The Paper Trail: June 30, 2026

June 30, 2026

Top Stories

Supreme Court rules Trump cannot fire Fed member Lisa Cook; grants him more power over other independent agencies

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, but in a separate case gave him a freer hand to fire other federal regulators. In the latter case, the court overturned a key 1935 precedent that restrained presidential power.

(Lawrence Hurley, NBC News)

Pulte renews mortgage fraud allegations against Lisa Cook after Supreme Court ruling
(Max Rego, The Hill)

DOJ taps gang, terrorism prosecutors to crack down on political groups

The DOJ tapped two prosecutors with expertise in organized crime and terrorism to implement a White House directive to crack down on its political opponents. Joint Task Force Vanguard began in March in response to NSPM-7, a presidential memorandum ordering federal law enforcement and prosecutors to treat ideologies that oppose the administration as domestic terrorism.

(Josh Kovensky, Talking Points Memo)

Protesters accused of antifa ties sentenced to up to 100 years in ICE attack
(Alan Feuer and Krista Torralva, New York Times)

Trump has “almost completely” erased LGBTQ+ data. Is race next?

After retaking office, President Trump quickly made it the government’s official policy to only “recognize” two sexes, directing agencies to stop asking for gender identity information. Since then, government agencies have been carefully erasing LGBTQ+ data. Data researchers and experts worry that this same deletion process could play out for other types of information.

(Natalie Alms, NOTUS)

Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports
(Lawrence Hurley, NBC News)

Who’s paying for Trump’s $1 billion construction spree? Secret donors and taxpayers

The 18 major construction projects Trump has undertaken during his second term come with a potential cost of at least $1.2 billion. A White House spokesman declined to answer specific questions about the funding for many of the projects but suggested that taxpayer money was likely to be used for most of them, and that the continuing costs of the projects, such as repair, replacement, and maintenance, would fall to various agencies.

(Luke Broadwater et al., New York Times)

Company trying to clean Reflecting Pool is thrust into political storm, hires crisis communications firm
(Sunlen Serfaty, CNN)

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He dreamed of becoming a physician assistant. New loan rules may thwart him

Starting tomorrow, the amount of money graduate students will be allowed to borrow from the federal government will be capped. Critics say the new limits are too low due to the law’s controversial definition of a “professional degree.”

(Lauren Sausser, KFF Health News)

They’re in their 60s and their student loans won’t let them retire
(Oyin Adedoyin, Wall Street Journal)

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