“Judge orders pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released from jail: A federal judge today ordered pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released from immigration detention, more than three months after the Trump administration jailed him while attempting to deport him on foreign policy grounds. U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz determined that Khalil isn’t a flight risk or a danger to the community, and lightly rebuked the government, calling its effort to continue seeking his detention ‘highly, highly unusual.’” [POLITICO]
“Parliamentarian nixes key pieces of Tim Scott’s megabill proposal: The Senate parliamentarian ruled today that several key provisions in Banking Chair Tim Scott’s proposed contribution to the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” violate the upper chamber’s rules for the budget reconciliation process, according to Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Merkley’s office. Scott’s proposals to zero out funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, slash some Federal Reserve employees’ pay, cut Treasury’s Office of Financial Research and dissolve the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are all ineligible to be included in a simple-majority budget reconciliation bill.” [POLITICO]
By Ali Bianco
Presented by
THE CATCH-UP
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R- S.D.) meets with reporters at the Capitol on June 10, 2025. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP
“MEGABILL WOES: The Senate parliamentarian is ruling on key Byrd bath arguments as Republicans wait to see which pieces of the sprawling reconciliation bill fall on the chopping block ahead of planned action in the Senate next week.
The details: Slashing funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a no-go in the bill, and so is cutting some Fed employees’ pay, cutting the Treasury’s Office of Financial Research and dissolving the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, POLITICO’s Jasper Goodman reports today. It’s back to the drawing board for Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and other Republicans as they search for $1 billion in cuts, Jasper writes, though it’s a narrow fraction of the overall bill.
Other strikeouts: The parliamentarian said the megabill can’t include provisions that would exempt some infrastructure projects from judicial review if they pay a fee for accelerated permitting reviews, nor can it repeal the Biden EPA’s tailpipe emissions rule for model years 2027 and later, POLITICO’s Josh Siegel writes. It also can’t ax a variety of Inflation Reduction Act programs Republicans had targeted for repeal, although they are still permitted to claw back unobligated funds from those initiatives. The provision from Armed Services that punishes the Pentagon for not explaining to Congress how it would use a $150 billion allocation was also shot down, POLITICO’s Connor O’Brien reports.
Still to come: The Senate Finance Byrd bath arguments this Sunday. That’s the big one to watch as leadership angles to move forward with the timeline next week ahead of the self-imposed July 4 deadline to deliver the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.
ALL EYES ON THUNE: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is talking nearly daily with Trump to get his “big, beautiful bill” to the floor as soon as Wednesday, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney reports. Thune’s also on a media blitz, hitting the airwaves to pitch Trump’s bill, writes the Washington Examiner’s David Sivak, who notes that Thune has ‘gone on national TV 29 times’ since becoming majority leader and his radio and podcast appearances have also reached double digits.
Making an appeal: Senate Democrats are pushing Thune to walk back changes to social safety net programs, Jordain reports. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) penned a letter today to reconsider cuts to health care and food assistance programs. Though the effort amounts to an overture that is ‘all but guaranteed to fail,’ Jordain writes, it ‘highlights how Democrats plan to keep up their attacks on two of the most controversial pieces’ of the legislation.
THE HOLDOUTS: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is now pushing the GOP to cut language on a controversial Medicaid financing provision that is anathema in the House. ‘I don’t know why we would pass something that the House can’t pass and will force us into [a] conference,’ Hawley said in an interview with Jordain. ‘Unless you want to be here in August and September still doing this, I think that is a bad, bad plan.’
The spending question: Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are threatening to vote as a bloc to reject the bill and get bigger spending cuts to address the deficit, per The Hill’s Alexander Bolton. Johnson said on Fox Business that he planned to speak with NEC Director Kevin Hassett today.
On the other hand: Some Senate Republicans are getting frustrated with the backseat driving from the House side now. ‘They’re entitled to their opinion. I don’t think it’s influencing our decision in terms of what we’re going to do,’ Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) tells NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz and Helen Huiskes, adding: ‘They had their chance.’” [POLITICO]
Sophie Park for The New York Times
Trump says Harvard has acted ‘appropriately’ and deal could soon be announced
“President Donald Trump said Friday that Harvard has ‘acted extremely appropriately’ during negotiations that could soon result in a deal, signaling a possible major shift in his administration’s efforts to target the university.”
