Morning Must Reads: July 9

She’s not running for president, but Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is looming large over the Democratic field and paving the way for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ rise in the polls, TIME’s Michael Scherer writes on the cover of this week’s magazine. The liberal lion is dragging the whole party leftward, posing a challenge for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, even from the sidelines. Republican Party leaders are fretting over Donald Trump‘s role in the 2016 race, not because they think he could be the nominee—they don’t—but because his outlandish statements are impacting the GOP’s ability to win over Latino and other voters who traditionally avoid the party. But the party has little power to do anything about Trump other than publicly and privately urge him to soften his rhetoric—the most recent of which questioned whether former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could weigh border security measures while married to a Mexican-American woman. The first test will be whether on the debate state Trump makes the GOP field look more like him, or whether the serious candidates can use him as a foil.

Here are your must-reads:

Must Reads

Who’s Afraid of Elizabeth Warren?
She’s hounding Obama, haunting Hillary and paving the way for Bernie Sanders, TIME’s Michael Scherer reports in this week’s issue of the magazine

GOP Leaders Fear Damage to Party’s Image as Donald Trump Doubles Down
But there’s not much they can do [Washington Post]

Republican Infighting at Full Throttle
Congressional GOP split over spending bills [Politico]

Hillary Clinton Shifts Left on Policy to Catch Up to a Changing Party
A preview of announcements next week [New York Times]

Sound Off

“What we meant to do is to trigger a broad public debate, and we have triggered a broad public debate.” — Treasury Secretary Jack Lew at the Brookings Institution yesterday, signaling no change to the agency’s plans to place a woman on the $10 bill, as opposed to the $20

“You can love the Mexican culture and love your Mexican-American wife and also believe we need to control the border. This is a bizarre kind of idea that somehow you can have an affection for people in a different country and not think the rule of law should apply. This is ludicrous.” — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush defending himself and his wife from attacks by Donald Trump

Bits and Bites

U.S. Air Force primed and ready to attack Iran’s nuclear sites [TIME]

Martin O’Malley unveils debt-free college plan [TIME]

Why Scott Walker keeps dropping Marco Rubio’s name as VP [Washington Post]

Jeb Bush: ‘People need to work longer hours’ means they need full-time, not part-time work [Washington Post]

Carly, Carson woo party faithful at NH stops [Union Leader]

A fact-check of Hillary Clinton’s CNN interview on her personal email [Wall Street Journal]

Biden’s quiet role in same-sex marriage ruling fuels speculation about 2016 run [LA Times]