Washington, DC

1. Republican tariff intrigue
2. Fed poised to cut rates
3. Trump defends Gaza strikes
4. GOP’s beef crusade
5. Shutdown stalemate
6. Trump prepares to meet Xi
7. Nvidia CEO embraces Trump

PDB: US strikes four alleged drug boats in eastern Pacific

Trump says trade deal reached with South Korea … Meta, Alphabet report earnings … Hurricane Melissa hits Cuba

Some Republicans eye Trump SCOTUS loss

Republicans don’t often root for the leader of their own party to lose in court, but that’s what’s quietly happening when it comes to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Shelby Talcott report. The Senate — which on Tuesday approved a measure blocking the 50% tariffs Trump had imposed on Brazil — will keep voting on tariffs this week, but it’s unlikely to ultimately stop the president. “This should be Congress’ call if you’re increasing taxes on the American people through tariff policy. We are the ones who dictate tax policy. This is a form of taxation,” said one Republican senator who wants the Supreme Court to rein in the president’s power to declare tariff emergencies. There’s new bipartisan movement today: Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., are introducing a bill that would block Trump from placing additional tariffs on coffee imports.

How to read today’s Fed move

Traders expect the Federal Reserve to cut baseline interest rates by a quarter-percentage point today, but the decision is likely to draw criticism from candidates auditioning to be the central bank’s next head. The race to replace Jerome Powell next year has narrowed to five candidates, who have all to some degree backed Trump’s push for lower rates. The problem is fuzzy economic data: Rising unemployment and inflation call for different fixes. In the absence of shutdown-delayed September jobs data, the Fed is sorting through shadow metrics and reading news of mounting corporate layoffs, and Powell is trying to hold together a consensus in the face of continued White House pressure. His job will be to balance the more dovish Fed voting members — including two on the short list for his job — with those who think inflation is the chief risk.

— Rohan Goswami

Trump defends Israel’s Gaza strikes

Trump defended overnight Israeli strikes on Gaza that left dozens dead, as the assault threatened to derail an already fragile ceasefire. Trump backed Israel’s argument that it had carried out the attacks in response to Hamas breaching the truce, though he added that “nothing” would jeopardize the deal that has seen Israeli hostages returned from Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the resumption of aid into the enclave. Both sides have traded accusations of ceasefire violations since its implementation; the Israel Defense Forces pledged to return to the truce on Wednesday morning, though it warned it would “respond firmly to any violation,” Haaretz reported.

GOP senators dig in over beef imports

Republicans aren’t happy with the Trump administration’s plans to increase beef imports — and they made that clear during a closed-door meeting with Vice President JD Vance, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller and Burgess Everett report. Vance sought to “explain what the administration is thinking,” one Senate Republican in attendance said, while lawmakers told him “why it’s important to put America first” by finding other ways to bring prices down that won’t hurt ranchers. “They’ve been some of the president’s strongest supporters, and they want to continue to be,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said. A spokesperson for Vance said the administration “is pursuing all available options to address beef prices across the country.” Meanwhile, the pressure is only rising: The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Ethan Lane said at a Semafor event Tuesday that Washington lawmakers have “heard in stereo from their constituents” about the import plans.

Republicans hold firm on shutdown position

Despite proposals to mitigate painful effects from the shutdown on SNAP or air traffic controllers, top Republicans in the House, Senate, and White House are sticking with the same strategy: pressuring Democrats to support a clean stopgap bill to reopen the government. “Between the White House, the Senate, and the House there, we’re all on the same page,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. It hasn’t worked for 29 days, but leaders don’t want to shift their approach now. Senate Majority Leader John Thune is throwing cold water on passing targeted bills, the House is out of session, and Vance told Senate Republicans to stick together and hold the line. Still, the vice president said the administration has found a way to pay the military on Friday, and Thune said a bipartisan compromise on paying government workers is “very possible.”

— Burgess Everett and Eleanor Mueller

Trade, Taiwan to dominate Trump-Xi meet

As Trump prepares to close out his Asia trip, all eyes are on his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two leaders inch toward a trade détente. They’ll discuss a framework, recently negotiated by top US and China officials, that would involve China agreeing to crack down on exports of ingredients for fentanyl in return for some rolled-back tariffs, according to The Wall Street Journal. “We have a lot of common ground” with China, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at a Nvidia event in Washington Tuesday. Also on the agenda will be TikTok, China’s rare earth curbs, and Taiwan, with Xi looking for a meaningful shift from Trump on the island’s independence. The House China committee’s top Democrat asked administration officials to press Xi on reports about Russia’s military support for China on Taiwan, according to a letter shared with Semafor.

— Shelby Talcott and Morgan Chalfant

Nvidia CEO hails warm relations with Trump

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has no qualms about advertising his personal relationship with Trump, which has helped secure his company some valuable policy victories. Huang talked up Trump’s policies at Nvidia’s tech conference in Washington, and during a Q&A with reporters revealed that Trump calls him at night. “No one works harder — 100% of his phone calls to me are at 10:30 pm his time,” said Huang, who described Trump as always conveying his goal to “make America rich.” Nvidia is also among the donors to Trump’s massive ballroom construction effort, Jensen confirmed. “I’m incredibly proud and delighted to help contribute in a small way to what will clearly be a historic and a national monument for our country,” he told reporters. The conference continues today, but Huang is likely jetting off to APEC in South Korea (where Trump will also be).

— Morgan Chalfant

Blindspot: Autopen and climate change

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: The Republican-led House Oversight Committee asked the Justice Department to investigate former President Joe Biden’s autopen use.

What the Right isn’t reading: Young Americans are increasingly saying they won’t have children because of climate change, The Associated Press reports. 

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s long-serving chief of staff, Brett Horton, will leave Capitol Hill in December to become the chief advocacy officer at the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Playbook: President Trump appears to have accepted that he’s constitutionally barred from running for a third term: “If you read it, it’s pretty clear: I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad. But we have a lot of great people.”

WaPo: “Virginia doesn’t predict the future, but it does take its temperature,” one longtime Democratic operative said.

Axios: ICE’s plan to rapidly recruit 10,000 agents is hitting obstacles as many applicants can’t meet the minimum physical standards required. “I mean, if you can’t run a mile and a half, you probably shouldn’t be a federal law enforcement officer,” White House border czar Tom Homan said.

White House

• The Trump administration fired all members of the Commission of Fine Arts, which advises government officials on DC-area construction projects like the ones President Trump is pursuing. — WaPo
• The White House pushed the Navy to use live rounds during a demonstration earlier this month, saying Trump “needed to see explosions.” — AP

Congress

• Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said they will introduce a bill to bar AI chatbot “companions” from interacting with minors. — NBC
• Three Senate Republicans said they will vote against Trump’s choice for ambassador to Kuwait, Amer Ghalib.

National Security

• The US military struck four more vessels alleged to be carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific, as Washington accelerates an offensive seen by critics as unlawful.