Read more at CNN
Judge Blocks a Trump Effort to Prevent International Students at Harvard
“The decision came after a hearing where a lawyer for Harvard accused the Trump administration of McCarthy-like tactics and irregular and improper treatment.”
Read more at New York Times
Hundreds of U.S. citizens have fled Iran amid Israeli strikes, State Department says
“In a private diplomatic bulletin obtained by The Washington Post, U.S. government officials acknowledge that many Americans are in harm’s way as President Donald Trump contemplates ordering military action against Iran.”
Read more at Washington Post
Top Pentagon spy pick rejected by White House
“The White House has nixed the Pentagon’s pick to head the country’s top spy agency and command its elite hacking force, according to three people familiar with the move.
The decision not to move forward with the Defense Department’s recommendation to nominate Army Lt. Gen. Richard Angle as director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command will extend a leadership vacuum atop one of the most powerful U.S. spy agencies.” Read the latest at POLITICO
“Majority of staff axed at Voice of America: The Trump administration today sent out termination notices to hundreds of employees at Voice of America. Included in that group are employees working for the network’s Persian-language service who were called back from administrative leave just last week in the wake of Israel’s attack on Iran, according to two people familiar with the decision. The move — which makes official what has long been expected since hundreds of contract employees got termination notices in early May — is a part of the Trump administration’s sweeping target to downsize the government and remake America’s role in the global order.” [POLITICO]
“Supreme Court revives lawsuits seeking to hold Palestine Liberation Organization liable for terrorist attacks: The Supreme Court has revived lawsuits against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority over terrorist attacks that killed and injured Americans. The justices today unanimously overturned a ruling from a federal appeals court that Congress violated the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process by enacting a 2019 law that expanded the jurisdiction of U.S. courts to hear terrorism-related suits against the PLO and PA.” [POLITICO]
Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election, reviving longstanding grievance
“President Donald Trump on Friday called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim that the contest was marred by widespread fraud.” Read More at AP News
Conservation group's $60 million deal ends years-long fight over proposed mine near North America’s largest blackwater swamp
“The nonprofit Conservation Fund said it would acquire thousands of acres of land outside Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, one of the South's last truly wild places. The agreement halts a plan for a titanium mine that had been the subject of years of legal and political battles.”
Read more at Washington Post
By Ben Jacobs
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) speaks during a hearing with the Subcommittee on Delivering On Government Efficiency on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“SENIOR MOMENT — Keep an eye on the internal election in the House Democratic Caucus next week — it will have far bigger stakes than it might seem.
The race to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has important near-term political ramifications since the victor will serve as the foil to Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) on a panel that has seemed as interested in investigating former President Joe Biden’s age as current President Donald Trump.
But there are also significant institutional implications. The contest will be a test of the future of the seniority system which has been a key feature of how Congress has governed itself for centuries.
There are four Democratic contenders, two congressional veterans in their 70s and two congressional newcomers in their 40s.
The old guard are 70-year-old Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) was first elected to Congress in 2001 and 76-year-old Rep Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) who has spent 15 years on Capitol Hill in two stints nearly 25 years apart. The upstarts are 47-year-old Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and 44-year-old Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), both of whom were first elected in 2023.
The candidates will first try to make their case Monday to the House Democrats’ Steering Committee, which will make a recommendation for the full caucus to ratify on Tuesday.
At a time when, particularly among Democrats, there is a circular firing squad over issues surrounding age in the aftermath of Biden’s presidency and failed reelection campaign, the idea of a system that benefits the old over the young, has drawn scorn in some quarters.
After all, some progressives are still embittered over the fact that 74-year-old Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) beat out 35-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for this position at the end of the last Congress, shortly after Connolly was diagnosed with cancer. Connolly, who was first elected in 2008, had a positive prognosis at the time. However, within months the cancer proved untreatable and he stepped down as the top Democrat on the committee in March. The Virginia Democrat died in May.
Seniority, the concept that the longest tenured member of a committee should be its chair, is not written in any formal congressional rules. It’s as much a custom whose strength has ebbed and flowed. It only rigidly determined who became a committee chair for a little over half a century —- the period from the overthrow of the iron fisted Speaker Joe Cannon in 1911 to the post Watergate era in 1974, when rebellious House Democrats ousted three veteran committee chairmen, the youngest of whom was 73.
