Washington, DC

1. Trump’s (smaller) party
2. Trump pauses attacks
3. Musk loses
4. Trapped under ICE
5. Fire hasn’t ceased

Dominion Energy surged ▲ 9% after announcing a $67 billion deal with NextEra.

View: The cost of Trump’s retribution tour

President Donald Trump’s “revenge tour” is succeeding at knocking off red-state Republicans who’ve stood in his way, but it’s also setting up serious problems ahead for his party. The toppling of Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., this weekend could be followed by the fall of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., tomorrow. Cassidy showed 100% loyalty to Trump on votes; Massie holds a 81.5% record. But for all of Trump’s focus outside the congressional battlegrounds, his low approval ratings are painting his Republicans a less-than-rosy picture for November. And even if Trump’s advantage in redistricting provides the GOP the softest possible cushion for the midterms, he’s still likely to start 2027 with a party that holds less power in Congress. For now, Trump’s retribution risks making his own priorities harder to pass as it emboldens some Republicans who have no more reason to fall in line.

Trump pauses planned attacks on Iran

Trump said on Truth Social he’s calling off a round of planned strikes on Iran after speaking with leaders in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, who he said told him “serious negotiations are taking place.” Oil prices dropped following the post, capping a day of wild market swings. Prices had fallen this morning on reports that the US had offered to temporarily lift sanctions on Iranian oil, but climbed back up after a US official denied the claim. (Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did announce a 30-day extension of a Russian oil sanctions waiver.) Flows of non-sanctioned oil have been creeping higher out of the Strait of Hormuz recently, though Iran has continued to assert control over the waterway. An account launched today on X, called the “Persian Gulf Strait Authority,” tweeted it is Iran’s legal entity “managing the passage and transit through” the strait.

Musk loses in court

A jury in California handed a swift loss to Elon Musk in his case against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, rejecting the tech mogul’s claims after less than two hours of deliberation today. Musk’s allegations that Altman “stole a charity” by converting OpenAI into a for-profit company failed on technical grounds, with the jury finding that Musk brought the case after the statute of limitations expired. It’s an embarrassing moment for Musk — fresh off a trip to China with Trump — though his lawyer said in court he may appeal the ruling. The verdict also clears the way for OpenAI to go public, which is expected later this year. Both sides are still losers, Semafor’s Reed Albergotti writes, because the high-profile trial “unearthed embarrassing emails, texts, and diary entries of some of the most powerful people in Silicon Valley” and helped feed “the angry, anti-AI masses.”

ICE fights break out in Democratic primaries

State Rep. Chris Rabb’s job in tomorrow’s Democratic primary in Pennsylvania’s 3rd District got easier when a rival imploded over ICE, reports Semafor’s David Weigel. The race pits Rabb against state Sen. Sharif Street and Ala Stanford, who won early support from DC-based groups. She got tongue-tied last month when asked about her position on abolishing ICE: “That’s a good question, and you can, um, pause, because I just want to think about it for a minute,” Stanford told an NBC affiliate. Stanford, who was badly damaged by the clip, is not the only Democrat flummoxed by the topic. The agency’s fate is one of the most fought-over questions in Democratic primaries. Some fear it will be defined by Republican resolutions, pop-up conservative PACs, and progressive litmus testers, before the party comes up with a position it can defend.

View: Fire hasn’t ceased

From tomorrow, if the ceasefire holds, it will have lasted longer than the shooting phase of the war. That doesn’t mean the Gulf is calm. Over the weekend, drones struck the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant and were launched from Iraq to Saudi Arabia. An Iraqi militia commander was extradited to the US over an alleged Iranian-directed plot targeting synagogues and civilian sites in Europe and the US. In the Gulf of Oman, an Indian vessel carrying livestock was struck and sunk. Reports that the UAE and Saudi Arabia carried out retaliatory strikes to restore deterrence complicate the characterization of purely defensive operations. Diplomacy looks fragile.

White House

• President Trump is discussing plans to install a helipad at the White House, the latest renovation under consideration. — WSJ
• A poll found that 64% of voters think Trump made the wrong decision to go to war with Iran, and his approval rating hit a second-term low of 37%. — NYT
• Kevin Warsh will be sworn in as Federal Reserve chair during a ceremony on Friday, a White House official told Semafor.
• Trump dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS this morning, and this afternoon, the Department of Justice announced the creation of a $1.8 billion fund for allies claiming unfair treatment under prior administrations.

Health

• The EPA proposed repealing limits on four “forever chemicals” in drinking water. — WaPo
• The Centers for Disease Control invoked a public health law to limit entry from Ebola-affected regions in Congo after an American tested positive for the illness.

Congress

• Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told his colleagues he will not vote for the budget reconciliation bill if there is a Senate vote this week. — Axios

Courts

• The Supreme Court refused to hear appeals from six pharmaceutical companies seeking to challenge Medicare’s 2022 drug price negotiation program.
• State prosecutors charged an ICE agent with assault in the January shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis.

Media

• The New York Times filed a second lawsuit against the Pentagon over new rules restricting press access.

Immigration

• A think tank analysis found that more than 100,000 children have been separated from their parents during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

World

• Pakistan has deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets, and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defense pact. — Reuters
• Cuba’s president said on X that “Cuba does not represent a threat” and US military action against the country would lead to a “bloodbath.”

Transportation

• Boston Logan International Airport is starting a pilot program next month that will move security screening nearly 25 miles off-site to reduce airport congestion.

— Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, after meeting with President Trump’s Arctic envoy.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

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