Politics

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to limit the powers of the nation’s top environmental regulator to curb carbon emissions will force the Biden administration to take more creative measures to reach its ambitious goals to combat climate change.

The conservative court’s 6-3 ruling restricted the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal- and gas-fired power plants under the Clean Air Act anti-pollution law.

That is bad news for U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, who came into office with the aim of slashing power sector emissions to net zero by 2035, using the EPA as his key tool in doing so. The EPA has been working on a proposal to advance the decarbonization goal.

Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project and former EPA enforcement chief, said the Supreme Court decision will force “EPA back to drawing board.”

Without broad authority to carry out a nationwide shift from coal generation to cleaner sources like wind and solar, the EPA may focus on individual plants, setting new efficiency rates that could force the dirtiest plants to shutter.

The agency may also consider regulating greenhouse gases indirectly as a co-benefit of other air pollutant or water rules – a step that could face stiff legal challenges.

Targeting power plants with new tough standards for other pollutants or waste, for example, could require expensive retrofits that hasten the closure of old, inefficient coal plants.

Karen Sokol, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, agreed: “The agency is going to have to work around and dance around hitting carbon head-on, which is really the only meaningful way to respond to the climate crisis.”

Biden said in a statement that his administration was reviewing the Supreme Court ruling and studying its options.

“While this decision risks damaging our nation’s ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis,” he said.

There are currently no regulations in force to reduce carbon emissions from power plants, source of about a quarter of the nation’s greenhouse gases. The Obama-era Clean Power Plan was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2016 and a narrower replacement crafted by Republican former President Donald Trump’s administration was blocked by a federal appeals court in 2021.

The high court decision did not affect EPA’s ability to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles or methane from the oil and gas sector – a current focus of the agency.

LIFELINE FOR COAL?

With more constrained executive authority, the Biden administration’s options to tackle power industry emissions also include pursuing legislation in Congress – but that has proven a tough proposition given its partisan divisions.

The court decision affirms that “EPA and other agencies need explicit authorization to proceed in addressing major questions that have profound effects on the economy,” said Jeff Holmstead, a former EPA official and partner at Bracewell.

Even so, carbon emissions from the power sector have dropped in recent years, as coal-fired power plants have been retired and replaced by cleaner-burning natural gas plants, and renewable sources like wind and solar.

That shift has been driven in part by a period of low gas prices, alongside declining costs and state and federal subsidies for renewable energy sources.

Surging prices for natural gas this year, however, have raised some concerns that utilities will switch to burning more coal, or extend the lives of coal plants, to save money. The prospect of light future EPA regulation could also boost coal.

“This is a lifeline to extending the use of coal,” wrote Harvard environmental and administrative law professor Jody Freeman. “The shift to clean energy may happen more slowly as a result of the Court protecting the industry via this ruling.”

The United States, behind only China in greenhouse gas emissions, is a pivotal player in global efforts to combat climate change. But without a clear plan to tackle emissions from the power sector, the Biden administration could face a credibility crisis on the global stage as it seeks to rally international ambition to fight global warming.

Biden’s climate credentials have already been hit in recent months as his administration seeks to expand exports of liquefied natural gas to help Europe cut its dependence on Russian supply, and calls on the oil industry to pump up production to ease soaring consumer energy costs.

“U.S failure to deliver on its emissions reductions target will only worsen the pressures caused by the softening stance on fossil fuels,” said Yamide Dagnet, director of climate justice at Open Society Foundations, and former climate negotiator for the UK and EU.

The EPA said in a statement that it was reviewing the Supreme Court decision.

(Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Marguerita Choy)

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SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — Stunning new revelations about former President Donald Trump’s fight to overturn the 2020 election have exposed growing political vulnerabilities just as he eyes another presidential bid.

A former White House aide this week described Trump as an unhinged leader with no regard for the safety of elected officials in either party as he clung to power on Jan. 6, 2021. The testimony from the congressional panel investigating the Capitol attack provided a roadmap for prosecutors to potentially charge Trump with a crime, some legal experts say.

