Thursday, April 30 | By Cate Martel
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It’s Thursday. We have a new Wall Street acronym, folks! Instead of TACO (Trump always chickens out), we now have … NACHO, which stands for “Not a chance Hormuz opens.” Thank you to Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas for letting us all know.
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Shakeup in Dems’ critical Senate race Inflation spikes; oil and gas prices surge to new highs WHCA dinner shooting suspect to remain in jail Congress races against midnight deadline Saudis to yank LIV Golf funding
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Shakeup in one of the most critical Senate races: |
Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) is dropping out of the Maine Senate race, announcing that her campaign ran out of money to continue.
That means oyster farmer Graham Platner will very likely face off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the fall.
Why this is a big deal: This is one of the most closely watched Senate races of the midterms. It’s crucial for Democrats to win Maine to take control of the Senate in November. Mills had the support of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and other left-leaning groups.
Platner has his skeletons: Graham Platner has been embroiled in controversies, including that he got a tattoo of a Nazi symbol on his chest and then later covered it up. A string of past controversial statements was also found on Reddit. But recent polls showed Platner with more support than Mills. Read more on the Platner controversies
💬 Follow today’s live blog
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President Trump and first lady Melania Trump held a farewell ceremony for King Charles III and Queen Camilla. 💻 Watch
The king and queen then went to Arlington National Cemetery where they laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
They will then travel to Front Royal, Va., to attend a parade and block party. 💻 Livestream. That will be followed by a stop at Shenandoah National Park.
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The suspected gunman who is accused of trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this past weekend until his trial.
His legal team had hoped to let him out until his trial — pointing to his lack of criminal history and a lack of evidence — but they just dropped that bid.
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Inflation spikes, yet again: |
Inflation spiked to 3.5 percent in March, according to new data, up from 2.8 percent in February.
What contributed to a surge in prices: The war in Iran drove a significant increase in inflation.
The numbers: Prices jumped 0.7 percent last month, up from 0.4 percent in February. Excluding food and energy prices, inflation spiked to 3.2 percent. That figure grew to a whopping 3.5 percent when food and energy are included.
Plus: Oil prices rose to their highest level since the war in Iran began. Brent crude oil hit $126 per barrel overnight, reaching a four-year high.
And the average price of gasoline hit $4.30 a gallon today, up 27 cents in the past week, according to AAA.
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced that he plans to stay at the Fed as a governor when his term ends in May. (That’s not surprising. His separate term as a Fed board member lasts until January 2028.)
Powell says he plans to “keep a low profile.” Well, a reporter asked Powell on Wednesday about his plans to keep a low profile and “what that looks like.” Powell’s response is genuinely hilarious. 🎥 Watch
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Everyone wants to get out of town, but there’s a pesky deadline today: |
The U.S.’s warrantless spy powers expire TODAY. Congress must reauthorize them before leaving town. But in classic Congress style, it’s never that easy.
The House passed a three-year extension on Wednesday, sending it over to the Senate. However, the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate as written. That’s because to appease some House conservatives, a controversial measure was added to ban a central bank digital currency.
So, what happens now?: The Senate may remove that controversial proposal and send it back to the House.
Read more on the spy power deadline fight, via The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch.
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For Pete’s (well, and senators’) sake: |
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is back in the hot seat today, presenting his $1.5 trillion defense budget, but it has also become a live Q&A about the administration’s operation in Iran.
This is Hegseth’s second day of testimony. Yesterday’s testimony was in the House. Today’s testimony is in the Senate.
Wednesday’s hearing was pretty spicy from Democrats but mostly conflict-averse from Republicans. Read more: ‘6 takeaways from Hegseth’s first hearing since Iran war started,’ via The Hill’s Filip Timotija and Colin Meyn
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Saudi Arabia is planning to pull its funding of LIV Golf, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Beaton.
Reminder about LIV Golf: The Saudi Arabian-funded golf league was formed a few years ago, poaching A-list golfers from the PGA Tour by offering them gobs of money.
Is LIV shutting down?: That does not appear to be the plan. Instead, the golf league is looking for investors.
However: “Even as LIV seeks outside investors to keep it afloat, it will be nearly impossible for it to exist bearing any resemblance to its current form after the Saudis lost billions on the endeavor. They paid exorbitant fees to put on tournaments with lucrative purses featuring elite players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. LIV is already in talks with outside investors, a person familiar with LIV’s thinking said.” (WSJ)
Will LIV players return to the PGA Tour?: *nervous laugh* The Journal reports that the PGA does not seem ready to welcome back the golfers who left to compete for the Saudi rival league.
Read more: ‘Saudi Arabia Pulls Funding From LIV Golf. Its Star Players Face a Painful Road Back.’
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The New York Times’s editorial board suggested today that the U.S. military is “losing its edge,” citing the war in Iran as its proof.
Excerpt: “While President Trump seems eager for a negotiated truce, Iran’s leaders do not. Somehow, the weaker nation is in the stronger negotiating position. That reality exposes the vulnerabilities in the American way of war. Tactical success has not yielded victory. Mr. Trump’s recklessness in conducting the war is one reason. But the problem is bigger than any single commander in chief. The United States has left itself unprepared for modern war.” Read: ‘The U.S. Military Was Losing Its Edge. After Iran, Everyone Knows It.’
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— The first Trump tariff refunds are expected on or about May 11. But keep in mind: The tariff refunds will go to companies, not consumers, though some companies like FedEx and UPS have vowed to refund customers.
— An American ship that was sunk by a German submarine in World War I has just been discovered, more than 100 years later. 📸 Photo
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The New York Times: How Trump’s Proposed Arch Would Change D.C.: The Times created a 3-D model of the 250-foot monument to show how it would affect a symbolic sightline.
The Hill: Supreme Court roils 2026 midterms with Voting Rights Act ruling
The Atlantic: Donald Trump’s Disturbing Welcome for King Charles
The Wall Street Journal: Airbnb Hosts Prepped Their Homes for a World Cup Windfall. They’re Still Waiting.
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The House and Senate are in. President Trump is at the White House.
(All times EDT)
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Happening now The Hill’s top editors are holding a live Q&A about everything taking place in Washington this week. Get your question in!
12:30 p.m. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr holds a news conference. 💻 Livestream
1:45 p.m. The Senate votes on a resolution to stop the U.S. military operation in Iran. 📆 Today’s agenda
2 p.m. Trump signs an executive order.
3 p.m. Trump holds Oval Office policy meetings.
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🧋 Celebrate: Today is National Bubble Tea Day!
🦭 I have someone I want you to meet: Everyone, meet Chonkers, the 2,000-pound sea lion that has been spotted at a San Francisco pier. Chonkers has been drawing quite the crowd of fans and is getting a lot of attention online.
🚗 Commutes are burning people out: A new survey found that commutes are taking a toll on workers, sometimes even more than the job itself.🗒️ List of the 20 most mentally draining commutes for Americans
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📺 Miss the previous issue of this newsletter? Catch up with a 1-minute video.
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