Since then, the seniority system has held increasingly less sway on Capitol Hill. Republicans have imposed term limits for committee chairman whereas Democrats have proved increasingly willing to oust older chairmen who are viewed as enfeebled or simply inadequate.
Yet the notion of seniority still has a certain persuasive power in internal debates. As former Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-N.Y.) argued in an essay 60 years ago (written when he had served a mere 38 years in the House and was in his sixth year as chair of the House Judiciary Committee) argued ‘the seniority criterion for selecting committee chairmen has the added virtue of being objective. It automatically eliminates the intrigues, deals, and compromises that characterize election campaigns.’
It does, though, inherently favor those members in safe seats who face little opposition in primaries or general elections. In the mid 20th century, this made seniority a bugaboo among those reformers in the Democratic Party who wanted to push progressive legislation, particularly on civil rights. After all, the Democrats most likely to be easily reelected year after year were conservative white southerners. Now though, in the third decade of the 21st century, those members of the caucus who most benefit from it are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who are often in safe districts, many of which are protected from gerrymandering as well by the Voting Rights Act.
The question is whether seniority’s appeal will continue to dwindle on Capitol Hill next week in the vote. It wouldn’t be the first time that Democrats have rejected the committee’s most senior member to lead it —- Lynch has already been passed over twice and is considered likely to be rejected yet again. But, of the two top contenders, the difference between passing over Lynch for a veteran like Mfume or newcomers like Garcia and Crockett is significant.
House Democrats have elected a number of less tenured members of their conference to top committee slots in recent years but going with Garcia or Crockett, who are only in their second terms in Congress, would set a new benchmark for doing it and further mark the transformation in how congressional power is accumulated and held.
After all, for generations, the surest path to power on Capitol Hill was a slow and steady apprenticeship before finally wielding a gavel. More and more, that’s not the case.
Instead, as Congress has become an increasingly enervated legislative body, the value of playing ‘the inside game’ has diminished. Seniority’s value was that it served as the most objective available proxy to determine legislative gravitas. It was never exact but it was better than the alternatives. No alternative has since emerged for the imperfect system of simply relying on length of tenure. In a social media age, legislative gravitas isn’t the only thing that matters anymore — cable news hits and viral posts, both of which are valuable currencies today, can be measured far more precisely.” [POLITICO]
INTERNATIONAL
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in Geneva today, said Iran would consider diplomacy if Israel stopped its attacks.
PHOTO: SEDAT SUNA/GETTY IMAGES
Iran remains defiant as pressure builds to end nuclear-fuel enrichment, raising doubts about whether a negotiated solution can be found.
“Top European officials have lined up behind the Trump administration’s demand that Tehran give up its uranium-enrichment program ( read for free). Israel’s top general said today the country is ready for a prolonged campaign to degrade Iran’s nuclear program. Fighting threatens to intensify with the possible entry of the U.S., a prospect that has alarmed officials in the oil-rich Persian Gulf who fear an escalatory spiral if Iran retaliates. The U.S. is racing to send more warships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles to the region as Iranian attacks drain Israel’s stocks of interceptors, while Israel’s non-stop barrage on Iran is testing the limits of what air power alone can achieve in conflict.” [Wall Street Journal]
Two Weeks of Diplomacy
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot (second from left), British Foreign Secretary David Lammy (second from right), German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (third from left) and European Union foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas (right) attend a work lunch in Geneva on June 20.Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images
“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his counterparts from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in Geneva on Friday to discuss the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, which marked its eighth day with both sides launching another barrage of missiles.
European leaders are hoping that a diplomatic solution can be achieved in the next two weeks—a deadline that U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on Thursday to decide whether to order direct U.S. military involvement against Iran. But Friday’s talks dissolved with no major breakthroughs, and both Iran and Israel remain adamant that negotiations cannot occur while strikes carry on.
‘We do not want to negotiate with anyone while the Zionist regime’s aggression continues,’ Araghchi said in an address broadcast on Iranian state TV on Friday. ‘It is the Americans who want talks.’
