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class="styles_ledeTopStories__0SBIk"><a class="styles_featuredStory__iJm1_ styles_fieldOfStreamsTopStory__3SgDh styles_topStory__q1E0B styles_layoutControl__L1oHO styles_large__Zu99R" href="/article/02/20/2025/trumps-legislative-agenda-is-in-turmoil"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__cXVio styles_hideMobileDivider__sI_Uv" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_topStoryVertical__k8eJx">Politics</div><h2 class="styles_headline__jnXf9 styles_large__Zu99R styles_primary__xpald">Trump’s legislative agenda is in turmoil</h2><div><div class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_large__Zu99R styles_primary__xpald">After bickering for months over strategy, House and Senate Republicans are starting to diverge over policy as well.</div></div><div class="styles_ledePhoto__6dRX6"><figure class="styles_figure__YN8UZ styles_topSpacing__dZC8T"><img data-categories="essential" alt="President Donald Trump" loading="lazy" width="644" height="429" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/b316043a96fbd08916f150417ab7f685e5e54c84-2604x1736.jpg?rect=145%2C0%2C2315%2C1736&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/b316043a96fbd08916f150417ab7f685e5e54c84-2604x1736.jpg?rect=145%2C0%2C2315%2C1736&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/b316043a96fbd08916f150417ab7f685e5e54c84-2604x1736.jpg?rect=145%2C0%2C2315%2C1736&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ePpnK styles_sansSerif__CuZQc">Kent Nishimura/Reuters</span></figure></div></a></div><div class="styles_secondaryTopStories__RD8JY"><a class="styles_featuredStory__iJm1_ styles_layoutControl__L1oHO" href="/article/02/20/2025/corporations-dig-deeper-using-bunkers-to-secure-data"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__cXVio" aria-hidden="true"></div><h2 class="styles_headline__jnXf9 styles_small__7cUU_">Corporations dig deeper: using bunkers to secure data (and their CEOs)</h2><div><div class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_small__7cUU_">Several large companies are building underground housing for their data centers and executives.</div></div><div class="styles_ledePhoto__6dRX6 styles_small__7cUU_"><figure class="styles_figure__YN8UZ styles_topSpacing__dZC8T"><img data-categories="essential" alt="" loading="lazy" width="644" height="431" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ePpnK styles_sansSerif__CuZQc">Roof of a residential bunker under construction in Kansas by Survival Condo. Courtesy of Survival Condo.</span></figure></div></a></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_divider__WudYN styles_vertical__tXlOD styles_left__u3693 styles_desktop__RLARz" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_divider__WudYN styles_rightTop__Og6N_ styles_vertical__tXlOD styles_tablet__cwDRQ" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_featuredTopStories__R488D"><div class="styles_secondaryTopStories__RD8JY styles_secondaryStoryFeature__nZXnH"><a class="styles_featuredStory__iJm1_ styles_layoutControl__L1oHO" href="/article/02/20/2025/corporations-dig-deeper-using-bunkers-to-secure-data"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__cXVio" aria-hidden="true"></div><h2 class="styles_headline__jnXf9 styles_small__7cUU_">Corporations dig deeper: using bunkers to secure data (and their CEOs)</h2><div><div class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_small__7cUU_">Several large companies are building underground housing for their data centers and executives.</div></div><div class="styles_ledePhoto__6dRX6 styles_small__7cUU_"><figure class="styles_figure__YN8UZ styles_topSpacing__dZC8T"><img data-categories="essential" alt="" loading="lazy" width="644" height="431" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ePpnK styles_sansSerif__CuZQc">Roof of a residential bunker under construction in Kansas by Survival Condo. Courtesy of Survival Condo.</span></figure></div></a></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_divider__Uufp3" aria-hidden="true"></div><section class="styles_section__DrElI" data-testid="homeFeaturedArticles"><a class="styles_featuredStory__LyB_4 styles_article__z5Whz" href="/article/02/21/2025/uae-envoy-on-the-trends-reshaping-philanthropy"><h2 class="styles_headline__N0RUc">UAE envoy on the trends reshaping philanthropy</h2> <div class="styles_verticalSpacer__6N_PB"></div><div class="styles_authorWrapper__2WUj6"><img alt="Mohammed Sergie" loading="lazy" width="34" height="34" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_headshot__ArQK_" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/8cd83a2dcb2143a10ad2270661a023a9b5be0522-1600x1600.png?auto=format&w=48&q=75 1x, https://img.semafor.com/8cd83a2dcb2143a10ad2270661a023a9b5be0522-1600x1600.png?auto=format&w=96&q=75 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/8cd83a2dcb2143a10ad2270661a023a9b5be0522-1600x1600.png?auto=format&w=96&q=75"/><div><p class="styles_author__ICqPj">Mohammed Sergie</p></div></div></a><a class="styles_featuredStory__LyB_4 styles_article__z5Whz" href="/article/02/20/2025/analysis-im-an-israeli-investor-who-cant-wait-for-a-saudi-israel-peace-deal"><h2 class="styles_headline__N0RUc">Analysis: This Israeli investor can’t wait for a Saudi-Israel peace deal</h2> <div class="styles_verticalSpacer__6N_PB"></div><div class="styles_authorWrapper__2WUj6"><img alt="Jon Medved " loading="lazy" width="34" height="34" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_headshot__ArQK_" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/e4e8f559879e03c9afc9decf530f3b1136f2085f-800x800.png?auto=format&w=48&q=75 1x, https://img.semafor.com/e4e8f559879e03c9afc9decf530f3b1136f2085f-800x800.png?auto=format&w=96&q=75 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/e4e8f559879e03c9afc9decf530f3b1136f2085f-800x800.png?auto=format&w=96&q=75"/><div><p class="styles_author__ICqPj">Jon Medved </p></div></div></a></section></div><div class="styles_wag__azrav" data-testid="wag"><div class="style_wagHeader__ZmwcI"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR style_horizontalDivider__XogHc" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="style_headlineImageWrapper__W8usr"><h2>The World at a Glance</h2><div class="style_wagImageHolder__uaFMW"><img alt="World Map" loading="lazy" width="130" height="73" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" style="color:transparent" src="https://static.semafor.com/_next/static/media/world_map_sm.c8d5f47b.png"/></div></div><div class="style_updatedTime__09XD_"><span class="style_timeContainer__t4NjT"><span class="style_dateDot__wJMdf"></span></span><span class="style_timeDate__BaPzK">Updated 7:26am EST</span></div></div><div class="styles_wagArticles__vhUWz"><a href="/article/02/21/2025/israel-accuses-hamas-of-breaking-gaza-ceasefire-deal-as-unidentified-body-returned" class="styles_wagArticle__ZPq9z"><span class="styles_articleIndex__vlF9h">1</span><span class="styles_articleContent__HqmNv"><p><strong class="styles_strong__CyLpx">Israel accused Hamas of violating the Gaza ceasefire </strong>after a corpse it handed over was found not to be of a hostage.</p></span></a><a href="/article/02/21/2025/far-right-alternative-for-germany-set-to-make-gains-in-weekend-election" class="styles_wagArticle__ZPq9z"><span class="styles_articleIndex__vlF9h">2</span><span class="styles_articleContent__HqmNv"><p><strong class="styles_strong__CyLpx">The far-right Alternative for Germany is set to gain in weekend elections</strong>, though the party is unlikely to enter government.</p></span></a><a href="/article/02/20/2025/trump-loyalist-kash-patel-confirmed-to-lead-fbi" class="styles_wagArticle__ZPq9z"><span class="styles_articleIndex__vlF9h">3</span><span class="styles_articleContent__HqmNv"><p>Donald Trump loyalist <strong class="styles_strong__CyLpx">Kash Patel was confirmed as head of the FBI</strong>, an agency that Patel has vowed to radically overhaul.</p></span></a><a href="/article/02/20/2025/us-objects-to-condemning-russian-aggression" class="styles_wagArticle__ZPq9z"><span class="styles_articleIndex__vlF9h">4</span><span class="styles_articleContent__HqmNv"><p><strong class="styles_strong__CyLpx">The</strong> <strong class="styles_strong__CyLpx">US opposed condemning Russian aggression </strong>ahead of the Ukraine war’s third anniversary, as relations between Washington and Kyiv reach new lows.</p></span></a><a href="/article/02/21/2025/us-federal-judge-rules-against-labor-unions-effort-to-block-mass-firings" class="styles_wagArticle__ZPq9z"><span class="styles_articleIndex__vlF9h">5</span><span class="styles_articleContent__HqmNv"><p><strong class="styles_strong__CyLpx">A federal judge ruled against labor unions’ efforts to block mass firings </strong>across the federal workforce.</p></span></a><a href="/article/02/21/2025/600-year-old-pre-colombian-city-uncovered-in-mexican-jungle" class="styles_wagArticle__ZPq9z"><span class="styles_articleIndex__vlF9h">6</span><span class="styles_articleContent__HqmNv"><p><strong class="styles_strong__CyLpx">Archaeologists uncovered a 600-year-old pre-Columbian city </strong>in the Mexican jungle using lasers, following a similar discovery last year.</p></span></a></div></div><div class="styles_section__zruPd"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_sectionDivider__RLDuK styles_top__JuHic" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_middleTopStories__gzIko" style="position:relative"><a class="styles_featuredStory__iJm1_ styles_layoutControl__L1oHO" href="/article/02/21/2025/south-africa-budget-businesses-in-limbo-after-delay"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__cXVio" aria-hidden="true"></div><div><h2 class="styles_headline__jnXf9 styles_small__7cUU_">South African businesses in limbo after budget delay</h2></div><div><div><div class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_small__7cUU_">The unprecedented postponement of the budget has prompted uncertainty around the government’s economic plans. </div></div></div><div class="styles_ledePhoto__6dRX6 styles_small__7cUU_"><figure class="styles_figure__YN8UZ styles_topSpacing__dZC8T"><img data-categories="essential" alt="South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks at a press conference ahead of his 2025 budget speech." loading="lazy" width="644" height="450" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/45c242f73a51e406b48a33b1dd14a6189bccdbc8-1600x1119.jpg?rect=54%2C0%2C1492%2C1119&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/45c242f73a51e406b48a33b1dd14a6189bccdbc8-1600x1119.jpg?rect=54%2C0%2C1492%2C1119&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/45c242f73a51e406b48a33b1dd14a6189bccdbc8-1600x1119.jpg?rect=54%2C0%2C1492%2C1119&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ePpnK styles_sansSerif__CuZQc">South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Esa Alexander/Reuters.</span></figure></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_verticalDivider__SuEDN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__iJm1_ styles_layoutControl__L1oHO" href="/article/02/21/2025/kenyan-tea-exporters-fear-sudan-blowback-over-rsf-meeting"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__cXVio" aria-hidden="true"></div><div><h2 class="styles_headline__jnXf9 styles_small__7cUU_">Kenyan tea exporters fear Sudan blowback over RSF meeting</h2></div><div><div><div class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_small__7cUU_">Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces paramilitary held a symbolic political event in Nairobi that may have repercussions for Kenya’s biggest commodity.</div></div></div><div class="styles_ledePhoto__6dRX6 styles_small__7cUU_"><figure class="styles_figure__YN8UZ styles_topSpacing__dZC8T"><img data-categories="essential" alt="Delegates affiliated to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces at a meeting in Nairobi." loading="lazy" width="644" height="410" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/e5b3200e9915c1ef9934556d1006ebbd90cd0d80-4971x3166.jpg?rect=376%2C0%2C4221%2C3166&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/e5b3200e9915c1ef9934556d1006ebbd90cd0d80-4971x3166.jpg?rect=376%2C0%2C4221%2C3166&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/e5b3200e9915c1ef9934556d1006ebbd90cd0d80-4971x3166.jpg?rect=376%2C0%2C4221%2C3166&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ePpnK styles_sansSerif__CuZQc">Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces delegates met in Nairobi. Monicah Mwangi/Reuters.</span></figure></div></a><div class="styles_barrierSm__KCqcK"><style data-emotion="css 1dqzate">.css-1dqzate{position:fixed;top:0;left:0;right:0;width:100%;bottom:100%;z-index:900;}</style><div class="css-1dqzate"></div><style data-emotion="css 1hmcvis animation-1cwuobz">.css-1hmcvis{padding:0 12px;position:fixed;bottom:0;right:0;left:0;z-index:901;touch-action:none;font-family:"FeatureFlatHeadline",serif;background-color:#f8f5d7;-webkit-transform:translate(0%, 101%);-moz-transform:translate(0%, 101%);-ms-transform:translate(0%, 101%);transform:translate(0%, 101%);-webkit-transition:-webkit-transform 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:transform 0.3s ease-in-out;padding-left:12px;padding-right:12px;}@media (min-width: 768px){.css-1hmcvis{padding-left:24px;padding-right:24px;}}.css-1hmcvis[aria-hidden="true"]{-webkit-animation:animation-1cwuobz 0.3s ease-in-out forwards;animation:animation-1cwuobz 0.3s ease-in-out forwards;}@-webkit-keyframes 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Mitch McConnell, R-Ky." loading="lazy" width="644" height="429" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/e3ea90cdd5e147b7a87bc2710b2144f29f536126-6000x4000.jpg?rect=334%2C0%2C5333%2C4000&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/e3ea90cdd5e147b7a87bc2710b2144f29f536126-6000x4000.jpg?rect=334%2C0%2C5333%2C4000&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/e3ea90cdd5e147b7a87bc2710b2144f29f536126-6000x4000.jpg?rect=334%2C0%2C5333%2C4000&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ePpnK styles_sansSerif__CuZQc">Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters</span></figure></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_verticalDivider__SuEDN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__iJm1_ styles_layoutControl__L1oHO" href="/article/02/20/2025/new-center-for-american-progress-head-neera-tanden-interview-on-democrats"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__cXVio" aria-hidden="true"></div><div><h2 class="styles_headline__jnXf9 styles_small__7cUU_">Democrats ‘should not be knee-jerk institution defenders,’ new Center for American Progress chief says</h2></div><div><div><div class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_small__7cUU_">Neera Tanden talked to Semafor about the task ahead for her party and the lessons it’s still trying to learn.</div></div></div><div class="styles_ledePhoto__6dRX6 styles_small__7cUU_"><figure class="styles_figure__YN8UZ styles_topSpacing__dZC8T"><img data-categories="essential" alt="" loading="lazy" width="644" height="644" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" 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class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_small__7cUU_">The company’s agreement ended its longtime feud with the British Broccoli family that had tightly controlled the Bond brand for more than 60 years. </div></div></div><div class="styles_ledePhoto__6dRX6 styles_small__7cUU_"><figure class="styles_figure__YN8UZ styles_topSpacing__dZC8T"><img data-categories="essential" alt="A double-decker bus in London painted with an advertisement for Daniel Craig’s James Bond." loading="lazy" width="644" height="446" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/f524f2b256d1cdecc4a6a77db66c638340550758-1279x887.png?rect=49%2C0%2C1183%2C887&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/f524f2b256d1cdecc4a6a77db66c638340550758-1279x887.png?rect=49%2C0%2C1183%2C887&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/f524f2b256d1cdecc4a6a77db66c638340550758-1279x887.png?rect=49%2C0%2C1183%2C887&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ePpnK styles_sansSerif__CuZQc">Toby Melville/File Photo/Reuters</span></figure></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_verticalDivider__qDNaG" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__iJm1_ styles_layoutControl__L1oHO" href="/article/02/20/2025/donald-trump-calls-ukraines-zelenskyy-a-dictator-as-war-of-words-escalates"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__cXVio" aria-hidden="true"></div><div><h2 class="styles_headline__jnXf9 styles_small__7cUU_">Trump calls Ukraine’s Zelenskyy a ‘dictator’ as China set to benefit from US pivot</h2></div><div><div><div class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_small__7cUU_">Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Trump of parroting many of Moscow’s talking points on 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Shannon Stapleton/Reuters" loading="lazy" width="644" height="408" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/2b62c449d8a9dd606023eddff06c64d59dd80637-1600x1016.png?rect=123%2C0%2C1355%2C1016&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/2b62c449d8a9dd606023eddff06c64d59dd80637-1600x1016.png?rect=123%2C0%2C1355%2C1016&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/2b62c449d8a9dd606023eddff06c64d59dd80637-1600x1016.png?rect=123%2C0%2C1355%2C1016&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ePpnK styles_sansSerif__CuZQc">Shannon Stapleton/Reuters</span></figure></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_verticalDivider__qDNaG" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__iJm1_ styles_layoutControl__L1oHO" href="/article/02/20/2025/arab-leaders-craft-gaza-proposal-to-avoid-us-displacement"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__cXVio" aria-hidden="true"></div><div><h2 class="styles_headline__jnXf9 styles_small__7cUU_">Arab leaders race to craft Gaza proposal to counter Trump</h2></div><div><div><div class="styles_intro__xf0EC styles_small__7cUU_">Officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar are set to meet in Riyadh Friday to formulate a plan for the enclave.</div></div></div><div class="styles_ledePhoto__6dRX6 styles_small__7cUU_"><figure class="styles_figure__YN8UZ styles_topSpacing__dZC8T"><img data-categories="essential" alt="An elderly man stands beside a line of cars in Gaza." loading="lazy" width="644" height="469" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__BjnOG" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/a2190f1d39c5b0473560ca91776710a54468e578-1600x1167.jpg?rect=22%2C0%2C1556%2C1167&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, 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width="644" height="429" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/b316043a96fbd08916f150417ab7f685e5e54c84-2604x1736.jpg?rect=145%2C0%2C2315%2C1736&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/b316043a96fbd08916f150417ab7f685e5e54c84-2604x1736.jpg?rect=145%2C0%2C2315%2C1736&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/b316043a96fbd08916f150417ab7f685e5e54c84-2604x1736.jpg?rect=145%2C0%2C2315%2C1736&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Kent Nishimura/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></div><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-0__7vBqx" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-1__JGizl styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/democratic-senator-pushes-vote-on-trump-backed-tax-idea"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_hasLedeMedia__Ko41w styles_headline__MOZEV">Baldwin seeks vote on Trump-backed plan to raise taxes on private equity</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_hasLedeMedia__Ko41w styles_description__MuLLy">The Wisconsin Democrat wants to put Republicans on record about the so-called carried interest benefit.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg"><img data-categories="essential" alt="Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis." loading="lazy" width="644" height="429" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/de2a3b62969cbdc2dd33a56ed62268febd505741-6824x4551.jpg?rect=378%2C0%2C6068%2C4551&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/de2a3b62969cbdc2dd33a56ed62268febd505741-6824x4551.jpg?rect=378%2C0%2C6068%2C4551&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/de2a3b62969cbdc2dd33a56ed62268febd505741-6824x4551.jpg?rect=378%2C0%2C6068%2C4551&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Vincent Alban/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-1__kxHkX" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-2__yrzra styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/trump-loyalist-kash-patel-confirmed-to-lead-fbi"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_hasLedeMedia__Ko41w styles_headline__MOZEV">Trump loyalist Kash Patel confirmed to lead FBI</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_hasLedeMedia__Ko41w styles_description__MuLLy">A long-time critic of the FBI, Kash Patel has vowed to radically overhaul the agency.