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The next test of the democratic socialist movement and other key races to watch in Colorado’s primaries

2026-06-30T11:00:26.181Z / CNN

Democratic rifts over ideology, generation change and how best to take on President Donald Trump will be on display Tuesday in Colorado, as voters settle primaries for governor and a key House race, weigh ousting two mainstays of the state’s Democratic landscape and more.

Two-term Gov. Jared Polis is term-limited, and his decision to reduce the prison sentence of convicted election denier Tina Peters at Trump’s urging has angered many Democrats in the state.

The race to replace him has been shaped largely by voters’ views on how their state’s chief executive should take on the president.

Down-ballot, veteran Democrats are facing challenges from the left as progressive candidates look to build on last week’s victories in New York.

Here are the four races to watch in Colorado’s primary:

The week after progressive challengers ousted two Democratic House members in safe seats in New York’s primary last week, they’ll seek another win Tuesday in Colorado.

Fifteen-term Rep. Diana DeGette is facing off with Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist and lawyer endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a 1st District primary that Democratic strategists in the state say is likely to be the toughest race DeGette has faced in years. A third candidate, University of Colorado Regent Wanda James, is also in the race for the Denver seat.

The contest features familiar fault lines. Kiros is a strident critic of the United States’ relationship with Israel. She has also criticized DeGette for accepting corporate political action committee money.

However, Kiros has faced scrutiny for refusing to describe the firebombing of a Boulder group calling for the release of Israeli hostages as antisemitic. Investigators said the perpetrator told police he was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people.”

“I don’t know what was in the heart of the perpetrator,” she told 9News. “All I know is that he went and attacked innocent people because of what they might have believed.”

Kiros hopes to continue to build on the momentum of recent progressive victories. She’s got the backing of Justice Democrats, a group that supports candidates who oppose corporate PAC money, and told CNN she’s spoken with Darializa Avila Chevalier, the democratic socialist who defeated the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in New York last week despite scrutiny over controversial posts.

Avila Chevalier, a fellow Justice Democrat, encouraged Denver residents to back Kiros in the final stretch of the race.

Meanwhile, DeGette is touting her support for progressive positions, including abortion rights, Medicare for All and defunding and dismantling US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience to Washington,” the 68-year-old congresswoman said in a recent debate.

The race is another marker in the ideological battle over the future of the Democratic Party — with more key primaries ahead this year, including a Senate contest in Michigan, and the 2028 presidential race looming increasingly large.

US Sen. Michael Bennet had long been viewed as the clear frontrunner in Colorado’s governor’s race.

But Trump administration attacks on Colorado — including moving the Space Command headquarters, attempting to disassemble the National Center for Atmospheric Research, denying disaster declaration requests, vetoing funding for a drinking water pipeline and more — left many Democrats eager for confrontation. And state Attorney General Phil Weiser, who has sued Trump’s administration dozens of times, is promising just that.

Weiser’s ads highlight his efforts to stand up to what he calls a “lawless, bullying administration,” while portraying Bennet as supported by corporate honchos.

Bennet argues he has bolder plans to take on climate change and expand health care access, including creating a state-run public health insurance option.

The winner Tuesday will be the clear favorite in November in a state Democrats won by double digits in the last two presidential elections. Republicans are choosing their nominee from a group that includes ministry leader Victor Marx, state Rep. Scott Bottoms and state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer.

Another moderate-versus-progressive Democratic battle is playing out in Colorado’s Senate race, where incumbent Sen. John Hickenlooper faces a challenge from the left in state Sen. Julie Gonzales.

The race also features themes of generational change: A 74-year-old former Denver mayor and governor facing a 43-year-old rival who has branded him a “go-along-to-get-along incrementalist” and lambasted his votes to confirm some members of Trump’s Cabinet.

Hickenlooper fended off a Democratic foe, former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, six years ago on his way to a win against Republican Sen. Cory Gardner. This year, though, he has faced criticism for refusing to debate or participate in joint forums with Gonzales.

Colorado’s 8th District, where first-term Republican Rep. Gabe Evans won by less than a percentage point in 2024, is expected to be among the top Democratic targets this fall.

The Democratic primary in the district, which stretches from Denver’s northern suburbs to Greeley and includes a large share of Latino voters, pits state Rep. Manny Rutinel, 31, against former state Rep. Shannon Bird, 57.

Rutinel is a relative newcomer to Colorado, first arriving in 2020 to work on Hickenlooper’s Senate campaign and permanently moving there two years later after graduating from Yale Law School. In 2023, he was selected to fill a state House vacancy after the former officeholder was appointed to the state Senate.

Bird was viewed as among the more moderate Democrats in the legislature. The former Westminster City Council member and attorney was first elected in 2018 and resigned early this year to run for Congress.

CNN’s Arit John contributed to this report.

GOP Rep. Tom Kean expected to return to Congress today after mysterious illness

June 30, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey is expected to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after an undisclosed ailment kept him out of public view for months.

