Principals

1. Senate tax plan expected
2. Pentagon’s Israel divide
3. Trump at G7
4. Trump home-goods
5. Minnesota prompts reckoning
6. Haley Stevens’ election strategy
7. More workers use AI

PDB: Trump orders ICE to increase deportations in Democrat-run cities

China’s retail sales rise, factory output slows … Iran, Israel trade fresh strikes … Oil prices volatile

Tax Cuts Day in the Senate is here

The Senate Finance Committee’s tax-focused piece of President Donald Trump’s megabill is expected to land as soon as today, after a slight delay that shouldn’t be a shock: It’s the most scrutinized and controversial piece of the legislation. The draft will include Republican senators’ changes to House-passed tax deductions, clean energy credit cutoffs and Medicaid cutbacks. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told reporters he’s pushing to minimize any Medicaid benefit cuts and keep the bill from threatening hospitals, while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on Meet the Press that if the president and GOP leaders need his vote they must negotiate on the bill’s debt ceiling hike. And talks are hitting a frenzied pace: Hawley is touting his win on compensation for workers exposed to radiation, while Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is celebrating getting billions for border security reimbursement in his state.

— Burgess Everett

Defense officials divided on Israel aid

Top Pentagon officials are divided over the extent of US military support for Israel, a split whose resolution will shape Trump’s second-term foreign policy, Semafor’s Ben Smith scooped. The internal dispute has arisen between military leaders, including US Central Command chief Gen. Michael Kurilla, who’s seeking to route more resources to Israel as it strikes Iran, and undersecretary of defense Elbridge Colby, who has offered resistance to that effort. At the heart of the schism is long-running tension between Trump aides who want to focus on containing China and North Korea and those who want to maximize US aid to Israel. Colby is “so focused on Asia, he’s gotten crosswise with anyone who does anything else,” one Capitol Hill aide said. Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell countered that Colby is “totally synced up with the leadership team.”

G7 meets amid Israel-Iran crisis

Trump attends a Group of Seven summit in Canada today dominated by divisions on the Middle East, trade, and Ukraine. The summit begins as the conflict between Israel and Iran enters its fourth day, and it’s unclear whether the nations will be able to hit a common note when it comes to the crisis. As the US helps Israel defend itself from Iranian strikes, other nations like France have taken a tougher stance on Israel over its war in Gaza. The other leaders will also be looking for facetime with Trump to advance work on trade deals. The last time Canada hosted the meeting, Trump torpedoed the gathering, and the G7’s six other members are hoping for less drama this time. Trump will hold bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will be under pressure to keep things on the rails.

Home-goods firms embrace Trump

A number of home-goods companies are developing special collections that feature Trump, according to proposals reviewed by Semafor. Instant Pot Brands plans to offer a “45/47 Collaboration” featuring various products branded with those numbers and Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” tagline, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reports. Lenox Corporation is also developing Trump-focused snow globes and ornaments in addition to a line of “fine porcelain dinnerware” featuring Trump’s face. The latter is being gifted to the First Lady, according to Alex Olson, who works for a firm representing the companies behind the new MAGA-centric products. “All proceeds from any sales of these products will be donated to the Trump Library,” Olson said. It’s a sign that Trump is gaining broader commercial appeal during his second term, though boycott efforts persist.

Minnesota shootings stoke fears of violence

The man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers, Vance Boelter, was apprehended late Sunday, ending a nationwide manhunt. The attack has prompted a fresh reckoning among members of Congress over spiking political violence. “It must be stopped,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was shot eight years ago. Boetler allegedly killed a state representative and her husband and shot another state lawmaker and his wife early on Saturday. House Republicans held a call Saturday afternoon to discuss the attacks, a person familiar said, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Republicans to organize a briefing “immediately.” Jeffries said that he expected Republican and Democratic leaders in both chambers to come together to “speak in one voice.”

— Eleanor Mueller

Inside Haley Stevens’ strategy

Rep. Haley Stevens has a simple strategy for winning Michigan’s open Senate seat: stick to the Mitten’s business, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller reports. The centrist Democratic lawmaker is deep in one of 2026’s most competitive primaries, as the party’s hopefuls vie to help define its identity in a state Trump won last year. As she makes her case for retiring Sen. Gary Peters’ seat, she’s looking to keep the focus on their state — including coordination on upcoming cryptocurrency votes with Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Stevens is also focusing her broader message on constituents’ concerns about how the Trump administration is handling their personal data. Which might explain her reply when Semafor asked why she’s hesitated to put her weight behind Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: “The people who are asking me this are not my voters, you know what I mean?”