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, cast similar doubts on the effectiveness of negotiations. ‘We have seen diplomatic talks for the last few decades, and look at the results,’ Danon said, adding that Israel would only consider a genuine effort to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Such a proposal may be in the works. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe was preparing a deal to end the conflict that would include Iran reducing its uranium enrichment to zero, restricting its ballistic missile program, and ending its funding of proxy groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. This deal will likely be rejected, though, as Tehran maintains that it has the right to enrich uranium on its soil for civilian purposes.
Israel first launched strikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure last Friday, hitting uranium enrichment facilities, top military leaders, and other alleged command centers used by the Iranian government. Iran has retaliated with hundreds of drones and missile strikes, and it pulled out of nuclear talks with the United States originally scheduled for last Sunday.
This week, Trump called for unconditional surrender from Iran, which went ignored; took partial credit for control of Iranian airspace; and suggested that the United States might consider assassinating Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump will do ‘what’s best for America,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. ‘I can tell you that they’re already helping a lot.’
It is unclear whether Trump will order U.S. armed forces to assist Israel directly by targeting Iran’s nuclear sites. Such an attack would likely include U.S. B-2 bombers dropping bunker buster bombs on Fordow, a major underground uranium enrichment facility in Iran.
But experts warn that U.S. involvement to that scale could exacerbate the conflict and produce dangerous results. Armed attack on nuclear facilities “could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked,” Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned the United Nations Security Council on Friday.” [Foreign Policy]
“Landmark vote in London. The U.K. Parliament voted on Friday to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill patients. The legislation would apply only to mentally competent adults in England and Wales with six months or less to live. After receiving 314 votes in favor to 291 against, the bill now heads to the House of Lords for scrutiny, where it is expected to eventually pass.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party did not issue a formal stance on the bill, leading lawmakers to vote their personal choice rather than along party lines. An initial vote last November approved the legislation by 330 votes, signaling that some parliamentarians have since changed their minds. Starmer, himself, voted in favor on Friday.
Passing the divisive legislation puts the United Kingdom on course to follow Australia, Canada, and some U.S. states in permitting assisted dying with the help of a medical professional. Those in favor argue that the bill would give terminally ill individuals greater control over their own lives; however, the legislation’s opponents fear that it could put already vulnerable groups at greater risk of coercion.” [Foreign Policy]
“Diminishing power. Taiwan’s Central Election Commission approved recall petitions on Friday for almost half of the opposition party’s lawmakers. Twenty-four members of the Kuomintang (KMT) will face a vote on July 26 to potentially be removed from parliament. If the votes succeed, then the opposition could lose its legislative majority until the next general elections are held in 2028, giving President Lai Ching-te the support he needs to strengthen the country’s defenses against China.
Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party urged people on Friday to vote “yes” and “oppose the communists” who have hindered the president’s security goals. However, the KMT has called on voters to select “no” to “oppose the green communists and fight against dictatorship.”
In Taiwan, a recall vote can be issued if more than 10 percent of eligible voters in a legislator’s district back a petition demanding one. The lawmaker will be unseated if more than 50 percent of voters turn out and more than half of those people vote in favor. The ousted parliamentarians would not be eligible to run in the ensuing by-elections, to be held later this year.” [Foreign Policy]
“A deferential tone. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faced growing calls for her resignation on Friday after a recording was leaked on Wednesday of her negotiating with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen. Paetongtarn has been accused of being too soft toward the Cambodian leadership at a time when a border dispute has soured relations between the historically friendly neighbors.
Late last month, an armed skirmish in a contested area killed one Cambodian soldier. Both sides have blamed the other for instigating the attack, and the resulting diplomatic headache has led to travel bans, restrictions on Thai fruit and vegetable imports, and boycotts of Thai movies and TV shows.
On Wednesday, Hun Sen posted the 17-minute phone conversation after a shorter version was leaked online, saying he was doing so to ‘avoid any misunderstanding or misrepresentation in official matters.’ In the recording, Paetongtarn can be heard calling Hun Sen ‘uncle’ and referring to a Thai army commander in charge of the border area as an ‘opponent.’ Some argue that Paetongtarn was trying to appease Hun Sen, but others believe that her wording made Bangkok look weak in the face of potential conflict.
Paetongtarn apologized for her conversation on Thursday, and Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Cambodian ambassador to formally protest what it called a ‘breach of diplomatic etiquette.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Getting a root canal can be a terrifying experience without any additional stress. But for dozens of patients in the Czech Republic, their procedures had the added complication of being done by a fake dentist. Local authorities on Wednesday said they had arrested a 22-year-old posing as a dentist—as well as his two assistants—for practicing without a license or expertise. All three individuals have pleaded guilty and could face up to eight years in prison for illegal business, money laundering, attempted battery, drug dealing, and theft. Smile for the mugshot.” [Foreign Policy]
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
A week of Middle East conflict pushed oil prices higher.
“Brent crude futures closed today at $77.01 a barrel, an 11% jump since Israel launched its campaign against Iran. Traders feared a worst-case scenario in which Tehran could shock the global economy by cutting off ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for oil and gas supplies. Oil prices cooled today after the White House said President Trump would make a decision on whether to strike Iran within two weeks. Meanwhile, the dollar got a boost from Israel’s attack on Iran after a long stretch of trouble, but its long-run prospects don’t look good, writes James Mackintosh.” [Wall Street Journal]
TECH
1 big thing: What AI is willing to do
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
“AI models are increasingly willing to evade safeguards, resort to deception and even attempt to steal corporate secrets in test scenarios, Axios' Ina Fried writes from new Anthropic research.
‘Models that would normally refuse harmful requests sometimes chose to blackmail, assist with corporate espionage, and even take some more extreme actions, when these behaviors were necessary to pursue their goals,’ Anthropic's report states.
In one extreme scenario, the company even found that many models were willing to cut off the oxygen supply of a worker in a server room if that employee was an obstacle and the system was at risk of being shut down.
Even specific instructions to preserve human life and avoid blackmail didn't eliminate the risk that the models would engage in such behavior.
Anthropic stressed that these examples occurred in controlled simulations, not in real-world AI use.” [Axios]
HIGHER EDUCATION
“A law student at the University of Florida won a class award for a paper he wrote promoting racist views. It set off months of campus turmoil.” [New York Times]
“Trump’s funding cuts are forcing universities to consider tuition hikes and layoffs.” [New York Times]
Texas looks to enact restrictions on when and how students can protest
Gov. Greg Abbott may soon sign the measure, which would bar campus protesters from using microphones, putting up tents or demonstrating after 10 p.m.
By Tobi Raji
“Texas’s conservative governor may soon sign a measure that opponents say would dramatically limit how more than a million students enrolled in one of the country’s largest public university systems are allowed to protest on campus, part of the Republican response to last year’s roiling student protests over the Israel-Gaza war.
Senate Bill 2972 prohibits protesting between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., or during the last two weeks of the semester; and bans students from camping or erecting tents on campus, or wearing a disguise to conceal their identity. It also bars the use of microphones and drums.
State Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican from north of Houston, wrote S.B. 2972 — dubbed the “Campus Protection Act” — which he and other Republicans in the Texas legislature have touted as the state’s response to nationwide protests over the Israel-Gaza war. Last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called in more than 100 state troopers to clear out students attempting to occupy a campus lawn on the University of Texas at Austin.
“While the world watched Columbia, Harvard and other campuses across the country taken hostage by pro-terrorist mobs last year, Texas stood firm. UT allowed protest, not anarchy,” Creighton said in a statement to The Washington Post. “No First Amendment rights were infringed — and they never will be. This is how we protect student safety, defend our institutions, and safeguard freedom for generations to come.”
Abbott, who has slammed the pro-Palestinian demonstrations as “hate-filled” and “antisemitic,” has until Sunday to sign the bill into law or veto it. Abbott’s office declined to say which action he would take. If the governor does not act by Sunday, the proposal will become law by default.
Republicans in Texas say the proposal will prevent campus disruption and intimidation seen during last year’s pro-Palestinian protests. But critics across the political spectrum, such as the free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, say the proposal is too broad and threatens all forms of expressive activity.
‘Wearing a MAGA hat or a Bernie [Sanders] T-shirt would be prohibited between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. because the political apparel is an expressive act, and therefore covered as an expressive activity,’ said Tyler Coward, FIRE’s lead counsel for government affairs.
Under the proposed law, universities could bar a guest speaker from campus if school officials believe there will be a large protest, Coward said.