Kean, who is running for a third term in a competitive district, last voted on March 5 and has missed more than 140 votes as House GOP leaders try to advance their legislative priorities with little room to spare.

After his extended absence became apparent, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had spoken with Kean by phone on April 24 and that he was “attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon.” Johnson told reporters weeks later that Kean “sounded good and optimistic” in the April call. The Louisiana Republican added, “I don’t even know the details” about his condition.

Kean’s first public statement on his absence came in late April, when the congressman said he was addressing a “personal medical issue.”

“My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” the April 27 statement said. “I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.”

He gave no details about the issue and comments weeks later from his staff and family members only deepened the mystery around his absence.

“There’s no cameras where Tom is,” his chief of staff told the New York Times, declining to elaborate.

Kean’s father, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., told NJ.com on May 15 that his son’s illness was “serious” but temporary and that he was under the care of a doctor away from home. He added, “he’ll be out in two or three weeks.”

“It took a real illness to knock him out,” the elder Kean told CNN in another interview on May 15. “This won’t linger. It’s not some kind of disease that’s going to incapacitate him in the future. The consensus is that he will be 100% OK.”

Still, Kean’s social media accounts continued to post in the first person. He also introduced legislation and digitally signed congressional disclosure documents about his stock trades. The electronic signatures were dated March 18, April 13 and May 22.

In a May 21 phone interview with the New Jersey Globe, Kean said his doctors “are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery” and that he understood “the need for public transparency.”

He issued another statement via his campaign on June 2, the day of his primary in which he ran unopposed.

“Right now I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals, I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks. At that time I will be completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition,” Kean said.

When asked how it was acceptable for a member of Congress to be absent for months without giving further explanation, Johnson said “it’s not a scandalous thing at all.”

“I do know what his health issue is but he’s asked me not to disclose that and I’m going to honor that,” Johnson said at a news conference on June 3. “What he’s dealing with is not very common and not a big thing.”

“When he explains it, it will all make sense,” he said.

A week before his return to the Capitol, Kean answered the door at his New Jersey home, wearing a suit and tie, when a New York Times reporter knocked. He declined to give details about his absence.

Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report.

韩国乌克兰就俄乌战争的朝鲜战俘举行会谈

2026年6月30日 18:33 / 联合早报

5月9日，朝鲜军人参加在莫斯科举行的胜利日阅兵式，庆祝苏联在二战中战胜纳粹德国81周年。 （路透社）

韩国与乌克兰星期二举行会谈，讨论了两名在俄罗斯作战时被俘的朝鲜士兵的相关事宜。

法新社报道，韩国外长赵显和乌克兰外长西比加星期二（6月30日）在首尔举行了会谈。这两名士兵去年1月在库尔斯克为俄罗斯作战时，被乌克兰军队俘虏。

朝鲜和俄罗斯要求遣返这两名士兵，但人权组织和专家警告说，如果他们被遣返回平壤，可能会面临严厉的惩罚。

首尔方面寻求乌克兰将他们移交给韩国，理由是他们是韩国宪法所规定的统一大韩民国的公民。

韩国外交部发言人星期二告诉记者，双方部长就朝鲜士兵的未来进行了建设性讨论。他们同意遵循国际法和人道主义原则。

发言人说：“韩国政府将继续通过外交努力推进并解决朝鲜战俘问题。”

西比加在X上发文称，他和赵承熙就此事进行了“详细”讨论。

据报道，朝鲜当局曾指示士兵在为俄罗斯作战时宁愿自杀也不愿被俘。

今年，两名被乌克兰扣押的朝鲜士兵之一告诉韩国MBC电视台：“如果我不被带到韩国，我最终会死。”

据朝中社报道，朝鲜领导人金正恩4月份曾赞扬在乌克兰阵亡的朝鲜士兵，称他们“毫不犹豫地参与了生死搏斗和英勇的自杀式爆炸”。

赵显3月份说，基辅方面向首尔保证，不会违背这两名士兵的意愿将其遣返回朝鲜。

《基辅独立报》本周引述乌克兰军事情报机构的消息称，在库尔斯克战役期间，超过7000名朝鲜士兵在与俄罗斯军队并肩作战时伤亡。

韩国乌克兰就俄乌战争的朝鲜战俘举行会谈

2026年6月30日 18:33 / 联合早报

5月9日，朝鲜军人参加在莫斯科举行的胜利日阅兵式，庆祝苏联在二战中战胜纳粹德国81周年。 （路透社）

韩国与乌克兰星期二举行会谈，讨论了两名在俄罗斯作战时被俘的朝鲜士兵的相关事宜。

法新社报道，韩国外长赵显和乌克兰外长西比加星期二（6月30日）在首尔举行了会谈。这两名士兵去年1月在库尔斯克为俄罗斯作战时，被乌克兰军队俘虏。

朝鲜和俄罗斯要求遣返这两名士兵，但人权组织和专家警告说，如果他们被遣返回平壤，可能会面临严厉的惩罚。

首尔方面寻求乌克兰将他们移交给韩国，理由是他们是韩国宪法所规定的统一大韩民国的公民。

韩国外交部发言人星期二告诉记者，双方部长就朝鲜士兵的未来进行了建设性讨论。他们同意遵循国际法和人道主义原则。

发言人说：“韩国政府将继续通过外交努力推进并解决朝鲜战俘问题。”

西比加在X上发文称，他和赵承熙就此事进行了“详细”讨论。

据报道，朝鲜当局曾指示士兵在为俄罗斯作战时宁愿自杀也不愿被俘。

今年，两名被乌克兰扣押的朝鲜士兵之一告诉韩国MBC电视台：“如果我不被带到韩国，我最终会死。”

据朝中社报道，朝鲜领导人金正恩4月份曾赞扬在乌克兰阵亡的朝鲜士兵，称他们“毫不犹豫地参与了生死搏斗和英勇的自杀式爆炸”。

赵显3月份说，基辅方面向首尔保证，不会违背这两名士兵的意愿将其遣返回朝鲜。

《基辅独立报》本周引述乌克兰军事情报机构的消息称，在库尔斯克战役期间，超过7000名朝鲜士兵在与俄罗斯军队并肩作战时伤亡。

Democratic primaries in Colorado mark latest fight over party’s direction amid push by insurgents

June 30, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News

By Caitlin Yilek Politics Reporter
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.

Read Full Bio

Washington — One week after Democratic insurgent victories in New York, the focus is now moving to Colorado, where challenges in a trio of races are threatening candidates backed by the party establishment — Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Rep. Diana DeGette.

Bennet, who’s represented Colorado in the upper chamber since 2009, had long been expected to sail to the nomination after he announced a bid for the governor’s mansion last year. But state Attorney General Phil Weiser has appeared to cut into Bennet’s lead, casting himself as a fighter who’s been willing to take on the Trump administration with dozens of lawsuits.

Bennet, a moderate who also ran for president in 2020, has emphasized affordability issues in his campaign, as well as his achievements in Washington like the expanded Child Tax Credit. When he announced his campaign for governor, he claimed that the “best solutions to our challenges will not come from Washington’s broken politics,” but from within Colorado.

But Weiser has attempted to label Bennet as a Washington insider out of touch with Coloradans, and railed against him for supporting a handful of President Trump’s Cabinet picks.

Then there’s Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, where a 29-year-old lawyer is mounting a serious challenge against 15-term DeGette, proving to be the most formidable primary opponent the incumbent has faced since she was first elected in 1996. Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist whose family immigrated from Ethiopia when she was a baby, outperformed DeGette, a longtime progressive, at the Democratic Party assembly in March to qualify for the primary. DeGette only narrowly cleared the threshold of 30% support of party activists to secure a spot on the ballot.

Kiros has cast DeGette as beholden to corporate donors, saying at a candidate forum earlier this month that “in order for the Democratic Party to actually fulfill its progressive agenda, we need to have members that are unbought and unafraid to stand up to the billionaires and corporations.”

In the same forum, DeGette criticized the political newcomer’s lack of experience.

“Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience to Washington,” DeGette said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said Monday that DeGette is “forcefully making her case” for reelection and “we’ll see what happens.”

“The reality is we have an unsettled electoral environment, which is going to be the case when Donald Trump is president,” he said at a news conference. “It’s not a surprise that there are highly competitive primaries in deep blue parts of the country that are also unfolding this cycle.”

In the Senate primary, Hickenlooper, who’s represented the state since 2021, after serving as governor and Denver mayor, is facing a challenge from state Sen. Julie Gonzales. Gonzales, once a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has likewise billed herself as a fighter opposing the establishment, while arguing that Coloradans need a new generation of leadership.

The winners of the Democratic primaries are expected to have a significant edge in the general election in November. Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican to the governor’s mansion in more than two decades, and the state hasn’t sent a Republican to the Senate since 2014. In 2024, DeGette won Colorado’s 1st Congressional District with more than 75% of the vote.

The fight in Colorado’s primaries is the latest example of a trend cropping up elsewhere, with progressives and democratic socialists seeking to shake up or fundamentally change the Democratic Party, in a dynamic that could define the cycle.

Already, a number of Democratic candidates backed by national Democrats have fallen to anti-establishment candidates this year, like with Graham Platner’s rise over Gov. Janet Mills in the party’s Maine Senate primary, along with the defeat of Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman in New York.

Espaillat and Goldman lost to challengers backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who also played kingmaker in the open race for retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez’s seat, endorsing a democratic socialist candidate against one backed by Velazquez.

Mamdani said after the victories last week that it showed “New Yorkers are hungry for a new kind of politics.”

How Trump chose a former Oklahoma state trooper to lead ICE — and handed Markwayne Mullin a win

2026-06-30T10:00:25.309Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/30/politics/lance-schroyer-ice-markwayne-mullin

After an occasionally rocky start in his new post, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin won an internal debate when President Donald Trump announced he was nominating Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, five sources familiar with the dynamic told CNN.

The federal agency, which falls under DHS, is charged with carrying out Trump’s pledge of mass deportations; if confirmed, Schroyer would lead that task as the administration tries to deliver unprecedented results. He’d be charged with increasing immigration arrests and ramping up detention space, even as the administration had to sell or find ways to repurpose some warehouses that received bipartisan pushback.

All three ICE directors in the second Trump administration have served in an acting capacity. One of Mullin’s first tasks after assuming the role of secretary in March was selecting a leader for the agency after then-Acting Director Todd Lyons announced his departure.

Mullin originally proposed a different candidate, Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado, which caused friction with some White House officials, who did not think he was the correct fit, the sources said. (Regalado said publicly he took himself out of consideration.)

When it became clear that Mullin’s first choice was not going to get White House support, Mullin turned to Schroyer, whom he called a “good friend of mine” at a National Sheriffs’ Association event this year. Schroyer currently serves as a senior adviser to Mullin and was part of Mullin’s security detail in the Senate.

But there were internal disagreements over whether he was the right fit, particularly when the administration is under pressure to show results from the president’s immigration crackdown, the sources said.

“Schroyer is Markwayne’s person— but he was ultimately appointed by the president,” one source said, noting that Trump has interviewed Schroyer and liked him.

Longtime immigration official David Venturella is expected to stay as acting ICE director until Schroyer is confirmed, according to a DHS official.

ICE hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed leader since the Obama administration, and lawmakers could take issue with Schroyer’s relative lack of experience if or when his nomination is considered. The agency’s aggressive tactics, which have drawn criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, would also be the subject of debate at a confirmation hearing.

Mullin consulted with Stephen Miller, who is considered the chief architect of Trump’s immigration policy, throughout the candidate selection process, a White House official told CNN, adding that Miller was supportive of the president’s decision to appoint Schroyer.

White House border czar Tom Homan, a close Trump ally and veteran ICE official, has generally pushed for people with immigration enforcement experience to serve as ICE director. But sources said the relationship between Homan and Mullin is solid.

In a statement Saturday, Mullin touted Schroyer’s decades-long career in law enforcement and collaboration with ICE, saying: “President Trump made a great pick, and I’m confident Lance’s strong leadership and firsthand experience will empower the men and women of ICE to deport criminal illegal aliens, secure the homeland, and protect the American people.”

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement: “The President’s entire law and order team is working closely together to execute on the President’s agenda to deport illegal aliens and keep our border secure. Ultimately, the President is the one who makes these decisions and his team moves forward to act on them.”

Schroyer’s selection is the latest example of Mullin making his mark on the department, but disagreements behind the scenes also reveal what some sources described as “growing pains.”

“It is really hard to be an elected official and then become staff. They’ve been master of their own universe, and now they’re not,” one senior White House official said to CNN, adding that at the end of the day everyone in the administration works for Trump, not themselves.

“They think they’re going to be the guy brokering all the deals and it takes several months to get into a groove, but it’s really rocky. And Markwayne has had some of that, but it hasn’t been as rocky as others,” the senior White House official added.

Sources said that Mullin has expressed frustration with working under the close watch of the White House.

“Mullin has had to learn the ropes—including checking everything through the White House from policy to personnel—and it’s been a learning curve,” another official said.

At times, one of the sources said, Mullin has bumped up against having to keep Miller in the loop on everything the department is doing. (One White House official pushed back on that.) The sources said that while Miller and Mullin have a “positive” working relationship, Mullin has occasionally disagreed openly on both immigration messaging and policy.

“All policy has to run through Stephen as an extension of the White House,” one source said, noting again that this is not a familiar dynamic to those coming into the White House from outside positions. As deputy chief of staff for policy, Miller is across policy making decisions throughout the administration, including immigration, a White House official told CNN.

Mullin has also sometimes butted heads with Homan on policy implementation because he has less experience in immigration enforcement, one source told CNN.

It’s not unusual for secretaries to select agency leadership familiar to them. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem brought onMadison Sheahan, who previously worked as her political director, to serve as ICE deputy director.

Mullin has repeatedly made clear that he prefers a more “quiet” approach compared to former Noem’s flashiness. But the goal remains the same: driving up the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants.

美高院裁决赋予总统更大权力 解雇独立委员会要员

2026年6月30日 18:38 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普星期一（6月29日）在社媒发文形容，这是攸关总统权力最重要的一项裁决，“极大地增强了总统权力，而这正是当下最需要的！”。他随后在白宫告诉记者，最高法院虽赋予他更多解雇权力，但他未必会行使这一权力。 （法新社）

（华盛顿综合电）美国最高法院周一（6月29日）以6比3的表决结果，赋予总统特朗普更广泛权力，让他有权解雇负责监管市场、保护消费者以及执行职场规定等独立机构的负责人。

特朗普过后在社交媒体发文欢迎这项裁决，称它在当前这个最重要的时刻扩大了总统的权力。

特朗普形容，这是攸关总统权力最重要的一项裁决。“一项沿用了90年的先例，被彻底且明确地推翻了。这极大地增强了总统权力，而这正是当下最需要的！”