Republican voters — and Trump’s would-be rivals in the 2024 presidential race — took notice.

Here in Iowa, the state expected to host the first presidential nominating contest in roughly 18 months, several voters signaled Thursday that they were open to another presidential candidate even if Trump were to run again. At the same time, some conservative media outlets issued scathing rebukes of the former president. Aides for multiple GOP presidential prospects also indicated, publicly and privately, that they felt increasingly emboldened to challenge Trump in 2024 following the explosive new testimony.

Nikki Haley, Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, drew roughly 350 conservative activists to a congressional fundraising barbecue on Thursday in Sioux County, where Trump won 82% of the vote in 2020. There was ample evidence of Trump fatigue. Interviews with a dozen attendees revealed strong interest in a 2024 alternative, even if Trump is on the ballot.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find people in this area who support the idea that people aren’t looking for someone else,” said Dave Van Wyk, a transportation company owner. “To presume that conservative America is 100% behind Donald Trump is simply not the case.”

For some Republican voters, that was the feeling even before this week’s stunning new testimony.

Former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson on Tuesday offered previously unknown details about the extent of Trump’s rage in his final weeks of office, his awareness that some supporters had brought weapons to the city on Jan. 6 and his ambivalence as rioters later laid siege to the Capitol.

Upset at the size of the crowd at his “Stop the Steal” rally — many supporters avoided entering because they were armed and didn’t want to go through metal detectors — Trump said words to the effect of, “I don’t care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me,” according to Hutchinson. She recalled hearing about a separate incident after the rally in which Trump tried to grab at the steering wheel of the presidential vehicle to go to the Capitol to join his supporters.

That detail has caused some pushback. The agent who was driving the vehicle and another official were reportedly prepared to testify under oath that Trump never lunged for the wheel.

But the renewed concern was evident,

The conservative Washington Examiner’s editorial board said Hutchinson’s testimony “ought to ring the death knell” for Trump’s political career. “Trump is unfit to be anywhere near power ever again.”

The often Trump-friendly New York Post blasted the headline: “Tyrant Trump.” And the conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal wrote, “Just when it seems as if Donald Trump’s behavior after his 2020 loss couldn’t possibly look worse, a new piece of wild testimony arrives.”

To be sure, conservatives have shared serious concerns about Trump repeatedly in recent years. And in every case, the former president has emerged largely unscathed, sometimes stronger. He has been caught on video bragging about sexual assault; he instigated a violent attack on the Capitol; and he has been twice impeached.

Yet Trump is sitting on campaign funds that exceed $101 million and remains deeply popular with many Republican voters. Lest there be any question, Republican candidates from Arizona to Pennsylvania to Georgia have been battling one another this midterm season for his support.

“The American people remain hungry for his leadership,” Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich said, citing Trump’s strong endorsement record and fundraising success. “And as another witch hunt is blowing up in the faces of Democrats, President Trump is in a stronger position now than at anytime before.”

But even before this week’s revelations, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 48% of U.S. adults say Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Views on Trump’s criminal liability break down predictably along party lines, with 86% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans saying Trump should be charged. Still, the fact that nearly half the country believes he should be prosecuted is a remarkable position for the former president, pointing to the difficulties he could face if he makes another run at the White House.

Meanwhile, Trump’s fundraising has fallen off dramatically over the last two months. He reported raising just over $19,000 in May and June combined after taking in nearly $9 million in March and April.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, eyeing a presidential bid in 2024, says he was hearing concerns about Trump from donors and voters alike before this week’s testimony, which adds to the “cumulative weight” of the former president’s political shortcomings.

“People are concerned that we could lose the election in ’24 and want to make sure that we don’t nominate someone who would be seriously flawed,” Christie said.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is also considering a 2024 run, said he considers Trump beatable in a GOP primary even if Republican voters aren’t paying close attention to the congressional hearings, as he suspects.

“His approval among Republican primary voters has already been somewhat diminished,” Hogan said in an interview. “Trump was the least popular president in American history until Joe Biden.”

Aides for other Republican presidential prospects said privately this week that Trump may still be the overwhelming favorite to win the next GOP presidential nomination, but they believe his standing with Republican voters has been in steady decline. There was a broad sense — or at least a hope — that Hutchinson’s testimony would accelerate that decline among voters and donors in a way that would open opportunities for others.

Marc Short, a senior adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, another likely 2024 presidential contender, was blunt when asked about Trump’s political strength.

“Republican activists believed Donald Trump was the only candidate who could beat Hillary,” Short said. “Now, the dynamic is reversed. He is the only one who has lost to Joe Biden.”

Indeed, Trump’s would-be Republican competitors are leaning in.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who serves on the Jan. 6 commission and has not ruled out a 2024 presidential bid, cast Trump as a direct threat to American democracy in a Wednesday night speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

“Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution. We must choose,” she said.

Haley, who has said she would not seek the 2024 GOP nomination if Trump ran, declined to say Thursday whether the testimony has given her reason to rethink that plan. Instead, she sounded an upbeat note.

“If it looks like there’s a place for me next year, I’ve never lost a race, I’m not going to start now,” Haley told reporters. “I’ll put 1,000% in and I’ll finish it. And if there’s not a place for me, I will fight for this country until my last breath.”

Farmer Bob de Koning said he remains devoted to Trump. He plans to support him in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses no matter who runs.

But his wife, Kathy de Koning, said, “We can do better.”

“I just don’t know if he’s electable anymore,” she said.

___

Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.

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By Lawrence Hurley and Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday imposed limits on the federal government’s authority to issue sweeping regulations to reduce carbon emissions from power plants in a ruling that undermines President Joe Biden’s plans to tackle climate change and could constrain various agencies on other issues.

The court’s 6-3 ruling constrained the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal- and gas-fired power plants under the landmark Clean Air Act anti-pollution law. Biden’s administration is currently working on new regulations.

The court’s six conservatives were in the majority in the decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, with the three liberals dissenting.

Biden called the ruling “another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards.”

“While this decision risks damaging our nation’s ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis,” Biden said in a statement https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/30/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-supreme-court-ruling-on-west-virginia-v-epa.

The Democratic president said he directed his legal team to work with the Justice Department and affected agencies to review the ruling and find ways under federal law to protect against pollution including emissions that cause climate change.

The ruling is likely to have implications beyond the EPA as it raises new legal questions about any big decisions made by federal agencies. The court’s conservative majority has signaled skepticism toward expansive federal regulatory authority. Conservative legal activists have long advocated reducing agency power in what has been called a “war on the administrative state.”

The justices overturned a 2021 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that had struck down Republican former President Donald Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy rule. That regulation, which Biden’s administration does not plan to retain, would impose limits on a Clean Air Act provision called Section 111 that provides the EPA authority to regulate emissions from existing power plants.

Trump’s rule was meant to supplant Democratic former President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan mandating major reductions in carbon emissions from the power industry. The Supreme Court in 2016 blocked implementation of Obama’s plan, which used Section 111 to spur an electric-generation shift from coal to cleaner energy sources, without ruling on its lawfulness.

Amanda Shafer Berman of law firm Crowell & Moring, a senior environmental attorney in Obama’s Justice Department, said the ruling was “about the best that EPA could have hoped for given the current composition of the court.” Berman said the EPA can now proceed to issue a new rule that regulates power plant carbon dioxide emissions “albeit in a more limited way than envisioned” under Obama’s plan.

Thursday’s ruling was based on what is called the “major questions” legal doctrine that requires explicit congressional authorization for action on issues of broad importance and societal impact. The justices in January appeared to embrace that theory when it blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test policy for larger businesses, a key element of its plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court’s invocation of this doctrine sends a signal that the justices will be a major obstacle to federal agencies seeking to implement broad policies of national importance.

The decision will constrain the EPA’s ability to issue any regulations on power plants that push for an ambitious a national shift in energy policy toward renewable sources. As such, it will hamstring the administration’s ability to curb the power sector’s emissions, about a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gases.

