Washington, DC

1. Decision time on Hormuz
2. Trump’s Tillis problem
3. Summers’ inflation warnings
4. Vance’s Hungary mission
5. DHS funding still in limbo
6. Corporate WH egg roll
7. Baltimore media battle

PDB: Iran allows Iraqi ships through strait 

Trump holds press conference … UConn v. Michigan in NCAA championship … WSJ: Inside the high-risk rescue of a US airman in Iran

Trump increases threats over Hormuz

President Donald Trump is threatening to strike Iranian civilian infrastructure — like bridges and “every power plant” — if Tehran does not agree to “Open the F*ckin’ Strait” of Hormuz by Tuesday. But there are few outward signs that Iran will cave to his demands. “Iran will not surrender the strait at this point,” one analyst told The Wall Street Journal. It’s possible Trump will push back his deadline (he already appears to have done so by a day), as mediators scramble to lock down a 45-day ceasefire, per Axios. Pakistan shared a ceasefire proposal with Iran and the US overnight, per Reuters. Over the weekend, the administration secured a much-needed win with the rescue of a missing US airman after his fighter jet was shot down over Iran — an episode that contradicts the Trump team’s characterizations of the war as all but won.

Tillis could complicate Trump’s AG search

Trump’s pick to replace Pam Bondi atop the Justice Department could face a confirmation roadblock in Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. The retiring Tillis, who holds a potentially decisive Judiciary Committee vote, said last week that he would oppose any nominee who’s said anything that “excused the events of Jan. 6.” It’s not an empty threat, given that Tillis has unilaterally slowed the confirmation process for Fed pick Kevin Warsh. Tillis last year voted to confirm Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as DOJ’s No. 2, but it’s not clear whether Blanche would meet his criteria: During a recent CPAC appearance, Blanche characterized the pardons doled out to Capitol rioters as an effort to bring about “justice.” While Blanche could get the permanent post, other potential nominees include EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, Semafor previously reported.

View: Summers’ new chart sounds inflation alarm

Last week I found myself wondering: What is Larry Summers thinking? Not about that — rather, about the state of the American economy. In the summer of 2023, the economist, former treasury secretary and former Harvard president posted a chart showing that the decline in inflation exactly tracked a similar dip in the mid-1970s — just before a second spike. Since then, Summers’ chart has continued to track inflation’s stubborn permanence. I got hold of an updated version. And Summers, I’m told, has shared with associates his view that the American fiscal and economic situations would be worryingly fragile even without a war, and that many analysts are misreading the situation. For instance, the Fed is treating the neutral interest rate as 3%; the Trump appointee Stephen Miran has said it’s closer to 1%. Summers thinks it’s 4.5%.

Why Vance is headed to Hungary

Vice President JD Vance is heading to Hungary this week with a lofty goal: To try and boost Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the country’s looming election. Orbán is an ally of both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the US president has made it no secret that he hopes Orbán will win reelection — but he’s been flailing in the polls ahead of the April 12 vote. Vance’s Tuesday visit follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s own trip to Hungary in February, during which he lauded Hungary-US relations and the two countries signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement. Vance will speak with Orbán and give public remarks during the two-day trip; expect him to reiterate the Trump administration’s stance that Hungary, under Orbán, should serve as a model for other European countries.

— Shelby Talcott

DHS funding still in holding pattern

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is still in limbo. House Republican leadership faced backlash from a wide swath of the conference for pushing forward a Senate-passed bill to fund most of the agency except for CBP and ICE — just a week after the conference rejected the same bill. “I cannot support passing legislation that defunds ICE and CBP,” said Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., in a statement to Semafor. “You cannot defund critical elements of our homeland security,” said purple-district Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., on NBC’s Meet the Press. But House Democrats aren’t showing any signs of flinching. They largely see the Senate-passed bill as a win, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying on ABC’s This Week the House should return to Washington and pass it. Democrats are scheduled to huddle Monday night on a caucus call.

— Nicholas Wu

Tech giants back White House egg roll

Tech companies like YouTube, Meta, and Google are again joining trade associations in bankrolling this year’s White House Easter egg roll as they seek to strengthen their ties to the Trump administration. Their involvement, which deviates from the practice of prior administrations, is just the latest way the president is blurring the line between the public and private sectors. Some of the other businesses backing the egg roll, like the Coca-Cola Company and the New York Stock Exchange, are also sponsors of America250, the congressionally authorized nonpartisan organization planning this summer’s celebration of America’s semiquincentennial. That group, which is also participating in the egg roll, lists Amazon, Citi, Coinbase, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Palantir among its other sponsors. Many of the same firms have contributed to Trump’s new ballroom as well as Freedom 250, the Trump-created group also focused on the semiquincentennial.

— Eleanor Mueller

Maryland’s Moore vs. Sinclair

Investigative journalists with The Baltimore Sun and the local TV station that shares the same owner are digging into potential 2028 contender and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s records — and keeping their owner in the loop, Semafor’s Max Tani scoops. Since last fall, the team from the Sun and Sinclair have been pressing the governor on everything from his service in the Army to the basketball scholarships he’d been offered, at times going as far as to threaten Moore with military discipline. Sinclair executive chairman David Smith, who bought the paper in 2024, has been directly involved, at one point attempting to unsend an email from one of the paper’s reporters, according to records shared with Semafor. Current and former staffers at the Sun say it’s part of the once old-school local paper’s new, more ideological thrust.

Blindspot: Oversight and abuse

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 Democratic fundraising organization ActBlue may have misled Congress in a 2023 letter about blocking foreign donations, The New York Times reported.

What the Right isn’t reading: A three-year-old immigrant child was allegedly sexually abused while in foster care after being separated from her family by federal immigration officials, The Associated Press reported.

Christopher Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton; Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy & Productivity, Implementation & Simplification, European Commission; Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of Economy & Finance, Greece, President of the Eurogroup; Amy Howe, CEO, FanDuel; Joseph Dominguez, President & CEO, Constellation; and more will join the The Next Era of Global Growth session at Semafor World Economy. This session will examine how CEOs are increasingly shifting their focus to opportunities for growth — M&A, innovation, and, of course, AI.

April 14, 2026 | Washington, DC | Apply to attend

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: On virtually every issue, but especially the Iran war, understanding President Trump is “like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall.”

Playbook: Economists doubt Trump’s prediction that energy prices will ease when the Iran war ends. “I don’t think we’re going back to the pre-war prices for the foreseeable future. Certainly won’t be this year, won’t even be next year,” said Moody’s Mark Zandi.

Axios: Electricity bills rose faster than gas, grocery, and health care prices between 2019 and 2025.