他同天在白宫告诉记者，虽然最高法院的裁决赋予了他更多解雇独立委员会要职人员的权力，但这个权力他未必会行使。

特朗普在2025年3月解雇联邦贸易委员会（Federal Trade Commission）民主党委员斯劳特（Rebecca Kelly Slaughter）和贝多亚（Alvaro Bedoya），后者随后提起诉讼，并要求恢复职位。最高法院周一裁决，特朗普有权解除这个职务。

反对派：裁决推翻三权分立原则 使独立委员会沦为行政机构

投下反对票的自由派大法官索托马约尔指出，这项裁决推翻了过去近百年来行之有效的三权分立原则；全美数十个独立委员会今后恐沦为纯粹的行政机构，把广泛影响美国人民生活的权力集中到总统手中。

多年来，美国国会力求使许多机构，尤其是那些制定了规则、执法及有裁决权的机构，免受总统政治的影响。这种安排让这些机构可在人事部署上相对稳定，无论上台执政的是民主党或共和党，都始终如一地坚守职责、执行各项法规。

首席大法官罗伯茨（John Roberts）在裁决当天代表六人多数派阐明表决理由。他说：“行使总统权力的下属，可由总统免职。只有这样，这些人才能对总统负责，而总统也才能对人民负责”。

高院也裁定总统不得罢免美联储理事 不限制邮寄选票送达期限

不过，最高法院同天也划定界限，阻止特朗普解除美联储理事库克（Lisa Cook）的职务，以维护美联储的独立性。法院维护了《联邦储备法》中的一项条款，条款列明：除非有正当理由，否则总统不得罢免美联储理事。

除此之外，美国最高法院也裁定，允许邮寄选票在选举日之后送达，这意味全美30个州和首都华盛顿实施的邮寄选票宽限期制度，将得以保留。

民主党选民向来要比与共和党选民更倾向邮寄选票，特朗普也反对邮寄投票，称这种方式会导致大规模舞弊。因此如今法院裁决不限制邮寄选票送达期限，让民主党在保守派占多数的最高法院取得一次罕见的胜利。

另外，最高法院同天也驳回了特朗普的上诉，不推翻女作家卡罗尔性侵与诽谤案的判决。

卡罗尔2019年控告时任总统特朗普曾在1990年代性侵她，特朗普始终矢口否认。2023年5月纽约南区联邦法院法官判定，特朗普对卡罗尔性侵和诽谤罪成，须赔偿500万美元（约647万新元）。

特朗普对此提起上诉，指纽约南区联邦法院在多个有关证据的判决中犯错，要求重新审理。

美高院裁决赋予总统更大权力 解雇独立委员会要员

2026年6月30日 18:38 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普星期一（6月29日）在社媒发文形容，这是攸关总统权力最重要的一项裁决，“极大地增强了总统权力，而这正是当下最需要的！”。他随后在白宫告诉记者，最高法院虽赋予他更多解雇权力，但他未必会行使这一权力。 （法新社）

（华盛顿综合电）美国最高法院周一（6月29日）以6比3的表决结果，赋予总统特朗普更广泛权力，让他有权解雇负责监管市场、保护消费者以及执行职场规定等独立机构的负责人。

特朗普过后在社交媒体发文欢迎这项裁决，称它在当前这个最重要的时刻扩大了总统的权力。

特朗普形容，这是攸关总统权力最重要的一项裁决。“一项沿用了90年的先例，被彻底且明确地推翻了。这极大地增强了总统权力，而这正是当下最需要的！”

他同天在白宫告诉记者，虽然最高法院的裁决赋予了他更多解雇独立委员会要职人员的权力，但这个权力他未必会行使。

特朗普在2025年3月解雇联邦贸易委员会（Federal Trade Commission）民主党委员斯劳特（Rebecca Kelly Slaughter）和贝多亚（Alvaro Bedoya），后者随后提起诉讼，并要求恢复职位。最高法院周一裁决，特朗普有权解除这个职务。

反对派：裁决推翻三权分立原则 使独立委员会沦为行政机构

投下反对票的自由派大法官索托马约尔指出，这项裁决推翻了过去近百年来行之有效的三权分立原则；全美数十个独立委员会今后恐沦为纯粹的行政机构，把广泛影响美国人民生活的权力集中到总统手中。

多年来，美国国会力求使许多机构，尤其是那些制定了规则、执法及有裁决权的机构，免受总统政治的影响。这种安排让这些机构可在人事部署上相对稳定，无论上台执政的是民主党或共和党，都始终如一地坚守职责、执行各项法规。

首席大法官罗伯茨（John Roberts）在裁决当天代表六人多数派阐明表决理由。他说：“行使总统权力的下属，可由总统免职。只有这样，这些人才能对总统负责，而总统也才能对人民负责”。

高院也裁定总统不得罢免美联储理事 不限制邮寄选票送达期限

不过，最高法院同天也划定界限，阻止特朗普解除美联储理事库克（Lisa Cook）的职务，以维护美联储的独立性。法院维护了《联邦储备法》中的一项条款，条款列明：除非有正当理由，否则总统不得罢免美联储理事。

