It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy.

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Photo by Nathan Howard/Reuters

It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

ALL EYES ON SCOTUS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

Yes, the first 2024 Biden-Trump presidential debate ([link removed]) is set for Thursday.

While that has some fascinating ([link removed]) and potentially frustrating ([link removed]) contours, there is other possible action this week that could have more immediate consequences.

The Supreme Court is poised to announce major decisions in the next few days, as the term that began in October winds down.

Here’s what we know.
* Decision days this week: 3. The court has three days scheduled where it will announce decisions, Wednesday through Friday.
* Decisions remaining: 15.
* How many is that? That is about a quarter of the decisions for this term, per the Associated Press ([link removed]) .

Of the remaining decisions, there are five cases our team — PBS News Weekend anchor John Yang and producer Saher Khan — is watching closely.

Here’s a look at these cases and the issues they address:

Presidential immunity. Trump v. United States tests whether presidents should be immune from prosecution ([link removed]) for nearly anything they do while in office. More specifically, it will determine if Trump will face trial in the federal case focused on his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, including his role on Jan. 6. Here is a look at what happened in April’s oral arguments. ([link removed])

Trump and other Jan. 6th defendants. At the heart of Fischer v. United States is a federal obstruction law written to block tampering with official proceedings, including evidence in court cases or congressional hearings. Prosecutors have used it to charge some 350 people in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The question is whether that is an appropriate use of the law. The decision will affect all of those cases, one way or the other, including Trump’s. This accounts for half of the charges against him in the 2020 election case. Here’s what plaintiffs, defendants and justices said in April’s oral arguments. ([link removed])

Abortion. In Moyle v. United States, justices must decide if an Idaho law banning nearly all abortions can stand in the face of a federal law that requires most emergency rooms to provide stabilizing care for patients. A key question: whether emergency rooms in states with near-total abortion bans must treat people ([link removed]) facing emergency pregnancy complications.

Environmental, energy, health and other regulations. This involves two cases: Relentless v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. Justices will consider whether to completely overturn what is known as the Chevron doctrine ([link removed]) — the idea that federal agencies have reasonable power to interpret laws Congress makes, writing rules that specify enforcement. Overturning the rule could rewrite agencies’ ability ([link removed]) to write and enforce rules on a wide array of areas, including the environment, energy production, and health care.

Air pollution. In another environmental case, Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency, justices will decide whether Ohio and other states have to abide by the so-called “good neighbor” rule, which limits air pollution from factories and power plants in their states that wafts into Eastern states. Correspondent William Brangham explains the case ([link removed]) and hears more about the stakes from New York Times reporter Coral Davenport.

TWO PRIMARY RACE UPDATES
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Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Some quick updates to races we profiled in last week’s email.

A nail-biter in Virginia

In Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, we may have a dramatic ousting of a Republican incumbent. There’s also an indication that election denialism, for some Republicans, is a deepening, default tactic.

When we sent this newsletter, John McGuire, a state senator who has Trump’s support, was just more than 300 votes ahead of incumbent U.S. Rep. Bob Good, chair of the House Freedom Caucus. AP has declared the race too close to call. ([link removed])

Certification by the state election board is scheduled for July 2. Good has indicated he will request a recount. (Virginia does not have automatic recounts, but candidates can request them if the margin is within 1 percentage point. Given the current margin, Good will have to pay for any recount.)

Both men have in the past denied the 2020 presidential election results ([link removed]) .

Now, Good is laying groundwork to deny he has lost his own race, misrepresenting fire alarms that went off on Election Day as actual fires and pointing to a single ballot box that was emptied after polls closed. Election officials said the ballot box contained seven ballots, not enough to change the outcome.

An easy win in Oklahoma

The Sooner State is providing a much more cut-and-dry (translation: shorter) update.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee ([link removed]) , crushed a well-funded primary opponent from the right by nearly 40 points.
More on politics from our coverage:
* Watch: How to tune in to the first Biden-Trump presidential debate. ([link removed])
* One Big Question: What are the expectations for this big political event? Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Francesca Chambers of USA Today discuss ([link removed]) .
* A Closer Look: Several high-profile billionaires are making massive donations in the 2024 race. How are they being spent? ([link removed])
* Perspectives: An expert on how right-wing disinformation is fueling conspiracy theories ([link removed]) about the 2024 election.

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#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage ([link removed])
Senior Editor, Digital

When was the first nationally televised presidential debate?

The answer that comes to mind may be the 1960 John F. Kennedy-Richard Nixon debate. The face-off was noteworthy for how it allowed Americans to see and hear two candidates together.

But was it the first? Some experts say that distinction belongs to a debate four years earlier, when Democrat Adlai Stevenson challenged incumbent Republican president Dwight Eisenhower.

That televised debate, however, did not feature the candidates themselves. Instead, their surrogates appeared.

Our question: Who participated in the 1956 presidential debate?

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: How many members of Congress lost their primary races in the 2022 midterm elections?

The answer: 16 in primaries ([link removed]) . Six of these losses were against other incumbents due to redistricting.

Congratulations to our winners: There were no winners this week. Good luck next time!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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