Washington, DC

1. Senate’s long weekend
2. Trump digs in on Powell
3. Ground troops in Iran?
4. Iran’s Hormuz advantage
5. US-Japan agreement
6. Social media reg divide
7. Wright’s Africa pitch

PDB: Half of ACA enrollees say they’re facing higher costs, poll finds

Supreme Court issues opinions … Three charged in alleged plot to export Nvidia chips to China … Nikkei ⬇️ 3.4%

The Senate’s long weekend slog

Senators are preparing for a long weekend in Washington ahead of the March 27 recess. The upper chamber is expected to vote again today on funding the Department of Homeland Security, as this partial government shutdown ties with the 2018-19 lapse for the second-longest ever, at 35 days. “We will get DHS funded. We’re going to be here until that happens,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. “We’re dug in, baby.” That vote is expected to fail, though White House border czar Tom Homan did meet with a bipartisan group of senators on Thursday — a “positive” development, said one Democratic senator. On Saturday, the chamber is expected to vote on an amendment to the GOP’s voting bill designed to bar transgender women from women’s sports. On Sunday the Senate will likely take its first procedural vote on Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s bid to lead DHS.

— Burgess Everett

Trump digs Powell in deeper at Fed

By doubling down on the investigation into Jerome Powell, President Donald Trump is ensuring that the Federal Reserve chair won’t go anywhere soon. After Powell said he would remain at the central bank until the Justice Department drops its investigation into Fed renovations, Trump on Thursday put his weight behind the probe, telling reporters: “There is criminality.” He’d previously panned the judge who derailed the investigation last week as “Wacky, Nasty, Crooked.” “Everyone wants to impugn the integrity of the judges,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who’s pledged to keep lawmakers from confirming Trump’s pick for Fed chair until the probe is over. “That’s boring to me too.” He and other GOP senators said this week they hoped US Attorney Jeanine Pirro would ultimately decide against dragging out the investigation by filing an appeal. But Trump’s comments indicate that’s unlikely.

Ground troops still seen as option in Iran

Despite Trump’s assertion that he’s “not putting troops anywhere” in the Iran war, it doesn’t seem like the option has been definitively ruled out. Reports indicate the US is still discussing deploying thousands of additional troops to the Middle East — potentially for ground operations like securing Kharg Island, per Reuters, or in special operations against nuclear sites, as Semafor first reported. The Trump administration’s aims in the war differ from Israel’s, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard told a House committee Thursday, with the US focused on destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government seeks regime change. Netanyahu downplayed the divisions, saying the war may end “a lot faster than people think.” He claimed that a “decimated” Iran can now no longer make ballistic missiles — which Tehran denied — or enrich uranium, but said there will have to be a “ground component” to the war.

— Shelby Talcott and Graph Massara

Iran holds ‘advantage’ in Hormuz

The US stepped up military efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid growing worry over the global economic fallout of energy export curbs and attacks on oil and gas installations. The latest offensive, involving helicopters and low-flying attack jets, follows intense strikes against Gulf energy facilities that drove oil prices to nearly $120 a barrel. Though the pace of such attacks has slowed, Iran hit a Kuwaiti refinery. Tehran has also “created a de facto ‘safe’ shipping corridor,” allowing vessels from countries including China, India, Iraq, Malaysia, and Pakistan through the Strait, according to the shipping-focused outlet Lloyds List. Ultimately, one leading expert wrote of Hormuz, “Iran holds the advantage — and America has no good options.”

Trump makes headway on minerals

Even as the US butts heads with its allies on Iran, Trump secured a foreign policy win during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in his push to break China’s dominance of critical mineral supply chains. The US and Japan agreed to jointly mine and process critical minerals that are essential for manufacturing technology and defense equipment. The deal comes on the heels of similar US agreements with Mexico and Australia; the Trump administration is also deepening cooperation on minerals with Europe. It’s a rare victory for a White House at odds with many traditional allies (including Japan) over the Iran war, which itself threatens the global supply and flow of minerals like copper and cobalt, according to a recent analysis. Trump also commended Takaichi for signing on to a vague pledge to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

Congress split over online safety bill

Congress is a long way from enacting legislation to protect children on social media platforms — at least if you ask Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. During an interview with Semafor during an event focused on the 2026 World Happiness Report from Gallup, Cammack said the House and Senate are “really far apart” on their approach to the issue, calling the Senate’s bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act “pretty unconstitutional.” Cammack singled out a provision in the proposal that orders platforms to “exercise reasonable care” in creating design features to prevent harm to minors. “I personally don’t think that the government should be in the business of telling companies how they’re going to develop their products,” she said. Earlier at the event, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called it “completely pathetic” that neither lawmakers nor the executive branch have acted on kids’ online safety.

Wright’s pitch to Africa

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has a message for Africa: Don’t waste time on clean energy. “Nothing that Africa does on its energy systems in all of our lifetimes will have any meaningful impact on global greenhouse gas emissions,” Wright told the Powering Africa Summit in Washington Thursday, dismissing the continent’s focus on green energy. Wright, who is the fossil fuel-friendly Trump administration’s most visible face on African energy engagement, also chided the Biden administration for its energy strategy toward Africa. He called the previous administration and other Western governments “paternalistic” and “neo-colonial,” claiming they tried to dictate to African nations how to power their economies. Wright did have nice things to say about at least one clean energy source: He told the gathering of African officials and policymakers that clean cooking fuel could “transform” Africans’ quality of life.

— Adrian Elimian

Debatable: Will Russia’s luck last?

The US decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil for a month amid the Iran war provides a clear, if temporary, economic boost to Moscow. Experts and officials also note other benefits Russia may get from the conflict in Iran: It’s eating up the weapons that Ukraine needs, and it’s distracting the White House from talks to end Russia’s four-year war. “That doesn’t help us win,” Maria Mezentseva, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, told Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant of the decision on Russian oil. But it’s unclear how long Russia will reap the benefits — and whether ultimately Moscow will emerge a loser if the US successfully weakens Tehran, one of its strategic allies. “While Russia may be a short-term beneficiary of the conflict, this outcome is not inevitable if the right policies are pursued,” argued the Hudson Institute’s Luke Coffey.

When the business world moves, these are the people turning the wheel. Introducing The CEO Signal, a new video and audio series hosted by Penny Pritzker, founder and chairman of PSP Partners and former US Secretary of Commerce, and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, CEO editor at Semafor. Episodes are released every two weeks. Building on The CEO Signal newsletter, the essential briefing read by the world’s top chief executives, the show brings that perspective to revealing conversations with the people steering the world’s biggest companies.

In the debut episode, Andrew and Penny sit down with Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol. Now 18 months into his tenure, Niccol has launched his “Back to Starbucks” campaign — an effort to revive the brand’s classic coffeehouse feel, including baristas writing names on cups again. In the conversation, Niccol explains how he’s rallying Starbucks’ global workforce behind one of corporate America’s most closely watched turnarounds — and working to restore momentum to one of the world’s most recognizable brands.

Niccol also reflects on why he tends to step into difficult situations — from Chipotle’s crisis to Starbucks’ reset — and what it takes to lead a company through moments of pressure.

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