Principals

1. MAGA vs. Silicon Valley
2. GOP backs Trump on LA
3. Trump at Fort Bragg
4. GOP tax delay?
5. Crypto overhaul votes
6. Kennedy guts vaccine panel
7. Dem challenges Ernst
8. NJ gubernatorial primaries

PDB: Majorities back trans rights rollback

US-China talks continue … Major auction of US bonds today … Politico: Inside the battle to sway Trump on Iran

MAGA looks to oust tech right’s influence

Right-wing populists like Steve Bannon want President Donald Trump to take his breakup with Elon Musk a step further by booting more Silicon Valley allies from his administration — an effort one crypto executive described as “trying to drive a wedge between tech right and MAGA right,” Semafor’s Shelby Talcott and Eleanor Mueller report. But it’s unlikely Bannon can bring down big names like crypto czar David Sacks, who played a key role in fundraising for the president last year: A White House spokesperson in a statement called him an “early supporter” and “trusted ally.” That leaves lesser-known figures to bear the brunt of speculation. A number of Musk allies are still working with the Department of Government Efficiency — and officials are said to be aware of those who may now have conflicts of interest or dueling loyalties.

GOP supports use of National Guard

Trump on Monday ordered 700 Marines deployed to California amid ongoing anti-ICE protests. So far, Republicans have been OK with his use of the National Guard there, suggesting Trump will face little internal pushback if guard troops linger indefinitely, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said it would not make sense for Trump to put an “arbitrary timeline” on the federal presence in the state, because demonstrators might simply wait out federal forces. And libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., seemed relatively unbothered by Trump’s tactics. “My first choice would be that there isn’t any of this violence and that local police would take care of it. Local police are always better than when we use federal police,” Paul said. Reinforcing the party unity: Republicans see themselves as picking between Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom — an easy choice for them.

A big week for Trump and the military

As Trump’s use of the military takes center stage this week, he heads to Fort Bragg in North Carolina today to mark the Army’s 250th birthday. Trump will view a special forces demonstration, according to a White House official. The 82nd Airborne will also drop paratroopers. During remarks later on, Trump will remark on the Army’s “courage and heroism over 250 years,” the official said. It’s unclear what else Trump may weave into the speech, as he weighs invoking the Insurrection Act to escalate the military’s intervention in response to the LA protests. Trump will cap this week with a massive military parade in DC on Saturday, which will coincide with his 79th birthday. The president is fulfilling “his longtime goal of leaning on the military for a show of force and political power,” Bloomberg writes.

— Morgan Chalfant

Debt limit hangs over megabill deadline

Senate Republicans are racing toward passage of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by the July 4 recess, though the real drop-dead date is probably the August recess. That’s because the Congressional Budget Office says the debt limit will likely “need to be raised between mid-August and the end of September,” and the bill currently includes a debt ceiling lift. Trump himself said it’s OK if the deadline slips a little bit, though Republicans are not publicly entertaining that yet. “I like deadlines, we’ve really got to gun for it,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Semafor. “If you don’t stick to that, you can go backward.” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told reporters the timeline will become clearer later this week, though GOP whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said the party remained on track for July 4.

— Burgess Everett

House panels vote on crypto overhaul

The House Financial Services and Agriculture committees will vote today on their portions of a GOP bill that would revamp how the US regulates cryptocurrency. Seventy-one House Democrats helped Republicans pass a similar proposal last Congress — but bipartisanship has been far more elusive this time around, thanks in part to Trump. A memo circulated internally among House Financial Services Committee Democrats and shared with Semafor instructs lawmakers to rebrand the so-called CLARITY Act as the “CALAMITY Act” — “a rushed and deeply complex piece of legislation that won’t just embolden Trump’s crimes, but also pave the way for even more scams.” In another sign of the long road ahead, the Senate is still struggling to advance a narrower proposal creating rules for stablecoins. Majority Leader John Thune again filed cloture on the bill Monday, setting up votes as soon as Wednesday.

— Eleanor Mueller

Kennedy picks fight over shot panel

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is risking a fight with the Senate after purging members of an advisory panel that makes recommendations on vaccines. Kennedy wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he would remake the 17-member committee in order to restore “public trust,” and accused the panel of being “plagued with persistent conflicts of interest” and serving as “a rubber stamp for any vaccine.” But the move cuts against a pledge he made not to change the panel during his confirmation process, in order to get Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a medical doctor, off the fence. Now the committee could “be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,” Cassidy wrote on X. “I’ve just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I’ll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case.”

