Principals

1. Trump wins New Hampshire
2. Biden campaign shakeup
3. Dems criticize Netanyahu
4. Border bill still not ready
5. Ukraine aid uncertainty
6. Biden headlines UAW conference

PDB: Bipartisan tax bill could be headed for the floor next week

Politico: South Carolina could be a ‘brick wall’ for Haley … U.S. launches retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq … Russia says plane carrying Ukraine POWs crashed

— edited by Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann and Morgan Chalfant

Nikki Haley vows to fight on after New Hampshire loss

Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary, defeating Nikki Haley by 11 points in the state considered her best chance for a momentum-building victory. Haley congratulated Trump, but did not sound like a candidate on the verge of a concession. “There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina,” she said shortly after the race was called. She repeated many of her toughest attacks from recent days, including questioning the 77-year-old Trump’s mental competency after he mixed her up with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a recent speech. “With Trump, you have one bout of chaos after another — this court case, that controversy, this tweet, that senior moment,” she said. Haley faces a difficult fight in South Carolina, with polls currently showing Trump by an average of 30 points and statewide leaders lined up behind his candidacy. Trump, for his part, raged over Haley’s refusal to surrender, both onstage and on Truth Social. “Who the hell was the impostor that went up on the stage before and, like, claimed victory?” he said in an innuendo-laced speech tearing into his opponent. “You must really hate her,” Trump told his endorser Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., whom Haley had appointed to his seat. “I just love you!” Scott replied.

Biden shakes up campaign ahead of general election

President Biden easily won the New Hampshire primary despite not being on the ballot, but the bigger news might have come just hours earlier. The New York Times reported his campaign was retooling its lineup in preparation for the general election and that Jen O’Malley Dillon, his 2020 campaign manager and a current top White House aide, is preparing to “take over functional control of his re-election effort.” The current campaign manager, Julie Chávez Rodríguez, is staying on in a senior role with her current title. NBC News reported that Biden senior advisor Mike Donilon was also coming on to play a “central role in the campaign’s messaging and paid media strategy” and quoted Chávez Rodríguez saying she was “thrilled” with the new staff additions from the White House. The move came just two weeks after The Washington Post reported that Barack Obama was concerned with Biden’s campaign setup, which left his most trusted decision-makers in Washington instead of Wilmington and created indecision and bottlenecks as a result. A person close to Chávez Rodriquez said they weren’t surprised by the reorganization because her strengths were centered around setting up the campaign’s infrastructure and positioning surrogates throughout the country. “I think she was a great choice for the beginning of the campaign because she knows how to navigate Biden world almost better than anyone,” the person said.

— Benjy Sarlin and Kadia Goba

Netanyahu faces more criticism from U.S. lawmakers

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments publicly rejecting the idea of an independent Palestinian state have opened up a new rift with the Democratic Party. On Tuesday, more than three dozen House Democrats wrote to President Biden criticizing Netanyahu’s comments and calling on the Biden administration to lay out a strategy for a two-state solution (which they deemed “the only viable path for a sustainable peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people.”) The vision for a postwar Gaza might be murky, but in the near term the U.S. is focused on a possible new agreement to release scores of hostages still being held by Hamas. The White House confirmed that Biden’s Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, who is currently in the region, is exploring a potential hostage deal that would call for a humanitarian pause for “some length” of time. The parties are currently talking about a one-month ceasefire, Reuters reported, but talks are threatened by disagreements between Israel and Hamas about how to end the war in Gaza permanently.

— Morgan Chalfant

Yes, you’ll have to wait a little longer for the border bill

Be prepared to wait a little longer for the Senate’s border deal. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. said Tuesday that negotiators “probably” wouldn’t release bill text before the end of the week. Democrats, though, still want legislation taken up ASAP. “We still have a handful of issues to resolve but there’s no reason for us to wait weeks to get this bill on the floor,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters. There’s pressure for action coming from within the party: A group of nine Democratic governors, led by New York’s Kathy Hochul, sent a letter to President Biden and congressional leaders urging them to address the migrant “humanitarian crisis” that’s straining their ability to provide shelter space and social services. Biden’s supplemental request included $1.4 billion in aid to states and cities, and mayors have been particularly interested in speeding up work authorizations for new arrivals. “We have listened very closely to a bipartisan coalition of governors and mayors,” Murphy told Semafor.