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg"><img data-categories="essential" alt="FBI Director Kash Patel" loading="lazy" width="644" height="439" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/7c29c6bedd28a936d5b8af71aee083bf0a95898c-3885x2652.jpg?rect=175%2C0%2C3536%2C2652&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/7c29c6bedd28a936d5b8af71aee083bf0a95898c-3885x2652.jpg?rect=175%2C0%2C3536%2C2652&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/7c29c6bedd28a936d5b8af71aee083bf0a95898c-3885x2652.jpg?rect=175%2C0%2C3536%2C2652&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-2__MfNsO" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-3__kkq57 styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/kentucky-republicans-already-tangling-over-mcconnells-succession"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Kentucky Republicans already tangling over McConnell’s succession</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">A Bluegrass brawl is taking shape as three Senate hopefuls vie for a leg up.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-3__WnFAe" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-3__V31a0" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-4__jaFyR styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/new-center-for-american-progress-head-neera-tanden-interview-on-democrats"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Democrats ‘should not be knee-jerk institution defenders,’ new Center for American Progress chief says</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Neera Tanden talked to Semafor about the task ahead for her party and the lessons it’s still trying to learn.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-4__t0Wt7" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-4__h_h8u" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-5__Emble styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/watch-tackling-washington-tax-spend-priorities"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Tackling Washington’s tax and spend priorities</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Tax cuts are back — but so are the big questions.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-5__T1FTu" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-6__TktSV styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/us-congress-approval-highest-in-nearly-four-years-gallup"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">US Congress approval highest in nearly four years, Gallup poll finds</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Nearly 30% of US adults approve of the job that Congress is doing, a 12-percentage-point spike since January.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-6__tffAm" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-7__NkZts styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/senate-republicans-want-input-as-trump-steps-up-government-overhaul"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Senate Republicans want input as Trump steps up government overhaul</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">They stomached the initial layoffs with only a few complaints. Reshaping regulators may be another matter.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-7__BvANf" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-7__0ylw8" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-8__WOFRn styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/justice-department-defends-decision-to-drop-nyc-mayor-charges"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Top DOJ official defends move to drop NYC mayor charges</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Acting Deputy Attorney General Emile Bove appeared at a federal court hearing to dismiss the case after several Manhattan federal prosecutors resigned over the DOJ’s order.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-8__KTx47" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-9__xbg5k styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/trumps-approval-rating-slips-slightly-as-more-americans-worry-about-the-economy"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Trump approval rating slips slightly as more Americans worry about economy</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">While 93% of Republicans said they approved of the US president in a new Gallup poll, just 4% of Democrats said they approved of the job he is doing.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-9__xspNu" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__1BicZ styles_article-10__dO4F7 styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/bipartisan-ships-bill-could-appeal-to-trump"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Bipartisan SHIPS bill could appeal to Trump</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Dem senator talks to White House about new version of bill to revitalize the US maritime industry.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a></div></div><div class="styles_section__oYQem styles_layoutControl__iGUCF"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_topDevider__8QFrN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a href="/vertical/business" class="styles_sectionTitle__wU9BJ styles_sectionTitleField__4ZBMk">business</a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-0__Z5QVM styles_sectionDivider__vogq9" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_gridItems__p9oVe" style="position:relative"><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-0__IJndr styles_imagePreview__BWdYQ styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/trump-ftc-chair-signals-no-retreat-from-tough-biden-antitrust-enforcement"><div class="styles_twoColumnMedia__yo4aj"><div class="styles_firstColumnMedia___Bc8C"><div class="styles_mediaContent__vmqfi"><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_ledeHeadline__hV5Gi">Corporate giants want a free hand to merge. They might not get it. </h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_ledeDescription__FD7_V">Trump’s antitrust cop signals no retreat from tough Biden merger rules, a not-so-fast moment for the business community; the “Khanservatives” appear in charge for now. </div></div></div></div></div><div class="styles_secondColumnMedia__eoMGf"><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg styles_mediaClassName__K55Oj"><img data-categories="essential" alt="US Vice President JD Vance addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland." loading="lazy" width="644" height="429" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/e65c22d4be566aff789d19e26d862b3be2565d12-6000x4000.jpg?rect=334%2C0%2C5333%2C4000&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/e65c22d4be566aff789d19e26d862b3be2565d12-6000x4000.jpg?rect=334%2C0%2C5333%2C4000&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/e65c22d4be566aff789d19e26d862b3be2565d12-6000x4000.jpg?rect=334%2C0%2C5333%2C4000&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Nathan Howard/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-1__34WB6 styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/18/2025/a-maga-adviser-is-proposing-a-doge-dividend"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">A MAGA adviser is proposing a ‘DOGE dividend’ </h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">James Fishback, who launched an anti-woke fund an has been advising DOGE, wants to send its savings back to Americans. </div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-1__LfDlQ" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-2__okEEo styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/18/2025/blackrock-paused-corporate-meetings-in-wake-of-new-sec-rules"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">BlackRock paused corporate meetings in wake of new rules on ESG engagement</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The big asset manager kiboshed meetings in the immediate aftermath but is just one of many companies retooling in the face of the Trump administrations rapid rulemaking.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-2__G_6L1" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-3__aWqns styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/16/2025/xi-jinping-set-to-host-corporate-leaders-including-jack-ma"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Xi Jinping set to host top Chinese CEOs amid economic push</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The gathering could reassure global investors that “another crackdown is not around the corner,” one analyst said.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-3__vyER7" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-3__8t8bo" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-4__V6Hjr styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/16/2025/argentinas-milei-backtracks-after-promoting-crypto-coin-as-means-to-boost-economy"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Argentina’s Milei backtracks after promoting crypto coin as means to boost economy </h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The cryptocurrency token, which had the same name as Javier Milei’s political party, rapidly rose in value Friday before cratering, drawing opposition ire.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-4__VCpJH" aria-hidden="true"></div></div></div><div class="styles_section__oYQem styles_layoutControl__iGUCF"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_topDevider__8QFrN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a href="/vertical/tech" class="styles_sectionTitle__wU9BJ">technology</a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-heading__QLKK5 styles_sectionDivider__bD_4X" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_gridItems__Fp59N" style="position:relative"><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-0__OawMt styles_imagePreview__BWdYQ styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/microsofts-new-quantum-chip-creates-new-state-of-matter"><div class="styles_responsiveContainer__ggIdn"><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div><div class="styles_responsiveContainer__ggIdn styles_responsiveCenter__hxvHZ styles_responsiveCenter__FQPGX"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_ledeHeadline__hV5Gi">Microsoft’s quantum chip creates new state of matter</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_ledeDescription__FD7_V styles_hasLedeMedia__Ko41w">The new “topological state” — which isn’t a solid, liquid, or gas — had previously only existed in theory.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg styles_mediaSectionClassName__UZbHL"><img data-categories="essential" alt="Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip." loading="lazy" width="644" height="429" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/1b0ea0be9b0cc8a4ae2e97f1a2134312584e17a1-1600x1067.jpg?rect=89%2C0%2C1423%2C1067&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/1b0ea0be9b0cc8a4ae2e97f1a2134312584e17a1-1600x1067.jpg?rect=89%2C0%2C1423%2C1067&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/1b0ea0be9b0cc8a4ae2e97f1a2134312584e17a1-1600x1067.jpg?rect=89%2C0%2C1423%2C1067&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Microsoft/Handout via Reuters</span></figure></div></div></div><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-0__ARot5" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-1__NbZZ2 styles_imagePreview__BWdYQ styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/corporations-dig-deeper-using-bunkers-to-secure-data"><div class="styles_responsiveContainer__ggIdn"><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div><div class="styles_responsiveContainer__ggIdn styles_responsiveCenter__hxvHZ styles_responsiveCenter__FQPGX"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_ledeHeadline__hV5Gi">Corporations dig deeper: using bunkers to secure data (and their CEOs)</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_ledeDescription__FD7_V styles_hasLedeMedia__Ko41w">Several large companies are building underground housing for their data centers and executives.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg styles_mediaSectionClassName__UZbHL"><img data-categories="essential" alt="" loading="lazy" width="644" height="431" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071.jpg?rect=86%2C0%2C1428%2C1071&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Roof of a residential bunker under construction in Kansas by Survival Condo. Courtesy of Survival Condo.</span></figure></div></div></div><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-1__sHXmL" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-2__HsE7h styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/18/2025/crypto-heavyweight-coinbase-releases-us-legislative-wishlist"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Crypto heavyweight Coinbase releases US legislative wishlist</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">After battling regulators in the Biden administration and funneling millions to Republicans in the 2024 elections, the crypto exchange is formalizing its asks of a GOP-controlled Washington.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-2__hVjzg" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-3__RNqBS styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/14/2025/openai-board-rejects-elon-musks-takeover-bid"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">OpenAI board rejects Elon Musk’s takeover bid</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The ChatGPT maker said Musk’s $97.4 billion offer was “not in the best interests” of the company.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-3__h2ECQ" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-3__7rp3v" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-4__XIHfn styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/14/2025/chatgpt-more-users-are-falling-for-ai-companions"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">ChatGPT: Will you be my Valentine? More users are falling for AI companions</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Behind the Valentine’s plans and relationships of chatbot users who fell in love with AI.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-4__4DmR0" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-5__a0nxg styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/13/2025/chip-maker-encharge-raises-100m-in-series-b-round-aims-to-slash-ai-energy-usage"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Chip maker EnCharge raises $100M in Series B round, aims to slash AI energy usage</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The DARPA-backed startup has developed chips using a unique technology that requires significantly lower amounts of energy to run AI models compared to market-leading options.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a></div></div><div class="styles_section__oYQem styles_layoutControl__iGUCF"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_topDevider__8QFrN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a href="/vertical/netzero" class="styles_sectionTitle__wU9BJ">net zero</a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__oSHm2" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_gridItems__1Ss8S" style="position:relative"><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article-0__W7Nxw styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/donald-trump-is-playing-a-dangerous-game-with-russian-energy"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Trump is playing a dangerous game with Russian energy</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Lifting sanctions and allowing Russian oil and gas back into the global market could backfire for the US.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg"><img data-categories="essential" alt="Flue gas and steam rise out of chimneys and smokestacks of an oil refinery during sunset on a frosty day in the Siberian city of Omsk" loading="lazy" width="644" height="427" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/ff668363c7aa70c9421ae415a7ac36b89c6c4db9-1279x850.png?rect=74%2C0%2C1133%2C850&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/ff668363c7aa70c9421ae415a7ac36b89c6c4db9-1279x850.png?rect=74%2C0%2C1133%2C850&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/ff668363c7aa70c9421ae415a7ac36b89c6c4db9-1279x850.png?rect=74%2C0%2C1133%2C850&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Alexey Malgavko/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__ly1uB" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article-1__ey5_7 styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/18/2025/trumps-anti-dei-push-threatens-a-huge-energy-bank"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Trump’s anti-DEI push threatens a huge energy bank</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Beneficiaries of the EPA’s $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund might sue to keep the money, the head of one such group told Semafor.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg"><img data-categories="essential" alt="A solar panel array in San Diego, California. " loading="lazy" width="644" height="459" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/e3d783b98ee98b2d9f8e76ecd44d4643089897ff-1024x731.jpg?rect=25%2C0%2C975%2C731&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/e3d783b98ee98b2d9f8e76ecd44d4643089897ff-1024x731.jpg?rect=25%2C0%2C975%2C731&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/e3d783b98ee98b2d9f8e76ecd44d4643089897ff-1024x731.jpg?rect=25%2C0%2C975%2C731&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Pexels/Creative Commons</span></figure></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__ly1uB" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article-2__FRpdg styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/13/2025/trump-eu-tariff-spat-could-put-a-key-methane-on-the-negotiating-table"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Trump-EU tariff spat could put a key climate policy on the negotiating table</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Europe’s looming methane standards could hold US gas companies accountable — or devolve into greenwashing.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg"><img data-categories="essential" alt="LNG Tanker ASYA ENERGY sailing under the flag of Palau is moored off the coast of the Mediterranean port of Limassol." loading="lazy" width="644" height="426" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/37677655ca56c8395dd37df2a95d8462bbf85399-1279x847.png?rect=76%2C0%2C1129%2C847&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/37677655ca56c8395dd37df2a95d8462bbf85399-1279x847.png?rect=76%2C0%2C1129%2C847&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/37677655ca56c8395dd37df2a95d8462bbf85399-1279x847.png?rect=76%2C0%2C1129%2C847&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Danil Shamkin/NurPhoto/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__ly1uB" aria-hidden="true"></div></div></div><div class="styles_section__oYQem styles_layoutControl__iGUCF"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_topDevider__8QFrN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a href="/vertical/gulf" class="styles_sectionTitle__wU9BJ styles_sectionTitleField__4ZBMk">gulf</a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-0__Z5QVM styles_sectionDivider__vogq9" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_gridItems__p9oVe" style="position:relative"><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-0__IJndr styles_imagePreview__BWdYQ styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/21/2025/uae-envoy-on-the-trends-reshaping-philanthropy"><div class="styles_twoColumnMedia__yo4aj"><div class="styles_firstColumnMedia___Bc8C"><div class="styles_mediaContent__vmqfi"><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_ledeHeadline__hV5Gi">UAE envoy on the trends reshaping philanthropy</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_ledeDescription__FD7_V">A massive wealth transfer, data-driven giving, and new technologies are driving the future of philanthropy.</div></div></div></div></div><div class="styles_secondColumnMedia__eoMGf"><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg styles_mediaClassName__K55Oj"><img data-categories="essential" alt="Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises, and UAE business and philanthropy envoy." loading="lazy" width="644" height="429" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/97d5e0cf2f7ee12bbdabc082c7207a6df99079e0-1600x1066.jpg?rect=90%2C0%2C1421%2C1066&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/97d5e0cf2f7ee12bbdabc082c7207a6df99079e0-1600x1066.jpg?rect=90%2C0%2C1421%2C1066&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/97d5e0cf2f7ee12bbdabc082c7207a6df99079e0-1600x1066.jpg?rect=90%2C0%2C1421%2C1066&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Badr Jafar. World Economic Forum/Flickr.</span></figure></div></div></a><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-1__34WB6 styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/20/2025/analysis-im-an-israeli-investor-who-cant-wait-for-a-saudi-israel-peace-deal"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Analysis: This Israeli investor can’t wait for a Saudi-Israel peace deal</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Collaboration between Saudi and Israeli businesses will have benefits that could reshape the region.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-1__LfDlQ" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-2__okEEo styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/21/2025/israels-missile-defense-maker-proposes-system-for-us-shield"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Israel’s missile defense maker proposes system for US shield</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Israel Aerospace Industries’ CEO said a battle-tested system can be part of the US’ missile defense strategy, and may be sold to the UAE and other Gulf states in the future.