1 JUL 26 SITREP

• In a 6-3 decision split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court sided with a Republican-led challenge, ruling that coordinated spending limits for political campaigns violate the 1st Amendment.
• The Court ruled on two consolidated cases from Idaho and West Virginia, upholding state laws that base eligibility for women’s sports on a student’s sex assigned at birth, finding the laws do not violate Title IX; Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that states may maintain separate women’s and girls’ sports for biological females to address safety and competitive-fairness concerns.
• The majority held that an executive order restricting automatic birthright citizenship violates the 14th Amendment, with Justices Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts identified as part of that voting bloc; Kavanaugh concurred only in part, writing that the order does not violate the 14th Amendment but does conflict with a federal statute Congress could amend. President Trump responded that the ruling was a setback but said Congress could still address the issue through legislation without a constitutional amendment.
• A constitutional remedy to the birthright citizenship ruling would require an Article 5 convention or a formal amendment ratified by 38 states; Justice Samuel Alito’s dissent argued the decision could be short-lived; the 14th Amendment was originally intended to secure citizenship for children of formerly enslaved people; and roughly 25 to 30 countries have birthright citizenship laws similar to the United States, while about 50 others impose more restrictive standards.

• The new Air Force One, a Boeing 747 obtained on loan from Qatar until Boeing completes a replacement aircraft, completed its first flight, departing from Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C., and reportedly cruised near 600 miles per hour with no turbulence during the trip.
• President Trump also traveled by train, arriving on a train referred to as “Freedom 250,” marking the first time in roughly a century that a sitting president has traveled by train.
• The trip’s destination was the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, where the state’s governor welcomed President Trump for his 4th visit to the state and 3rd as president, timed to the nation’s 250th anniversary of independence and the approaching 4th of July.
• At the library, Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man In The Arena” speech was played, and President Trump spoke about the significance of the site; a recorded message from him is set to play when the library formally opens on Sunday.

• Bill Pulte is serving as acting Director of National Intelligence on a temporary basis until Jay Clayton completes the confirmation process, including a hearing scheduled in two weeks.
• President Trump stated that Pulte has authority to declassify records, naming categories including files related to attempts on President Trump’s life, the JFK assassination files, COVID-19-related records, allegations of 2020 election fraud, and matters connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
• Former Trump administration staffer Joshua Steinman has said that during President Trump’s first term, staff at times ignored or reversed his direct orders, an example cited as evidence of an entrenched, unaccountable federal bureaucracy.
• A 2024 arrangement credited to the late Charlie Kirk brought Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into alliance with the Trump campaign, tied to plans for a committee examining past assassinations; Tulsi Gabbard, in her prior role as Director of National Intelligence, declassified records related to COVID-19 and Dr. Anthony Fauci on her final day in the position.