— Joseph Zeballos-Roig

Austin makes public appearance to talk Ukraine

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made his first public remarks since his hospitalization, appearing virtually from his home to hold a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. He insisted support for Ukraine “must not waiver” as future U.S. assistance hangs in limbo in Congress. The Ukrainian government has said that their units are running out of ammunition and that the slower pace of aid at the end of last year affected “their planning and their operations,” Assistant Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander told reporters. On Tuesday, Russia launched deadly cruise and ballistic missile attacks in Kyiv and Kharkiv. A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman told the New York Times that the military intercepted only five of the 24 ballistic missiles fired, expressing concern about the country’s air defense against those weapons. The Russians are “trying to overwhelm Ukrainian air defense systems” and “force the Ukrainians to continue to use munitions in defense of themselves,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

— Morgan Chalfant

Endorsement talk bubbles as Biden headlines UAW conference

President Biden will headline the United Auto Workers annual conference in Washington today alongside the union’s leader, Shawn Fain. The UAW is expected to finally endorse the president for reelection during this week’s event, according to the Washington Post, after an unexpectedly long delay. Biden joined its workers during their strike earlier this year, making him the first active president to ever walk a picket line. It was a defining moment in what has often been described as a resurgent year for organized labor, one that also saw prolonged Hollywood strikes and big contract wins for commercial airline pilots and UPS drivers. But the share of all workers belonging to unions has edged down ever so slightly to 10%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual report released on Tuesday. That happened in part because public sector union rolls slightly dipped.

Meet Flagship Asia Morning, a new edition of our Flagship newsletter. Timed for the Asian morning and North American afternoon, the new edition’s mission remains the same — to keep readers informed without overwhelming them, ensuring they are aware of the world yet still able to go about their day — while offering a deeper look at the changes underway in the world’s most populous continent.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi joins Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant for and exclusive interview focused on the latest news and priorities of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, how he thinks Democrats should be talking about foreign policy heading into this election season, and his take on the recent presidential election in Taiwan and how it could affect the island’s future. Sign up here.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: A closed-door Republican lunch got testy on Tuesday as some senators suggested Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell might be using the border security negotiations “as an end run with Democrats to help push through more money for Ukraine.”

Axios: Nikki Haley’s New Hampshire concession speech vowing to fight on for the GOP nomination “clearly got under [Donald Trump’s] skin,” and his victory speech “overshadowed by his anger” because of his personal attacks on Haley.

Playbook: “Why is he so angry?” said a Team Haley member of Trump’s behavior. “For someone who’s not threatened by Nikki, he sure talks about her every chance he gets.”

White House

• “It is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee,” President Biden said in a statement after the New Hampshire GOP results. “And my message to the country is the stakes could not be higher. Our Democracy. Our personal freedoms — from the right to choose to the right to vote. Our economy — which has seen the strongest recovery in the world since COVID. All are at stake.”
• Protesters repeatedly interrupted Biden at an abortion rights rally in Virginia last night shouting: “Genocide Joe — how many Palestinian children have to die?”

Congress

• Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is meeting with senators on Capitol Hill this week as the company tries to do damage control. — Bloomberg
• House GOP leaders posted the text of Congress’s big new bipartisan tax bill Tuesday night. Punchbowl says the move suggests the bill is headed for the floor next week, though a person familiar with leadership’s thinking told Semafor nothing is decided. The legislation also got a prominent new opponent in Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. He told reporters the current deal “is not something that can get my support,” citing concern with using the early shutoff of the Employee Retention Tax Credit as a pay-for along with its hefty price tag if provisions are made permanent.
• Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Peter Welch, D-Vt. are renewing their push for an independent agency to regulate Big Tech in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today, citing in part his focus on artificial intelligence. “We can successfully mitigate the risks of AI while simultaneously addressing the harms American families and businesses experience every day in our digital world,” they wrote.
• A bipartisan group of senators wrote to President Biden questioning the legality of U.S. strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
• Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa is back in the Senate after his hospitalization.
• Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris defended lending Hunter Biden $5 million, according to a transcript of his closed-door interview released by House Republicans.
• After Schumer called for federal action against Zyn nicotine pouches, citing the product’s growing popularity among young people, some fellow members of Congress — including Tillis — pushed back.