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-2__G_6L1" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-3__aWqns styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/dubai-studying-railbus-system-in-effort-to-improve-public-transport"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Dubai studying ‘railbus’ system in effort to improve public transport</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The hybrid mode of transport is already in use in parts of Asia and Europe, but it may take years before it’s available in Dubai.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-3__vyER7" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-3__8t8bo" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-4__V6Hjr styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/new-paper-raises-questions-over-saudi-foreign-direct-investment-data"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">New paper raises questions over Saudi foreign direct investment data</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">A new paper points to major discrepancies in the quarterly and annual FDI data compiled by two different Saudi government bodies.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-4__VCpJH" aria-hidden="true"></div></div></div><div class="styles_section__oYQem styles_layoutControl__iGUCF"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_topDevider__8QFrN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a href="/vertical/africa" class="styles_sectionTitle__wU9BJ">africa</a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-heading__QLKK5 styles_sectionDivider__bD_4X" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_gridItems__Fp59N" style="position:relative"><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-0__OawMt styles_imagePreview__BWdYQ styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/21/2025/african-renewables-under-trump"><div class="styles_responsiveContainer__ggIdn"><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div><div class="styles_responsiveContainer__ggIdn styles_responsiveCenter__hxvHZ styles_responsiveCenter__FQPGX"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_ledeHeadline__hV5Gi">African investors must seek ‘alternative partnerships’ for renewables under Trump administration</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_ledeDescription__FD7_V styles_hasLedeMedia__Ko41w">Investors must adjust to US climate skepticism in order to ensure renewables continue to dominate infrastructure finance in Africa, an industry figure said.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg styles_mediaSectionClassName__UZbHL"><img data-categories="essential" alt="A technician works on solar power panels in Lagos, Nigeria. " loading="lazy" width="644" height="429" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/c8ceae34bbc2a29fd3d069261c0785cc34861dda-6720x4480.jpg?rect=374%2C0%2C5973%2C4480&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/c8ceae34bbc2a29fd3d069261c0785cc34861dda-6720x4480.jpg?rect=374%2C0%2C5973%2C4480&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/c8ceae34bbc2a29fd3d069261c0785cc34861dda-6720x4480.jpg?rect=374%2C0%2C5973%2C4480&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Temilade Adelaja/File Photo/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></div><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-0__ARot5" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-1__NbZZ2 styles_imagePreview__BWdYQ styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/21/2025/south-africa-budget-businesses-in-limbo-after-delay"><div class="styles_responsiveContainer__ggIdn"><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div><div class="styles_responsiveContainer__ggIdn styles_responsiveCenter__hxvHZ styles_responsiveCenter__FQPGX"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_ledeHeadline__hV5Gi">South African businesses in limbo after budget delay</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_ledeDescription__FD7_V styles_hasLedeMedia__Ko41w">The unprecedented postponement of the budget has prompted uncertainty around the government’s economic plans. </div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg styles_mediaSectionClassName__UZbHL"><img data-categories="essential" alt="South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks at a press conference ahead of his 2025 budget speech." loading="lazy" width="644" height="450" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/45c242f73a51e406b48a33b1dd14a6189bccdbc8-1600x1119.jpg?rect=54%2C0%2C1492%2C1119&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/45c242f73a51e406b48a33b1dd14a6189bccdbc8-1600x1119.jpg?rect=54%2C0%2C1492%2C1119&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/45c242f73a51e406b48a33b1dd14a6189bccdbc8-1600x1119.jpg?rect=54%2C0%2C1492%2C1119&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Esa Alexander/Reuters.</span></figure></div></div></div><div class="styles_responsiveColumn__eHH9U"></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-1__sHXmL" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-2__HsE7h styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/21/2025/kenyan-tea-exporters-fear-sudan-blowback-over-rsf-meeting"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Kenyan tea exporters fear Sudan blowback over RSF meeting</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces paramilitary held a symbolic political event in Nairobi that may have repercussions for Kenya’s biggest commodity.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-2__hVjzg" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-3__RNqBS styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/south-africa-due-to-present-key-budget"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">South Africa postpones high-stakes budget announcement </h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Africa’s largest economy has faced a burgeoning debt and stagnating economy that threatens to derail the country’s coalition government.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-3__h2ECQ" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-3__7rp3v" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-4__XIHfn styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/african-development-bank-projects-41-growth-for-the-continent"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">African Development Bank projects 4.1% growth for the continent </h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The improvement will be driven by economic reforms in several countries, the Bank wrote. </div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-4__4DmR0" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Smvmt styles_article-5__a0nxg styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/19/2025/south-sudans-instant-payments-push"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">South Sudan’s instant payments push</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The country will fully roll out the new instant payments system by December. </div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a></div></div><div class="styles_section__oYQem styles_layoutControl__iGUCF"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_topDevider__8QFrN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a href="/vertical/media" class="styles_sectionTitle__wU9BJ styles_sectionTitleField__4ZBMk">media</a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-0__Z5QVM styles_sectionDivider__vogq9" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_gridItems__p9oVe" style="position:relative"><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-0__IJndr styles_imagePreview__BWdYQ styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/16/2025/new-york-times-goes-all-in-on-internal-ai-tools"><div class="styles_twoColumnMedia__yo4aj"><div class="styles_firstColumnMedia___Bc8C"><div class="styles_mediaContent__vmqfi"><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_ledeHeadline__hV5Gi">New York Times goes all-in on internal AI tools</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_ledeDescription__FD7_V">The company said it was greenlighting a number of AI programs for editorial and product staff.</div></div></div></div></div><div class="styles_secondColumnMedia__eoMGf"><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg styles_mediaClassName__K55Oj"><img data-categories="essential" alt="The New York Times building" loading="lazy" width="644" height="483" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/9a3740de24ee9c0999fbc0759a6708f5448136f1-3177x2383.jpg?w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/9a3740de24ee9c0999fbc0759a6708f5448136f1-3177x2383.jpg?w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/9a3740de24ee9c0999fbc0759a6708f5448136f1-3177x2383.jpg?w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Shannon Stapleton/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-1__34WB6 styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/16/2025/democrats-influencers-huddle-for-a-new-new-media-strategy"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Democrats, influencers huddle for a new new media strategy</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The summit in DC was part of a monthslong effort by the party to fix its online presence. </div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-1__LfDlQ" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-2__okEEo styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/14/2025/mixed-signals-how-fox-is-embracing-the-creator-economy-with-red-seats-chris-balfe"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Mixed Signals: How Fox is embracing the creator economy, with Red Seat’s Chris Balfe</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">Is the future of media one where big media companies no longer have control over their talent?</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-2__G_6L1" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-3__aWqns styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/10/2025/trust-in-news-summit"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV"> Innovating to Restore Trust in News: A National Summit</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The movement to shape a new era of trusted journalism.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_h-divider-3__vyER7" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-3__8t8bo" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article__Z8Z_g styles_article-4__V6Hjr styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/09/2025/new-york-magazine-partnered-with-anti-psychedelics-activists-on-mdma-series"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">New York Magazine partnered with anti-psychedelics activists on MDMA series</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The group, Psymposia, is coming under greater scrutiny for its at times aggressive tactics.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_v-divider-4__VCpJH" aria-hidden="true"></div></div></div><div class="styles_section__oYQem styles_layoutControl__iGUCF"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_topDevider__8QFrN" aria-hidden="true"></div><a href="/vertical/security" class="styles_sectionTitle__wU9BJ">security</a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__oSHm2" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_gridItems__1Ss8S" style="position:relative"><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article-0__W7Nxw styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/18/2025/us-and-russia-begin-talks-in-saudi-arabia-over-ending-ukraine-war"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Zelenskyy: ‘Nobody decides anything behind our back’ as US, Russia hold Ukraine talks</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The Ukrainian leader sharply criticized Tuesday’s US-Russia bilateral talks in Riyadh.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg"><img data-categories="essential" alt="U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 18, 2025. " loading="lazy" width="644" height="398" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/1f22e2d58c5f6bc9046f500957930b50c3f324b4-5500x3404.jpg?rect=481%2C0%2C4539%2C3404&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/1f22e2d58c5f6bc9046f500957930b50c3f324b4-5500x3404.jpg?rect=481%2C0%2C4539%2C3404&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/1f22e2d58c5f6bc9046f500957930b50c3f324b4-5500x3404.jpg?rect=481%2C0%2C4539%2C3404&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__ly1uB" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article-1__ey5_7 styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/13/2025/at-least-20-injured-in-car-ramming-incident-in-munich"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">At least 28 injured in suspected car-ramming attack in Munich</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The incident happened about a mile away from the venue of the Munich Security Conference, which is set to begin Friday. </div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg"><img data-categories="essential" alt="The site of the car-ramming incident in Munich. " loading="lazy" width="644" height="428" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/d660e403f51f654e23538babe1cbbab5c6798163-4032x2682.jpg?rect=228%2C0%2C3576%2C2682&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/d660e403f51f654e23538babe1cbbab5c6798163-4032x2682.jpg?rect=228%2C0%2C3576%2C2682&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/d660e403f51f654e23538babe1cbbab5c6798163-4032x2682.jpg?rect=228%2C0%2C3576%2C2682&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__ly1uB" aria-hidden="true"></div><a class="styles_featuredStory__6_iye styles_article-2__FRpdg styles_layoutControl__S4jQx" href="/article/02/11/2025/russia-to-target-americans-with-nuclear-winter-propaganda-european-intelligence"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div><h2 class="styles_headline__0eSG_ styles_headline__MOZEV">Russia to target Americans with ‘nuclear winter’ propaganda, Estonia intelligence says</h2></div><div class="styles_descriptionRow__rB3Zw"><div><div class="styles_intro__eEyMN styles_description__MuLLy">The Kremlin plans to resurrect Cold War-era concerns about the contested nuclear winter theory to reduce US support for Ukraine, Estonian intelligence said.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><figure class="styles_figure__vTRZl styles_topSpacing__7bNrg"><img data-categories="essential" alt="A Russian ICBM on the Red Square during Victory Day, 2013." loading="lazy" width="644" height="408" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="styles_image__tD6b9" style="color:transparent" srcSet="https://img.semafor.com/107b1cf3f9589f8832587687bab3eb467790a35b-2250x1426.png?rect=175%2C0%2C1901%2C1426&w=750&h=966&q=75&auto=format 1x, https://img.semafor.com/107b1cf3f9589f8832587687bab3eb467790a35b-2250x1426.png?rect=175%2C0%2C1901%2C1426&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format 2x" src="https://img.semafor.com/107b1cf3f9589f8832587687bab3eb467790a35b-2250x1426.png?rect=175%2C0%2C1901%2C1426&w=1920&h=966&q=75&auto=format"/><span class="styles_attribution__ywkPS">Vitaly V. Kuzmin/Reuters</span></figure></div></div></a><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_vertical__l_4R6 styles_layoutControl__zEouR" aria-hidden="true"></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_horizontalDivider__ly1uB" aria-hidden="true"></div></div></div></div><div data-testid="ad-home" class="styles_adHomeWrapper__wtCr2 styles_layoutControl__2t_p4"><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR" aria-hidden="true"></div><div data-testid="body-ad-post-message"><div data-testid="ad-body" class="styles_adMargin__bnZWC styles_layoutControl__2t_p4"><div data-testid="ad-label" class="styles_adLabel__UBLx0">AD</div><div data-testid="ad-container" class="styles_adContainer__X2SPy"><div class="styles_innerAdContainer__InIPz"><div data-testid="ad" id="ad-home-footer" class="styles_ad__ECTuS" data-ad-density="true"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_layoutControl__zEouR styles_hideOnMobile__qzWLR" 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Johnson.\",\"id\":\"d13738c6-d557-4cbb-a36c-6b345da8c082\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"description\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"01e4721da63f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Nearly 30% of US adults approve of the job that Congress is doing, a 12-percentage-point spike since January.\",\"_key\":\"d854128dd30a\"}]}],\"geo_location\":\"North America\",\"imageAttribution\":\"Nathan Howard/File Photo/Reuters\",\"signal\":null,\"headline\":\"US Congress approval highest in nearly four years, Gallup poll finds\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/us-congress-approval-highest-in-nearly-four-years-gallup\",\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"intro\":null,\"timestamp\":\"2025-02-20T11:46:23Z\"},{\"vertical\":\"news\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Mathias Hammer\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/9636d8e3fd4d23847fd3b0cd769cd93a13668fee-1600x1600.png\"}],\"location\":\"\",\"expires\":true,\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/justice-department-defends-decision-to-drop-nyc-mayor-charges\",\"imageCaption\":\"New York City Mayor Eric Adams leaves a federal court in New York City, U.S., February 19, 2025.\",\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T22:06:25Z\",\"headline\":\"Top DOJ official defends move to drop NYC mayor charges\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"geo_location\":null,\"image\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Jeenah Moon/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"New York City Mayor Eric Adams leaves a federal court in New York City, U.S., February 19, 2025.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-82b983f56652493dd09bf56f9e3428ffecc22f6f-5332x3555-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"timestamp\":\"2025-02-19T22:06:22Z\",\"imageAttribution\":\"Jeenah Moon/Reuters\",\"signal\":[{\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Justice Department faces internal crisis over Adams case dismissal\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The New York Times\",\"Lawfare\"],\"_key\":\"2a2b7db5bf98\",\"body\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"At least half a dozen federal attorneys have resigned in connection to the Adams case following the Department of Justice order to dismiss it. Writing in her resignation letter, now-former acting US Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon alleged there was \",\"_key\":\"1b38604dfccd\"},{\"marks\":[\"fc903323efe8\"],\"text\":\"a quid pro quo\",\"_key\":\"34a0e75797a7\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"text\":\" between the administration and Mayor Adams — the mayor told the judge on Wednesday he had not been coerced — while another now-former attorney wrote that only \",\"_key\":\"6762f19a339d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"fc8de15a08a7\"],\"text\":\"a “coward” or a “fool”\",\"_key\":\"de037c5219e1\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" would support the DOJ’s reasoning. Hundreds of former prosecutors wrote a letter Monday in support of career federal attorneys, urging them to uphold the “\",\"_key\":\"5381d20388d7\"},{\"text\":\"rule of law.\",\"_key\":\"2cec8ea3abad\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"6cba9e7b6709\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” The political pressures are in danger of making the job of a federal prosecutor “\",\"_key\":\"151dc73f1298\"},{\"_key\":\"f4a4e441ec91\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"4f9b6ebabdb3\"],\"text\":\"ethically impossible\"},{\"text\":\",” one Lawfare analyst argued, as all prosecutors are essentially “one phone call away from being put in the position of facing a demand to behave unethically.”\",\"_key\":\"041b8e919e4d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a011bb7614df\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/13/us/doc-annotation-letter-to-bondi.html\",\"_key\":\"fc903323efe8\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/14/nyregion/scotten-letter.html\",\"_key\":\"fc8de15a08a7\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.thejusticeconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Open_Letter_to_Federal_Prosecutors__2-18-2025_.pdf\",\"_key\":\"6cba9e7b6709\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-situation--no-way-out\",\"_key\":\"4f9b6ebabdb3\"}]}]},{\"body\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b3441b31823f\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/presidents-cant-use-justice-department-their-personal-law-enforcement\",\"_key\":\"8c9fe620ac11\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-has-instructed-doj-terminate-all-remaining-biden-era-us-attorneys-2025-02-18/\",\"_key\":\"c534800e6f12\"},{\"_key\":\"c027aa1241c8\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-situation--no-way-out\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The growing conflict between the new Trump administration and the federal courts and career prosecutors is comparable to former President Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre,” when Justice Department officials resigned over his order to fire the prosecutor investigating Watergate, an expert at the Brennan Center for Justice wrote. The new administration appears to be aiming to make the Justice Department into the president’s “\",\"_key\":\"c34107906c5a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8c9fe620ac11\"],\"text\":\"personal law enforcement agency\",\"_key\":\"6c2242db7da2\"},{\"marks\":[\"underline\"],\"text\":\",\",\"_key\":\"c9d8ea5d2c42\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” she argued. On Tuesday, Donald Trump said he had ordered the Department of Justice to \",\"_key\":\"1be62d100d42\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"b0f4d043a6c1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c534800e6f12\"],\"text\":\"fire any remaining Biden-appointed US attorneys\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". Those moves risk undercutting the long-standing premise that the \",\"_key\":\"e4f29f0b2a4b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c027aa1241c8\"],\"text\":\"Justice Department is nonpartisan\",\"_key\":\"fbb92702ff0a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", a Lawfare expert argued, even as the Trump administration’s DOJ appointees have argued the Adams case was politically motivated.