‘FEDERAL OVERREACH’

A group of Republican-led U.S. states led by major coal producer West Virginia asked the justices to limit the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. Other challengers included coal companies and coal-friendly industry groups. Coal is among the most greenhouse gas-intensive fuels.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey called the ruling a “huge victory against federal overreach and the excesses of the administrative state.”

Roberts wrote that while capping carbon emissions at a level that would force a nationwide energy transition might be sensible “it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme.”

Writing in dissent, liberal Justice Elena Kagan noted that the court chose to hobble Biden’s climate agenda before his administration even issued its rule.

“The limits the (court’s) majority now puts on EPA’s authority fly in the face of the statute Congress wrote,” Kagan said, adding that the court “deprives EPA of the power needed – and the power granted – to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.”

Kagan said the court has a clear goal: “Prevent agencies from doing important work, even though that is what Congress directed.”

Democratic-led states and major power companies including Consolidated Edison Inc, Exelon Corp and PG&E Corp sided with Biden’s administration, as did the Edison Electric Institute, an investor-owned utility trade group.

Biden’s administration wants the U.S. power sector decarbonized by 2035. The United States, behind only China in greenhouse gas emissions, is a pivotal player in efforts to combat climate change on a global basis.

Thursday’s decision came on the final day of rulings for the court’s current nine-month term.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Will Dunham)

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By Joseph Ax and Alexandra Ulmer

(Reuters) -This week’s testimony at congressional hearings on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol assault portrayed an enraged Donald Trump throwing food against a White House wall, voicing support for threats against his vice president, and dismissing the news that some of his supporters had come armed with rifles.

Democrats hope the revelations will remind voters why they didn’t reelect the former president in 2020. But the biggest political beneficiary may be Trump’s fellow Republican, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his top potential rival for the 2024 presidential nomination.

Neither Trump nor DeSantis has yet declared a 2024 run for the White House, the first nominating contests are more than 18 months away, and the nation still needs to get through the Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the next two years. Trump has proven remarkably resistant to political damage and remains his party’s most popular figure.

But still, there are signs that DeSantis’ star is rising.

Dan Eberhart, a prominent Republican donor, estimated three-quarters of roughly 150 fellow donors with whom he regularly interacts backed Trump six months ago, with a quarter going for DeSantis. Now, the balance has shifted: about two-thirds want DeSantis as the 2024 nominee.

“The donor class is ready for something new,” said Eberhart, who supports both politicians but says he’s much more excited about DeSantis. “And DeSantis feels more fresh and more calibrated than Trump. He’s easier to defend, he’s less likely to embarrass, and he’s got the momentum.”

DeSantis has emerged as a fundraising giant, with a political war chest similar to Trump’s in size. He has raised more than $120 million since winning office in 2018, with recent financial disclosures showing his political accounts had over $110 million in cash in mid-June, with a November reelection campaign ahead.

By comparison, Trump’s Save America group – his main political committee – had just over $100 million in cash at the end of May, according to a federal disclosure.

Should DeSantis run for president, federal election rules would bar him from transferring leftover gubernatorial race money to a presidential campaign. He could, however, refund donors and resolicit the money for a White House bid.

EASIER TO ‘INCH AWAY’

It remains to be seen whether the Jan. 6 hearings, which have presented evidence that Trump and his inner circle pushed conspiracy theories about voter fraud they knew to be false, will mar Trump’s standing among his supporters. The twice-impeached Trump has defied conventional wisdom many times in the face of prior scandals.

In posts on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Trump lambasted a former White House aide who testified about his behavior on Jan. 6 and denied her most explosive allegations.

His reaction proved that he recognized how damaging the testimony was, said Douglas Heye, a Republican strategist.

“It’s beneficial for anybody who’s looking at running for 2024,” Heye said. “This is making it easier for Republicans – candidate and voter – to inch away from Trump.”

An opinion poll released last week in the state of New Hampshire, traditionally the site of the first presidential primary, showed Trump and DeSantis in a statistical tie among likely Republican voters.

The University of New Hampshire poll found 39% supported DeSantis, with 37% backing Trump. That’s a dramatic swing from October, when Trump had double DeSantis’ support.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is weighing a 2024 campaign after breaking with Trump following the Capitol riot, was in a distant third at 9%.

There have been other signals suggesting Trump’s power over Republican voters is not absolute. He has seen mixed results for his most high-profile endorsements in key swing states during this year’s midterm elections.

Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich said Trump was in a “stronger position” than ever. “The American people remain hungry for his leadership,” Budowich said.

A DeSantis spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

DeSantis, 43, owes his political rise in part to Trump, who endorsed him for governor in 2018 when DeSantis was a relatively obscure congressman. Trump’s backing helped propel DeSantis to an upset victory in the Republican primary, and he edged out a scandal-damaged Democratic candidate, Andrew Gillum, that November.

After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, DeSantis was aggressively skeptical on containment policies, relaxing restrictions on businesses and schools in defiance of federal guidelines and overruling local officials who sought to preserve mask mandates.

He has also enacted numerous conservative bills with the help of the Republican-controlled legislature, including an election “police force” dedicated to investigating voter fraud, new voting limits, and a ban on teachers discussing gender identity with young children – decried by critics as the “don’t say gay” law.

In an unprecedented move, he effectively took over the redistricting process from Republican lawmakers, vetoing their congressional map and substituting his own proposal that eliminated two majority-Black districts while delivering four additional seats to Republicans.

“He’s taking on every culture war fight that he can to demonstrate to the base that he’s a fighter,” Heye said.

(Additional reporting by Jason Lange in Washington, Editing by Scott Malone and Rosalba O’Brien)

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By Rose Horowitch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in on Thursday as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, making history as the first Black woman on the nation’s top judicial body while joining it at a time when its conservative majority has been flexing its muscles in major rulings.

Jackson, 51, joins the liberal bloc of a court with a 6-3 conservative majority. Her swearing in as President Joe Biden’s replacement for retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer came six days after the court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade landmark that legalized abortion nationwide. Breyer, at 83 the court’s oldest member, officially retired on Thursday.

“With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor,” Jackson said in a statement.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found that a majority of Americans – 57% – holds a negative view of the court following the abortion ruling, a significant shift from earlier in the month when a narrow majority held a positive view.

Jackson is the 116th justice, sixth woman and third Black person to serve on the Supreme Court since its 1789 founding.

“I am glad for America,” Breyer said in a statement. “Ketanji will interpret the law wisely and fairly, helping that law to work better for the American people, whom it serves.”

Biden appointed Jackson last year to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after she spent eight years as a federal district judge. At the time of the ceremony, Biden was flying back to Washington from a NATO summit in Madrid.

Like the three conservative justices appointed by the Democratic president’s Republican predecessor Donald Trump, Jackson is young enough to serve for decades in the lifetime job.

“I am pleased to welcome Justice Jackson to the court and to our common calling,” Chief Justice John Roberts said at the ceremony.

The Senate confirmed Jackson on a 53-47 vote on April 7, with three Republicans joining the Democrats in support of her. Jackson’s appointment does not shift the court’s ideological balance.

“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States,” Jackson said at an April 8 event celebrating her confirmation. “But we’ve made it.”

Biden has aimed to bring more women and minorities and a wider range of backgrounds to the federal judiciary. Jackson’s appointment fulfilled a pledge Biden made during the 2020 presidential campaign to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court. With Jackson’s addition, the Supreme Court for the first time has four women on the bench.

Breyer in January announced his plans to retire, having served since being appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1994. Jackson served as a clerk for Breyer early in her legal career.

The court issued its final two rulings of its current term on Thursday, including one powered by the conservative justices that put limits on the federal government’s authority to issue sweeping regulations to reduce carbon emissions from power plants.

Jackson joins a liberal bloc that has found itself outvoted in numerous major rulings this term, not only on abortion rights but on gun rights, expanding religious liberties and other matters.