除此之外，美国最高法院也裁定，允许邮寄选票在选举日之后送达，这意味全美30个州和首都华盛顿实施的邮寄选票宽限期制度，将得以保留。

民主党选民向来要比与共和党选民更倾向邮寄选票，特朗普也反对邮寄投票，称这种方式会导致大规模舞弊。因此如今法院裁决不限制邮寄选票送达期限，让民主党在保守派占多数的最高法院取得一次罕见的胜利。

另外，最高法院同天也驳回了特朗普的上诉，不推翻女作家卡罗尔性侵与诽谤案的判决。

卡罗尔2019年控告时任总统特朗普曾在1990年代性侵她，特朗普始终矢口否认。2023年5月纽约南区联邦法院法官判定，特朗普对卡罗尔性侵和诽谤罪成，须赔偿500万美元（约647万新元）。

特朗普对此提起上诉，指纽约南区联邦法院在多个有关证据的判决中犯错，要求重新审理。

Iran fights to keep grip on Hormuz as US, Gulf allies carve new shipping route

Retired Navy admiral says Iran struck the route because it gave commercial shipping a path beyond Iranian control

June 30, 2026 6:00am EDT / Fox News

By Morgan Phillips

Escalating US-Iran tensions in Strait of Hormuz

Bill Hemm provides a detailed overview of the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Iran’s latest attacks on commercial shipping came just as the United States and Oman were beginning to steer more vessels through a new southern shipping corridor hugging Oman’s coastline — an alternative route designed to move traffic farther from Iran’s immediate reach.

Former U.S. military commanders and regional analysts told Fox News Digital the timing was no coincidence. They said Iran was trying to preserve one of its greatest strategic advantages as new shipping routes and regional infrastructure begin chipping away at Tehran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.

“The southern route creates a route they can’t toll or control,” retired Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery told Fox News Digital. “They felt it necessary to attack it.”

SHIPPING GIANT WARNS STRAIT OF HORMUZ CHAOS IS ‘NEW NORMAL’ AS TEHRAN SHIFTS 4M BARRELS

For decades, Iran’s ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has given it influence well beyond its borders. But that advantage is increasingly under pressure as Gulf states invest in pipelines that bypass Hormuz and the United States and Oman expand use of the southern corridor.

Nearly half of inbound commercial traffic through the strait is already using that route, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward.

After Iran attacked vessels using the corridor, the U.S. responded with strikes on Iranian military targets tied to maritime operations. Iran retaliated in recent days with attacks on U.S. facilities and regional partners before Trump announced both sides had agreed to halt further strikes and return to negotiations in Doha.

Iran has denied that its negotiators would be meeting with U.S. officials in Qatar on Tuesday.

Iran’s latest attacks on commercial shipping came just as the United States and Oman were beginning to steer more vessels through a new southern shipping corridor hugging Oman’s coastline — an alternative route designed to move traffic farther from Iran’s immediate reach.(Shady Alassar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Former Navy Fifth Fleet commander, Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, said Iran’s objective isn’t necessarily to halt shipping altogether.

“The IRGC has been trying to make it commercially unworkable,” Donegan told Fox News Digital, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “These attacks on shipping to me aren’t random. They’re strategy.”

Rather than closing the strait outright, Donegan said, Iran only needs to keep insurance premiums high enough that commercial shipping companies remain reluctant to return.

“Their strategy is to enforce their control of the straits,” he said, by driving up insurance costs while continuing to “test the U.S. resolve.”

VANCE REJECTS CLAIMS TRUMP-IRAN DEAL ECHOES OBAMA-ERA LOGIC AS HAWKS RAISE ALARM

The question now is whether Iran can translate that military pressure into lasting influence over the strait.

Under the memorandum of understanding negotiated after the ceasefire, Iran, Oman and the Gulf littoral states are expected to negotiate the strait’s “future administration and maritime services” while commercial traffic moves toll-free for 60 days.

President Donald Trump has insisted on social media that there will be “NO TOLLS” after the negotiating period expires, even though the memorandum itself does not explicitly guarantee that outcome. Asked about the discrepancy, Trump argued that “common sense” and the threat of renewed U.S. military action would keep Iran from interfering with commercial traffic.

Iran, however, has signaled a different vision. An IRGC-linked news outlet portrayed last-minute revisions to the agreement — including language governing the strait’s future administration and the temporary toll provision — as negotiating victories for Tehran.

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment ahead of Tuesday’s negotiations.

America’s Gulf partners have made equally clear they are not interested in rewriting the status quo.

“The management of the strait was working fine before the conflict,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said. “Why should we now, as a result of a conflict, accept some novel arrangement?”

The disagreement reflects competing visions of what Iran’s role in the strait looks like once the fighting ends.

Former Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker said the negotiations reflect Iran’s effort to emerge from the conflict with “a new status quo in the Persian Gulf.”

