Abortion’s next test is the midterms
Plus: Trump’s Harvard pressure campaign hits a legal wall, lawmakers advocate for better post-disaster pet reunification and DNC listens in on 2024 drop-off voters.
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THE LINEUP
Abortion’s next test is the midterms
Trump’s Harvard pressure campaign hits a legal wall
Lawmakers advocate for better post-disaster pet reunification
DNC listens in on 2024 drop-off voter
THE LEAD
👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Welcome back to Congress Nerd Daily. I hope today was everything for you.
Programming note: Congress Nerd Daily is taking a little summer break for the next two weeks. Once Upon a Hill will still publish Congress Nerd Sunday on Aug. 16 and Aug. 23 before returning to regularly scheduled programming the week of Aug. 30, when the House returns from its August recess. Until then, enjoy the last few weeks of summer—and try not to think about September government-funding deadlines.
Abortion’s midterm test: Abortion rights flexed their political muscle again last week as voters in Kansas and Missouri overwhelmingly rejected Republican-backed measures that reproductive-rights advocates warned would weaken protections in both states.
The results extended an extraordinary post-Roe winning streak for reproductive-rights supporters ahead of another major test this fall. Voters in Nevada, Virginia, Idaho and Missouri will decide abortion-related ballot measures alongside races that will determine control of Congress and state governments....
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THE POWERS THAT BE
Trump’s Harvard pressure campaign hits a legal wall: A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard, a setback to its broader effort to use civil-rights enforcement and federal funding to force changes at elite universities. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns found the Justice Department failed to plausibly allege an ongoing Title VI violation…
THE POLICY DESK
Lawmakers advocate for better post-disaster pet reunification: Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Young Kim (R-Calif.) led 39 lawmakers in asking the Government Accountability Office to examine how pets displaced during federally declared disasters are tracked and reunited with their owners…
THE TRAIL
DNC listens in on 2024 drop-off voters: The Democratic National Committee says affordability emerged as the dominant concern from nearly 10,000 extended conversations with voters who cast ballots in 2020 but sat out the 2024 election…




