Principals

1. Tariffs kick in
2. Trump’s push for DC police
3. Draft debanking order
4. Stock scrutiny on Republican
5. Michigan Senate race
6. Zimbabwe visa pause
7. Ukrainians’ opinions on war

PDB: Trump met bank CEOs to discuss privatizing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

Trump OK with Netanyahu’s Gaza plan: Axios … Trump to meet Putin next week … S&P 500 futures ⬆️ 0.8%

Tariffs take effect

President Donald Trump’s global tariffs kicked in, reshaping international commerce by instituting levies on imports from friend and foe alike. Though some US allies have secured lower rates than initially threatened, and Washington’s three biggest trading partners — Canada, China, and Mexico — are still negotiating theirs, the move pushed the effective US tariff rate to its highest level since World War II. Trump meanwhile threatened a 100% tariff on foreign semiconductors — with one carveout: Tech companies hoping to get a pass will need to invest in US manufacturing. That’s a mandate Apple, which touted a $100 billion commitment on Wednesday, is already pursuing; its stock and that of chipmaker TSMC, which has expanded production in Arizona, rose on the news. Trump also announced a 25% levy on Indian goods — on top of an existing 25% tariff — over its purchases of Russian oil.

Trump weighs taking control of DC police

Trump is considering taking over Washington, DC’s police department, he told Semafor during an event in the Oval Office on Wednesday. “That includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly,” he added. Trump renewed his threat to have the federal government take over the district earlier this week after a former Department of Government Efficiency employee was beaten during an attempted carjacking. The president on Wednesday argued that crime in DC is “ridiculous” and said he wants to “beautify the city.” He also said the administration’s lawyers are “studying” the DC Home Rule Act, which gave the capital more autonomy. A few lawmakers have indicated support for repealing the law, but it remains unlikely. Meanwhile, Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for DC, asked the city council to “reconsider” a trio of local progressive criminal justice laws, per the Washington Informer.

— Shelby Talcott

Trump may penalize ‘past’ debanking

Trump could punish banks that have already taken steps to address allegations that they turned away customers for political or religious reasons, according to a draft of his forthcoming executive order on debanking seen by Semafor. The order, first reported by The Wall Street Journal and set for signing as soon as this week, would tackle a practice that’s provided fertile ground for crypto firms to bond with the president over a perceived cold-shoulder. The draft would direct banking regulators to penalize financial institutions — whether through fines, consent degrees or “other disciplinary measures” — for “past or current, formal or informal, policies or practices” related to “politicized or unlawful debanking.” That means that even banks that have already reversed course on those “policies or practices” under Trump could face penalties, although the president has said he believes some of those decisions were made under Biden administration pressure.

GOP congressman hit over stock trades

One of House Republicans’ most vulnerable incumbents is about to face a six-figure ad campaign slamming him for his prolific stock trading after he campaigned on banning lawmakers from doing just that, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller reports. The Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund is starting to spend early against Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., with a $150,000 broadcast and digital ad buy that was shared first with Semafor. The ads, slated to launch this morning, attack Bresnahan for selling clean energy stocks and purchasing fossil fuel ones days before he voted for the GOP’s recent megabill, which reversed clean-energy tax breaks and directed more federal leasing for oil and gas drilling. A spokesperson for Bresnahan said in a statement that he has “always advocated for an all-of-the-above energy approach” and that “he does not trade his own stocks.”

Stevens bets against a Democratic shakeup

Rep. Haley Stevens is running for Senate with an old-school Michigan ethos: She has no time for red-versus-blue partisanship, and lots of admiration for skilled labor. She’s facing physician Abdul El-Sayed and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow in the Democratic primary — both of whom have been far more critical of their party’s DC leadership and of US military aid to Israel, and both of whom have out-fundraised her. Stevens told Semafor’s David Weigel that she would have opposed two Senate resolutions to cut off aid to Israel, and did not support Palestinian statehood. “I’m not here to play pundit, but I am here to talk about Michigan’s future and advocate for Michigan’s middle class,” Stevens said. “I’m an incredibly transparent lawmaker, and I’m not running away from my record in terms of the war in the Middle East. It needs to come to an end.”

