Washington, DC

1. Britt’s data center call
2. Vance: No Iran ‘war’ 
3. Armenia on ‘Trump’ corridor
4. Counterterrorism doubts
5. Crypto bill momentum
6. US-Zambia ties
7. State’s manufacturing push

PDB: Democrats jockey for leadership positions

Trump signs executive orders … US releases August jobs report … US diesel prices at all-time high

Semafor DC will be taking a break on Monday for Labor Day. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Tuesday.

Britt calls for Congress to act on data centers

Congress will ultimately need to address the issue of data centers to reassure Americans that they aren’t raising electricity rates or using too much of the US water supply, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., tells Semafor’s Burgess Everett in a new interview. Until then, she’d like to see companies follow President Donald Trump’s guidance to protect ratepayers while Congress works on the issue. The rising Republican star is trying to help her party navigate a tricky issue at a crucial political moment, arguing local communities should feel free to embrace (or reject) data centers but that nationally, the US has to keep pace with China, even as the politics get tougher: “We’ve seen across the country that people are working to use this as a wedge issue, and unfortunately, if people continue to try to do that, ultimately I’m afraid we will pay a price here.”

Vance downplays severity of Iran war

The White House is downplaying the scale of the Iran war as the conflict drags down Trump’s approval ratings. “I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now there is no active shooting,” Vice President JD Vance said yesterday, before acknowledging he didn’t know if the fighting would be over by the midterm elections. Vance characterized strikes earlier this week as an effort by the US to make it more difficult for Iran to fire at commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. His remarks came a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attributed rising gas prices to the Ukraine war — in addition to the US-Iran war — an apparent effort to shift blame. “Ukraine has decided that they want to blow up Russian energy assets and refine products, so that is creating upward price pressure on a global basis,” he said on Fox News.

Americans’ concerns over terror attacks

One-fifth of Americans say they have no confidence whatsoever in the US government to protect the public from future acts of terrorism, a record high, according to Gallup polling. Just 12% said the same in 2021, and only 2% said so immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, when Gallup first started asking the question. Democrats (36%) are much more likely than Republicans (8%) to lack any confidence in the federal government to guard against terrorism. The share of Americans who feel confident the government will protect citizens, specifically, from terror attacks is also tied for a record low, at 55%. The polling comes a week before the US marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, with annual celebrations at the Pentagon and in New York City and Shanksville, Pa. Trump will attend the ceremony at the Pentagon, rather than joining other former presidents in New York.

Armenia embraces ‘Trump’ corridor

Armenia is underscoring its commitment to the transit and energy corridor known as the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” while looking to stay close with Russia and Iran, its ambassador to the US told Semafor’s Shelby Talcott in an interview. Ambassador Narek Mkrtchyan said that Armenia is comfortable with the 74% stake that the US government holds in the developer of the proposed corridor, seeing it as crucial to the US-brokered peace agreement that the country signed with Azerbaijan last year. Mkrtchyan also indicated that the Trump administration has not pushed for Armenia to ramp up economic pressure against Iran, which remains a key trading partner of Yerevan. He pushed back on the idea that TRIPP and other US-related initiatives indicate a move away from Moscow, describing Armenia’s new ties with the US as part of a “diversification policy.”

Sheriffs’ group flips on crypto bill

The National Sheriffs’ Association is dropping its opposition to landmark cryptocurrency legislation after spending months pushing back on it, signaling momentum ahead of a Senate vote later this month. “Given the complexity of the legislation and the number of important details that remain under consideration, the NSA is changing its position on the CLARITY Act to neutral,” the law enforcement group will write today in a letter to lawmakers, which an administration official shared with Semafor. “[W]e believe the most appropriate course is to step back and allow the legislative process to proceed.” While other law enforcement groups put their weight behind the bill, the National Sheriffs’ Association had doubled down on its concerns that the proposal could make it harder for law enforcement to prosecute illicit finance. That was a problem for Democrats like Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., whose support is needed to advance the bill. Other, higher hurdles — namely, how to restrict the president’s ability to profit from digital assets — remain for now uncleared.

— Eleanor Mueller

Trump administration warms to Zambia

The Trump administration is warming to Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema following his disputed reelection, despite growing concerns in Washington about a post-election crackdown, Semafor’s Adrian Elimian reports. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia attended Hichilema’s inauguration this week during his second trip to the continent in the role. A State Department spokesperson told Semafor that the trip was a continuation of a decades-old relationship. The Trump administration’s posture toward the government in Lusaka contrasts with warnings from Democrats on Capitol Hill, some of whom had urged the State Department before the August 13 vote to press for a free and fair election. “Democratic backsliding in Zambia is a major concern for the Southern African region,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Trump seeks to boost manufacturing base

The Trump administration is making a renewed push to expand the US manufacturing base, launching a program aimed at training the next generation of entrepreneurs, engineers, technicians, and industrial leaders. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio helped launch the program, dubbed the Foundry School, yesterday at an event with academics and other stakeholders. “We believe in making things again,” Vance said. The Foundry School is part of the State Department’s Pax Silica program, focused on AI and supply chain security, and includes a partnership with Stanford University to offer advanced-manufacturing curricula across eight college campuses. Bolstering the domestic manufacturing sector has been a priority across administrations (Joe Biden signed the bipartisan chips law in 2022). The Trump administration has taken some steps that could undermine its efforts, like proposing steep cuts to research and development funding.

— Lauren Morganbesser

Debatable: Will oil deal help Venezuela?

The White House has billed Trump’s oil deal with Venezuela as an agreement that will power the South American country’s economic recovery and help bring about democratic reform. But there’s plenty of skepticism about that idea in Washington. Daniel Batlle of the conservative Hudson Institute argues that, instead, the deal locks the US “into supporting an unreformed regime” and “gives Washington a direct financial incentive to avoid the uncertainty that a genuine transition to democracy would require.” Chris Hernandez-Roy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the deal could help Venezuela if it “leads to American oil companies actually making significant investments in the country in order to either upgrade, repair, or build new infrastructure that leads to more oil flowing.” But if most of that oil is sold to the US at cost, he said, the US would be the primary beneficiary.

— Morgan Chalfant

Jessica Tarlov is the lone Democrat at Fox News. On this week’s episode of Mixed Signals, the co-host of The Five and Raging Moderates podcasts joins Max and Ben to talk about what it’s like to be outnumbered four-to-one on the most-watched show in cable news — and why she thinks most of her liberal friends are missing what’s really happening there. Plus, how she navigates on-air conflict without making it personal, what she knew about Pete Hegseth before he became Defense Secretary, and why she finds herself defending her Fox colleagues to New York liberals almost as often as she defends Democrats on air.

Listen to the latest episode of Mixed Signals now.

White House

• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said groundbreaking work will begin on President Trump’s Washington arch in the next two weeks.
• Now-former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer flouted spending limits on trips and maintained a “toxic, intimidating and humiliating” workplace, among other infractions, according to a government investigation.

Congress

• House Democrats are starting to quietly maneuver for leadership positions in the next Congress, with Reps. Eric Sorensen of Illinois, Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California, and Sarah McBride of Delaware taking an interest in slots on the party communications arm known as the DPCC.
• Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is torching Postmaster General David Steiner ahead of Steiner’s visit to Missouri today.
• Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., “shows little interest” in his Senate work apart from cultivating ties with conservative media and advocating for Israel. — WSJ

Outside the Beltway

• Feminist Gloria Steinem died at 92.

Business

• Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg personally called President Trump to urge him not to create a national AI regulator, an idea championed by some in the AI sector. — Politico/Business Insider

Economy

• Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he will support holding rates steady at this month’s Fed meeting.

Courts

• President Trump again asked the Supreme Court to uphold his efforts to impose new mail-in ballot rules ahead of the midterms.
• Billionaire Leon Black filed a legal challenge to the House Oversight Committee’s subpoenas for him to testify about his ties to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
• The Justice Department accused Trayon White Sr., a DC Council member facing trial for alleged bribery, of trying to sway jurors with his social media comments.

Education

• The Treasury Department and IRS proposed stripping private schools of their tax-exempt status if they are found to consider race in admissions.

Immigration

• Federal prosecutors charged an ICE agent who shot a migrant in the leg earlier this year with lying about the incident. — AP
• The White House released an online video game “arcade” with mass deportation-themed games.

Foreign Policy

• The EU formally endorsed Washington’s sanctions push against Tehran. — CNBC
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is extending military deployments across the Middle East into 2027.

Technology

• Nvidia is buying AI code library Hugging Face for $12.9 billion.
• TikTok dropped out of a meeting with the House’s China committee on national security, blaming ongoing litigation over child safety issues.
• SpaceX and Blue Origin will skip French President Emmanuel Macron’s space summit in Paris next week after the Trump administration urged them not to go.

Health

• The Pentagon quietly rescinded guidance requiring testosterone screening for service members older than 30. — Reuters
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked newly appointed CDC Director Erica Schwartz to remove two deaths in Pennsylvania from an official measles mortality tracker. — Reuters
• Kennedy is also investigating whether COVID-19 vaccines killed US troops. — Politico

Media

• Fox News abruptly cut ties with host Maria Bartiromo.
• Vice President Vance defended his friendship with pundit Tucker Carlson, despite some “political disagreements” over Israel.

Vice President JD Vance checks a seating chart as he takes questions from reporters.

Edited by Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor

Emily Ruth Ford, editor

Graph Massara and Marta Biino, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel