Trump leans into L.A. protests and CDC vaccine panel fired: Morning Rundown

Trump administration officials say the immigration fight with California is a political win. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took his most aggressive action yet to overhaul the nation’s vaccine policy. And a look at what makes this season’s Indiana Pacers team so remarkable.

Here’s what to know today.

Trump administration leans into the California protests

An immigration protest in downtown Los Angeles persisted yesterday and overnight as police used tear gas and flash-bangs in an attempt to disperse demonstrators. Here’s where things stand:

▪️ About 1,700 National Guard troops are on site in the greater Los Angeles area, and 700 Marines were activated to join them in their mission in Los Angeles, the military said in a statement.

▪️ California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration for deploying National Guard members over the weekend. The suit argues that Trump’s actions, without a request from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, was “unlawful” and should be rescinded.

▪️ L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suggested Trump may be using the city as a “test case” for stripping authority from state and local governments.

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The fight between the White House and California — in other words, Trump battling a blue state over his signature issue — is a political win, administration officials said. It’s a nationally watched saga of the sort that has long defined his career: a made-for-TV moment. “We’re happy to have this fight,” a White House official said.

Trump allies argue that what’s happening in L.A. is simply Trump carrying out the hard-line immigration agenda that was the centerpiece of his campaign, and advisers pointed to the fact that the president’s immigration policies continue to get high marks in most public polling.

Democrats and immigration activists have said the L.A. operation is illegal and inhumane and insisted that it’s all about politics — and not about sound public policy.

There has been some disagreement within the Trump administration, at least in public messaging, about how far to push in going after California Democrats. The clearest example may be Trump suggesting arresting Newsom if he continues to do what the administration considers to be interference “would be a great thing.” A senior White House official said such an action is “not being actively planned or considered.”

Read the full story here.

Kennedy guts CDC’s independent vaccine panel

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took his most aggressive action yet to overhaul the nation’s vaccine policy, firing 17 members of an independent vaccine advisory committee at the CDC. Kennedy claimed in a Wall Street Journal editorial that the committee — which makes recommendations to the CDC about who should get certain vaccines, including the schedule for childhood vaccinations — has been “plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”

Members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, known more commonly as ACIP, undergo an extensive vetting process before being appointed and are required to disclose conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from voting on vaccines for which a conflict exists.

Former CDC officials and public health experts called Kennedy’s action concerning and said it would sow confusion. Richard Besser, the former acting director of the CDC, said in a statement that the firings “should erase any remaining doubt that he intends to impose his personal anti-vaccine agenda on the American people.” Read the full story here.

What to watch for in New Jersey’s primaries

Voters in New Jersey will head to the polls today in the first high-profile primaries since the 2024 election. The biggest race on the ticket: governor. New Jersey’s gubernatorial race is one of two nationwide this year, along with Virginia, and both contests will be closely watched as early indicators of how voters are responding to President Donald Trump’s second term.

Because Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy can’t run for re-election due to term limits, both the Republican and Democratic parties have contested races for the nomination. Here’s what the NBC News politics team will watch for tonight:

→ Trump’s influence: On the Republican side, Trump-endorsed former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is viewed as the frontrunner. The president’s endorsement could shed light on the size of the anti-Trump wing of the GOP wing in New Jersey, with longtime state senator (and standup comedian) Jon Bramnick, who has called for a return to civility and has sharply criticized Trump in the past, on the ballot. Rounding out the GOP primary ballot is Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and contractor Justin Barbera.

→ Democrats’ path: In the Democratic primary, Rep. Mikie Sherrill has been viewed as the relative frontrunner and has emphasized her background as a Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor in her pitch to effectively take on Trump. Meanwhile, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who got a jolt of national attention when he was arrested last month at a federal immigration detention facility, has been pitching himself as a true progressive. Rounding out a crowded ballot in the unpredictable race is Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and teachers’ union president Sean Spiller, both of whom want to appeal to progressive voters; Rep. Josh Gottheimer, one of the more moderate members of Congress; and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, who is stressing his blue-collar roots as a former ironworker.

Plus, NBC News and MSNBC data guru Steve Kornacki points out that court-imposed changes to the layout of the ballot could dramatically dilute the power of endorsements, which Sherrill has received a lot of.

Read the full story here.

More politics news:

• Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee said he will resign from Congress for a private-sector job after the House’s next vote on the bill for Trump’s agenda.

• Republicans seeking to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia are leaning heavily into a familiar strategy: attacks over transgender athletes in women’s sports.

• Bradley Bondi, the brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi, lost his bid for president of the D.C. Bar, receiving 3,490 votes compared to opponent Diane Seltzer’s 34,982.

Read All About It

• Sly and the Family Stone frontman Sly Stone has died at the age of 82.

• Multiple people were killed and several others injured in a school shooting in the southern Austrian city of Graz.

• A 41-year-old man turned himself in to authorities in connection with a shooting on the Las Vegas Strip that killed two people.

• Federal authorities are taking over the search for a Washington state man accused of killing his three young daughters.

• A federal judge dismissed actor Justin Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit in his legal battle with “It Ends With Us” costar Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

• Rates of appendix cancer have tripled among Gen X and quadrupled among millennials, a new study found.

Staff Pick: The Indiana Pacers are built different

The Indiana Pacers aren’t your typical NBA championship contender, and it’s not only because they’ve reached the NBA Finals by pulling off some of the most improbable comebacks in basketball history. It’s also because of how the team’s executives relied on a team-building strategy rarely used by championship teams.

Indiana isn’t an attractive enough market to entice elite free agents, and historically has not been bad enough to earn a high draft pick who might become a franchise cornerstone. That combination has forced the Pacers to lean heavily on the third way: trades. It is a high degree of difficulty and requires patience, something in short supply among team owners. Yet, by shrewdly identifying players other teams no longer wanted but they believed would work in Indiana, the Pacers have found a formula that has delivered three of their top-four scorers and the team’s first Finals appearance in a quarter-century. — Andrew Greif, sports reporter

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

If you’re dealing with acne, rosacea or dark spots, azelaic acid just might be the solution for all three. And with Father’s Day fast approaching, here’s a list of the best gifts to order from Amazon right now.

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