Washington, DC

1. Trump complains to Thune
2. Trump’s Cuba options
3. Vance briefs press
4. Massie’s moment
5. ‘Anti-weaponization’ fund
6. Africa aides depart
7. NextEra’s AI bet

PDB: NYC’s LIRR strike ends

Trump hosts Congressional Picnic… Putin to meet Xi in Beijing … Home Depot posts earnings

Trump fumes over ballroom money

President Donald Trump aired his displeasure with the Senate rules referee during a Monday call with Majority Leader John Thune, criticizing the parliamentarian’s decision to block a filibuster-proof vote on security money for his East Wing renovation and ballroom, Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Shelby Talcott scoop. The president is leaning on the Senate to deliver $1 billion in new Secret Service funding — including $200 million associated with the demolition of the East Wing for his ballroom and other facilities — but after the parliamentarian ruled that the money couldn’t get a vote under the strict rules of budget reconciliation, Republicans are working on revised language to deliver new funding for the Secret Service. Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley told Semafor he was unsure whether specific funding for the East Wing would pass muster, “but there’s no doubt that the Secret Service needs some upgrades.”

WH wants diplomatic solution in Cuba

Trump is ramping up pressure on Cuba, but his administration is also sending a signal: Military action is possible, but only if the current approach fails outright, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott and Nicholas Wu report. Trump’s growing pressure campaign includes new sanctions and a forthcoming indictment against former President Raúl Castro. But while Trump views Cuba and Venezuela in a similar vein, there are complicating factors — including the apparent lack of a successor to the current Cuban president willing to work with Washington. “I don’t think they’re going to have to” use the military to force Cuba to agree to the administration’s demands, said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who’s been in touch with the White House about Cuba. Trump has not ruled out military action, and aides are at times sending conflicting messages. “Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk,” said one official.

Iran looms over Vance briefing

Vice President JD Vance will take his turn filling in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the White House briefing today. He’s sure to field numerous questions about the Iran war (and perhaps his own views on the conflict). Vance’s appearance at the podium comes after Trump said he paused a planned attack on Tehran at the request of Gulf allies to give talks more time, as he faces growing domestic pressure due to skyrocketing gas prices. Trump told reporters he had been asked to hold off “two or three days — a short period of time.” On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats will once again force consideration of a war powers resolution to end the conflict without congressional authorization, according to the office of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., one of the cosponsors. The White House will be watching closely for any further Republican defections.

Trump vs. Massie in Kentucky

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is defending his seat in northern Kentucky today in the most expensive House primary in American history. Trump and pro-Israel groups made removing Massie a top 2026 priority, spending millions of dollars on ads attacking him and supporting challenger Ed Gallrein. Even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unusual Monday trip to the district, endorsing Gallrein, who’d largely limited his campaigning to events where skeptical media outlets wouldn’t be able to watch. Massie, on the other hand, courted media attention, describing the contest less as a Trump loyalty competition than a test of whether pro-Israel donors could buy a seat in Congress. Trump-backed Rep. Andy Barr is expected to win the GOP nomination to replace Mitch McConnell, but polling in Massie’s district, which stretches from the Cincinnati suburbs across northern Kentucky, has been closer.

— David Weigel

Two GOP Africa staffers leave Hill

Two of the most influential Republican congressional staffers on US-Africa policy are departing this month, Semafor’s Yinka Adegoke scoops. John “JT” Tomaszewski, senior staffer to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch, is joining the National Endowment for Democracy as senior Africa director. Joe Foltz, staff director of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Africa subcommittee, is headed to logistics company Zipline as director of global partnerships and federal affairs. Both men helped shape US-Africa policy on Capitol Hill across multiple administrations, and each was considered for the White House Africa director role during Trump’s second term. Their unrelated, simultaneous exits come at a fraught moment for US-Africa relations, and leave the State Department’s incoming top Africa official, Frank Garcia — confirmed by the Senate Monday evening — with one less bridge to Congress.

No clear way to block Trump ‘lawfare’ fund

The Justice Department’s plan to pay Trump’s political allies up to $1.78 billion faces several legal hurdles — but none so far that would stop money from going out the door, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller reports. DOJ said Monday it will set up an “anti-weaponization” fund for “victims of lawfare” after Trump and his family members dropped their lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. But the move’s critics will likely have to win an injunction to keep cash from changing hands — and there’s not an immediately obvious plaintiff. “It’s not an easy [legal] standing problem,” Norm Eisen, the former top ethics lawyer to then-President Barack Obama who helped House Democrats file an amicus brief against the fund, acknowledged. “But justice demands rigorous scrutiny, and a lot of people are potentially affected by this.”

View: NextEra pokes the AI bear

NextEra’s $67 billion takeover of rival electric utility Dominion is a big test for the uncomfortable fact facing the AI economy: Many people hate it. The deal would create a giant with 10 million customers across four states at a time of rising local backlash to data centers, which are becoming a key customer for electric utilities and — many locals believe — jacking up electricity costs. The companies need approval from at least six regulators, including state utility commissioners, in some cases appointed by governors and state legislators who are themselves trying to manage thorny AI politics. Consider Virginia, where Dominion serves nearly 3 million households and is anchoring massive data centers, with dozens of gigawatts of data center demand in one county alone.

What happens when every interaction on the internet becomes monetized? Joe Weisenthal, co-host of Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, thinks we’re already finding out. After more than two decades reporting on business, he has witnessed the transformation of financial media firsthand, from the early “golden” era of Twitter, when amateurs would engage in what he calls “unmonetized transactions,” to now, when everyone with expertise is selling something. In this week’s episode of Compound Interest, presented by Amazon Business, Liz and Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith ask Weisenthal about the future of financial journalism in the age of AI, the creator economy, and what gets lost when every interaction becomes monetized.

Blindspot: Fraud and regret

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: Vice President JD Vance threatened officials involved in alleged welfare fraud in states like California with prosecution.

What the Right isn’t reading: A self-identified Trump voter unloaded on the president on C-SPAN. 

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: House GOP leaders have removed the SCORE Act — legislation regulating college athletes’ compensation — from this week’s floor schedule, according to multiple sources.

Playbook: Evangelical Christians who were twice key to electing President Trump believe Secretary of State Marco Rubio has the edge over Vice President Vance among possible 2028 presidential candidates.

Axios: Democrats have grown more skeptical of the AI industry in recent years, while Republicans are significantly more likely to trust most AI firms, according to a brand reputation survey carried out with Harris Poll.

White House

• President Trump suggested he should have asked for a larger stake in Intel. — Fortune

• Money managers for Trump made more than 3,700 trades on his behalf in the first quarter of 2026, including large sums in tech stocks like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Oracle.