With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

JUST POSTED — “Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel,” by ProPublica’s Brett Murphy and Alex Mierjeski: “The fullest accounting yet shows how [Justice CLARENCE] THOMAS has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.”

BREAKING OVERNIGHT — “At least 36 people have died on Maui as fires burn through Hawaii, county reports,” by AP’s Audrey Mcavoy, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Nick Perry in Wailuku, Hawaii

THE NEXT ABORTION BATTLEGROUNDS — In 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalized same-sex marriage, injecting the issue — which remained unpopular in many states outside New England — into the presidential election. Eleven states that fall voted to define marriage as exclusively between a man and woman.

Most of them were red states that President GEORGE W. BUSH would have won anyway (such as Arkansas, Utah and Mississippi). But there were a few swing states as well, including Ohio, where the marriage amendment divided Democrats and juiced GOP turnout. Bush won Ohio 51% to 49%, and the state’s 20 electoral votes clinched his victory.

Now, with a string of statewide referenda showing that protecting abortion rights is a powerful motivator, Democrats are racing to add the issue to the 2024 ballot in key states.

The latest victory came on Tuesday, when Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to raise the threshold for amending the state’s constitution from a simple majority to 60%. The outcome makes it more likely that the state will approve an amendment to codify the right to an abortion in the state constitution this November.

While that November 2023 referendum won’t help JOE BIDEN, efforts in other states are being closely watched by his campaign for how they might influence the vote at the top of the ticket in November 2024.

Yesterday, the progressive group Indivisible advised Democrats to target Arizona. They argued that as a swing state with several important races, abortion rights needed to be on the ballot to help Democrats.

Polling on a proposed state constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights, Indivisible argued to donors, showed enormous potential benefits: Democrats were more likely to vote, Republicans were less likely to vote, turnout would go up among voters who are lukewarm to Biden, such as Latinos and young people, and the amendment could help Dems win the House, the Senate and the White House.

But a split has opened on the left over how to message these abortion rights fights. While Indivisible is pushing the pro-choice initiative in Arizona explicitly as a way to help Biden and Democrats, in other states, activists are wary of associating their efforts with the president’s reelection — or even with one party over another.

In Florida, ANNA HOCHKAMMER, the vice mayor of Pinecrest and the executive director of the Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, which is leading the effort to put a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights on the 2024 ballot, told Playbook yesterday that her group is not interested in tying its message to the president or anyone else outside of Florida.

“This is an entirely organic Floridian effort,” she said. “We need to save ourselves. Nobody is going to do it for us.” She eschews the idea promoted by Indivisible that these initiatives should be promoted as ways to boost Democratic turnout, which could turn off the many Republicans sympathetic to the cause.

As her model, she pointed to the effort in Kansas, which had a nonpartisan message that emphasized a broad coalition she likened to the cantina scene from “Star Wars.”

“We do not feel like our destiny is linked to a national narrative,” she said, noting proudly that KATHLEEN SHANAHAN, former Gov. JEB BUSH’s ex-chief of staff, recently wrote Hochkammer’s group a check. The stakes, she insisted, were too high to tie their campaign to Biden or too-clever political strategies.

Florida is surrounded by states that have banned abortion and the state’s six-week ban, signed into law earlier this year by Gov. RON DeSANTIS, is on hold as the Supreme Court reviews it.

“If Florida falls to the six-week ban, then four million women of reproductive age are going to have to go to Washington, D.C., to get medical care,” Hochkammer said, noting that D.C. is the closest destination without abortion restrictions.

Hochkammer’s group has also strived to keep the language of their amendment simple and tailored it to Florida’s libertarian streak. It’s called the “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion” and includes just one key sentence: “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”

The Florida activists’ messaging is more Reason magazine than The Nation. “Most families in America and Florida have had the experience of someone having to have an abortion,” Hochkammer said. “These are difficult and complicated decisions, and this amendment ensures that Big Brother can’t force his way into an emergency room or doctor’s office or sit down at the dining room table and tell you what the government wants you to do.”

Unlike in Ohio, Floridians won’t have a simple majority vote to clear. Florida voters raised the threshold for constitutional amendments to 60% in 2006, and since then, the Republican-led legislature has made it tougher to get an amendment on the ballot. Despite those obstacles, Hochkammer said, they are more than halfway to the finish line less than two months into a six-month petition drive.

