Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.
Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.

Biden still in excuse-making mode – Biden wrapped up with the old tried and true: blaming Trump. President Biden has made the decision to make the response a referendum on his leadership. This is too large a claim to let pass. It’s about placing blame. It’s not about partisan sniping. It’s about understanding where we are, and what we have to do now -- and that requires knowing what we did. That means it’s time -- right now -- to start discussions on an independent, nonpartisan investigation to unpack the administration’s response. Let’s be honest with ourselves. Things are not going well, to put it mildly. This is not the best of all possible outcomes. On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Taliban will control more territory, have more money, more friends and more arms than they did on 9/11. Today we learned the perilous consequences of that development. It’s time for the White House and all of us to come to grips with that. Heritage expert: Sec. Robert Wilkie

Heritage Mourns the Loss of U.S. Service Members in Afghanistan – We have seen Americans stranded behind enemy lines. We have witnessed thousands of Afghans fleeing toward U.S. positions in a desperate attempt to escape the Taliban, even clinging to departing American aircraft. And now, our nation has paid the ultimate price with the loss of U.S. service members while others are suffering serious wounds after cowardly attacks. Our hearts are broken. Heritage is blessed to have numerous veterans on our staff—men and women who know what it means to wear the uniform. We are all praying for the families of these service members and for the soul of our nation today. We all grieve together as a nation right now. We should honor and remember those who lost their lives today while also committing ourselves to the mission for which these service members gave their lives. We cannot abandon our citizens or our partners to torture and death at the hands of terrorists. The Biden administration must ensure that every American trying to leave can leave and that we maintain faith with the many Afghans who stood beside the U.S. for two decades. For those who served in Afghanistan at any point in the last 20 years, please know that Americans honor your service. Your sacrifice was not in vain. Heritage expert: Tom Spoehr

The steep cost of mishandling our withdrawal from Afghanistan –  The president whom the mainstream media heralded as the return of the “Washington professional” — the one who would restore America’s standing abroad — is presiding over the most precipitous decline in American power and prestige in our history. It took Biden fewer than seven months to accomplish what Jimmy Carter couldn’t do in four years: make America an object of derision. A few weeks ago, the president said that his decision to order a total withdrawal from Afghanistan would be “not at all comparable” to the end in Vietnam. In a way, he’s right. It’s worse. Heritage experts: Sec. Robert Wilkie, Dustin Carmack, and Tom Spoehr

Supreme Court is latest to strike down Biden’s immigration policies – Starting on Day 1 in office, Mr. Biden set about systematically undoing this highly successful approach. He halted construction of the border wall and the “Remain in Mexico” program. He gutted immigration enforcement, ripped up agreements with Central American governments, and ceased using Title 42 authority with unaccompanied children illegally crossing the border. In response to state lawsuits seeking resumption of immigration enforcement, federal courts have stopped the administration from its attempts to: ban deportation; end mandatory detention; revive the illegal DACA program; and, now, terminate the MPP. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas permanently enjoined the secretary of Homeland Security’s June 1 memo pulling the plug on MPP. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied the administration’s request to stay the district court order. In handing down the order, District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk noted that the administration: (1) knew MPP had been found effective by DHS as a matter of policy; (2) knew MPP had been successfully defended in court previously; and (3) had received warnings during the Biden transition about the consequences of repealing MPP. Heritage expert: Lora Ries