Principals

1. Bondi rebounds
2. Ukraine security guarantees
3. Bipartisan pressure on Meta
4. DC takeover timeline
5. Looming price hikes
6. Electricity prices vex GOP

PDB: Latest turn on crypto v. banks

Trump attends swearing-in of EU ambassador … UK inflation rises … NYT: Will Putin meet with Zelenskyy?

Bondi rebounds from Epstein rockiness

Attorney General Pam Bondi spent much of last month at the center of a political firestorm over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott writes — but her days are looking brighter now. That’s partly thanks to the Trump administration rallying conservatives behind its anti-crime push in DC, as well as the Justice Department’s renewed focus on Russian election meddling charges from President Donald Trump’s first term. Bondi is at the center of both pivots, and the MAGA base’s anger at her has started to subside. “Every day that Pam Bondi is featured as a law enforcement official is a good day for Pam Bondi,” a person close to Trump said. But the Epstein saga is certain to resurface, and Bondi’s long-term success could depend on her ability to deliver on various “big-ticket items,” another person close to the White House observed.

US, Europe mull Ukraine security plan

The US and its European allies are trying to hash out what security guarantees for Ukraine will look like, following Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump ruled out putting US troops on the ground in Ukraine, but the White House left the door open to air support, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling that “an option and a possibility.” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine hosted a meeting Tuesday with European defense officials to talk through options for their political leadership, a defense official told Semafor, part of a series of engagements the administration has planned over the coming days. There is a separate NATO meeting set for today. A deal to end the war remains far afield, as the US prepares for a potential sit-down between Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin; possible venues include Geneva and Budapest.

— Morgan Chalfant

Senators press Meta on AI chatbots

A bipartisan group of senators wrote to Meta to raise concerns about the company’s artificial intelligence chatbots. The letter, signed by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and others, followed stories from Reuters about CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s frustration with the slow pace of Meta’s AI rollout and about how Meta’s digital companions were permitted to hold “sensual” conversations with children. “The wellbeing of children should not be sacrificed in the race for AI development,” the senators wrote to Zuckerberg. They also pressed Meta to bar targeted advertising for minors; to implement a mental health referral system; and to spend more on researching how chatbots may affect children’s development. A Meta spokesperson told Semafor the company does not allow chatbots to share content that “sexualizes” children and said “erroneous” notes added to the underlying policy document had been removed.

— Morgan Chalfant

DC takeover’s murky deadline

The White House has no timeline for how long National Guard troops will remain in Washington, press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated Tuesday, heightening the uncertainty that surrounds Trump’s plans for the federal takeover of the capital. Current law allows the president to control the city’s policy force for 30 days unless Congress authorizes an extension, but Senate Democrats plan to block any such attempt — and some Republicans don’t sound like they’re itching for a fight. “I don’t see anything like that happening for us up here,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said. “We might get involved at a certain point — but I don’t think we will.” He added that he anticipated more states to rotate in their National Guard troops in the meantime to give cops and soldiers stationed in DC “a little time off.”

— Eleanor Mueller

Will more retailers raise prices?

Investors gained more insight into how US retailers are faring under Trump’s tariffs Tuesday, when Home Depot executives told analysts that the chain will have to raise prices after all. Interest rates and economic uncertainty are steering customers away from big home improvement projects and toward smaller ones, they said, depressing the company’s sales. Still, the company’s stock went up as it stuck by its full-year outlook. A trio of other retailers — Lowe’s, Target, and Walmart — will provide additional data points when they release their earnings later this week. Federal Reserve policymakers, who are slated to gather in Wyoming later this week, are actively seeking more clarity on the economy’s trajectory as they mull whether to lower interest rates next month. The central bank will shed more light on their thinking this afternoon when it releases minutes from its last meeting.

— Eleanor Mueller

Power prices become a political problem

Rising electricity prices are becoming a political liability for Republicans. Energy Secretary Chris Wright conceded to Politico that “we’re going to get blamed” for the fact that average US power bills are now rising twice as fast as inflation, even though the real culprit, he said, is “the momentum of the Obama-Biden policies.” Energy experts disagree: Steel tariffs, Energy Department orders to keep old coal plants running past their retirement date, and the elimination of renewable tax credits — against a backdrop of skyrocketing power demand — are all drivers of recent price hikes. To some extent, the real reasons hardly matter: Voters tend to blame whoever is in office now. “Renewables hedge fuel price risk,” Ted Thomas, the top grid official in Arkansas under former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, told Semafor. “The administration will have to choose between promoting fossil fuel consumption or protecting consumers.”

— Tim McDonnell

Blindspot: Arrested and fired

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: An Indiana woman was arrested after she wrote on social media that she was “willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea.”

What the Right isn’t reading: The park ranger who draped a massive transgender flag from the famous El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park this spring was fired.

From local shops to global sellers, small businesses are seizing new opportunities. They’re leveraging technological breakthroughs, innovating their business models, and navigating market shifts to compete on a bigger scale.

They remain vital engines of growth, even as they face rising costs, labor shortages, and shifting regulations. Emerging digital tools and evolving policy landscapes are opening new pathways — and presenting new challenges — to expand, reach new markets, and compete for customers.

Join Semafor as we explore how small businesses are embracing their digital potential, tackling competition in 2025, and reaffirming their role as a driving force in the U.S. and global economy.

September 10, 2025 | Washington DC | Request Invitation

Beltway Newsletters

Playbook: A slim majority — 51% — of likely voters oppose President Trump’s takeover of the Washington, DC, police force, according to a Data for Progress survey.

Axios: There are 11 tricks to “speaking fluent Trump,” including everything is about optics.

White House

• The White House is on TikTok.

Congress

• Sen. Adam Schiff, facing federal probes, formed a legal defense fund.

Inside the Beltway

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the government deserves equity in Intel in exchange for funding for factories passed under the CHIPS and Science Act. Erick Erickson called him a socialist.
• Federal prosecutors in DC have been instructed not to press felony gun charges against people carrying rifles or shotguns. — WaPo

Campaigns

• Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and Democrat, is challenging Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, for her seat. — Politico
• Elon Musk is hesitating on his plans to launch a