\",\"_key\":\"d262b6332277\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Trump administration tests criminal justice system’s resilience\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The Brennan Center\",\"Lawfare\",\"Reuters\"],\"_key\":\"d2701d41a0f1\"}],\"id\":\"923dc11b-3125-42e0-9296-64a45b425bd6\",\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dfc4efbb12c3\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Acting Deputy Attorney General Emile Bove appeared at a federal court hearing to dismiss the case after several Manhattan federal prosecutors resigned over the DOJ’s order.\",\"_key\":\"4f3c6e39ea54\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"}},{\"signal\":null,\"id\":\"bc39d271-b51c-48c7-a204-244d8fa63930\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"vertical\":\"news\",\"geo_location\":null,\"location\":\"\",\"imageAttribution\":\"Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/Reuters\",\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T19:03:22Z\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"image\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"US President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 18, 2025.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-cd461220fc4bfb77d15c7ec56baabaee5136aba2-8192x5464-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"imageCaption\":\"US President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 18, 2025.\",\"timestamp\":\"2025-02-19T19:03:19Z\",\"headline\":\"Trump approval rating slips slightly as more Americans worry about economy\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/trumps-approval-rating-slips-slightly-as-more-americans-worry-about-the-economy\",\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3f1d023f8663\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"While 93% of Republicans said they approved of the US president in a new Gallup poll, just 4% of Democrats said they approved of the job he is doing.\",\"_key\":\"7558fb6da497\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"expires\":true,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Mathias Hammer\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/9636d8e3fd4d23847fd3b0cd769cd93a13668fee-1600x1600.png\"}]},{\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"vertical\":\"news\",\"location\":\"Europe\",\"imageCaption\":\"Germans watch a televised debate ahead of the elections.\",\"headline\":\"Germany elections: Three themes that will shape the country’s future\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/germany-elections-three-themes-that-will-shape-the-countrys-future\",\"verticalDisplay\":null,\"timestamp\":\"2025-02-19T17:04:27Z\",\"geo_location\":\"Europe\",\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T17:04:32Z\",\"id\":\"5c46cab5-752f-47dc-9603-051f8f2eb549\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"J.D. Capelouto\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/6e8f19ad2f7a823b526436f72a35bda6ba8f774b-1600x1600.png\"}],\"image\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Germans watch a televised debate ahead of the elections.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-c8af114f01f926101db9faa4d63a9465e82fd2da-6000x4000-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1},\"imageAttribution\":\"Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters\",\"signal\":[{\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"National polls could forecast the future of the far right\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The New York Times\",\"Politico\"],\"_key\":\"f5a710e4a824\",\"body\":[{\"_key\":\"93e57ecbd860\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/world/europe/alice-weidel-germany-far-right-afd.html\",\"_key\":\"3b9846181658\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.eu/article/friedrich-merz-signals-openness-spd-greens-fdp-center-left-dismisses-coalition-afd-far-right-elections/\",\"_key\":\"50210398cdcc\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Germany’s populist and anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland is forecast to finish second in the election — a massive surge compared to their performance four years ago. The AfD’s new leader Alice Weidel, who lends the party a more appealing, “cosmopolitan” image, has succeeded in making the group appear to be “\",\"_key\":\"80794953dd40\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3b9846181658\"],\"text\":\"just another party\",\"_key\":\"de52ce9740c7\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” The New York Times wrote, even as experts say the AfD’s language and stances have become more radical. But the AfD will almost certainly not hold power or be part of a governing coalition: All the mainstream parties have \",\"_key\":\"e353644e1c9f\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"50210398cdcc\"],\"text\":\"ruled out working with the AfD\",\"_key\":\"011b4f1f834d\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", part of a longstanding, post-World War II “firewall” against the German far right.\",\"_key\":\"53133da73a81\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]},{\"source\":[\"Die Zeit\",\"RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland\",\"Semafor\"],\"_key\":\"e26901ce122b\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2025-02/olaf-scholz-muenchner-sicherheitskonferenz-j-d-vance-usa-russland\",\"_key\":\"610bca55cdf1\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.rnd.de/politik/friedrich-merz-strebt-deals-mit-trump-an-wenn-er-kanzler-werden-sollte-JXVPCF3EQJO7DA76WRSQHAZMI4.html\",\"_key\":\"8f0539f71498\"},{\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/02/14/2025/high-ranking-german-conservative-eu-should-consider-0-tariffs-on-us\",\"_key\":\"a06eff83667d\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Germany’s \",\"_key\":\"6ea23339a6c8\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"610bca55cdf1\"],\"text\":\"strained transatlantic relationship\",\"_key\":\"3426b338f051\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" to Washington has been under a spotlight in the runup to Sunday’s vote, especially after tech billionaire and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk threw his weight behind the AfD, while US Vice President JD Vance just last week criticized European governments for shunning the far right. The conservatives primed to lead the next government want to change that dynamic: CDU leader Freidrich Merz has said he wants to more proactively represent Germany’s interests, and floated \",\"_key\":\"fdcab387de62\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8f0539f71498\"],\"text\":\"making a “deal”\",\"_key\":\"badec1cbfcef\"},{\"_key\":\"ccc7c59f8a2c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" with Trump to ease tensions. A high-ranking CDU member said Europe and the US should also consider an agreement to \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a06eff83667d\"],\"text\":\"eliminate any tariffs\",\"_key\":\"d2aa0a1e4e10\"},{\"_key\":\"8f2ffc03c6be\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", Semafor reported.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4390f301e517\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"US-Germany relations change are set to change\",\"_type\":\"insight\"},{\"source\":[\"Atlantic Council\",\"The Guardian\",\"NTV.de\"],\"_key\":\"0d4e2db9a88e\",\"body\":[{\"_key\":\"438c3e0c648d\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/germanys-economy-has-gone-from-engine-to-anchor/\",\"_key\":\"d45acaab5503\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/feb/19/the-rise-of-the-far-right-global-trade-and-ukraines-future-why-the-german-election-matters-visual-explainer\",\"_key\":\"bac41d7a6d6f\"},{\"_key\":\"85422807c440\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.n-tv.de/politik/16-50-Merz-schockiert-von-Trumps-Ukraine-Ausserungen--article23143824.html\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"What happens in Germany — the European Union’s most populous nation and its largest economy — has broad ramifications for the entire continent. Germany’s recent domestic slowdown has exacerbated Europe’s own challenges, as its industrial production — the foundation of the German economy — has \",\"_key\":\"218164039dfb\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d45acaab5503\"],\"text\":\"declined in the face of competition\",\"_key\":\"f65ccc8c986a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" from China. The election also comes at a pivotal moment for the Ukraine war, which will alter Europe’s future. Germany is a big \",\"_key\":\"2837cea35b04\"},{\"_key\":\"0ae024b748b2\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"bac41d7a6d6f\"],\"text\":\"contributor to Ukraine’s defense\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", but so far has been sidelined in US-led peace talks with Russia. Despite a fraught geopolitical landscape, the next government in Berlin has an opportunity to assert itself: Merz has called for a unified European response to ensure Berlin ”\",\"_key\":\"249066c7cf65\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"85422807c440\"],\"text\":\"does not sit at the kids’ table\",\"_key\":\"6e8e00a2e100\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".”\",\"_key\":\"1e2dc9300b86\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Europe’s biggest economy weighs heavy on the continent\",\"_type\":\"insight\"}],\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"9e8d30ef34d5\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The elections will determine the direction of the world’s third-largest economy as it navigates the new Trump administration and growing security threats.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bef78d324aaf\"}],\"descriptionOverride\":[]},{\"headline\":\"South Africa postpones high-stakes budget announcement \",\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/south-africa-due-to-present-key-budget\",\"description\":[{\"_key\":\"dafd918c7bd9\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Africa’s largest economy has faced a burgeoning debt and stagnating economy that threatens to derail the country’s coalition government.\",\"_key\":\"16e04d3f7bb2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"vertical\":\"africa\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Jeronimo Gonzalez\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/83a4b52af4738fc10daddc08535081acf556dda3-1600x1600.png\"}],\"timestamp\":\"2025-02-19T14:36:20Z\",\"geo_location\":\"Africa\",\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-34fc0a9c05901bd2fc74337a507759b568135f2e-5195x3632-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Esa Alexander/Reuters.\",\"caption\":\"South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.\"},\"imageAttribution\":\"South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Esa Alexander/Reuters.\",\"expires\":true,\"id\":\"08847416-f183-431f-bc1e-c89d3a598c08\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Africa\",\"_key\":\"africa\",\"value\":\"africa\"}],\"imageCaption\":\"South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.\",\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T19:30:26.405Z\",\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"intro\":null,\"location\":\"Africa\",\"signal\":null},{\"intro\":null,\"timestamp\":\"2025-02-19T13:34:01Z\",\"expires\":true,\"id\":\"90044bce-e475-4018-b66b-4d74fb2b048a\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Alexander Onukwue\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/632c62d616077fbd548d74c1fe3ec8abdc64e37e-1600x1600.png\"}],\"image\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Luc Gnago/File Photo/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"The headquarters of the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-33a10a0632b5bf96bf294f08aad8475e9c6a93b7-6720x4480-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T13:34:04Z\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/african-development-bank-projects-41-growth-for-the-continent\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"vertical\":\"africa\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Africa\",\"_key\":\"africa\",\"value\":\"africa\"}],\"imageAttribution\":\"Luc Gnago/File Photo/Reuters\",\"imageCaption\":\"The headquarters of the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast\",\"geo_location\":\"Africa\",\"location\":\"Africa\",\"signal\":null,\"headline\":\"African Development Bank projects 4.1% growth for the continent \",\"description\":[{\"_key\":\"872b9836ba1a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The improvement will be driven by economic reforms in several countries, the Bank wrote. \",\"_key\":\"a9536556b31a\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]},{\"geo_location\":null,\"imageAttribution\":\"Pexels/Creative Commons\",\"imageCaption\":\"A person types on their smartphone. \",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/south-sudans-instant-payments-push\",\"description\":[{\"_key\":\"6e2fa74e4c61\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The country will fully roll out the new instant payments system by December. \",\"_key\":\"4e7860fbb99d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"intro\":null,\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T13:32:28Z\",\"headline\":\"South Sudan’s instant payments push\",\"location\":\"\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Alexander 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It ultimately expanded to more than 70, which he later organized into themes.\",\"_key\":\"658a3fd9c278\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"47040aac736c\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-23T12:33:52Z\",\"headline\":\"UAE envoy on the trends reshaping philanthropy\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"vertical\":\"gulf\",\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A massive wealth transfer, data-driven giving, and new technologies are driving the future of philanthropy.\",\"_key\":\"d5bb6baf0aa7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b60bc3646569\"}],\"descriptionOverride\":[]},{\"headline\":\"Analysis: This Israeli investor can’t wait for a Saudi-Israel peace deal\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"location\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Jon Medved \",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/e4e8f559879e03c9afc9decf530f3b1136f2085f-800x800.png\"}],\"signal\":null,\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"vertical\":\"gulf\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Gulf\",\"_key\":\"gulf\",\"value\":\"gulf\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"reference\",\"_ref\":\"image-deec405da1b7921edd473521db7d5526160bbf77-2560x1952-png\"}},\"attribution\":null,\"caption\":null},\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-23T10:13:12Z\",\"id\":\"a9ff092a-3e86-4169-a1d2-f1d91aa09ae2\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/analysis-im-an-israeli-investor-who-cant-wait-for-a-saudi-israel-peace-deal\",\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"06d652424752\",\"thescoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The return of President Donald Trump to the White House has revived expectations that he will be able to complete the historic Middle East peace process he began with the Abraham Accords in 2020 with the ultimate prize: the establishment of diplomatic and economic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Israel.\",\"_key\":\"f2922a13d536\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"349ba2c4e87a\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"As the founder and CEO of Israel’s most active venture investment platform, I’ve travelled back and forth to the kingdom for years. In 2022, I was honored to be one of the first two Israelis invited to speak on stage at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, often called “Davos in the Desert.”\",\"_key\":\"38584b925f94\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8502e65576fb\"},{\"_key\":\"7b87a2b8d996\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"When Israel made peace with the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco in 2020, I compared it to the fall of the Iron Curtain. The collapse of the Sand Curtain has already generated more than $3.3 billion in annual trade between Israel and the UAE. If Trump can extend the Abraham Accords to Saudi Arabia, the sky’s the limit.\",\"_key\":\"ae4a14664503\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"While gaps remain over the precise nature of a deal, the momentum toward a Saudi-Israel normalization is unstoppable. It will change everything in the Middle East. A formal agreement will unleash a wave of joint technology and infrastructure projects, triggering an investment bonanza. Major initiatives in water, food, transportation, clean energy, and cybersecurity — fueled by Israeli-Gulf technology startups partnering with global companies — will create one of the largest venture markets in decades.\",\"_key\":\"191465498e8f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c137c37b9165\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1fb1efdde4c6\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Private talks between Israeli and Saudi leaders have been held for years. Regular Saudi citizens I meet, particularly the younger generation, are enthusiastic. In 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported polling that “showed a decisive shift” in favor of diplomatic ties, “especially among Saudis under 30.”\",\"_key\":\"5827add623d8\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"13f59cb0d29b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The kingdom is swiftly modernizing its economy by adding renewables and other advanced technologies to its leadership in fossil fuels. It has developed an impressive venture capital culture of investors, startup entrepreneurs, technology creators, and business-friendly regulation.\",\"_key\":\"3891f3df099a\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7f27de71f754\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"From my conversations in the kingdom, I know there are technology investments where Israel-Saudi cooperation could yield enormous benefits. Choosing Israeli partners cuts 10 hours off the flight time each way for Saudi business leaders who want to sit with many of the best entrepreneurs in the world.\",\"_key\":\"7df88935c054\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"4e52256b946c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Saudis want to incorporate the latest AI technology into their new digital businesses. Israel is developing new, lighter AI chips and edge computing power required to drive the ambitious change demanded by the crown prince.\",\"_key\":\"4488746beb7a\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"96eb779c591d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Digitization brings increased cybersecurity risks. NEOM and other technology projects will require advanced cyber protection — a field where Israel is a world leader. Israel accounts for 40% of global cybersecurity investment.\",\"_key\":\"8eb355e03b46\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A regional deal must also address other issues that threaten the stability of the Middle East. Arab Barometer reported in September 2022 that “in nine out of 10 countries, more than half of all citizens express concern about running out of food before being able to get more.” Israel pioneered drip irrigation techniques and reverse osmosis desalination technology, which now supply water for millions. The country recycles 80% of its water, the highest percentage in the world. Israeli food, water, agriculture, and energy technology can help alleviate conditions across the region.\",\"_key\":\"6f092b6b94ba\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d96b55befbf8\"},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Saudi investors are already participating alongside their Israeli counterparts in mobility and alternative energy companies. I expect cooperation on food security, climate technology, agriculture, health, financial technology, and much more. Cultural diversity is key to innovation. By sharing their skills and experience, Israelis and Saudis will create better technology and businesses than either could alone.