Washington, DC

1. Trump’s economic pivot
2. Schumer’s recruits
3. US-Greenland sit down
4. Trump’s Iran warning
5. Cortez Masto’s ICE move
6. Backing for Mamdani ally
7. Politico makes layoffs

PDB: House GOP eyes contempt for Clintons

US to release retail sales data, Producer Price Index … Trump to unveil new Gaza governance as soon as today … More American prisoners released from Venezuela

Trump’s solo economic pivot

As President Donald Trump doubles down on his volley of populist proposals, his administration isn’t bringing along the congressional Republicans whose help he’ll need to make them happen, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller and Burgess Everett report. The president has proposed stopping institutional investors from buying single-family homes, capping credit card interest rates at 10%, and forcing competition to lower credit card swipe fees. Top GOP lawmakers who were caught off guard by the ideas say they’re still in the dark about next steps. One told Semafor that while Trump’s plans are proof his advisers’ affordability messaging is breaking through his focus on foreign policy — later this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will embark on a “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” tour, for example — that approach has been too scattershot to catch on with congressional Republicans. “There’s so much of it, it just gets kind of lost,” said another.

Schumer lays out path to Dem takeover

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has a message to his haters: Check the scoreboard in November. The Democratic leader told Semafor’s Burgess Everett that he now has the candidates in place to retake the chamber, and audaciously predicted that his party will prevail in Maine, Michigan, Alaska, and Ohio. “The answer to these critics is to win. If we win back the Senate, that will answer every question,” Schumer said in an interview from the party’s campaign arm headquarters. Alaska’s Mary Peltola “was the last piece to the puzzle,” Schumer added. “We couldn’t have better candidates.” There are headaches ahead, though, including primaries where Schumer himself is an issue, and prevailing in states that Trump won three times won’t be easy. “Democrats get their hopes up in these red states, they pour a lot of money in, they end up losing,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.

White House hosts Greenland officials

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with top officials from Denmark and Greenland at the White House today as Trump ramps up his push to own the territory. It’s not clear how fruitful the chat will be for the Trump administration, which has been weighing various options to obtain Greenland — including through military force: While Vance and Rubio will focus on Trump’s goal of acquiring the Danish territory, Denmark has been clear that it is not for sale. And ahead of the meeting, Greenland’s leader made things even more explicit, declaring that they’d prefer to remain a part of Denmark rather than join the United States.

— Shelby Talcott

Trump inches closer to action on Iran

Trump is ratcheting up his threats against Iran as the regime kills more anti-government protesters. The US president urged demonstrators to continue, promising that “help is on the way” and saying he’s cancelled meetings with Iranian officials until they stop killing protesters. “If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action,” Trump later told CBS News, referring to reports that Iran plans to begin hanging protesters. It’s still unclear if, and when, Trump will decide to take military action against Iran, or what particular shape that could take — he’s been briefed on a slew of options, and administration officials held multiple meetings as he traveled to Detroit yesterday. But the president is emboldened by some of his recent military actions, and said his endgame in Iran is “to win.” Tehran’s crackdown has killed at least 2,500, per a human rights group.

— Shelby Talcott

Cortez Masto seeks to redirect ICE funding

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., wants to redirect nearly $75 billion in ICE funding from the GOP’s 2025 megabill rather than defund the agency at the Jan. 30 deadline, according to a proposal first shared with Semafor. Cortez Masto is proposing that $45 billion for ICE detention centers be allocated to Justice Assistant Grant programs and nearly $30 billion in enforcement money to the COPS law enforcement hiring program. “I support strong border security. We need it,” Cortez Masto told Semafor. But “this administration is not going after hardened criminals with this money. So why don’t we redirect it to those local law enforcement agencies that are really focused on keeping our community safe?” The second-term Nevada Democrat argued that the extra ICE funding is going toward hiring officers with less training, who are “inciting some of what we are seeing happening across the country.”

Prog. group backs Mamdani ally in NY

The progressive group Justice Democrats is endorsing Claire Valdez, a New York state assemblywoman and former union organizer, to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., according to an announcement shared with Semafor. The Democratic primary for the deep-blue seat also includes Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, himself an avowed progressive — but the 36-year-old Valdez is more closely allied with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a fellow democratic socialist. She was the sole elected official to join Mamdani’s initial campaign launch; if she prevails in the primary, Valdez would likely operate as his closest ally in Congress as Democrats search for a way forward after their 2024 defeats. “Claire’s deep roots in the labor movement are desperately needed in a Congress and Democratic Party overrun by corporate interests and billionaire greed,” Justice Democrats Executive Director Alexandra Rojas said in a statement.

Politico announces layoffs, new product

Politico is planning to launch a paid subscription product aimed at finance and investment professionals, an implicit acknowledgement of the increasingly competitive media landscape for publications catering to elite decision-makers. On Tuesday, Politico also informed employees that the publication would cut about 3% of its 750-person global staff, a reduction that included well-known bylines like Michael Schaffer and several former top editors. While a blow to a publication that has often prided itself on financial stability, the company’s restructuring was not unexpected to close observers: Late last year, the politics and policy publication quietly offered buyouts to its video staff. Separately, the news outlet announced it is looking at a suite of new products, including tailored subscriptions for financial services companies — a sign it’s looking to compete with other outlets like Bloomberg and Punchbowl News.

— Max Tani

Semafor has expanded the Semafor World Economy Global Advisory Board, a group of visionary business leaders representing nearly every sector across the US and G20 — who will help guide the largest gathering of global CEOs in the United States of America.

Our co-chairs — Ken C. Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel; Henry R. Kravis, co-founder and co-executive chairman of KKR; Penny S. Pritzker, former US Secretary of Commerce; and David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group, continue to lead this effort joined by a broadened roster shaping this year’s program.

Joining the Advisory Board at this year’s convening will be our inaugural cohort of Semafor World Economy Principals — an editorially curated community of innovators, policymakers, and changemakers shaping the new world economy with front-row access to Semafor’s world-class journalism, meaningful opportunities for dialogue, and touchpoints designed for connection-building. Applications are now open here.

Blindspot: ICE and oil

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 Department of Homeland Security reported a dramatic rise in alleged vehicular attacks on officers over the last year.

What the Right isn’t reading: Denmark supported the US last week as it seized an oil tanker in the Atlantic that was allegedly in violation of US sanctions. 

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Major groups aligned with House Republicans raised $136 million in 2025 to help Speaker Mike Johnson hold on to his majority; two leading House Democratic groups raised $121 million.

Playbook: President Trump has notably not endorsed three Republican senators in their bids for reelection — John Cornyn of Texas, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Susan Collins of Maine — and has no plans to do so.

Axios: Following its controversial dismantling of USAID, the Trump administration is launching the America First Global Health Strategy, an $11 billion effort to rebuild foreign health assistance and boost US influence in developing countries.

WaPo: Political uncertainty in Venezuela is weighing on US oil companies as Trump pushes them to invest.

White House

• President Trump said he will seek to suspend federal funding to sanctuary cities and the states where they’re based starting