Day 1098: "A total failure to launch."
1/ The Biden administration announced new steps to expand access to contraception, abortion medication, and emergency abortion care at hospitals on the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Eighteen months after the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, Biden called on Congress to “stop playing politics with a woman’s life and freedom” and codify Roe v. Wade into law. The Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services announced new guidance to “clarify standards” and make sure FDA-approved contraceptive medications are available for free under the Affordable Care Act. The Office of Personnel Management will offer new guidance to insurers to strengthen access to contraception for federal workers, retirees, and family members. HHS also announced a “comprehensive plan” to increase awareness and understanding about the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires patients to receive emergency medical care regardless of their ability to pay. “We need to understand the horrific reality that women face every single day,” Harris said. “As we face this crisis and as we are clear-eyed about the harm, let us also understand who is responsible, shall we? The former president handpicked three Supreme Court justices because he intended for them to overturn Roe. He intended for them to take away your freedoms. And it is a decision he brags about.” (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / CNN / Bloomberg)
2/ The Supreme Court allowed Border Patrol agents to cut through or move razor wire along the Mexican border that Texas installed to keep migrants from crossing into the state. The ruling, by a 5-to-4 vote, vacates a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ injunction and reinstates federal authority over the international boundary between Mexico and Texas. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented. (NPR / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal)
3/ Trump warned the Supreme Court that removing him from Colorado’s 2024 ballot would “unleash chaos and bedlam.” Trump urged the court to “put a swift and decisive end” to lawsuits that say he is ineligible to serve as president because he “engaged in insurrection” on Jan. 6. The Colorado ruling was the first to find that the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause applies to Trump, which prohibits someone from holding “any office […] under the United States” if they “engaged in insurrection” after taking an oath to support the Constitution. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on Feb. 8. (Politico / ABC News / Bloomberg / NBC News / Axios / The Hill)
4/ Nikki Haley questioned whether Trump was “mentally fit” to serve as president after he repeatedly confused her for Nancy Pelosi during a speech. “Last night, Trump is at a rally and he’s going on and on mentioning me several times as to why I didn’t take security during the Capitol riots. Why I didn’t handle January 6 better. I wasn’t even in DC on January 6. I wasn’t in office then,” Haley said, adding: “They’re saying he got confused. That he was talking about something else. That he was talking about Nancy Pelosi. He mentioned me multiple times in that scenario.” Trump responded by boasting about his cognitive abilities, saying, “A few months ago I took a cognitive test my doctor gave me […] and I aced it.” Trump later challenged Haley to a cognitive test, saying “it would be my result against her result and she’s not going to win, not gonna even come close to winning.” (NBC News / The Hill / New York Times / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Axios)
5/ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump. “We don’t have a clear path to victory,” DeSantis said days before New Hampshire’s primary, where he’s projected to fall behind both Trump and Nikki Haley. As one former DeSantis adviser said: “It was a total failure to launch. This thing blew up on the launch pad.” (NBC News / Washington Post / Politico)
6/ The New Hampshire attorney general’s office is investigating an “unlawful attempt” at voter suppression after voters received a robocall that appears to be an AI voice clone of Biden. The fake recording called the election “a bunch of malarkey,” and urged voters that “it’s important that you save your vote for the November election […] your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.” Former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Kathy Sullivan contacted the state’s attorney general after people started telling her they had received the robocall with her number on their caller IDs. The AG’s office said that “Although the voice in the robocall sounds like the voice of President Biden, this message appears to be artificially generated based on initial indications.” (NPR / Washington Post / NBC News / New York Times / CNN / Axios)