SCOTUS Drama Over Presidential Power, Trump Pushes SAVE Act, Murdaugh Retrial Set: AM Update 6/30

0:00Hiring isn't just filling a role. It's about finding people who can drive results. Indeed Sponsored Jobs helps you match with the right candidates faster. Target candidates by skills, certifications, or location. Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide that use Indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs. And listeners of this show will get a$75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring? Do it the right way. with Indeed. Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, June 30th, 2026.

0:37And this is your AM update. The president now has wide ranging power, it seems, to fire appointees of these independent, what were supposed to be independent bodies. Fallout from two major U.S. Supreme Court rulings over the president's power to fire government employees. Pundits in legacy media sound the alarm, even as the high court draws a firm exception around Federal Reserve independence. Because of the mail-in ballot ruling, which was a little bit surprising, the SAVE Act is even more important. President Trump turning up the pressure on Republicans to pass a sweeping election integrity bill after a Supreme Court ruling leaves mail-in ballot deadlines largely in the hands of the states.

1:20Alec Murdoch has a retrial date after his murder convictions were overturned. and Minneapolis putting the finishing touch on Pride Month by repealing a decades-old ban on adult bathhouses popular with gay men. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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2:56That's promo code MK at TakeLean.com. Major fallout from a series of Supreme Court rulings yesterday on the president's power to fire government officials in the executive branch. The justices ruling six to three in Trump v. Slaughter that presidents may remove officials running roughly two dozen agencies and commissions within the executive branch without first proving that the firing is for cause. The decision falling along ideological lines with liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson dissenting. The case centering on former FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.

3:36President Trump fired Slaughter last year. He fired her and another Democrat on the FTC, which enforces consumer protections and antitrust laws for ideological reasons, after concluding her continued service was inconsistent with his administration's priorities. The question here was, is that legal? Slaughter reacting to the ruling yesterday on MS Now. I am very sad for America, honestly, first and foremost. I'm very worried about a future where presidents like President Trump can wield this enormous grant of executive power that the Supreme Court just handed to him in order to reward his friends and punish his enemies and do so with impunity, I think that that is incredibly sad.

4:25The ruling drawing the expected alarm across legacy media here, CNN, CBS and MS Now. The president now has wide ranging power, it seems, to fire appointees of these independent, what were supposed to be independent bodies, at will. All of these boards that Congress has created as independent boards are no longer independent boards. in that respect. You know, he's won more at the Supreme Court. He's been able to effect his agenda in a much more powerful way than he was the first time around. And it's just a remarkable thing to see what a president can do after getting a second bite of the apple, becoming further radicalized in the four years that he was out of office and learning from the mistakes.

5:11Despite the warnings of a coming presidential power grab, President Trump yesterday from the Oval saying he does not expect the ruling to trigger a wave of mass firings. On the slaughter case, the Supreme Court just affirmed your right to fire the heads of independent agencies. Should we expect more firings as a result of this ruling? I don't think so. It gives me the right, and not me, it gives a president the right to do what the president should have the right to do. And it's very interesting. It's a big ruling. It's been going on for almost 100 years. They've been working on this and, you know, that it comes down at my term is a very great honor.

5:45but it bestows additional powers or maybe the same power on the president. The president has the right to do this. The court, however, drawing a more clear boundary around the Federal Reserve. In a separate 5-4 ruling, the justices allowing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, whom Trump also fired, to remain in office while her underlying lawsuit against the administration plays out, refusing the administration's request to let the president remove her immediately. The unusual majority crossing ideological lines with Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump appointee Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining the high court's three liberal justices.

6:24The court treating the Federal Reserve differently from the agencies covered by the slaughter ruling, acknowledging its longstanding protection from direct political control. President Trump attempting to fire Cook over allegations she claimed homes in both Michigan and Georgia as her primary residence within a short span of time, potentially allowing her to secure more favorable mortgage terms. Cook disputing the allegations, which involve mortgage documents she signed before joining the Federal Reserve. Cook welcoming the ruling as a victory in a statement, quote, I am grateful for this decision, not for my sake, but for the sake of the American people, whose economic well-being depends on a central bank that answers to its mission, not political intimidation.

7:09Justice Kavanaugh, though, noting in a concurring opinion, quote, Today's interim ruling does not decide whether the president may lawfully remove Governor Cook for cause, end quote. That issue has yet to play out in the lower courts. President Trump increasing pressure on Republicans in Congress to pass the Save America Act, following yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling preserving states' ability to count some mail-in ballots received after Election Day. The 5-4 decision upholding a Mississippi law that counts ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within the following five business days.

