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White House faces legal hurdles in weighing abortion response

The White House is navigating legal minefields as it considers ways the federal government could move to protect abortion access following the historic Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade that reversed nearly 50 years of precedent. 

The administration is under pressure to take a more aggressive response, but the White House has cautioned that steps like using federal land for abortion services could have adverse consequences. It’s also poised to face roadblocks from certain parts of the conservative-leaning judicial system if it takes actions that end up being legally disputed.

Advocates, state officials and experts say there is more the administration can do, though they too acknowledge that steps need to be thoroughly reviewed in order to understand the legal implications.

“Every creative legal strategy is going to have some obstacles but all of these measures are still worth trying,” said Maya Manian, an American University law professor who focuses on reproductive healthcare access. “We don’t want to let the perfect stand in the way of the good here.” 

The idea of providing access to abortion on federal lands has gained traction among some Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill, but the White House seemed to pour cold water on it earlier this week by arguing it could put women and providers at risk, particularly in states that are expected to ban abortion as a result of the Supreme Court ruling.

Still, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra seemed to leave the door open to that and other ideas, telling reporters in an exchange on Tuesday that “every option is on the table.”

Mandie Landry, a Democratic state representative in Louisiana, a state with a strict trigger law banning abortions, said the idea seemed compelling but noted that local doctors are worried about losing their licenses if they perform abortion services on federal property, like local Veterans Affairs hospitals.

“I think there’s a lot to vet there, but we need to move this quickly,” Landry said.

There is also the matter of the high court’s conservative supermajority, which could lead to further delays and disruption of President Biden’s executive actions, should he take any that would allow some form of access to the procedure.

The court’s conservative bend has already disrupted implementation of Biden’s access to COVID-19 vaccines as well as on other fronts. Conservative groups or GOP attorneys general could mount legal challenges against Biden’s moves on abortion.

The court’s conservative bend has already disrupted implementation of Biden’s access to COVID-19 vaccines as well as on other fronts. The administration could also face challenges from conservative groups or GOP attorneys general.

“There is a hostile judiciary out there for the president, but right now is not the time to be shy,” said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law professor at Georgetown University. 

Gostin, however, argued that the use of federal lands for abortion services wasn’t feasible, in part because physicians who perform abortions could be subject to civil or criminal penalties. He also said such a move could be interpreted as the federal government subsidizing abortion, which would be unlawful under the Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal funds for abortion.

Manian, the American University professor, said one way around that would be leasing space on federal property out to private providers to get around the Hyde Amendment.  

Some have also suggested that the Biden administration partner with reservations to offer abortion services on tribal lands. The idea came up during a meeting between White House officials and state legislatures at the beginning of June, according to officials who participated. 

“I think tribal land would be a really good thing,” said Gostin. “Many of these independent reservations are right in the heart of very red states.” 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has been a leading voice on calling for access on federal lands, called on Biden to declare a public health emergency to protect abortion access. Warren, along with Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), argued in an op-ed on Saturday that a public health emergency would unlock resources to meet the surge in demand for reproductive health services.

Democratic senators also outlined executive actions Biden could take weeks before the Supreme Court officially struck down Roe, including increasing access to abortion medication, providing federal resources for individuals seeking abortion care, and using federal property for services. The letter was led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and signed by half the Senate Democratic Caucus.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. I’ve been pushing President Biden to do everything in his power to protect abortion access in America—and to really push the envelope, because people across our country are scared, in need of guidance, and in need of care,” Murray told The Hill in a statement.

There is also debate about HHS potentially paying for women to travel to receive an abortion in a state where the service is still legal, though officials would need to implement such an idea carefully to avoid running afoul of the Hyde Amendment. 

And the administration has faced some calls to file lawsuits to prevent states from blocking access to abortion medication, though officials have stopped short of making such a commitment thus far.

Manian said that there is a “very strong argument” that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on abortion pills trump any state laws, citing the Constitution’s supremacy clause, which establishes that federal law generally takes precedence over state laws.

Still, Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, cautioned that Justice Department lawyers could run into difficulty if any decisions in their favor get appealed given the conservative tilt of the appellate courts.

“Those are going to be difficult to win on appeal,” Tobias said.

Some Democrats have expressed disappointment and impatience with the White House’s initial reaction to the ruling, particularly after the leaked draft ruling in early May gave the administration advanced notice on what was expected.