AI use at work picks up

Artificial intelligence is growing more popular in the US workplace. Four in 10 employees say they use AI in their job a few times a year, according to new Gallup polling — nearly double the 21% who said so two years ago, when Gallup first asked the question. The share of people reporting frequent AI use rose from 11% to 19% during the same period, while the percentage using AI at their job on a daily basis increased from 4% to 8% in a year. White-collar workers are predominantly responsible for the increase; the industries where AI is used most frequently are technology, finance, and professional services. While the use of AI at work is rising, the share of Americans who believe the technology will eliminate their job in five years has remained steady, at 15%, over the past two years.

Debatable: Biden’s clean energy tax credits

Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill is dividing Republicans on how aggressively to pare back clean energy tax credits that were enacted under the Biden administration as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Some Republicans are calling for a lighter touch as the debate moves to the Senate, arguing that rolling the subsidies back too aggressively threatens to inflict economic damage. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said Congress should look at preserving tax credits that impact alternative sources like nuclear and geothermal. “I think a lot of that stuff is the future,” he told Semafor. But some like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are fully behind the cuts as they stand in the House-passed bill. “The IRA fueled inflation, and what it was about was essentially payoffs to the special interests that fund the Democratic Party,” he said.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: A liberal outside group is targeting Reps. Tom Kean Jr., R-NJ, and Don Bacon, R-Nev., with new ads on Medicaid as part of a $10 million ad buy.

Playbook: Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said he may force a vote to have the House hold a rare “secret session” on security following the Minnesota shootings.

Axios: Israel had an “operational window” to target Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei this weekend but President Trump made clear he opposed such an escalation.

WaPo: It’s been a decade since Trump’s escalator moment declaring his candidacy in the 2016 election.

White House

• President Trump issued a series of whiplash-inducing immigration policy directives over the weekend, as outrage against enforcement grows across the country and as pressure mounts from Stephen Miller and other hardliners to pursue mass deportations. On Saturday, after lobbying from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, he ordered ICE to hold off on deporting migrants from work sites like farms and restaurants; on Sunday, he told agents to step up “remigration” from Democratic cities.
• Bryan Bedford, Trump’s nominee to lead the FAA, said for years that he has a commercial pilots’ license, but records show he doesn’t. — Politico

Outside the Beltway

• The “No Kings” anti-Trump protests around the country on Saturday turned out as many as four to six million people, potentially matching or exceeding the 2017 Women’s March. — Strength in Numbers
• A person was shot and killed at a “No Kings” event in Salt Lake City; police say the shooter was a volunteer peacekeeper for the event and shot at someone brandishing a gun, hitting a bystander.

Inside the Beltway

• Two union leaders — Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers and Lee Saunders of AFSCME — have left the Democratic National Committee, citing tensions with Chair Ken Martin. — NYT

Business

• The “golden shares” Nippon Steel granted President Trump as part of its takeover of US Steel give the president significant control over a private company. — NYT

Economy

• The US could soon lose more immigrants than it takes in, a reversal of a half-century trend that could exacerbate inflation and spark labor shortages.
• Americans’ stock portfolios and investment strategies are increasingly partisan. — WSJ

Courts

• The New York Times’ Jodi Kantor has a rare profile of Supreme Court Justice (and nascent swing vote) Amy Coney Barrett.

Immigration

• President Trump is considering adding an additional 36 countries to the administration’s travel ban. — WaPo
• A pair of migrants who escaped an ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, have been recaptured.
• Immigrant-heavy neighborhoods in Los Angeles are clearing out as ICE raids have intensified.
• All noncitizens who attend the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament in Florida should carry proof of legal status, ICE warned.

Foreign Policy

• President Trump said he’d be “open to ” letting Russian President Vladimir Putin mediate between Israel and Iran. — ABC
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly discussed toppling Tehran’s theocratic regime as part of his military’s aerial assault on Iran.
• Ahead of this week’s G7 meeting, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer maintained Canada is “an independent, sovereign country,” a rebuke of Trump’s musings about Canadian statehood.

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

Secret Service agents perform a security check on costumed soldiers before the military parade in DC on Saturday.