Jackson will participate in arguments in cases for the first time when the court’s next term opens in October. One major case for the coming term gives the conservative justices an opportunity to end affirmative action policies used by colleges and universities in their admissions processes to increase their enrollment of Black and Hispanic students to achieve campus diversity.

(Reporting by Rose Horowitch; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone)

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By Joseph Ax and Alexandra Ulmer

(Reuters) – This week’s testimony at congressional hearings on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol assault portrayed an enraged Donald Trump throwing food against a White House wall, voicing support for threats against his vice president, and dismissing the news that some of his supporters had come armed with rifles.

Democrats hope the revelations will remind voters why they didn’t reelect the former president in 2020. But the biggest political beneficiary may be Trump’s fellow Republican, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his top potential rival for the 2024 presidential nomination.

Neither Trump nor DeSantis has yet declared a 2024 run for the White House, the first nominating contests are more than 18 months away, and the nation still needs to get through the Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the next two years. Trump has proven remarkably resistant to political damage and remains his party’s most popular figure.

But still, there are signs that DeSantis’ star is rising.

Dan Eberhart, a prominent Republican donor, estimated three-quarters of roughly 150 fellow donors with whom he regularly interacts backed Trump six months ago, with a quarter going for DeSantis. Now, the balance has shifted: about two-thirds want DeSantis as the 2024 nominee.

“The donor class is ready for something new,” said Eberhart, who supports both politicians but says he’s much more excited about DeSantis. “And DeSantis feels more fresh and more calibrated than Trump. He’s easier to defend, he’s less likely to embarrass, and he’s got the momentum.”

DeSantis has emerged as a fundraising giant, with a political war chest similar to Trump’s in size. He has raised more than $120 million since winning office in 2018, with recent financial disclosures showing his political accounts had over $110 million in cash in mid-June, with a November reelection campaign ahead.

By comparison, Trump’s Save America group – his main political committee – had just over $100 million in cash at the end of May, according to a federal disclosure.

Should DeSantis run for president, federal election rules would bar him from transferring leftover gubernatorial race money to a presidential campaign. He could, however, refund donors and resolicit the money for a White House bid.

EASIER TO ‘INCH AWAY’

It remains to be seen whether the Jan. 6 hearings, which have presented evidence that Trump and his inner circle pushed conspiracy theories about voter fraud they knew to be false, will mar Trump’s standing among his supporters. The twice-impeached Trump has defied conventional wisdom many times in the face of prior scandals.

In posts on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Trump lambasted a former White House aide who testified about his behavior on Jan. 6 and denied her most explosive allegations.

His reaction proved that he recognized how damaging the testimony was, said Douglas Heye, a Republican strategist.

“It’s beneficial for anybody who’s looking at running for 2024,” Heye said. “This is making it easier for Republicans – candidate and voter – to inch away from Trump.”

An opinion poll released last week in the state of New Hampshire, traditionally the site of the first presidential primary, showed Trump and DeSantis in a statistical tie among likely Republican voters.

The University of New Hampshire poll found 39% supported DeSantis, with 37% backing Trump. That’s a dramatic swing from October, when Trump had double DeSantis’ support.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is weighing a 2024 campaign after breaking with Trump following the Capitol riot, was in a distant third at 9%.

There have been other signals suggesting Trump’s power over Republican voters is not absolute. He has seen mixed results for his most high-profile endorsements in key swing states during this year’s midterm elections.

Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich said Trump was in a “stronger position” than ever. “The American people remain hungry for his leadership,” Budowich said.

A DeSantis spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

DeSantis, 43, owes his political rise in part to Trump, who endorsed him for governor in 2018 when DeSantis was a relatively obscure congressman. Trump’s backing helped propel DeSantis to an upset victory in the Republican primary, and he edged out a scandal-damaged Democratic candidate, Andrew Gillum, that November.

After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, DeSantis was aggressively skeptical on containment policies, relaxing restrictions on businesses and schools in defiance of federal guidelines and overruling local officials who sought to preserve mask mandates.

