It’s Monday. What’d I miss last week? 😅 Here’s what’s happening today:

• President Biden called into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and sent a letter to congressional Democrats, bluntly rejecting the calls for him to drop out. 

• Centrist Democratic Sen. Mark Warner (Va.) has been organizing Senate Democrats to urge Biden to step down. A meeting expected to be held today has been called off.

• Congress returns from the holiday week. All the internal Biden debates could come to a head this week.
• Michael Bloomberg gave a $1 billion gift to Johns Hopkins University, making its medical school free for most students (!)

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

President Biden has gone into attack mode this morning, bluntly rejecting calls for him to bow out of the presidential race. 

🔷First: Biden sent a letter to congressional Democrats this morning, arguing that he is the only Democrat who can beat former President Trump. 

Excerpt: “I have heard the concerns that people have—their good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this selection. I am not blind to them. … I can respond to all this by saying clearly and unequivocally: I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.” 

Biden’s attempt to shut down the internal debate: “The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It is time to come together.”

🔎 Read Biden’s full letter

🔷And he called into MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’: The president challenged his critics to “run against me. Challenge me at the convention,” he told the “Morning Joe” hosts. 

When asked how he can assure Americans he won’t have another night like the debate: “Look at my career. I have not had many of those nights. It was a terrible night and I really regret it happened. But the fact of the matter is, how can you assure you’re gonna be on … your way to go to work tomorrow. Age wasn’t, you know, the idea that I’m too old created over 15 million jobs. …” 💻Watch the clip

💻 Watch Biden’s full MSNBC call-in

Congress is returning to Washington today, after the Fourth of July recess, with one major story on everyone’s minds: Biden’s reelection troubles.

Where do Dems stand?: Democrats are split over whether Biden should remain on the top of the ticket. 

In the House: Five Democrats have publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. And The Hill’s Mychael Schnell reports that at least four senior House Democrats said on a private call that Biden should step down.

In the Senate: Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), an influential centrist Democrat, has been trying to organize a group of Democratic senators to urge Biden to step down. Axios reports that Warner had been planning a meeting today to discuss the effort, but it was called off. Read more on the Warner effort

Are any Democrats backing Biden?: Yes, a few Democrats in the House and Senate publicly support Biden. The New York Times reports that “as some allies whisper about ditching Biden, Black Democrats are rallying around him.” 

This intense internal debate has mostly been shaking out behind closed doors, but now that lawmakers are back in Washington, it could come to a head this week. That’s why I expect some …errr, many … Democrats to try to actively avoid the press. 

President Biden defended his mental fitness during his big interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and tried to explain his alarming debate performance. And while there was no catastrophic gaffe and he defended his health, Biden did not do enough to undo the damage and calm colleagues’ fears.

🔎Five takeaways from Biden’s big interview

💻 Watch the full ABC News interview

• ‘Biden’s Survival Plan: Decry ‘Elite’ Critics, Appeal to His Base’: Politico
  ‘Biden’s Strategy to Make the Race About Trump Is Suddenly in Doubt’:  The New York Times
• ‘Democrats long focused on beating Trump. Now they’re divided on what to do’: The Washington Post
• ‘Why Kamala Harris is a stronger candidate than you think’: MSNBC op-ed
• ‘Anxious about Biden, Democratic donors begin looking to bolster down-ballot candidates’: Politico

Former President Trump’s guilty verdict in the New York hush money case is now in jeopardy following the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity. 

How so?: The ruling gives Trump’s defense team ammunition for the guilty verdict to be tossed out. Trump’s sentencing hearing has already been moved from July to September. The Hill’s Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld wrote a helpful explainer of how this Supreme Court ruling could help Trump more broadly. 

“The Supreme Court’s stunning ruling giving presidents immunity from prosecution for official acts raises serious questions about orders issued by the commander in chief to the military, especially if those commands clearly violate U.S. or international law,” reports The Hill’s Brad Dress.

How so?: “A commander in chief with broad immunity from criminal prosecution would have more power and leeway in issuing controversial orders that the military is in most cases obligated to carry out, according to the chain of command.”

Read more: ‘Supreme Court immunity ruling raises questions about military orders’

Boeing will plead guilty in the criminal case over two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max airplanes.

What’s the deal, assuming a judge approves it?: “Boeing agreed to pay a $487.2 million fine and invest at least $455 million in its safety and compliance programs, according to the filing in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas.”

🔎 Read the Department of Justice (DOJ) court filing

🫐 Celebrate: Today is National Blueberry Day and National Raspberry Day, which anyone with a toddler knows are a full food group for young kids. The Takeout astutely pointed out a few years ago: “We Will Never Be Able To Afford To Retire If Our Kids Keep Eating Berries.” 

🐘 Interesting read: The Atlantic’s Lauren A. Wright argues “how liberal college campuses benefit conservative students.” Excerpt: “Conservative students, rather than being coddled, face significant intellectual and social challenges in college. These challenges impart educational advantages by forcing conservatives to defend their points of view.”

🧴 Good, good, good. More things for me to worry about: Nexstar’s Addy Bink wrote a helpful list of five things you may be doing wrong with applying sunscreen.

🩺 Michael Bloomberg is making Johns Hopkins medical school free for most: Billionaire Michael Bloomberg gave $1 billion to make Johns Hopkins University medical school free for most students. Details from The Washington Post

The House and Senate are back from recess. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington. (all times Eastern)

• 1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
• 5:30 p.m.: The Senate votes on a judicial nomination. 📆 Today’s agenda
• 6:30 p.m.: First and last House votes for the day. 📆 Today’s agenda

Because you made it this far, watch this dog enjoy a lollipop.