But preserving leverage over the Strait is about more than commercial shipping.

Iranian missiles are seen targeting Israel during the recent conflict.(Pool via WANA/Reuters)

“Iran is trying to basically step into that void,” said Clionadh Raleigh, executive director of the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.

Raleigh argued the conflict has left Gulf governments questioning whether “the U.S. is a partner that’s unreliable,” creating an opportunity for Tehran to argue that Gulf security should increasingly be managed by countries in the region rather than by Washington.

Those doubts are already reshaping regional strategy.

“They’re seeking to really develop their own defense posture,” Raleigh said. “And they’re also seeking alternative means for them to continue trade.”

Those efforts have been underway for years, but the latest conflict has accelerated them.

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in the East-West Pipeline linking Gulf oil fields to the Red Sea, while the United Arab Emirates has expanded export capacity through Fujairah, allowing crude exports to bypass Hormuz altogether.

The U.S. military enforced a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire.(U.S. Central Command)

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Every barrel that leaves the Gulf without transiting the strait — and every ship that safely uses the southern corridor — chips away at the leverage Iran has historically derived from one of the world’s most important maritime choke points.

If those alternatives continue to expand, Iran’s ability to wield the strait as a strategic pressure point could gradually diminish even if Hormuz itself remains one of the world’s most vital energy corridors.

He dreamed of becoming a physician assistant. New loan rules may thwart him.

June 30, 2026 / 7:42 AM EDT / KFF Health News

Benjamin Pinckney, 46, has dreamed of becoming a physician assistant since just after his 20th birthday.

He had been targeted by a drive-by shooter in Jacksonville, Florida, and hospitalized with two gunshot wounds. During his weeklong hospitalization, he said, a physician assistant changed the course of his life by visiting his hospital bed each day and warning him that Black men with gunshot wounds often end up paralyzed — or worse.

“I used to run the streets, you know, on the wrong sides of the track,” Pinckney said. “He made me promise that I would never come into his ER that way again. That was the last conversation we had, right before I was discharged.”

His goal since then has been to become a physician assistant. Pinckney, who spent most of his career working for New York City’s Department of Sanitation and as an Army Reserve medic, recently took a step toward achieving it. In May, he graduated with departmental honors from Lehman College with a Bachelor of Science degree.

After moving from New York to Prince George’s County, Maryland, he’d planned on applying for physician assistant school this year. But now, he’s worried his dream may be thwarted by new student loan rules.

Benjamin Pinckney wants to go to graduate school to become a physician assistant. But he worries new federal student loan limits may force him to borrow money from a private bank at a higher interest rate. Erica S. Lee for KFF Health News

Starting July 1, the amount of money graduate students will be allowed to borrow from the federal government will be capped. The new student loan limits are part of the GOP’s tax-and-spending legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last year.

The caps are intended to curb the cost of higher education and student loan debt, according to the Trump administration.

But critics widely agree the new limits are too low, especially for students allowed to borrow only $20,500 a year in federal loans due to the law’s controversial definition of a “professional degree.” On June 24, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Department of Education from enforcing that definition. Still, for many students, the new caps won’t cover the combined cost of tuition, housing, and living expenses.

This could leave hundreds of thousands of students who borrow money for graduate school each year at the mercy of private lenders with higher interest rates and fewer repayment options.

Some experts and students also worry that the limits will threaten efforts to diversify the healthcare workforce by deterring minorities and people from low-income households from applying to graduate programs. A drop in incoming students could worsen existing rural and primary care shortages, they argue.

Many politicians and loan experts have acknowledged that the cost of higher education needs to be addressed. But the new federal loan limits are “just not going to achieve that goal,” said Todd Pickard, president of the American Academy of Physician Associates, one of several organizations that have sued the Department of Education over the rules.

“It’d be like if you had a hangnail and I cut your whole arm off instead of just taking care of your hangnail,” Pickard said. “The treatment doesn’t match the problem.”

“A rock and a hard place”

Students working toward what the law describes as “professional degrees” — including trainee doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and chiropractors — will be allowed to borrow up to $200,000 total, and no more than $50,000 a year.

Meanwhile, the median cost of attending a public medical school is nearly $300,000 over four years, while the median cost of a private medical school education exceeds $400,000, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The caps were set even lower for those pursuing other “graduate” degrees, who face a $100,000 borrowing limit for federal loans over the course of their degree programs. The annual limit for this category of students is only $20,500. Students pursuing physical therapy, physician assistant, and nursing degrees were originally included in this group. But according to new guidance issued by the Department of Education on Monday, some of these students will at least temporarily be able to borrow up to the higher limit, according to The Associated Press.

The Department of Education, which has been sued by clinician trade groups and about two dozen states over the new rules, did not respond to questions for this article.

As the law was written, a physician assistant student who completed their degree within the average two to three years would not have been eligible to borrow the full $100,000. Meanwhile, physician assistants typically start their careers with an average debt of $112,000, meaning some could be forced to finance their education with higher-interest private loans.