\",\"_key\":\"9fe9404c0ab2\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3187e3cf995d\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Trump’s dramatic new Gaza reconstruction proposal has yet again changed the discussion in the region and may slow the expansion of the Abraham Accords in the short term. But long-term interests remain aligned. The administration is committed to peace, and continued conflict is too costly for all. The economic and security incentives to strengthening Saudi-Israel ties are too great to ignore.\",\"_key\":\"210a4f279296\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"471adf4b2351\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"When normalization comes, the direct flight time from Tel Aviv to Riyadh will be just over two hours. I can’t wait to board that plane.\",\"_key\":\"22f24dcfa88d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"58b023af287d\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Jon Medved is the founder and CEO of OurCrowd, a venture investment platform based in Jerusalem.\",\"_key\":\"79d68a5e1a76\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\\n\",\"_key\":\"149e0307a110\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"72bf3befc675\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jon Medved \",\"_updatedAt\":\"2025-02-20T09:26:18Z\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"_type\":\"author\",\"_id\":\"9531b097-23f4-4e49-9def-8e724039ab08\",\"email\":\"gulf@semafor.com\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/e4e8f559879e03c9afc9decf530f3b1136f2085f-800x800.png\",\"_rev\":\"OLu17n9GGPaKpJ8etVpPfX\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/jon-medved\",\"shortName\":\"Jon\",\"bio\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.ourcrowd.com/\",\"_key\":\"f721e44101a4\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Jon Medved is the founder and CEO of \",\"_key\":\"95749d86b38f\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"text\":\"OurCrowd\",\"_key\":\"6a9e569fbe9e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"f721e44101a4\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", a venture investment platform based in Jerusalem.\",\"_key\":\"17e21f905208\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c7cee935a7a2\"}],\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"_createdAt\":\"2025-02-20T09:24:00Z\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\"}],\"description\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Collaboration between Saudi and Israeli businesses will have benefits that could reshape the region.\",\"_key\":\"2fafaa6800c1\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3620938e211d\",\"markDefs\":[]}]},{\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"description\":[{\"_key\":\"fa8b299a47f1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Wisconsin Democrat wants to put Republicans on record about the so-called carried interest benefit.\",\"_key\":\"bf0b180d5162\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"location\":null,\"ledeVideo\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Vincent Alban/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Sen. 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Tammy Baldwin will push for a vote on her bid to \",\"_key\":\"acd0da47967b\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"6b225cfdbfe1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"53045a7813c1\"],\"text\":\"hike taxes on private equity profits\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" — ending a break known as carried interest — during the Senate’s budget debate, the Wisconsin Democrat told Semafor on 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interest, and GOP lawmakers have \",\"_key\":\"97583f5f6e8a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"ffc9f8601428\"],\"text\":\"floated scrapping the break\",\"_key\":\"9562ff0ed270\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" as one way of paying for his tax proposals. \",\"_key\":\"eb494cea0c20\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"17bfa9387c27\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2ded68947c62\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"523c4f395fc2\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Baldwin hopes to use the budget’s all-night “vote-a-rama” to force Republicans on the record about whether they would risk the wrath of the venture capital industry by ending the 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advance.\",\"_key\":\"0ef05ea8f45f\"}]}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"027479f924b1\"}],\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T21:26:44Z\",\"id\":\"a538bdfe-f84b-4765-a817-77422c343dad\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/democratic-senator-pushes-vote-on-trump-backed-tax-idea\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"}},{\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-23T01:54:57.675Z\",\"id\":\"9a7ea0fe-37da-4b1f-9cb8-43615b801e06\",\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"04c4eed04660\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Lifting sanctions and allowing Russian oil and gas back into the global market could backfire for the US.\",\"_key\":\"946267a10645\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"intro\":{\"_type\":\"intro\",\"schemaVersion\":1},\"vertical\":\"climate\",\"expires\":true,\"headlineOverride\":null,\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"location\":null,\"headline\":\"Trump is playing a dangerous game with Russian energy\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/donald-trump-is-playing-a-dangerous-game-with-russian-energy\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Tim McDonnell\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1ddf837d6cffba02799c97a85b509964d801e2c0-1600x1600.png\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c6af299ac9f1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"US President Donald Trump’s potential rapprochement with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine could deliver a major victory for Russia’s oil and gas companies — at the expense of their American competitors.\",\"_key\":\"830dfbaab39b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e8f497948e1c\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-braces-oil-output-cuts-sanctions-drones-hit-2025-02-12/\",\"_key\":\"eb121ffe198a\"},{\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/world/europe/us-russia-saudi-ukraine.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share\u0026referringSource=articleShare\",\"_key\":\"6b7075265ebb\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"When Secretary of State Marco Rubio met senior Russian officials in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss the terms of a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, energy was a main course on the menu. The Kremlin is keen to see the US lift sanctions on its oil and gas exports, which have cut into a vital revenue stream and were close to \",\"_key\":\"2493256b9ac7\"},{\"_key\":\"830450c5864e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"eb121ffe198a\"],\"text\":\"forcing Russia to slash drilling\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". In a striking shift, the two countries agreed to work toward “historic economic and investment opportunities” that could follow the end of war: Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, specifically called for the \",\"_key\":\"e93f58673028\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"6b7075265ebb\"],\"text\":\"return of Western oil majors to Russia\",\"_key\":\"e991b42a8d28\"},{\"_key\":\"5181501302b9\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"7169f62d1612\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-18/rubio-says-us-won-t-lift-russia-sanctions-before-ukraine-deal?srnd=homepage-europe\",\"_key\":\"c6c3b7428699\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/us/politics/trump-zelensky-russia-ukraine-war.html\",\"_key\":\"8942652cb455\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A decisive moment in the future of US-Russia energy relations will be the meeting between Trump and Putin expected later this month. While Rubio \",\"_key\":\"97969af30082\"},{\"marks\":[\"c6c3b7428699\"],\"text\":\"suggested to European leaders\",\"_key\":\"149a1f51365b\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" that sanctions would be lifted only after an end to the war, Trump seems to \",\"_key\":\"ed8dd98bed27\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8942652cb455\"],\"text\":\"turn more aggressively against Ukraine\",\"_key\":\"a5cf63f72c2b\"},{\"text\":\" by the day, calling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections” on Wednesday.\",\"_key\":\"77df8a2e92da\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"acb142a0b225\"},{\"_key\":\"730107c3c3f9\",\"thescoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-shadow-fleet-finnish-bay-snow-eagle-s-december-oil-baltic-sea-europe-waves-europe-kremlin/\",\"_key\":\"122e2ddafaec\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"One of the most remarkable outcomes to follow the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was the speed at which Europe cut its longstanding energy ties with Russia. Isolating and damaging Moscow’s energy sector — via import bans, price caps, targeted sanctions, and military strikes on oil infrastructure — has up to now been a core strategy of Ukraine and its Western allies in economically countering the invasion. And although Russia has proven adept so far at evading sanctions — its “shadow fleet” of hundreds of tankers with questionable papers now \",\"_key\":\"b1155dadf59a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"122e2ddafaec\"],\"text\":\"transports 80% of its oil exports\",\"_key\":\"79c1c7e00ca1\"},{\"text\":\" — it is forced to sell many of its products at a discount and has been stymied in building new liquefied natural gas export terminals. The isolation push also represented a deepening of the US-Europe alliance, a sign that the energy transition could create opportunities to shake off the fossil fuel leverage that Russia has exploited for decades.\",\"_key\":\"c441d6a7e8ae\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5995f9360e91\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.csis.org/analysis/russian-oil-sanctions-demand-persistence\",\"_key\":\"bc23c2d5d35d\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Kremlin is carefully appealing to Trump’s fixation on good deals, offering oil and gas as a shiny object more tangible and valuable than the democratic principles that have underpinned US support for Ukraine up to now. But to suddenly normalize energy relations with Russia, rather than \",\"_key\":\"b4d610c0dbfa\"},{\"text\":\"step up enforcement\",\"_key\":\"e7529760ca1d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"bc23c2d5d35d\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" of existing sanctions, would be a huge gamble that could easily backfire, both for Trump’s desire to be known as a peacemaker and for the US energy sector.\",\"_key\":\"25c85ed6f9b3\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7930b717134b\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Russia’s energy isolation was a windfall for China and India, which have been eager to snap up cheaper oil and gas. But perhaps the biggest winner was the US, which found in Europe an incredibly lucrative new market for LNG. Cutting Russian oil out of key segments of the global market was also a boon for US producers. And if US oil companies are staying away from operating in Russia, as most have been since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it’s at least as much because of the sketchy investment climate there as because of sanctions. Russia would benefit from the money, equipment, and technical expertise of US companies in developing tough Arctic drilling projects.\",\"_key\":\"cb5941e2eea0\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"377019348480\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"20563ff619d0\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.amazon.com/Chokepoints-American-Power-Economic-Warfare/dp/0593712978\",\"_key\":\"f2bf637629d4\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Allowing US oil companies to go back into Russia would be a concession to Putin, not a concession to Trump,” said Edward Fishman, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and author of \",\"_key\":\"3fec7a6ae0cd\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Chokepoints\",\"_key\":\"8cd6f80d2f2a\"},{\"_key\":\"58f4f7460b75\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"f2bf637629d4\"],\"text\":\"a forthcoming book on economic warfare\",\"_key\":\"16d9a784d921\"},{\"text\":\". “If Trump truly wants energy dominance, he’s not going to get that by flooding the market with more Russian crude oil.”\",\"_key\":\"4e36dc63baa8\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2023-09-06T10:33:19-04:00\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.1\",\"name\":\"Tim McDonnell\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"authorTitle\":\"Climate and energy editor\",\"newsletterAudience\":\"Climate\",\"bio\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Tim McDonnell is the Climate \u0026 Energy Editor at Semafor. Tim has covered the business and science of climate change for more than a decade from front lines of the crisis around the world. He is based in Kyiv.\",\"_key\":\"72cb34c85e56\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6ec720bd7d4d\"}],\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-24T16:33:03Z\",\"email\":\"tmcdonnell@semafor.com\",\"_rev\":\"ERq4ToR7OCAfPf0jwFiFDK\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1ddf837d6cffba02799c97a85b509964d801e2c0-1600x1600.png\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"authorSlug\":\"/author/tim-mcdonnell\",\"_createdAt\":\"2023-01-16T15:20:39Z\",\"twitter\":\"timmcdonnell\",\"_id\":\"02111b2e-2dd5-40b1-82fb-b81b62e4f9ba\",\"shortName\":\"Tim\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-12T16:11:14Z\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ba9531786be4\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"To even put the lifting of sanctions on the table this early could imply to Putin that he needs to concede very little in exchange for the withdrawal of US support for Ukraine. And to condition the lifting of sanctions only on an end to the conflict in its current position, rather than on the return of at least some occupied Ukrainian territory, would be a major step back from the Biden administration’s position.\",\"_key\":\"b91a36209e6e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Biden weakened his own negotiating position just before the full-scale invasion by agreeing to lift sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline before his own meeting with Putin, said Andriy Kobolyev, the former CEO of Ukraine’s state-owned gas company Naftogaz. “Putin read that sign very clearly as a weakness,” he said. “That problem has been haunting us for many years. Everything that happened later was to a significant extent promoted by this mistake.” The “acid test” for Trump, Kobolyev said, is whether he will repeat the same mistake.\",\"_key\":\"04a9e0880ed6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fe6d05f2d431\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"3f34bdbc4199\"},{\"theViewFrom\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7f292f0c1420\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Congress blocked Trump from lifting sanctions on Russia during his first term, and could do so again through the same law, but would require a supermajority in both chambers to do so. That would turn sanctions into an important test of the distance between Trump and mainstream Republicans on hawkishness toward Russia, and of GOP lawmakers’ willingness to fall in line behind the president.\",\"_key\":\"5342fa6646fc\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"However, lifting sanctions may not even be necessary, said Clayton Seigle, senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Even if Trump was inclined to ramp up sanctions enforcement, mass layoffs at the Treasury Department will make that much more difficult.\",\"_key\":\"7c1e8e0965cd\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ef7a031ef722\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7e00ff3db9d8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“All Washington would need to do in order to ease the burden for Moscow is avoid strict enforcement,” Seigle said. “This would be highly ironic since Trump and supporters had accused the Biden administration of just such lax enforcement of oil sanctions on Iran, but worth watching given the direction of travel.”\",\"_key\":\"cc152f8bf023\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Washington DC\",\"_key\":\"ea2f27db6489\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Houston\",\"_key\":\"c8071ecdd69a\",\"theViewFrom\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ab48961e1756\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"c071d7eac2ca\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"US oil companies so far have shown no interest in taking Moscow up on its offer. US shale companies, which can set up and dismantle drilling operations rapidly, would probably be the easiest to tempt back to Russia, said Jim Krane, research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute. For everyone else, the risk probably isn’t worth the upside, especially with oil prices already relatively depressed.\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"c83cd0d859c5\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“You’d have to be a pretty cavalier player to contemplate returning to Russia under Putin,” he said. “Russia’s record of political interference, asset seizures, and outright expropriation is long and well-documented. The cases are myriad and the losses are breathtaking.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2e04bdb3debc\"}]},{\"theViewFrom\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"93ae0144fa9d\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.ft.com/content/8735a325-2071-410a-9372-3362008965da?emailId=a19f9fe7-39cc-4ab8-a485-746ed4eeaf96\u0026segmentId=13b7e341-ed02-2b53-e8c0-d9cb59be8b3b\",\"_key\":\"897de5d0d177\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-18/g-7-allies-weigh-tightening-russian-oil-price-cap-to-hurt-moscow\",\"_key\":\"7c210d9073dd\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"If Trump walks back US sanctions, it will test Europe’s willingness and ability to maintain its own. Hungary, and the far-right leaders poised to take power in Germany, could be happy to welcome Russian gas back into the market. The EU \",\"_key\":\"dce574c0329c\"},{\"marks\":[\"897de5d0d177\"],\"text\":\"introduced a new package of Russia sanctions\",\"_key\":\"caa769143793\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" on Wednesday, but cracks in the bloc could emerge when the measures come up for formal adoption next week, Seigle said. Meanwhile, US alignment with Russia could also splinter a plan in the G7 to \",\"_key\":\"f00496fcec60\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"7c210d9073dd\"],\"text\":\"tighten the price cap on Russian oil exports\",\"_key\":\"b98a7630406c\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"2fb7e5117455\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Brussels\",\"_key\":\"d27ecfaa6ac5\"},{\"furtherReading\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"The EU is considering a plan to invest directly in US LNG terminals, \",\"_key\":\"673eac797696\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"a strategy aimed at reducing the cost of imported gas for European factories and \",\"_key\":\"55e503784d53\"},{\"_key\":\"fac99509347c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"27fd80378797\"],\"text\":\"making the pivot away from Russia less painful\"},{\"_key\":\"b94ecaeb7089\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"40c93a9e1edb\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-funding-foreign-lng-projects-lower-prices-draft-plan-commission/?utm_source=cbnewsletter\u0026utm_medium=email\u0026utm_term=2025-02-19\u0026utm_campaign=Daily+Briefing+19+02+2025\",\"_key\":\"27fd80378797\",\"_type\":\"link\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"4d55004ea051\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Net Zero\",\"_key\":\"climate\",\"value\":\"climate\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"caption\":\"Flue gas and steam rise out of chimneys and smokestacks of an oil refinery during sunset on a frosty day in the Siberian city of Omsk\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-ff668363c7aa70c9421ae415a7ac36b89c6c4db9-1279x850-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Alexey Malgavko/Reuters\"},\"attribution\":\"Alexey Malgavko/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Flue gas and steam rise out of chimneys and smokestacks of an oil refinery during sunset on a frosty day in the Siberian city of Omsk\"},\"signal\":null},{\"id\":\"4dce79e8-53c1-424d-a449-9b63e28e2918\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-fueled-young-peoples-rightward-shift\",\"description\":[{\"_key\":\"72ff42a9bcaa\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"968796c7c6b1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The pandemic’s economic, social, and geopolitical consequences have given rise to voter discontent and isolation, The Atlantic argued.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Paige Bruton\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/9252a40e4e11b31efc135eda341e0508473c3775-1600x1600.png\"}],\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T00:18:55.360Z\",\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":null,\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":[{\"insightTitle\":\"Trump capitalized on waning trust in US government\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The New York Times\"],\"_key\":\"5e8e1ed120b1\",\"body\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3c0cc46feb24\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/24/us/politics/pandemic-politics-malaise.html\",\"_key\":\"3b2de490acb8\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The COVID-19 pandemic is officially over, but it lingers in debates over education, inflation, and crime — all of which were top voter issues in last year’s US presidential election. The former Biden administration did not order a post-hoc investigation into its handling of the pandemic or \",\"_key\":\"03124e447fa1\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3b2de490acb8\"],\"text\":\"institute changes to react to it\",\"_key\":\"fb1b6ba19e26\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", a government accountability expert told The New York Times before the election, adding “the administration basically left the impression that it accepted that the government had failed, but just didn’t want to talk about it anymore.” Donald Trump, meanwhile, capitalized on that mistrust, a success underscored by last week’s confirmation of vaccine skeptic and long-time critic of US medical institutions Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Trump’s health secretary.\",\"_key\":\"2c2e43bba6e8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2},{\"source\":[\"The Guardian\",\"The Atlantic\"],\"_key\":\"17a810d1d8ec\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/07/how-covid-changed-politics\",\"_key\":\"d7cc46d252c4\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/sustainability/coronavirus-must-be-a-lesson-oh-how-we-respond-to-climate-change\",\"_key\":\"0d7f6c1bb4cc\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/covid-youth-conservative-shift/681705/\",\"_key\":\"84d08910668c\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://theharvardpoliticalreview.com/declining-youth-trust-in-american-institutions-shows-no-signs-of-stopping/\",\"_key\":\"c4a8af56aa33\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The pandemic saw most citizens around the world do “\",\"_key\":\"730c07e375bc\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d7cc46d252c4\"],\"text\":\"as they were told for longer than we might have expected\",\"_key\":\"38e570019789\"},{\"_key\":\"1d04d3c362ac\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” David Runciman, a politics professor at Cambridge University, argued in The Guardian, indicating that society’s ability to act collectively in the interest of a greater good may be more robust than some experts had thought. Indeed, some academics and activists had hoped the reaction to the pandemic might \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"0d7f6c1bb4cc\"],\"text\":\"spark a wider response to other global crises like climate change\",\"_key\":\"b00c92464879\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". But it just hasn’t happened, Runciman wrote. “Political science suggests that pandemics are \",\"_key\":\"24cfbe687102\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"84d08910668c\"],\"text\":\"more likely to \",\"_key\":\"c5335d03427a\"},{\"_key\":\"582ec8d7d40e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"84d08910668c\",\"em\"],\"text\":\"reduce\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"84d08910668c\"],\"text\":\" rather than build trust\",\"_key\":\"a51cdb44852c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in scientific authorities,” The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson pointed out, with one Harvard Political Review analysis concluding young Americans in 2024 were “\",\"_key\":\"e05ec596483e\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c4a8af56aa33\"],\"text\":\"more jaded than ever.\",\"_key\":\"d2cd13ddce52\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"”\",\"_key\":\"668d2100a362\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8c156c35d279\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"The pandemic may have been a missed opportunity\",\"_type\":\"insight\"}],\"headline\":\"How COVID-19 pushed young people to the right\",\"vertical\":\"news\",\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Wikimedia Commons\",\"caption\":\"Anti-lockdown protesters stage a demonstration in Canada, April 2020. \",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-68f0125ca2df2511814cf551772e780f8a4a4134-4024x3555-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1},\"attribution\":\"Wikimedia Commons\",\"caption\":\"Anti-lockdown protesters stage a demonstration in Canada, April 2020. \"},\"expires\":true,\"intro\":{\"_type\":\"intro\",\"schemaVersion\":1},\"location\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bb21bfb4f692\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"fd83a92d07cf\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Young people in the US typically swing progressive. But in 2024 the demographic was almost evenly split between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and Europe has seen a similar rightward shift.\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"e49a203d4b12\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"One possible explanation is a global protest vote against inflation: Many incumbents were voted out in 2024 as prices soared. But Derek Thompson argued in The Atlantic that the pandemic also reduced physical-world socialization, pushing young men, in particular, into online echo chambers.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"28e13789e407\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"192f59641276\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://semafor.com/s/82RzCd9oat?email=pbruton@semafor.com\",\"_key\":\"3b7571bc1e67\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Young people who experience pandemics “\",\"_key\":\"9aa52677d6ec\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3b7571bc1e67\"],\"text\":\"have less confidence in their scientific and political leadership\",\"_key\":\"4cddb6f4fc09\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” Thompson argued, which, because one’s political ideology tends to solidify around age 20, could persist for life.\",\"_key\":\"51121b44fe53\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"7b5b36def5f1\"}]},{\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"location\":\"Middle East\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Faisal J. Abbas\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1df24002036ab02ba819dbf7da4ed08382197e60-1600x1600.png\"}],\"expires\":true,\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"vertical\":\"gulf\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Gulf\",\"_key\":\"gulf\",\"value\":\"gulf\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null,\"id\":\"ab4dd04a-0fcb-4238-a054-0e7d9058719c\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"db2d2cc8d86f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"By hosting critical negotiations, Saudi Arabia is cementing itself as a trusted mediator on the world stage.\",\"_key\":\"705e312e87d3\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"0d3fff4fed83\",\"thescoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"be9aa0885a6d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"When US President Donald Trump announced last week that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict, much of the Western political establishment was stunned. The only unsurprising detail was the venue: Saudi Arabia, which has spent a decade building strong ties with all major global powers.\",\"_key\":\"d5122d84f9e9\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5393d8e626c1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Preliminary talks between US and Russian officials in Riyadh on Tuesday were described as “positive” by the Kremlin. This is the first sign that years of standoff between Moscow and Washington may end, leading to significant breakthroughs on several fronts, including — but not limited to — Ukraine.\",\"_key\":\"0d9582cc4ad0\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also held talks with Saudi officials. Behind closed doors, a more measured approach to Gaza — one that differs from Trump’s proposal to displace Gazans — was likely discussed. This will allow the kingdom to potentially endorse any plan for the Strip that comes from outside the region. And with Saudi Arabia hosting Friday’s emergency Arab summit on Gaza, Riyadh’s influence on the issue is undeniable.\",\"_key\":\"4dc58c64736f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c2619816f4a3\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8fa743059aa0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Riyadh has been clear on Gaza: any attempt to forcibly remove Palestinians from their land, whether through Israeli settlement expansion, annexation, or displacement, is categorically rejected. This position — supported by Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab states — is based on unshakeable principles that also give the kingdom credibility to rally regional consensus on critical issues.\",\"_key\":\"765abd895aa7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"What happens next with Gaza and Ukraine is yet to be determined, but what recent events show is Saudi Arabia’s influence — built through delicate diplomatic balancing efforts — is proving to be useful for regional and global negotiations.\",\"_key\":\"e7f79585a234\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ae4fa523cba1\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"512a4c63613d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"While some criticized Saudi Arabia’s engagement with Moscow after it condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the kingdom’s commitment to being a reliable and trustworthy mediator has yielded tangible results. Over the past three years, Riyadh has brokered prisoner swaps involving Ukrainians, Russians, Americans, and Europeans, building trust on all sides.\",\"_key\":\"b6280f6d8cf0\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"26a04eff0b6f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In October, I asked Putin whether he would consider coming to Saudi Arabia for peace talks. He said he believed that Saudi efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine were “sincere” and that there was a friendship and trust that distinguished his relationship with the Saudi leadership. He added that while the location of such talks were acceptable, their success depended on what Ukraine was willing to bring to the table.\",\"_key\":\"da528a378a58\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f6e61f3b1478\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"At the same time, Saudi Arabia maintained a close relationship with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the Ukrainian leader repeatedly thanking Riyadh for its humanitarian aid and mediation efforts. However, when it comes to hosting direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, this would naturally be subject to what both Putin and Zelenskyy agree to.\",\"_key\":\"af6a0142ea91\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"a3a90831450b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"58328ba47712\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The kingdom’s growing diplomatic clout isn’t an accident. Having built strong ties with Trump during his first term — and maintaining contact in the interregnum to his second — Riyadh is well positioned to be a facilitator for a potential end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which would stabilize Europe and the world, as well as global energy and commodity markets.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In Gaza, Saudi Arabia’s working relationships with China, Russia, and most recently Iran could prove crucial in convincing world powers that a two-state solution is the only viable path forward. The kingdom has already formed a global coalition for Palestinian statehood, earning backing from major European and regional players.\",\"_key\":\"e0429f8939f5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fecc83795410\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"101846a4efec\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"With its leadership in the Arab and Muslim worlds well established, Riyadh is now emerging as a power broker in global diplomacy. While this may have seemed surprising a week ago, it’s been a decades-long foreign policy balancing act by the Saudi government.\",\"_key\":\"2e37a992102d\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Faisal J. Abbas is an award-winning journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Arab News.\",\"_key\":\"adab3a5e47ab\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7831289e473a\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"_id\":\"dc993ade-35e7-45a8-83cd-968237377bbf\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"_type\":\"author\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/faisal-j-abbas\",\"_createdAt\":\"2024-09-15T16:02:31Z\",\"shortName\":\"Faisal\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1df24002036ab02ba819dbf7da4ed08382197e60-1600x1600.png\",\"name\":\"Faisal J. Abbas\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-10-13T05:12:47Z\",\"_rev\":\"7NkZcZZTh11FSYYzUwcleA\",\"email\":\"gulf@semafor.com\",\"bio\":[{\"_key\":\"c6ff4a07f45b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Faisal J. Abbas\",\"_key\":\"43fb51d9ae680\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" is a contributor for Semafor Gulf. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the leading Middle East English language daily, Arab News. Throughout his career in journalism, he worked with a number of leading media outlets such as Future Television, Al Hayat and Asharq Al Awsat pan-Arab dailies. Prior to joining Arab News, he served as the Editor in Chief of the English language service of Al Arabiya News Channel in Dubai. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Lebanese American University (LAU) in 2003, and a masters in marketing communications from the University of Westminster in London in 2009. He was also awarded the Public Leadership Credential, 2019, from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.\",\"_key\":\"43fb51d9ae681\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]}}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-e0202ea623bed1a94839c660160c0637ace83d9e-1600x991-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1},\"attribution\":\"Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh.\"},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T12:29:17Z\",\"headline\":\"Analysis: Riyadh’s huge balancing act begins to pay off\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/analysis-riyadhs-huge-balancing-act-begins-to-pay-off\"},{\"id\":\"b87e1237-db1c-4ebd-a3c7-82629a588aa1\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"description\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"24c49f35b91c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"d0df1ca50050\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"After battling regulators in the Biden administration and funneling millions to Republicans in the 2024 elections, the crypto exchange is formalizing its asks of a GOP-controlled Washington.\"}]}],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Eleanor Mueller\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/8afaf2871e64a99b700fe18af3ed29314ae298bd-1600x1600.png\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"headline\":\"Crypto heavyweight Coinbase releases US legislative wishlist\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Tech\",\"_key\":\"tech\",\"value\":\"tech\"},{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"},{\"label\":\"Business\",\"_key\":\"business\",\"value\":\"business\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"title\":\"The Scoop\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange and one of the industry’s top political donors, on Wednesday outlined its legislative priorities after spending tens of millions of dollars that helped Republicans win control of Washington in 2024.\",\"_key\":\"e0df7e40aade\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"60c493bc483a\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"0fd54cafd6d5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3ec366a4c0ca\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The \",\"_key\":\"b02853bd4053\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a6fa2da4223f\"],\"text\":\"blueprint\",\"_key\":\"a83a94eba8bf\"},{\"_key\":\"09e42716f488\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", first reported by Semafor, could be an influential roadmap for Washington as the industry transitions from being a regulatory target under the Joe Biden administration to an embraced sector under President Donald Trump.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"002d1c278977\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/files/ifn0l6bs/production/e95324d01a7828f27598316a5e650f9bb61b8dce.pdf\",\"_key\":\"a6fa2da4223f\"}]},{\"_key\":\"3622ab8b3863\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"70c9ac511281\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e69e97f605e1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A major change proposed by Coinbase would be to shift oversight of crypto spot trading to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission because the firm considers Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other similar digital assets to be commodities instead of securities, an idea challenged by the bigger Securities and Exchange Commission under Democratic leadership. That would overhaul how agencies regulate the nearly $3.3 trillion market.\",\"_key\":\"de3b855d8f62\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"0fe8619a0bfe\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2d674f8ece67\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e31a6008b271\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/01/28/2025/crypto-exchange-coinbase-hires-sinema-lacivita\",\"_key\":\"2e7f76996160\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Though the regulators can implement some industry-sought changes themselves, Congress will need to pass much of the rest. Coinbase, led by Brian Armstrong, who publicly tussled with the SEC under the Biden administration, recently \",\"_key\":\"60c1f90b74c6\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"2e7f76996160\"],\"text\":\"brought on\",\"_key\":\"ecc65c132953\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Chris LaCivita, Trump’s co-campaign manager.\",\"_key\":\"0af45ec00d5d\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"efa4fae5db4d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f20fb5ec08ac\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“Blockchain technology and digital assets are reshaping the global economy,” Coinbase’s chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad, wrote. “Yet, the absence of clear legislation in the United States stifles this potential, leaves consumers exposed, and drives innovation overseas.”\",\"_key\":\"0a4f5b4647e1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"706ebb57f47a\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"13e950c23383\"},{\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"2eb3087f2da1\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Coinbase’s push to give the CFTC an expanded role in overseeing crypto is in line with a GOP-led bill the House passed last Congress, over the objections of some Democrats concerned with illicit finance and consumer protections. Coinbase also wants decentralized finance, smart contracts, and digital commerce platforms “explicitly carved out,” plus state or federal regulation for exchanges and other so-called centralized platforms.\",\"_key\":\"77f382d1506c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"eb623dcde126\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2888b36226d7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cb364e864ec2\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2c73dc670f65\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“This provides consumers with confidence while avoiding unnecessary interference in decentralized systems,” Shirzad writes.\",\"_key\":\"053992c1d089\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8d9ad4b12a7d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"8309969b3c24\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3f8adfb11cad\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Coinbase says that any legislation must provide legal protections to developers of blockchain systems and allow customers to use so-called self-custody wallets that give them sole control over their digital assets.