MORNING REPORT

July 6, 2026 | By Jared Gans

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In today's issue:

▪ McMorrow exits Michigan Senate race

▪ Red card overturned after Trump pressure

▪ Iran holds funeral for Khamenei

▪ Venezuela earthquakes divide GOP

Michigan Democratic Senate primary narrows to one-on-one matchup

One of the most contentious Democratic Senate primaries this year is now set to be a head-to-head matchup between the two wings of the party.

Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D) suspended her campaign Sunday after seeing a significant drop in polls. That leaves the contest between moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and progressive former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed.

The timing is critical, as it comes just ahead of a planned primary debate Tuesday that will now only feature Stevens and El-Sayed — and just after the one-month mark until primary day, Aug. 4.

Holding onto the Senate seat, held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D), is critical for Democrats if they want a chance at winning back a majority in the upper chamber. But the competing wings of the Democratic Party disagree strongly on how best to do that in the Great Lakes State.

Stevens, who has served in the House since 2019, has largely coalesced the establishment behind her. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has effectively thrown his support to her, and she has the backing of former Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

She picked up a key endorsement from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel shortly after McMorrow dropped out.

El-Sayed has sought to rally progressive enthusiasm, accusing the Democratic establishment, corporations and pro-Israel groups of trying to put their thumb on the scale in Stevens’s favor. He’s backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker.

McMorrow had sought to chart a middle path between her opponents, and it seemed to be working for some time. She won support from Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Chris Murphy (Conn.), plus the editorial board of the Detroit Free Press.

But her polling largely collapsed recently, as both of her opponents chipped away at her support, leaving her in the single digits in some surveys while Stevens and El-Sayed competed for first.

Whether Stevens or El-Sayed will clearly benefit more from McMorrow’s departure from the race is unclear. Minimal polling has been conducted evaluating voters’ second preference in the primary or who they would support in a hypothetical two-person race.

El-Sayed has been riding momentum recently, leading Stevens by about 8 points in Decision Desk HQ’s (DDHQ) polling average. A few polls have also shown him leading in a hypothetical general election matchup against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the likely GOP nominee.

That could help El-Sayed push back on arguments from critics and Stevens supporters who worry that nominating the progressive could jeopardize Democrats’ chances of winning in the battleground state.

Stevens argues her moderate bona fides may have more appeal in a state that voted for President Trump in 2024. El-Sayed and Stevens both praised McMorrow in statements responding to her decision and said they would continue to work to ensure they’re the Democratic nominee.

McMorrow notably did not endorse either candidate, pledging to back whoever wins the August primary.

Still, her absence may only turn up the primary’s intensity as the two remaining campaigns battle for the key Senate seat and a leg up in the national debate over how Democrats can win in swing states.

▪ The Hill: Far-left wins set up challenge for Hakeem Jeffries.

▪ The Hill: Wes Moore distances from democratic socialist ideas.

3 Things to Know Today

Trump will host officials from the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq at the Oval Office this morning to ring the opening bells and celebrate the start of Trump Accounts, which officially launched on Saturday. Children born between 2025 and 2028 are eligible to receive contributions.
Trump said he overturned a decision to cancel July 4 festivities on the National Mall because of lightening in Washington D.C. The event was delayed Saturday evening but ultimately went forward, with Trump speaking at 11 p.m. and the fireworks starting close to midnight.
A key evidentiary hearing will take place this morning in the murder case of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as prosecutors will argue they have enough evidence for the suspect to stand trial and face the death penalty. Erika Kirk is expected to attend.

LEADING THE DAY

RED CARD REVOCATION: A red-card suspension for a top player for the U.S. men’s World Cup team was overturned Sunday after Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to discuss the matter.

A White House source familiar told The Hill that Trump made the call to push against the one-game suspension of Folarin Balogun for a foul during the U.S.’s first knockout round match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. The U.S. won 2-0 to advance to the next round, but the red card against Balogun was set to force him to sit out the Monday game against Belgium.

“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The reversal itself isn’t completely unprecedented but is rare. The New York Times reported that this is the first time since 1962 that FIFA nullified a suspension for a red card received during the World Cup.