“I feel like I’m between a rock and a hard place,” said Olivia Trull, 24, who is scheduled to begin the physician assistant program at Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, this summer. The 28-month program costs $137,000, with about $62,000 in tuition and fees estimated for the first year, she said. That doesn’t include living expenses.

Before the court order, Trull said she qualified for the maximum annual allotment under the new rules of $20,500 in federal loans during her first year of graduate school. The balance would need to be financed through a private lender.

She anticipated she would need up to $100,000 in private loans to finance her graduate degree and would face loan payments of more than $3,000 a month when she was done.

“I have to actually sit down and have a conversation with myself,” Trull said, to consider “if I want to be drowning in debt for the next 10 years of my life.” One private bank offered her a loan with an interest rate of nearly 14%, she said.

Pinckney, who said he finished his undergraduate degree with about $10,000 in federal student loan debt, said some of his friends who have already applied for private student loans have been quoted interest rates as high as 13%. Meanwhile, interest rates for federal loans for graduate students, which are set annually, are currently about 8-9%. Federal loans also offer more flexible repayment options than private loans typically do.

In May, 25 states and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Education over the new rules. The complaint described the law’s “professional degree” definition as “arbitrary and capricious.”

In a separate federal lawsuit filed in June, the American Academy of Physician Associates and the PA Education Association alleged that the new rules deny students the loan amounts needed to attend physician assistant schools. They argue that PA students should be able to access the higher loan limits available to students in medical school and other professional degree programs. (While “physician assistant” and “physician associate” typically refer to the same role, the AAPA adopted the title “physician associate” in 2021 because of “concern that ‘assistant’ does not reflect the important role of PAs in delivering high-quality healthcare to patients.”)

Meanwhile, Trump administration officials have contended the cost of graduate school is too high across the board. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, speaking before a House committee in May about the new limits, said, “It is our overall goal to bring down the cost of college and education.”

Indeed, some experts acknowledge that the new limits may be helpful in bringing down costs. The federal Grad PLUS loan program, established by Congress 20 years ago, did not cap the amount graduate students could borrow in federal loans. That program was eliminated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“There is considerable evidence that people borrowed more than they really needed to go to school,” said Sandy Baum, a higher education economist and a senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

Already, some graduate programs have lowered tuition prices, Baum said. In May, for example, the University of California-Irvine announced it would lower the cost of its MBA programs by tens of thousands of dollars to fall below the new federal lending thresholds.

And yet Baum doesn’t anticipate many other schools will follow suit.

“I don’t think we’re going to see some dramatic decline in prices,” she said. “I think some programs could close down because they can’t manage.”

“Tears have been shed”

The new lending limits will also disproportionately affect Black students, Baum said, because they have historically borrowed more than white and Hispanic students.

For some students who borrowed money to finance their undergraduate degrees, the new limits will hit especially hard. Under the new rules, they will be subject to a lifetime limit of $257,000 in federal student loans.

“There will be students who can’t enroll,” Baum said.

Andrei Robu, 26, a medical student at the Medical University of South Carolina, leads the Financial Literacy Interest Group on the Charleston campus. He said many of his peers are worried that the lending limits will make the student body less diverse.

He is also concerned that, because the demand for acceptance into medical school is already so high, schools could prioritize entrance for students from wealthy backgrounds and “still fill up their classes.”

“That’s just not what we want in our physician workforce,” said Robu, who isn’t subject to the new rules as a current student. “We want to represent the population of the country at large.”

Jasmine Vasquez, 26, who has been accepted into the physician assistant program at South College in Atlanta, decided to defer her enrollment until 2027, partly to see if her financing options change. She is worried about taking on too much debt from a private bank.

“Tears have been shed multiple times,” said Vasquez, who is due to give birth in September. “It’s nothing that’s within my control.”

Betsy Mayotte, president of the Institute for Student Loan Advisors, expects the new rules will force some graduates into bankruptcy when they can’t afford to repay private loans.

First, though, she expects enrollment numbers to drop and some graduate programs to close because they can’t recruit enough students. Completion rates will also drop, she expects, as students run into federal loan limits partway through their degree programs.

Beyond that, she predicts healthcare graduates will seek jobs in high-paying specialties, exacerbating shortages in rural and underserved communities.

“They’re going to go where they can make the most money,” Mayotte said.

Pinckney said he is “not really sure” what the future holds. He paid for most of his undergraduate education by working while he was in school, but that’s typically not possible for full-time physician assistant students.

He has considered applying to a biomedical science graduate program instead, which he estimated would cost about $30,000 — an amount that’s “a lot more doable,” he said. It would allow him to potentially work in a lab or in pharmaceuticals, he said. It’s still aligned with medicine, he said, but it wouldn’t help him realize his goal of working with patients.

“Maybe this thing will blow over,” he said of the new federal loan limits. In the meantime, he’s holding out hope.

“If I can influence one person’s life, that would be my way of paying him forward for what he did,” he said, referring to the physician assistant who inspired him back in 1999. “It’s very hard to pivot from that dream.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.