Principals

1. Ukraine aid pause
2. Dem counterprogramming
3. GOP’s latest Fed front
4. Shutdown fight nears
5. Canada, Mexico tariffs
6. TSMC’s US spend
7. Mar-a-Lago films

PDB: Senate Democrats block transgender athletes ban

Trump to address Congress at 9:10 pm … WSJ: HHS heightens scrutiny of vaccines … NYT: US attorney pushes probe into Schumer

White House freezes US aid to Ukraine

The Trump administration on Monday paused military aid to Ukraine, Semafor’s Washington team reported — and it’s not clear what, if anything, embattled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can do to get back on President Trump’s good side, after an explosive meeting last week scuttled a deal on critical minerals. Republicans who’ve remained sympathetic to the Ukrainians’ cause, like Senate Majority Leader John Thune, said the pact was a “missed opportunity” and could still be revived. Asked about a path forward on Fox News Monday night, Vice President Vance said that when the Ukrainians “are willing to talk peace,” Trump will be “the first person to pick up the phone.” The aid pause — which outraged Democrats — covers “all US military equipment not currently in Ukraine, including weapons in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland,” per Bloomberg.

Jeffries to host Dem-friendly content creators

House Democratic leadership will enlist at least 40 digital media creators and new-media journalists to counterprogram against Trump’s speech to Congress today, an aide told Semafor’s Max Tani. Before Trump’s remarks, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will host members of Congress, their guests, and dozens of digital creators, including the YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen, podcaster Jessica Yellin, and creators from Call to Activism and Crooked Media, among others. Afterwards, creators will get to interview Democrats and their guests, including laid-off federal workers, in a new-media spin room. It’s another outgrowth of Democrats’ media strategy reorientation following their losses in 2024, as the party tries to build up an oppositional digital media ecosystem to rival the right’s.

House Republicans to probe Fed’s role in policing banks

The chair of a new House task force on monetary policy, Rep. Frank Lucas, is teasing “the opening rounds of a lively discussion” over whether the Federal Reserve should continue to supervise financial institutions at his first hearing today. “Some would argue that’s what the comptroller of the currency and the state banking commissioners and the FDIC safety and soundness are for,” the Oklahoma Republican told Semafor. He added “there is an ongoing debate” amid committee Republicans over whether the central bank should choose a new vice chair of supervision, after Chair Jerome Powell suggested the now-vacant role has led to “volatility.” (Several GOP lawmakers sent a letter Monday arguing for filling the role ASAP.) Abolishing that seat would likely require an act of Congress, Lucas said, and “I’m still part of a three-seat majority in the United States Senate.”

— Eleanor Mueller

Decision time on government funding

The chances of a bipartisan government funding bill landing before the shutdown deadline of Mar. 14 are basically zero now, leaving congressional leaders to decide between approving a monthslong stopgap or giving appropriators more time to finish their work. There are merits to both approaches: Spending patches are not good governance… but Republican leaders really don’t want to revisit the spending fight before September, which would prevent them from fully turning to the rest of the GOP agenda. “The speaker is pretty much determined to get through the 30th [of September] and then let us keep negotiating,” said House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla. Still, Democrats have plenty of leverage. “We are ready to write our bills. We do a short-term CR, we get it done,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., her party’s top appropriations committee member.

— Burgess Everett and Kadia Goba

Trump moves forward with tariffs

Canada and Mexico were unable to head off Trump’s planned tariffs, which go into effect today. “The tariffs, you know, they’re all set,” Trump said on Monday afternoon. Stocks tumbled on the news. The 25% tariffs will hit all Mexican and Canadian imports into the US; Trump also increased tariffs on Chinese goods to 20% and has left open the door to ratcheting them up further, but wouldn’t say how high he is willing to go on Monday (Trump campaigned on imposing 60% tariffs on China). Beijing responded with tariffs on US agricultural goods and a WTO lawsuit. Trump is trying to pressure Canada and Mexico to do more to counter drug trafficking and illegal migration into the US — but the president could feel pressure if prices rise for American consumers, as they are expected to as a result of the duties.

Trump steals Biden’s CHIPS thunder

Trump’s announcement that Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC will invest $100 billion in US chip manufacturing has its roots in… the Biden administration. The company’s latest promised cash infusion builds on $65 billion that it’s already spending to expand its footprint in Arizona thanks to the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022; it directed $6.6 billion toward TSMC (the company is also eligible for tax credits on investments before the end of 2026). Trump has encouraged foreign companies to invest in US manufacturing and can claim credit for Monday’s commitment, but it’s also a sign he’s willing to build on some of Biden’s accomplishments. The investment, described by TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, would help build three new fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and an R&D center.