He has also enacted numerous conservative bills with the help of the Republican-controlled legislature, including an election “police force” dedicated to investigating voter fraud, new voting limits, and a ban on teachers discussing gender identity with young children – decried by critics as the “don’t say gay” law.

In an unprecedented move, he effectively took over the redistricting process from Republican lawmakers, vetoing their congressional map and substituting his own proposal that eliminated two majority-Black districts while delivering four additional seats to Republicans.

“He’s taking on every culture war fight that he can to demonstrate to the base that he’s a fighter,” Heye said.

(Additional reporting by Jason Lange in Washington, Editing by Scott Malone and Rosalba O’Brien)

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By Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House is unlikely to take up the bold steps to protect women’s right to have an abortion that Democratic lawmakers have called for in recent days, interviews with officials show.

In a speech after the rollback of the Roe vs. Wade decision on Friday, President Joe Biden slammed the “extreme ideology” of the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, but said then there are few things he could do by executive order to protect women’s reproductive rights.

Since then, lawmakers including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have suggested Biden limit the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction or expand its membership, end the legislative “filibuster” rule, build abortion clinics on federal lands, declare a national emergency and establish Planned Parenthood outposts outside U.S. national parks, among other options.

More than 30 Senate Democrats signed a letter to Biden, urging him to ‘fight back,” take “bold action” and “lead a national response to this devastating decision” after the court overturned the right to abortion.

But the White House is pursuing a more limited set of policy responses while urging voters and Congress to act. The White House’s plans include a range of executive actions in the coming days, as well as promising to protect women who cross state lines for abortions and support for medical abortion.

Biden and officials are concerned that more radical moves would be politically polarizing ahead of November’s midterm elections, undermine public trust in institutions like the Supreme Court or lack strong legal footing, sources inside and outside the White House say.

Biden is “telling people the truth and putting the focus where it needs to be, holding Republicans’ feet to the fire for the harm they’re causing,” a White House official said when asked about the strategy.

Biden is “fighting hard in the executive branch – like through protecting access to medication and protecting the right to interstate travel – while pushing for legislation.”

Protecting abortion rights is a top issue for women Democrats, Reuters polling shows. The White House, which misjudged when the ruling would be issued, is still not meeting the moment on the issue, some health experts and Democrats complain.

“The White House had a month, if not a year, to plan for this and they should have really come out with a major white paper plan of action the moment Dobbs was announced,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of medicine at Georgetown University and faculty director of its Institute for National and Global Health Law. “The impression is that the White House is leading from behind, that they were caught flat footed.”

Here’s what may happen, and what may not, in the weeks to come, based on interviews with White House officials, outside advisers, Congressional aides and legal experts.

NO SUPREME COURT REFORM

A number of legal experts, constitutional scholars and irate Democrats say the Supreme Court’s recent rulings, including on abortion, undermine the court’s legitimacy, in part because they don’t reflect popular opinion.

But the White House is not publicly entertaining the idea of reforming the court itself or expanding the nine-member panel, an option pushed by Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Representative Pramila Jayapal.

Privately, Biden has expressed skepticism about a wide range of Supreme Court reform proposals, including restricting the court’s power, setting term limits for justices, and strengthening ethics and transparency rules, according to a person involved in the conversations weeks prior to the most recent Supreme Court decision.

Last week’s ruling is unlikely to change his thinking, this person said. An expert commission Biden created to examine the issue of Supreme Court deadlocked on reform proposals in December.

FILIBUSTER CARVE-OUT?

Biden has not endorsed scrapping the Senate filibuster rule that could allow them to pass a federal law making abortion legal with a simple majority. Democrats only have 50 votes in the 100-seat Senate – not enough to get around a filibuster – and Republicans have lined up against proposals to make abortion a legal right nationwide.

Several Democratic lawmakers want to get rid of the filibuster altogether, including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And Republicans plan to scrap it to pass a law making abortion illegal nationwide, former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele said this week.

Biden has only endorsed Congress suspending the filibuster in limited cases, for instance to pass voting rights legislation or to raise the debt ceiling.

