What happened
Attorney General Pam Bondi yesterday sparred with Democrats and praised President Donald Trump in a heated House Judiciary Committee hearing that focused largely on the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Bondi (pictured above) pointedly refused to apologize to Epstein victims sitting behind her and deflected most questions from Democrats and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) with insults drawn from a binder she brought to the hearing. The contentious five-hour hearing also touched on Trump’s immigration actions and Bondi’s efforts to prosecute the president’s perceived enemies. 

Who said what
Throughout the “bitter back-and-forth” with Democrats, The New York Times said, Bondi largely imitated Trump’s “tactic of going on the attack when facing tough questions,” offering “few detailed answers” and “no admissions of fault.” Bondi offered a “passionate defense” of Trump but struggled to “turn the page from relentless criticism” of her department’s mishandling of the Epstein files, The Associated Press said.

Going into yesterday’s hearing, Democrats were expecting Bondi “to be nonresponsive and combative,” Politico said. “They walked out with what they believe to be a more compelling argument for winning back the majority.” Facing “an American public that really does want answers,” CNN said, Bondi instead performed for an “audience of one,” which may end up being “politically unwise.”

What next?
Bondi “hinted of further investigations of Trump critics in the works,” The Washington Post said. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told reporters that if Democrats won control of the House in November, “we would subpoena her, and we would require her to answer our questions.” Massie said his fellow Republicans went easy on Bondi because “nobody wants to get on the bad side of Trump,” but “that’ll change once we get past our primaries.”

What happened
The House yesterday voted 219-211 to rescind President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, with six Republicans joining all but one Democrat to pass the resolution. The Senate passed similar measures last year, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) (pictured above) had blocked such votes in his chamber for the past year through a procedural move that expired last month. Three Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday to defeat Johnson’s effort to renew the blockade on tariff votes until August. 

Who said what
Yesterday’s resolution would rescind the “national emergency” of fentanyl smuggling that Trump declared last year to justify slapping import taxes on Canada. As Johnson’s team was leaning on GOP defectors to switch their vote yesterday, Trump warned on social media that “any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!”

The rebuke of the president’s signature economic policy was a “rare instance of GOP defections at a time when Trump still maintains a strong grip over the party,” CNN said. But “Trump’s tariffs have proven politically unpopular,” even among many “self-identified MAGA Republicans,” Politico said. A Pew Research Center survey this month found that 60% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s import taxes. The Congressional Budget Office said yesterday that Americans are paying 95% of the tariff burden.

What next?
The Senate now “must vote on the issue again,” and a “simple majority vote” would send the measure to Trump, The Wall Street Journal said. The resolution “stands a good chance of passage in the Senate,” Reuters said, but there aren’t enough GOP votes to override Trump’s certain veto. Still, “it won’t be the last tough tariffs vote for Trump,” CNN said. “Democrats have successfully unlocked a procedural power to force more votes.”