More:

• “Anti-abortion movement clashes over crushing defeat in Ohio,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein
• “Democrats may embrace abortion rights even more tightly after Ohio win,” by WaPo’s Toluse Olorunnipa, Rachel Roubein and Patrick Marley
• “Abortion rights have won in every election since Roe v. Wade was overturned,” by NBC’s Amanda Terkel and Jiachuan Wu
• “Abortion setback in Ohio alarms GOP, as Democrats see a ‘roadmap for 2024,’” by NBC’s Sahil Kapur
• “Opponents of Maine’s new abortion law won’t seek to nullify it through a referendum,” by AP’s David Sharp in Portland, Maine

Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line with your takeaways from Tuesday’s vote: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

COMING THIS MORNING — “What to Watch in July’s CPI Report: Why an Uptick in Annual Inflation Might Not Worry the Fed,” by WSJ’s Amara Omeokwe

LABOR PAINS — Democrats are struggling to figure out how to thread the needle between the United Auto Workers — which wants major concessions on EV plants — and their own green energy priorities, as a strike and a presidential election loom on the horizon, Olivia Olander, Tanya Snyder and James Bikales write. Any backlash against Biden’s EV push could discourage a formal endorsement from UAW — a threat underlined by its refusal to do so thus far, despite the larger AFL-CIO throwing its weight behind Biden in its earliest-ever endorsement of a presidential candidate.

The view from the White House: “A senior administration official, granted anonymity to speak frankly about the White House’s perspective, said in an interview that there’s no magic solution in the administration’s back pocket on the joint venture facility question.”

FLORIDA TURF WAR HITS IOWA — DONALD TRUMP is making his way to the Iowa State Fair this Saturday, and he’s bringing backup. “Trump’s campaign confirmed to the Des Moines Register that Republican U.S. Reps. GUS BILIRAKIS, BYRON DONALDS, MATT GAETZ, CARLOS GIMENEZ, BRIAN MAST, CORY MILLS, ANNA PAULINA LUNA, GREG STEUBE and MIKE WALTZ will all be traveling with Trump to the Iowa State Fair and will be with him through the day,” the Des Moines Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel and Galen Bacharier report.

The significance, of course, is that these nine Florida lawmakers have endorsed Trump over their current governor, RON DeSANTIS. “Other details of Trump’s visit to the fairgrounds, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, remain scant. But he will visit on his own terms — as the only Republican candidate, besides CHRIS CHRISTIE, who won’t participate in either the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox or the ‘fair-side chat’ series with Iowa Gov. KIM REYNOLDS.”

PHOTO OF THE DAY

2024 WATCH

UP FOR DEBATE — Trump once again declined to commit to the RNC’s debate requirement that says candidates must pledge to support the eventual nominee, telling Newsmax, “Why would I sign it?” per AP’s Jonathan Cooper. He continued: “I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president. So right there, there’s a problem.”

While Trump wouldn’t expand on who those candidates were, he did name-check Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) and VIVEK RAMASWAMY as two who have “been very nice.”

Meanwhile: Christie fired back at Trump’s reported crude remarks about the former New Jersey governor’s weight. “Look, I’ll make it real easy for Donald Trump. You’re such a big guy, such a tough guy, so full of it. You want me? I’ll be on the stage in Milwaukee two weeks from tonight,” Christie told Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser, referencing the first debate. “I’ll be there waiting for you. You be there, I’ll be there.”

DeSANTIS DONOR DELINEATION — If you’re wondering where all of DeSantis’ small-dollar donors are, it turns out that’s by design. WinRed, the preferred small-donor engine for Republican candidates, recently released data on donations — but DeSantis’ info was nowhere to be found. That’s because DeSantis’ operation “worked with WinRed in a way that prevented the disclosure of donor information, ensuring that the campaign’s small donors would remain anonymous,” NYT’s Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Shane Goldmacher report.

“The arrangement appears to be the first of its kind for a presidential campaign since WinRed’s founding four years ago and could presage a return to an era in which far less information on small donors is made public, at least for Republicans. Representatives for Mr. DeSantis declined to describe details of the arrangement. The person familiar with the campaign said the aim was to prevent other campaigns from poaching Mr. DeSantis’s donors.”

New this morning: The DeSantis campaign is up with its first bio spot, a 37-second ad spotlighting DeSantis’ service as a Navy JAG and deployment in Iraq with SEAL Team 1. Watch the full ad

BACKING BIDEN — “Major gun safety groups come together to endorse Joe Biden for president in 2024,” by AP’s Seung Min Kim and Colleen Long: “The endorsement, obtained by The Associated Press in advance of the formal release, represents the first time the groups have jointly announced support for a presidential candidate. The groups include Brady and its youth-led arm, Team Enough; Community Justice Action Fund; Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action; and Giffords.”

THE WHITE HOUSE

BIZARRE STORY — A Utah man was shot and killed by FBI agents yesterday as they tried to arrest the man, who had allegedly made violent threats against Biden ahead of his trip to the state, CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Betsy Klein and Arlette Saenz write. The threats were extremely explicit in nature: “I HEAR BIDEN IS COMING TO UTAH,” one threat read, according to prosecutors. “DIGGING OUT MY OLD GHILLE SUIT AND CLEANING THE DUST OFF THE M24 SNIPER RIFLE. WELCOM, BUFFOON-IN-CHIEF!”

The man “also posted online threats in recent months against other Democratic politicians and prosecutors who have brought cases against former President Donald Trump,” CNN writes. One post from earlier this week read: “Hey FBI, you still monitoring my social media? Checking so I can be sure to have a loaded gun handy in case you drop by again.”

CONGRESS

THE AGE-OLD QUESTION — “The average age of Congress is rising. That’s unlikely to change soon,” by WaPo’s Nick Mourtoupalas and Derek Hawkins: “Congress has long been older than the overall American population, and the nation’s median age is creeping up, too. But with baby boomers, the generation that came after [MITCH] McCONNELL’s and [DIANNE] FEINSTEIN’s, making up nearly half of Congress, it’s unlikely that the age balance among lawmakers will change significantly any time soon.”

TRUMP CARDS

THE GEORGIA INVESTIGATION — With action expected imminently in the investigation into Trump’s efforts to influence the Georgia election results, Fulton County DA FANI WILLIS is “expected to seek more than a dozen indictments when she presents her case” before a grand jury next week, CNN’s Sara Murray, Jason Morris and Zachary Cohen report.

SPECIAL REQUEST — Lawyers for Trump yesterday asked the federal judge in the classified documents case to “allow the former president and his legal team to discuss sensitive information at a protected facility at or near his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida,” WaPo’s Perry Stein writes. “Trump’s lawyers said that he used the facility while he was president and that they would not transport any classified material to that location — only discuss it there.”

SLIDING IN — “Special counsel obtained search warrant for Donald Trump’s Twitter account,” by Kyle Cheney: “Twitter’s initial resistance to complying with the Jan. 17 warrant resulted in a federal judge holding the company, now called X, in contempt and levying a $350,000 fine.”

POLICY CORNER

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE — More than a year since the Pentagon launched an office to investigate reports from pilots and others who say they’ve seen UFOs, it still doesn’t have a way for the public to report the mysterious incidents — so frustrated witnesses are going to Congress and outside groups, Lara Seligman and Joe Gould write. “The reporting issues are highlighting the tensions over gathering data on so-called unidentified anomalous phenomena.”

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Gay veterans sue Defense Department over military discharges,” by NBC’s Matt Lavietes

THIS IS STILL A THING — “Covid, flu, RSV vaccines urged as health officials brace for respiratory virus season,” by NBC’s Erika Edwards

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

SHOCKING STORY — “Anti-corruption presidential candidate assassinated at campaign event in Ecuador’s capital,” by AP’s Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador: “President GUILLERMO LASSO confirmed the assassination of FERNANDO VILLAVICENCIO and suggested organized crime was behind his slaying, less than two weeks before the Aug. 20 presidential election.”

UNDER THE GUN — “The U.S. Is Pushing Guns on a Country It Labels Violent and Corrupt,” by Bloomberg’s Monte Reel: “The National Security Council says Guatemala’s lawlessness is fueling waves of desperate migrants. The Commerce Department has said the instability is a ‘unique opportunity’ for gunmakers.”

THE ECONOMY

THE NEW GLOBALIZATION — “Sputtering Trade Fuels Fears of a Fractured Global Economy,” by WSJ’s Marcus Walker and Yuka Hayashi: “Geopolitical tensions, heightened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are leading to more curbs in the U.S. and Europe on doing business with China. The sheer scale and complexity of global trade and investment links, however, mean any process of disentangling the world economy into blocks of like-minded countries is likely to be gradual and incomplete.”

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

A NEW YORK MINUTE — “NYC Mayor Eric Adams asks the White House to declare a state of emergency over asylum seekers,” by NBC’s Megan Lebowitz

LONG-STANDING FALLOUT — “Biden wants to compensate New Mexico residents sickened by radiation during 1945 nuclear testing,” AP

J.B. Pritzker squeegeed the Illinois butter cow.

Andrew Yang is buying what Dean Phillips is selling.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CBS’ Nancy Cordes … Andrew Sullivan (6-0) … Axios’ Alex Thompson … Kevin McAlister … Jim Brady … Jessica Wehrman … Sarah Bryant Burns … Sarah Kyle of Eli Lilly … Joshua Karp … Tony Hernandez of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-Nev.) office … Justin Jenkins of Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-Ariz.) reelect … Commerce’s Sarah Weinstein … CNN’s Alex Marquardt and Susie Xu … John Dunagan of Highland Advocacy Group … The Boston Globe’s Lissandra Villa de Petrzelka … DOT’s Casey Clemmons … Palantir Technologies’ Ben Klein … Invariant’s Noah Kowalski and Noah Marine … ACLU’s Ally Harpootlian … John McManus of the McManus Group … Chirag Shah … David Forman … DTE Energy’s Andy Coulouris … Robert Cogan … Arnold Punaro … former Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) … Fox News’ Houston Keene … Clarissa Rojas of the House Dem Caucus … GMBB’s Andrew Zucker … Genevieve Glatsky

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