Principals

1. Dems ready for ‘Byrd Bath’
2. Trump vs. Musk
3. Higher tariffs take effect
4. Rescissions debate
5. Gillibrand talks Senate races
6. CEO perk disclosure rules
7. Oil price fluctuations

PDB: Is Bessent right on Dimon?

Vought testifies on Capitol Hill … Canada’s central bank expected to hold rates steady … Dow futures ⬆️ 0.15%

Dems prep challenges to GOP tax bill

Senate Democrats are zeroing in on which provisions in President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending package they will argue violate the chamber’s rules. Lawmakers will soon get a chance to convince the Senate parliamentarian that parts of the bill are ineligible to include under reconciliation, the process that Republicans want to use to bypass the filibuster. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Democrats may challenge a proposed tax on remittance payments. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said he plans to fight language that would block states from enforcing artificial intelligence laws. “This AI provision doesn’t have a budget impact,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, said. Other potential targets are provisions that would restrict judges’ ability to enforce contempt orders, curtail abortion provider funding, and scrap a fee on gun silencers. “It’s a question of the caucus having a discussion about priorities,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said.

— Burgess Everett and Eleanor Mueller

Musk attacks Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

Elon Musk, who officially departed the Trump administration just last week, is ramping up his criticism of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” On Tuesday, Musk derided the legislation as “pork-filled” and “a disgusting abomination,” shaming those who backed it. Publicly, the White House is brushing it off: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump “already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill” and that “it doesn’t change the president’s opinion.” The administration has taken pains to keep Musk happy on his way out the door, organizing a press conference on his last day after he expressed frustration with the scrutiny he received regarding DOGE. But Trump’s focus this week is that bill, and Musk’s criticism may get under his skin — though few GOP lawmakers were rattled. The House Freedom Caucus chair praised Musk for speaking out … though he supported the bill.

— Shelby Talcott

Trade deals elude Trump

Trump made good on a pledge to double steel and aluminum tariffs. He signed a proclamation on Tuesday hiking duties on imports of the metals from 25% to 50% as of today, citing US national security; the UK was spared as the two countries work towards implementing a bilateral trade deal.

The Trump administration has yet to deliver on trade deals with dozens of countries before a July 9 deadline, and Trump has been obsessing about a potential phone call with China’s Xi Jinping this week, per Politico. Xi “is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH,” Trump wrote overnight on Truth Social. With the global economy on the line, the White House badly needs an opportunity to reset fragile talks with Beijing. But China’s top trade negotiator, He Lifeng, is more interested in playing hardball, per The Wall Street Journal.

GOP divided over scrapping HIV program

Republicans are at odds over whether to claw back funding for an anti-HIV program as part of their effort to pass legislation codifying DOGE cuts. The White House sent Congress a bill Tuesday that would cut millions of dollars from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said in an interview that he hadn’t seen the text yet, but “if PEPFAR is in there, that is a red line.” He added that “it’s a noble program; it’s President [George W.] Bush’s legacy.” Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, also said Tuesday she “will not support a cut to PEPFAR.” Colleagues disagree: “You can’t send anything to me that I’m not going to rescind,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., plans to introduce the measure in the House next week, a person familiar said.

— Eleanor Mueller

Gillibrand on path to majority

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., isn’t your typical campaign chief: She’s leading a crypto fight in the Senate and has close relationships with Republicans, including her GOP counterpart, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. In fact, she likens her relationship with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., to that of Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. That’s all part of the Gillibrand persona that Democrats are hoping can lead them to the very uphill promised land of a Senate majority. “It’s a bigger map that people would expect. We are looking at all states; no state is off the list,” Gillibrand said. She also talked about recruiting two popular governors in Maine and North Carolina. “She’s very friendly with Republicans. That’s an asset,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “But I don’t think it will detract from her making sure we win every seat we can.”

SEC to make CEO perks easier to hide

Companies are about to find something new to like from the Trump administration. A Securities and Exchange Commission roundtable set for later this month is expected to focus on changing what companies have to tell shareholders about CEO perks, as the administration lays the groundwork for rolling the disclosure rules back, Semafor’s Liz Hoffman reports. Perks have grown since the pandemic, when companies footed the bill for private jets and remote work setups, and spending on bodyguards is also likely to increase after the murder of an insurance executive last year. Disclosure rules around these benefits — which the SEC defines as anything not “integrally and directly related” to the job — have long annoyed companies. The SEC has sued at least 20 firms in the past decade for hiding the costs of them from shareholders.

Cheap oil will cost US

Oil prices may have jumped on Monday, but they’re likely on a downward trajectory for the next few years — and that carries big implications for the US economy and foreign policy, Semafor’s Tim McDonnell writes. Brent crude, the global benchmark, is sitting below $65 per barrel, its lowest level since the pandemic, though still high enough for most OPEC and US producers to turn a profit. But with gasoline demand growth in China tapering off, a global economic slowdown due to US tariffs looming, and forthcoming OPEC production and export boosts, there’s more downside ahead. Goldman Sachs expects Brent to fall to $60 this year and $56 next year. A world where oil sits for months below $60 “will shake up trade and geopolitical dynamics,” Tim writes. It’ll mean good news for US consumers (at least in the short term), but bad news for the US oil industry.

Blindspot: Justices and CNN

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 Trump is privately complaining that Supreme Court justices he nominated like Amy Coney Barrett “have not sufficiently stood behind his agenda,” CNN reported.

What the Right isn’t reading: Alex Marquardt left CNN after the network lost a defamation suit over the national security correspondent’s 2021 report about a US Navy veteran’s work during the Afghanistan withdrawal.

The global workforce is at an inflection point. New tech continues to impact how we work, and managers are struggling as organizations undergo major changes.

Join Semafor for newsmaking conversations in partnership with Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report. Explore new data on how employees and managers are navigating ongoing uncertainty in the global labor market. Experts will discuss key findings on productivity, resilience, and well-being, and examine how leaders and policymakers are responding to shifting workplace expectations.

June 12, 2025 | Washington, DC | RSVP

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is leaning on President Trump to help push the GOP reconciliation bill through the Senate in a way the GOP leader before him, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wouldn’t have.

Axios: Trump was “irked” by Elon Musk’s public broadside against the GOP megabill.

Playbook: Staffers in the West Wing are “perplexed, unenthused, and disappointed” with Musk.

White House

• One reason Elon Musk broke with President Trump on the “big, beautiful bill”: the White House’s decision to pull Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA. — Axios
• Justice Department attorney Ed Martin is “reviewing” the pardons former President Joe Biden granted before leaving office, including the preemptive pardons he gave to members of his family. — Fox News

Congress

• Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., raised concerns with the no tax on tips provision in the GOP megabill. — Politico

Outside the Beltway

• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin set the date for the election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly for Sept. 9.
• A Texas state bill could require packaged foods that contain any of 40 additives to bear a health warning label. — Bloomberg

Business

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that none of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s predictions “have come true.” But that’s not exactly right, according to a tally from Semafor Business.

Economy

• Job listings and hiring both picked up unexpectedly in April.
• Venezuela’s oil experts were flat last month, as greater sales to Chinese customers offset the loss of American ones.

Courts

• A judge ordered the federal Bureau of Prisons to continue providing hormone medication and other accommodations to transgender inmates.
• Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is suing Alina Habba, New Jersey’s acting US attorney, over his arrest during a protest at an immigration facility.

National Security

• ICE agents arrested the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the Egyptian man accused of injuring 12 people at a Boulder, Colorado, gathering in support of Israeli hostages. The Trump administration plans to deport Soliman’s wife and five children.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, named for the gay rights pioneer. — Military.com

Foreign Policy

• The Netherlands’ coalition government collapsed after Geert Wilders, a right-wing populist often likened to President Trump, pulled his party’s support, citing migration issues.
• Memorials in Taiwan and elsewhere — but not Hong Kong — will observe the 36th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Technology

• Meta is reviving an old nuclear plant in Illinois to help power its data centers.
• President Trump could sign another deferment of the TikTok ban when the current one expires on June 19, but could hold off if he sees “a strategic advantage in letting it go dark.” — Fox Business

Media

• Kennedy Center ticket subscriptions have tanked by more than a third. — WaPo
• The Washington Post will open up its op-ed pages to opinion writers from other publications and “nonprofessional writers,” as owner Jeff Bezos remakes the section. — 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, Kadia Goba, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Tom Suozzi is a Democratic congressman from New York.