The Latest: Federal judge halts Trump’s executive order seeking to create a federal voter list

A federal judge on Thursday halted President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and limit who can receive a mail ballot.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president’s order in granting a summary judgment. Her ruling applies to this year’s midterm election cycle.

Also, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon would have been a blip in today’s news cycle, and he drew parallels between Nixon and Trump — arguing that both were targeted by “deep state” forces. “If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,” Vance said.

Here’s the latest:

Supreme Court’s ruling to end protections for Haitian, Syrian immigrants could have broader impact

The reach of the Supreme Court’s decision allowing Trump’s administration to end temporary legal protections for Haitian and Syrian immigrants may extend to many other countries.

Thursday´s decision directly applies to about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, but may be a sign of what´s in store for nearly 1.3 million people from 17 countries on Temporary Protected Status. Many have lived and worked in the United States for decades and have American children.

The decision exposes TPS holders from Haiti and Syria to potential detention and deportation. It could also pave the way for hundreds of thousands of other beneficiaries with pending asylum claims or other immigration relief to be forced to leave the country.

People of all nationalities whose TPS was ended by the Trump administration have filed dozens of lawsuits. Many of these cases are still ongoing, and judges will closely examine the Supreme Court’s decision.

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Reflecting Pool liner was cut with a sharp knife or razor, National Park Service says

A liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor this month, causing damage to the foam sealant installed as part of a $16 million rehabilitation project, a top official at the National Park Service says.

The U.S. Park Police responded June 9 to a complaint by the park service, said Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the park service. Lands made the statement in a court document filed late Wednesday as part of a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization to halt the Trump administration’s work on the project.

His statement does not say when exactly the damage occurred or whether it was a suspected case of vandalism and does not identify anyone who might have been involved.

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Vance, an admirer of Richard Nixon, says Watergate would be ‘a 12-hour news story’ today

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon would have been a blip in today’s news cycle, and he drew parallels between Nixon and President Donald Trump — arguing that both were targeted by “deep state” forces.

Vance described his admiration for Nixon during a conversation at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California. Widely expected to be a presidential contender in 2028, Vance spoke at the library while promoting his new book, “Communion.”

After talking about the book and his faith journey, Vance shifted to Nixon, saying the legacy of the 37th president is “enjoying a bit of a renaissance.”

“If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,” Vance said.

He went on: “If you look at the story of how the deep state took down Richard Nixon, it’s not all that different from what the same groups of people, the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump in the first Trump administration.”

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Federal judge halts Trump’s election executive order seeking to create a federal voter list

A federal judge on Thursday halted President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and limit who can receive a mail ballot.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president’s order in granting a summary judgment. Her ruling applies to this year’s midterm election cycle.

Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits, both filed in federal court in Boston, that Trump’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules.

It was the second ruling in as many days against executive orders Trump has signed seeking oversight of the nation’s elections. A separate ruling Wednesday prohibited an executive order he had signed last year that would have required people to show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote.

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