Courts

• A federal appeals court in D.C. refused to rehear arguments over a gag order that Judge Tanya Chutkan placed on Donald Trump in his election subversion case, signaling the battle may be headed for the Supreme Court.
• Lawyers for Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. claimed the FBI “ransacked” his home when seizing cash and gold bars that are now integral to the case against him in federal court. Menendez also sat for an interview for a lengthy piece in the Washington Post’s style section that takes a look at the arc of his career and the challenges he faces navigating his prosecution and a reelection campaign.

Polls

Some good news for President Biden: A new poll from Susquehanna Polling & Research found him with a nearly eight-point edge over Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.

On the Trail

• Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. is continuing his presidential campaign until he’s concluded that polls show Biden is the superior general election candidate.
• Ron DeSantis might have endorsed Donald Trump for the GOP nomination, but he’s doing anything but praising the former president. DeSantis suggested he would veto a Republican proposal that would allow Florida tax dollars to be spent on Trump’s legal bills and said in an interview with Steve Deace that the media unfairly cast the primary as a “fait accompli.”
• Two of the “Three Johns,” who may eventually succeed McConnell in helming the Senate GOP, are now endorsing Trump. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, became the latest Senate Republican to back his candidacy on Tuesday night, joining Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Meanwhile, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D, hasn’t lent his support to Trump.
• Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D. says he is running for governor, following news that Gov. Doug Burgum won’t seek another term. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., meanwhile, passed on it.
• Priorities USA, a super PAC backing President Biden, is spending $1 million to get influencers to post about the 2024 election on social media. — Politico

National Security

• The Pentagon conducted what it said were “necessary and proportionate” strikes on three facilities used by Iran-backed militants in Iraq following an attack on the Al-Asad Airbase over the weekend.
• The Biden administration is working on an executive order that would prevent foreign adversaries from accessing sensitive data belonging to Americans, including information obtained through data brokers. — Bloomberg
• The CIA is using a Russian language video in an attempt to recruit double agents. — Reuters

Foreign Policy

Turkey’s parliament finally voted to approve Sweden’s NATO membership. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to sign the accession, leaving only Hungary left to approve Sweden joining the bloc.

Media

• The Los Angeles Times laid off more than a fifth of its newsroom, including many journalists in the Washington bureau. Time Magazine is also making cuts, according to Semafor’s Max Tani.
• Former “CBS Sunday Morning” anchor Charles Osgood died from dementia at 91.

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, according to data from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: Elon Musk said that diversity and equity, inclusion programs are “fundamentally antisemitic.”

What the Right isn’t reading: The House Ethics Committee has reached out to new witnesses in its investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons

Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Patrick Gaspard is the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

What issue are you spending the most time on lately?

The intersection of the prospects for inclusive economic growth with reforms to our democratic institutions, to build resilience and faith in both. On the former, we have a unique pro-worker moment that requires us to be bolder in our policy demands. On the latter, we need to be honest about the need to reform our democracy in order to save it. There’s a need for innovations in our courts, the dangerously antiquated electoral college, tools like the filibuster that allow extreme minorities to impose their will on the majority. And we need to grapple with the reality that our deliberative institutions aren’t fit for purpose in this era where policy moves at the revolutionary speed of information.

Who’s your closest relationship on the other side of the aisle?

If I told you they would lose all of their other friends.

Who’s the most influential thinker you’ve come across in your career?

The late Dr. Manning Marable who I had the privilege to know as a young activist and who wrote the seminal “How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America.”

The current thinker I’m most influenced by is my friend Maria Ressa. Maria’s work on accountability of big tech that has enabled autocrats has had a huge influence on how I think about this moment of democratic backsliding. She’s my hero and has been a mentor.

Favorite D.C. dive?

Depends on how you define dive. I’m not a drinker but I love the bar at the Bukom Cafe in Adams Morgan. It’s now going on two decades of unique cocktails, great gossip, served with a side of West African wings, plantains, and live African bands that bang.

What book have you been recommending to people most lately?

“Consent of the Networked” by Rebecca MacKinnon. Her conceptualization of the “sovereigns of cyberspace” who wield state-level authority in a fashion not naturally compatible with democracy is, I believe, core to the major challenges of this moment.