Washington, DC

1. Anthropic exec on Mythos
2. Trump blocks Hormuz
3. Trump v. the Pope
4. House investigates Swalwell
5. Gulf money

Today at Semafor World Economy — TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné on US-Iran talks: “You cannot have such a complex issue being solved in 21 hours.”

Anthropic co-founder on Mythos release: ‘We don’t know yet’

Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said today the company isn’t sure if it will sell its new Mythos model to the public, days after top Trump administration officials gathered Wall Street banks to raise security concerns about the technology. “Eventually, models that have these kinds of capabilities will be in the world,” Clark said at Semafor World Economy in Washington. “Whether Mythos is or isn’t going to get there, we don’t know yet.” Anthropic recently released Mythos to a limited group of organizations, saying it could easily identify security vulnerabilities in software that humans missed. Clark stressed today that other companies — and likely, China — would eventually create similar technologies. Anthropic is working with the government to address potential cyber risks from Mythos despite an ongoing legal battle with the Pentagon, which Clark dismissed as a “narrow contracting dispute.”

— Morgan Chalfant

Blockade tests tolerance for economic pain

President Donald Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz went into effect today, setting up a test of which side can endure the most economic pain: Oil exports account for nearly all of Tehran’s revenue, while high gas prices tend to lead voters to punish the president’s party in US elections. Oil surged above $100 a barrel at one point today on news of the blockade, and Trump dug in, threatening to strike Iranian vessels. The White House hopes that by choking off Iran’s economic lifeblood, it can force the regime to bend to the demands Vice President JD Vance presented during talks in Islamabad. Mediators said today that they’re keeping communications going and a deal is possible. This afternoon, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott is interviewing Energy Secretary Chris Wright at Semafor World Economy, where we’ll learn how the White House is thinking about energy policy in a critical moment.

Over the next five days, more than 500 CEOs and government leaders — including US Cabinet secretaries, central bank governors, finance ministers, and Fortune 500 executives — will take the stage for on-the-record conversations about the forces shaping the global economy.

Our first sessions begin today, with discussions on Building Intelligent Enterprises, The Economics of Infrastructure, and Rethinking Global Business. Across the week, we’ll host 21 sessions on the global economy, infrastructure, technology, AI, finance, energy, and much more — you can view the full agenda here.

All sessions throughout the week will be livestreamed on Semafor’s homepage — watch here.

Jesus-like image of Trump deleted after backlash

After widespread condemnation by Trump’s Christian supporters, an AI-generated image of him stylized as Jesus Christ was deleted from his Truth Social account. On top of criticism from Christians across the political spectrum, Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, responded to the image by quoting Revelation 2:5, a call to “repent.” Similar memes portraying Trump as a Christ-like figure have circulated for years, but Trump shared this one soon after posting an extended attack on Pope Leo XIV, who has said a “delusion of omnipotence” is propelling the Iran war. Trump told a reporter that he saw the deleted image as depicting him as a doctor, “making people better.” Leo responded this morning to Trump’s broadside by saying he had “no fear of the Trump administration.”

Swalwell, Gonzales face looming expulsion votes

The House Ethics Committee announced it will investigate Rep. Eric Swalwell, adding to pressure on the Californian to step aside. Both Swalwell and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas — who is under a separate ethics investigation after he acknowledged an affair with a member of his staff who later died by suicide — face expulsion votes as soon as Wednesday. Expelling a lawmaker requires a two-thirds majority. Although it’s not clear whether the votes are there to boot either lawmaker, their political support is nonexistent. Many Republicans are loath to oust any member in the middle of an ethics probe or a criminal investigation, but some believe the vote to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., before his conviction created a new precedent. And Democrats continue to announce they’ve redirected Swalwell donations. Swalwell’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

— Nicholas Wu

The Gulf in Washington

At a time of war, where will Gulf money go? Beyond the immediate energy supply crunch caused by the conflict, this is a central question in Washington this week for the World Bank and IMF’s spring meetings. It remains to be seen if the conflict will also cause Gulf sovereign funds to change their focus — and reallocate capital. It may be fashionable to suggest that sovereign funds will signal their governments’ anger at the US for starting the war by trimming investments in the world’s biggest economy. The reality is different. Gulf investors aren’t going to redirect tens of billions of dollars into Anthropic and OpenAI competitors outside the US — because they don’t exist. The depth of America’s public and private markets, its technological advantage, and deep Gulf ties in defense, energy, and finance make a quick pivot unlikely.

Campaigns

• Tom Steyer has spent $89 million on a million ads in his campaign for California governor. — SF Chronicle
• Former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, raised nearly $9 million across her authorized committees over the first three months of the year. — Politico
• Supporters of Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are wondering if she’s gone soft on President Trump. — The Atlantic

Iran War

• The US proposed that Iran freeze uranium enrichment for 20 years during this weekend’s negotiations in Pakistan. — Axios

Immigration

• Officials in Minnesota announced a criminal investigation into the arrest of a US citizen whom federal agents took from his home into freezing weather while he was barely clothed. — CNN
• Former Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem was detained by ICE in the US after fleeing Brazil in September following his conviction for plotting a coup with former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Economy

• Home sales declined 3.6% in March, marking a poor start to the crucial spring selling season. — WSJ

White House

• The White House unveiled a housing plan to increase construction of new homes. — AP
• The Trump administration said it would resume flying a rainbow Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City after removing it in February.
• A new White House study concluded that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs harm productivity.

Health

• The EPA has delayed dozens of approvals for the use of “forever chemicals” to avoid angering the Make America Healthy Again movement.

— US District Judge Darrin Gayles, on the claim of “actual malice,” in dismissing Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for its coverage of a birthday message the president once wrote to Jeffrey Epstein.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel