Washington, DC

1. US-Canada feud simmers
2. Trump eases on Greenland
3. Newsom on America’s role
4. Venezuela oil funds
5. SCOTUS backs Cook?
6. Collins’ $5M ad buy
7. GOP bullish on Minnesota
8. DNC chair courts tech

PDB: Trump holds Board of Peace signing in Davos

Vance to Minneapolis … Jack Smith testifies before House Judiciary … WSJ: US seeking regime change in Cuba by year’s end

GOP wants Canada to ignore Trump

After President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney traded rhetorical blows at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, congressional Republicans had a clear message for their neighbors to the North: Just ignore it, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller reports. “Our relationship is inseparable — and we may have disagreement, but again, the people of Canada and the people of the United States have so much in common, it’s an understatement,” said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. “So this is just a blip.” Carney, who earned a standing ovation Tuesday for his self-written warning that “the rules-based order is fading,” did not mention Trump by name. But the president hit back Wednesday, chiding Carney to “remember” that “Canada lives because of us.” “Stylistically, there’s things that I’ve disagreed with.,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said. “We need to show strength but also be diplomatic.”

Relief as Trump eases on Greenland

US markets breathed a sigh of relief after Trump announced he’d reached a “framework of a future deal” regarding Greenland and would drop tariff threats on Europe. The announcement followed a fiery speech in Davos during which Trump took aim at European leaders but also backed off using military force to wrest control of Greenland. Many questions remain unanswered about the framework, which Trump announced following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: Asked whether the agreement includes US ownership of Greenland Trump didn’t directly answer, instead describing it as “the ultimate long-term deal.” Bloomberg reported Rutte as saying that the talks focused on security and that sovereignty had not been discussed. Trump has tapped officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance to lead negotiations. The transatlantic relationship faces another test today as Trump meets with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

— Shelby Talcott

Newsom: US will return as global leader

America’s global leadership is “in dormancy” but not dead, California Governor Gavin Newsom told Semafor’s Ben Smith at the World Economic Forum Thursday. Newsom called Trump an “invasive species” defined by “corruption and graft at a scale we’ve never seen in American history,” but rejected the prevailing Davos view that he represents a historic rupture. Newsom also defended his strategy of mirroring the “deeply unbecoming” personal insults Trump and his aides lob at enemies, waving red kneepads on subservient American leaders, and arguing that style is simply the only way to counter Trump: “I was doing my 10 point plans before — and I don’t think any of you would’ve been here this morning had I done that,” he said.

Trump controls Venezuela oil funds

Trump himself is controlling the release of funds garnered from Venezuela, an administration official told Semafor, in another sign of the leverage he wields over the country. Semafor first reported that the Trump administration had completed its first oil sale, valued at $500 million, and that many of the funds are being held in Qatar. Interim president Delcy Rodríguez revealed that $300 million of those funds were released to Venezuela this week. The Trump administration official told Semafor that all of the funds from the first sale will be given to Venezuela because its current government has “fully cooperated” with the US. But it’s unclear whether any of the funds will be held in the US; the official told Semafor proceeds from sales “will first settle in US controlled accounts at globally recognized banks.”

— Shelby Talcott

SCOTUS unlikely to back Cook’s firing

Trump’s effort to exert more control over the Federal Reserve is hitting roadblocks. The Supreme Court seems unlikely to back the president’s attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, after several members of the conservative majority sharply questioned the move during Wednesday’s oral arguments. If there were a “low bar for cause” in firing officials like Cook, “that would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve,” said Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee. Even conservative Justice Samuel Alito sounded skeptical of the “hurried manner” of the litigation. “At times … the justices seemed to be debating how to rule in Cook’s favor, rather than whether to do so,” Politico reported. The ruling expected later this year carries implications not only for Cook but for broader Fed independence, as Trump turns his sights to outgoing Chair Jerome Powell.

One Nation drops millions for Collins

Football fans watching the Patriots this weekend — or next month’s Super Bowl — in Maine will see positive reels of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Conservative group One Nation is launching a massive $5.5 million ad buy lauding Collins, starting Thursday and running into the spring, according to details first shared with Semafor. The first ad focuses on how Collins secured money for Maine’s water infrastructure, a nod to her chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The investment will eventually eclipse eight figures and Alex Latcham, the group’s executive director, said it “will continue to educate Maine about Senator Collins’ unmatched record.” It’s in addition to a $42 million investment supporting Collins from Senate Leadership Fund, a sister group to One Nation. Collins, who has recently drawn Trump’s ire, will face the winner of the Democratic primary between Gov. Janet Mills and Graham Platner.

— Burgess Everett

The four Senate seats in Republicans’ sights

Senate Democrats are contesting four GOP-held seats that give them a potential path to the majority. They also need to hang onto all the seats they currently hold. By landing former broadcaster Michele Tafoya in Minnesota, Republicans have their target list: Minnesota, Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire. The Senate GOP’s campaign arm argues in a new memo that the Minnesota fraud scandal makes it a “strong opportunity for Republicans to expand” their margin of control. Minnesota remains a reach for Republicans, though there are tough Democratic primaries there and in Michigan. “They’re all going to stay Democratic,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told us of the Democratic seats. He said rising costs and unrest in the auto industry would hurt Republicans in Michigan and that Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff is going to “win by more than people think.”

— Burgess Everett

DNC chair seeks help from tech leaders

Democratic Party officials are visiting Silicon Valley in search of tech support as Trump administration figures mingle with the elite in Davos, Semafor’s Reed Albergotti scooped. DNC chair Ken Martin plans to fly to the global tech center for a series of “salon-style” discussions with the industry and workshops aimed at making the Democratic Party’s technology better. The DNC’s get-out-the-vote operation was nearly crippled in the summer leading up to the 2024 presidential election, when the massive voter database, run by a PE-backed company, almost collapsed, according to The New York Times; Democrats resorted to pen and paper to keep the operation afloat. Martin will be joined by DNC Chief Technology Officer Arthur Thompson in a bid to shore up the party’s tech infrastructure, which the DNC said is a major priority for the party.

Blindspot: Digs and pardons

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: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom as “economically illiterate” and “Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken” during an appearance in Davos. (Newsom jokingly embraced the Barbie moniker.)

What the Right isn’t reading: Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by President Trump are trying to get refunds for financial penalties they paid as part of their sentences, The Washington Post reported. 

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: House Speaker Mike Johnson raised $82 million in 2025, with his team calling it a single-year record for any speaker.

Playbook: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Trump’s decision to back down on Greenland was not triggered by market ructions. “The bond market didn’t change the calculus,” he said. “President Trump always knew where he was going.”

WaPo: “I hope the lesson that people learn out of this is Trump plays these things by the seat of his pants. There’s no grand strategy at work here,” John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, said of the president’s Greenland reversal.

Axios: The health of the US economy is increasingly dependent on spending by the wealthy, a Moody’s analysis of government data showed.

White House

• President Trump said he’s “down to maybe one” candidate for Fed chair. — CNBC
• The commissioners of the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MBA will meet with Trump about upcoming America 250 celebrations. — NYT

Congress

• The House Oversight Committee advanced resolutions holding Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, with some Democrats voting to approve them. The committee also deposed Ghislaine Maxwell over the Epstein case.
• Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed impeaching a pair of federal judges, including one who has repeatedly ruled against President Trump.

Outside the Beltway

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom alleged the State Department had his talk at USA House at Davos canceled for political reasons. — Politico

Inside the Beltway

• A former DHS worker sued after the department fired him for comments he made criticizing Secretary Kristi Noem to someone posing as his date.

Business

• JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon criticized President Trump’s proposal to impose a 10% cap on credit card rates, saying it would cause an “economic disaster.”

Economy

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was “heckled” by Al Gore and others during a dinner in Davos; European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde walked out during his remarks. — FT

Courts

• Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes are each pushing for pardons from President Trump. — Bloomberg
• A New York judge ruled that New York City’s only Republican electoral district, currently held by GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, needs to be redrawn.
• An appeals court temporarily lifted a stay on ICE arresting or physically retaliating against protesters in Minneapolis.

Immigration

• The Trump administration launched a crackdown on Somalian immigrants and others in Maine.
• An internal memo authorizes ICE officers to force their way into homes without warrants, possibly running afoul of the Fourth Amendment. — AP
• Off-duty police officers in Minneapolis say ICE agents are targeting them, regardless of their citizenship status.
• A Cuban detainee in an ICE facility in Texas died after being choked and restrained by law enforcement, an autopsy showed; officials had described his death as a suicide.

Foreign Policy

• President Trump held a signing ceremony for his Board of Peace in Davos, unveiling a logo that closely resembled the UN’s. The leaders of Russia, Israel, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia previously said they would join, while several European allies either remain noncommittal or have refused.
• Trump said the US would soon be speaking to the Iranian government: “Iran does want to talk, and we’ll talk.′
• The Canadian military has modeled a hypothetical US invasion. — Globe and Mail

Media

• A federal judge blocked federal law enforcement from searching electronic devices seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson while a legal dispute over the raid on her home plays out.
• The FCC warned that daytime and late night talk shows should grant political candidates of opposing sides equal airtime.

Semafor DC Team

Edited by Morgan Chalfant, deputy Washington editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor

Emily Ford, editor

Graph Massara and Marta Biino, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

California Gov. Gavin Newsom stands behind Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the World Economic Forum.