Principals

1. Trump eyes Davos
2. GOP unreconciled
3. Kennedy’s chances
4. Laken Riley Act to advance
5. Blue states visit MAL
6. Biden’s climate legacy
7. Jobs data
8. Unpacking Meta’s shift

PDB: Biden admin unveils its last Ukraine aid package

Biden cancels Italy trip to focus on wildfires … New blaze tears through Hollywood … Carter funeral takes place at National Cathedral

Trump to dispatch aides to Davos

The Trump administration will “definitely” be sending Cabinet members to the World Economic Forum in Davos this year, a source close to President-elect Donald Trump tells Semafor, though conversations about exactly which officials will attend are ongoing. The annual meeting for heads of state and top corporate voices is slated to take place the week of Trump’s inauguration, and it’s still unclear whether Trump himself, who appeared there twice during his first administration, will show up. The gathering was already set to focus intensely on the new American administration, amid attendees’ longstanding concerns about the president-elect’s “America First” orientation.

— Shelby Talcott

Republicans’ muddled path ahead

Senate Republicans and Trump had a positive meeting Wednesday night, but their party-line agenda plan is still muddled. Trump made a “big pitch” for a single border and tax bill, but said he remains open to senators’ pitches to notch a quick border win and then move onto tax policy. There’s also discussion of starting with one bill and potentially splitting it in two if things get bogged down. Regardless, Senate Majority Leader John Thune “made it very clear that he’s going to do what the president wants us to do,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. Some senators are itching to pass a budget ASAP before figuring out all the particulars. “We can do our work. The House can do their work and see what comes of it,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

— Burgess Everett

Kennedy allies optimistic about Dem support

Allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for health secretary, are feeling optimistic that he can pick off one or more Democratic votes for confirmation as he sits down this week with more than a half-dozen opposition-party senators. One Kennedy ally told Semafor that they believe his chances of peeling off Democratic votes could be “enough to offset the anti-Trump Republicans,” and another person close to Trump noted that there’s a lot of “crossover” between Democrats and Kennedy, a former Democratic candidate himself. The confidence about Kennedy reflects the Trump team’s broader positivity at this stage regarding his Cabinet nominees. But actually convincing Democrats to back Kennedy will still be a major challenge for him. His easiest path remains through the Republican Party — where some are still skeptical of him.

— Shelby Talcott

Dems seek immigration changes

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., the lead GOP sponsor of the Laken Riley Act, told fellow Senate Republicans on Wednesday that she and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., secured enough Democratic support to vault the bill over a filibuster on Thursday afternoon. But Democrats aren’t just looking to pass the bill, which would detain undocumented immigrants accused of theft and other crimes, and call it a day. Instead, several Democrats, including Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told Semafor they want an amendment process on the bill. Some ideas the Democrats are kicking around: addressing how the bill would deal with DREAMers and states’ ability to sue the federal government over immigration law. “We think it could be improved,” Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., told Semafor.

— Burgess Everett

What’s on the agenda for blue-state Republicans

Trump will host a group of GOP lawmakers from blue states on Saturday, but Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., who voted to impeach Trump, wasn’t invited, Semafor’s Kadia Goba reports. On the menu? SALT, of course. GOP lawmakers from California, New Jersey, and New York want to raise the $10,000 state and local tax deduction and feel there’s some momentum after the president-elect campaigned on the issue. Trump “has said numerous times out loud, we need a fix on SALT,” New York Rep. Nick LaLota told Semafor. After electoral gains in their states, lawmakers are also eager to pitch Trump on other local priorities. Some New York members want congestion pricing halted. California Reps. Tom McClintock, Vince Fong, and Jay Obernolte want to tackle forest management, water storage, and AI, respectively. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., wants to get in front of him about wind turbines.

Biden’s Trump-proof climate legacy

The Biden administration took what is likely to be one of its last actions on climate, detailing a new clean-energy tax credit designed to survive scrutiny by Republicans and Trump. The credit follows a basic formula that has applied to wind and solar projects for more than a decade, and extends it to a wider range of low-carbon energy sources, including geothermal, nuclear, advanced batteries, and some kinds of biofuels. It could pay out more than $250 billion over the next decade, and arguably be the single most impactful element of Biden’s climate agenda. But ultimately, Biden’s most important legacy on climate is about more than any one tax credit or regulation, former officials and analysts told Semafor. It’s about meaningfully linking climate to the economy, and proving that the energy transition can revitalize US industry, an approach that Trump can’t repeal.

