Washington, DC

1. Trump’s influence wanes
2. Sinking econ confidence
3. AI order delay
4. Rubio on Iran talks
5. DNC scrutiny
6. US Ebola response

PDB: Trump reverses course on Poland deployment

Trump stumps for Lawler … Warsh sworn in at White House … Cuba accepts $100M in US aid

Senate Republicans jump from Trump

President Donald Trump’s standing with Senate Republicans is at a second-term low, Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Shelby Talcott report. And the schisms are political, personal, and policy-related. Republicans are highly irritated by Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and saw the president’s attack on the Senate parliamentarian this week as a low blow. The GOP immigration enforcement bill should have been headed for passage this morning, but was derailed by what Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called a $1.8 billion “slush fund.” Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, let acting Attorney General Todd Blanche know he wants the administration to better consult with Congress. Money for ballroom security looks dead — but the White House privately signaled it could veto any bill that doesn’t contain its priorities. Senators return in 10 days, giving both sides time to cool off.

Republicans’ view of economy darkens

Fewer Republicans are feeling confident about the US economy than at any point during Trump’s second term, as the Iran war drives up energy prices and other costs. According to new polling from Gallup, a measure of overall economic confidence in the US slipped by seven points between April and May, during which time the federal government reported inflation rose at the fastest pace in three years. Economic confidence is far from the low recorded during the 2008 financial crisis, but the numbers are still bad news for Republicans looking to fend off affordability attacks on the campaign trail. Only 16% of US adults describe current economic conditions as excellent or good, the lowest in three years, and nearly half rate conditions as poor. More than three quarters of Americans say the US economic picture is getting worse.

Inside Trump’s AI order delay

The Trump administration’s plans for an executive order regulating artificial intelligence were put on hold this week after some of the tech industry’s biggest players, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and former White House adviser David Sacks persuaded the White House to call it off, according to people familiar with the matter. The push from industry was successful, these people said, because Musk and others were able to appeal to the accelerationist crowd, including officials at the National Economic Council and staffers in the vice president’s office. The executive order would have created some oversight for powerful new AI models — by setting up a voluntary system for companies to share their models with the government up to 90 days before their public release — but would not have created an official new licensing regime.

— Reed Albergotti

Rubio says ‘slight progress’ on Iran talks

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US had made “slight progress” in peace talks with Tehran, while firmly rejecting a suggestion by Iran to charge ships for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking at a NATO meeting of foreign ministers in Sweden, Rubio said: “I don’t want to exaggerate it, but there’s been a little bit of movement [in negotiations], and that’s good.” Iran was attempting to persuade Oman, a US ally, to implement a toll system for ships passing through the international waterway, Rubio said, adding: “There is not a country in the world that should accept that.” Several Asian-flagged ships have succeeded in transporting oil through the strait, which has been blocked because of the conflict, but the world’s economy is suffering: Business activity has slowed in Europe and Asia, and economists have lowered their forecasts for global growth.

DNC autopsy prompts more questions

The Democratic National Committee’s release of an incomplete 2024 “autopsy” isn’t doing much to quiet critics, who pointed out the report contains no mention of the war in Gaza. That detail surprised activists who said they’d had a July 29 conversation with the report’s author, Paul Rivera, and were told then that the Biden administration’s support for Israel cost Kamala Harris votes. The issue continues to bedevil Democrats: A Gaza working group announced by chair Ken Martin last August has met just twice. “Ken Martin should release the information that the author of the autopsy told us clearly and unambiguously,” said the Institute for Middle East Understanding’s Margaret DeReus, referring to Gaza. And at least one lawmaker wants Martin to step down. “There doesn’t seem to be a plan to turn things around,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, said. “It’s time for him to move on.”

— David Weigel and Nicholas Wu

Ebola crisis sparks scrutiny of Trump cuts

The Trump administration’s dismantling of US global health infrastructure is coming under intense scrutiny as an Ebola outbreak spreads across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The deep cuts to US Agency for International Development funding last year likely impacted the response and delayed detection of the virus, according to health experts and congressional Democrats. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said USAID cuts “eliminated systems that could have detected the virus earlier, distributed protective equipment faster, and deployed public health workers to track exposure.” US aid to the DRC plummeted from $1.4 billion in 2024 to $451 million last year. Elizabeth Hoffman of the ONE Campaign said a larger US presence on the ground would have likely led to earlier detection. Republicans defended the Trump administration, blaming the slow response to the outbreak on the region’s volatility.

