The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 today that Louie Gohmert and Greg Abbott will probably be making some really amazing statements about secession soon. Almost no one wants to appear at Donald Trump’s convention, though Clint Eastwood’s imaginary Barack Obama doesn’t have plans. And Scott Brown wants Elizabeth Warren to submit to a DNA test, so don’t act too surprised when you catch the former senator loitering about a Warren/Clinton rally wearing latex gloves, clutching a Milwaukee's Best and waving a pair of tweezers about. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Monday, June 27th, 2016:
SANDERS' CLOUT PUT TO TEST IN NEW YORK - One House race, to give you a sense of these things, is worthy roughly 70 gabillionty platform meetings. Amanda Terkel: "Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ (I-Vt.) political muscle in down-ballot races will face a key test Tuesday, as his chosen candidate in New York’s 24th congressional district faces off against two competitors who have more support from New York elected officials and Democratic organizations. Sanders went to New York on Friday to campaign for Eric Kingson, a 70-year-old Syracuse University professor and political novice. Kingson co-founded the national organization Social Security Works and started the Strengthen Social Security Coalition......Kingson endorsed Sanders for president, whereas his two opponents, former political staffer Colleen Deacon, 38, and attorney Steve Williams, 53, endorsed Hillary Clinton. Deacon worked for the mayor of Syracuse and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the state’s two senators. Former DCCC Chair Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) endorsed Williams." [HuffPost]
PAUL RYAN IS TIRED OF ALL YOUR SHENANIGANS - Paul Ryan is the Tracy Flick of Congress. Scott Wong: "Speaker Paul Ryan warned that Republicans 'will not tolerate' it if Democrats launch another sit-in on the House floor after the Fourth of July recess to force a vote on gun control. In a television interview in his home state of Wisconsin, Ryan would not say specifically how his party would react differently to another protest but signaled that there would be a swift response. The Speaker called Democrats' 24-hour-plus occupation of the House floor last week 'a low moment for the people's House,' but Democrats who joined the protest have vowed to hold another sit-in next week until Republicans allow a vote on gun control following the June 12 Orlando massacre...In a separate radio interview that aired Monday, Ryan said Democrats had hoped to get arrested during last week’s protest. But Republicans, aware that putting civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and other senior Democrats in handcuffs could cause the GOP political damage, decided to avoid a physical altercation and never called on the sergeant at arms to intervene." [The Hill]
PELOSI BURNS RYAN'S 'A BETTER WAY' - Jen Bendery: "After six years of anticipation, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has finally unveiled what Republicans are calling their alternative to Obamacare: a 37-page document that reads like a mission statement and lacks details on what, exactly, the GOP would put in place of the health care law now benefitting 20 million people. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) can’t make much sense of it. 'It’s not a bill. It isn’t scored,' Pelosi said in a Wednesday roundtable with reporters. 'We’re trying to figure out how many people would lose insurance.'" [HuffPost]
DELANEY DOWNER - Jason Silverstein has a kinda mean story: "Maine's Trump-loving, dog-stealing Gov. Paul LePage recently threatened to end his state's food stamp program because people were using it to buy junk food. But he's apparently okay with his citizens scarfing down $11 bacon-wrapped scallops and $15 cheeseburger pizza — since his wife will be serving them at her new summer job. The guv's love, Ann LePage, recently started her gig as a waitress at McSeagulls seafood restaurant — after her husband tried, and failed, doubling his position’s salary to put it among the highest-paid governor gigs in the country." Food stamps generally cannot be used in restaurants. Also, Ann LePage seems nice. Sorry, Ann. [Daily News]
Like HuffPost Hill? Then pre-order Eliot's book, The Beltway Bible: A Totally Serious A-Z Guide To Our No-Good, Corrupt, Incompetent, Terrible, Depressing, and Sometimes Hilarious Government.
Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
OH MAN CONSERVATIVES MUST BE LOSING THEIR MINDS OVER THE SUPREME COURT - Conservatives watching the GOP nominate Donald Trump is a bit like us Yankees fans watching the team sign aging veteran after aging veteran in the 2000s -- you just know the next four to eight years are down the drain. Cristian Farias: "The Supreme Court struck as unconstitutional part of a restrictive Texas statute that threatened to shutter half of the state’s remaining abortion clinics and deny millions of women the right to a safe abortion. The ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt represents the most significant victory for abortion rights at the high court since the turn of the century, as states have scrambled to pass and defend similar laws across the country, seeking to chip away at the landmark Roe v. Wade...Avowing a concern for women’s health, Texas lawmakers passed the sweeping HB 2, which, among other requirements, mandated that abortion clinics undergo costly structural upgrades so as to resemble mini hospitals, and that abortion doctors obtain so-called admitting privileges at nearby hospitals — all in the name of reducing health risks and increasing safety." [HuffPost]
Also this: "The Supreme Court ruled in a decision announced Monday that a reckless domestic assault qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, and therefore bars individuals from owning or buying guns under federal law. 'A person who assaults another recklessly 'use[s]' force, no less than one who carries out that same action knowingly or intentionally,' wrote Justice Elena Kagan, who authored the majority opinion. She was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito." [HuffPost]
SUPREME COURT SPRINGS BOB MCDONNELL FROM THE CLINK - His watch couldn't be reached for comment. Farias: "The Supreme Court on Monday gave former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) the reprieve of his life -- reversing his multiple convictions for corruption and effectively sparing him from federal prison...In a unanimous ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court left open the possibility for a new trial for McDonnell, while making clear the case is filled with indiscretions that may dismay the public…At the crux of the case was the question of what kind of behavior by elected officials counts as an 'official act' under federal anti-corruption laws. McDonnell -- aided by a coalition of legal scholars, former government officials and defense attorneys -- argued against a definition that sweeps too broadly and punishes otherwise innocent, everyday political activity. The Supreme Court on Monday largely agreed, relying on the text of federal law, its own precedents and constitutional principles “to adopt a more bounded” reading of what “official act” means." [HuffPost]
HOW ABOUT THAT NEW LOOK TRUMP Sam Stein: "In the aftermath of an appearance by presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in Ohio on Monday, Trump chose to attack Warren rather than the former secretary of state herself.'Elizabeth Warren is a total fraud,' he told NBC’s Hailey Jackson, apparently unable to contain himself. 'I know it. Other people who work with her know it. ... She made up her heritage, which I think is racist. I think she’s a racist, actually, because what she did was very racist.' For those unfamiliar with the backstory, Trump’s obsession here is Warren’s decision to tout her Native American heritage while she was a tenured faculty member at Harvard Law School in the mid-1990s. Warren says her family has long identified this way, though there is not much evidence to substantiate the lineage." [HuffPost]
Looks like *someone* just read USA Today article about 23andme. "Harvard can release the records, she can authorize the release of those records, or she can take a DNA test," Scott Brown said on a conference call with reporters today. "It’s a reverse form of racism, quite frankly." [WaPo]
NO ONE WANTS TO SPEAK AT DONALD TRUMP'S CONVENTION - How many times can the Slap Chop guy reasonably introduce a speaker? Asking for a friend. Alex Isenstadt: "With the convention less than a month away, POLITICO contacted more than 50 prominent governors, senators and House members to gauge their interest in speaking. Only a few said they were open to it, and everyone else said they weren’t planning on it, didn’t want to or weren’t going to Cleveland at all — or simply didn’t respond...Trump’s team is tight-lipped about to whom it’ll extend speaking invitations, as is the Republican National Committee. But many of the party’s most prominent pols say they’re flat-out not interested — and that Trump should look elsewhere. Their rejections range from terse to abrupt, and — in a year otherwise lacking in GOP unity — they seem to be using the same talking points." [Politico]
Sad Jeb alone in the airport (via @MadisonAveSpy).
BENGHAZI COMMITTEE UPDATE - Amanda Terkel: "One of the most mysterious figures in the investigation by the House Select Committee on Benghazi has been 'John from Iowa,' a man who called into Sean Hannity’s radio show in May 2013 and said he was a drone operator who saw what happened on the night of the attacks in Libya a year earlier. The committee, led by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), pressed the Defense Department to find this talk radio caller and make him available to lawmakers...Two months later, the committee was finally able to interview 'John from Iowa.' … On Monday, the Democratic members of the Benghazi committee released their own report, saying the GOP statement was skirting around the main issue: In the end, 'John from Iowa' didn’t really have anything to add." [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a lazy wolf.
VLADIMIR POOPIN - Josh Rogin: "Russian intelligence and security services have been waging a campaign of harassment and intimidation against U.S. diplomats, embassy staff and their families in Moscow and several other European capitals that has rattled ambassadors and prompted Secretary of State John F. Kerry to ask Vladimir Putin to put a stop to it...But many of the recent acts of intimidation by Russian security services have crossed the line into apparent criminality. In a series of secret memos sent back to Washington, described to me by several current and former U.S. officials who have written or read them, diplomats reported that Russian intruders had broken into their homes late at night, only to rearrange the furniture or turn on all the lights and televisions, and then leave. One diplomat reported that an intruder had defecated on his living room carpet." [WaPo]
COMFORT FOOD
- Mashing up "Game of Thrones" with Wes Anderson.
- Remain or Stay, this is the most British thing you'll see this month.
- The best GOP signs from the party's congressional softball victory.
TWITTERAMA
@leyawn: *giant meteor hurtling towards earth* If we destroy it, we are no better than the meteor itself. let's hear what the meteor has to say
@JohnMankiewicz:Boris Johnson literally looks like someone going as Trump on Halloween.
@morninggloria: a little scary that reproductive choice for millions of women might hinge on how constipated and cranky anthony kennedy was on argument day
Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill).