Principals

1. Fed resists pressure
2. Conservatives vs tariffs
3. Harvard pushes back
4. Trump eyes cuts at State
5. Trump meets Bukele
6. Meta on trial
7. Ramaswamy leads in Ohio
8. Barbara Lee’s tough race

PDB: Labor secretary snubs powerful union

Bloomberg: China halts Boeing deliveries … Nikkei ⬆️ 0.84% … Nasdaq futures ⬆️ 0.43%

Fed resists pressure to rescue Treasurys

The White House wants the Federal Reserve to make it easier for big banks to hold Treasury bonds, a move that could steady an unnerved market. But the Fed isn’t in a hurry. The central bank isn’t rushing to relax rules that essentially penalize banks for owning large amounts of US debt, people familiar with the matter told Semafor, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon both support the idea. The Fed, which has been working on a proposal since February, is wary of being seen as panicking — or worse, bailing out the administration or hedge funds that have been heavy sellers. “Big banks are the obvious knife-catchers,” Semafor’s Liz Hoffman writes. “But there is a queasy circular illogic in the central bank declaring US Treasury bonds a risk-free asset at the exact moment the market has decided they aren’t.”

Pro-DOGE group sues over tariffs

The Trump administration is facing pressure from fellow conservatives over its expansive tariff agenda. The Liberty Justice Center, which has supported the White House’s efforts to cut spending and attack DEI programs, sued on behalf of US businesses to block President Donald Trump’s across-the-board tariffs, arguing that he has illegally usurped Congress’ authority by imposing them. The Commerce Department is meanwhile pushing forward with its investigations into the semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors, which Trump said will result in tariffs targeting those imports on national security grounds. Meanwhile, Trump has been floating more exceptions — including for auto parts set to face duties next month — and trying to cut trade deals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a list of top targets, according to The Wall Street Journal, and Trump’s former trade czar, Robert Lighthizer, is pushing for a quick agreement with Japan, Semafor’s Rohan Goswami scooped.

Harvard fights back

As prominent law firms and higher education institutions cave to the Trump administration, Harvard is fighting back. After officials threatened the university’s $9 billion in federal funding unless it agreed to demands like auditing programs for “ideological capture” or changing admissions standards, the school declined. “Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government,” wrote Harvard’s outside lawyers, William Burck (who has represented Trump allies) and Robert Hur (the former special counsel overseeing the Biden classified documents investigation). The White House responded by freezing $2.2 billion in grants; it has probed dozens of higher education institutions, crusading against alleged antisemitism and anti-conservative bias. “Harvard or any institution that wishes to violate Title VI is, by law, not eligible for federal funding,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said.

Trump tries to slash State’s funding

The Trump administration is eyeing deep cuts to the State Department — a plan that could run into trouble with some lawmakers. An internal memo making the rounds at State calls for about a 50% reduction in the department’s budget in the next fiscal year, the Washington Post reported, and a State Department official confirmed that number to Semafor. Separately, the Trump administration plans to soon ask Congress to rescind $9.3 billion in funds it already approved for USAID — which has been rolled into State — and for public broadcasters, a White House official said. It’s unclear how many Republicans might resist the State Department cuts, but Democrats are already pushing back. “I intend to immediately and directly raise my serious concerns to Secretary [Marco] Rubio,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

— Morgan Chalfant and Shelby Talcott

Bukele and Trump clasp hands

Monday’s Oval Office meeting with Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, presaged an escalating confrontation between Trump and the federal courts. Bukele told reporters he wouldn’t help return Kilmar Armando Ábrego García — who the administration said was sent to an El Salvador prison because of an “administrative error” — back to the US, arguing he “doesn’t have the power.” Bukele called the question “preposterous” and in his answer effectively sided with the Trump administration, which has resisted the Supreme Court’s ruling to return Ábrego to the US. Each country has now essentially thrown up its hands in the case, with the US insisting not only that Ábrego is a gang member (though he’s not been convicted or charged with being in a gang) but that it’s up to El Salvador to decide what to do. El Salvador, meanwhile, is arguing it can’t “smuggle” Ábrego into the US.

— Shelby Talcott

The forces arrayed against Meta

The Federal Trade Commission’s blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Meta opened with testimony from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Under questioning by the government, as The New York Times reported, Zuckerberg described networking as only one goal of the social media market, in addition to entertainment and information — a broader view than the government’s narrow definition. That the trial managed to start without any intervention by Trump, however, amounted to a victory over a well-funded Meta lobbying campaign aimed at helping the company avoid an antitrust showdown in court. As Semafor’s Ben Smith scooped, two senior Trump officials visited the Oval Office last week in a bid to stiffen the president’s spine against Meta ahead of the trial. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson and assistant attorney general Gail Slater attended that meeting, along with Mike Davis, a firebrand outside ally.