— Tim McDonnell

Jobs in focus as Fed readies for Trump

The labor market is showing fresh signs of cooling in the days leading up to the next jobs report. Hiring and wage growth slowed across several sectors, according to new ADP research, which showed new private sector employment rising by just 122,000 jobs in November, a four-month low. That followed government statistics showing that the percentage of workers who quit their jobs in November declined from the previous month, a sign of narrowing employment opportunities. Meanwhile, last week the number of jobless benefits applications sank to their lowest level in nearly a year. All eyes are on the December jobs report slated for release on Friday — the last before Trump takes office — which will help inform the Fed’s next moves. Fed officials expressed concerns about the economic impact of Trump’s proposed tariffs during a meeting last month, new records show.

Meta’s failed experiment

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision this week to scrap the company’s fact-checking program and loosen restrictions across its applications brings an end to the era of corporate content moderation. Whether you view it as idealistic or sinister, content moderation was a failed experiment — even by its own terms. In the months after the 2016 US presidential vote, when it became clear that Russia had orchestrated a social media disinformation campaign to interfere in the election, Facebook endured a deafening drumbeat of criticism. As he faced calls to combat so-called fake news, Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, argued then that his platforms should not become “arbiters of truth.” Nevertheless, he went along with an unprecedented push to vet the speech of billions of people. It’s clear now that Zuckerberg’s first instincts were correct. And it’s time to admit that the well-meaning experiment was misguided.

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Small Business Caucus, and Trump campaign economic adviser Stephen Moore will join Semafor’s Elana Schor to discuss what’s ahead for US small businesses as President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans eye tax cuts and regulatory reform.

Jan. 14, 2025 | Washington, DC | RSVP

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: House Speaker Mike Johnson’s policy director Dan Ziegler is leaving his office.

Playbook: Jimmy Carter’s funeral will bring together all five living current and former presidents today.

WaPo: New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stock is rising in the Democratic Party, but not all liberals are convinced. “She has not shown that she is in this to lead from a place of the majority and to talk to people across the country who have very different politics and who really disagree with her,” one Democratic member from a battleground district said.

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: The New York Police Department reported a spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes last year.

What the Right isn’t reading: Top Canadian officials are mulling retaliatory tariffs on American exports like steel and orange juice in response to Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

White House

• President Biden welcomed his first great-grandchild during a trip to California.
• The Biden administration announced its last aid package for Ukraine this morning, sending $500 million in military equipment to the country. The package includes missiles for air defense, air-to-ground munitions, small arms and ammunition, and equipment for F-16s.

Congress

• Cash from a disaster aid package Congress approved in December is pouring into fire-ravaged California. — Politico

• Republicans are planning to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn a raft of Biden-era regulations. — The Hill

Transition

• Donald Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency in order to provide legal justification for tariffs he intends to impose when he takes office. — CNN

Business

• The International Longshoremen’s Association reached a tentative agreement with port operators to avert a strike at major ports next week.

Economy

• Fears are rising that China may fall into deflation.

Courts

• The Justice Department said it would release only part of special counsel Jack Smith’s report — the findings about Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Details about Trump’s classified documents case will remain under wraps.
• Trump asked the Supreme Court to delay his New York sentencing, now set for Friday.

Foreign Policy

• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Donald Trump’s suggestion that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed after America by offering to rename part of the US “America Mexicana.”
• President Biden will leave it up to Trump to decide whether to remove the terrorist designation for the HTS rebels that now rule Syria. — WaPo

Technology

• The Biden administration is planning a final round of export controls on artificial intelligence chips. — Bloomberg

Media

• A new book from Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt says that Donald Trump’s team was fed questions planned for a Fox News town hall last year by someone working for the network. — CNN

Principals Team

Editors: Elana Schor, Morgan Chalfant

Reporters: Burgess Everett, Kadia Goba, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Raphael Warnock is a Democratic senator from Georgia.