Washington, DC

1. Dems’ business targets
2. GOP bill clears Senate
3. Dem drama in Maine
4. Trump in Wisconsin
5. Trump’s jobs win
6. Ballroom arguments
7. Ukraine aid passes

PDB: Blanche under the bus

Trump to attend Game 3 of NBA Finals … Supreme Court opinion watch … WSJ: FDA launches safety study of mifepristone

Dems align on investigating Trump

Progressive and centrist Democrats are remarkably aligned around their plan for using a potential House majority to investigate President Donald Trump: They’ll pursue businesses that have cultivated his administration to achieve backdoor oversight, and won’t hold back, Semafor’s Nicholas Wu reports. As outside firms prepare the private sector for a Democratic House takeover that still looks likely, despite the GOP’s aggressive redistricting, the target list may well grow beyond US-based companies. Foreign dealmaking by the Trump family and its allies, including in the Gulf, is also poised for Democratic scrutiny. Rep. Greg Meeks, D-N.Y., the party’s top House Foreign Affairs Committee member, said overseas business decisions by Trump advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff would be avenues for future investigation: “We are going to look at some of these deals that were done. And that’s what oversight is all about.”

Senate passes GOP’s immigration bill

Senate Republicans passed their $70 billion funding bill for Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies shortly before the sun rose on Friday, with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski the lone Republican in opposition. The 52-47 vote sent the bill to the House for consideration and ended a long, convoluted saga in the Senate that included GOP rebellions over the East Wing renovation and Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund. Now a whole new drama awaits the Senate on expiring surveillance powers. Immediately after the immigration vote, seven Republicans voted against advancing the House’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act along with near-unanimous opposition from Senate Democrats over the elevation of Bill Pulte to director of national intelligence, blocking that bill ahead of a June 12 deadline. There’s time to miss an expiration when the Senate comes back Monday, but it’ll be tight.

— Burgess Everett

Dems grapple with latest Platner hits

Graham Platner is facing more damaging revelations about his background — and Senate Democrats are grappling with the fallout in the race for the must-win seat in Maine. The New York Times reported that a former girlfriend said Platner had long known the skull tattoo on his chest was a Nazi image, and that he left marks on her and said he would rape intruders. Platner denied those allegations, calling them “politically motivated.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to answer questions. Other senators told Semafor they hadn’t read the report — including Platner backer Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “The people of Maine recognize that he’s somebody who’s fighting for working people, unlike the incumbent. But I haven’t seen it,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. Still, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., said like all candidates, Platner needs “to be honest with voters and take questions.”

— Eleanor Mueller and Burgess Everett

Trump pitches farmers in Wisconsin

Trump will touch down in Wisconsin today for an event aimed at the state’s farmers, as he seeks to shore up support among a constituency bruised by tariffs and the Iran war. Trump last appeared in Wisconsin during the 2024 campaign, and the White House tells Semafor that his speech will highlight the administration’s policies addressing farmers. Trump will tout initiatives to deliver “lower input costs, new trade markets, less red tape, a stronger farm safety net, a doubled death tax exemption, no taxes on rural property loan interest, and new Rural Opportunity Zones,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., who faces a tough reelection battle, plans to join Trump today. Trump’s aides want him to lean into domestic travel, even as he continues to grapple with foreign policy decisions that have turned off voters and impacted Republicans’ affordability messaging.

— Shelby Talcott

Jobs report expected to deliver for Trump

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will provide the latest snapshot of Trump’s economy this morning when it releases its May jobs report. As the Iran war continues to drive energy costs up, the most recent employment data is expected to hand the president a much-needed win: ADP Research said earlier this week that the US’ private-sector employers hired more workers last month than any month since January 2025. BLS, meanwhile, said that job openings in April rose to their highest level in almost two years while layoffs fell. Unfortunately for Trump, those signs of a stabilizing labor market will also make it more difficult for newly installed Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh to justify cutting interest rates when the central bank huddles later this month. Two Fed officials warned again this week that policymakers must consider whether interest-rate hikes may soon be necessary.

— Eleanor Mueller

Trump’s ballroom in hand of courts

The dispute over Trump’s ballroom is headed to court today. A federal appeals panel will hear oral arguments over the fate of the controversial project, after District Judge Richard Leon concluded that Trump lacked necessary congressional authority and paused above-ground construction on the ballroom. While an appeals court later lifted that pause as the court fight over the ballroom continues, today’s arguments could prove decisive. The administration has repeatedly argued for the ballroom on safety grounds, most recently invoking an attempted shooting near the White House to assert that the secure East Wing complex is “vital” for national security. But the president’s arguments failed to convince even Senate Republicans, who dropped a proposed $1 billion in funding for the ballroom from their party-line immigration enforcement package. Trump has taken aim at Leon, accusing him of “playing games with America’s Security.”

House rebukes GOP with Ukraine vote

A bill authorizing billions in new Ukraine aid and sanctions on Russia is headed to the Senate after the House approved it last night in a 226-195 bipartisan vote. The bill passed despite objections from Republican leaders, who charged that it would undermine the White House’s efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war. Ultimately, 18 Republicans voted with most Democrats to approve the measure. The aid package stands little chance of becoming law; even if the Senate — which hasn’t moved its own popular Russia sanctions bill — votes in favor of it, Trump still has veto power. Still, the vote was another message of defiance shortly after the House voted for the first time to end the US war in Iran. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for peace talks in an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it “a war without a real cause.”

Blindspot: Screens and vaccines

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 FCC is reviewing a $3 billion school internet subsidy program as concerns rise about excessive screen time for children.

What the Right isn’t reading: The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking access to state systems containing patient health information in order to find a link between autism and vaccines, KFF Health News reported.

They have landed interviews with Taylor Swift, A$AP Rocky, Olivia Rodrigo, and Bad Bunny by offering what most celebrity media won’t: no question approval, no topic restrictions, and years of credibility. On this week’s episode of Mixed Signals, the hosts of The New York Times’ Popcast show join Max and Ben to talk about the evolution of their two-decade-old podcast, killing the written review, and whether literacy is over.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: “This would have been done several hours ago if we weren’t having to deal with some of the issues around the [“anti-weaponization”] fund, which doesn’t exist — which is the point we’re making,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of the lengthy process to pass the reconciliation bill.

Axios: Longtime MAGA villain Hunter Biden is engaging with his former critics as he attempts a political reinvention.

White House

• The Kennedy Center directed staff to remove President Trump’s name from its website, promotional materials, and signs following a court order blocking the renaming of the arts center. — WaPo

Congress

• Former Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed her then-deputy, Todd Blanche, for the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case files, according to a transcript of her House Oversight Committee testimony.
• Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., says he now