7:47Justice Amy Coney Barrett writing for the majority in a coalition that crossed the court's usual ideological lines. Joined by fellow conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, and liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson. Meantime, the Save America Act is a sweeping election integrity overhaul, requiring proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, photo ID to vote, and tighter limits on mail-in ballots, one that lacks majority support in the Senate. President Trump arguing yesterday during an unrelated Oval Office event, the high court's decision makes passage of the legislation even more urgent.

8:27What do you make of the Supreme Court ruling today in regards to the mail-in ballots and what comes next for the SAVE Act after today's ruling? Well, because of the mail-in ballot ruling, which was a little bit surprising, gives people more time to vote illegally, let's say. But the SAVE Act is even more important. And that's the right. You have to be a citizen of our country. Okay, you have to show you're a citizen of our country called citizenship. Voter ID by photo, photo voter ID, and no mail-in ballots unless you're in the military disabled. You're ill or you're away or even on a vacation.

9:06We're being very open about it. It's pretty easy. And we'll have honest elections. But the ruling, which a lot of people were waiting for, that was a ruling that was, I think it was very detrimental to honest elections. The measure currently stalled in the Senate, where it lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster under existing rules just to get a vote, and doesn't even have the 50 GOP senators required to pass the bill were it to get past the filibuster. The president maintains he would have the votes if the filibuster went away. Who do you see as the biggest hurdle to getting this across the finish line?

9:45Well, it's held up in the Senate. And frankly, if you terminated the filibuster, you just need 50 votes and we have 53. And then you have J.D. So the Democrats are going to terminate the filibuster. But if you did reconciliation, you could do it with 50 votes. I mean, the best would be to terminate the filibuster. President Trump yesterday naming Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Tom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky among those opposed to the measure. He can only afford to lose three. Mr. Trump reiterating he has little interest in any other legislation until the SAVE Act is passed.

10:28Earlier this month, the president canceling a public signing ceremony for bipartisan housing legislation in an effort to keep the focus on the Save America Act. Asked yesterday what he now plans to do with the housing bill, President Trump brushing it aside. What are your plans for the housing bill, Mr. President? I don't know. I think it's so unimportant by compared to the Save America Act. I think the Save America Act is exactly what it says. It's saving America from crooked elections. And the housing bill is a bill that can get approved. They worked on it long and hard. is very bipartisan. That means the Democrats like it.

11:09It's a yawn. Some people say it's wonderful. To me, compared to the Save America Act, just about everything is a big yawn. Coming up, Alec Murdoch returns to court after his double murder convictions were tossed with a new judge setting a retrial date. And radical Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry has a special treat involving public sex to mark the end of Pride Month.

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12:22They are supportive enough to stand in all day, yet cozy enough to forget you are wearing them. With easy returns and a lifetime warranty, it's comfort worth upgrading to. This spring, give yourself the kind of comfort that lives with you all day, not just the moment you get home. Head to CozyEarth.com. Use my code Megan for an exclusive 20 % off. That's code Megan for an exclusive 20 % off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, tell them that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Comfort lives here. Disgraced former attorney Alec Murdaugh returning to a South Carolina courtroom yesterday morning for the first time since the state Supreme Court threw out his convictions for murdering his wife and son.

13:05Murdaugh entering the Lexington County Courthouse in an orange prison jumpsuit, shackled at his hands, waist, and feet, sitting quietly throughout the proceedings. The 200-seat courtroom, packed with reporters, local TV crews, international news agencies, and podcasters as one of the country's most closely watched true crime cases prepares to do it all over again. Newly assigned judge Deborah McCaslin acknowledging the crowd as she opened the hearing. I see we have a full house. Good morning. For those of you who've never been to Lexington County, welcome to the Lexington County Courthouse. Murdoch convicted in March of 2023 of fatally shooting his 52-year-old wife Maggie along with their 22-year-old son Paul.

13:53He maintains his innocence in the killings, though he has admitted to stealing millions of dollars from clients and his family's law firm. The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturning the murder convictions in May, ordering a new trial after finding former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced the jury. Murdaugh's defense team asking the judge to resolve several major issues before another jury is seated, including where the retrial will be held, whether DNA evidence can undergo new independent testing, and whether Murdoch can access a secure laptop in prison to review trial materials.

14:32As for the venue, Murdoch's lawyers arguing the publicity surrounding the first trial makes it impossible to see an unbiased jury anywhere in the 14th Judicial Circuit, which includes Colleton County, where he was first tried. Judge McCaslin urging both sides to see whether they can agree on a new venue, saying if they cannot, then she will make the decision. On the DNA, the defense asking to retest material recovered from beneath Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails, which investigators previously traced to an unknown man unrelated to the family. Murdaugh's attorneys arguing newer technology could reveal more than the original analysis, an offering to pay for testing at a private Texas lab.

15:14Judge McCaslin pressing the defense on how long the additional testing could take. I'd like to know how long, Mr. Griffin, it's going to take to analyze exactly what it is you're asking for. And I believe it's genetic. Yes, Your Honor. And the state's response says, give us somebody to talk to at the lab. Okay. And that will convey to them this morning the CEO of Othram's name, email, and telephone number. They have received the VP of Law Enforcement Division at Othram, his cell phone number, and the client intake person that we use. now that I've been interfacing with. And they will be better able to answer specifically how long it will take.

16:08We've agreed to pay for it. And just background information. I'm going to let you pay for it. Despite the judge's quip, she did not approve the additional DNA testing just yet. A ruling is expected by the next pretrial hearing. Judge McCaslin, new to the case and telling both sides she has not followed its history, setting the retrial for next spring, and warning attorneys not to expect further delays. I'm thinking April the 5th. And let me tell you this, tell both of y 'all, I think y 'all know me pretty well. When I set a trial date, I don't do continuances. I don't do it. So how does April the 5th sound, Mr.

16:52Waters? Yes, ma 'am. Mr. Harpooley? We'll be ready with some contingencies if the DNA takes longer, for instance, or... I will have that information by next pretrial. If I need to extend it out a couple of weeks, I will, if that's the case. Please do not think that this case is going to be tried a year later, because it's not. We're going forward. The retrial is scheduled to begin April 5th, 2027, with the next pretrial hearing set for August 14th. Regardless of the outcome, in the murder case, Murdaugh will remain behind bars on separate financial crimes convictions, serving a 40-year federal sentence after pleading guilty to stealing millions from clients, along with a concurrent 27-year state sentence for similar financial crimes.

17:43With Pride Month mercifully coming to an end, the Minneapolis City Council clearing the way last week for adult bathhouses and sex venues to return to the city, nearly four decades after banning them during the AIDS crisis. Minneapolis once had three of the adults-only establishments, which typically offer spa facilities alongside private spaces where consenting adults can engage in sexual activity. As AIDS spread rapidly during the 1980s, public health officials in cities across America feared the venues were helping to transmit the deadly disease, cities like San Francisco and New York shutting down the venues in the mid-'80s, Minneapolis following suit in 1988.

18:27With the rise of modern drugs that can suppress HIV to levels at which it cannot be sexually transmitted, gay activists now arguing the old ban had outlived its public health rationale, some even presenting it as homophobic. And so in Governor Tim Walz's state and Mayor Jacob Fry's city, the council voting 9-2 on Thursday to repeal the 38-year-old ban. Because what we really need more of is public gay sex. Local outlet Fox 9 explaining what the vote means for the city. The bathhouses ordinance passed. No more ban on bathhouses. They got the thumbs up. It doesn't mean that bathhouses are going to open in Minneapolis in the next few weeks or the next few months.

19:12What it does is kind of pave the way for the city to create a regulatory framework so that one or more can eventually open. Councilmember Jason Chavez presenting the repeal as a civil rights imperative at last week's city council meeting. These are gathering spaces for queer people, especially gay men, at a time when being out in public could get you fired, could get you beat, could get you arrested. These are places of refuge. And I think it's important to acknowledge that these establishments were even picketed by signs that said AIDS kill and avoid gay bathhouses. Council member Robin Wansley, who also voted to remove the ban, explaining why this repeal is vital to the city.

19:54I think it's important to address this. the weaponization of hyper-sexualization of our queer communities as a means to also bring forward repressive policies that limits their existence and their ability to be in community with each other. The idea that this policy has been repeatedly framed as facilitation of brothel or sexual activity as if folks just want to go out and have sex, which you know what, Maybe that might help actually bring more joy into our city. But to say that this policy is essentially the facilitation of legalizing brothels is not what's happening. More joy. Bans on public sex are repressive, you see.

20:39Mayor Frye signing the bill into law yesterday and posting to X, quote, Minneapolis stands with our LGBTQIA plus neighbors. we always will. That's why I'm proud to have stood with members of the city council and community advocates to sign the bathhouse repeal ordinance and pride in policy package into law. Why these men can't simply hook up in their own homes like everyone else in 2026 America remains unclear, except that is for the joy. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show, live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.

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