Supreme Court deals blow to Voting Rights Act along ideological lines

🚀 Plus: Trump meets with the Artemis II astronauts

12:30 REPORT 12:30 REPORT Wednesday, April 29 | By Cate Martel Today in DC: ☁️ 61°  View Online  |  Sign up It’s Wednesday. The official teaser for the next season of “Ted Lasso” has dropped! The new season will debut on Aug. 5, and I CANNOT wait. 🎥 Watch In today's issue: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana voting map Hegseth in the hot seat; says Dems are U.S.’s ‘biggest adversary’ Kevin Warsh’s Fed nomination advances King Charles, Queen Camilla spend today in NYC State dinner tidbits: Menu, VIP guests and dress designers Trump meets with Artemis II astronauts 🗺️ SUPREME COURT A big blow to the Voting Rights Act: AP The Supreme Court voided Louisiana’s new congressional map today that added a second majority-Black district. The decision was 6-3 along ideological lines and has major implications for the future of the Voting Rights Act. Why this is meaningful: “Louisiana’s legal saga thrust the state into the center of conservatives’ push to weaken a central provision of the 1965 law that has long enabled advocacy groups to force new majority-minority districts,” writes The Hill's Zach Schonfeld and Caroline Vakil. The decision does not strike down the provision entirely, but it does weaken it. The court’s conservative justices argue this ruling is limited and keeps the key components of the Voting Rights Act in place, but the liberal justices warn this decision has “completed demolition” the landmark civil rights law. 🔍 Read the Supreme Court ruling Also, the court ruled for faith-based pregnancy centers: “The Supreme Court unanimously sided with a group of faith-based pregnancy centers on Wednesday in their fight with New Jersey’s Democratic attorney general, who is investigating allegations the centers may have misled donors to believe they support abortions,” reports The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld. Meaning: “Justice Neil Gorsuch said First Choice Women’s Resource Centers can proceed with its First Amendment challenge to the office’s subpoena in federal court. Lower judges ruled the centers hadn’t shown a chilling effect yet, so they needed to wait until New Jersey took more aggressive enforcement.” Read more 🪑 ON CAPITOL HILL A little bit of Hegseth in the House. A little bit of Dan Caine by his side: House Republican lawmakers finally have their chance to air their frustrations with how the Trump administration has handled the war in Iran today. House Armed Services Democrats grilled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine this morning as the war nears its 60th day with no clear end. But Republicans have largely held back from asking tough questions.  💻 Watch the hearing The line getting the most traction: "The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth said. 🎥 Watch the clip 🎥 Protesters swarming Hegseth as he arrived The 60th day is meaningful: The president technically needs congressional authorization to continue the war after 60 days. However, Republicans are divided on whether to enforce that policy. Time reports that Democrats are considering suing the Trump administration if the conflict extends beyond Friday’s 60-day deadline. Keep in mind: This is just Day 1 of back-to-back days of hearings for Hegseth and Caine. 💬 Follow today’s live blog A little bit of Kevin Warsh put to a vote: Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s pick to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, has successfully made it out of committee. The Senate Banking Committee advanced his nomination this morning in a 13-11 party-line vote, sending Warsh’s nomination to the Senate floor for a Senate-wide vote. ➤ ALSO HAPPENING TODAY: Powell is holding what is likely his final news conference of his term at 2:30 p.m. He will announce any changes to interest rates. ➤ PAM BONDI’S NEW DATE TO TESTIFY ON THE EPSTEIN FILES: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will testify before Congress on May 29 about the Jeffrey Epstein file investigation. Remember, she failed to appear for her previously scheduled deposition. 👑 THE ROYAL VISIT Now, to New York: King Charles III and Queen Camilla are spending the day in New York City after being wined and dined at the White House on Tuesday evening. (More on that below.) The couple will visit the Sept. 11, 2001, memorial in New York around 1 p.m. 💻 Watch live ➤ THE KING’S SPEECH TO CONGRESS: Charles spoke to both chambers of Congress on Tuesday. The gist of his speech: He highlighted the shared values of the U.S. and the U.K., stressed the importance of international cooperation and celebrated the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Read more  Tidbit: A man dressed as George Washington sat in the gallery. 📸 Photo and back story And now we pivot to the ‘Lifestyle and Entertainment section’ of this newsletter: White House state dinners are always so fun to cover. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted King Charles III and Queen Camilla for an extravagant white tie affair on Tuesday night. Here are all the fun details: Camilla and Melania’s fits: The first lady wore a pale pink haute couture gown by Christian Dior with gloves, per Vanity Fair. Camilla wore a bright pink gown by London-based designer Fiona Clare paired with an amethyst necklace. 📸 Photos The menu: The dinner menu included a garden vegetable velouté, spring herbed ravioli, dover sole meunière and beehive-shaped chocolate gâteau. 📖 Full description of the offerings Spotted at the dinner: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos; golfer Rory McIlroy; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch; Paramount Skydance’s David Ellison; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and more. 🎥 Live music to entertain guests The king cracked a joke: "I cannot help noticing the readjustments to the East Wing, Mr. President, following your visit to Windsor Castle last year,” Charles said in remarks. "And I'm sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814." 🎥 Watch the clip And so did Trump: “It was built by a gentleman named William the Conqueror in the year 1070 and I asked the King, I said, 'Was he a nice man? William the Conqueror.' He said, I tend to doubt it. I don't think so,'” Trump said about Windsor Castle. Giving the next ‘No Kings protest’ something to talk about: A few hours before the dinner, the White House posted a photo of the president and the king with the caption “TWO KINGS.” By the way: Prince William and Princess Kate are celebrating their 15th anniversary today. 📸 Family photo posted for their anniversary ➤ TIDBIT: I included video of an American comedian who impersonates King Charles meeting the king. A better video has dropped! You can hear the impression more clearly. 🎥 Watch the new clip 📰 OTHER NEWS: It’s deja vu all over again for James Comey: Former FBI director James Comey is expected to turn himself in to law enforcement today after facing a second indictment from President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ). The allegation: Comey posted a photo of seashells on a beach last May, which were arranged to form the numbers "86-47." Some claim it was a call for the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. Comey has denied any wrongdoing. 🎥 Watch Comey’s new video For context: “Legal experts [are] shellshocked over new Comey indictment,” reports NBC News. New video of the WHCA shooting: The Washington Post reviewed video footage of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner suspect trying to storm the event. What you can see in this new footage: “[The suspect] appeared to raise his shotgun in the direction of a Secret Service officer who then fired at him at least four times as he bolted through a security checkpoint outside Saturday’s White House correspondents’ dinner.” Did the suspect fire his weapon?: “There is no indication in the footage reviewed by The Post that Allen fired his weapon, though authorities have charged him with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. The footage shows no obvious flash from the muzzle of the shotgun before the suspect runs out of the frame.” 📸 Still photos that help piece together what happened ➤ THE DOJ SAYS THE SUSPECT TOOK A MIRROR SELFIE RIGHT BEFOREHAND: The man charged with attempting to assassinate the president took a mirror selfie shortly before the incident, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). 📸 See the photo ➤ QUICK HITS: — A federal watchdog says it will conduct a review of the Justice Department’s compliance with Congress’s mandate to release the Epstein files. — An annual income of $100,000 is considered “lower-middle class” in 12 states, according to a new analysis. 📝 List of the 12 states ➤ MORE READS: The Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Wants to Ban China’s High-Tech Cars, but They’re Already Here in El Paso The Atlantic: The YOLO Presidency: Trump is focused on becoming one of history’s “great men.” The Hill: Senate GOP pushes back on Trump ballroom amid affordability worries 🗓️ COMING UP The House and Senate are in. President Trump is at the White House. (All times EDT) 2 p.m. Trump meets with the Artemis II astronauts. 💻 Livestream 2:15 p.m. The Senate votes on the confirmation of Robert Cekada to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 📆 Today’s agenda 4 p.m. Trump holds Oval Office policy meetings. 4:45 p.m. Two Senate procedural votes. 9 p.m. Last House votes for the day. 📆 Today’s agenda 🐝 INTERNET BUZZ 🍤 Celebrate: Today is National Shrimp Scampi Day.   🌭 Another option added to Costco’s $1.50 hot dog combo: Costco is still not changing the $1.50 price tag for a hot dog and a soda. However, customers can now opt for water instead of soda. 👋 AND FINALLY… To leave with a smile, can we all agree this babysitter truly deserves a raise.  Stay Engaged  📺 Miss the previous issue of this newsletter? Catch up with a 1-minute video. I love hearing from you — send your feedback, tips and favorite cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Check out more newsletters here. 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