In the 10 o’clock Eastern hour Thursday night, a realization began to set in among Democrats: They were witnessing an event that significantly imperils their hold on the White House, in President Biden’s poor and often incoherent debate performance. In the 10 o’clock hour Friday morning came a pair of Supreme Court decisions that compounded their misery.
Washington
Analysis | A banner 12 hours for the GOP and Trump
It was a banner 12 hours for the American political right, the likes of which we’ve rarely seen in recent years.
But how good was it for them — and bad for the left?
To recap, Biden’s debate performance immediately led to significant fretting on the left about his ability to carry the torch forward, even leading some to float replacing him on the ballot at August’s Democratic National Convention. That was followed by the Supreme Court on Friday morning: 1) delivering a significant setback to the government’s prosecutions of Donald Trump allies over the Jan. 6 insurrection, and 2) delivering conservatives a long-awaited win overturning crucial four-decade-old precedent in the Chevron vs. Natural Resources Defense Council case.
The final event might actually be the most significant and long-lasting. The Supreme Court overturned a 1984 precedent that said courts should largely defer to federal agency officials in interpreting laws. That sounds technical and obscure, but the ruling could be massive. It could severely hamper the ability of the government to do things like combat climate change and regulate big business, shrinking the role of government and experts in American life.
The impact of the Jan. 6 decision is more nuanced, but it’s significant both practically and politically. Basically, the court ruled that the government used a federal law — obstructing or impeding an official proceeding — too broadly in charging a Jan. 6 defendant. That same law has been used against hundreds of other Jan. 6 defendants, including Trump himself.
The Justice Department quickly sought to downplay the ruling. It noted that 82 percent of more than 1,400 Jan. 6 defendants weren’t charged with or haven’t been convicted of that particular crime. It also noted that just 2 percent of those currently serving prison sentences were convicted of that crime and no other felony. The implication: This isn’t about to free a bunch of prisoners.
It could also have limited impact on Trump personally, given he’s charged with other Jan. 6-related offenses. But it’s still a massive headache with untold consequences.
Perhaps as significantly, though, it gave Trump rare, actual political ammunition in his years-long effort to downplay Jan. 6 and accuse the government of going too far in prosecuting him and his supporters.
Trump’s claims about the “weaponization” of the justice system and his proposal to pardon Jan. 6 defendants haven’t really caught on beyond his base. But it’s a decision he can use to make those cases, the former of which has largely rested on conspiracy theories and misleading claims. The Supreme Court effectively said the government has gone too far, at least in one case. And notably, the Supreme Court’s majority in the case included liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (though Jackson suggested the ruling shouldn’t spare too many Jan. 6 defendants from their charges).
That doesn’t mean Trump will be able to completely flip the script or anything close to it; these are complicated issues that won’t have much immediate fallout. But it’s certainly a foothold he didn’t have before.
The impact of Thursday night’s debate will come into focus more quickly as we get polling that gauges just how much damage Biden might have done to himself.
We’ve so far got limited data, including two snap polls showing about twice as many people said Trump won the debate as said Biden did. This includes CNN polling, which in 2020 had shown the opposite: Biden lapping Trump in those debates. The CNN poll also showed debate-watchers’ favorable views of Biden dropping by six points (to just 31 percent) and favorable views of Trump rising by three points (to 43 percent).
We’ll see what happens, but those are inauspicious early signs for a Democratic Party that had already been panicky about its 2024 chances. And the performance can’t help but drive home already-prevalent voter concerns about Biden’s age and mental sharpness; it was practically an hour-and-a-half-long advertisement for Republicans about what is arguably Biden’s biggest liability.
Should Biden’s polls indeed take a turn for the worse, it’s likely we’ll see an even more earnest discussion about turning the page on him. But that discussion itself would be fraught for the party.
Which means the blows could keep coming.
Washington
Tulip Day Washington draws buzz as sign-up site goes down
WASHINGTON – Coming up this month, spring’s most colorful new event: Tulip Day Washington.
What we know:
On March 15, 2026, Tulip Day Washington will transform DC’s National Mall into a vibrant tulip-picking garden beautiful views of U.S. Capitol
This one-day event will take place from 11:15 AM – 4:15 PM, offering a floral showcase of approximately 150,000 tulips; visitors are invited to pick their choice of 10 tulips for free upon arrival.
Dig deeper:
The registration site for Tulip Day is currently down, showing users “This site is currently unavailable. If you’re the owner of this website, please contact your hosting provider to get this resolved.”
Users on social media say the event may be sold out.
Check tulipday.eu for updates.
The backstory:
The event is organized by the Embassy of the Netherlands and Royal Anthos, a Dutch trade association, in honor of America’s 250th birthday. The display of tulips will be in the shape of the number 250.
The bulbs come from the Netherlands, but are being grown in Virginia and New Jersey.
These won’t be the first tulips on the National Mall, however. The Floral Library, also known as the Tulip Library, features 93 beds of flowers near the Tidal Basin. The Floral Library was established in 1969, and is maintained by the National Park Services. These flowers, though, are to be enjoyed only – not to be picked.
Washington
PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball
The562’s coverage of Dirtbags Baseball for the 2026 season is sponsored by P2S, Inc. Visit p2sinc.com to learn more.
Long Beach State dropped a 9-7 decision against Washington State on Sunday afternoon, closing out a busy weekend on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
The visiting Cougars took the lead for good in the eighth inning when Long Beach Poly grad Ryan Skjonsby delivered a game-winning two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded. Skjonsby was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and three RBIs for Washington State in their road victory.
For the Dirtbags, catcher Damon Valdez scored twice and had a key two-run single in the sixth to help lead a Long Beach comeback. Trevor Goldenetz had a pair of hits at the top of the order, including an RBI triple. Camden Gasser walked twice and singled, improving his on-base percentage to .574 on the season.
Long Beach State (4-7) will be back in action at home on Tuesday with an exhibition match against Waseda University from Japan. The Dirtbags will then visit San Diego State on Wednesday and open Big West play at UC Santa Barbara this weekend.
Washington
Week Ahead in Washington: March 1
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Operation “Epic Fury” — the weekend military operations carried out by the U.S. and Israel against targets in Iran — tops the agenda for Congress as lawmakers return to Washington.
Sunday, President Donald Trump said the new leadership in Iran wants to talk to the Trump Administration.
Democrats in both chambers called for Congress to return as soon as possible for classified briefings on Iran, followed by a move to vote on the War Powers Act. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war on another country.
Congress’ return to Washington was originally delayed due to the start of the 2026 midterm elections cycle.
Tuesday, voters in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas head to the polls for primary elections.
North Carolina and Texas are drawing significant attention, as both states are facing congressional redistricting and competitive primary races for Senate seats.
In Texas, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) is facing primary challenges from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. On the Democratic side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett is facing state Rep. James Talarico.
In North Carolina, candidates are vying to replacing retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R) . They include former Governor Roy Cooper (D) and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.
Also this week, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is laid to rest. He will be honored Wednesday in Washington before a final memorial service Saturday. Jackson died Feb. 17.
Copyright 2026 Gray DC. All rights reserved.
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