has been dragging on Trump’s public standing this year, and for the second survey in a row just 33% of respondents said they approved of the Republican’s performance in the WH, the lowest level in Reuters/Ipsos polls in Trump’s first or second term.”
… “Independent voters in the poll favored Democrats over Republicans - 33% to 19% - when asked who they would vote for in congressional elections if the election were held today.”
… CNN’s senior political reporter Aaron Blake: “The poll shows just 13% of Americans ‘strongly approve’ of Trump. That's the lowest I've seen in a quality poll. It's just 35% of Republicans, too.”
… The cult is shrinking daily.
… Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) on Newsmax: Q - “A new poll shows approval for the war with Iran has fallen to its lowest level at just 31%. Are you concerned about this hurting Republicans in the midterms? Perry: This isn’t the president’s fault. It’s not America’s fault. This is Iran’s fault.”
… Apparently Trump is not responsible for the war he started. The poll didn’t ask Americans whether they approve of the Iranian govt. It asked whether Trump should have done this.
… Irish Star: “Donald Trump asked Melania ‘was it enough?’ during what looked like a tense chat, according to a lip reader. The president was joined by his wife at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix event in DC on Sunday. As the pair watched the race, Melania was seen leaning into her husband and whispering in his ear. Their tense chat was caught on camera, with lip reader Nicola Hickling taking a look at what they said.”
… “After whispering in Trump’s ear, Melania leaned back and appeared to say, ‘That is private and valuable text.’ According to Nicola, the president replied, ‘Was it enough?’ Also at the Grand Prix event was the president’s executive assistant, Natalie Harp. Nicola said Melania admitted, ‘I don’t know,’ to which the president is said to have demanded, ‘Then I need to see it.’”
… “At that point, the first lady appeared to say, ‘Donald, listen, I’m gonna go.’ According to Nicola, Trump also told his wife, ‘Listen she asked you not to close the door.’ Melania asked why, with her husband supposedly replying, ‘Its bad news, but its a bad timing Melania.’ ‘That’s crazy,’ Melania replied, before whispering in her husband’s ear. President Trump appeared to reply, ‘I’ve had enough of her.’”
… “Melania once again leaned in and whispered in Trump’s ear. When she pulled away, Nicola suggested she said, ‘Obviously I’ll see and talk to her in the morning.’ The seemingly tense exchange between Melania and Donald comes after the first lady was missing from the spotlight for a month. Melania made her return to the WH on Thursday, after spending 31 days away from the public eye.”
… Politico: “Trump is facing one of his biggest tests of the midterms - and it’s of his own making. The president has spent a significant amount of time and money trying to help Sen. Darline Graham defeat Rep. Ralph Norman in Tues’s snap GOP Senate primary. He’s done more for Graham than he has for the battleground Republicans whose general election fights will determine control of Congress.”
… “Not only did he push her to run for a full term, he also held a rare in-person rally for her and tapped into his MAGA Inc. warchest during the final days of the race. If, after lending all that support, Graham fails, it would be Trump’s most embarrassing loss of the cycle. A win, however, would let him flex his ability to power an unknown political figure to office.”
… Republican strategist and former Trump appointee Matthew Bartlett: “If Darline does come up short, it would be just a massive, massive embarrassment to the WH and to the president. Just an utter rejection.”
… “On Monday, a FEC report revealed that Trump’s super PAC had spent $827,000 on text messages and phone calls for Graham. It’s one of the largest expenditures this cycle from MAGA Inc., and cash that Republicans in battlegrounds are anxiously awaiting for themselves.”
… Former SC Gov. Nikki Haley is supporting Graham’s opponent Ralph Norman: “All of DC has come against Ralph—that’s exactly why we need him. He’s one of the few willing to confront our debt and deficits, demand transparency, and stand up to a govt that has taken too much power from the people. This job requires experience, and electing Ralph won’t just be good for SC—it will be good for the health of our country.”
… The Trump Admin is against DEI but supports Darlene Graham to be a US Senator despite the fact that her only qualification is that she was born the sister of Lindsey.
… WaPo: “For nearly 16 years, Wendy Johnson has tried to build an IA farm that could survive the kinds of economic shocks that drove farmers out of business when she was growing up in the 1980s. She diversified her operations, growing corn, small grains and soybeans while also raising sheep, cattle, pigs and chickens. She opted to sell directly to consumers and transitioned a portion of her 1,200 acres to organic production. She avoided debt and even planted trees to protect her soil and livestock.”
… “But the latest crisis has defied her careful planning: Trump’s tariffs and his war with Iran have driven up the cost of fertilizer, fuel and machinery just as weak crop prices have made it harder to cover those rising expenses.”
… Johnson is a 4th-generation farmer, who estimates her profits are down by as much as 50%: “I am afraid that we’re looking into the barrel of another farm crisis. And we all know historically what that did to our rural communities.”
… “Johnson is among American farmers who say they are desperate for relief from Washington as Trump admin policies raise costs and slash profits. Just last week, Trump slapped 50% tariffs on Canada, a critical source of fertilizer and farm equipment. And he wrote in a post that he would pause tariffs on some imported ground beef in an effort to lower grocery prices, infuriating US cattle ranchers who say the move would undermine domestic herders.”
… “A divided Congress is far from agreement on a federal farm bill. To tide over rural America, Republican leaders are trying to pass $12 billion in emergency aid. But their plan would pair that money with billions of dollars for the war with Iran, the very conflict that has helped drive up fuel costs and added to the squeeze on farmers in the first place.”
… Ag. Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke to press outside the WH: Q - “Which specific countries have been in talks with the US about stepping up beef imports? Rollins: I am not privy to talk about that.”
… The peasants aren’t allowed to know where their foreign meat is from.
… Sen. John Barrasso (D-WY): “Americans want US beef on the table – not foreign imports. WY ranchers produce the highest quality beef in the world. Our ranchers don’t ask for special treatment. They simply want a fair marketplace. It needs to be easier – not harder – for WY ranchers to feed America. I will continue to fight for policies that strengthen WY beef producers and invest in the American cattle herd.”
… Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) posted: “I sure hope the Trump admin won’t give small refinery exemptions at a near record level. It would only help petroleum refiners making record profits. We should help families at the pump instead. Mr. President this is an issue of helping farmers over BIG OIL.”
… Seems like every day now Chuck is posting about a new and different way Trump is hurting farmers. Will they ever wake up? Will they ever get it? Or are the repeated govt bailouts enough to keep them voting Republican?
… Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA): “Refiners rake in record profits, yet demand special exemptions on the backs of struggling farmers. Enough. EPA: Hold the line. Reject more oil handouts!”
… Good luck with that. Big Oil has Trump bought and paid for. But the farmers just can’t stop voting for Trump and his sycophants!
… ABC: “Two people have died in PA from measles, the state health dept said Tues. Both individuals from Lancaster County were unvaccinated. These were the first deaths related to measles within the state in 35 years, according to the PA Dept of Health, and the first deaths reported this year in the US.
… Dr. Debra Bogen, PA’s secretary of health: “My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones who are facing this unimaginable loss. Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than 3 decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness.”
… “In late July, the number of confirmed measles cases in the US surpassed the total reported for all last year. Last year’s total of 2,289 was previously the highest number of recorded measles cases in more than 30 years, CDC data shows. However, the 2,777 total now marks the highest number of cases recorded since 1991.”
… And it’s only August.
… Brett Meiselas with Meidas News: “PA Gov. Josh Shapiro revealed that he personally confronted RFK Jr. over vaccine misinformation after two unvaccinated PA residents died from measles. Kennedy called the governor Tues morning and offered to send federal personnel to PA to help respond to the state’s growing measles outbreak. Shapiro told him PA could handle it without them.”