— Morgan Chalfant

New Abraham Accords documentary

The director Brett Ratner, who’s returning from Hollywood exile with a documentary about Melania Trump, is shooting on another high-profile project: a documentary about the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and some Muslim-majority countries during Trump’s first term. Our Mar-a-Lago source says Ratner’s film will include interviews with Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Ratner, who has been spotted at Mar-a-Lago, now lives in Israel and was reportedly a guest of Netanyahu at the United Nations in 2023. (A spokesperson for Ratner declined to comment on the new project.)

— Ben Smith

Blindspot: Cars and protests

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: Honda plans to locate production of its next-generation Civic hybrid in Indiana instead of Mexico, due to tariffs. — Reuters

What the Right isn’t reading: Demonstrators swarmed US national parks to protest job cuts.

CEOs Larry Fink and Margaret Spellings are convening elected officials, corporate leaders, small business owners, union representatives, pensioners, and state and federal policymakers for the 2025 Retirement Summit to find bipartisan solutions and commitments. The theme of the event, “Redefining Retirement: It’s All of our Work,” highlights how critical it is for both the public and private sectors to think about retirement in new ways to help people live better, longer.

Mar. 12, 2025 | Washington, DC | Request an Invitation

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., says he’ll oppose the rule and the continuing resolution when House Republican leaders bring it to the floor next week in an effort to avert a government shutdown, meaning Speaker Mike Johnson can’t lose another GOP vote.

Playbook: President Trump’s decision to pause aid to Ukraine inspired some criticism from Republicans. “Too bad Iran, North Korea and China are not pausing their military aid and economic support,” said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb. “There is an invader and a victim, there is a democracy and a dictatorship, there is a country who wants to be part of the West and one who hates the West. We should be unambiguously for the good side.”

WaPo: Democratic lawmakers, including nine senators, sent Trump a letter urging him to reinstate government officials ousted in his “unlawful firing spree,” saying the cuts appear to have benefited Elon Musk’s businesses.

Axios: Democrats are still weighing their options to voice objections during Trump’s speech tonight, which include props like noisemakers and signs and walk outs at specific lines.

White House

• President Trump previewed plans to impose tariffs on agricultural imports beginning Apr. 2.
• The theme of Trump’s speech this evening will be the “Renewal of the American Dream.” — Fox
• First lady Melania Trump attended a summit on Capitol Hill focused on legislation to combat “revenge porn” and delivered her first public remarks of the second Trump term.

Congress

• The Senate confirmed Linda McMahon as President Trump’s education secretary on a party-line vote.
• Senate Democrats blocked a bill banning transgender people from participating in women’s and girls sports, denying Republicans the votes they’d need to clear the filibuster threshold.

Outside the Beltway

• The chief of the FBI’s New York office said he was ordered to retire. — AP

Congress

• The Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit today in which Mexico claims US gunmakers have fueled weapons trafficking by Mexican cartels.

Business

• Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen resigned after a board investigation into his personal conduct.
• The Commerce Department office implementing the CHIPS and Science Act lost two-fifths of its staff as the Trump administration moves forward with cuts. — Bloomberg

Economy

• The SEC is offering employees $50,000 to resign or retire by Apr. 4. — Bloomberg

National Security

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum that changed the name of Fort Moore in Georgia back to Fort Benning. The fort was originally named in honor of a Confederate general, but is now named after a World War I soldier with the same last name, per the Pentagon.

Foreign Policy

• European countries are discussing seizing $200 billion in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war effort.
• China is expected to unveil a stimulus plan at its parliamentary session in Beijing this week.

Health Care

• A top spokesperson at the Department of Health and Human Services abruptly resigned after two weeks in the job. — Politico

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, Kadia Goba, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Rep. Troy Carter is a Democrat from Louisiana.

The Trump administration’s decision to freeze billions of dollars in foreign assistance creates an opportunity for China to strengthen its presence in Africa, but Beijing will not step in to replace the decades-old aid programs now coming to an end, China-Africa analysts told Semafor’s Yinka Adegoke.

“The idea that the dismantling of USAID opens the door wider for China in Africa is a misdirection,” said Hannah Ryder, CEO of Development Reimagined, a development consultancy. “They don’t give aid in that way, so they can’t “replace” USAID.”