Iowa Democrat to challenge Ernst

Iowa’s Democratic Senate primary is getting increasingly crowded as state Sen. Zach Wahls prepares to launch his Senate campaign this week, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Wahls revealed his plans in a message to supporters, saying that after “wrestling” with the decision he decided to throw his hat in the ring. “After a lot of discussion, encouragement, reflection, and prayer, we have decided to launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate against Joni Ernst in 2026,” Wahls wrote. He’ll have to win the primary to get to Ernst, and faces at least two opponents: state Rep. J.D. Scholten and Nathan Sage are already in the race. Democrats see Ernst as potentially vulnerable after her “we’re all going to die” remarks in response to Medicaid concerns, but Iowa is a tough state for Democrats and Ernst has won handily twice.

New Jersey heads to the polls

New Jersey voters will start picking a successor to Gov. Phil Murphy today, as Democrats try to hold his seat and Republicans try to flip it. Jack Ciattarelli, the GOP nominee who nearly beat Murphy four years ago, has Trump’s endorsement and has fully backed the president — a shift from his hands-off approach to Trump in 2021. “Look at what he’s done for New Jersey,” he told Semafor at a campaign stop. Democrats see that embrace as a mistake, but disagree about how much the president will factor into November. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), who’s won most local party endorsements, has led with her anti-DOGE work in DC; Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who’s built an anti-machine slate of downballot candidates, warned his supporters that the race will be about Murphy, not Trump, and that voters will want some kind of change.

— David Weigel

Blindspot: Defense spending and Bondi

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: Canada is planning to meet NATO’s 2% defense spending target sooner than expected.

What the Right isn’t reading: Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother lost the election to lead the DC Bar.

As electricity demand soars — driven by the rapid expansion of data centers and AI — pressure is mounting to scale secure and reliable energy resources.

Join Semafor for a timely conversation with Chairman Mark Christie, FERC; Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.; and Aamir Paul, President of North American Operations at Schneider Electric, as they discuss how the new Administration plans to accelerate domestic energy production — and whether current infrastructure is up to the task. The discussion will also explore the innovative policies and technologies that could help close the growing supply-demand gap.

June 11, 2025 | Washington, DC | RSVP

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Four House Democrats running for ranking member of House Oversight will seek endorsements this week from several influential caucuses.

Playbook: The White House sees the fight with California as a big political opportunity, after days of difficult headlines related to President Trump’s feud with Elon Musk. “We couldn’t script this any better,” a person close to the White House said. “Democrats are again on the ’20′ side of an 80-20 issue. … It’s the same thing that won [Trump] the election.”

WaPo: Democrats’ longing for former President Barack Obama, years after he left office, is a damning sign the party hasn’t managed to find a new generation of leaders.

Axios: Trump and his foreign policy team spent hours on Sunday strategizing on Iran and Gaza at Camp David.

White House

• The White House has struggled to find aides for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; three people have turned him down. — NBC
• Bill Gates pleaded with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to resume funding for USAID. — Red Letter

Congress

• Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., announced he will resign from Congress after voting for the GOP megabill in order to take a private-sector job.

Outside the Beltway

• New York lawmakers passed a medical-aid-in-dying bill that now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk.
• The USDA announced the recall of more than 20 million eggs after 21 people were sickened with salmonella.

Polls

• Two-thirds of US adults say that people should be required to list their birth sex on driver’s licenses and other official documents, according to Gallup, including majorities of Republicans and independents. A slim majority of Democrats believe that people should be able to list their gender identity, which is allowed in several states. Meanwhile, 69% of US adults say transgender athletes should only be permitted to play on sports teams that match their sex at birth.

Economy

• Steel tariffs are causing canned good prices to spike. — WSJ
• The New York Fed’s consumer expectations survey found inflation fears receded last month.

Courts

• David Huerta, the president of the California chapter of the powerful SEIU union, was released on bail after being arrested by ICE during protests. He now faces charges for allegedly interfering with federal agents.

National Security

• The National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles were “wildly underprepared” and arrived without plans for food or shelter. — SF Chronicle

Foreign Policy

• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum asked Mexicans in Los Angeles to “act peacefully and not fall for provocations,” but did not call for an end to protests.
• Nuclear talks with Iran have hit a wall, as Tehran is refusing DC’s demand to stop all uranium enrichment in Iranian territory.
• Ukrainian officials reported Monday that Russia had carried out its largest drone strike on Ukraine to date.

Technology

• Waymo suspended its self-driving car service in downtown Los Angeles and is paring back in San Francisco after protesters burned some of its cars.
• Apple announced a new “Liquid Glass” interface on the first day of its tech conference.

Media

• The DNC is launching a daily YouTube show. — Axios
• Talk show host Dr. Phil was embedded with ICE during raids in Los Angeles. — CNN

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

Military vehicles arrive in Washington ahead of President Donald Trump’s Army parade.