BENCHING TWO BILLION

The Supreme Court slapped down Donald Trump’s attempt to cancel $2 billion in foreign aid contracts, raising hopes the courts will constrain this rampaging president… at least for now.

• Will the Supreme Court, which President Donald Trump personally packed with hard-line conservatives, put down spike strips in front of his runaway presidency? That’s been the big question over the past month. This morning, the court replied with a tentative yes… this time. The Supreme Court reinstated a lower court order, instructing the Trump administration to quickly pay $2 billion to USAID contractors for already completed work. The funding pause has already forced organizations to lay off thousands of American workers and put lives at risk, according to humanitarian groups.

• Sounds like a common sense ruling, right? Well… it was a close shave. We’re talking about a 5-4 decision: Two Republican appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined the three liberals. Justice Samuel Alito — who, reminder, is so hard-right that he once flew a flag associated with the January 6 insurrectionists at his beach house — wrote in his dissent that he’s “stunned” by the decision, claiming that the U.S. will “pay out (and probably lose forever) $2 billion taxpayer dollars.” The ruling means that District Judge Amir Ali will hold a hearing tomorrow to clarify what obligations the U.S. must fulfill.

• Many people celebrated the court’s decision to check Trump’s power: “The rule of law is not subject to the whims of the president,” New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote on X. But it’s worth noting that USAID’s future is still very uncertain. The ruling “will help staunch only some of the bleeding,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told What A Day. “If Congress doesn’t stand up, people will die of preventable disease, and our standing in the world will further decline.”

• There’s another existential question here: If the courts rule against Trump, will he listen? Such a move would represent a constitutional crisis of the first order. There’s not much precedent for that kind of outright rebellion, though: In 1832, President Andrew Jackson defied the high court’s ruling that Native American tribes were sovereign nations, forcibly relocating them anyway… and he didn’t get in trouble. The big problem is that the Supreme Court relies on the executive branch to enforce its rulings — and it’s hard to imagine Trump’s own officials defying him.

• Get ready for a lot more battles like this one: There are more than 100 lawsuits filed against the Trump administration for its actions (after ONE MONTH), and some of these cases are bound to reach the Supreme Court.

After his address to Congress last night, Trump shook Chief Justice Roberts’s hand and patted him on the back: “Thank you again. Thank you again. Won’t forget it,” Trump said. It’s unclear what he was referring to… but Roberts did Trump no favors today.

RAISING CANES

Donald Trump’s painfully long, Castro-length speech put an even sharper spotlight on the conundrum facing Democrats: How do they respond to this guy? Should they sow chaos… or act normal?

No one expected 77-year-old cane-wielding Rep. Al Green (D-TX) to steal the show, when he interrupted the president so ferociously that security kicked him out of the room.

“I’ll accept the punishment,” Green said afterwards. ”It’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up.”

Other Dems were far more polite. They held up paddles with the words “Musk Steals” and “Save Medicaid.” Many of them left quietly during the speech. Then, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) delivered a level-headed rebuttal to Trump, which didn’t please everyone on the left.

“Slotkin failed to capture the hallucinatory nature of our national politics,” wrote the Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, a normie liberal. It’s affirming to know other people also feel like they’re on drugs any time they watch Trump speak. And not, like, y’know, fun drugs!

What should Democrats have done? No one has the answer right now. With hindsight, I’d bet more of them wish they’d just stayed home.

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s chief of staff, who was arrested for a DUI after the speech, definitely should have. Trump’s big night gets some folks feeling… surprisingly festive, apparently.

NEWS NEWS NEWS

The Trump administration cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which could make it way harder for Kyiv to identify and strike Russian military targets. This came shortly after the U.S. suspended all military assistance to Ukraine, which could run out of weapons in as little as four months.

Israel’s cutoff of food to Gaza — widely described by analysts as a “starvation policy” — has sent prices skyrocketing. In one city, a cigarette costs $5.49, and two pounds of chicken cost $13.72, according to the AP. Other life-saving supplies aren’t getting in: At least seven infants in the territory recently died from hypothermia.

The Trump administration paused auto tariffs on Mexico and Canada, one day after slapping 25 percent tariffs on both countries, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today. That comes after reports that car prices could spike $12,000 due to Trump’s actions. So cool to have a business genius repeat-bankrupt ex-gameshow host running the country!

The Trump administration is planning to cut 80,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the AP reports. You know, because he loves the military!

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu delivered a scathing response during a hearing today, in which Republicans criticized her for defying Trump’s immigration policies: “If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms. Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans. That is what will make our city safe,” she told Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who didn’t even try to argue with that, lol. More of this energy!

The Trump administration briefly listed 400 federal buildings that it may be willing to sell as it downsizes the federal government. That list included high-profile buildings that house the FBI, Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services. Many of these are brutalist… maybe Trump just didn’t like the movie?

The State Department ended its efforts to monitor air quality around the world. The program, which tracked air quality at 80 embassies, was proven to have significantly helped those areas reduce air pollution.

Trump’s constant attacks against Canada have reinvigorated the country’s Liberal Party and are causing headwinds for Conservatives, according to a new poll. It’s a rapid turnaround from January, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation due to deep unpopularity. Brb, making myself another Canadiano.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened a criminal probe into Andrew Tate, a far-right influencer and Trump ally, and his brother. Both men were charged with human trafficking in Romania before a top Trump official seemingly secured their release to the United States.

Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-TX) died last night, two months after winning the seat previously held by the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. He was 70 years old.

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Read that again.

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