Washington, DC

1. Platner visits DC
2. Immigration bill still stuck
3. US-Iran backchannels
4. Union Pacific stake?
5. Primary pileup
6. Rahm’s pitch
7. Financial pessimism

PDB: Florida sues OpenAI

Oz hosts White House briefing … Blanche, Mullin, Rubio testify on Capitol Hill … US posts job openings

Dems rally around Platner as hits mount

Graham Platner is in town today to meet with Democrats, who are largely defending him during a new bout of scandal — even as they wait for more shoes to drop, Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Nicholas Wu report. There have been some quiet discussions about what might happen if the Maine Senate candidate drops off the ballot in the summer, but few think it’s a realistic possibility given Platner’s move to dig in, attack the media, and appear with his wife to move past his sexting. Democrats don’t love the negative hits — which threaten to keep on coming — but they think Americans will face far bigger problems in November. “Americans are really hurt at the fact that gas is still high, food is still high, you can’t buy a home, can’t afford rent. They’re not going to care about text messages,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

DOJ statement won’t unstick funding bill

The Justice Department’s vow to follow a temporary order blocking President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund was a first step toward getting Republicans to pass an immigration enforcement funding bill. It’s definitely not the final one. “I think it needs more investigation,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., a member of GOP leadership. She predicted a “robust discussion” at today’s party meeting about the bill and the fund itself: “I think it still has a lot of questions.” Trump is leaning toward nixing the fund, The New York Times reported — something many Republicans want, as it would likely unlock 50 votes for the funding bill regardless of what amendments Democrats offer. “Saying ‘we’re going to follow the order’ doesn’t tell me about their position on the weaponization fund,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “Is the weaponization fund impacting the reconciliation bill and its passage? The answer is yes.”

— Nicholas Wu and Burgess Everett

Trump tries to save Iran talks

Trump is working behind the scenes to keep talks with Iran on track despite saying publicly he doesn’t care if they’re over. That includes his phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, during which he said he asked the Israeli leader “not to go into a major raid of Beirut.” The call between the two leaders got contentious, with Axios describing a livid Trump laying into Netanyahu over Israel’s campaign in Lebanon. There are growing domestic incentives for Trump to keep up negotiations with Iran: Oil prices rose yesterday amid reports of the strained talks. Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will face senators on the Foreign Relations Committee who will have plenty of questions about Iran, as both chambers prepare to take up additional votes on whether to rein in his war powers.

— Shelby Talcott

Union Pacific execs deny Trump talks

Executives at Union Pacific privately told big investors last week that the company hadn’t talked to Trump about taking a 15% stake, despite the president’s claims otherwise, Semafor’s Rohan Goswami scoops. Trump said he wanted the US government to take an ownership stake in a combined Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern, which announced an $85 billion railroad merger last year and is currently facing a protracted regulatory review. But Union Pacific CFO Jennifer Hamann dismissed the president’s remarks, saying that the company hadn’t had conversations with Trump about a stake and that the comments took executives by surprise, people involved in the conversations said. The railroad has to balance a dealmaker president and a fastidious rail regulator as it seeks to close the deal, which would likely trigger further consolidation and is vehemently opposed by some customers and all other railroads.

California votes on Newsom successor

California voters will pick a successor to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom today in the biggest and most expensive race of a very busy primary day. Billionaire Tom Steyer’s spending — $213 million and counting — transformed the gubernatorial race into a three-way contest between him, former health secretary Xavier Becerra, and conservative pundit Steve Hilton. The top two finishers will compete again in November. In Los Angeles, where Mayor Karen Bass faces reality TV star Spencer Pratt and city councilwoman Nithya Raman, polling has shown Pratt losing to either Democrat in a November race, and Raman trailing Bass if the two of them compete again. Voters in the state’s redrawn House districts will set their November matchups, with Democrats hoping to flip five seats. Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota also hold primaries today.

— David Weigel

Rahm Emanuel’s corruption argument

For Rahm Emanuel, Democrats’ message needs to be more than “the economy, stupid.” The likely 2028 presidential candidate, who served as House Democratic campaigns chief during the party’s successful 2006 midterms, said that Democrats should sharpen their arguments about Trump’s self-dealing while in office — by hitching them to affordability-focused messaging, Semafor’s Nicholas Wu reports. “This is a gem sitting there. I think the Democrats … have been episodic in touching it rather than front and center,” Emanuel said. “Corruption as part of the affordability narrative is more chess, where affordability alone is more checkers.” Many Democratic candidates have homed in on inflation and affordability-focused messaging this cycle. Top Hill Democrats contend that they’re already pairing the arguments together, with the party campaign arm targeting Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.

Few Americans are financially fulfilled

Only one in six Americans say they feel financially fulfilled, meaning their personal finances allow them to live the life they want. That finding is included in a new survey from Edward Jones and Gallup, which found that Canadians are similarly pessimistic about their finances (only one in eight report being satisfied). About one-third of American adults say they are financially stressed, while just over half say they’re “conflicted” about their financial situation. Older Americans — specifically, those 65 and up — are by far the most likely to say they are financially fulfilled, as are wealthier Americans. The polling speaks to broader dissatisfaction among the electorate with the US economy — an attitude that both parties are navigating as the midterm elections draw nearer, and as Republicans campaign to maintain control of Washington.

Blindspot: Bans

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: France banned most Israeli officials and companies from participating in an upcoming weapons show.

What the Right isn’t reading: A federal appeals panel ruled that the Trump administration illegally barred transgender troops from serving in the US military. 

Anthony Pompliano thinks you’re smarter than your financial advisor. The Bitcoin evangelist has reinvented himself as the champion of a new kind of investor: digitally native, high-net-worth, and deeply skeptical of Wall Street expertise. On this week’s episode of Compound Interest, presented by Amazon Business, he joins Liz and Rohan to talk about his AI-powered CFO product, why he thinks independent investors outperform the pros, what’s left in crypto worth caring about, and the uncomfortable politics of the Trump family’s meme coin.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: “The only thing that’s going to solve this problem — to get immigration funded and law enforced — is for the president to do away with the weaponization fund,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Axios: Seventy-eight percent of Americans say they trust their employer, more than trust the government, media or organized religion, according to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer.

White House

• The public readout of President Trump’s recent medical check-up “lacks details of the results of tests to assess his cardiovascular health,” physicians say. — WSJ
• Trump signed a proclamation tweaking his copper, aluminum, and iron tariffs.

Business

• Trade groups including the American Investment Council, Investment Company Institute, Defined Contribution Alternatives Association, and Institute for Portfolio Alternatives weighed in on the Labor Department’s proposed rule on including private investments and digital asse