Ramaswamy’s lead in Ohio primary grows

Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy holds a solid lead in the primary — one that increased dramatically after Trump’s endorsement at the end of February, according to new internal polling conducted by longtime Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio. The polling, conducted April 6-10 and shared first with Semafor, now shows Ramaswamy garnering 71% of the primary vote — representing a 60-point lead against his closest opponent, Jim Tressel. Fabrizio attributes the increase in part to Trump’s approval, writing that “an overwhelming majority” of Republican primary voters are aware Ramaswamy has been endorsed by the president. Trump, according to Fabrizio, “has lent a ton of credence to Ramaswamy’s campaign and put him into a gigantic lead.”

— Shelby Talcott

Oakland chooses a new mayor

Voters in Oakland, Calif., will pick a new mayor today, after the would-be coronation of former Rep. Barbara Lee turned into a competitive race. Oakland recalled then-mayor Sheng Thao last year, before she was indicted in an FBI corruption probe, and Lee was the early favorite to replace her. Loren Taylor, a former city council member who narrowly lost to Thao in 2022, challenged Lee as a moderate change candidate — and surprised Democrats by out-fundraising her. “We don’t have time for someone to come in from DC and figure it out,” he said in TV spots. Taylor supported Thao’s ouster, while Lee opposed it, and is now running as a “unity” candidate who can use her influence to heal the city. The race could test the waning power of the left in urban politics; St. Louis voters ousted their progressive mayor last week.

— David Weigel

Blindspot: Taxes and recessions

What the Left isn’t reading: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, introduced legislation to increase the Internal Revenue Service’s scrutiny of its own workers, after a report about employees owing millions in taxes.

What the Right isn’t reading: Sixty percent of American CEOs predict the US will face a recession or economic downturn in the next six months, according to a survey from the industry group Chief Executive.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: The NRCC raised an “impressive” $36.7 million in the first quarter of this year as House Republicans look to hold onto their majority. That includes $21.5 million raised in March alone.

Playbook: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is President Trump’s favorite of the moment on his trade team. Trump likes that Bessent is “smart” and “not desperate” and knows he has fans on Wall Street, a White House official said. “Every Wall Streeter has complained about” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

WaPo: IRS staffers are worried that tax compliance will fall as the agency’s budget and workforce are slashed.

Axios: Allies of Vice President JD Vance will play a big role in the Trump administration’s antitrust agenda.

White House

• President Trump’s personal lawyer, Boris Epshteyn, “has emerged as the face of the Trump administration’s campaign against large law firms that it views as hostile to the president and his causes.” — WSJ

Congress

• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., disclosed that she bought as much as $315,000 worth of stock on the day before and the day of President Trump’s announcement on his tariff pause last week. She also sold Treasury bills.
• Former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers is running for US Senate in Michigan again.

Outside the Beltway

• Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is criss-crossing the country on a listening tour — but during a stop in Nevada, she opted not to meet with the Culinary Workers Union, a powerful political force in the swing state. A union spokesperson told Semafor’s Kadia Goba the organization hadn’t heard anything from the Labor Department, but that the union “would have taken a meeting if requested.”
• A Palestinian-born Columbia University student activist was arrested by ICE agents at his citizenship interview appointment.

Courts

• The man accused of setting fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion was denied bail, after being charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson, and terrorism.

Business

• Goldman Sachs reported a larger-than-expected profit for the first quarter that was powered by trading revenue.
• Netflix plans to double its revenue by 2030. — WSJ

Economy

• China has suspended exports of rare earth minerals, part of Beijing’s retaliation for US tariffs.

National Security

• During his meeting with Nayib Bukele on Monday, President Trump said he’d like to deport US citizens suspected of crimes to El Salvador, saying the “homegrowns are next.”
• The US Army is planning to control a portion of land along the southern border as part of a military base. — AP

Foreign Policy

• Hungary passed a constitutional amendment allowing the government to ban LGBTQ+ public events.
• President Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over his country’s ongoing war with Russia, while acknowledging that Russia started the war — a departure from his false comments earlier this year.

Technology

• The White House claimed credit after Nvidia announced plans to manufacture AI supercomputers entirely in the US.
• Seven Republican senators wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick asking him to axe the Biden-era rule that sets a global export control regime for AI chips. — Reuters

Media

• The White House refused to allow an AP reporter and photographer into the Oval Office as part of the pool, despite a judge’s order that required the administration to do so.

• Pop star Katy Perry and CBS host Gayle King went to space as part of an all-female Blue Origin rocket crew.

Principals Team

Edited by Morgan Chalfant, deputy Washington editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor

And Graph Massara, copy editor

Contact our reporters:

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

Vice President JD Vance drops a trophy during Monday’s White House event recognizing Ohio State University for its 2025 College Football National Championship win.