Principals

1. Biden’s TikTok superfan
2. Democrats plan for Project 2025
3. UN ceasefire vote
4. Jury weighs Hunter Biden case
5. Violent crime declines
6. Tuesday’s primaries

PDB: Trump to meet GOP senators this week in Washington

Biden to speak at gun safety conference … Garland in WaPo: Stop ‘unfounded attacks’ on DOJ … WSJ: Hamas head Sinwar’s ‘brutal calculation’ is Palestinian deaths help the militant group

— edited by Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann and Morgan Chalfant

Biden’s TikTok superfan Harry Sisson swims against the tide

TikTok creator Harry Sisson acknowledges the app isn’t the most receptive place for Joe Biden these days. “I gotta be honest, it doesn’t feel good,” the 21-year-old college student told Semafor’s Caroline Anders, discussing the president’s struggles with younger voters on the left. But Sisson has been a nonstop font of pro-Biden content for his 890,000 followers throughout his term, and even met the president last month. (“I hear a lot of great things about you,” Biden told him.) A potential TikTok ban, the war in Gaza, and Trump’s recent entry onto the app have all created challenges —and that makes his role especially valuable. “I think Biden and the administration needs fighters for him,” Sisson said. “There’s just so much misinformation and so much unjustified disdain toward him. He just doesn’t get the credit he deserves.”

House Democrats are planning a resistance playbook for Trump’s return

Democrats want to be ready with a playbook to resist Donald Trump’s use of executive power if he returns to the Oval Office, Semafor’s Kadia Goba writes. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., is spearheading a task force to oppose Project 2025, the plan crafted by conservative groups to replace much of the current federal bureaucracy with reliably right-wing personnel and pursue dramatic policy changes through administrative fiat. Members of the task force plan to work directly with advocacy groups on research, polling, messaging, and organizing round tables in the next three months. Huffman said he’s briefed Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and expects Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu, Nanette Barragán, Jamie Raskin, Mark Pocan, and Pramila Jayapal, among others, to be part of the task force.

Biden admin presses Hamas over ceasefire deal

The UN Security Council voted in favor of a resolution endorsing President Biden’s three-phase Gaza ceasefire plan. Fourteen of the 15 Security Council members voted for the resolution, while Russia abstained — but didn’t block the measure. The vote took place as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the Middle East, encouraging countries to “press Hamas to say yes.” The US maintains that Israel accepted the proposal, but Israeli officials have sent mixed messages. The New York Times reported that the US asked other Security Council members “to take its word that Israel was on board.” Blinken told reporters that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal” during their meeting Monday night. Meanwhile, there are discussions within the Biden administration about negotiating a unilateral deal with Hamas to release five remaining American hostages if talks with Israel fail, NBC News reported.

A verdict could come today in Hunter Biden’s gun trial

Well, that was fast. Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial entered jury deliberations on Monday afternoon following closing arguments — and after the president’s son declined to testify. A verdict could come as soon as today. In closing arguments, lead prosecutor Leo Wise argued the government presented overwhelming evidence that Biden was addicted to drugs during the time he purchased the gun in October 2018, at one point telling the jury to “bring your common sense into that jury box.” Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell countered that the prosecution relied on “suspicion and conjecture” and criticized an early cross examination of Biden’s daughter, Naomi. In fighting the charges, Biden has won himself an unusual community of supporters on the right: gun rights activists, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Join us on June 18 in Washington, D.C., for newsmaking conversations with Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D), and Google Cloud’s Director of Risk and Compliance Jeannette Manfra. Semafor’s editors will lead crucial conversations on underlying security issues, explore innovative cyber resilience solutions, navigate the complex regulatory landscape governing cybersecurity, discuss trends across threat vectors, and highlight the education necessary to equip individuals with effective defense tools. RSVP for in-person attendance or livestream access here.

The administration celebrates a “historic” crime drop

The Biden administration did a quick victory lap Monday after new data from the FBI showed violent crime fell by 15% during the first quarter of 2024, with a massive 26% drop in murder. “This data makes clear that last year’s historic decline in violent crime is continuing,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a release. In his own statement, President Biden said the “progress we’re seeing is no accident,” adding he provided $15 billion in stimulus funding for police hiring. Experts noted the FBI’s numbers are preliminary, however, and could contain inaccuracies. Jeff Asher of AH Datalytics, who has become the go-to source on real-time crime trends, writes that “the trend direction shown in the FBI data through the first quarter is likely correct but that the overall percent changes are almost certainly overstated by a good bit.”

Who to watch in today’s primaries

It’s another primary Tuesday in America. In South Carolina, wild card GOP Rep. Nancy Mace is hoping to hold off a challenge from Catherine Templeton, while GOP Rep. William Timmons faces a challenge from his right. Donald Trump has endorsed both incumbents, and is backing Pastor Mark Burns, a longtime supporter, to replace retiring GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan. In Nevada, Trump just endorsed veteran Sam Brown, who the national GOP Senate committee backed months ago, and is supporting Julie Fedorchak in North Dakota’s sole House seat. That latter endorsement initially put him up against the Club for Growth, which ended its advertising for Rick Becker after Trump intervened. North Dakota Republicans will also select a nominee to succeed Gov. Doug Burgum, a potential Trump VP pick. Burgum has endorsed his lieutenant governor, Tammy Miller, while Trump backed Rep. Kelly Armstrong.