\",\"_key\":\"8e20c0b6a355\"}]},{\"_key\":\"fa14ca12e3df\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"b6b1b6d4fdbe\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"f53ffabab897\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The exchange also says that customers should be allowed to stake, run nodes, and perform peer-to-peer transactions — what it calls “foundational rights” of “the blockchain economy” — and that intermediaries like exchanges should be required to comply with “transparency, security and accountability” rules.\",\"_key\":\"28f77a01e0a6\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"71041589f663\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"0f07235ff03e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"So-called guiding principles include “avoiding unnecessary complexity” as well as trying to “minimize disruption to existing frameworks,” “incentivize innovation,” and take a light-touch approach to decentralized finance, smart contracts, and digital commerce platforms.\",\"_key\":\"38a5e39001b4\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"80311fc4e41f\",\"markDefs\":[]}]},{\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"3bc0f26c425c\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Coinbase’s Wednesday announcement \",\"_key\":\"2d1b8af3cf38\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"is just the latest way that crypto firms are looking to \",\"_key\":\"5e2fa5d76d9f\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"48d293e63797\"],\"text\":\"cement their influence over Washington\",\"_key\":\"8c86c465a782\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" after they helped deliver wins for many on the Hill.\",\"_key\":\"5027224f37f4\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"77ab808e3088\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://apnews.com/article/crypto-bitcoin-trump-sacks-2da6c4d45e5df04c2e50b2b5ff8d90c7\",\"_key\":\"48d293e63797\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Republicans on the Senate Banking and House Financial Services committees\",\"_key\":\"66aa66d2d4a5\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" have already \",\"_key\":\"8d71d280b7f0\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"7049e1202b80\"],\"text\":\"taken key steps\",\"_key\":\"def8e965ffb1\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" toward advancing stablecoin legislation, while one top Democrat champions \",\"_key\":\"0cada5d12bdf\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d2ab42cae7ee\"],\"text\":\"her own approach\",\"_key\":\"832dc42206f7\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"b98bc99ab371\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"adf99e73871f\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-money/2025/02/05/the-crypto-congress-is-here-00202549\",\"_key\":\"7049e1202b80\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://punchbowl.news/02-10-25_stable_2024_xml_12-3-24/\",\"_key\":\"d2ab42cae7ee\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1}],\"slug\":\"/article/02/18/2025/crypto-heavyweight-coinbase-releases-us-legislative-wishlist\",\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"vertical\":\"tech\",\"location\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"David Swanson/Reuters\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-d5d47b28d9e822c9b61ebb32b5f9df8711678839-5500x3667-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1},\"attribution\":\"David Swanson/Reuters\",\"caption\":null},\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T11:05:41Z\"},{\"expires\":true,\"id\":\"e5398c01-b450-4297-82f3-d8ba678fde14\",\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"3fa22b3ef61d\",\"title\":\"The Scoop\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cfdc8c3d47ab\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/staff-guidance/compliance-disclosure-interpretations/exchange-act-sections-13d-13g-regulation-13d-g-beneficial-ownership-reporting?utm_medium=email\u0026utm_source=govdelivery#103.12\",\"_key\":\"61e707a6dcc1\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"BlackRock called off scheduled engagement meetings with companies after the Securities and Exchange Commission last week \",\"_key\":\"de592de30dff\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"61e707a6dcc1\"],\"text\":\"walked back guidance\",\"_key\":\"8f917bafe9c3\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" that had allowed big index-fund investors to privately press companies on “social and public interest issues” without running afoul of the rules, people familiar with the matter said. \",\"_key\":\"eaed74dd9be8\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/newsletter/02/13/2025/keeping-tabs-on-the-business-community-maga-shift?utm_source=nowshare\u0026utm_medium=business\u0026utm_campaign=MakingBusinessGreatAgain#d\",\"_key\":\"18d667b7622b\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"It’s a technical change with wide-ranging repercussions that could hasten big investors’ retreat from pushing progressive corporate policies. BlackRock declined to comment. It’s also the latest sign, as we \",\"_key\":\"f37cff4f2aa4\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"18d667b7622b\"],\"text\":\"wrote about last week\",\"_key\":\"41af6dfd812c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", that the conventional hall monitors are now on the back foot.\",\"_key\":\"79b20d889ab2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a0e90a8bc61a\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"authorTitle\":\"Business Reporter\",\"_createdAt\":\"2024-12-24T15:52:24Z\",\"name\":\"Rohan Goswami\",\"shortName\":\"Rohan\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2025-01-10T19:45:15Z\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"_rev\":\"pjp6rgpUIZxxTjO8YlqArw\",\"twitter\":\"@rogoswami\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/rohan-goswami\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/01cfdf25db26165765f529ef5f89fd80e1004ea4-1600x1600.png\",\"_id\":\"51bc9eb6-4085-4de5-a724-47a897bd0554\",\"email\":\"rgoswami@semafor.com\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"4b4ad0abf401\",\"thescoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"49f28fadbbd1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The SEC’s actions may be targeting big passive holders, but the real losers are companies and executives. Executives never loved having to deal with what they felt like were impositions from supposedly “passive” shareholders but, until recently, were relatively powerless to object.\",\"_key\":\"6c50b11cf274\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"94c8d8288054\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But the new rules simply stop Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street from discussing why they’re voting or not voting a certain way, leaving companies in the dark about whether they’ll be able to reelect directors, approve executive compensation. Even reincorporation or bylaw changes — two hot button issues right now — are subject to shareholder approval, making input from big shareholders even more crucial.\\n\",\"_key\":\"6acb95d584e7\"}]}]},{\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Jessica McDougall\",\"_key\":\"88980cd11129\",\"theViewFrom\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“With passive investors potentially decreasing engagement, companies may bear the brunt of this change, as they miss out on valuable feedback from their largest long-term holders and lack context for proxy voting decisions,” Longacre Square’s corporate governance chair Jessica McDougall told me (McDougall spent more than ten years at TIAA and BlackRock.)\\n\",\"_key\":\"d640b5d882c2\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cf86e2be77a3\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"f4da17e0b966\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://insights.issgovernance.com/posts/statement-regarding-consideration-of-diversity-factors-in-u-s-director-election-assessments/\",\"_key\":\"48cfcd3eeaf2\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"ISS walked away\",\"_key\":\"9c84d51f3956\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"48cfcd3eeaf2\",\"strong\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\" from DEI metrics\",\"_key\":\"b24f13fbd00b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in the wake of Trump’s executive orders. The proxy advisor is a very influential voice in how passive investors like BlackRock decide to vote at thousands of companies.\",\"_key\":\"e6145fdb420d\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"65f26b4eca3a\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\"},{\"_key\":\"103d5b2a1659\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/diversity-was-supposed-to-make-us-rich-not-so-much-39da6a23\",\"_key\":\"80101c65c201\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"A much-vaunted McKinsey study \",\"_key\":\"c4a92380fc09\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"which found that diversity increases profits has found little real-world traction since it debuted, WSJ columnist James Mackintosh \",\"_key\":\"726e73fd8cb7\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"80101c65c201\"],\"text\":\"noted last summer\",\"_key\":\"418c60a92fda\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". \",\"_key\":\"79f4352ada12\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null,\"slug\":\"/article/02/18/2025/blackrock-paused-corporate-meetings-in-wake-of-new-sec-rules\",\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"1435d114e379\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The big asset manager kiboshed meetings in the immediate aftermath but is just one of many companies retooling in the face of the Trump administrations rapid rulemaking.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4d0c7736f71b\"}],\"vertical\":\"business\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"_key\":\"business\",\"value\":\"business\",\"label\":\"Business\"}],\"location\":\"North America\",\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-20T18:04:38Z\",\"headline\":\"BlackRock paused corporate meetings in wake of new rules on ESG 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\"},\"signal\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"_key\":\"climate\",\"value\":\"climate\",\"label\":\"Net Zero\"}],\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-20T17:51:19.772Z\",\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"949648e9bb4e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Beneficiaries of the EPA’s $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund might sue to keep the money, the head of one such group told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"981dc30ee44f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"headlineOverride\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"c3cc31e9536a\",\"title\":\"The Scoop\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"_key\":\"c7fe85a6a4ed\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"002a83ee2513\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Beneficiaries of a $20 billion clean-energy program that the Trump administration wants to claw back might sue to keep the money, a leader of one such group told Semafor.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4690c0d9072f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Under the new leadership of Administrator Lee Zeldin, the US Environmental Protection Agency wants to knock down the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, citing concerns that the money — ostensibly to support low-carbon energy projects in disadvantaged communities — is being doled out “in a rush job with reduced oversight.”\",\"_key\":\"f49a04b2a56e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"_key\":\"967cd47a7d69\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"0ca91ddd7f53\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://x.com/epaleezeldin/status/1889840040622321778?utm_campaign=heatmap_am\u0026utm_medium=email\u0026_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_gqikzSF6YQvYuI_34hevaxJo3Ve45wTpeasebH04EsvKxeunJZR-uNDVyGr6V4lwQVh8kXYGAxJ71taVjgaUbKPfy8uOOTkpKY5BxGY-hQ9kLj-8\u0026_hsmi=347199431\u0026utm_content=347199431\u0026utm_source=hs_email\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“The days of \",\"_key\":\"68ea4ba3c47a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"0ca91ddd7f53\"],\"text\":\"irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash\",\"_key\":\"049a69fe4200\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" to far-left activist groups in the name of climate justice and environmental equity are over,” Zeldin posted on X last week.\",\"_key\":\"40629db83aee\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But retrieving the money won’t be easy, in part because the nonprofits selected to disburse it countrywide could sue to block the effort, said Lenwood Long, Sr., chair of the board of the Justice Climate Fund, a coalition of community development nonprofits that was awarded \",\"_key\":\"db7ebf2ec195\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"7a876a6617e9\"],\"text\":\"$$940 million from the GGRF\",\"_key\":\"df6c280069e6\"},{\"_key\":\"5e8c31b1fd16\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"446ca2e5e3f4\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"7a876a6617e9\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.justiceclimatefund.org/blog/press-release-justice-climate-fund-finalizes-agreement-with-u-s\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“It is shameful that such actions are being considered,” he said. “These are not pork-barrel projects. These are seasoned organizations that have been doing lending and housing for decades.”\",\"_key\":\"c579ad78b26e\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1f2e00cd9a58\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-24T16:33:03Z\",\"twitter\":\"timmcdonnell\",\"_createdAt\":\"2023-01-16T15:20:39Z\",\"_rev\":\"ERq4ToR7OCAfPf0jwFiFDK\",\"bio\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Tim McDonnell is the Climate \u0026 Energy Editor at Semafor. Tim has covered the business and science of climate change for more than a decade from front lines of the crisis around the world. He is based in Kyiv.\",\"_key\":\"72cb34c85e56\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6ec720bd7d4d\"}],\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.1\",\"name\":\"Tim McDonnell\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"authorTitle\":\"Climate and energy editor\",\"_id\":\"02111b2e-2dd5-40b1-82fb-b81b62e4f9ba\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2023-09-06T10:33:19-04:00\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/tim-mcdonnell\",\"newsletterAudience\":\"Climate\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1ddf837d6cffba02799c97a85b509964d801e2c0-1600x1600.png\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"shortName\":\"Tim\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-12T16:11:14Z\",\"email\":\"tmcdonnell@semafor.com\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"2f271c42177f\",\"thescoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The GGRF was lauded by many climate advocates as an innovative approach to spurring energy investment in lower-income communities that were less likely to benefit from traditional clean energy tax credits. Its sizable budget made it one of the biggest single initiatives created by the Inflation Reduction Act, and one of the Biden administration’s primary vehicles for supporting climate equity. In the Trump administration, it’s hard to imagine a more glaring target, so the GGRF was always at risk. But ending the program could also undermine the administration’s promise to cut household energy bills.\",\"_key\":\"8d6d25baa5ef\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3ec2512e7af4\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ccfa1157b37e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I just hate to fathom that this fund would be totally eviscerated,” said Long, who is also CEO of an advocacy group for Black-led community banks. “It’s a sad day in America when we can’t recognize that economic systems are not equal for Black America.” (A spokesperson for Long’s Alliance of African American CDFI CEOs later emailed to say that Long was speaking in a personal capacity in the preceding statement and his views did not necessarily represent those of JCF.)\",\"_key\":\"2019a3c851c7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"5d6f4f6b78ac\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Just last week the Justice Climate Fund disbursed its first tranche of funding, giving out about $214 million to projects in mostly minority communities working on things like installing residential or community solar projects, upgrading the energy efficiency of multifamily housing units, and installing EV charging stations. These projects are meant to use the GGRF money, and the technical expertise of groups like JCF, to attract additional private investment. None of the funding has been affected yet, Long said, and JCF is continuing to work on its second tranche of projects.\",\"_key\":\"293a4c7e1f77\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025/02/zeldin-citibank-greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund-00203989\",\"_key\":\"cb9f35f24e5b\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14022025/former-epa-officials-blast-effort-to-rescind-climate-funds/\",\"_key\":\"a477522ed885\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Compared to other caches of federal funding the Trump administration has sought to freeze or claw back, Zeldin faces a tough obstacle in that all $20 billion is already sitting in an account managed by Citibank. Zeldin has said he \",\"_key\":\"8cbd59083524\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"cb9f35f24e5b\"],\"text\":\"wants to cancel that contract\",\"_key\":\"106355c6b6b7\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" and get the money back. But former EPA officials told Inside Climate News\",\"_key\":\"759d86b77698\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\" \",\"_key\":\"bc08276bac25\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"that under Citibank’s arrangement, funds can only be withdrawn \",\"_key\":\"1a2f1041c7b9\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a477522ed885\"],\"text\":\"if there’s evidence of fraud on Citibank’s part\",\"_key\":\"e160d1c08df2\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", which Zeldin was careful to say he has “zero reason to suspect.” A Citibank spokesperson didn’t return a request for comment.\",\"_key\":\"2e95a281ef8c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"971b6ed6a5da\"}]},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Germany\",\"_key\":\"aafb99d1468a\",\"theViewFrom\":[{\"_key\":\"c7c395d931ce\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://semafor.com/s/kwa8hUIkd6?email=tim.m.mcdonnell@gmail.com\",\"_key\":\"f5deece66724\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_key\":\"ba59054f2319\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://semafor.com/s/Ss573SKcGN?email=tim.m.mcdonnell@gmail.com\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Germany’s closely-watched weekend election could lead to a significant reversal of climate-friendly policies in Europe’s richest economy. The center-right opposition is expected to emerge triumphant in a campaign that has made \",\"_key\":\"c4d2f87214e4\"},{\"text\":\"little mention of environmental issues\",\"_key\":\"9bd2f14188c2\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"f5deece66724\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", DW noted, with the economy and immigration taking greater prominence. Friedrich Merz, the country’s likely next chancellor, has spoken disparagingly of wind turbines, and has faced growing pressure from the far-right AfD party, which has \",\"_key\":\"904b6ba5ddb3\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"ba59054f2319\"],\"text\":\"sought to curtail wind power\",\"_key\":\"7f8c47012463\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". Budgetary constraints have already made Germany’s chances of hitting its climate targets appear remote, and green policies look likely to be given short shrift.\",\"_key\":\"d33e51e7abff\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"e314b4ab7438\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"72eb57264d3f\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/sweeping-us-energy-department-layoffs-hit-nuclear-security-loans-office-sources-2025-02-14/\",\"_key\":\"fdea1a6f5e19\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Federal clean energy lending will also be slowed by mass layoffs last week at the Department of Energy. \",\"_key\":\"fe15ae34658b\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Up to \",\"_key\":\"79965c141fab\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"49431f7a26eb\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"fdea1a6f5e19\"],\"text\":\"2,000 employees were let go from DOE\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", including from the Loan Programs Office, a grid improvement office, and a nuclear waste management site in Washington.\",\"_key\":\"d3b5398411ca\"}]}]}]},{\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"location\":\"Middle East\",\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"caption\":\"US Vice President JD Vance gives a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, February 14, 2025.