Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, Adam Edelman previews two under-the-radar ballot measures that voters will decide on in next week’s primaries. Plus, our Capitol Hill team has the latest on Todd Blanche’s confirmation saga.
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— Adam Wollner
Abortion is on the ballot again in two states
Analysis by Adam Edelman
Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion rights advocates brought the fight to the states — including red ones.
That year, Kansas voters overwhelmingly struck down a proposed constitutional amendment that would have removed language enshrining abortion rights in their state — the first victory that year in what quickly became a clean sweep in six states. Two years later, Missouri voters approved a ballot initiative that effectively protected abortion rights until fetal viability — one of seven states where similar measures passed that cycle.
Next Tuesday, abortion is on the ballot again in these two states — albeit indirectly. In Missouri, one initiative on the ballot would require citizen-led constitutional amendments to secure a majority in all eight congressional districts — a significantly higher bar than the current threshold of a simple statewide majority.
In Kansas, voters will weigh in on a proposal to change how state Supreme Court justices are chosen. Currently, the governor (who since 2019 has been a Democrat) gets to appoint justices to the bench, selected from a list created by a nine-member nonpartisan commission. Tuesday’s ballot measure would instead allow for the direct election of state Supreme Court justices. In a state where registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats 2 to 1, the proposal essentially bets that voters will reliably elect conservative — and anti-abortion — justices.
Republican legislative supermajorities in both states referred those measures to the August primary ballot — not the November general election — another bet that diminished summer voter turnout could boost their prospects of passage.
“Make no mistake about it — this is happening because the people have been winning on progressive issues,” said Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which works with progressive organizations to help advance citizen-led ballot measures.
In states like Kansas and Missouri that reliably elect Republicans up and down the ballot, the citizen-led ballot measure process is one of the few ways liberals have been able to score wins in recent years.
In Missouri, for example, some of the other most recent constitutional amendments passed by voters include the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2022 and Medicaid expansion in 2020.
A September analysis by Bolts magazine, which focuses on state and local politics, concluded that all five of the citizen-led ballot initiatives approved by Missouri voters since 2020 would have been rejected under the proposed threshold.
Republicans in other states are also seeking to make it more difficult for citizen-led constitutional amendments to pass. Voters in North Dakota and South Dakota will decide this fall whether to raise the requirement for passage to 60%. In Utah, voters will be asked to bump up the threshold for ballot measures specifically related to increasing taxes.
Trump defends ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, further complicating Blanche nomination
By Frank Thorp V, Julie Tsirkin and Scott Wong
President Donald Trump defended his administration’s controversial proposal for a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for Jan. 6 defendants and others who he says were unfairly targeted by the government.
Trump’s continued flirtation with the fund undermines assurances from his acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, and others in the administration that the idea, which faces strong opposition from some key Republicans, is dead.
It’s thrown Blanche’s nomination to be the nation’s chief law enforcement official into limbo, with two Republicans — Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — blocking it over concerns about the settlement between Trump and the IRS that created the fund.
But Trump’s comments today are only worsening tensions with the two senators. Asked at a Cabinet meeting if the fund is dead, Trump replied: “It is dead, but you know, I wish it weren’t. To be honest with you, I think people were horribly treated, horribly abused. This has nothing to do with Todd.”
Blanche is now unlikely to be confirmed before the Senate departs next week for its five-week summer recess. The chamber is not slated to return until after Labor Day.
In a post on Truth Social earlier in the day, Trump specifically lashed out at Cornyn, suggesting that he was standing in the way of the Blanche nomination because Trump had endorsed the longtime senator’s primary challenger, Ken Paxton.
Cornyn has not directly responded to Trump’s post. But he reposted two individuals who questioned Trump’s comments on X.
Read more →
🗞️ Today’s other top stories
- 🌊 Growing threat: Cyberattacks targeting municipal water systems have been reported in at least seven states this week, prompting the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency to warn utilities nationwide that hackers are trying to disrupt critical water infrastructure. Read more →
- ➡️ Middle East update: Trump said that a deal has been reached for Hamas to disarm and for Israel to withdraw forces from the Gaza Strip. Read more →
- 🏛️ Extreme makeover: Opponents of a Trump administration plan to paint the massive gray granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door to the White House say they are seeking an injunction in federal court to stop the project from proceeding. Read more →
- 🗺️ Race for the House: Even with Democrats’ redistricting plans foiled, Virginia is still poised to be a prominent front in the fight for the House majority this year. Read more →
- 🗳️Vote watch: Vermont GOP Gov. Phil Scott defended mail ballots and state-run elections, rejecting Trump’s calls for Republicans to “nationalize” elections and limit options for mail-in voting. Read more →
- 💲Past due: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who’s running as a Republican for Minnesota governor, was fined more than $56,000 for his false election claims. Now owes even more in late fees. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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