| | In today’s edition: Trump attempts to sell Americans on the Iran war, and one year on from “Liberati͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ |
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 - Trump’s Iran sales job
- Shutdown end nears?
- ‘Liberation Day’ anniversary
- Empty NATO threat?
- AI impacts students
PDB: Trump floats Bondi ouster  Trump signs executive orders … Brent crude hits $108 a barrel … Nikkei ⬇️ 2.4% |
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Trump to Americans: Trust me on Iran |
 Alex Brandon/Pool via ReutersPresident Donald Trump is seeking to convince Americans that the Iran war is necessary and will soon wrap up, as gas prices rise and foreign leaders grapple with the war’s fallout, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reports. In a primetime address to the nation Wednesday evening, the president threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” — while offering up a two-to-three-week timeline for the war’s completion, saying “We’re going to finish it very fast.” With the conflict now in its second month, the apparently contradictory statements did little to reassure investors skeptical of Trump’s optimism and his prediction that the gas price increases will be “short-term;” oil prices jumped and stocks fell after his speech. The US energy secretary followed Trump’s address by saying the disruption to markets was “temporary,” but US consumers have seen prices at the pump rise 37% already. |
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Congress eyes DHS shutdown endgame |
 Kent Nishimura/ReutersThe Senate is likely to take the first step to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown this morning. Senate Republicans plan to try to pass virtually the same bill the chamber approved last week before it hit a wall in the House, according to a source familiar with the situation. That bill funds most of DHS except immigration enforcement, which GOP leaders announced would be part of a party-line bill. Democrats are already spinning the outcome as a win. An OMB memo sent to the Hill and shared first with Semafor argues that the administration can fund ICE and CBP through last year’s party-line bill in the meantime. If the Senate clears the bill today, the House still has to pass it before it reaches Trump’s desk. Passing the bill by unanimous consent in the lower chamber will be harder. — Nicholas Wu and Morgan Chalfant |
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DCCC chief says tariffs boon for Dems |
 Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersOn the anniversary of Trump’s “Liberation Day,” the chair of House Democrats’ campaign arm is “confident” the president’s tariffs — and GOP lawmakers’ reluctance to resist them — will deliver her party a majority in the midterm elections. “A year ago, House Republicans said that this [trade agenda] was going to usher in the golden age of manufacturing. [Instead,] prices have risen [and] we’ve lost manufacturing jobs,” Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., told Semafor. “This anniversary is a reminder to the American people who’s responsible for making their lives harder.” She added that she is “confident we’ll take back the House” as a result. Trump is pressing forward with plans to replace the sweeping tariffs after the Supreme Court ruled them illegal earlier this year. That’s despite a majority of Americans doubting his handling of trade policy, according to new Pew Research Center data. — Eleanor Mueller |
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Trump’s NATO threat rings hollow |
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 Trump might be threatening to withdraw from NATO, but doing so would be immensely challenging — if not impossible. Congress passed a bill in 2023 — sponsored by then-GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, now Trump’s secretary of state — that prevents a president from unilaterally withdrawing, suspending, or terminating US participation in the alliance without an act of Congress. And support for NATO remains strong among Republicans on Capitol Hill, as demonstrated by intraparty tension over Trump’s flirtation with invading Greenland earlier this year. “The United States will remain in” NATO, Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Chris Coons, D-Del., said Wednesday. Still, Trump’s comments will cause Europe to further question his commitment to the transatlantic alliance. The fracture will be on display today as Britain, which dismissed Trump’s comments as “noise,” hosts a meeting of 35 nations (but not the US) on the Strait of Hormuz. |
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US students using AI despite restrictions |
 Florence Lo/Illustration via ReutersAs artificial intelligence drives the conversation in Washington and on Wall Street, it’s having a growing effect across college campuses, too. More than half of US college students say they’re using the technology in their coursework at least once a week, while one in five report using it on a daily basis, according to new polling from the Lumina Foundation and Gallup. Those studying business, technology, and engineering are most frequent users of AI in their schoolwork — 70% of business majors, for instance, use it on either a daily or weekly basis. And that high usage is despite the fact that about half say their schools discourage using AI or bar its use among students. AI is also driving sizable percentages of bachelor’s and associate degree students to rethink their major or field of study, though only 16% said they actually switched. |
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Blindspot: Daily Wire and teleporting |
 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: The State Department settled a lawsuit brought by conservative outlets like the Daily Wire that claimed the Biden administration helped censor outlets on the right. What the Right isn’t reading: A top FEMA official defended his past claim that he once teleported. |
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 At the end of her tenure as CEO of GSK, Dame Emma Walmsley is clear-eyed about what the job required. On this week’s episode of The CEO Signal, co-hosts Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson spoke with Walmsley late last year, just as she was preparing to step down as CEO of GSK after planning her own succession. After more than a decade leading one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies through significant change, reshaping its strategy and structure, and navigating activist campaigns, she reflects on what the job actually demands and how that understanding evolves over time. Hear what she has to say and more on The CEO Signal — watch the full conversation now. |
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 Beltway NewslettersPunchbowl News: A majority of top Capitol Hill staffers and K Street leaders said in a survey that California Gov. Gavin Newsom would be the best person to lead the Democratic Party during President Trump’s second term. Playbook: “They gotta get guts and go in,” Trump said of allies’ concerns about assisting the US in the Strait of Hormuz, speaking shortly after last night’s address. “Just send your ships up there and enjoy it.” WaPo: Democrats running in competitive primaries are seizing on opponents’ ties to Palantir — the data management firm that is aiding the Trump administration’s efforts to track undocumented immigrants — as a key line of attack. Axios: The Department of Justice concluded that a federal law that says presidential records belong to the US government is unconstitutional, suggesting Trump may not turn over official records to the National Archives at the end of his second term. White House Alex Brandon/Pool via Reuters- President Trump has privately discussed firing Attorney General Pam Bondi and replacing her with EPA chief Lee Zeldin. — NYT
- At a White House event on Wednesday, Trump said the US “can’t take care of daycare” and said states should help cover child care costs.
Inside the BeltwayBusinessEconomyNational Security- A China-linked cyber intrusion last month was a “major incident,” per the FBI. — Politico
Foreign PolicyTechnology- US government requests for tech companies’ user data have soared by almost 800% over the last decade, according to digital privacy company Proton.
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