‘Say [Turning Point USA] brings in Charlie Kirk … and the officials hear of possible large-scale protests against that speech, then the law almost sort of requires them to cancel that event in the last few weeks of campus, essentially giving the protesters a heckler’s veto over who can speak,’ Coward said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas also criticized the proposed law, saying in a statement that it “threatens the free expression of all Texans, regardless of political beliefs.
“This bill imposes broad restrictions that allow school officials to restrict how, when, and where Texans can speak on campus — undermining the First Amendment rights of students, faculty, staff, and the general public,” said Caro Achar, engagement coordinator for free speech at the ACLU of Texas.
In a statement, Creighton said S.B. 2972 builds on the First Amendment protections outlined in an expansive 2019 law he co-wrote that said “all persons” had a right to participate in campus demonstrations. That bill was signed into law at a time when Republicans accused higher education institutions of censoring conservative voices. Creighton said there’s no daylight between the two bills.
“Both laws protect the First Amendment rights of students, faculty, and staff. S.B. 2972 ensures that speech stays free, protest stays peaceful, and chaos never takes hold,” he said.
The Texas legislature approved S.B. 2972 earlier this month, with nearly all Democrats opposed.
Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris told The Post in an email that the governor is closely reviewing more than 1,000 pieces of legislation that have been sent to his desk. Mahaleris did not say whether the governor would sign the bill into law, but FIRE has asked Abbot to veto the measure.
Coward called S.B. 2972 a ‘significant departure’ from the 2019 law, which at the time marked Texas out as a potential ‘leader in campus free speech’ and ‘protecting student rights,’ he added. ‘They should be proud of that bill.’
The approval of S.B. 2972 comes amid a larger battle over academic freedom in Texas.
Last month, lawmakers approved a measure that would empower governor-appointed university regents to screen faculty, programs and courses in the state’s public university system. That bill would create an ombudsman’s office in the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board charged with investigating claims of noncompliance and complaints lodged against professors. Faculty could also be removed or face civil penalties for violations, and schools could be barred from spending state funds.
Creighton also wrote that measure, arguing at the time it was introduced that it would ensure ‘institutions operate with integrity’ and are ‘free from ideological bias.’
‘Strong oversight is essential to keeping Texas universities at the forefront of education and innovation,’ Creighton said. ‘With taxpayer dollars and students’ futures at stake, universities must operate with accountability.’” [Washington Post]
SPORTS
GAME OF THE WEEK
Andrew Nembhard, left, and Chet Holmgren. Abbie Parr/Associated Press
“Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, N.B.A. finals: For the first time in almost a decade, the N.B.A. finals are going to a decisive Game 7. The Thunder have been the oddsmakers’ favorites in all seven games; that hasn’t seemed to bother the Pacers, who crushed the Thunder in Game 6. This series doesn’t have big-city teams or celebrity stars (though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on his way). It does, however, have great basketball: The Pacers’ offense moves at warp speed, while the Thunder’s pestering defense seems to steal the ball every other possession.” [New York Times]
Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Film and TV
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, left, and Alfie Williams in “28 Years Later.” Miya Mizuno/Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures
“Flesh-shredding creatures are wandering, crawling and, most worryingly, running amok in “28 Years Later,” the third installment in the zombie film series. Read the review.
Three directors are credited on Pixar’s “Elio,” about an orphaned boy who dreams of being abducted by aliens. But they’re not all listed onscreen at the same time. Here’s why.
Times critics put together a list of the best TV shows of 2025 so far, including the animated conspiracy thriller “Common Side Effects.”
In an era of skepticism around live-action remakes, Universal believed a new “How to Train Your Dragon” would draw audiences. Read the inside story of the studio’s big bet.
More Culture
Studio Ghibli
Many modern video games take inspiration from Studio Ghibli, the famed Japanese animation studio.
FIFA, soccer’s governing body, unveiled a luxury fashion line at a starry party in L.A. See inside.
New York City restaurants won three of the six major awards at the James Beard Restaurant awards this week, including outstanding chef and outstanding hospitality.
After a ban last year, Joey Chestnut will return to the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Leonard Lauder, the visionary executive behind Estée Lauder who died last week at 92, was the original beauty influencer.” [New York Times]