Washington, DC

1. Trump visits South Carolina
2. Beef tariff exemption
3. Trump’s SCOTUS win
4. Higher ed pressure
5. AI’s recession test

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., reached 12% support in the latest Saint Anselm College poll of the 2028 New Hampshire primary

Trump heads to South Carolina as White House shifts to midterms

President Donald Trump is heading to South Carolina today as the White House looks to focus more on the looming election season. Trump’s visit to Myrtle Beach — where he hopes to provide a boost to Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C. — comes as Republicans face a difficult path to retaining full control of Washington. The White House is shifting to an all-hands-on-deck approach, with Vice President JD Vance also campaigning in Ohio today. A White House official told Semafor that Trump plans to continue traveling the country in the months ahead despite myriad foreign policy challenges. Trump has sought to shift focus away from the unpopular Iran conflict recently, though his pivot to economic penalties could make it harder for Republicans to make inroads on affordability.

— Shelby Talcott

Trump’s beef tariff exemption carries risks

Trump’s decision today to exempt as many as 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef from added tariffs is designed to cushion consumers from rising prices. But it also risks aggravating tensions with US cattlemen who are already grappling with a dwindling supply of domestic cattle and the effects of rising fuel prices. Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said on X that Trump’s “heart is in the right place” while warning that his announced tariff exemptions”will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd.” The White House has yet to release details on when today’s announced 90-day tariff exemptions for beef imports will formally take effect. They would follow a February executive order in which Trump exempted 80,000 metric tons of imported Argentinian beef from tariffs.

Supreme Court allows ballroom construction to continue

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for construction on Trump’s White House ballroom to continue, pausing a lower court ruling that would have stopped above-ground construction tomorrow. It’s unclear how long the reprieve will last: Chief Justice John Roberts issued a brief order granting a stay “pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court,” suggesting the freeze will remain while the Supreme Court considers Trump’s emergency appeal earlier this month. Trump has pushed for a ballroom to hold larger functions at the White House, and more recently has made a national security case for the space. However, an appeals court recently ruled that the $400 million project needs congressional approval. Today’s development is just one twist in a longer battle over the ballroom and its high price tag, which has become a headache for Republicans facing tough reelections this fall.

Trump tightens grip on higher ed

The Trump administration tightened its vise on higher education today, threatening to strip the American Bar Association of its ability to accredit law schools. A report published by the Education Department recommends that the ABA lose its accreditation power due to alleged conflicts of interest. “We have said many times that accreditation, in general, operates like a cartel,” Assistant Secretary David Barker told The Wall Street Journal. It’s the latest in a multipronged Trump effort to control the nation’s universities, as public confidence in higher education remains low. The Pentagon this week also ordered dozens of universities to audit partnerships they have with Chinese institutions, threatening their funding if partnerships that “compromise our national security” are not terminated. The administration secured some settlements with universities facing antisemitism investigations; the task force handling the antisemitism probes relied on political pressure, a whistleblower reportedly alleges.

Could a sluggish economy stymie the AI boom?

For the past couple of years, the dominant bearish narrative on AI has been that the massive investment in the “circular” AI economy, including an increasingly hefty amount of debt financing, is poised to collapse and take the global economy down with it. But this week’s rash of bad economic news, from US debt hitting historic highs to the signs that consumers are cutting spending, raises a different question: Will an economic slowdown or recession brought on by forces largely out of Silicon Valley’s control be the thing that finally stymies the AI boom? Or will it actually accelerate it? On the one hand, companies are watching their token budgets more carefully, wary of soaring AI costs for a technology that so far has not proven to generate profits. In a belt-tightening environment, token budgets could easily be slashed alongside human workforces.

On Tuesday, September 15, Shelley Lyford, CEO, West Health, will join The Future of Health Forum. From breakthrough therapies and AI-enabled care to the investments and policy decisions shaping the next generation of medicine, on-the-record conversations will explore how innovation can expand access, improve patient outcomes, and build a more affordable, effective healthcare system.

Sept. 15 | Washington, DC | Request Invite

White House

• After agency inspectors general were sacked at the start of the administration, their offices reduced oversight and hemorrhaged staff under the control of new political appointees. — NOTUS
• A former JPMorgan executive has begun advising the Social Security Administration on modernization, holding special government employee status. — CNBC

Congress

• House Democrats on the Judiciary and Oversight committees plan extensive investigations into the Trump administration if their party wins the majority in November. — Politico

Campaigns

• Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers’ attempt to court Jewish voters skeptical of Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed is running into difficulties. — NOTUS
• Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s super PAC is backing a $1.7 million-plus ad campaign to boost Republican nominee Ken Paxton in his November matchup against Democratic nominee James Talarico. — Axios
• Former Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., is endorsing Rep. Ralph Norman over Sen. Darline Graham in next week’s Republican runoff for the party’s South Carolina Senate nomination.

Foreign Policy

• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and President Trump spoke about tariff negotiations on a phone call. The tariffs have become a flashpoint in Brazil’s presidential election campaign.

Outside the Beltway

• A New York state senator spent years double-billing travel and hotel expenses, using a campaign account to pay for expenses before requesting reimbursements to herself from taxpayer funds. — NYT

— Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the liberal Center for American Progress, in response to a threatened defamation lawsuit by the president’s personal lawyers

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