Principals

1. Trump labor pick
2. DOGE dividend?
3. US-Russia talks
4. Trump’s tariff man
5. Adams case

PDB: Trump, Macron speak

Israel, Lebanon ceasefire expires … Fox’s Hannity to air interview with Trump, Musk … WSJ: Republicans attempt to curb Navarro’s influence

Trump labor nominee needs a lifeline

President Trump has another Cabinet nominee jam to navigate: Former GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, his pick for labor secretary, is set to go before the HELP Committee, where she’s likely to be boxed in by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Democrats, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Paul opposes Chavez-DeRemer over her support for the union-boosting PRO Act, so she may need a Democratic assist. But Democrats are not in a cooperative mood. “I’m a hard ‘no’ on her,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said. “She didn’t bow out of this job when she found out Trump was going to force her to act illegally.” Republicans hope they can sway Democrats — or potentially, Paul — to get her nomination through. “You can do the numbers,” Committee Chair. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said. “We need somebody else to vote if Rand’s going to vote negative.”

A MAGA stimulus pitch

A MAGA investment manager is making the rounds in Washington this week with a proposal to turn Elon Musk’s government cost cuts into “DOGE dividend” checks for Americans. James Fishback — who launched an “anti-woke” fund marketed to conservatives and has been an informal adviser to DOGE — is proposing returning 20% of the initiative’s savings to tax-paying households. “When consumers don’t get what they pay for, they’re entitled to a refund,” he told Semafor. Fishback says he met last week with the offices of Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and will be back on Capitol Hill this week with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts. Trump relished seeing his name on checks cut to Americans during the pandemic, but even Musk admits that DOGE is unlikely to hit its $2 trillion target, which Fishback says would fund $5,000 rebates to 79 million households. And Republicans are already struggling to pay for an extension of Trump’s tax cuts.

— Liz Hoffman

US takes first high-level meeting with Russia in years

The Trump administration kicked off discussions with Russia in Saudi Arabia about ending the war in Ukraine, amid unresolved questions about the extent of Kyiv’s involvement in the talks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Michael Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are representing the US, while Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is leading the Russian side. The State Department said the talks — which represent the first high-level meeting between the two countries since the 2022 invasion — will determine whether peace negotiations “can move forward.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country is not participating in the talks, reiterated that his country can’t be cut out, which some US leaders have echoed. “Of course they have to be at the table,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told reporters in Kyiv. Meanwhile, Trump’s Ukraine-Russia envoy, Keith Kellogg, is set to visit Ukraine this week.

The work ahead for Lutnick at Commerce

One of the key enforcers of Trump’s trade agenda will be put in place tonight. The Senate is poised to take a final vote this evening on confirming Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department. Lutnick will oversee Trump’s trade wars, including the administration’s time-sensitive “reciprocal” tariffs, and will be a go-to contact for Senate Republicans worried about Trump going too far. At Commerce, Lutnick will also need to chart a path forward on export controls, as well as the Biden-era CHIPS program. The former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO is likely to receive at least minimal bipartisan support; Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., backed his nomination when it advanced out of committee earlier this month. The upper chamber will also hold a procedural vote on Kash Patel’s nomination to lead the FBI today, teeing up a final vote for later this week.

All eyes on judge in Adams case

The case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams now lies in the hands of a Biden-appointed judge. Judge Dale Ho, nominated for the federal bench in 2023, has yet to respond to the Justice Department’s bid to drop corruption charges against Adams, which set off a series of resignations (including four more Adams aides) and accusations of a quid pro quo. While judges have little power to refuse a government request to drop charges, Adams’ case “may challenge those limits and that precedent,” The New York Times writes. Ho could deem the dismissal politically motivated, though any effort to block it would be appealed. Some Democrats have suggested Ho try to keep the indictment alive, while Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’s planning “a conversation about the path forward” today as she weighs removing Adams from office.

Blindspot: Tariffs and tech firings

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: Nissan may move some production out of Mexico due to President Trump’s proposed tariffs.

What the Right isn’t reading: DOGE began sending termination letters to workers at the US Digital Service, Bloomberg reported.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: House Majority PAC, the top House Democratic super PAC, is telegraphing its plans to attack vulnerable Republicans on proposed cuts to Medicaid in a memo this morning.

Playbook: The White House suggests in a new legal filing that Elon Musk isn’t actually in charge at DOGE.

WaPo: Ken Martin is making his first trip as DNC chair to battleground Pennsylvania, where he’ll meet with steel workers. “As the Trump agenda fails our nation’s working communities, we have to take seriously the job of repairing and restoring the perceptions of our party and our brand,” Martin said in a memo ahead of the trip.

White House

• President Trump held what the White House described as a “friendly” phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, after he hosted an emergency meeting of European leaders in Paris to discuss the war in Ukraine, European security and how to navigate the second Trump administration.
• Trump is firing “several hundred” Federal Aviation Administration employees. — AP
• The top Social Security Administration official quit after a dispute with DOGE.

Congress

• Rep. Angie Craig is giving “serious consideration” to running for the US Senate seat in Minnesota, after Sen. Tina Smith announced she will not seek reelection in 2026.
• Sen. Jon Husted, the Republican who took over JD Vance’s Ohio Senate seat, announced his leadership team today, including tapping Rebecca Card as his chief of staff.

Outside the Beltway

• Anti-Trump protesters marched across the country on President’s Day.
• A Delta flight flipped upside-down while landing in Toronto, but no deaths were reported.

Business

• Shein is trying to reassure investors despite the Trump administration’s moves against the company. — Reuters

Health

• Among the federal workers hit by DOGE layoffs: FDA staffers investigating Elon Musk’s biotech company, Neuralink. — Reuters

Courts

• A federal judge in Washington is likely to rule today on a lawsuit that aims to block DOGE from accessing systems and firing employees across several government agencies.

Foreign Policy

• Israel said it plans to begin talks on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire “this week.” — AFP
• Ukraine asked Europe to tap an envoy for potential peace negotiations with Russia.
• China criticized the US after the State Department removed a line from its website stating that the US does not support Taiwan’s independence.

Technology

• South Korea banned new downloads of China’s DeepSeek.
• Meta is building the world’s longest undersea cable.

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

Max Tani is Semafor’s media editor. Sign up for Semafor Media here.

Gecko Robotics — which develops devices and software to inspect and maintain critical infrastructure — plans to double its workforce and the number of robots deployed in the UAE to between 40 and 50 each, its CEO told Semafor’s Mohammed Sergie.

The Pittsburgh-based company, last valued at more than $600 million, is also preparing for a major funding round this year and exploring acquisitions as the robotics sector consolidates.

The company partnered in April with UAE oil and gas contractor Al Masaood Energy on a $30 million, multiyear contract to inspect and map ADNOC Gas facilities.