Washington, DC

1. Canada MP’s DC mission
2. Mass layoffs at the Post
3. DHS punt likely
4. Bessent on Fed
5. Karp resigns over Epstein
6. GOP worries in Texas
7. Newsom’s redistricting win
8. Nuclear treaty expires

PDB: Another Republican retirement

Trump attends National Prayer Breakfast … Vance in Milan … WSJ: Trump administration to make it easier to fire senior federal workers

Canadian MP aims to defuse US tensions

A Conservative Canadian lawmaker spoke to Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other US officials ahead of official trade talks this summer, as cross-border ties remain strained. MP Jamil Jivani, a longtime friend of Vance, told Semafor’s Shelby Talcott that he hoped to convince both parties that “we’re all on the same team, and we don’t need to be fighting with each other.” President Donald Trump warned last week that he would impose 100% tariffs on Canada if Prime Minister Mark Carney continues to pursue a multi-front pact with China, even as Trump’s other statements, like his suggestion that Canada become the 51st state, drive relations to a nadir. Jivani acknowledged Canadians’ “anti-American resentments” have “created an open-mindedness to doing business with China,” but said he hopes his trip to Washington demonstrates for his constituents that “the door’s not closed.”

Washington Post cuts stun US media

The DC press corps is reeling from news of mass layoffs at The Washington Post. The paper laid off a third of its staff on Wednesday, with the sports and international desks hit hardest — even as management maintains the paper will keep investing in national news and politics coverage. There’s also no sign owner Jeff Bezos will heed calls for him to sell the paper, Semafor’s Max Tani writes. Meanwhile, a founder of Punchbowl said he’s available to invest in a new DC sports outlet, and a group of Post tech reporters already have some prospective backing for a Substack publication. “A metro area of 6 million people cannot get by without good daily news reporting, which the Post has been the backbone of for 100 years,” said City Cast’s David Plotz, who is staffing up in DC as a result of the Post’s pullback.

Republicans ready another DHS stopgap

Republicans are quietly readying another short-term spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security, according to multiple sources, though they have yet to settle on its final length. One Republican senator said the House’s Tuesday passage of a larger spending bill delayed negotiations until Wednesday. “It’s not enough time to come to the sort of agreement that we were hoping to come to,” said a senior White House official. “The overwhelmingly likely outcome here is we’re putting together a clean CR for the Department of Homeland Security.” Border czar Tom Homan pulled 700 agents out of Minnesota on Wednesday, following Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s body camera announcement. It’s possible more olive branches can convince a handful of Senate Democrats to vote for more time to negotiate, but the party’s Hill leaders on Wednesday night released a longer list of demands for changes.

— Burgess Everett

Bessent dodges Fed firings question

As Trump doubles down on bending the Federal Reserve to his will, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to stay out of the fray. Bessent told House members Wednesday that the central bank has “lost the trust of the American people” — but declined to say whether Trump can fire Fed officials over policy disagreements. “I’m not a lawyer and I don’t have an opinion,” Bessent told Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. He added later that “there are varying opinions within the administration.” Democratic lawmakers will get another chance to press Bessent when he testifies before the Senate Banking Committee this morning. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox Business that he did not believe Fed Chair Jerome Powell “committed a crime” when he testified before the panel on a renovation project, potentially undermining the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into those comments.

Law firm boss quits over Epstein

The chairman of one of the biggest US law firms resigned over links to Jeffrey Epstein, as fallout from the latest release of the late sex offender’s files widens. Emails showed that Brad Karp of Paul Weiss had attended Epstein’s mansion and asked for favors, such as helping get his son a job, long after Epstein’s conviction for sex offenses; Scott Barshay, previously head of the New York firm’s corporate department, has been appointed its new chair. The high-profile business casualty comes amid speculation that fresh revelations about the links between the disgraced financier and Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to Washington, could bring down UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who admitted he knew about the men’s relationship before appointing Mandelson. Trump, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Richard Branson have also faced questions over their connections to Epstein.

Texas race could put Senate in play

The deteriorating national environment has Republicans sweating the Texas Senate race — and whether they can convince Trump to back Sen. John Cornyn. If Cornyn loses, Republicans worry about a competitive race that puts Senate control at greater risk and forces the party to burn as much as $200 million, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Semafor he’s made this case to Trump directly multiple times, calling it a “business argument” for Cornyn and saying it “would be enormously helpful” if Trump endorses him. A GOP special election loss last week in a red Texas state Senate district further alarmed Republicans — but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign argued that should convince the GOP to ditch Cornyn. “We must be laser-focused on turning out low-propensity, Trump-supporting America First voters,” said Nick Maddux, a Paxton adviser.

Supreme Court fuels redistricting war

The Supreme Court handed Democrats a win in the redistricting war by denying a Republican push to block California’s new congressional maps. As a result, Democrats will be able to gain up to five blue House seats in the Golden State as they look to counter a rare, mid-decade redistricting push that began with Republicans in Texas (the Supreme Court allowed the GOP’s gerrymandered Texas map to stand, too). While the court’s brief order lacked an explanation, the decisions on California and Texas “show that the justices are inclined to grant broad leeway to state legislatures” looking to redo their maps, The Wall Street Journal wrote. More court fights are ahead: Several other states are redrawing their maps, including Virginia, where Democrats are fighting a ruling against their approval of a constitutional amendment that allows for new maps ahead of the midterms.

Fears of new nuclear arms race

Is the world headed toward a new nuclear arms race? That’s what some experts fear as the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between the US and Russia expires today. The Trump administration had hoped to update the 2010 New START Treaty to include China, which is also working to beef up its nuclear arsenal, but that effort fell short. Russian overtures about renewing the treaty went unanswered by the Trump administration, Politico reported, noting that the nuclear landscape wouldn’t “shift immediately.” Still, it risks “an unconstrained, dangerous three-way arms race,” one expert told the Associated Press. The administration is shrugging off those concerns. “If it expires, it expires,” Trump told The New York Times last month, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that true arms control must “include China because of their vast and rapidly growing stockpile.”

Blindspot: Drones and football

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 Pentagon launched a program in which 25 small companies will compete to field low-cost attack drones for the US military.

What the Right isn’t reading: President Trump is skipping the Super Bowl after aides expressed concerns he might be booed, Zeteo reported. 

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: “The centrists — we’re fighters,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. “We don’t back down.”

Playbook: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado believes Venezuela could hold elections within a year.

WaPo: “If [President Trump’s planned monuments] are successful, he will have created a dynamic in which his name is spoken thousands of times each day in D.C., each time visitors see one of his additions, long after he is gone.”

Axios: Gen Z and millennial state lawmakers are increasingly considering leaving office because of a tide of death threats and pay that does not cover the cost of living, according to a report by Future Caucus, a nonpartisan nonprofit group.

White House

• President Trump plans to tap Vice President Vance to head a new anti-fraud task force targeting states including California. — CBS
• Trump said he “shouldn’t be involved” in the pending Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

Congress