Washington, DC

1. Vance to Pakistan
2. War funding question
3. Inflation data eyed
4. Warsh hearing delayed
5. Americans’ tax views
6. DOJ vs. NFL
7. Moore blasts Sun

PDB: Casey won’t challenge Fetterman

Barrasso, Graham meet with Trump … U Michigan reports on consumer sentiment … Artemis II prepares for splashdown

Vance heads to Pakistan for Iran talks

Vice President JD Vance faces a tall task in Pakistan as the limits of the US-Iran ceasefire are already being tested. He’s slated to lead the US delegation in talks with Iran this weekend, and there will be a plenty to discuss: President Donald Trump issued new warnings amid reports that Iran is charging for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, writing on Truth Social that they “better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” Iran’s parliament speaker also said that “time is running out” on the ceasefire, insisting that Lebanon is part of the agreement — a point disputed by the US and Israel, and one that Vance will certainly address during peace talks. As Vance heads to Islamabad, Trump is ramping up his battles here at home, attacking a number of conservative commentators who have split with some of his recent decisions in a lengthy Truth Social post.

— Shelby Talcott

Pentagon funding question unresolved

One of the biggest mysteries in Washington right now is how much money the Pentagon will need to replenish its armaments after the Trump administration’s bombing campaign in Iran. The administration hasn’t made its official request, and congressional Republicans are watching to see whether the ceasefire is real. “It’s time for Iran to choose peace. They haven’t done it yet,” said Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Some Republicans want to fund the Pentagon boost through a party-line budget reconciliation process for the second consecutive year, but Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, prefers a bipartisan approach, and Hill leaders aren’t building it into their immigration funding bill. Finding the seven-plus Senate Democrats needed to pass a bipartisan package will prove challenging. “I’m even less willing to engage on that,” said Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J. “Things have gotten progressively worse.”

— Burgess Everett

Inflation set to spike amid high oil prices

The Labor Department is expected to report this morning that year-over-year inflation surged almost a whole point higher in March as the war in Iran drove oil and gas prices up. The White House sought to downplay the forthcoming data, with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett telling Fox Business that relief was already in sight: “Our expectation is that you get those straits open, then things can return to normal very, very soon.” But oil prices were still elevated yesterday as shipping traffic remained severely stunted, boosting the odds that the Trump administration extends a waiver of sanctions on Russian oil set to lapse tomorrow. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, is back on the campaign trail today, touting the GOP’s megabill alongside Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in his competitive district in the Hudson Valley.

— Eleanor Mueller

Warsh’s Fed hearing slips past next week

The Trump administration was unable to provide Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh’s paperwork to the Senate Banking Committee in time for lawmakers to schedule an April 16 hearing as hoped, people familiar with the talks told Semafor. The committee would have had to notice the hearing by midnight Thursday. Like Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins’, Warsh’s paperwork — which includes public and private financial disclosures, plus a conflicts-of-interest ethics agreement — is especially complicated, given Warsh’s marriage into a billionaire family. His selection is poised to remain in limbo post-hearing thanks to Sen. Thom Tillis’ pledge to vote “no” unless the Justice Department scraps its investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Though Hassett said Thursday he is “highly confident” administration officials will “work something out” with the retiring North Carolina Republican, previous attempts have proven unsuccessful. Punchbowl News first reported the hearing’s delay.

— Eleanor Mueller

Americans still think taxes are too high

Nearly six in 10 Americans think they pay too much in taxes, despite the tax bill that Trump signed into law last year. The share of US adults who told Gallup that their taxes are too high has remained consistent since 2023 during Joe Biden’s presidency; just 37% now say their taxes are about right, according to the March poll. And 47% say the income tax they face this year is fair, near the record low from 1999. The figures, which don’t vary much across income categories, suggest Republicans are facing challenges selling their tax law to the public. In contrast, the share who said their taxes were too high dropped to a low point following the tax law that Trump signed during his first term. The 2025 law made permanent provisions from the 2017 law, while adding tax breaks for overtime pay and tips.

DOJ launches NFL antitrust probe

The latest flashpoint in the president’s affordability agenda: football. The Justice Department is probing whether the NFL is engaging in anticompetitive behavior, according to people familiar with the matter. The NFL and other sports leagues benefit from an unusual arrangement. Under a 1961 law, they are allowed to function as monopolies in exchange for putting their games on broadcast airwaves. But in recent years, they’ve sold the rights to small packages of those games to big streamers like Netflix. Streamers are willing to pay top dollar for rights packages — money that legacy operators like Comcast, Disney, and Paramount simply can’t compete with sustainably — and team owners, many of whom are eying lucrative cashouts to institutional investors, are willing to take them. But the Trump administration, wary of voters’ cost of living concerns, is framing the issue as a populist one.

— Rohan Goswami

Moore takes aim at Baltimore Sun

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is blasting the Baltimore Sun’s ownership, calling its investigation of his military record “not legitimate” and a crusade for its conservative owner. “It’s sad for me, because the Sun used to be the paper of record, and it has become the paper of the right wing,” Moore told Semafor’s David Weigel in an interview on the sidelines of the National Action Network conference. Moore and eight other Democrats seen as potential presidential candidates addressed the conference this week. Semafor’s Max Tani previously reported on the publication’s effort to dig into Moore. “This is about their MAGA billionaire boss who has instructed them to come after me,” the governor said. Moore, who’s running for reelection in November, accused conservative media owners of bending major media outlets to “curry favor” with Trump.

— David Weigel

Debatable: AI titans influencing regulation

As Congress weighs how and whether to pass legislation regulating artificial intelligence, tech executives have become fixtures on Capitol Hill and big AI companies have ramped up political spending to influence AI rules, Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant reports. OpenAI’s Sam Altman took these overt influence efforts a step further earlier this week by publishing a blueprint, first reported by Axios, for how the government should regulate AI. His suggestions aimed a spotlight on the AI industry’s public advocacy. “As the AI industry proclaims that it will inevitably reorder all of human existence, AI companies should be the subjects of regulation, rather than its author,” argued Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project. But the Center for a New American Security’s Vivek Chilukuri argued that the problem is not AI companies influencing regulations, but a lack of know-how among policymakers.

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Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: The three-way Louisiana Republican Senate primary has descended into drama and infighting, with Trump-backed candidate Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., unable to take a clear lead, making a June runoff likely.

Playbook: When asked if she still sees herself as a Republican, Marjorie Taylor Greene said: “I don’t really know if I do consider myself one right now. I would say I’m definitely leaning more [toward] calling myself an independent. … I haven’t changed yet. But I will probably think pretty deeply about doing that.”

Axios: President Trump’s longtime friend Roger Stone may have saved National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard from dismissal, after the president polled advisers on whether he should replace her. “Roger sealed the deal. He saved Tulsi,” a person familiar said.

White House

• Climate change skeptics are urging President Trump not to promote EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to attorney general. — Politico
• Trump said he didn’t know anything about first lady Melania Trump’s statement yesterday until after the fact. — MS NOW