White House officials worry Democrats don’t have enough votes currently to support doing away with the filibuster to pass an abortion bill, and see political risks to Biden supporting the idea. Key swing votes, especially Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, oppose doing away with the filibuster.

NO FEDERAL LANDS

The White House does not support calls to allow abortion providers to work from federal property, because it is worried the federal government won’t be able to keep them safe on or off the property, two sources explained.

Offering federal funding to women to travel out of state could run afoul of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding of abortions except in cases of risk to a mother’s life, rape or incest, two sources said.

A White House official said the idea is well-intentioned but it could put women and providers at risk. “In states where abortion is now illegal, women and providers who are not federal employees could be potentially be prosecuted,” the official said.

WHAT IS BEING CONSIDERED

The White House may take executive action in coming days, sources said, and is pushing federal agencies to make announcements on steps they will take to protect a woman’s right to reproductive care.

On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the federal government would protect access to medication abortion, defend medical professionals who perform abortions and is watching closely for states that violate women’s rights.

Officials plan to meet with activists, and are considering proposals to defend the right of a woman to travel to another state to get an abortion or fund travel to another state using Medicaid funds.

Separately, Pelosi outlined specific legislation that Democrats will consider including shielding women from criminal prosecution if they travel out of state to seek an abortion and protecting women’s personal data stored in reproductive health apps from state lawmakers.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell)

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By Andrew Chung and Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will officially retire on Thursday, paving the way for President Joe Biden’s appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson to be sworn in to the lifetime position to replace him, the court said on Wednesday.

Breyer, 83, has served on the court since 1994 and announced his plans to retire in January. He will retire at noon (1600 GMT) on Thursday shortly after the court issues the last of its rulings of its current term. Jackson is set to become the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s top judicial body.

“It has been my great honor to participate as a judge in the effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law,” Breyer said in a letter to Biden.

Jackson’s confirmation by the U.S. Senate on April 7 marked a victory for Biden, who has sought to infuse the federal judiciary with a broader range of backgrounds.

Breyer, the court’s oldest justice, often found himself in dissent on a court that has moved ever rightward, including last Friday when its conservative majority overturned the constitutional right to abortion recognized in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. That decision upheld a Mississippi ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Breyer also dissented in another major ruling last week when the court’s conservatives endorsed for the first time a right under the U.S. Constitution to carry a handgun in public.

After announcing his retirement, Breyer spoke at an event at the White House.

“People have come to accept this Constitution and they have come to accept the importance of the rule of law,” Breyer said, holding a copy of the 18th century foundational document in his hand.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victims have been found with no identification documents at all and in one case a stolen ID. Remote villages lack phone service to reach family members and determine the whereabouts of missing migrants. Fingerprint data has to be shared and matched by different governments.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is blaming President Joe Biden and his immigration policies.

In a tweet, Abbott said Monday evening’s discovery rests squarely on Biden. “At Least 42 People Found Dead Inside Truck Carrying Migrants In Texas. These deaths are on Biden,” Abbott said.

The number of dead rose to 53 on Wednesday after two more migrants died, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office. Forty of the victims were male and 13 were female, it said.

Officials had potential identifications on 37 of the victims as of Wednesday morning, pending verification with authorities in other countries.

“It’s a tedious, tedious, sad, difficult process,” said Bexar County Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores, who represents the district where the truck was abandoned.

The truck, which was registered in Alamo, Texas, but had fake plates and logos, was carrying 67 migrants, Francisco Garduño, chief of Mexico’s National Immigration Institute, said Wednesday.

The driver was apprehended after trying to pretend he was one of the migrants, Garduño said. Two other Mexican men also have been detained, he said.

Among the dead were 27 people from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, he said. One of the victims had no identification, Garduño said.

The tragedy occurred at a time when huge numbers of migrants have been coming to the U.S., many of them taking perilous risks to cross swift rivers and canals and scorching desert landscapes. Migrants were stopped nearly 240,000 times in May, up by one-third from a year ago.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Lev Parnas, a figure in Donald Trump’s first impeachment, sentenced to 20 months in prison for campaign finance crimes.

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