Washington, DC

1. Republicans try to split Dems
2. Congress approval sinks
3. Argentina loan fears
4. Trump nominee withdraws
5. More foreign service apps
6. GOP rails over Epstein vote
7. Platner digs in

PDB: Trump calls off Putin meet in Budapest

Trump meets NATO secretary general … Tesla reports earnings … Gold falls by most in 12 years

The next Republican shutdown play

Senate Republicans are trying to divide Democrats on Thursday with a vote that would pay government workers deemed essential are working without pay during the shutdown. It’s the product of Republicans’ discussions about what they could put on the floor to gain some Democratic support after three weeks and counting. “I literally have no idea how they’re going to argue [against it]. I know a number of them are dreading that vote. As they should,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, told Semafor. Democrats are more interested in something else: a meeting with President Donald Trump. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reached out to the president for a meeting. Trump says he’ll do it when the government opens. A White House official said “they will not have policy conversations while the Democrats are holding the American people hostage.”

— Burgess Everett

Americans sour on Congress

As the government shutdown drags on, Americans are turning more negative on Congress, according to new Gallup polling. The share of US adults who approve of the job Congress is doing dropped by double-digits to 15% in October. In what may be an ominous sign for the GOP, the share of Republicans who view Congress favorably dropped 21 points to just 33% in the poll conducted just after the shutdown began — a stark shift from a high of 63% earlier this year, after Republicans gained control of both chambers and the White House. The share of independents who approve of Congress dropped nine points to 12%, while Democrats remain in the single digits. Still, it’s possible the Republicans who’ve soured on the government will blame Democrats for the shutdown.

Dems’ alarm over Argentina loan backstop

As the Treasury Department declines to rule out a US guarantee for the $20 billion private-sector loan it’s coordinating for Argentina, congressional Democrats are worried about the risk, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller reports. If Washington backstopped the facility, it would mean “American taxpayers are on the hook for a lot more,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told Semafor. A Treasury spokesperson would say only that “discussions on this facility remain ongoing.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Semafor she expects the Trump administration to eventually make some kind of pledge: “Why would banks lend into such a volatile situation without a guarantee from the government, whether that guarantee is explicit or a ‘wink-wink, nod-nod’?” Republicans were equally in the dark: Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., all told Semafor Tuesday they had yet to receive more details.

Trump nominee Ingrassia withdraws

Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination to lead the Office of the Special Counsel — but not before making a last-minute bid to fight on during Thursday’s hearing. In a letter to Senate Republicans seen by Semafor, Ingrassia said offensive text messages attributed to him “could well be outright falsehoods, doctored, or manipulated with Al, or at the very least, lack critical context.” Ingrassia was still asking for a “fair proceeding” from Senate Republicans until the end, but we’re told he faced at least four GOP “no” votes and questions beyond just his text messages and a sexual harassment allegation. “He’s 30 years old. He passed the bar last year. He’d be overseeing 300 attorneys. So let me start there, just with basic qualifications,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Semafor. “The second thing is the statements that he’s made.”

State reports boost in foreign service apps

The Trump administration says that the number of applicants for the foreign service hit a ten-year high under the new administration, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reports, suggesting deep cuts to the State Department haven’t negatively impacted recruitment. More than 5,700 Americans sent in applications during the October 2025 cycle, according to data provided by the State Department. That’s the highest since February 2014, and up significantly from a February 2022 low under the Biden administration, according to Trump administration officials. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “have recommitted the State Department to advancing our national interests first — and Americans have taken notice,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott argued. Earlier reports suggested low morale at the agency as the administration shuttered USAID and implemented scores of layoffs.

House GOP rails against Epstein vote

As a book by the late Virginia Giuffre sparks new international interest in Jeffrey Epstein, House Republicans are still downplaying the need for a vote on releasing the Justice Department’s case files. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday that “the House Oversight Committee is already accomplishing” more than what the vote that every Democrat and four GOP rebels are pushing for. Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said he’s “working to bring former President [Bill] Clinton in for a deposition,” but he acknowledged that lawmakers are “pretty limited to the United States,” so subpoenaing Epstein associates like Prince Andrew — discussed at length in Giuffre’s book — would be difficult. Johnson separately signaled he still plans to allow action that would force a vote on the case files, though he remains noncommittal on swearing in the congresswoman-elect whose presence is needed to do that.

— Eleanor Mueller

Platner puts Dems through stress test

Graham Platner is putting the Democratic Party’s interest in younger, fresher candidates through a serious stress test, Semafor’s David Weigel and Burgess Everett report. Platner’s posting history on Reddit and news of his tattoo roiled his Senate campaign, just as Maine Gov. Janet Mills joined him in the Democratic primary. Platner is taking a risky approach by leaning into the controversy. The 41-year-old argued to Semafor that his party shouldn’t make an example of him while trying to court the votes of men who may have also said things they regret. “How do you expect to win young people?” Platner asked. “How do you expect to win back men when you go back through somebody’s Reddit history and just pull it all out and say: ‘Oh my God, this person has no right to ever be in politics?’ Good luck with that. Good luck winning over those demographics.”

Regulation is evolving faster than ever, redefining how companies innovate and how consumers engage. From pharmaceuticals to food and beyond, shifting policies are reshaping markets, competition, and access to essential products and care. For patients and consumers alike, these changes determine everything from treatment availability to everyday safety.

Join Semafor as we explore how businesses can stay resilient amid regulatory flux, what policy approaches best encourage responsible innovation, and how industry and government can work together to ensure accountability while unlocking progress.

Oct. 28 | Washington, DC | RSVP

Blindspot: Pulte and Halligan

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: Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte announced he will donate his salary to wounded US veterans.

What the Right isn’t reading: Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, texted a Lawfare reporter to criticize her reporting about the Letitia James indictment.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: A speech by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., on the floor protesting President Trump’s policies hit eleven hours and counting.

Playbook: Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. — who has been under pressure to retire after almost four decades in Congress — is set to make “an announcement on her future” following California’s Prop 50 redistricting ballot on Nov. 4.

WaPo: David Edelman, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said AI-generated images have become normalized in political discussion online. “We’re at a technical inflection point in which the ability to generate what we used to call deepfakes has now gone broadly out to the masses.”

Axios: Six-in-ten Americans think the US is heading in the wrong direction, with widespread disapproval of the Trump administration’s handling of the economy, immigration, and race relations, according to a broad-based poll by the Public Religion Research Institute.

White House

• The White House will submit plans for the ongoing East Wing redevelopment (even though demolition has already started).
• A White House official denied a TMZ report that President Trump is considering commuting Sean “Diddy” Combs’ prison sentence.
• Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit the US for talks with Trump next month, officials confirmed.