Principals

1. Navarro’s jailhouse interview
2. Scarlett Johansson voices AI fears
3. A new FDIC chair?
4. Biden blasts ICC
5. US reacts to death of Iran’s president
6. Trump defense calls witnesses
7. Democrats’ border unease

PDB: Nancy Mace’s new crypto mortgage bill.

Biden in New Hampshire, Boston … France backs ICC warrants … “Relentless” storms head for Midwest

— edited by Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann and Morgan Chalfant

Imprisoned ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro predicts Fed Chair’s ouster

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would be gone in the first 100 days of a second Donald Trump term, says jailed former aide Peter Navarro. The prickly economist, who advised Trump on trade in the White House, conducted an email interview with Semafor’s Gina Ghon from federal prison, where he is serving a four-month sentence for refusing to cooperate with a congressional probe into Jan. 6. Beyond Powell’s ouster, Navarro predicts a Trump return will bring mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and more tariffs on China. He also plays down the chances of some big Wall Street names joining a new Trump cabinet (sorry, Jamie Dimon). Donald Trump Jr. and other members of the candidate’s inner circle have visited Navarro at his minimum-security facility in Miami, suggesting that he could have a prominent role in a Trump restoration.

Scarlett Johansson says rogue AI company may have stolen her voice

Scarlett Johansson accused OpenAI of using an “eerily similar” voice for their much-hyped digital assistant after she rejected an offer from CEO Sam Altman to license hers. Altman denied their voice actress imitated her, but he tweeted a reference to the movie “Her,” which starred Johansson as an AI companion, around the time of a GPT-4o demo. The episode could make waves in Washington; Johansson called on lawmakers to pass new protections on Monday. SAG-AFTRA and industry groups are pushing the NO AI FRAUD Act, a bipartisan IP bill introduced in January by Republican Rep. Maria Salazar and Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean, which would restrict digital likenesses without consent. Congress held a hearing in February and a senior GOP aide told Semafor they expect a bipartisan Senate group to follow up with a similar bill soon.

—Benjy Sarlin and Kadia Goba

Biden’s tricky FDIC move

The White House is ready to boot Washington’s most embattled banking regulator — but only if Republicans don’t delay a replacement. President Biden said Monday he would nominate a new head for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation after its current leader, Martin Gruenberg, offered to resign over the recent report on its “toxic” workplace culture. However, both the White House and Gruenberg signaled he will stay on until Congress can confirm his successor. That should allow Democrats to keep control of the FDIC’s board, which would otherwise deadlock 2-2 between the parties if Gruenberg resigned immediately, putting ongoing efforts to tighten banking rules at risk. Republicans aren’t pleased with the Biden administration’s attempt to thread the needle: Sen. Joni Ernst accused it of “putting politics over protecting women in the workplace” by not dumping Gruenberg immediately.

Biden blasts ICC for targeting Israeli officials

They might not see eye to eye on everything these days, but President Biden offered a show of support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by forcefully rejecting the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek arrest warrants for both him and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes. Biden called it “outrageous,” later telling a group at a Jewish American Heritage Month event that what’s occurring in Gaza “is not genocide” and that there is “no equivalence” between Israel and Hamas. Still, it’s the latest instance of the war dividing Democrats: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the ICC’s move — which also targets other Israeli officials — “reprehensible,” while Sen. Bernie Sanders said it was appropriate. Speaker Mike Johnson said the House would consider sanctions on the body.

US stays course on Iran following Raisi death

Don’t expect the US’s relationship with Iran to change much following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, analysts say. After all, the real power in Tehran still lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “The guys who died weren’t the ones with their hands on the tiller,” said Jon Alterman of CSIS, who described near-term impacts as “almost entirely internal.” While the Biden administration offered its “official condolences” following the helicopter crash that killed Raisi, national security spokesman John Kirby said the late leader “had a lot of blood on his hands” and that the US will “continue to hold Iran accountable for their destabilizing behavior in the region.” Republicans and human rights activists nonetheless criticized the White House’s pro-forma sympathy message. Iran will hold presidential elections on June 28.

A Trump witness brings some drama

The prosecution rested its case and the defense called its first witnesses in Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan. Robert Costello, a criminal attorney who once advised Michael Cohen, testified that Cohen told him in 2018 that he made the hush-money payment on his own and didn’t “have anything on Donald Trump.” At one point, Judge Juan Merchan cleared the courtroom to admonish Costello after he repeatedly acted annoyed at the prosecution’s objections. Earlier in the day, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche got Cohen to admit to pocketing money from the Trump Organization that was supposed to be paid to a company to tilt an online business poll. “You stole from the Trump Organization, is that right?” Blanche asked, to which Cohen responded: “Yes, sir.” Merchan signaled closing arguments will take place after Memorial Day.

Democrats return to border bill — minus a Ukraine debate

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is eager to put Republicans on defense with a vote on a bipartisan border bill this week. Not every Democrat is so excited, Kadia Goba reports, as some are uneasy with embracing a conservative-tilted proposal outside of the context of foreign aid talks. “The foreign aid package has been approved,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., told reporters Monday. “This should not be the Democratic starting point for security or immigration reform.” The top complaint: The bill leaves out any path to legal status or citizenship for DREAMers, a major concession to Republicans at the time. But vulnerable members are eager to campaign on border security and Biden could follow up the vote by announcing new executive actions before his June debate with Donald Trump.

