| Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. We're lucky to have campaign reporter Dylan Wells at the wheel today. Correction: Tuesday's edition incorrectly stated that the first atomic bomb test and the first underwater test took place in the same year. The first test took place on July 16, 1945, at a test site 210 miles south of Los Alamos, and the first underwater test happened on July 25, 1946, in the Pacific. | | |  | The big idea | | Vivek Ramaswamy runs as Trump 2.0 |  Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the Moms for Liberty Summit on July 1 in Philadelphia. (Hannah Beier for the Washington Post) | | | CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy had just finished a speech to the National Rifle Association's annual meeting when he found himself chatting backstage with Donald Trump. The 37-year-old political novice had just received a mid-address standing ovation in Indianapolis for proposing to arm and train every household in Taiwan to protect against an attack from China — one of many provocative ideas he has promoted in his long-shot bid. Trump "basically congratulated" him that day in late-April, Ramaswamy recalled in an interview, and expressed surprise at the warm reception his 2024 rival had gotten. | - "I told him not to be surprised and to expect more of it," said Ramaswamy, who predicted a nontraditional candidate would prevail in primary. "One way or another, it's gonna be an outsider," he remembered telling Trump. "And he said, 'One way or another, it's an outsider.'"
| | While some Republicans are running by pitching themselves as being more electable or effective than Trump and others embrace a pre-Trump GOP posture or are outright anti-Trump, Ramaswamy is pitching himself as something different — the next iteration of Trump, who is at times chummy with his rival. An entrepreneur who made a fortune in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, Ramaswamy is a first-time candidate looking to break through a field of more conventional rivals touting a suite of proposals some experts have said are extreme and dangerous and would push the bounds of presidential authority. The son of Indian immigrants won enthusiastic applause at some recent multicandidate events, including this month's Family Leadership Summit in Iowa, an event focused on evangelical voters. Polls show him to be part of a crowded pack of current or former governors, an ex-vice president and other more experienced candidates running well behind Trump and trailing the distant second-place competitor nationally, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose struggles have opened the door for other underdogs to rise. | | He says he already qualified for the first debate, and some Republican strategists regard Ramaswamy as a wild card who could alter the contours of the race as he taps his personal wealth to fund his campaign. Billed as "America First 2.0," an argument that Trump did not go far enough in passing his policy agenda as president, Ramaswamy's platform — which leans heavily on executive actions — includes raising the voting age to 25 unless certain requirements are met, ending affirmative action "in every sphere of American life," shutting down the FBI and trimming 75 percent of executive branch employees to reduce the size of the "administrative state." | - "It shows, frankly, a historically unprecedented disregard for the powers laid out in the Constitution, which are that the President is supposed to execute the law, not just create new ones willy nilly," presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky said of the plans. "This is unprecedented in its disregard for that power sharing structure laid out in the Constitution."
| | On Thursday in New Hampshire, Ramaswamy unveiled the details of his plan to shut down the FBI, as well as the Department of Education and National Regulatory Commission, surrounded by charts covered in red strike marks and arrows. The next day, he was back in Iowa hosting an event that rhymes with the pronunciation of his first name: "Lunch Break with Vivek." He recently followed in Trump's footsteps by releasing a list of possible Supreme Court nominees if elected, including Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). Trump has frequently mentioned Ramaswamy in a positive context, recently pointing to him to amplify his taunts of DeSantis. Predicting earlier this month that DeSantis likely won't be in second for much longer, he added, "I wonder who it is going to be. Maybe it's Vivek, Vivek, could be. Could be. He's doing well." | | Ramaswamy's proposals, which he says he wants to enact "without the permission or forgiveness of Congress," have been polarizing. For some, it's part of what they like about him. "He's got energy. He's infectious," said Pete Mathison, who attended a Ramaswamy event in Iowa and supported Trump in the past. Tina Neyens, an undecided voter from Marion who attended his event in Davenport, said she likes how "he really does stand his ground." She added that "he speaks the truth," on affirmative action. "If he were a White guy saying that, they'd be like, 'well easy for you to say.' But he can say — and he said — 'I felt this discrimination,'" Neyens said. Race, and the rejection of affirmative action, are central to his pitch. Ramaswamy argues that his generation celebrated diversity and differences too much, "so much that we forgot all of the ways that we are really just the same." As an Indian American and millennial, Ramaswamy said he is able to push the envelope on race and age more than other candidates due to his identity. | | Others see his ideas as unrealistic or damaging. His positions put him out of step with other millennials of color, who have generally embraced more liberal policies. Some of his own young staff pushed back on a pitch to raise the voting age to 25 unless certain requirement such as passing a civics test or serving in the military are completed. The proposal was panned by young people in both parties and voting rights advocates, some who saw it as a throw back to Jim Crow laws. Ramaswamy argues that more young people would vote as a result of his plan, because it would have greater value. He has also faced pushback on his approach to foreign policy, including ceding support for Ukraine to negotiate a peace treaty with Russia and his unorthodox approach on other matters. "You want to stop Xi Jinping from invading Taiwan, put a gun in every Taiwanese household!," Ramaswamy exclaimed in his NRA speech. You can read Dylan's full report here. | | |  | Politics-but-not | | | Click through to submit ideas for potential inclusion in our weekly roundup of stories you might not find in other political newsletters. Read more » | | | | | |  | What's happening now | | Giuliani concedes making false statements about Georgia election workers |  Rudy Giuliani speaks with reporters as he departs a federal courthouse in Washington on May 19. (Patrick Semansky/AP) | | | "Rudy Giuliani, who served as a lawyer for former president Donald Trump, is no longer contesting as a legal matter that he made false and defamatory statements about two former Georgia election workers — but argues in a new court filing that what amounted to false claims about vote-rigging in the 2020 presidential election was constitutionally protected speech and did not damage the workers," John Wagner reports. | Hunter Biden guilty plea in doubt | Biden picks Martin O'Malley to lead Social Security Administration | | "President Biden announced Wednesday that he will nominate former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley to lead the Social Security Administration, as the agency faces enhanced scrutiny over new management failures," Jeff Stein and Erin Cox report. | Fed poised to raise rates again as it weighs how much further to go | | "The Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates for the 11th time in 16 months on Wednesday, as policymakers grapple with how much more they need to do to snuff out inflation — and whether they would slow the economy too much," Rachel Siegel reports. | | |  | Lunchtime reads from The Post | | Doctors who put lives at risk with covid misinformation rarely punished |  A health worker fills a syringe from a vial of the Moderna covid vaccine at a vaccine clinic being held at the Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in Hanover, Md., on Feb. 19, 2022. (Allison Shelley for The Washington Post) | | | "Across the country, doctors who jeopardized patients' lives by pushing medical misinformation during the pandemic and its aftermath have faced few repercussions, according to a Washington Post analysis of disciplinary records from medical boards in all 50 states," Lena H. Sun, Lauren Weber and Hayden Godfrey report. | - "State medical boards charged with protecting the American public often failed to stop doctors who went against medical consensus and prescribed unapproved treatments for covid or misled patients about vaccines and masks, the Post investigation found."
