Principals

1. Trump-Thune dynamic
2. Bessent hearing
3. Gaza ceasefire
4. Biden farewell
5. Graham’s mission
6. Ramaswamy’s next move
7. Extremes gain ground
8. NYT weighs endorsements

PDB: Gorka’s deputy at the NSC

Bezos’ Blue Origin sends rocket into orbit in a first … NBC: Biden hunts for ways to keep TikTok in US … Semafor: Trump dines with Microsoft CEO, president

DC’s most important relationship

Good relationships in DC aren’t usually a story — unless they’re between two people with as many ups and downs as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and incoming President Donald Trump, Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Shelby Talcott report. The genial Midwesterner and the brusque New Yorker are now texting buddies — some are even calling this a “HoneyThune” period. Still, Thune’s realistic style of politics will sometimes run into Trump’s high expectations, and Thune says he’s not going to be all happy talk, all the time. “As you know, I don’t over-promise. And I like to keep expectations realistic. And I like to be straight with people,” Thune told Semafor. His other secret power: Thune looks like “central casting,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Trump even called him “very elegant” in a private meeting just last week.

Bessent hearing could offer clues on tariffs

Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent’s confirmation hearing today is likely to be low-drama, but will center on the issue that matters most to voters and helped propel Trump into the White House: the economy. Wall Street sees Bessent as a moderating force on tariffs — wishful thinking, perhaps — and will be watching for signs that Bessent intends to balance more hawkish voices in Trump’s orbit. Even some Republican senators have voiced concerns about across-the-board tariffs, which economists say would push up prices and risk a return of inflation. “I share what I understand to be his belief that tariffs are both appropriate and wise under the right circumstances,” said Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., who anticipated “a lot of questions” on tariffs. Expect Democrats to push Bessent on plans to renew parts of the 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire this year.

— Liz Hoffman and Burgess Everett

Gaza ceasefire in doubt

The ceasefire deal announced by President Biden is already looking fragile, as Israel accuses Hamas of reneging on parts of the deal. Israel also launched fresh strikes on Gaza, and its Cabinet has yet to vote on the agreement. Biden’s announcement — which followed months of negotiations involving his team — touched off a debate about who gets credit. “You know this is Trump,” said Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind. “They just know there’s an end of an administration and a new administration [is starting]. They’re like, ‘We better get this done now.’” Biden’s team included Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy in the discussions and Trump threatened Hamas to agree to a deal. “We knew that pressure applied by the United States would bring a ceasefire, and it’s just unfortunate that it was Trump’s pressure,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. “Is that a joke?” Biden responded to a reporter who asked who should get credit.

— Kadia Goba and Morgan Chalfant

Biden’s farewell warning

Biden used his farewell address from the Oval Office to warn of the danger of a “tech-industrial complex” and an “oligarchy” that “literally threatens our entire democracy.” It was a dark message in an otherwise optimistic speech, echoing what Barack Obama said in his final remarks before turning over power to Trump eight years ago. Biden put his own record under a warm light, then urged for reforms he endorsed during his presidency but could not get Congress to take up, including a ban on “dark money,” term limits for Supreme Court justices, and a ban on stock trading by members of the House and Senate. He did not mention Trump by name, but pushed for a Constitutional change specifying presidents are not immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office.

— David Weigel

Graham lobbies Trump on border, defense

Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has strong feelings about how Republicans should enact their agenda — and he took them all the way down to Mar-a-Lago this week. Graham told Semafor that he and Trump talked about the best path forward for the party and acknowledged that Trump’s “gotta make a decision here,” as Congress looks to two critical dates: the March 14 government spending deadline and the debt ceiling later this year. Graham wants to set aside roughly $100 billion for border security and a similar amount for defense now, rather than wait and get bogged down by those other two deadlines (not to mention tax reform). “We need money into the system now, not wait,” Graham said. “I just keep making that case. … We’re really playing with fire here, if we put off doing border and defense.”

— Burgess Everett

Ramaswamy eyes Ohio governor’s race

Vivek Ramaswamy is setting himself up to run for governor of Ohio, vastly preferring that position over the open Ohio Senate seat. “His plan has been to rack up successes at DOGE and then run in a wide-open field in Ohio,” one source said. The news comes after Ramaswamy met with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine over the weekend, as the governor looks for someone to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance’s Senate seat. While Ramaswamy would still consider running for Senate if asked, two sources noted that his preference would be governor. And Trump is said to be supportive of either option.

