This blog originally appeared at NBC News.
First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter.
If it’s TUESDAY… President Biden signs proclamation at noon ET establishing Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument… Israeli parliament passes key part of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul… Donald Trump attends fundraiser in Louisiana… Nikki Haley and Chris Christie campaign in New Hampshire… And it appears that seven candidates have now qualified for next month’s GOP presidential debate.
But FIRST… It’s Republican governors vs. the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal government.
Late last week, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a new redistricting map that defied a Supreme Court ruling ordering the state to draw two Black-majority congressional districts — or something close to it.
Instead, the GOP-controlled legislature drew only one.
“The legislature knows our state, our people and our districts better than the federal courts or activist groups, and I am pleased that they answered the call, remained focused and produced new districts ahead of the court deadline,” Ivey said.
And on Monday, the Biden Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Texas and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for placing buoys in the Rio Grande River to deter migrants from crossing into the United States.
The administration argues that Abbott’s buoys violate the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 (which prohibits the creation of obstructions not authorized by Congress) and failed to obtain necessary permits.
“Texas will see you in court, Mr. President,” Abbott wrote President Biden.
Now presidents have routinely quarreled with governors and states controlled by the opposition party. (Remember all of California’s lawsuits against the Trump administration?)
But Alabama’s defiance appears different — and it harkens back to clashes from the 1950s and 1960s between southern states and the federal government.
Headline of the day
Data Download: The number of the day is … 7
That’s how many candidates so far appear to have qualified for the first GOP presidential primary debate, per the NBC News Political Unit’s analysis of public polling and statements about fundraising.
Six appeared to qualify on Monday, and that list isn’t surprising: former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
And on Tuesday morning, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also appeared to qualify for the debate thanks to Morning Consult’s weekly tracking poll, which finds Burgum at 1% in the GOP primary.
But there’s still a month to go for other candidates to get the donors and reach the polling requirements to qualify (remember: all that is moot if you don’t agree to back the party’s eventual nominee, since that’s another piece of the criteria candidates have to meet).
Read more on the Meet the Press Blog.
Other numbers to know
600 MB: The amount of data — mostly PDFs — that former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik’s lawyer gave to special counsel Jack Smith’s office as part of an ongoing investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Kerik’s lawyer said Monday.
More than 4: The number of years a Jan. 6 rioter was sentenced to prison. He repeatedly struck a police officer with a flag pole on the steps of the Capitol.
76%: Gov. Phil Scott’s, R-Vt., approval rating, as Morning Consult polling shows him to be the most popular governor in America.
3: The number of men indicted by a grand jury for a firebombing attack on a California Planned Parenthood last year.
More than half: The number of states whose legislatures have improved their victim compensation programs in the last few years, according to an Associated Press analysis.
click here to see full blog: https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/gop-governors-defy-supreme-court-federal-government-rcna96140
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