Good morning! Some big tech news broke yesterday when Linda Yaccarino stepped down as Elon Musk’s handpicked CEO of X. In an unrelated coincidence, X’s Grok chatbot spent the week casually referring to itself as “MechaHitler” and promoting antisemitic tropes. Musk said the problems are being addressed and called Grok "too compliant" and "too eager to please and be manipulated.” Still, if you were looking for one more reason to be nice to AI…

SUPREME COURT

👨‍⚖️ Supreme Court lets Trump reorg plans proceed

Is there anything worse than work interrupting your summer vacation? The Supreme Court isn’t in session right now, but with a steady flow of lower court rulings to look at, the work keeps rolling in.

The big one this week? Justices voted 8-1 to allow the Trump administration to potentially fire a bunch of federal employees and reorganize parts of the federal bureaucracy.

The background: Back in February, Trump signed an executive order “eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity” in the federal government. It ordered his budget director to “submit a plan” to reduce the size of the government's workforce "through efficiency improvements and attrition."

• Then, agency heads would use that plan to develop plans of their own for their specific little fiefdoms.

• Next up would be “large-scale reductions in force.” Or, in normie terms, "Layoffs, baby!" (with security and military exceptions).

A lawsuit was filed, the executive order was frozen by a judge, and Trump’s downsizing plans were put on ice. So the administration ran this all the way up the chain, and here we are.

The court’s decision allows the job-cutting plans to continue. For now. Technically, the justices here didn’t address the executive order itself. All they did was unfreeze it while the lawsuit plays out. Why? Because they’re pretty sure Trump’s going to win that case. So, federal agencies can now proceed with making their downsizing and reorganization plans.

• In their one-page opinion, the justices explain that they “express no view on the legality” of any specific plans since "Those plans are not before this court.”

• If the plans show up in court later on, well, they’ll cross that bridge then.

Dissent: The court’s newest member, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, was the only dissenter. In her view, only Congress can modify the federal agencies it created. Plus, firing a bunch of people could be a problem if that “wrecking ball” is later ruled illegal.

• Jackson’s fellow liberal, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, addressed those concerns. She noted that Trump’s order explicitly directs all plans to be “consistent with applicable law.”

• Since those "plans themselves are not before this Court,” well, they’ve got nothing to consider.

Related: Over 2,000 senior NASA staffers are headed for the exits after taking Trump's various buyout offers. On the flip side, Trump’s nominee to oversee the National Weather Service pledged Wednesday to fully staff the agency.

GOVERNMENT

🌍️ President Trump held a mini-summit with the leaders of five West African nations: Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal. Following the effective dissolution of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Trump promised a switch from aid to trade. The president said he sees “great economic potential” in the region. The African leaders, meanwhile, boasted of their humongous reserves of natural resources and said they want investment. In a sidebar session, (the Islamic Republic of) Mauritania met with Israel about resuming official ties. They broke up in 2010 after the first Gaza war.

⛪️ The beloved Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Monday lifted a decades-old ban on churches openly endorsing political candidates to their congregations. Previously, any political activity jeopardized a church’s tax-exempt status. A lawsuit had sought relief for all non-profits instead of just houses of worship. The IRS likened a church’s endorsements to its congregation to “a family discussion concerning candidates.” But opponents of the move say it’ll open the floodgates for political operatives to funnel tax-free cash through churches to their favored candidates.

✉️ President Trump fired off more tariff letters on Wednesday to the leaders of seven new countries, including the Philippines, Iraq, and Sri Lanka. This round followed the 14 he sent on Monday, which included Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The letters announced new tariff rates on imports from each country, which are now set to begin on August 1. Meanwhile, the price of copper spiked after he announced a new 50% tariff on imports of the metal to the U.S.

TRIVIA

Congressional Republicans are looking into what was going on with President Biden’s health last year, so they asked Biden's former physician to come answer some questions.

But Dr. Kevin O’Connor wasn’t playing ball. He instead asserted doctor-patient privilege and invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid potentially incriminating himself. Anyone who’s ever watched a courtroom drama knows that the Fifth Amendment recognizes your right to keep quiet. But its neighbor is less common. What is the Fourth Amendment about?

Hint: It guarantees your rights aaand requires something of the government.

SPENDING

💰️ Judge rules feds must keep funding Planned Parenthood

The president signed it on Friday. By Monday, a federal judge had already nixed part of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill. Tucked in a corner of everyone's favorite humongous megalaw is — or was — a bit that strips federal funding from Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood provides plenty of health services, like cancer screenings. But it’s also America’s largest abortion provider. And it receives billions in federal funds through direct grants and Medicare and Medicaid payments.

• Using federal funds for abortions has been illegal for decades. But pro-life politicians argue that money to Planned Parenthood all goes in one pot.

• The thinking goes: If the government funds the group’s health screenings, that just frees it up to use its own cash for abortions.

Trump's megabill doesn’t name Planned Parenthood. But it does yank Medicaid money from any large healthcare nonprofit that also provides abortions … which is pretty much just Planned Parenthood.

So they sued. Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit argues the new law unconstitutionally singles them out, violating their equal protection rights, and retaliating against them for protected speech (aka: providing abortions).

• U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani agreed and blocked the provision until she can hold a full hearing on July 21.

• She directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to "ensure" that the funding continues going out.

But the executive branch can only spend money at Congress’s direction, so opponents of Talwani’s ruling claim it’s an illegal “usurpation of legislative power." After all, Congress makes the call on who does or doesn't get the government's money.

Future: A top Department of Justice (DOJ) official has already slammed Talwani's order and suggested the Supreme Court should intervene. TBD on where that ends up. But maybe the justices ought to hold off on the piña coladas for now.

QUOTE

BRIEFS

● An AI-assisted impersonator repeatedly posed as Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The scammer tried to contact at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator, and a governor via fake text and voice messages sent by text, Signal, and voicemail.

● The Texas legislature is supposed to be done until 2027, but Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has called ‘em back into town to pass flood relief. Also on the docket for the upcoming special session: redrawing the state’s congressional districts to better favor Republicans

● According to the CDC, the U.S. has reported 1,288 cases of measles in 2025. Texas has been home to 58% of those. This is the nation’s biggest outbreak since 1992, narrowly surpassing a 2019 outbreak in New York.

● Nvidia cemented its place as the king of computer chips and the world’s most valuable company on Wednesday when stock market gains briefly gave it a market cap of $4 trillion. The rapid growth of AI since 2022 has fueled heavy demand for its chips.

● The FBI is abandoning its plan to build a new multibillion-dollar HQ in suburban Maryland. Instead, the agency will ditch its (literally) crumbling 1970s office for an existing federal building in downtown Washington, D.C., being vacated by USAID.

ANSWER

In the words of Mr. Beyonce Jay-Z, “Well, my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk in the back. And I know my rights, so you gonna need a warrant for that.” The Fourth Amendment secures you and all your cool stuff against "unreasonable searches and seizures” unless the government gets a warrant.