Closing summary
This concludes our live coverage for the day, but we’ll be back on Tuesday. Here are the latest developments:
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The supreme court ruled that Donald Trump can fire leaders of independent agencies or commissions, ending 90 years of court precedent that curbs executive power. The case was focused on the White House’s March 2025 firing of the Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter. More here.
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In a separate ruling, the court decided to decline Trump’s request to review a New York jury’s 2023 verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing writer E Jean Carroll, and then defaming her. The justices did not provide an explanation or reasoning, and no public dissents were noted. More here.
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In more supreme court news, the justices sided against national Republicans and Trump’s administration to allow mail-in ballots that arrive after election day to be counted, upholding the law in more than a dozen states. The decision to side against the president and Republican party is seen as a surprise after other supreme court decisions this term have upended election processes. More here.
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The court also refused Trump’s attempts to immediately fire a Federal Reserve governor, in a landmark ruling that limits a president’s authority over the central bank. In a 5-4 opinion, the court said that Lisa Cook can stay on as a governor while she fights unproved allegations of mortgage fraud made by the Trump officials. More here.
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Trump announced he is nominating Keith Sonderling to serve as US secretary of labor, a role he is currently filling as acting secretary after Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s announced her departure in April. More here.
Key events
Donald Trump shared an image of a golden eagle, calling it a gift for the White House in a post on Truth Social. The picture is captioned “A Golden Gift to the White House for its 250th Birthday Year!”
The eagle in the photo, which holds a crest and 11 stars, appears to be hung on the columns on the White House’s exterior.
Republican representative Max Miller of Ohio called American Airlines an “incompetent airline” after he and two other congressmembers missed votes at the House amid delays.
“Hey @AmericanAir, three members of Congress will miss votes tonight because of your incompetent airline”, he wrote on social media. “I have been driving to DC for the last 7 months because of this. We have been on the tarmac for over two hours and are now going back to the gate. Pathetic.”
American Airlines later replied to Miller, saying: “We know how important it is to get where you’re going on time, and we’re truly sorry for the delay. Our ground team is working hard to get you moving soon.”
The US House of Representatives approved legislation that would require online platforms to provide some safeguards for children, receiving a 267-117 vote with support from both sides of the aisle.
The move comes as governments in other countries, including the UK and Australia, are setting more restrictions for minors on social media platforms.
The Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS) would require companies to offer ways for minors to limit addictive features and put in place policies to protect children from some harms, including sexual exploitation.
The legislation would also require video game platforms to provide tools that allow parents to limit communication between a minor and other users of the platform, and restrict purchases by a child on the platform.
The legislation is expected to face an uphill battle when it reaches the Senate, as it leaves out the “duty of care” provision, which would have required platforms to “exercise reasonable care” to prevent harm to minors.
Acting secretary of labor Keith Sonderling expressed his gratitude to President Trump in a social media post after receiving his nomination for the permanent role at the department of labor.
“Serving in both of President Trump’s Administrations has been the greatest honor of my life”, Sonderling wrote on Monday.
“If confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to continuing that service as Secretary of Labor and advancing the President’s agenda on behalf of America’s workers, families, unions, and job creators”, he added.
Donald Trump urged gasoline retailers to lower their prices and warned that there would be “big problems” if they failed to comply.
“They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south”, he wrote in a post on Truth Social. “The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!”
“If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead!” he said.
Trump also said gasoline retailers should start setting prices at around $2.50 a gallon.
Gas prices fell on Monday for the fifth consecutive week, according to AAA, bringing the national average down to $3.86 a gallon. Prices still remain roughly 30% higher than they were before the war in Iran began.
Donald Trump has authorized the temporary suspension of certain duties on phosphate fertilizer imported from Morocco to meet agricultural demand in the United States, according to a statement from the White House.
“It is imperative to immediately facilitate importation of phosphate fertilizers from the Kingdom of Morocco to mitigate the significant risk to the agricultural food production of the United States, to safeguard the economic and national security of the United States, and to ensure a stable domestic food supply”, reads the statement.
The closure of the strait of Hormuz, a critical 24-mile-wide waterway for the global supply chain, has disrupted the flow of fertilizer shipments and strained farmers, while also posing a larger threat to food security, according to a report by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Trump nominates acting labor secretary Keith Sonderling to permanent role
Donald Trump announced that he is nominating Keith Sonderling to serve as US secretary of labor, a role he is currently filling as acting secretary after Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s announced her departure in April.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I am nominating Keith E. Sonderling, the outstanding Acting United States Secretary of Labor, to be permanent”, Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Keith previously served as Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer and, during my First Term, worked at the U.S. Department of Labor as the Acting and Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division”.
Trump added: “Throughout his career, Keith has proven his dedication to delivering strong results for the Hardworking People of our Country, and I know he will do an incredible job in his new role”.
In April, Chavez-DeRemer stepped down after a series of misconduct allegations, which prompted an internal investigation. The claims included having a sexual relationship with a member of her security team, sending her staff to pick up liquor, and attempting to use business trips as excuses for personal travel.
Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Shawn DeRemer, also faced a series of allegations, including having sexually assaulted two female staff members.
Sonderling served at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and was later tapped by President Trump to serve as deputy labor secretary. He also served as acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and acting under secretary of commerce for minority business development in 2025.
