The U.S. Supreme Court on July 9 cleared the way for the Trump administration to conduct further layoffs of federal workers, and declined to revive a hardline Florida immigration law.
The same week in Washington, the U.S. bishops’ conference indicated the Catholic Church will not endorse candidates as the Internal Revenue Service indicated it may reverse a longstanding policy against houses of worship endorsing candidates for political office at risk of their tax-exempt status.
Supreme Court clears way for further federal layoffs, declines to revive Florida immigration law
In a pair of separate July 9 actions, the Supreme Court lifted a lower court order blocking federal layoffs at nearly two dozen agencies, clearing the way for the Trump administration to further reduce the federal workforce.
A lower court in May blocked some federal workforce reductions initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and the Justice Department appealed to the high court to lift that order.
In a brief unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court granted that application, but said it was not expressing a view on the legality of the layoffs themselves.
The same day, the high court declined Florida’s request to lift a lower court order blocking enforcement of its immigration law making it a state crime – separate from a federal one – to enter the United States illegally or re-enter Florida after deportation.
Federal law already makes it illegal to enter the U.S. without authorization. Most portions of a similar 2010 Arizona law were later struck down by the Supreme Court.
Catholic Church will not endorse candidates despite stated IRS policy change, bishops say
The Catholic Church will maintain its position of not endorsing particular candidates for elected office, a spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said, despite an indication from the IRS that it may reverse a longstanding policy against houses of worship endorsing candidates for political office at risk of their tax-exempt status.
Tax-exempt nonprofits, including houses of worship, have for decades been barred from making such endorsements to preserve that status under a provision in the tax code called the Johnson Amendment.
However, the National Religious Broadcasters and several Churches recently sued the IRS over that policy, arguing that it infringes on their First Amendment rights, both to freedom of speech and religion.
But IRS Commissioner Billy Long said in a court filing in that case that “When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither ‘participate(s)’ nor ‘intervene(s)’ in a ‘political campaign.’”
The filing prompted reports that the IRS may rescind the policy.
Chieko Noguchi, a spokesperson for the USCCB, said in a statement the filing was in reference to “a specific case, and it doesn’t change how the Catholic Church engages in public debate.”
“The Church seeks to help Catholics form their conscience in the Gospel so they might discern which candidates and policies would advance the common good,” she said. “The Catholic Church maintains its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates.”
Trump administration ends TPS protection for Honduras and Nicaragua
The Department of Homeland Security said July 7 it would terminate the designation of Temporary Protected Status for the nations of Honduras and Nicaragua, effective Sept. 8.
The move will place more than 75,000 immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua, who were previously given legal permission to be in the U.S., at risk of deportation.
Under the TPS program, created in 1990, the government may grant protection from deportation to immigrants from countries experiencing dangerous conditions such as war, disaster, or other unrest.
Judge temporarily blocks Planned Parenthood funding cut
A federal judge on July 7 temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a provision of a reconciliation bill enacting much of President Donald Trump’s agenda that would strip some taxpayer funds from Planned Parenthood.
A provision in the legislation that would strip funds from Planned Parenthood for only one year – down from an original proposal of 10 years – with funding resumed thereafter.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and some of its affiliates sued in response, and U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani subsequently issued an order pausing enforcement of the provision for 14 days.
Federal law generally prohibits the use of Medicaid funds for abortion. Supporters of allowing Planned Parenthood to receive Medicaid funds point to that group’s involvement in cancer screening and prevention services – such as pap tests and HPV vaccinations – but critics argue the funds are fungible and could be used to facilitate abortion. Efforts to strip Planned Parenthood of these or other taxpayer funds are sometimes called “defunding.”
Reagan’s surgeon remembered in Catholic funeral Mass
Dr. Joseph Giordano, a surgeon who played a central role in saving then-President Ronald Reagan’s life after a 1981 assassination attempt, was remembered at a July 8 funeral Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Washington.
Giordano, who died in June, was 84. A longtime surgeon at George Washington University Hospital, he was also on the board at Partner for Surgery, a nonprofit that works to provide care for people living in rural Guatemala.
Jerry Parr, Reagan’s lead Secret Service agent at the time, later credited Giordano and his team with saving the president’s life after Reagan was shot following a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
Giordano may be most remembered for a line he reportedly delivered in the operating room prior to Reagan’s surgery.
Before he was given anesthesia, Reagan famously quipped to the medical staff, “I hope you are all Republicans.”
Giordano, although he was a staunch liberal, replied, “Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans.”
Asked later about the exchange, Giordano joked, “It was OK to be a Republican for a day, especially that day.”
Georgetown panel examines potential impact of Pope Leo XIV on US public life
A panel hosted by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life July 10 examined what the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, may mean for public life.
Participants in the panel included Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America at the Holy See; John Carr, founder of the initiative; and Christopher White, a former reporter and the initiative’s senior fellow.
During the dialogue, Cardinal Tobin said the cardinals at the conclave were drawn to Cardinal Robert F. Prevost’s missionary roots, and while his American identity was not a deterrent to electing him pope, “it was certainly a question” for some of the conclave’s participants.
Carr observed that in a culture where religion is often viewed as unimportant, “the obsession with this election that had no candidates, no primaries, and the only exit poll was a puff of smoke” showed “the pope is a global leader for all of us.”
Pope Leo, he added, “will likely challenge some of our assumptions.”
Carr said that for some American Catholics who may have felt that Pope Francis “just didn’t get us, he doesn’t know the U.S., he doesn’t know American capitalism,” it could be a significant challenge “to find someone who could bring us back together.”
But in Pope Leo, Carr said, some may feel that “he gets us, he knows the U.S., he knows our economy.”
But, Carr added, “I think the question is not whether Pope Leo gets us but whether we get Pope Leo.”
