Senate to Vote on Bill to Guarantee Access to Contraception

Clare Foran, Morgan Rimmer, and Ted Barrett at CNN report on the U.S. Senate’s expected vote later today on the Right to Contraception Act. This bill would guarantee the right to buy and prescribe contraceptives for patients and healthcare providers. It is expected to fail due to opposition from Republicans, who claim it is only for political messaging. Senate Democrats have been open about their efforts to draw attention to the ongoing debate on reproductive freedoms, particularly this June, which is the two-year anniversary of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. PRRI research finds that the vast majority oppose laws that restrict what types of birth control can be used to prevent pregnancy (14% favor vs. 84% oppose).

Biden’s New Executive Order Denies Asylum Claims to Most Migrants Crossing the Border Unlawfully

For NPR, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán reportsthat President Biden’s recent executive order will temporarily suspend the processing of most asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border once the weekly average exceeds 2,500 unauthorized crossings. Progressive organizations claim this policy is using the same approach former President Trump used in 2017 to ban immigration from multiple majority Muslim countries. On the limitation of asylum, Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director of the ACLU’s Immigrants Rights Project said, “It was illegal when Trump did it, and it is no less illegal now.” PRRI finds that 48% of Americans oppose passing a law that would prevent asylum seekers from coming to the United States if they have not first sought protection in some other country, versus 47% who favor such a law.

City Sued for Paying Hundreds of Black Residents $25,000 in Reparations

At The Washington Post, Emmanuel Felton writes that a conservative group has filed a class-action lawsuit against Evanston, a Chicago suburb, for its government-funded program that has issued nearly $5 million in reparations to 193 Black residents over two years. The lawsuit alleges the program is discriminating against non-Black residents in the city, and has prompted other jurisdictions seeking to compensate the descendants of free and enslaved Black people for historical injustices to adopt special criteria more likely to survive this line of legal scrutiny. Among all Americans, PRRI research finds that 74% support efforts to repair the damage done by past violence or discrimination against racial minorities.

Trump the Totem

PRRI President and Founder Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., examines former President Donald Trump’s unprecedented conviction and the subsequent defense of his supporters. Prior to a Republican fundraiser in Illinois, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson stated that Trump “is not just our nominee […] he’s a symbol of one who is willing to fight back against that corruption, the deep state and all the rest.” Jones writes that the danger of authoritarian rulers performing a sleight of hand is that it hides the distinction between candidate and symbol — thus separating Trump from his transgressions. PRRI’s 2023 AmericanValues Survey finds that about half of Republicans (48%) agree with the need for a leader who is willing to break some rules.