… Shapiro: “I was very, very blunt with him, and I made very clear that his actions and the rhetoric that’s coming from this admin are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in PA. There’s real life consequences to spreading misinformation.”
… Shapiro said he told Kennedy that public officials have a responsibility to give parents reliable medical info rather than frightening them with unsupported claims: “There’s real life consequences to scaring people and not relying on actual doctors and actual medical professionals to provide unbiased information to parents so that we can make reasonable decisions for our kids.
… People are trying to do the best for their kids. They’re trying to protect their kids. And the best way those professionals can do their jobs is to provide unbiased, factual information so that parents can make responsible decisions for their children.”
… ProPublica: “Shortly after taking office last year, Pete Hegseth polled the nation’s top commanders about cutting a program designed to protect civilians during US military operations. Hegseth had bet senior officers would endorse his view that focusing on civilian security was ‘woke’ and out of step with ‘maximum lethality’.”
… “Instead, every commander rebuffed the idea. The poll from early 2025, which has not been previously reported, cemented top-level military support for Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response, a relatively new program adopted after years of heavy civilian tolls in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
… As part of its mission, CHMR stationed personnel within major regional commands. Officials tried to develop a picture of life on the ground in combat zones to aid decision-making on military strikes and avoid or minimize civilian harm.”
… “In the poll, Hegseth gave commanders 3 options: cut 65% of staff but keep the effort operational, continue with only a small centralized office in DC, or eliminate the program. 9 commanders chose the first option to preserve the enterprise as much as possible. Leaders of two commands, one overseeing the nuclear arsenal and the other focused on cyber threats, declined all 3 options, asking to maintain the full program.”
… “But Hegseth gutted the effort, leaving only a handful of people to carry out the mission. It was stripped of almost all of its funding, even as the US launched new campaigns in Somalia, Yemen and Iran. One official summed up the Hegseth approach as: ‘Bombs away!’”
… “Hegseth’s early exchanges with the generals made clear that the civilian harm program had no future in his reimagined Dept of War. ‘No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement,’ Hegseth would later tell a gathering of hundreds of generals and admirals. But now, after US missile strikes have killed hundreds of civilians in Iran and Yemen, episodes that drew global criticism and questions from Congress, the program could soon be partially revived.”
… “The about-face would mark a rare reversal in a dept that hasn’t tolerated dissent under Hegseth and Trump. Last year’s military memos detail a delicate pushback that may preserve at least the framework of the civilian security campaign.”
… The Republican “midterm convention” is Sept 9 & 10, which is also opening week of the NFL season. Vance is speaking the 9th at the same time as the Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl rematch. Trump speaks on the 10th up against the 49ers-Rams game.
… Doug Landry, whose firm stages large events: “I do not envy the staffers who will have to tell Trump that they’re not able to fill the arena or have anyone watching at home because they scheduled BOTH NIGHTS of the midterm convention directly against the opening games of the NFL season.”
… Puck: “The Republican midterm convention is a ‘shit show.’ The NRCC is charging members $25k-$100k to attend. There’s no itinerary and invites went out late. Some say it’s just another grift for a Trump production. Many campaign strategists fuming about how this Trump endeavor helps incumbents. Few lawmakers are going due to last minute invites, logistical hurdles and a whopping $25k minimum attendance fee for House members.”
Reminder there is no Bulletin tomorrow because I do my podcast Uncovered, where we do a deep dive into the top stories of the week. These last 3 Bulletins have been pretty long and sprawling, so it will be good to get a one-day break from researching and writing all day.
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Link to yesterday’s Ask the Editor show is here. Thank you to everyone who subscribes to support my work.
… Mediaite: Rudy Giuliani announced he is suing Tucker Carlson, claiming in a rant that Carlson defamed him during a recent interview with Hunter Biden. Giuliani revealed his lawsuit plans during a Newsmax appearance. He claimed both men defamed him when they talked about how exactly contents from an allegedly
