Washington, DC

1. Ceasefire extension in limbo
2. What Bondi didn’t say
3. Platner-Collins clash
4. Trump family drone deals
5. Kenya facility on hold

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Ceasefire extension in limbo as Trump considers terms

President Donald Trump left a two-hour meeting in the Situation Room today without having made a decision on whether to accept a deal to extend the US-Iran ceasefire. Trump had said on Truth Social that the terms must include reopening the Strait of Hormuz and a commitment from Iran not to pursue a nuclear weapon, as well as the turnover of its enriched uranium to the US. An Iranian official said the “nuclear issue” wasn’t part of negotiations. Trump is under mounting pressure to restore trade through the Gulf, including from executives like Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, who said on Bloomberg TV today that the company wouldn’t pay tolls to traverse the strait. The White House drew a hard line against tolls in March, but the issue persists; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened Oman with sanctions yesterday if they participated in a tolling scheme.

Bondi accused of ducking Trump questions in Epstein interview

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer questions about Trump’s role in the Jeffrey Epstein files during a closed-door interview with the Oversight Committee today, Democratic lawmakers said. “In fact, she said that she would not speak or respond to any questions that had anything to do with President Trump,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the committee. Bondi’s lawyer, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, pushed back on the characterization, telling reporters there had been time- and subject-related limitations set with the panel beforehand. The Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files has drawn bipartisan scrutiny, though Bondi said in her opening statement she’d “delegated oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.” Now, Oversight Democrats say they want to hear more from Blanche, who recently denied that he once said the Epstein matter should be closed.

— Nicholas Wu

Platner: Collins ‘trying to offload her mistakes’

Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner isn’t backing down from his comments that GOP Sen. Susan Collins “sent me” to fight in Iraq, charging her with “trying to offload her mistakes” in pointing out that he chose to enlist. Platner told Semafor that he “did my best to stop” the war by protesting against it — for doing so, he was removed from an event with then-President George W. Bush. “The war came anyways, and I did feel a kind of deep sense of duty to the nation even though I was against it,” he added. Collins and Republicans argue that Platner’s old Reddit posts about his desire to fight in a war undermined his criticism of her vote to invade Iraq. A spokesperson for Collins, who trails Platner in early polls of their November matchup, did not return a request for comment.

— David Weigel

Kelly calls for investigation into Trump family ‘self-dealing’

The Trump administration’s efforts to ramp up military drone production could become another hotspot for corruption, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told Semafor. Speaking on the sidelines of a security summit in Odesa, Ukraine, Kelly said there’s a lot the US needs to learn from Ukraine’s experience with drones, and that he discussed with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the prospect of future US investments in Ukrainian drone technology. In the meantime, the administration is also closing in on a round of funding deals with US drone manufacturers, including one for which Donald Trump Jr. is a shareholder and advisory board member, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. “That is clearly a problem,” Kelly said. “The self-dealing from this president and his family needs to be investigated.” Corruption allegations against Ukraine’s leadership have featured prominently in Trump and his supporters’ efforts to pull back support for the country’s war effort.

— Tim McDonnell

Kenyan court blocks US Ebola center

A US plan to establish an Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus has been suspended by a Kenyan court. The 50-bed facility was supposed to be operational by today, but rights groups and medical unions challenged the proposal on public health and constitutional grounds. The Trump administration had planned the facility to prevent infected Americans from being flown back to the US. So far, more than 200 deaths and nearly 1,000 cases have been recorded, though the World Health Organization said those were likely undercounts. Combating the outbreak has been complicated: The virus strain is new, and the DR Congo is the site of ongoing fighting. A leading US public health expert and former Biden administration official told Semafor that the outbreak could become the worst on record, surpassing the 2014 crisis in West Africa.

Fox News host Bret Baier has spent years interviewing presidents, moderating debates, and operating at the center of American political media. On this week’s episode of Mixed Signals, he joins Max and Ben to discuss how he navigates tough questions while maintaining access to President Donald Trump, what he actually learned from the Fox News Dominion discovery process, and why he doesn’t vote. Plus, his new book, his 2028 predictions, and whether CBS News has any shot at replicating what he’s built.

Listen to the latest episode of Mixed Signals now.

White House

• President Trump wants to change the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement to require that at least half of auto components come from the US to qualify for lower tariffs. — WSJ
• The Pentagon is recruiting hundreds of troops to appear as spectators at Trump’s UFC cage-fighting event on the White House lawn, requiring those who attend to pay their own way. — WaPo
• The White House has yet to release a summary of the results of Trump’s latest physical exam from Tuesday as promised.

Courts

• A federal judge ordered the Department of Justice to pause establishing President Trump’s $1.8 billion payout fund as a lawsuit unfolds.
• A federal judge ordered that Trump’s name be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and that officials halt plans to close the venue for two years.
• An immigration agent accused of lying about shooting a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis was tracked down by Minnesota law enforcement and arrested in Texas. — NYT

World

• The United Arab Emirates quietly carried out dozens of airstrikes against Iran at the start of the war, in coordination with the US and Israel. — WSJ

Congress

• Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., a 16-year Hill veteran, announced she will not seek reelection.

Campaigns

• Republicans fear state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s win in Texas will siphon money from battleground contests. — Politico
• Louisiana lawmakers approved a new congressional map that would eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts.

Economy

• Michelle Bowman, a Federal Reserve governor, warned during a speech today against raising interest rates in response to energy-driven inflation.

National Security

• Cocaine is as easy to get in the US as it was before the Trump administration began targeting small boats in Latin America. — NYT

Business

• Corporations have ducked at least $40 billion in taxes since President Trump signed an order last year withdrawing the US from an international effort to combat offshore tax evasion.

Technology

• Pope Leo XIV’s AI encyclical has exposed a growing split between the Catholic Church and the Peter Thiel-backed tech right, putting JD Vance in the middle. — Politico

Media

• Bret Baier speaks with Semafor’s Max Tani and Ben Smith about asking President Trump tough questions while navigating access and what he learned from the Fox News Dominion discovery process. — Mixed Signals

— Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., on why she tolerates insults from Trump.

Laura McGann, editor

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

Lauren Morganbesser, copy editor

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott,