Donald Trump‘s legal challenges are mounting, with the former president facing tests on multiple fronts even as polls show him maintaining a dominant lead over numerous other 2024 GOP White House hopefuls.

Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday that he expects to face charges “any day” in Special Counsel Jack Smith‘s probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 elections results.

Separately, a judge in Georgia has rejected an effort by Trump to quash an investigation into his efforts to flip the state’s election results from that year.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in a nine-page ruling that Trump’s argument was premature, as he hasn’t been indicted in the case.

“[W]hile being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation,” McBurney wrote.

How rivals are responding: Several Republican candidates hoping to cut into Trump’s lead in polls have pointed to the multipronged legal challenges facing the former president.

“Donald Trump is not running for president to make American great again. Donald Trump is not even running to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 and in 2020. Donald Trump is running for president to stay out of prison,” former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) said to boos at the Lincoln Dinner in Iowa on Friday.

The hits just keep coming: Carlos De Oliveira, a co-defendant in Trump’s classified documents case, is out on a $100,000 bond after an initial court appearance Monday.

De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago property manager, has been accused of coordinating with Trump in an attempt to delete security camera footage at the Palm Beach resort that showed him and another defendant in the case, Walt Nauta, moving boxes of documents in and out of a storage room.

De Oliveira has not entered a formal plea, as he doesn’t yet have a Florida attorney. (The Hill)

It’s Monday, July 31. I’m Elizabeth Crisp, filling in for Cate, with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. 

The House Majority PAC, a key fundraising arm for Democrats in the lower chamber, is urging members to lean into the economy as a top message during the August recess. 

A PAC memo to members said its research has found that Democrats “dramatically” improve their position when they emphasize the economy and should use that heading into the 2024 election cycle. 

The memo further laid out specific legislative accomplishments that members should highlight: the bipartisan infrastructure package, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. (The Hill) 

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell’s recent shocking public health episode has Republican senators wondering how much longer the 81-year-old Kentucky lawmaker will be able to stay in the top job — and who might replace him.   

McConnell, during a weekly leadership press briefing last week, froze up mid-sentence and had to be ushered away from the lectern.  

He returned a few minutes later, insisting that he was “fine.” He hasn’t disclosed any additional information about what happened or any health problems he may be facing. 

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports: 

“Republican senators privately acknowledge that McConnell appears to be frailer since falling and suffering a concussion on March 9, which resulted in him being hospitalized for several days. The accident required rehabilitation at an inpatient facility and kept him away from the Capitol for more than a month.” 

McConnell has given no indication that he plans to step down and is expected to maintain the top GOP leadership post in the coming Congressional turn, when Republicans are hoping to regain control of the chamber.  

But, but, but: As is often in the Capitol, that hasn’t stopped speculation. 

“I think the leadership race is well underway and this accelerates that,” a Republican senator who requested anonymity told The Hill.   

So, who’s next?: Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.); Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who previously held the whip role; and Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (Wyo.) are all thought to be potential successors to McConnell, if it comes to that.   

More from The Hill. 

Former President Trump — no fan of McConnell’s — said the GOP leader’s freeze-up was “a sad thing to see.” He then went on to criticize how McConnell has led the Senate GOP. (The Hill) 

The Biden administration is rolling out a new website for its recent income-driven student loan repayment plan, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, that ultimately could reduce regular student debt payments and the total amount some borrowers ultimately pay back. 

“A beta version of the updated [Income-Driven Repayment (IDR)] application is now available and includes the option to enroll in the new SAVE Plan – the most affordable repayment plan yet,” the Department of Education said on the site. 

The new SAVE plan will replace the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment (REPAYE) plan before repayments resume in October after a pause for the coronavirus pandemic.  

The Supreme Court shot down President Biden’s efforts to cancel some student loan debt in June, prompting the administration’s shift to focus on SAVE. (The Hill) 

The first Republican presidential debate is in about three weeks, and the latest poll suggests that former President Trump has maintained a robust lead over his GOP rivals for the party’s nomination, despite his mounting legal issues. 

The New York Times/Siena College poll found Trump leads Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, 54 to 17 percent among likely Republican primary voters. No other candidate in the crowded field hit more than 3 percent support. 

Breaking it down: The survey found Trump leads in almost all demographic, regional and ideological groups, and DeSantis hasn’t gained traction in the GOP’s most reliable voting blocs.  

Even putting aside all other Republican candidates, Trump still came out on top of DeSantis at 62 to 31 percent. 

About the poll: The survey of 1,329 registered voters, with an oversample of 818 likely GOP primary voters, took place July 23-27 and has a margin of error of 3.67 percentage points for all registered voters and 3.96 percent points for GOP voters. (The Hill) 

Aides to Trump and DeSantis are fighting over news that the former president has spent more than $40 million in campaign funds on legal fees. (The Hill) 

Dozens of former Cabinet officials who served in the Trump administration have declined to publicly come out in support for the former president’s third bid for the White House, as first reported by NBC News. (The Hill) 

GOP presidential candidate and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy has become a breakout star the crowded Republican 2024 field. While he’s gained traction, he isn’t expected to win the nomination, so what’s next? 

The Hill’s Caroline Vakil has more. 

All right, all right, all right? Actor Matthew McConaughey wouldn’t say Sunday when asked whether he would run for political office in the future. 

“It’s more of a larger question for me of, is politics the category where I can be the most useful,” McConaughey responded, sidestepping the chance to offer a direct answer. 

McConaughey, a Texas native who has been an advocate for school safety after a deadly shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last year, admitted he thinks about running “all the time.” 

“I mean, I’d have to be convinced that that’s the category that I’d be could be quite useful in,” McConaughey said. (The Hill) 

Have you heard the news? Social media has been buzzing over a chart suggesting that 12th-grade boys are trending overwhelmingly conservative. 

The Hill’s Daniel de Visé dives deeper into the trend: 

“As with many Reddit posts and viral tweets, the truth was more complicated. But the numbers do say this: Twelfth-grade boys are nearly twice as likely to identify as conservative versus liberal, according to a respected federal survey of American youth.” 

Roughly a quarter of all high school seniors self-identified as conservative or “very conservative” over the past three years of the Monitoring the Future survey, but only 13 percent of boys identified as liberal or very liberal in those years.  

What about the girls? Young women are about twice as likely as young men to identify as liberal — amounting to 30 percent of 12th grade girls in 2022 the survey, which is administered by the University of Michigan. Only 12 percent of girls identified as conservative. (The Hill) 

Former President Trump (who has eschewed X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, for his own social media platform: Truth Social) recently posted a video on the site touting his golfing prowess: “9 Iron, 139 yards, 9th hole, Bedminster,” he captioned the video, which didn’t include footage of his following putt.  

The House and Senate are out on August recess. President Biden is on vacation in Delaware, and Vice President Harris is in D.C.

• This morning: House Oversight Committee is having a closed-door meeting with Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner, Devon Archer. 

All times Eastern.

• 6 p.m.: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is angling for the GOP presidential nomination, interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier airs.  
• 7 p.m.: Vice President Harris’ interview with ABC’s Linsey Davis airs. 

Do you ever feel like avocados are everywhere? From mounds at grocery stores, unique takes on sushi, Subway sandwiches and virtually every brunch menu featuring avocado toast, the creamy fruit has exploded in popularity in recent years, and the Hass Avocado Board estimates that nearly 2.7 billion pounds of avocados were sold in the U.S. last year.

And because you made it this far, here’s Barkie! 💗 

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