Washington, DC

1. Iran deadline nears
2. Plastics profits
3. Israel on DNC agenda
4. $342M to defend majority
5. Treasury’s Trump Accounts partners

NYC office vacancies ▼ 2% from a year ago, bucking fears of a Mamdani-fueled white-collar exodus.

Trump reasserts Tuesday deadline for Iran

President Donald Trump is standing by his deadline of 8 pm tomorrow for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or risk being bombed to the “Stone Ages,” he said today at a press conference. “I can tell you they are negotiating, we think, in good faith,” Trump said of Iranian leaders, adding that he believes they’d like to make a deal. When asked by a New York Times reporter about whether his threat to target bridges and power plants might be considered a war crime, Trump dismissed the question. “You’re fake,” Trump told the reporter. Later, he declined to rule out strikes on specific civilian targets like schools. On Capitol Hill, Trump has defenders. “I don’t think he’s threatening a war crime at all,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. “Because it’s an ongoing operation, and if he needs leverage, he’s using that leverage.”

Iran war boosts US plastics

There are few winners in the war with Iran, but at least one has emerged: the US plastics industry. Prices of Persian Gulf oil, the key raw material for many plastics, have surged, forcing plastic makers in Asia and Europe to cut output. Middle Eastern producers — responsible for more than 40% of 2025 exports of polyethylene, a common plastic in bags and bottles — have also scaled back. That has created an opportunity for US chemical companies to ramp up production and sharply hike prices, leveraging plentiful, cheap natural gas for manufacturing. The boost to domestic plastic production couldn’t come at a better time, as polyethylene was facing a post-COVID slump due to overproduction and decreased demand. The bad news: Consumers will start to feel the added costs, as higher prices affect industries from packaging and construction to auto manufacturing and health care.

— Lauren Morganbesser

Dems’ slow-moving Israel fight continues

Democrats will pick up their ongoing argument about Gaza and Israel at this week’s Democratic National Committee meeting in New Orleans, where a working group on the issue will meet in person for the second time in eight months, Semafor’s David Weigel reports. The intensity of the Gaza debate has faded since last summer, but several new Israel-focused resolutions will come before the party, including one that would condemn AIPAC super PAC influence in Democratic primaries. “We want a frank and honest conversation about where our voters are,” said Allison Minnerly, who introduced the resolution. Brian Romick, the president of Democratic Majority for Israel, warned that “passing these resolutions will be a gift to Republicans, will further divide our party, and do nothing to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”

Republicans shower Senate map with ad reservations

Senate Republicans’ top super PAC is dropping $342 million to defend the majority. The Senate Leadership Fund will direct the bulk of the spend to seats held by GOP senators in five states, Alaska ($15 million), Iowa ($29 million), North Carolina ($71 million), and Ohio ($79 million), plus previously announced Maine ($42 million). Republicans omitted Democratic-held Minnesota and Texas, which they don’t consider competitive, a spokesperson told The New York Times. The PAC will spend big in three states held by Democrats, Michigan ($45 million), New Hampshire ($17 million), and Georgia ($44 million). Lauren French, a spokeswoman for Democratic Senate Majority PAC, called the announcement “a sign Republicans are nervous, plain and simple. Their battleground map has increased substantially.” The Democratic PAC has not made its initial reservations. PACs can always shift reservations later.

— Burgess Everett

BNY, Robinhood to launch Trump Accounts

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and Robinhood beat out a host of competitors to launch Trump Accounts this summer, the Treasury Department said today. BNY will manage the accounts and develop a Treasury-branded app while partnering with Robinhood, which will serve as brokerage. Other firms’ involvement with the launch will be limited to rolling over the accounts to their platforms, a Treasury spokesperson confirmed to Semafor. Those firms are hopeful that guidance will arrive in time for them to implement it by the July 4 rollout, so their customers can choose then whether to stay or use the Treasury app. “Ease of use is key for maximizing enrollment and participation,” Chime Vice President of Government and Public Affairs Jeff Stoltzfoos told Semafor.

— Eleanor Mueller

Ken Griffin, Founder & CEO, Citadel; Jean Hynes, Managing Partner & CEO, Wellington Management; John Rogers Jr., Founder, Chairman & Co-CEO, Ariel Investments; Andrea Orcel, CEO, UniCredit; Gabriel Makhlouf, Governor, Central Bank of Ireland; and more will join The Future of Global Finance session at Semafor World Economy. This session will examine how markets balance openness with resilience, and which regions will cultivate the transparency, scale, and confidence global capital demands.

April 14, 2026 | Washington, DC | Apply to Attend

Iran War

• Israel attacked a petrochemical facility, a key piece of Iran’s economy, and Iranian state media reported explosions at the South Pars gas field.
• Iran responded to the US with a 10-point proposal, which President Trump described to reporters as “not good enough.”

Politics

• The Iran war has emerged as a central issue in the House special election to replace former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia.
• Outgoing Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, sexually pursued a second female aide years before his affair with the late Regina Santos-Aviles, whose death by suicide helped force him into retirement. — San Antonio Express-News

Courts

• Steve Bannon won an order by the Supreme Court that is likely to lead to the dismissal of his criminal conviction for refusing to testify before Congress.
• Prosecutors didn’t watch video footage of a shooting that undermined the account of ICE officers for weeks after it was available. — NYT
• The Trump administration will terminate multiple civil rights settlements aimed at ensuring transgender students’ rights. — NYT

World

• Dozens of migrants may have died when their boat capsized en route to Europe from Libya.

— Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, in his annual letter to shareholders.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

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