Michael Sainato
As a reality TV show host, Donald Trump rose to fame with the catchphrase: “You’re fired!” On Monday, the US supreme court handed him – and all future presidents – the power to fire leaders of independent agencies or commissions, overturning 90 years of court precedent curbing executive power.
While Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social as a “big win”, labor advocates, unions, and consumer advocacy groups criticized the supreme court decision on the case, Trump v Slaughter, and warned of the long-term impacts for democracy in the US. Slaughter said she was “profoundly disappointed about today’s decision” during a press call.
“There’s no sugar-coating Slaughter. It’s an enormously important ruling (far more important than the other three decisions handed down today). It’s a huge win for Trump/the executive. And it’s going to have massive ramifications for the functioning of the government long after Trump is gone,” wrote Georgetown Law professor Stephen Vladeck.
Catch up on today’s story here:
How much did supreme court justices earn last year in outside income and gifts?
Here’s a breakdown, including free tickets to see, possibly, Bad Bunny, as well as book payments:
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Sonia Sotomayor: The liberal justice reported $88,100 in royalties from Penguin for her children’s books “Turning Pages” and “Just Ask!”. She also received concert tickets while on a private trip to Puerto Rico in August 2025, the same time reggaeton star Bad Bunny was in the midst of a concert residency in San Juan. The disclosure does not specify which concert she attended. The record company Rimas Entertainment, which represents the artists, gifted the tickets valued at $4,333.
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Ketanji Brown Jackson: The judge reported a $1.18m book advance in 2025 from Penguin Random House, which published her memoir “Lovely One” the year before.
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Amy Coney Barrett: The conservative judge reported earning $849,071 in book royalties from the literary agency Javelin Group after publishing her book titled “Listening to the Law”. She also earned $33,285 in teaching income from the University of Notre Dame Law School, where she is an adjunct professor.
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Brett Kavanaugh: The justice also reported earning $33,285 from his appointment as adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School.
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John Roberts: The judge reported receiving $25,000 from New England Law, a private Boston-based law school. He also disclosed a payment made for teaching a two-week course in Galway, Ireland, in July 2024. The payment was officially made in 2025.
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Clarence Thomas: The conservative justice received $18,000 from teaching at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.
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Neil Gorsuch: The judge reported $30,380 in teaching income from George Mason University and $361,000 in book royalty income, mostly from HarperCollins, which published a children’s book he co-wrote titled “Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence.”
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Samuel Alito: The conservative justice was granted a 90-day extension to file his financial disclosure report.
With Reuters.
Reflecting pool is fully operational, Trump says; attacks on DC monuments face up to 10 years in jail
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has been “in full operation” for the past two days after it was damaged by “sharp knives and muscle”.
“After July 4th, we will release the water, fix the damage done to the very expensive waterproof matting, with the use of sharp knives and muscle, including the 350 foot gash along its right side, and have it looking as good as it was two weeks ago, when it was absolutely PERFECT!”, he wrote on Monday.
He said that about 70 renovated monuments, statues and fountains in Washington DC are under security surveillance.
“If anyone attacks any of them, they get as much as 10 years in jail,” Trump wrote.
Michael Watson, the Mississippi secretary of state whom the supreme court sided with today regarding the state’s policy of counting mail-in ballots received after election day, said that he deeply values “the rights of states to govern themselves”.
“While I oppose the practice of counting ballots received after Election Day, the principle of federalism is a core tenet of my conservatism,” Watson said in a statement. “I deeply value the rights of states to govern themselves, including the administration of elections, so long as they do not conflict with federal law”.
He said the supreme court ruling confirms election policy is a “decision to be made by Congress or, in its absence, state legislatures”.
Watson added: “Elected officials and voters alike should continue demanding stronger election integrity laws across the country.”
Amid a series of wins for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) party during the primaries, Donald Trump called the party “a big threat to our nation” after he was asked whether he was worried.
“I think it’s the biggest threat to our nation there is, maybe since our founding,” he said. “That includes World War I, World War II, September 11th,” he said. “It includes the Pearl Harbor attack.”
“There’s never been anything so dangerous,” he added.
Trump refuses to commit to signing landmark bipartisan housing bill, calling it a ‘big yawn’
Donald Trump also said he doesn’t know what he’s going to do yet about the major bipartisan housing bill. Asked about his plans for the bill, he replied:
I don’t know … I think it’s so unimportant compared to the SAVE America Act … when I look at the bill, it’s a bill. When I look at the SAVE America Act, it’s about saving America.
Trump then went on to acknowledge that “it probably won’t happen” because there are several GOP senators who will not vote for the Save Act (he knew this already, for the record, and delayed signing the housing bill anyway).
Trump was also asked if he was going to sign it, to which he replied that it hadn’t been sent to him yet (last week it was reported that House speaker Mike Johnson would be transmitting it to the White House today), but still didn’t commit to it. He told reporters:
It hasn’t been sent to me yet, it’s coming I understand, then I’ll make [a decision].
Compared with the Save America Act, though, he added, the housing bill was “a big yawn”.
His party, as well as the Democratic party, had been very keen to capitalize on the housing bill as a major affordability win ahead of November’s midterms before Trump took it hostage last week to try to pressure Congress to pass his restrictive voting bill.
The economy is looming large for voters and both parties are hyper-aware of this, unlike the president, apparently, who exacerbated many of the country’s economic problems with his unpopular war on Iran and now repeatedly dismisses it as a concern. See also: “I love the inflation” and “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody”.
