Washington, DC

1. Trump scraps DNI hearing
2. AI stakes talks
3. Iran deal questions
4. Trump-Modi tensions
5. Trump’s primary wins
6. America at 250
7. US’ space edge

PDB: Appropriations leaders’ war of words

Vance talks fraud in New York … Fed expected to keep rates steady as Warsh holds first press conference … US releases retail sales

Trump cancels Clayton’s DNI hearing

Jay Clayton won’t be sitting for his confirmation hearing today to be President Donald Trump’s permanent director of national intelligence, after Trump said in an early morning Truth Social post that he wants Clayton’s replacement confirmed as the top US attorney in Manhattan first. The abrupt move is sure to rankle Senate Republicans, who moved quickly to schedule Clayton’s hearing to confirm him — and clear the way for passage of an extension of a key surveillance tool that lapsed as Democrats protested Trump’s pick of Bill Pulte for acting DNI. It also guarantees that the surveillance law won’t be renewed anytime soon. Democrats hadn’t said much officially about accelerating Clayton’s nomination, but privately they signaled they were leaning toward moving him quickly to head off the possibility that Pulte becomes intelligence chief for even a second on Friday.

— Morgan Chalfant and Burgess Everett

Trump advisers weigh structure of AI stakes

At least two Trump administration officials had weighed how to structure potential government equity stakes in major artificial intelligence companies before the government’s export curbs on Anthropic further roiled the industry, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller reports. While the possibility is still under consideration, people familiar with the talks said that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent favored using equity in AI firms to seed Trump Accounts, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s preference was that any equity be directed to a type of sovereign wealth fund. With details yet to emerge on a meeting the president previewed earlier this month, it’s still unclear where the Trump administration could ultimately land on an idea that remains a tough sell for most of the industry after OpenAI first pitched it last year. Executives at firms like Microsoft and Meta have turned a cold shoulder in the last week alone.

US downplays Iran concessions

US officials sought to play down the details of a Washington-Tehran interim deal, as analysts said Iran appeared to have won major concessions. Though not officially published, the widely seen draft grants the Islamic Republic the right to sell its oil on global markets immediately, alongside the prospect of significant further economic relief, reportedly including access to a $300 billion economic development program, Bloomberg reported. If confirmed, the leaked text suggests that “Iran has emerged from the conflict in a stronger strategic position,” the Institute for the Study of War said. American negotiators told CNN the document did not account for backroom agreements and was intentionally vague to leave room for future negotiation. Politico’s senior foreign affairs correspondent said the deal offered an “escape hatch,” noting many agreements rely on “deceit or, at least, intentional confusion.”

US strikes cloud Trump-Modi meeting

As Trump wraps his final day at the G7 summit in France, the big question is: Can he smooth things over with Narendra Modi? Trump will huddle with India’s prime minister later today, a week after US strikes on vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz killed three Indian sailors and sparked domestic outcry in India. The two leaders also face continued trade disputes, after the Supreme Court ruling striking down Trump’s tariff regime — and his subsequent replacement tariffs — upended an interim deal between the two countries. Trump is also attending two more sessions with G7 leaders, one of which will include technology CEOs, and is meeting with the president of Egypt and holding a press conference before leaving Évian-les-Bains for Versailles. French President Emmanuel Macron will host Trump there for dinner tonight. “Versailles is the real deal,” an impressed Trump told reporters yesterday.

Trump endorsees dominate primaries

Republicans nominated more Trump-endorsed candidates in yesterday’s primaries: The GOP picked Georgia Rep. Mike Collins to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff; Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., to fill Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s old Senate seat; and Rep. Barry Moore to replace outgoing Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville. “We need more businesspeople in Washington,” Collins told supporters, who cheered when he said that the Laken Riley Act, which he wrote and passed, had led to more than 20,000 deportations. (Ossoff opposed the bill once, then supported it on final passage.) Trump did see a defeat when his pick for Georgia governor, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, narrowly lost to healthcare CEO Rick Jackson. Meanwhile, primaries in Washington, DC, including the race for mayor, are yet to be called as the city tests ranked-choice voting for the first time.

— David Weigel

GOP voters more likely to mark US 250th

Most Americans will celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of America’s independence, but Republicans are more likely than Democrats to plan on marking the milestone. Eighty-eight percent of Republican voters said they plan to celebrate, according to new Gallup polling, while 60% of independents and 54% of Democrats said the same. The numbers show how partisan politics have started to bleed into what could otherwise be a unifying event, as Trump puts his mark on a massive celebration in Washington. The president recently said he would celebrate the day with a “spectacular” rally, after performers pulled out of one of the headline events. Still, two-thirds of American adults plan to celebrate America’s birthday next month, according to Gallup. Of those, two-thirds will do so with family and friends; 44% will watch coverage of the celebrations; and just 17% will attend an official America 250 event.

View: How the US wins against China

The US is aiming for the stars again. To win its superpower competition with China, that may be its best bet. Last week’s SpaceX IPO created an instant $2 trillion-plus market behemoth, larger than the top 10 listed Chinese technology companies combined. Later this year, OpenAI and Anthropic are themselves aiming to IPO, each already with valuations that approximate the $1 trillion mark. More importantly, Elon Musk’s engineering breakthroughs and the technical advances from frontier AI labs have inspired a constellation of startups. Space in particular offers a new commercial frontier where the US now holds a decisive advantage over its main geopolitical rival. So much of Washington’s current industrial strategy aimed at countering China is backward-looking. The very idea of a manufacturing renaissance is rooted in a 1950s ideal of prosperous factory towns and well-paid blue-collar jobs. But that era is over.

As companies confront declining engagement, rapid technological change, and growing political and regulatory pressures, leaders are reassessing the foundations of performance, trust, and long-term success.

On July 22 in Washington, DC, Semafor will convene The World of Work to examine how executives are navigating workforce transformation, economic volatility, and the evolving demands of leadership.

Through on-the-record conversations, Semafor editors will engage business leaders, policymakers, and innovators, including Katy George, Corporate Vice President, Workforce Transformation, Microsoft; Claire MacIntyre, Chief People Officer, Sam’s Club; Amanda Carroll, Co-Managing Director, Gensler; and more to explore how AI adoption, changing employee priorities, and a shifting business landscape are redefining the future of work.

July 22 | Washington, DC | Request Invite

Blindspot: Clinton and ICE

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: Hillary Clinton said Joe Biden made a “terrible mistake” in running for a second term.

What the Right isn’t reading: The death of a Haitian woman who suffered hypothermia after being released from ICE custody was ruled a homicide.

Beltway Newsletters

Axios: “President Trump just pulled the pin on a hand grenade named Bill Pulte and rolled it into the Tent called the Deep State,” MAGA podcaster Steve Bannon texted.

Punchbowl News: “Whether it’s the White House ballroom project, the ‘anti-weaponization fund,’ Iran, or other issues, Trump seems to want to pick fights with Republicans as much as he does Democrats. It’s hurting the president, whether he cares or not.”

Playbook: Texas Democratic Senate hopeful [James] Talarico has been turning to prominent Silicon Valley Democratic donors to help fund his campaign, attending at least four Bay Area fundraisers in April.

White House

• A giant banner outside the Office of Personnel Management features a quote from Theodore Roosevelt that he probably never said. — WaPo
• The Trump family’s crypto business is all but certain to be approved for a bank charter. — NOTUS

Congress