— David Weigel

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: There’s a partisan spat in the Senate over punishing the International Criminal Court: Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is refusing to agree to move forward with committee-level business until Democrats consent to proceeding with a bipartisan ICC sanctions bill at the committee level or on the floor.

Playbook: Jeff Gunter, who is running against Sam Brown for the GOP nomination in Nevada to take on Sen. Jacky Rosen, is basically going to war with the NRSC following Donald Trump’s endorsement of Brown. He accused the NRSC and its chair, Sen. Steve Daines, of sabotaging his campaign by threatening consultants working with him, an allegation the NRSC denied.

WaPo: Trump’s former acting defense secretary and others in the ex-president’s orbit are proposing instituting mandatory military service. “It reinforces the bonds of civility,” Christopher Miller said. “Why wouldn’t we give that a try?”

Axios: The Biden and Trump teams are both courting corporate America. The same day that Trump will address the Business Roundtable, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will speak at the Economic Club of New York and argue against tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation.

White House

• President Biden and Vice President Harris are lunching today.
• Biden will speak at a gun safety training conference hosted by Everytown at the Washington Hilton.
• Biden held a Juneteenth concert at the White House last night. Spotted by Semafor’s Kadia Goba: Don Lemon, Billy Porter, and lawmakers including Reps. Hank Johnson and Maxine Waters. Patti LaBelle, Anthony Hamilton, Raheem DeVaughn, and Doug E. Fresh all performed.

• The White House is nearing nominating Christy Goldsmith Romero, currently a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to replace Martin Gruenberg as head of the FDIC. — WSJ
• The DNC will pay for a portion of first lady Jill Biden’s flights between Wilmington, Del. and France so she could attend Hunter Biden’s gun trial. — Daily Mail

Congress

• The House Rules Committee meets this afternoon to consider the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act and resolutions holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
• House Republicans didn’t tack on abortion pill restrictions to a new funding bill unveiled Monday evening, “a substantial concession to swing-district Republicans ahead of Election Day.” — Politico
• Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and his wife were involved in a car crash. Fetterman posted a video of himself using frozen peas to cope, but said they’re doing fine.
• A spokesperson for Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., confirmed to Semafor’s Joseph Zeballos-Roig that he invited GOP senators to meet with Donald Trump on Thursday somewhere off the Capitol grounds. Trump is expected to be in D.C. to court corporate leaders at the Business Roundtable on the same day.

Outside the Beltway

Federal and Maryland officials have fully reopened the Port of Baltimore’s main shipping channel after an errant cargo ship struck and downed part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, killing six workers.

Economy

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is under investigation by the court-appointed watchdog tasked with eliminating corruption at the union. Monitor Neil Barofsky, in a court filing, accused union leaders of obstructing and interfering with attempts to access information, which could be a violation of the 2020 consent decree that staved off a full takeover of the UAW by the Justice Department. — Detroit News

Courts

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was secretly recorded talking about America’s political divide. He appeared to agree that conservatives needed to fight “to return our country to a place of godliness” and said some differences between the left and right “can’t be compromised.” — Rolling Stone

Polls

President Biden leads Donald Trump 45% to 41% in Minnesota, according to a new Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 Minnesota poll.

On the Trail

• Donald Trump recorded a brief video for a forum hosted by the Danbury Institute, a coalition of Christian groups opposed to abortion.
• Teamsters president Sean O’Brien has expressed an interest in speaking at both the Democratic and Republican conventions as the powerful union weighs an endorsement in the presidential race. — NYT
• The DNC is investing $2 million across nearly a dozen non-battleground states to help with down-ballot races. — ABC News
• Jay Carson, a former press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign and “House of Cards” producer, has been informally advising Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign. — NYT

National Security

The Biden administration is shuttering an ICE detention facility in Dilley, Texas because it’s too expensive to operate. — WSJ

Regulation

• Dara Lindenbaum, a Democrat, is the new swing vote at the FEC and joining with Republicans to loosen a variety of restrictions on political spending. — NYT
• The White House is close to naming Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Christy Goldsmith Romero to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., replacing longtime Chair Martin Gruenberg. — WSJ

Technology

• Apple announced “Apple Intelligence” — a collection of new artificial intelligence features for the iPhone and its operating systems, including major upgrades to Siri, its virtual assistant, and a partnership with OpenAI. In a big win for journalists, the AI features will transcribe phone calls and voice memos.
• The chips are still falling: the Commerce Department announced this morning that it is awarding $23.9 million to a company called Rocket Lab to produce special semiconductors used in spacecrafts and satellites.

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: Chicago’s progressive mayor, Brandon Johnson, spent $30,000 on hair and makeup in a year, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

What the Right isn’t reading: Pop star Chappell Roan said she rebuffed an offer to perform at a White House Pride event.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons

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

John Della Volpe is a pollster focused on young voters. He is providing research for a new pro-Biden super PAC that aims to bolster the president’s support with young Americans.

• A major UK electricity supplier is IPO-ing elsewhere.
• What an Israeli government without Benny Gantz could look like.
• How Fox News massaged a Trump interview.