Trump has maintained a strong interest in the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the U.S., and close ties with Infantino. The FIFA president gave Trump a new award called the FIFA Peace Prize last year.

Belgium’s coach slammed the move, saying he thought it was a joke when he heard about the decision, ESPN reported. The Belgian federation said it is “investigating all potential options” to oppose the ruling.

The U.S. will play Belgium at 8 p.m. in the round of 16.

▪ Yahoo Sports: Cristiano Ronaldo confirms his last World Cup.

▪ ESPN: Brazil suffers earliest World Cup exit since 1990.

HEADING OUT: The president is set to travel this evening to Ankara, Turkey, for the annual NATO summit, where he will meet with key allies Tuesday and Wednesday.

Several key defense issues will likely be among the alliance’s discussion topics, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Iran conflict and Trump’s flirtation with pulling U.S. troops out of Europe.

The pressure will be on NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to manage relations between Trump and the other member countries. Rutte has been viewed as a savvy communicator with Trump to smooth over tensions during his second term.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepared a plan to cut additional forces in Europe, after Trump said in May he would pull 5,000 troops out of Germany in frustration over European allies’ lack of assistance in the Iran war. But Hegseth’s plan was nixed after being shared with the White House.

Trump is also expected to have two key meetings with nonmembers who were invited to the summit: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

In the U.S., the Russia-Ukraine war has taken a back seat to the Iran war over the past few months, though Trump has expressed eagerness to end the conflict. Russia launched a wave of ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Monday ahead of the summit, exploiting vulnerabilities in the country’s air defenses.

▪ The Hill: Vladimir Putin under increasing pressure from Ukraine war.

▪ The Associated Press: Rutte faces challenge at summit over Trump demands.

HANDS OFF: Iran is warning the U.S. and Israel not to launch any attacks this week as the country finally holds its long-delayed funeral ceremonies for its deceased former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The services began on Friday and are scheduled to continue through the week, drawing millions of mourners and various world leaders.

Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic as its second supreme leader for more than three decades, was killed at the end of February in an Israeli airstrike. His funeral was delayed amid the hostilities that continued for months of war.

He is set to be buried on Thursday.

“We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the U.S. and the Zionist regime, to avoid any miscalculation and ⁠to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country,” Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement broadcast by state media last week.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Khamenei, has not been seen in public since he took over as the leader, and whether he will attend any of the ceremonies is unclear. The younger Khamenei was reportedly injured during the initial strikes on Iran.

▪ The Hill: Hegseth quiet on Iran as Trump pursues diplomacy.

▪ The Hill: Trump battles time in bid to boost weapons stockpiles.

‘ONE MORE TIME’: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the House will attempt to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act once more through budget reconciliation as the GOP holds onto hopes of getting the bill approved before the midterms.

“We passed it three times in the House. We’re going to try one more time on a budget reconciliation bill, and I think that will be the way to get it through the Senate, and finally, to the president’s desk,” Johnson told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream in an interview.

Trump and GOP hard-liners have sought to pressure congressional Republicans to pass the bill, which would require people to provide proof of citizenship before registering to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot.

However, the Senate parliamentarian has already ruled that most of the bill is not permissible under reconciliation, as it’s not related to revenue or spending.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and other staunch conservatives have pledged to block all procedural votes on the House floor until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act. Lawmakers went home for the July 4 recess last week without any resolution.

▪ The Hill: House GOP’s packed to-do list faces ticking clock.

▪ The Hill: Tom Kean Jr.’s disclosure raises mental health stigma questions.

WHEN & WHERE

The president will participate in the launch of Trump Accounts at 9:30 a.m. He will participate in a Rose Garden Club lunch at 11:30 a.m. and greet the National Border Patrol Council Executive Committee at 2 p.m. He will participate in a policy meeting at 5:30 p.m. and later depart the White House to travel to Ankara for the NATO Summit.
The Senate will meet at 9 a.m. for a pro forma session.
The House will convene at 10:30 a.m. for a pro forma session.

ZOOM IN

SWEEPING THE NATION: An anti-incumbent sentiment across the country may pose challenges for Republicans hoping to hold both houses of Congress in the fall.

Members of both parties have been victims of the backlash, as five Democratic and three Republican House members have lost their primaries this year. GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and John Cornyn (Texas) have also lost their renomination fights, becoming the first elected incumbents to lose a primary in more than a decade.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports Republicans on Capitol Hill are worried the antiestablishment feeling could cost them both the House and the Senate.

A senior Republican aide told him that Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the chair of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, has warned colleagues privately “how bad polling is” for the party and how Trump is losing ground “among all groups.”

“We know that the party in power tends to lose House seats in a midterm election, but the number of seats lost is highly correlated with the president’s popularity,” Republican pollster Whit Ayres said.

Trump’s approval rating has risen somewhat from his second term low of 38 percent in the DDHQ polling average, but he remains just above 40 percent.

Still, some Republican pollsters said they believe the party can overcome political headwinds through highlighting contrasts with Democratic candidates.

▪ The Hill: Johnson says ‘many Mamdanis popping up’ in Democratic Party.

ELSEWHERE

REPUBLICAN RIFT: The Trump administration's response to the two major earthquakes that shook Venezuela last month is deepening a divide in the GOP over the Trump-backed regime.

The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports that Republicans hawkish on the South American country are warning that interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez must be cut out of accessing U.S. assistance to the country.

“We should be extracting more from the regime, say if you want our help then we need to speed up the process of restoring democracy to Venezuela,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) told CNN last week.

The administration has mobilized a major response to the pair of quakes that struck the country, setting aside $300 million in humanitarian support and sending the U.S. military to help secure the airport and manage relief logistics. Thousands of people were killed, though the official death toll is likely a sizeable undercount.

Some Republican lawmakers said Rodríguez’s government is to blame for holding back humanitarian aid from those who most need it.

Rodríguez has been in charge of Venezuela for six months since the audacious U.S. operation to capture former leader Nicolás Maduro in January. Since then, Trump hasn’t emphasized the need for the regime to shift toward democracy and instead praised Rodríguez as a partner in securing access to Venezuela’s oil reserves.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters last month that the earthquakes are a “setback” for the administration’s three-phase plan for Venezuela to undergo a democratic transition.

▪ Reuters: Death toll rises past 3,300.

▪ The Guardian: Rodríguez defends earthquakes response.

OPINION

Happy Independence Day, America: Your revolution inspired ours, Michael Martin writes in The Hill.
This ‘conservative’ Supreme Court decision could be the left’s friend, Jason Willick writes in The Washington Post.

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congrats to last week’s Morning Report quiz winners! Hope everyone had a great July 4 and long weekend.

Here’s who went 4/4: Stan Wasser, Jess Elger, Richard Baznik, Michael Salanik, Chuck Shoenenberger, Harry Strulocivi, Carol Pilcher, Ned Sauthoff, Peter Sprofera, M. Whitehouse, Jenessa Wagner, William Moore, Jami McLaughlin, Dennis Barksdale, Ryan White, Gene Smith, William Roberts, Ken Barclay, Steve Comer, Christie Lee Thompson, Steve James, Savannah Petracca, Mark R. Williamson, Linda L. Field and Naomi Petracca.

John Adams believed that future Independence Day celebrations would take place on July 2, as that was the day that the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence. July 4, 1776, was when the delegates approved the language of the Declaration of Independence.

Forcing slavery upon the colonies was not one of the 27 grievances against King George III listed in the declaration. Thomas Jefferson had included it in his original draft, but it was removed during edits by the delegates.

New York abstained from the vote on independence, as its state legislature hadn’t provided its delegates with authorization to vote in favor by that time. The state’s delegates later received authorization and signed the declaration.

Jefferson’s earliest initial draft of the declaration is mostly lost to history, except for a short passage recovered and kept at the Library of Congress. But the “original rough draught,” as some responses noted, is kept at the Library of Congress. Because of the confusion, all answers will be accepted for this question.