Becerra announced some modest steps this week aimed at protecting access to abortion pills and ensuring pregnant patients can receive emergency care, and his department launched a new website to inform Americans of their rights.

The White House has consulted with Democratic attorney generals on abortion rights, including hosting a meeting this week with Democratic attorneys general Dana Nessel of Michigan and Keith Ellison of Minnesota. 

Nessel’s office told The Hill following the meeting that she will continue to work with state and federal partners on the impacts of the Supreme Court ruling. She has pledged not to deploy state resources to enforce Michigan’s abortion ban from 1931 in the wake of Roe.

The White House also maintains officials are looking at an array of executive actions.

“A wide range of options are on the table in addition to the actions the President announced under his executive authority Friday, and the announcements made by Secretary Becerra yesterday, after weeks of preparation and collaboration with experts and advocates,” a White House official said.

Becerra repeatedly underscored the importance of operating within the law during the press conference earlier this week and acknowledged that there is no “magic bullet.” 

“We’re not interested in going rogue and doing things just because,” he told reporters.

Source: TEST FEED1

Whole Foods employees lose appeal for right to wear Black Lives Matter masks

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday sided with Whole Foods and Amazon by striking down an appeal from former company employees who claim they were sent home without pay or otherwise disciplined for wearing masks reading “Black Lives Matter.”

The Whole Foods employees filed a lawsuit against the grocery chain and its parent company in 2020, arguing their dress code policy, which bans “visible slogans, messages, logos, or advertising that are not company-related,” was selectively enforced to target items bearing the anti-racism slogan.

In the suit, the employees alleged racial discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII, which employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

In February of 2021, a lower court judge dismissed nearly every component of the employees’ lawsuit against Whole Foods.

“At worst, they were selectively enforcing a dress code to suppress certain speech in the workplace,” U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs wrote at the time, according to Reuters. “However unappealing that might be, it is not conduct made unlawful by Title VII.”

In a 3-0 decision on Tuesday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the previous ruling, saying the employees failed to adequately prove racial discrimination.

“We ultimately reach the same conclusion as the district court that appellants have failed to adequately plead their claim,” the ruling read.

Whole Foods previously applauded the lower court’s decision in a statement to The Hill.

“We remain dedicated to ensuring our team members feel safe and free from discrimination and retaliation at Whole Foods Market,” a Whole Foods spokesperson said at the time. “We agree with the court’s decision and appreciate their time and attention.”

The Hill has reached out to the grocery chain and a lawyer for the employees for comment on the latest decision.

Source: TEST FEED1

Cheney: GOP must choose between loyalty to Trump or the Constitution

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) told her party on Wednesday evening that it must choose between the rule of the law and its leader, recognizing that it would be “painful” for the party to accept former President Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“We have to choose because Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution,” Cheney said during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute as part of its “Time for Choosing” speaker series.

Cheney has drawn the ire of many of her Republican colleagues for voting to impeach Trump and serving as the vice chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol. Polls show her trailing a Trump-backed challenger in her bid to keep her House seat in November.

The Wyoming Republican condemned the former president and his allies, calling him “dangerous” and “irrational” and saying Trump tried to remain in office as other Republicans served as “willing hostages.”

“As the full picture is coming into view with the January 6 committee, it has become clear that the efforts Donald Trump oversaw and engaged in were even more chilling and threatening than we could have imagined,” Cheney said.

But Cheney said she had hope for the country, arguing that young women in particular have realized the “peril” of Jan. 6. 

“These days, for the most part, men are running the world, and it is really not going that well,” she said.

She also celebrated Tuesday’s testimony before the House panel from Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as a top aide to Trump’s then chief of staff, Mark Meadows, as the events were playing out on Jan. 6.

Hutchinson testified that Trump and Meadows knew the crowd at a rally the morning of the riot was armed, and that Meadows was warned of the possibility of violence in the days leading up to the insurrection. 

“Her superiors, men many years older, a number of them are hiding behind executive privilege, anonymity and intimidation,” Cheney said of the 26-year-old Hutchinson. “But her bravery and her patriotism yesterday were awesome to behold.”

Cheney described Trump’s actions following the 2020 election as “painful” for Republicans to accept but implored her colleagues to prioritize their constitutional responsibility.

