Principals

1. Senators eye headstart
2. Nominee fight
3. Talks to end Ukraine war
4. Trump v. Europe
5. Africa aid gap
6. Dems’ social media strategy

PDB: Trump asks Supreme Court to allow him to fire independent watchdog

Xi meets with business elite … NYT: DOGE targets IRS taxpayer data … WSJ: Some Trump voters worry about his government shakeup

Senate preps first strike in budget battle

Senate Republicans are likely to take up their border-and-defense-first approach on the Senate floor, striking while the House is out of town, Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Kadia Goba report. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Majority Whip John Barrasso and Budget Chair Lindsey Graham continued discussing the exact timing this weekend, we’re told, with a good chance of needing to work late nights and Friday to finish the resolution. That would put the Senate ahead of the House, with its tax-and-national-security mega-bill approach. Republicans in the lower chamber aim to move their own resolution to the floor the week of Feb. 24. The Senate will also juggle confirmation votes on Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary and Kelly Loeffler for small business administrator early this week, with FBI hopeful Kash Patel expected to be approved later on.

Cotton under pressure over defense nominee

A quiet fight over the nomination of Elbridge Colby to the top policy job at the Pentagon broke into the open Sunday, when conservative influencer Charlie Kirk said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was “working behind the scenes” to stop the pick. Elon Musk chimed in to defend Colby, asking: “What does he think Bridge will do?” As Semafor reported last week, Cotton and others, including prominent Jewish leaders, have concerns about Colby’s relatively dovish Iran stance. Other Colby critics point to a November interview where he cautioned about the dangers of a war with Iran, and a 2010 essay arguing that containing a nuclear Iran diplomatically was “a least bad option,” compared with a likely futile effort to destroy the Iranian nuclear program by force. Cotton “opposes Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and is addressing his policy concerns with the White House,” a source close to the senator told Semafor.

— Ben Smith and Mathias Hammer

US, Russian officials meet in Saudi Arabia

Trump administration national security officials are headed to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russia to end its war in Ukraine. The meetings — which as of this weekend were not expected to include Ukrainian officials — follow President Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, news of which rattled Europeans. Putin “expressed his interest in peace” during his call with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on CBS, adding that “the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not.” Trump told reporters he thinks Putin “wants to stop fighting.” Rubio, national security adviser Michael Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff will participate in the talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized on NBC that his nation would “never” accept a peace deal brokered without its input, but praised Trump as a “strong” leader who could push Putin into negotiations. Zelenskyy is expected to visit Saudi Arabia a day after the talks, AFP reported this morning.

Tensions rise between US, Europe

The sudden engagement between the US and Russia has caught much of Europe off guard — and has been fueling tensions between the US and its traditional European allies in the second Trump era. French President Emmanuel Macron is convening an emergency meeting in Paris today with leaders of other European countries, NATO, and the European Union. Security guarantees for Ukraine and rearming Europe are expected to be discussed, according to an official familiar with the plans. At the Munich Security Conference, Trump envoy Keith Kellogg suggested Europe would be left out of talks to end the Ukraine war, while Vice President JD Vance scolded the continent over its approach to immigration and “free speech.” Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs promise to worsen tensions. The stakes are high for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington later this month.

US leaves aid void in Africa that Europe can’t fill

The European Union said it cannot plug the funding gap left by the US suspending aid programs, as governments across Africa try to keep critical health care services running. The US, the largest single aid donor in the world, disbursed some $72 billion in assistance in 2023, much of it through USAID. The EU contributed almost $100 billion in the same year. Most of USAID’s budget in Africa goes toward humanitarian and health aid — USAID spent more than $11 billion there in 2024 — and the freeze has already shuttered services across the continent. “We will not step back from our humanitarian commitments,” a European Commission spokesperson said, but added: “The funding gap is getting bigger, leaving millions in need. The EU cannot fill this gap left by others.”

— Preeti Jha

Dems huddle to retake the internet

Progressives were on the cutting edge of online content in the Obama era, but they’ve been increasingly outflanked by the vast right-wing media sphere, which helped propel MAGA candidates to victory last year. Now, they’re trying to play catch-up: Last week, Democratic operatives and activists gathered at the Wharf in Washington, DC, at the offices of Laurene Powell Jobs’ investment company, Emerson Collective, to talk through why the left’s digital media operation failed in 2024. The get-together, reported by Semafor’s Max Tani, was one of several in recent days as Democrats reassess their media strategy. It featured hourlong seminars on how to make better short- and long-form video content for sharing online and presented a chance for funders and influencers to connect.

Uncommon bonds: The PRO Act

Republicans’ small but vocal pro-union contingent will get an opportunity to speak out this week, as Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation hearing to be Trump’s labor secretary will highlight a labor bill she supported as a congresswoman. The PRO Act, which would strengthen protections for unionized workers, is widely popular among Democrats and a much smaller group of Republicans. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., who previously co-led the bill with Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., told Semafor he’s “100%” planning to be the lead Republican sponsor on the forthcoming revived version. Fitzpatrick also said he believes Chavez-DeRemer’s perch at the Labor Department will help his cause. “That’s why we recommended her,” he said. But there’s other evidence GOP support is waning. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who backed an earlier version of the bill, now says it’s a “step too far.”

Beltway Newsletters

Playbook: US officials initially claimed that Ukraine would be involved in the discussions with Russia in Saudi Arabia, but that was “news to Kyiv.”

White House

• The Trump administration removed the acting archivist and inspector general of the National Archives. — WaPo
• President Trump is considering installing a stone patio instead of grass in the White House Rose Garden. — NYT
• Trump approved an emergency declaration for Kentucky, after the state suffered deadly wind, rain, and flooding over the weekend.

Congress

• Senate Democrats are preparing amendments to get Republicans on record about tax cuts affecting wealthy Americans ahead of this week’s “vote-a-rama” on the Senate GOP budget blueprint. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., have led the effort to refamiliarize the caucus on the budget resolution process with a memo to lawmakers and a caucus-wide staff briefing, Semafor’s Kadia Goba reports.
• Steve Bannon is warning Republican lawmakers against making cuts to Medicaid.

Outside the Beltway

• President Trump attended the Daytona 500 in Florida on Sunday.
• New York City Mayor Eric Adams is resisting calls to resign.

Economy

• President Trump predicts auto tariffs will start “around April 2.”

Business

• TSMC and Broadcom are considering potential bids for Intel. — WSJ

Health

• Layoffs have continued across federal health agencies, including at an office handling the response to the ongoing bird flu outbreak. — Politico

Courts

• The Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges without providing an explanation.
• President Trump asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fire the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that protects whistleblowers.

National Security

• The Trump administration laid off but is now trying to reinstate officials working for the National Nuclear Security Administration. — NBC

Foreign Policy

• The State Department website was edited to remove the phrase, “We do not support Taiwan independence,” though it’s unclear whether the move indicated a deeper policy shift.
• Argentine President Javier Milei has been charged with fraud after boosting a cryptocurrency on social media. — AP
• The Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze halted funding that Mexican authorities rely on to destroy fentanyl labs. — Reuters

Media

• The New York Times is rolling out a suite of internal AI tools for its editorial staff, Semafor’s Max Tani scooped. A staff training suggested reporters could use AI to help them come up with interview questions, for example.

Principals Team

Edited by Morgan Chalfant, deputy Washington editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Kadia Goba, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Jeff Jones is Gallup’s senior editor. For Presidents’ Day, we asked him about last week’s poll on the favorability scores of living US presidents.

Rob, a software developer who has been married for more than 20 years, spent all of last week planning the perfect Valentine’s date, including a candlelit dinner on a secluded beach with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. His date was not with his wife, however. It was with a chatbot named Lani.

People are increasingly falling for their favorite chatbots, Semafor’s Rachyl Jones reported, and for many, Valentine’s Day turned into a make-or-break moment, bringing them closer to their bots or forcing them to come to terms with the impracticalities of a GPU-powered romance.