• A spokesman for former Vice President Mike Pence said he will not appeal a judge’s ruling ordering him to testify before special counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury probing former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, setting up an appearance by the potential Republican presidential contender as soon as this month. (The Washington Post) Amid Trump’s legal troubles, he has called on congressional Republicans to “defund” the Justice Department and the FBI, something panned by Senate Republicans such as Lindsey Graham (S.C) and Susan Collins (Maine), the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee. (NBC News)
• Conservative Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pending bid for the Republican presidential nomination, his first endorsement since Trump’s indictment which follows Texas Rep. Chip Roy’s (R) formal backing late last month. (Bloomberg)
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist who is former President John F. Kennedy’s nephew, joined self-help author Marianne Williamson in launching a long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination for president, reportedly at the urging of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. President Joe Biden is expected to run for a second term, and Bannon is said to see Kennedy as able to inject chaos in the Democratic contest and stoke anti-vaccine sentiment more broadly with his 2024 bid. (CBS News)
• A bipartisan congressional delegation led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has arrived in Taiwan amid Chinese tension over yesterday’s meeting between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California. (NBC News) McCarthy’s bipartisan California summit received rare praise from his predecessor and critic, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said in a statement that it should be “commended.” (The Hill)

Happening today (all in ET):

• 1 p.m. White House press secretary holds briefing.
• 1:50 p.m. Vice President Kamala Harris holds event on clean energy in Georgia. 

Medicare-Eligible Population Backs Biden’s Plan to Cut Beneficiaries’ Costs, Address Solvency
Morning Consult

White House accuses GOP of helping Mexican drug cartels by targeting ATF
Alex Seitz-Wald, NBC News

The White House is opening a new line of attack on Republicans — as former President Donald Trump demands his party defund federal law enforcement — by arguing that threatening firearm-control agencies would help arm Mexican drug cartels that traffic fentanyl into the country.

Biden’s Buggy Asylum App Doesn’t Work for Refugees—but It Serves His Political Interests
Jack Herrera, Texas Monthly

The administration’s new border policy has slowed the flow of asylum seekers, while frustrating those who are trying to follow the rules.

EPA proposes tighter pollution limits for coal plants
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

The Biden administration is proposing to tighten standards for pollution coming from coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Tuesday that it is proposing to strengthen restrictions under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for the first time in more than a decade.

Freedom Caucus and progressives lock arms — and that could be bad news for McCarthy
Nicholas Wu, Politico

The speaker’s immediate headache is a growing right-left alliance on Iraq war powers. But House liberals and conservatives are linking up on other issues, too.

McCarthy’s Message to Wall Street: You Should Worry About the US Debt Ceiling
Billy House, Bloomberg

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that Wall Street should be concerned about the political impasse over the US debt ceiling as the country inches closer to a possible payment default.

House G.O.P.’s Plan to Cut Food Stamps Faces a Tough Vote
Catie Edmondson, The New York Times

A proposal to tighten work requirements for federal nutrition programs has generated fissures among Republicans, highlighting the difficult choices ahead in coming up with a budget plan.

Republicans Vowed to Grill Bragg About Trump, but It’s Not So Simple
Luke Broadwater and Jonathan Swan, The New York Times

G.O.P. leaders have talked tough about investigating the New York prosecutor bringing charges against the former president, but behind the scenes, they are weighing how to move ahead.

House Dems curb their enthusiasm on Trump arrest
Andrew Solender, Axios

Former President Trump’s arrest is causing as much consternation as celebration among Democratic lawmakers.

Tornadoes strike Midwest and South, causing damage in Missouri and Kentucky
David K. Li et al., NBC News

Five people were dead after a tornado sliced through southeastern Missouri on Wednesday morning. Another tornado struck the Louisville, Ky., area in the evening.

Jerry Brown Is Angry: Why Is America Barreling Into a Cold War With China?
Jonathan Martin, Politico

The ultimate elder statesman sees huge economic consequences to a superpower decoupling: “Another serious banking failure, mortgage meltdown . . . We can’t stabilize the world economy without China.”

National security officials tell special counsel Trump was repeatedly warned he did not have the authority to seize voting machines
Zachary Cohen, CNN

Former top national security officials have testified to a federal grand jury that they repeatedly told former President Donald Trump and his allies that the government didn’t have the authority to seize voting machines after the 2020 election, CNN has learned.

Bragg’s Case Against Trump Leaves Ample Defense Openings, Legal Experts Say
Jacob Gershman and Joe Palazzolo, The Wall Street Journal

The criminal case against former President Donald Trump unsealed Tuesday could hinge on questions of criminal intent and untested interpretations of election law, according to criminal defense specialists.

Trump judge and his family receive threats after New York arrest
Jonathan Dienst et al., NBC News

Judge Juan Merchan, his family and the Manhattan court where Trump was arraigned Tuesday have already received numerous threats, sources told NBC News.

How Herschel Walker’s Wife Tried—and Failed—to Profit Off His Campaign
Roger Sollenberger, The Daily Beast

Herschel Walker’s wife initially opposed Walker running for Senate, sources told The Daily Beast, until she saw an opportunity to make a lot of money.