“Ultimately, that is what our duty as Americans requires of us,” Cheney said. “That we love our country more, that we love her so much, that we will stand above politics to defend her.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Toobin on GOP officials staying mum on Trump revelations: 'they're a bunch of cowards'

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin noted on Wednesday that almost no prominent GOP officials have expressed alarm over former President Trump’s behavior during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, despite explosive allegations made by a top White House aide during a public hearing on Tuesday.

“I think they’re a bunch of cowards. I think they’re totally terrified of Trump,” Toobin said of elected GOP officials running for office. “And the idea that they’re willing to talk to journalists on background..so what. I think…Donald Trump still runs that party and everyone in it who has to face the voters is still terrified of him.”

Appearing on CNN’s The Situation Room, Toobin noted that Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former chief of staff, had come out with stiff criticism of the president on Wednesday, but noted he had no office to lose.

“You know, he’s out of politics. I haven’t heard one elected official who’s still running, except for [Rep.] Liz Cheney, who is critical on the record,” Toobin told host Wolf Blitzer.

Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, is facing an uphill battle to keep her seat, facing a challenge from Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman.

Toobin’s remarks come as a slew of GOP lawmakers and officials have publicly dismissed the testimony of Cassidy Hutchison, a special assistant to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who appeared before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on Tuesday.

Hutchinson, who served as a top aide for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, detailed one incident where Trump allegedly tried to order his way to the Capitol as the mob was storming the building, lunging toward security detail and trying to grab the steering wheel of the vehicle they were in. 

Members of the Secret Service who were in the care are reportedly prepared to testify that they were note assaulted by Trump and that the former president did not try to grab the steering wheel.

Hutchinson also said that Trump was aware that a number of protesters attending his rally earlier in the day were armed, but still encouraged them to march to the Capitol.

However, in an op-ed published in USA Today on Wednesday, Mulvaney wrote that allegations that members of Trump’s team intimidated witnesses who testified to the House panel is the most troubling complication for Trump.

“After some of the bombshells that got dropped in that hearing, my guess is that things could get very dark for the former president,” he wrote.

“Even if Donald Trump were as innocent as the virgin snow [on] Jan. 6, even if he didn’t know about the guns, or didn’t assault his agent, or had absolutely no clue what the Proud Boys were up to,” Mulvaney wrote, “If he obstructed justice related to the Jan. 6 hearings, then he could well become just the next politician to learn the hard lesson that it usually isn’t the crime. It’s the cover-up.”

Trump responded to Hutchinson’s claims on his Truth Social social media platform, saying he had no memory of working with Hutchinson and adding that she was “bad news” and a “leaker.” 

In a separate statement, the attorneys for Hutchinson said that their client stands by every word she said at the congressional hearing. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden plans to nominate anti-abortion lawyer as federal judge: Yarmuth

President Biden plans to nominate a conservative lawyer who has represented anti-abortion causes to a federal judgeship in Kentucky, according to Rep. John Yarmuth’s (D-Ky.) office.

Chad Meredith, the attorney, has previously served as Kentucky’s solicitor general and represented a number of Kentucky’s top GOP officials in cases curbing abortion access and COVID-19 public health measures.

Meredith represented Kentucky’s then-Gov. Matt Bevin (R) in a 2019 legal battle against an abortion clinic, saying at one point that effectively eliminating access to abortion in the state would have a negligible impact on women seeking the procedure.

He also defended a 2017 state law requiring doctors to perform an ultrasound and describe the image to a patient before providing an abortion, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, which first reported the news of his pending nomination.

Christopher Schuler, Yarmuth’s communications director, told The Hill that White House staff informed the congressman of Biden’s intent to nominate Meredith, but declined to provide further comment to The Hill.

The Courier-Journal reported that the nomination appears to be the result of a deal between Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to facilitate future Biden nominees. Yarmuth opposes the nomination, according to the outlet.

“Given that a judicial position isn’t currently open on the Eastern District Court, it’s clear that this is part of some larger deal on judicial nominations between the president and Mitch McConnell,” Yarmuth told the Courier-Journal.

Biden’s nomination would come amid intense Democratic anger over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending the country’s constitutional right to abortion.

The decision has led to a number of lawsuits in states across the country seeking to block so-called trigger laws that were in place to ban or severely restrict abortion as soon as Roe was overturned.

Kentucky was among the states with a trigger abortion ban that went into effect immediately upon the Supreme Court’s ruling. The law makes exceptions for cases when a mother’s life is at risk.

The White House, McConnell’s office and Meredith did not return requests for comment.

Meredith, who served as chief deputy general counsel under Bevin, asked a federal appeals court in 2019 to restore a state law requiring abortion clinics to have written transfer agreements with a hospital and ambulance service in case of emergency, according to the Associated Press.

The outlet reported that the law had been struck down by a federal judge who believed it would effectively eliminate the right to abortion in the state. That argument was echoed by the abortion clinic’s attorney opposing Meredith in the appeal. 

Bevin said at the time that if the law “results in no abortion clinics, fantastic,” according to the Associated Press.

Meredith said if the state’s last abortion clinic shut down, the impact would be “essentially none” for women, since they would still be within 150 miles of an out-of-state clinic due to Kentucky’s geography.

Kentucky Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, said it was “very impressed” with Meredith’s work on behalf of the Bevin administration.

“He represented Kentuckians in numerous legal cases brought against the pro-life laws passed by our General Assembly during the Bevin administration,” the group wrote on its website.

Meredith also successfully defended a law before the state’s Supreme Court that stripped Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s powers to implement emergency COVID-19 measures, per the Courier Journal.

Meredith is listed as a contributor to the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian legal group. His biography notes that he is “one of the few lawyers in Kentucky to have clerked for both a United States district judge and a United States circuit judge.”

He joined law firm Squire Patton Boggs in January.

Source: TEST FEED1

Bannon requests trial delay over Jan. 6 hearing publicity

Steve Bannon, a former adviser in the Trump administration, has requested that his trial over contempt of Congress charges be delayed, arguing the Jan. 6 House select committee’s hearings have gained too much publicity.

In a court filing on Wednesday, Bannon’s attorneys, David Schoen, Robert Costello and Evan Corcoran, asked for the start date of the trial to be moved from July 18 to Oct. 25, arguing the series of hearings planned by the select committee could influence jurors’ opinions.

“Public impact is not limited to the hearings themselves, but to the media coverage that magnified the hearings. In Washington, DC, where trial will take place – and where the acts alleged in the Indictment took place – every major media outlet treated the hearings as a top news story,” the attorneys wrote, adding that “every person accused of a crime is guaranteed a fair trial.”

The filing also accused Jan. 6 panel members of making “inflammatory remarks” about Bannon and other former Trump administration officials, saying their “purported findings” have been shown in televised broadcasts including to those residing in the Washington, D.C. area.

“Those broadcasts have been repackaged and re-broadcast in countless forms, creating a saturation of the information sources available to Washington, D.C. residents,” the filing said. “Under the circumstances, a continuance is warranted – to allow the effects of the Select Committee hearing coverage a chance to subside.” 

The onetime White House chief strategist last year pleaded not guilty to the contempt charges, which federal prosecutors brought after Bannon failed to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee and refused to provide documents.

In their filing on Wednesday, Bannon’s attorneys noted that trials of five leaders from the far-right Proud Boys group were delayed due to the Jan. 6 hearings, with the men’s lawyers arguing they could not get a fair trial from an impartial jury amid the televised hearings.

The panel conducted its sixth hearing of the month on Tuesday and plans to resume hearings after the July 4 break.

The hearings have examined efforts by former President Trump and his allies to attempt to reverse the results of the 2020 election and put pressure on key officials not to certify President Biden’s win.

Bannon’s attorneys argued the initial July 18 trial date was aggressive and made the case that the slate of hearings scheduled by the House panel should force the trial to pick up later in the year.

“When trial was scheduled, neither the Court nor the parties were aware of the June and upcoming July media blitz by the Select Committee,” the attorneys wrote.

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Uvalde shooter’s grandmother, who was shot in face, released from hospital

The grandmother of the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last month was released from the hospital on Tuesday.

The gunman had shot his grandmother, Celia “Sally” Gonzales, in the face before heading to Robb Elementary School on May 24 in what would become the second deadliest elementary school shooting in U.S. history.

University Hospital, run in partnership with University of Texas San Antonio, said on Tuesday that a 66-year-old woman had been discharged, and multiple outlets have identified the woman as Gonzales.

The hospital said a 10-year-old girl shot in the Uvalde massacre, who is now the only remaining patient at the hospital, has been upgraded to good condition.

The gunman ultimately killed 21 people and injured 17 others. Many of the injured were transported to University Hospital and other major health care facilities in the San Antonio area after receiving initial care in Uvalde. 

A former neighbor told The Washington Post that the gunman had moved in with his grandmother several months prior to the shooting, after previously living with his mother, who reportedly abused drugs.

The grandmother was initially admitted to the hospital in critical condition. She was upgraded to serious condition the following day and upgraded further on May 29 and May 31.

Natalie Salazar, Gonzales’s daughter, posted an update last week on a verified GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for her mom’s medical expenses, saying doctors were wanting to transfer her to a skilled rehab facility due to a high-risk infection.

Salazar said her mom had received four major surgeries since the shooting and was expected to need additional surgeries.

“My mom was shot in the face and left to die alone in her home by her very own grandson,” Salazar wrote. “It was by the grace of God that she was able to get up off the floor and walk to a neighbors home and ask for help.”

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Defense & National Security — US troops in Poland to become permanent

President Biden has announced plans to bolster U.S. forces in Europe amid a persistent threat from Russia, with intentions to permanently headquarter U.S. Army V Corps in Poland.

We’ll share what’s changing and where additional U.S. troops are heading, plus the breakthrough in Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO and the details of the largest prisoner swap since the start of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. Subscribe here.

Biden unveils plans to bolster US forces in Europe

President Biden on Wednesday announced plans to bolster U.S. forces in Europe amid a persistent threat from Russia, saying the moves would help NATO fend off threats “from all directions, across every domain.”

Biden vowed to increase the number of troops stationed in Europe on the second day of a NATO summit in Madrid during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

What’s going where: Specifically, the president announced plans to permanently headquarter U.S. Army V Corps in Poland, add a rotational brigade in Europe stationed in Romania and increase rotational deployments to the Baltic states — moves that will bolster forces on NATO’s eastern flank. 

Biden also said that the U.S. would send two more F-35 squadrons to the United Kingdom and add air defense and other capabilities in Germany and Italy. The president also highlighted plans to send two additional Navy destroyers to Spain, an announcement he made the day prior.

Biden’s message: “We’re sending an unmistakable message, in my view,” Biden said, “that NATO is strong and united and the steps we’re taking during this summit are going to further augment our collective strength.”

“Together with our allies, we are going to make sure that NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions, across every domain,” Biden continued.

Under wraps, for now: Speaking on a call with reporters, Assistant Secretary for Defense Celeste Wallander declined to specify the number of additional troops that would be sent to Europe in keeping with Wednesday’s announcement.

“I think we’ll be able to give numbers in the future as we, you know, identify the specific units,” Wallander said. “These force posture changes will take place over the coming months.”

• Biden said during his remarks that the U.S. had surged 20,000 forces to Europe earlier this year as Russia threatened Ukraine, estimating the total of U.S. forces currently in Europe at 100,000.
• He also commended the progress toward adding Finland and Sweden as members of the alliance, saying: “NATO is more needed now than it ever has been.”

Standing together: Stoltenberg said during the meeting with Biden that Putin’s attack on Ukraine had failed to weaken NATO, citing the bids by the two Nordic countries to join the alliance.

“He is getting the opposite of what he wants. He wants less NATO. President Putin is getting more NATO,” Stoltenberg said.

Read more here

NATO invites Finland, Sweden to join alliance

NATO officially invited Sweden and Finland to join its military alliance on Wednesday, a day after Turkey dropped its reservations over having the Nordic countries join the defense bloc. 

“It demonstrates that President Putin has not succeeded in closing NATO’s door,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during the NATO summit in Madrid. “He is getting the opposite of what he wants. He wants less NATO; President Putin is getting more NATO by Finland and Sweden joining our Alliance.” 

An unmistakable message: “We’re sending an unmistakable message, in my view — and I think yours as well — that NATO is strong, united and the steps we’re taking during this summit are going to further augment our collective strength,” President Biden concurred. 