| The war in Ukraine is spurring a revolution in drone warfare using AI | AI companies form new safety body, while Congress plays catch up | | "Leading artificial intelligence companies on Wednesday unveiled plans to launch an industry-led body to develop safety standards for rapidly advancing technology, outpacing Washington policymakers who are still debating whether the U.S. government needs its own AI regulator," Cat Zakrzewski and Nitasha Tiku report. | - "Google, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic introduced the Frontier Model Forum, which the companies say will advance AI safety research and technical evaluations for the next generation of AI systems, which companies predict will be even more powerful than the large language models that currently power chatbots like Bing and Bard."
| FTC readies lawsuit that could break up Amazon |  The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France. (Pascal Rossignol/Reuters) | | | "The Federal Trade Commission is finalizing its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, four people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO, a move that could ultimately break up parts of the company," Politico's Josh Sisco reports. | - "The FTC has been investigating the company on a number of fronts, and the coming case would be one of the most aggressive and high-profile moves in the Biden administration's rocky effort to tame the power of tech giants. The wide-ranging lawsuit is expected as soon as August, and will likely challenge a host of Amazon's business practices, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss a confidential matter. If successful, it could lead to a court-ordered restructuring of the $1.3 trillion empire and define the legacy of FTC Chair Lina Khan."
| How George Santos used political connections to fuel get-rich schemes | | "In the years since Mr. Santos first ran for the House in 2020, he has become adept at finding ways to extract money from politics. He founded a political consulting group that he marketed to other Republicans. He sought to profit from the Covid crisis, using campaign connections. And he solicited investments for and from political donors, raising ethical questions," the New York Times's Grace Ashford reports. | | |  | The Biden agenda | | Federal judge tosses Biden administration asylum rule for migrants |  A Venezuelan family walks to the bus terminal in Brownsville, Tex., after being admitted into the United States to seek asylum. (Meridith Kohut for The Washington Post) | | | "U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar ruled against a system the Biden administration imposed more than two months ago that penalizes migrants who cross the border illegally and rewards those who instead scheduled appointments to seek asylum. Tigar delayed his ruling from taking effect for 14 days to give the government time to appeal," Maria Sacchetti reports. | Biden picks next Pentagon policy chief, testing Tuberville's blockade | | "The White House said Tuesday that President Biden will nominate a new Pentagon policy chief, a position the administration deems central to navigating challenges posed by China and Russia but one at risk of encountering the same standoff with congressional Republicans that has stymied the confirmation of other defense nominees," Missy Ryan reports. | | |  | The ages of U.S. presidents, visualized | | | "President Biden, 80, is already three years older than any other president in American history. Biden and Trump, 77, are each seeking a second term in the White House. While each is the front-runner for the Democratic and Republican nominations, respectively, the field of candidates varies widely by age," Hannah Dormido reports. | | |  | Hot on the left | | How the ADA paved the way for workplace protections for women and LGBTQ+ people |  Guests listen to President Biden speak during an event marking the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Rose Garden at the White House on Sept. 28, 2022. (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post) | | | "The law, signed by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990, represented a new approach to understanding the full scope of what employees truly need in the workplace to do their jobs. That concept has evolved in the years since the ADA went into effect: Back then, courts were only starting to understand the power and promise of the ADA, said Ben Klein, who litigated the first case on the ADA," the 19th's Chabeli Carrazana reports. | | |  | Hot on the right | | Fearing Trump's wrath, GOP lobbyists stay on the '24 primary sidelines |  Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump enters the Moms for Liberty Summit on June 30 in Philadelphia. (Hannah Beier for the Washington Post) | | | "Republican lobbyists on K Street aren't rushing to back Donald Trump in his third run for the White House. But they're not rallying in full force behind an alternative either. While some lobbyists are doling out cash, others are fearful that any type of public opposition to the former president could make them persona non grata in D.C. should he get back to the White House," Politico's Hailey Fuchs reports. | | |  | Today in Washington | | | There is nothing on Biden's public schedule this afternoon. | | |  | In closing | | Bonus Ramaswamy content: Meet his rap alter ego, 'Da Vek' | | Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow. | | |
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