— Shelby Talcott and Burgess Everett

Ideological extremes grow

Republicans and Democrats are pulling further apart, new Gallup research suggests, as the share of Americans who identify as moderate has declined over time. Among Republicans, 77% described themselves as conservative in 2024, including 24% who said they were very conservative — both of which are highs since Gallup started polling the question three decades ago. Meanwhile, 55% of Democrats identified as liberal, including 19% who reported being very liberal — also both highs. Overall, 37% of respondents described themselves as conservative and 25% as liberal; 34% say they’re moderate, down from a high of 43% in the 1990s. A separate Gallup survey out today found that the Republican Party held a slight edge in party affiliation for the third year in a row in 2024, as voters went to the polls to elect Trump.

NYT rethinks political endorsements

The New York Times is continuing to consider the future value of political endorsements. The paper has already dropped local endorsements, and the newsroom is buzzing about another potential, more radical wave of changes. Opinion leader Kathleen Kingsbury dismissed some of the rumors, and ruled out the paper eliminating its editorial board altogether. But she acknowledged that the Times is continuing to reconsider its future endorsements of political candidates. “We’re in the process of considering ways to modernize endorsements, and while we’re excited about the ideas we’re discussing, there’s nothing substantive to say about it yet,” she said.

— Max Tani

Join us for our largest convening at Davos yet, featuring a world-class lineup of live journalism at the World Economic Forum 2025. Semafor editors will engage with industry leaders to discuss key themes, including global finance, blockchain, AI in the Gulf, Africa’s growth trajectory, and much more.

Blindspot: Mexico and Bondi

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: Mexico aims to shrink its trade deficit with China.

What the Right isn’t reading: Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, dodged a question about whether he lost the 2020 election.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: House Republicans are asking Donald Trump’s incoming team not to roll back some Biden administration policies via executive order so they can repeal them through a reconciliation bill instead — allowing them to claim the changes as savings. The group includes policies on student loan forgiveness and electric vehicles.

Playbook: House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are at “loggerheads,” which risks Trump’s agenda.

WaPo: The overarching question from Democrats for Trump’s nominees has been how deferential they will be to the incoming president.

Axios: Trump’s involvement in the ceasefire talks “was the 10 cents missing for the dollar,” a US official said.

White House

• A new executive order President Biden will sign today aims to make it easier to sanction malicious hackers, better secure US infrastructure, and leverage artificial intelligence for cybersecurity.
• Biden’s relationship with Vice President Harris is fraying. — WSJ

Congress

• House Speaker Mike Johnson has decided to remove Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, from the chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee, a move that reportedly came at Donald Trump’s request.

Transition

• Rudolph Atallah, a retired lieutenant colonel and Africa expert, will join the National Security Council to work on counterterrorism with Sebastian Gorka, the incoming White House’s counterterrorism chief, two people familiar with the transition told Semafor’s Mathias Hammer.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered flags in California — now at half-staff to mourn Jimmy Carter — to fly at full height on Inauguration Day, in line with a Republican gesture. — AP

Think Tanks

• The Heritage Foundation is erecting a massive 30-by-60-foot banner on the side of its Capitol Hill building today congratulating Donald Trump, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reports. The Trump campaign memorably feuded with the conservative think tank last year over its signature effort, Project 2025.

Economy

• US inflation ticked up last month, but a key metric measuring only “core” costs cooled, boosting expectations of an interest rate cut this year.

Business

• Tesla is discounting its Cybertrucks as production slows. — CNBC

National Security

• Trump advisers now concede that a resolution to Russia’s Ukraine war is at least months away. — Reuters

Health

• The FDA has banned Red No. 3, a food dye, and is giving food manufacturers two years to phase it out.

Foreign Policy

• The Treasury Department announced a last-minute round of sanctions on some 100 Russian targets. — Reuters
• President Biden extended protections for Hong Kong residents living in the US.

Technology

• Donald Trump is considering signing an executive order that would suspend enforcement of a US national security law to ban or force the sale of TikTok for 60 or 90 days. — WaPo
• TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend Trump’s inauguration next week. — NYT

Media

• Hundreds of Washington Post staffers wrote to owner Jeff Bezos to say they are “deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution,” and asking him to intervene.

Principals Team

Edited by Morgan Chalfant, deputy Washington editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Kadia Goba, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Faiz Shakir served as Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager in 2020 and is now a candidate for chair of the Democratic National Committee.