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Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Mike Johnson is about to lose one third of his policy team, as senior staffers Brittan Specht, Jason Yaworske, and Preston Hill decamp to lobbying firm Michael Best Strategies.

Playbook: Speaker Mike Johnson’s “plan to keep his GOP ranks united following the failed motion to vacate by dividing Democrats continues to play out remarkably well.”

The Early 202: Oregon’s Democratic establishment is hoping to prevent a repeat of 2022 in a swing district primary today by stopping a progressive candidate who lost in the general election last cycle.

Axios: “Screams Before Silence,” former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s documentary about sexual violence on Oct. 7, will get a bipartisan screening tonight at the Capitol.

White House

• President Biden will speak at a YMCA in Nashua, New Hampshire today, and will later attend two campaign events in Boston.
• Vice President Harris is headed to Philadelphia for a speech at the SEIU conference.
• Biden phoned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Mike Johnson to press them to pass the border security agreement abandoned earlier this year, according to the White House.
• White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan wrapped up his trip to Israel, which included meetings with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF chief Herzi Halevi, and war cabinet member Benny Gantz.
• White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the US and Saudi Arabia are near a final agreement on a bilateral security deal, but didn’t predict the timing of when it would be finalized.

Congress

• Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said he doesn’t plan to hold hearings on Justice Samuel Alito’s house flying an upside-down flag in the aftermath of the 2020 election. — NBC News
• A former top US general in Afghanistan told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he warned the Biden administration that the security situation in the country would get “very bad, very fast” as troops withdrew, and that administration officials nevertheless lacked an understanding of the risks. The panel released a transcript of his closed-door interview on Monday. — WaPo
• GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama on Monday introduced legislation to protect access to in vitro fertilization after an effort by Democrats earlier this year failed.
• First in Semafor: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wants to require mortgage lenders to consider crypto assets when considering mortgage lending in a new bill dubbed the American Homeowner Crypto Modernization Act of 2024.

Outside the Beltway

• Sen. Joe Manchin is being encouraged — by Republicans — to run for governor in West Virginia. — MetroNews
• Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says she’s determined not to allow federal, state, and local Republicans from doing her job, including heading an election-fraud case against Donald Trump.

Inside the Beltway

The Heritage Foundation celebrated its newly-renovated Barb Van Andel-Gaby building blocks from the US Capitol with a ribbon-cutting. With the new building — which comes equipped with TV, radio, and podcast studios — the conservative organization now has office space for over 400 employees, according to a spokesman.

Economy

• The US does not support a global tax on billionaires, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. — WSJ
• JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon says he’ll likely leave his job in less than five years. He didn’t give more details, but he suggested he could stay on as chairman.

Courts

• GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy criticized Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s decision to fly an upside-down U.S. flag at his home in the wake of the 2020 election. Graham, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Alito showed “not good judgment,” and Cassidy remarked, “Obviously the optics are terrible.”
• Alito last year sold shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev as conservatives were ditching the beer giant’s Bud Light brand over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and then bought the same number of shares in Molson Coors, a brewer that has faced its own political boycotts. – CNBC
• WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal his extradition to the US, a UK court ruled.

On the Trail

• A video posted on Truth Social to Donald Trump’s account included a fake headline of him presiding over a “unified Reich.” – AP
• Donald Trump and the GOP beat Joe Biden and the Democrats on fundraising for the first time in April, $76 million to $51 million, according to campaign officials, though Biden still has a larger war chest. — NYT
• Trump said he would consider Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, recently acquitted of impeachment charges, as a candidate for US attorney general should he win in November.
• Some Nikki Haley allies think she will need to endorse Trump before November “to avoid permanently alienating the Republican Party base.” — AP
• The NRA elected a new president.

Foreign Policy

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Western governments are taking too much time to make decisions on sending certain military aid, like Patriot missile systems, to Ukraine. — Reuters
• Three former Trump administration national security officials — Robert O’Brien, John Rakolta, and Ed McMullen — met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. — Reuters

Health

Digital health provider Hims & Hers Health says it will offer a treatment with the same ingredient as weight-loss shot Wegovy for $199 per month, which is 85% lower than the monthly costs of Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. The startup is able to offer the drug because US regulations allow pharmacies to produce copycat versions of drugs amid shortages.

Media

• Truth Social parent company Trump Media on Monday reported a $327.6 million net loss on revenue of just $770,000 in its first quarter.
• The Trump campaign says it will sue the filmmakers of “The Apprentice,” which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, after it was reported the movie features a scene in which Donald Trump rapes his first wife. “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung was quoted as saying. “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.” Ivana Trump, who died in 2022, first accused Trump of rape in a divorce proceeding in 1989. Trump denied the allegations at the time, and Ivana Trump said in 2015 that they were “totally without merit.”
• Meanwhile, Former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder isn’t happy about how his friend Trump is portrayed in the film, which he invested in. Sources were quoted as saying Snyder thought the movie would be a flattering portrayal of Trump. Snyder-backed Kinematics doesn’t own the copyright on the film and can’t kill it. – Variety

Blindspot

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: President Biden mistakenly said he was vice president “during the pandemic” during a speech at a campaign event in Michigan.

What the Right isn’t reading: The Human Rights Campaign said it would spend $15 million to help Biden defeat Donald Trump in November.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons

Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Tom Emmer is the House Majority Whip, a Republican congressman representing Minnesota, and a former hockey player and coach.

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