— Adrian Elimian and Lauren Morganbesser

Debatable: Taiwan arms sales

Trump’s suggestion that he’s using a stalled $14 billion arms sales package for Taiwan as a “negotiating chip” with China landed with a thud on Capitol Hill, Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant writes. Taiwan enjoys broad support among members of both US parties. Lawmakers want to see the weapons sales move as anxiety rises that Taiwan could face an attack from China, which considers the self-governing island its territory. Still, there’s disagreement over how far US support for Taiwan should go. Some lawmakers want to see the US defend Taiwan in the event of the Chinese invasion, but others have significant reservations. “I think going to war with China over Taiwan would be insane,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who said he supports Taiwan arms sales. A White House official said Trump would decide on a new Taiwan arms package “in a fairly short time.”

Audie Cornish and Ari Shapiro spent years together in the buttoned-up, professional audio journalism world of NPR co-hosting All Things Considered. Now, they’re reuniting at CNN for something very different — podcasting. On this week’s episode of Mixed Signals, they join Max and Ben to talk about turning their off-mic chemistry into a show, navigating the pivots and shifts of today’s media landscape, and the surprising lessons amateur podcasters can learn from the audio pros who came before them.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: “The White House dropped a bomb in the middle of a pretty well planned-out reconciliation [bill] to help deliver on one of President Trump’s priorities,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said of the proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.

Playbook: “I think Ken [Martin] is defiant because he knows that mistakes were made in the process of the report,” Jane Kleeb, president of the Association of State Democratic Parties, said of the DNC’s botched 2024 election postmortem.

Axios: The Trump administration is temporarily reassigning immigration lawyers to the Justice Department as it accelerates efforts to revoke the citizenship of naturalized Americans.

White House

• After facing blowback over Pentagon plans to pause a planned deployment of 4,000 US troops to Poland, President Trump reversed course, announcing he would send 5,000 troops to the NATO ally.
• The Commission of Fine Arts, which is filled with Trump appointees, approved the president’s plans to construct a 250-foot arch in DC.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took down about 1,700 webpages, including consumer advisories. — NOTUS

Congress

• The House punted a vote reining in the Trump administration’s war in Iran until after Memorial Day. Republican absences meant Democrats might have won the vote.
• Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced legislation to set limits on the Treasury Department’s ability to use a $219 billion fund to provide economic support to other countries, like Argentina. — FT
• Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J., told the New Jersey Globe he anticipates returning to Washington “in the next couple of weeks.”

Outside the Beltway

• A SpaceX rocket launch Thursday was canceled with seconds to go, but there may be another attempt today.

Campaigns

• Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan dropped his independent bid for Michigan governor.

National Security

• Iran has destroyed more than two dozen US Reaper drones, representing nearly $1 billion in losses.
• The Pentagon is considering canceling an $80 million condition loan offer to a rare-earths refining company, prompting pushback from the White House. — Bloomberg
• The US military used “far more high-end munitions defending Israel amid hostilities with Iran than Israeli forces used themselves.” — WaPo
• The Army has cut dozens of medical training courses, citing budget constraints. — ABC

Immigration

• More Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees are intentionally killing or injuring themselves. — NBC
• Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned airline and travel executives that the department may cut back Customs and Border Protection staffing in sanctuary jurisdictions. — The Atlantic

Foreign Policy

• Iran funneled billions of dollars through crypto exchange Binance to fund the regime, with the secret payments ongoing as recently as December. — WSJ
• Russia promised “active support” to Cuba as the US ratchets up pressure on Havana.

Technology

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross are clashing over AI policy. — Politico

Media

• The Washington Post is halving its office space. — CoStar

People hold signs supporting Stephen Colbert ahead of the taping of the final Late Show in New York.

Edited by Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor

Emily Ruth Ford, editor

Graph Massara and Marta Biino, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel