Washington, DC

1. GOP’s crunch time
2. Trump’s next target
3. Corruption in focus
4. Trump revives Iran threat
5. Fetterman on war
6. AI cooks grads
7. Buy now, pay later

PDB: China pledges $17B in annual ag purchases

Trump hosts healthcare affordability event … Vance talks manufacturing in Kansas City … Jury deliberations begin in Musk v. Altman

GOP tries again on ballroom security cash

Senate Republicans are reworking language for more Secret Service funding after the Senate parliamentarian struck down a version that would have devoted $1 billion in security funds to President Donald Trump’s East Wing ballroom renovation project. Republicans’ first stab at that funding violated the strict budgetary rules governing party-line reconciliation bills, meaning it won’t make the cut for their immigration enforcement bill. The party is now redrafting the legislation, hoping to still provide more funding for protecting Trump and future presidents in the bill, aides say, though it’s unclear whether there will be a specific carveout for the East Wing and ballroom — which Congress has not authorized. Democratic leaders vowed to keep challenging “any future language the Republicans try to pass to use taxpayer dollars to fund Trump’s ballroom.” Republicans hope to pass the reconciliation bill before this weekend, ahead of the Memorial Day recess.

— Burgess Everett

Trump’s high-stakes revenge primary nears

All eyes are on Rep. Thomas Massie’s Tuesday primary after fellow Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy finished last in his primary over the weekend. Trump has singled out Massie, a libertarian-minded Kentucky Republican, for defeat this cycle, backing Massie primary challenger Ed Gallrein. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is appearing alongside Gallrein today. Massie didn’t join Cassidy on Trump’s second impeachment; the Louisiana Republican voted to convict the president after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. But Massie still drew Trump’s ire for voting against the party and for working with Democrats to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump even criticized Massie ally Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and threatened to pull his endorsement of Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who campaigned for Massie, “if the right person came along.” Colorado’s filing deadline has passed, meaning Boebert is unopposed in her June 30 primary.

— Nicholas Wu

View: A corruption election

Wouldn’t it be fun if the politics of the 2028 presidential campaign were about artificial intelligence? A serious, high-stakes debate about the future would be a departure from America’s fractious and low-altitude public life. But who are we kidding? There’s another issue staring us in the face: corruption. Rahm Emanuel, who is basically already running for president and is typically ahead of the political curve, has perhaps seen this most clearly. The brazenness of self-dealing in Washington right now “would make an alderman in Chicago embarrassed,” he told me by phone Saturday. Donald Trump’s presidency is “about making money. He wasn’t shy about it — that’s half the reason he’s gotten away with it,” Emanuel said. And he believes this set of issues will bite.

Trump says ‘clock is ticking’ on Iran

Trump is back to threatening Iran as the US searches for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump posted on social media yesterday (he also spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu). Lack of progress in talks with Iran has “put the military option back on the table,” according to Axios, which reported that Trump plans to hold a Situation Room meeting on Iran tomorrow to discuss his options. A drone strike on a United Arab Emirates nuclear power plant over the weekend has further complicated the conflict; while Abu Dhabi hasn’t blamed Tehran, there are signs it is the suspected culprit. US Ambassador Mike Waltz called the strike an “outrageous and unacceptable escalation.”

Fetterman won’t budge on Iran war powers

John Fetterman knows his fellow Democrats are not happy with his Iran war powers votes. They might stand a better chance winning over a few more Republicans than flipping him. The Pennsylvania Democrat is unbowed by the intraparty criticism of his votes against ceasing the war — a position that last week proved decisive. He told Semafor Senate Democrats know he’s “pretty much locked and loaded on my views on that” and that no one in the caucus has tried to flip his vote. “Something like this is much more important than just voting what your base might demand. Because I think things are much bigger and more important than that. And Iran with a nuclear bomb is one of those things,” Fetterman said.

— Burgess Everett

The Class of 2026 is cooked

When the Class of 2026 arrived on campus four years ago, ChatGPT hadn’t been released and computer science was among the fastest-growing majors. Times have changed, Semafor’s Rachyl Jones reports. Twentysomethings leaving college this May face a radically different world. AI has contorted hiring, especially at tech companies, which have slashed 100,000 jobs this year. Cloudflare axed a fifth of its staff after realizing that thousands of AI agents can handle the humans’ old tasks. “Every other day, a new AI agent is being released in the market,” said one University of California, Davis, graduate student who’s applied to 500 jobs so far. “What am I doing with my life?” It’s a “hair-on-fire moment,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said at Semafor World Economy last month, predicting recent graduates would face an unemployment rate of 30% in the next two years.

Americans are buying now, paying later

About one in four Americans are often or occasionally paying in installments when they buy things online, a figure that rises among people worried about their finances. Thirty-seven percent of lower-income Americans report using installment plans either frequently or occasionally, according to new Gallup polling. And 46% of Americans who say they don’t have enough money to live comfortably are paying in installments at least on occasion, while 57% of those worried about making credit card payments use them. The polling out today provides another data point to underscore the affordability crisis in the US, which is affecting Trump’s job approval on the economy. “Republicans could face a tsunami election in November if inflation continues to stay high,” one conservative economist told The New York Times, characterizing war-fueled gas prices as “the chief gauge people use to determine how the economy is doing.”

Blindspot: Sit-ins and walls

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: A Democratic Florida state lawmaker was arrested after leaving a “sit-in” protest at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.

What the Right isn’t reading: Indigenous leaders said the Trump administration’s border wall construction was “desecrating Native American sacred places and cultural sites at an unprecedented pace,” The Associated Press reported.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: “She’s had 30 years. If the money you’re bringing into Maine is making it better, then why did it get worse?” presumptive Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner said of incumbent Sen. Susan Collins’ message that she is adept at earmarking funds for constituents.

Playbook: Delaware Sen. Chris Coons has waded into Michigan’s Senate Democratic primary, throwing his support behind Rep. Haley Stevens over state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed.

Axios: A resurgence of antisemitism in the US is leading Jewish politicians to be bombarded with hate speech on a daily basis, according to two dozen members of Congress and candidates.

White House

• The Justice Department plans to launch a “Truth and Justice Commission” and establish a $1.7 billion compensation fund for people subjected to what the White House calls “weaponization” of the federal government under Joe Biden. — ABC
• White House deputy chief of staff James Blair is “expected to step away from his White House role to lead the GOP’s efforts to defend its congressional majorities.” — CNN

Outside the Beltway

• Former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who launched a nonpartisan leadership institute at Washington College after moving past his political career, said Republicans never got “back to sanity.” — WaPo
• A pair of US fighter jets collided in midair during an airshow in Idaho; all crew survived.
• The Long Island Rail Road remains shut down after rail workers began striking over the weekend.

Economy

• China agreed to buy $17 billion in US agricultural products annually over the next three years, according to a White House fact sheet on President Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
• China said Washington and Beijing agreed to set up bilateral trade and investment boards, and