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Capital Journal
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Good morning from the WSJ Washington Bureau. We produce this newsletter each weekday to deliver exclusive insights and analysis from our reporting team in Washington. Today's edition was curated by Kate Milani and Miguel Gonzalez Jr. Sign up.
Correction: The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down New York’s concealed-gun law. The subject line of the previous version of this newsletter incorrectly said that the Supreme Court expanded the law.
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Supreme Court: The fate of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision recognizing abortion rights, and opinions in eight other cases remain as the court closes out one of its most contentious sessions in recent years. The court could announce opinions this morning. Follow our live coverage here.
Biden Administration: President Biden receives the president's daily brief at 9:30 a.m. ET. First lady Jill Biden will participate in an event in Surfside, Fla., to remember the people killed in the 2021 Champlain Towers South tower collapse.
The Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine ordered its troops to withdraw from their remaining foothold in the city of Severodonetsk, giving Russia a small but symbolically important victory. European Union leaders agreed Thursday to make Ukraine an official candidate to join the bloc, sending a resounding message of support for Kyiv to the Kremlin.
đź“° What is your favorite part of Capital Journal? What else would you like to see? Please let us know at capitaljournal@wsj.com.
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The Supreme Court rejected the legal method overwhelmingly used by lower courts to evaluate gun regulations. PHOTO: CALLAGHAN O'HARE/REUTERS
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The Supreme Court struck down New York state’s system for issuing concealed weapons permits, marking the widest expansion of gun rights since 2010, Jess Bravin reports. The ruling is likely to have ripple effects, especially in several Democratic-led states.
As New York (▶️Video) and other states begin charting new plans on handgun regulations, they are likely to face new lawsuits.
Mr. Biden said he was “disappointed” by the opinion but pointed to "one little bit of solace"—that it wouldn't affect gun laws in about 40 states.
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The ruling came on the same day the Senate passed the most sweeping firearms legislation in decades in a 65-33 vote, with more than a dozen Republicans including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joining Democrats to provide new tools to deter mass shootings, Eliza Collins, Siobhan Hughes and Teresa Mettela report. (▶️Video)
Of the roughly $15 billion in funding provided in the bill, more than half would be used to fund mental-health programs and bolster school safety.
The Democratic-led House is expected to take up the bill quickly, and President Biden has said he wants to sign the bill as soon as possible.
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From reporter Jess Bravin:
Dividing 6-3 along conservative-liberal lines, the Supreme Court said the right to armed self-defense extends outside the home, and thus a 1911 New York law limiting concealed-weapons to individuals of "good moral character" who demonstrate "proper cause" was unconstitutional.
Justice Clarence Thomas’s majority opinion said that similar rules in other Democratic-leaning states including California, Hawaii and Massachusetts were equally infirm, but even more significant was the new Second Amendment standard it set: To pass muster, a regulation must be “consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition”—that is, analogous to weapons laws in 1791, when the Bill of Rights was ratified. In dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer argued that in addition to historical practice, the Constitution permits legislators to consider modern conditions when fashioning weapons rules.
Legal experts said the court’s history test could raise questions about the bipartisan gun law that passed the Senate later Thursday, as “red flag” laws, restrictions on domestic abusers and background checks may have been unfamiliar to 18th century Americans.
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▶️Video: In video testimony played at Thursday's Jan. 6 Committee hearing, former White House aides said several Republican members of Congress, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, Mo Brooks, Andy Biggs and Scott Perry, had asked for presidential pardons. The committee is expected to hold its next hearing in July. Photo: Demetrius Freeman/Press Pool
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Senior officials in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department described his campaign to enlist them in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election in testimony to the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including persistent efforts by Mr. Trump and his allies to bring to the department debunked allegations of voter fraud, report Scott Patterson, Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman.
Several of those allies in Congress sought pardons from Mr. Trump, according to video testimony disclosed Thursday, a claim many of those of the lawmakers have denied.
The former acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, and other department officials testified that the campaign also included a plan by Mr. Trump to replace Mr. Rosen with Jeffrey Clark.
In a separate Justice Department investigation, the Virginia home of Mr. Clark was searched by federal investigators on Wednesday.
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Photo: Tristan Wheelock/
Bloomberg News
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Republican strategists fear tormer Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens's past scandals could make Missouri’s U.S. Senate race competitive if he wins the nomination in the Aug. 2 primary, Lindsay Wise reports. Former President Donald Trump won the state by 15 percentage points in 2020.
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Mr. Trump hasn't endorsed a candidate in the primary. Donald Trump Jr.'s partner, Kimberly Guilfoyle, serves as national co-chair of the Greitens Senate campaign.
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In other politics news...
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 WSJ News Exclusive
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The Biden administration has proposed new guidelines for how K-12 schools and colleges should interpret and apply Title IX. Among the most significant changes, the Education Department said schools must conduct investigations into all forms of alleged sexual discrimination including discrimination based on gender identity, not only complaints of sexual harassment, report Melissa Korn and Ben Chapman.
The Biden administration is also urging schools to use a lower standard of evidence to determine guilt for accused individuals.
The department plans to issue a separate proposal on whether and how to address transgender students’ eligibility for particular athletic teams.
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In other education and health care news...
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Administration Agrees to Cancel $6 Billion in Student Debt Over Fraud Claims
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CDC Advisers Endorse Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine for Kids
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Fed Chairman Jerome Powell appeared before the House Financial Services Committee. PHOTO: WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
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Lawmakers pressed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday over how the central bank would manage trade-offs it could confront if its interest-rate increases slow the economy sharply but don’t reduce inflation quickly, Nick Timiraos reports.
Mr. Powell said that in such a scenario, the Fed would be reluctant to shift from raising rates to cutting them until it saw clear evidence that inflation was coming down in a convincing fashion.
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New applications for unemployment benefits ticked down last week and hovered near historic lows, a sign the labor market remains tight despite indications of an economic slowdown, Sarah Chaney Cambon reports.
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In other economic news...
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Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. energy secretary, met with executives from major oil companies and refiners on Thursday. Gasoline prices have recently topped $5 a gallon, a driver of the rapid inflation. PHOTO: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
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Administration officials struck a more conciliatory tone than Mr. Biden has used with oil-company executives in a meeting Thursday to discuss potential responses to record-high gasoline prices, report Timothy Puko and Collin Eaton. Both sides acknowledged there are few, if any, easy short-term solutions available, industry executives said.
Administration officials indicated they are unlikely to pursue limits on exports, especially oil, saying they understand it would do little to lower prices, according to industry executives and lobbyists.
Ethanol prices have risen steadily this year, boosted by inflation and a Biden administration mandate to blend more of the biofuel into gasoline.
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In other business and regulatory news...
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The Pentagon on Thursday announced $450 million worth of weapons for Ukraine, the 13th such drawdown of U.S. supplies since the Feb. 24 invasion. In all, the U.S. has sent roughly $6.1 billion worth of weapons to help Ukraine, Nancy A. Youssef reports.
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Russia’s welcome at a virtual summit with the presidents of China, India, Brazil and South Africa this week put on display the challenge for U.S.-led efforts to ostracize Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine, reports James T. Areddy.
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According to the latest Granite State Poll of New Hampshire Republicans, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads the 2024 race for president with 39%, with former President Donald Trump at 37%. (Washington Examiner)
Latino voters in Wisconsin represent the coming together of two of the most important themes in U.S. politics over the past decade: the fight over Rust Belt states and the growing importance of the Latino vote. (The Atlantic)
Relying exclusively on rebates or direct cash transfers to individuals in a downturn will only lead to more inflation. It's prudent that states focus on long-term investment and responsible budgeting. (RealClearPolicy)
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