State Dept pauses Zimbabwe visa ops

The US embassy in Zimbabwe is pausing all routine visa operations beginning today, according to a State Department memo reviewed by Semafor’s Shelby Talcott. The pause, described as temporary, will affect a swath of visa applications, including immigrant visas and nonimmigrant tourist, business traveler, student, and exchange visitor visas. A senior State Department official told Semafor the administration is “working to prevent visa overstay and misuse,” pointing to Zimbabwe’s B1 and B2 visa overstay rate of 10.57% in 2023 (equivalent to 709 Zimbabweans). Another concern is Zimbabwe not agreeing to a safe third country or third country national agreement that would govern the handling of asylum seekers. Notably, the Trump administration has reportedly pushed African countries to accept deported non-national migrants: Eswatini, Rwanda, and South Sudan have publicly agreed to do so.

Poll: More Ukrainians want deal with Russia

Nearly seven in 10 Ukrainians now say they want a negotiated end to the war with Russia, according to new Gallup polling, as Trump continues to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the table. Ukrainian support for continuing the war until a potential victory has plummeted to 24%, down from 73% in 2022, the poll found. Ukrainians’ views of US leadership have also tanked; just 16% approved in the polling conducted last month, down from 66% in 2022. Despite that low view of Trump-era Washington, 70% of Ukrainians continue to see the US as playing “a significant role” in any negotiations with Putin. A peace deal has so far proven elusive, but days out from his deadline to impose extra sanctions on Russia, Trump touted “great progress” in talks and was “open to meeting” both Zelenskyy and Putin personally.

— Elana Schor

Blindspot: Georgia and Indiana

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: Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, an anti-Trump Republican, officially became a Democrat.

What the Right isn’t reading: The organization behind the Indianapolis 500 race objected to the DHS naming a new ICE camp the “Speedway Slammer.”

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton is pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ban foreigners from accessing the Defense Department’s computer systems.

Playbook: Vice President JD Vance will visit Indiana to press state GOP leaders to redistrict the state — a signal the White House isn’t backing off its strategy to redraw maps to gain as many House seats as possible, including in Ohio, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

Axios: The White House is dispatching nine Cabinet secretaries across the US to sell President Trump’s megabill to voters, as it seeks to boost the GOP’s prospects in the 2026 midterms.

WaPo: Trump’s attempts to pressure other countries on their domestic issues have sometimes backfired: His tariffs on Brazil over its prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro have driven up the popularity of current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

White House

• Vice President JD Vance reportedly planned, then canceled, a dinner at his home to discuss the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case; a spokesman said no such dinner was planned.

Congress

• Parts of the Constitution briefly disappeared from the official Congress website due to a “coding error.”

Outside the Beltway

• Democratic Texas lawmakers who fled the state to prevent a quorum were evacuated from a Chicago hotel after a bomb threat.
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating a Democratic group founded by former Rep. Beto O’Rourke that’s been helping cover the out-of-state lawmakers’ expenses.

Inside the Beltway

• Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a lightly redacted document covering Russian interference in the 2016 election despite objections from US spy agencies. — WaPo
• The State Department’s upcoming human rights report will offer only muted criticisms of the governments of Israel, El Salvador, and Russia and will not reference LGBTQ persecution. — WaPo

Campaigns

• Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is running for governor.
• President Trump has been asking which New York City mayoral candidate has the best shot of beating Zohran Mamdani. — NYT

Economy

• President Trump met with the CEOs of Citi and Bank of America to discuss plans to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. — Reuters

National Security

• An army sergeant shot at soldiers at Georgia’s Fort Stewart, injuring five.
• The federal judiciary’s court case filing system was hacked, possibly by nation state-affiliated actors. — Politico

Immigration

• Florida is preparing to build another ICE detention camp.
• ICE is accepting recruits as young as 18 and will impose no upper age limit.

Foreign Policy

• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says he won’t “humiliate” himself by engaging in tariff talks with President Trump. — Reuters
• The State Department endorsed new El Salvador laws that would allow President Nayib Bukele to remain in power indefinitely.

Technology

• OpenAI will allow US federal agencies to use its ChatGPT products for $1.
• Uber downplayed the number of sexual assault reports it receives involving drivers or passengers. — NYT

Principals Team

Edited by Morgan Chalfant, deputy Washington editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor

And Graph Massara, copy editor

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

A glass plaque etched with the Apple logo, set in a 24-karat gold base, sits in the Oval Office — a gift from Apple CEO Tim Cook to Trump.