- Duo could have done more to prevent Senate defeat, critics say
- Biden to discuss gun crime prevention with attorney general Garland
- Democrats seek way ahead after voting rights bill hits roadblock
3.46pm BST
The Supreme Court is issuing a slate of opinions today. One just released is an 8-1 ruling against a Pennsylvania school that punished a student for cursing the school on social media after she did not make the school’s varsity cheerleading team.
On Snapchat, Brandi Levy posted a picture of herself and a friend with their middle finger to the camera and the caption “Fuck school, fuck softball, fuck cheer, fuck everything”. The school said the post was disruptive to her cheerleading team’s morale and suspended her from the junior varsity team for the rest of the year. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) took the student’s case to court.
BREAKING: In major First Amendment case on student speech, the Supreme Court rules 8-1 in favor of a former high school student who was disciplined by her public school after sending a vulgar message on Snapchat complaining about the school’s cheerleading squad.
3.17pm BST
Conversations around the filibuster are starting again on Capitol Hill after the defeat of Democrats’ voting rights bill in the Senate yesterday.
Maine senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told CNN that the discussion over the election bill – and the bypassing of the filibuster to pass it – are still happening.
Sen. Angus King, who previously indicated he could support changing filibuster rules if Republicans blocked the Democratic bill to overhaul election laws, told me he’s not there yet
“I don’t think the discussion is over,” King said of an election bill.
Pelosi on Senate Rs blocking HR1/S1: “The fight for voting rights is so important that this may have to become a fight over the filibuster”.
“There isn’t going to be a compromise” w/Rs on voting rights, Pelosi says. “This is how they win” elections, meaning voter suppression
2.35pm BST
Tom Perez, former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair, announced this morning his run to be governor of Maryland. The state’s current governor, Republican Larry Hogan, will be term-limited in 2022.
Perez previously served as Barack Obama’s labor secretary and also led the Department of Justice’s civil rights division. Perez served as DNC chair from 2017 until January 2021. He is up against a crowded field of Democrats who have also announced their candidacy, including a slate of current and former Maryland politicians.
2.13pm BST
Good morning – this is Lauren Aratani kicking off today’s politics live blog.
After the Democrats’ major voting rights bill was killed in the Senate by a GOP filibuster yesterday, some Democratic progressives are hinting that the White House should have done more to prevent the defeat. They argue that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris could have done more with their bully pulpit to increase attention and urgency around the bill. The White House, in turn, is arguing that they have done plenty to spotlight the legislation.