• The development comes against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, which has shifted Sweden’s and Finland’s attitudes about joining the military alliance. The two Nordic countries submitted their applications to join NATO last month.
• Though many of NATO’s members expressed support for both countries to join the military alliance, Turkey raised objections, accusing Finland and Sweden of not being aggressive enough against a group that Turkey and other nations have designated as a terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
• However, Turkey withdrew its qualms on Tuesday after the countries signed a trilateral memorandum vowing to support one another against national security threats and to enhance counterterrorism cooperation. 

Russia’s response: The invitation was immediately slammed by Russia, with one Kremlin official saying it was “a purely destabilizing factor,” according to CNBC.

Read the full story here

Ukraine secures largest prisoner swap since invasion

Ukraine announced it has secured the release of 144 Ukrainian soldiers Wednesday in the biggest prisoner swap since the start of Russia’s invasion in February.  

• Out of the 144 soldiers released, 95 were individuals who defended the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.
• The steel plant was under siege at the start of the war, with hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers surrendering in late May. The surrender came after weeks of negotiating as Russian forces took control of the whole city.

The intelligence agency said most of the released soldiers have serious injuries from attacks by Russian forces. 

Where they came from: Other released soldiers include 59 from the Ukrainian National Guard, 30 from the Navy, 28 from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 17 from the State Border Service of Ukraine, nine Territorial Defense soldiers and one from the National Police of Ukraine. 

Read more here

ON TAP TOMORROW

• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will hold a press conference at the conclusion of the Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Madrid, Spain, at 6:15 a.m. ET
• The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host a discussion on the NATO summit, the Ukraine crisis, and the South Korea-US-Japan trilateral relationship at 9:30 a.m. 
• The U.S. Institute of Peace will hold a talk on “Preventing Conflict Amid the Global Food Crisis” at 10 a.m. 
• The The Middle East Institute will host a virtual discussion on “Will the War in Ukraine Push Iran and Russia to Compete?” at 10 a.m.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• US, Iran nuclear talks end in Qatar without deal: reports 
• Zelensky calls for UN to expel Russia, deem nation state sponsor of terrorism Cheney amps up pressure for Cipollone to testify 
• ‘Brittney matters’: Wife of WNBA player imprisoned in Russia calls for public pressure to secure release 
• Norway hit with cyberattack, temporarily suspending service 
• The Hill: Opinion: Washington and Seoul should intensify joint exercises to call Kim Jong Un’s bluff 
• The Hill: Opinion: Despite appearances, the Russia sanctions are working

That’s it for today. Check out The Hill’s Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you tomorrow!

VIEW THE FULL VERSION HERE

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DC Metro says wait times could reach 60 minutes on July 4th

Washington D.C.’s Metro warned customers could face wait times of up to an hour on July 4th as the transit agency grapples with a reduced number of railcars on one of its busiest days of the year.

The agency sidelined about 60 percent of its fleet in October after a train derailment revealed defects in Metro’s 7000-series railcars, causing delays across the rail system that persist nearly nine months later.

“Due to the reduced number of railcars available for service, capacity on Metrorail will be less than previous Independence Days,” Metro said in guidance published on Wednesday.

“That means customers should be prepared for longer wait times, up to 60 minutes, and for crowding to occur, especially at the conclusion of the fireworks.”

The fireworks display on the National Mall is scheduled for just after 9 p.m., and typically leads to long lines for the Metro even with a full fleet.

Metro encouraged passengers to delay their post-firework travel to allow crowds to disperse and consider entering at a station other than Smithsonian, which is located closest to the fireworks. 

“Metro Transit Police may temporarily restrict entry to stations experiencing excessive crowding to prevent unsafe conditions on the platforms,” the transit agency said.

Since October’s derailment near Metro’s Arlington Cemetery station, the transit agency has been gradually improving service levels by returning older cars to service.

But those gradual improvements hit a snag when Metro sidelined 72 of its rail operators in May after announcing that close to half of its 500 total operators were noncompliant with required certifications. Metro’s general manager and chief operating officer resigned the following day.

The agency earlier this month returned eight of its 7000-series railcars to service and is now working to return the rest of the fleet once inspectors sign off.

Independence Day typically marks a high ridership for D.C.’s subway system, with rail ridership topping 210,000 passengers on July 4th last year.

Roughly 120,000 passengers boarded Metro trains on an average day in 2021, and ridership still remains well below pre-pandemic levels, according to the agency’s ridership data.

Source: TEST FEED1