How Fox Chased Its Audience Down the Rabbit Hole
Jim Rutenberg, The New York Times

Rupert Murdoch built an empire by giving viewers exactly what they wanted. But what they wanted — election lies and insurrection — put that empire (and the country) in peril.

Trump’s criminal case in New York may collide with the 2024 campaign
Ann E. Marimow et al., The Washington Post

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s criminal case said he intends to move swiftly, but between the slow-moving New York court system and Trump’s tendency to push for delays in legal matters, analysts expect the case to linger and collide with the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump makes play for DeSantis donors
Alex Isenstadt, Politico

Donald Trump’s campaign is reaching out directly to Ron DeSantis’ donors to convince them to jump ship.

GOP’s DeSantis visits Whitmer’s Michigan, the ‘anti-Florida’
Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press

Ahead of a highly anticipated presidential announcement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will visit Michigan for his first appearance this year in the state transformed by Democratic majorities under high-profile Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Nikki Haley hauls in over $11 million in first six weeks of her 2024 GOP presidential campaign
Paul Steinhauser, Fox News

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley brought in more than $11 million in fundraising during the first six weeks of her campaign, according to figures shared first with Fox News on Wednesday.

Bob Casey takes significant steps towards a reelection bid
Holly Otterbein, Politico

In a tough year for the party, another run for the Pennsylvania Democrat is a big relief.

Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen announces 2024 reelection bid
Kierra Frazier, Politico

No Republican challengers have yet announced plans to take on Rosen.

Whitmania: Dems eye Michigan gov’s sister for battleground House race
Sarah Ferris et al., Politico

If Liz Whitmer Gereghty runs against the Republican who shockingly upset Democrats’ campaign chief last cycle, her family ties could bring a dose of star power.

Republicans seek to change Montana primary to thwart Tester
The Associated Press

Republican state lawmakers in Montana are advancing legislation that would alter next year’s U.S. Senate primary in an apparent bid to thwart the reelection of Sen. Jon Tester, one of several Democrats on the ballot in GOP-leaning states.

GOP lawmaker wins Wis. Senate seat, creating supermajority
Todd Richmond, The Associated Press

Republican state Rep. Dan Knodl defeated a Democratic attorney to win an open Senate seat in Tuesday’s special election, creating a GOP supermajority in the chamber that could be used to impeach Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and other office holders.

Expulsion vote thrusts Tennessee politics onto the national stage, could set precedent
Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean

The Democrats could become political martyrs if expelled from the legislature. The move shows the power the GOP holds and could set a precedent for the future.

Indiana, Idaho governors sign bans on gender-affirming care
Arleigh Rodgers, The Associated Press

Republican governors in Indiana and Idaho have signed into law bills banning gender-affirming care for minors, making those states the latest to restrict transgender health care as Republican-led legislatures continue to curb LGBTQ+ rights this year.

Kansas bans transgender athletes from women’s sports as Legislature overrides Kelly’s veto
Katie Bernard and Jenna Barackman, The Kansas City Star

When Kansas high schools and colleges return for the fall semester next year, transgender athletes will no longer be eligible to compete in girls or women’s sports.

Florida lawmakers swing into action after Trump smacks DeSantis on insurance
Gary Fineout, Politico

Their plan comes three weeks after the former president accused the governor of bailing out the politically-powerful companies.

Whitmer repeals Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban
Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press

With the stroke of her pen, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer repealed an unenforceable Michigan law Wednesday that makes it a felony to administer most abortions with no exception for rape or incest.

At least 600 children were sexually abused by Baltimore’s Catholic Church over 60 years, Maryland AG says
David K. Li and Corky Siemaszko, NBC News

Maryland’s top prosecutor on Wednesday accused Catholic Church officials in Baltimore of engaging in a yearslong coverup of the sexual abuse of 600-plus children, some of whom were “preyed upon by multiple abusers over decades.”

Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire
Joshua Kaplan et al., ProPublica

In late June 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court released its final opinion of the term, Justice Clarence Thomas boarded a large private jet headed to Indonesia. He and his wife were going on vacation: nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht staffed by a coterie of attendants and a private chef.

In Pristine Alaska, an Oil Giant Prepares to Drill for Decades
Lisa Friedman and Clifford Krauss, The New York Times

Scientists say nations must stop new oil and gas projects to avoid climate catastrophe. But after the Biden administration greenlit the $8 billion Willow project, ConocoPhillips is racing ahead.

Three Takeaways From a Tumultuous Day in Politics
Nate Cohn, The New York Times

A blowout in Wisconsin, an indictment in New York and a progressive victory in Chicago.

The Humiliation of Donald Trump
McKay Coppins, The Atlantic

He was forced to return to the island that rejected him—not in triumph, but in disgrace.

The Trump Indictment Is a Legal Embarrassment
Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The New York Times

Tuesday was historic for the rule of law in America, but not in the way Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, would have imagined. The 34-count indictment — which more accurately could be described as 34 half-indictments — was a disaster.