Washington, DC

1. Senate’s sleeper race
2. US, Iran pause attacks
3. MAGA’s Iran support
4. Dems’ Project 2029
5. House gridlock
6. Housing bill limbo
7. Declining national pride

PDB: Pelosi’s next act

Supreme Court issues opinions … Trump signs executive orders … Nasdaq futures ⬆️ 1%

New Hampshire is a sleeper Senate race

Democrats want to win red states and flip the Senate. All the while, must-win New Hampshire is becoming a sleeper race — and Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas wants to make sure members of his party know they need to refocus in order to hold it, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. The GOP landed former Sen. John E. Sununu to face Pappas and invested millions in a state where ads are cheaper than some other big battlegrounds. It may even be a better Republican target than Georgia. “No one should be overconfident. This is a tough, tight race,” Pappas said in an interview. “The Republican Party has put a lot more resources in than they have in past cycles,” added Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. And the Sununu name is so strong that Democrats worry voters may confuse the former senator with his brother Chris, the former governor.

US, Iran take down the temperature

The US and Iran agreed to halt attacks on one another after a series of exchanges in recent days tested the future of the fragile ceasefire. Officials plan to meet in Qatar tomorrow for discussions focused on the Strait of Hormuz, Axios first reported. The détente came after the two sides traded attacks over the course of days and Iran asserted that it should manage the strait. The renewed tensions represented a major setback for already tenuous technical talks; President Donald Trump over the weekend accused Iran of violating the agreement and warned that the US may “be forced to militarily complete the job.” Regardless of the agreement to stop the fighting, the fresh attacks and debate over the reopening of the strait left plenty of doubt that a nuclear agreement can actually be achieved.

— Shelby Talcott

Younger MAGA voters back Iran war

Younger MAGA Republicans aren’t more isolationist than their older counterparts and are overwhelmingly supportive of Trump’s Iran war, according to new polling. The results from the 2026 Reagan Institute Summer Survey cut against reporting about the Iran operation hurting Trump’s standing with younger supporters. According to the poll, which looked at a larger sample of MAGA Republicans under 30, 72% of these young Trump supporters want the US to be more engaged and lead on international events, compared to 64% of MAGA Republicans overall. Seventy-three percent of MAGA voters under 30 support the US’ military actions against Iran, compared to 89% of MAGA voters overall. There are some nuances: Fewer MAGA Republicans under 30 (60%) back arms transfers to Israel than their older counterparts (73%). Younger MAGA voters are also more supportive of NATO, and less keen on tariffs.

— Morgan Chalfant

Dems’ Project 2029 to rein in Big Tech

Democrats trying to lay policy groundwork for the 2028 presidential race are rolling out their first major proposal: a framework for online child safety, Semafor’s Nicholas Wu reports. The “Project 2029” group was formed to write a policy agenda for the next Democratic presidential nominee. The group’s “Kids Over Clicks” proposal calls for narrowing protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and among other items, the group wants to clarify that companies aren’t protected from lawsuits stemming from AI-generated content, paid ads, illegal content or activity, and platforms that promote stalking or other nonconsensual behavior. “We’re going to see many people running for president … and we want to set the standard in terms of the type of ambition that we want to see when it comes to solving these problems,” said Chad Maisel, Project 2029’s executive director.

House returns to gridlock

The House is coming back for what could be another partial week of gridlock before the July 4 recess. Conservative hardliners have threatened to vote down a key procedural hurdle in protest of the GOP Congress’ inability to pass the Trump-backed voter ID legislation, even though Trump told them to stop protesting. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and other GOP lawmakers are also pushing to attach the bill, the SAVE America Act, to annual defense policy legislation, which would make it harder to pass. Democrats are staring down their own divisions, too. They privately huddled yesterday to discuss appropriations, including a controversial amendment cutting security funding for Israel. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top House Appropriations Committee Democrat, called it a poorly written measure, but Democratic leaders didn’t instruct lawmakers how to vote on it, according to people familiar with the call.

— Nicholas Wu

Johnson to send housing bill today

House Speaker Mike Johnson will at last send bipartisan housing legislation to the White House today after the president unexpectedly canceled plans to sign the bill last week amid frustration over the stalled voter ID measure. “I’m going to send the bill over to him on Monday and it will become law,” Johnson told Fox News on Sunday. “I certainly want him to take the biggest, boldest marker that he has and do that big Trump signature proudly on that legislation, because we’re delivering for the people, and that’s what he wants to do.” After Johnson sends the legislation, Trump will have 10 days to veto or sign the bill; if he does neither, the measure automatically becomes law. Lawmakers have expressed doubt that they could muster the GOP votes needed to override a veto, particularly in the House.

— Eleanor Mueller

American pride recedes across parties

As the US approaches its 250th birthday, the number of Americans who feel national pride is shrinking. One-third of US adults say they are “extremely proud” to be an American, the lowest reading since Gallup started asking the question 25 years ago. In 2001, 55% of US adults reported being extremely proud to be an American. After 9/11, the figure shot up, reaching 70% in 2004. But partisan politics and anger towards Trump appears to be driving down the count of Americans feeling proud. Far fewer Democrats and independents than Republicans report having a lot of pride in their country, according to the latest polling, but the share of Republicans who say so also declined by seven points since last year. Twenty-two percent of all Americans say they are “moderately proud,” 15% “only a little proud,” and 9% “not at all proud.”

Blindspot: Massie and Albania

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: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., lashed out at a Fox News Digital reporter who asked him about unverified rumors of a relationship with Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

What the Right isn’t reading: Protests against a Jared Kushner-backed project in Albania are turning up pressure on the country’s government.

On Wednesday, July 22, Mary Moreland, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Abbott, will join Semafor’s The World of Work in Washington, DC to unpack how institutions are adapting and thriving in an increasingly fragmented economy.

As companies face rapid technological change, economic uncertainty, and shifting workforce expectations, leaders are rethinking performance, trust, and long-term success. To explore how AI adoption, workforce transformation, and evolving leadership demands are reshaping the future of work, Semafor editors will sit down with business executives and workplace innovators including Katy George, Corporate Vice President, Workforce Transformation, Microsoft; Claire MacIntyre, Chief People Officer, Sam’s Club; Allison Peek Bebo, Chief Human Resources Officer, Pearson; and more.

July 22 | Washington, DC | Request Invite

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., is putting out a new ad attacking his opponent, Democrat JoAnna Mendoza, over her stance on transgender women in sports.

Playbook: Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., is set to headline the Ohio Democratic Party’s annual state dinner on Aug. 1; he’ll also stump for Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown.

Axios: “Democratic leaders are increasingly alarmed that they’re facing their own brewing version of the GOP’s Tea Party rebellion 17 years ago.”

White House

• President Trump said crews will begin renovating the East Potomac Golf Links in September, after Trump toured the golf course on Sunday.
• The White House secretly swayed the Merit Systems Protection Board, the body that provides federal workers with the most effective way to challenge their firing, to help weaken civil service protections. — NYT
• The Great American State Fair on the National Mall shut down for a portion of Sunday due to inclement weather.

Congress

• Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., accused Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of building public health on a “foundation of lies” and President Trump of acting “as if Congress is merely an appendage.” — CBS
• Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the University of California, Berkeley announced the school is establishing the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy. Pelosi is also expected to co-teach a class next year with Berkeley professor Eric Schickler.
• Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., was treated at a hospital for “minor injuries” yesterday after a driver