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-2d47aaa8ea7dc9333b64fac636fd97deec68b9d9-1600x1085-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Leah Millis/Reuters\"},\"attribution\":\"Leah Millis/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"US Vice President JD Vance gives a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, February 14, 2025.\"},\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-19T11:57:33Z\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"vertical\":\"gulf\",\"headline\":\"Analysis: Riyadh emerges as power broker in Trump’s Middle East\",\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The kingdom cements its role as others struggle to absorb Washington’s diplomatic salvos.\",\"_key\":\"091edc49c5cb\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7bf2eb086f1e\"}],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"value\":\"gulf\",\"label\":\"Gulf\",\"_key\":\"gulf\"},{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Hadley Gamble\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/34aa4d8bb9fc4dc9f98f7668c0c9023dc4b92598-1600x1600.png\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null,\"id\":\"43830da3-09fc-4735-8623-ec056e330caa\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"54eda44f2457\",\"thescoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0c9d2c5c9fae\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"US Vice President JD Vance’s tough talk at this year’s Munich Security Conference left European allies apoplectic. But for Arab delegations — still unwilling or unable to challenge the administration’s stance on Gaza — it provided the perfect cover as the bulk of Washington’s attention shifts to Iran and Ukraine, with Saudi Arabia being the central hub for negotiations on two of the toughest issues facing the Trump administration.\",\"_key\":\"81579712c3fd\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"9716463cf53f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a3f121829d21\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"28564d07151f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"700553cc4c20\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Over the weekend in Germany, background discussions I had with US officials laid out President Donald Trump’s priorities in the Middle East: securing the safe return of Israeli hostages, ensuring Israel’s sovereignty and right to defend it, continuing the dismantling of Iran’s regional proxies, and putting an end to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions — once and for all.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"02278c89486d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"910bb6c182ca\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ac333bf05f13\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"During the early days of Trump’s first term, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE enjoyed relatively equal access to the Oval Office, with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner acting as the key man managing relationships with Gulf partners. Abu Dhabi led on the Abraham Accords, Riyadh coordinated OPEC+ to stabilize oil markets, and Doha maintained close contacts with opposition forces across the region. No single relationship seemed to outweigh another.\",\"_key\":\"e89be6fbb2c5\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"377b7c5533f1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"261835c662f8\"},{\"_key\":\"47cf35a0ee94\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"This time is different.\",\"_key\":\"1d665d0de205\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b0b4dffd1b71\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"6bc83f224dea\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"653f58f1df92\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Saudi Arabia has emerged as the definite counterweight to Israel. To put it another way: If the president sees Israel as the center of American influence in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the US’ essential partner. And it makes sense. Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Gulf, the de facto leader of OPEC, and a regional power with the financial and political heft to shape events across the Middle East.\",\"_key\":\"d147a29ac9ff\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"845a7ec12ffa\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"377cb5afe643\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Despite tensions over Trump’s Gaza Riviera plans and the push to bring the kingdom into the Abraham Accords, Washington has demonstrated that Riyadh remains a preferred partner on a range of strategic issues.\",\"_key\":\"945a60071c63\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ea12a52181af\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6934496e8c6b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"eb26b7028183\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5930aff2577b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"So when can we expect a call from Washington to Tehran?\",\"_key\":\"edd1ac2ccb78\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2a4cdf1aa6a9\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ab08bee2e9b2\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f66a90ae429a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“If there are conversations to be had, he is going to have those conversations,” Republican Senator Joni Ernst told me at the Munich Security Conference, referring to Trump.\",\"_key\":\"d5b3fbd6db02\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3f5dd896bf5e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"64f0d9a58e92\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"She also made clear that a more aggressive response from Trump on Houthi attacks in the Red Sea is coming.\",\"_key\":\"d3582f725eef\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"eaca60fdd355\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"1189cdb43ff8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"76dd0c904154\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9f072d5b9017\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I think [a response] should be led by the countries in the region. The problem is… if they were willing to step up without American leadership, it would have been done by now. So I think we do have to have outside shapers and influencers, and we see that now.”\",\"_key\":\"b4d4f3504931\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"12f6748597ab\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"95fb3f5fc9a4\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"4a5d1cc737fe\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"For now, Riyadh is where the real conversations are happening. Washington may be redrawing the map, but Saudi Arabia is brokering the deal.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7157cbabcba5\"},{\"_key\":\"3290eff8eceb\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"a3af3d38e881\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"596367128c54\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"b41d952030f4\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Hadley Gamble is Al Arabiya’s Chief International Anchor, and a former anchor with CNBC covering energy, politics, and business.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"authorSlug\":\"/author/hadley-gamble\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"email\":\"gulf@semafor.com\",\"bio\":[{\"_key\":\"5e31c1a109d7\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Hadley Gamble\",\"_key\":\"a545d6b829580\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" is a contributor for Semafor Gulf. Hadley has covered every major story in the region for the last 15 years, from the Arab Spring to the attacks on Aramco. Her interviews with world leaders have made international headlines; her tough questions have moved markets and precipitated the takeover of financial institutions. Prior to her role as Al-Arabiya’s Chief International Anchor, Hadley spent over a decade covering energy, geopolitics, and financial markets for CNBC. An experienced journalist, Hadley has worked for CNBC, as well as ABC News and Fox News in Washington, DC producing news programs and covering national and international political events, including the 2008 Presidential debates, election night 2008 and the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama.\",\"_key\":\"a545d6b829581\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"_createdAt\":\"2024-09-15T15:33:58Z\",\"_id\":\"d2cfcc86-84d8-45bf-b154-6a9476cf0141\",\"shortName\":\"Hadley\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-09-30T08:44:05Z\",\"_rev\":\"kfWS8WDTC7y2Xv4LsLaG0G\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/34aa4d8bb9fc4dc9f98f7668c0c9023dc4b92598-1600x1600.png\",\"name\":\"Hadley Gamble\",\"schemaVersion\":2}}],\"slug\":\"/article/02/17/2025/analysis-riyadh-emerges-as-power-broker-in-trumps-middle-east\"},{\"vertical\":\"africa\",\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"caption\":\"Downtown in Addis Ababa, May 27, 2016.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-c7754a60d2658664878153a85fab1bfc2f11dc78-5388x3405-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Korean Culture and Information Service/Creative Commons\"},\"attribution\":\"Korean Culture and Information Service/Creative Commons\",\"caption\":\"Downtown in Addis Ababa, May 27, 2016.\"},\"id\":\"f4369a49-c06b-4bec-8d8d-3e54b4f4080d\",\"headline\":\"Analysis: How to shift the media narrative on Africa\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"slug\":\"/article/02/17/2025/analysis-the-africa-you-dont-see\",\"description\":[{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Mainstream media is failing in its portrayal of Africa, Moky Makura argues, with a routine bias towards the negative.\",\"_key\":\"d0340f2167c1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"226623884b5f\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Africa\",\"_key\":\"africa\",\"value\":\"africa\"}],\"location\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Moky Makura\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1b7a91a59efb64c56fc3fb6b7d360e4e23c8364e-466x512.jpg\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"fbdab3f1dec4\",\"thescoop\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dbd4d015201d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"a7b79764f35b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Last year, while researching a book about my aunt who lived in Lagos, London, and Paris in the late 1930s and early ’40s, I came across old newspaper clippings that captured some of the everyday details of life at the time in those cities.\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"It triggered an epiphany: That newspapers weren’t just purveyors of news, they were time capsules, preserving the stories that documented life at any particular place and point in time.\",\"_key\":\"75f311dcdd50\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"afb459117042\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e56c03616290\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"It brought me to a troubling thought: What if, 100 years from now, researchers trying to understand what life in Africa was like in 2025 used today’s media as their sole research tool?\",\"_key\":\"a40cd03f6396\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"_key\":\"512f7324cb01\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"They wouldn’t know what over 70% of the continent thought, did, or cared about. They wouldn’t hear about the young entrepreneurs building businesses out of nothing or the artists, musicians, and filmmakers shaping global culture. They wouldn’t know how the average Nigerian, Gambian, or Ugandan spent their weekends, what they ate, watched and listened to, because so little of the media coverage today reflects everyday life on the ground in Africa.\",\"_key\":\"8cd63a15ebfc\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Africa No Filter’s findings backs this up. Our research into how African media covers the continent \",\"_key\":\"e82eb0035235\"},{\"_key\":\"54d3b38b8514\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"eef8931b3a1f\"],\"text\":\"found that over 80% of the stories\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" Africans read about other African countries were hard news — mostly negative, event-driven reports on elections, crises, and conflicts. Our \",\"_key\":\"a106aea87cbe\"},{\"_key\":\"f59110e17b77\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"23f0ad857b71\",\"em\"],\"text\":\"Global Media Index\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" revealed the same trend: International outlets continue to rely on familiar tropes while largely ignoring the stories that humanize Africa. And according to our \",\"_key\":\"3ad604888c51\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8b835d60f158\"],\"text\":\"Cost of Media Stereotypes\",\"_key\":\"5a9cff1375a2\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" report, this bias towards the negative has a cost: $4.2 billion annually in additional interest payments on its loans, due to disproportionately higher risk premiums.\",\"_key\":\"618ab683c15d\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b2bda183ea40\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://africanofilter.org/research-how-african-media-covers-africa\",\"_key\":\"eef8931b3a1f\"},{\"href\":\"https://africanofilter.org/our-research/global-media-index-for-africa\",\"_key\":\"23f0ad857b71\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_key\":\"8b835d60f158\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://africanofilter.org/our-research/the-cost-of-media-stereotypes-about-africa\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"I am not saying the media should ignore the crises and conflicts — Sudan and DR Congo deserve the world’s attention. But imagine if the media had a mandate to reflect society as it truly is? Imagine if Africa’s 54 countries were covered with the same depth and complexity as, say, Europe. Or that an African fintech founder making waves in global finance got as much attention as the latest coup or the last election.\",\"_key\":\"f99f1325d4ad\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2d3ffcfbe37a\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e7fc5f876467\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"I know newsrooms are stretched, foreign bureaus are closing, and that journalists “don’t do positive stories or PR for countries” as many practitioners have told me. But I think they are missing the point and it begs the question: If the media isn’t reflecting the world accurately, what is it doing?\",\"_key\":\"eb5c3f2847be\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"40eaeb923a3c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"I never thought I’d say this, but… thank goodness for social media. Because if traditional media were our only window into the continent, that poor researcher in 2125 would be working with a heavily curated and wildly unbalanced version of Africa. One that showed the continent as one long humanitarian crisis, with occasional violent elections thrown in for variety.\",\"_key\":\"e614378c6f0b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"I’d hate for people and the AI tools that will surely be running the world by 2125 to think we Africans spent decades as victims, waiting for handouts, dodging warlords, and surviving plagues — when in reality, we were building, creating, and thriving.\",\"_key\":\"1ffe7dc85b48\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0145b896b4a1\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"033cb00f7476\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Wouldn’t it be great if the world actually knew this?\",\"_key\":\"fb0ecf5dc7ab\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"eca2feb3a352\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"769c33342eb7\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Moky Makura is the executive director of Africa No Filter, an advocacy organization that is shifting stereotypical narratives about Africa through storytelling.\",\"_key\":\"acbbe5bb5a99\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cca94c689c20\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"_updatedAt\":\"2025-02-17T11:00:30Z\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"email\":\"moky@africanofilter.org\",\"_rev\":\"IRLVE0ffF3gM9eJj5LZ6BS\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"newsletterAudience\":\"Africa\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1b7a91a59efb64c56fc3fb6b7d360e4e23c8364e-466x512.jpg\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/moky-makura\",\"_createdAt\":\"2025-02-17T08:18:18Z\",\"shortName\":\"Moky Makura\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"name\":\"Moky Makura\",\"_id\":\"e8a51683-b73e-4ca6-9ba7-59dac6e1e923\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-19T11:03:36Z\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\"},{\"expires\":true,\"id\":\"040b928e-922c-4312-b80f-c9329868b192\",\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"headline\":\"Uncommon bonds: The PRO Act \",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"f7b3aa297bed\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A bipartisan duo in the House is getting ready to reintroduce the pro-union bill, as Trump’s labor pick thrusts it back into the spotlight.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4d1ebc6164cf\"}],\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-4ebbb6bc036f391aafb1d157354add3eebe35802-5464x4371-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Michael Brochstein / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect\",\"caption\":\"U.S. Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) speaking about the Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act at the U.S. Capitol in 2024.\"},\"attribution\":\"Michael Brochstein / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect\",\"caption\":\"U.S. Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) speaking about the Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act at the U.S. Capitol in 2024.\"},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-19T10:26:25Z\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/14/2025/uncommon-bonds-the-pro-act\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Eleanor Mueller\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/8afaf2871e64a99b700fe18af3ed29314ae298bd-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Kadia Goba\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/4f8f1b442e9cf46551270d6c82129f7c5edd0648-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Morgan Chalfant\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/454ac246e316cd78eb894e6959fd261936d6d4ed-1600x1600.png\"}],\"signal\":null,\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"location\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"5fc9fc5acc0f\",\"body\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"df0a302cf721\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Republicans’ small but vocal pro-union contingent will get a big chance to speak out this week, as President Trump’s labor secretary nominee gets a confirmation hearing that’s likely to focus on her support for a bipartisan labor bill.\",\"_key\":\"6461296ab085\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican congresswoman from Oregon, has drawn \",\"_key\":\"e97a3d051300\"},{\"text\":\"scrutiny\",\"_key\":\"ca289dc5dd89\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c4f31f035837\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" from some in the GOP (and \",\"_key\":\"defe5756a4d5\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"88425bea1b83\"],\"text\":\"plaudits from some Democrats\",\"_key\":\"76fd68ae7c07\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\") for her backing of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a proposal that would strengthen protections for unionized workers.\",\"_key\":\"06cea850b34c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"15e6bfc8601a\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"c4f31f035837\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/senate-republicans-trump-nominee-labor-secretary-lori-chavez-deremer-rcna187149\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/12/less-certain-path-trump-nominee-with-bipartisan-appeal/\",\"_key\":\"88425bea1b83\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"b5f9d81f8859\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But Chavez-DeRemer isn’t the only Republican on record backing the legislation. One of her former House Republican colleagues, in fact, is preparing to reintroduce the bill.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6ceef5780e61\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"title\":\"the issue\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"generaform\":null,\"_type\":\"generaform\"},{\"_key\":\"2ed8f2c4ee15\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"a849f5a7744b\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/20/cosponsors\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., has championed the PRO Act and co-led it with Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., during \",\"_key\":\"239f8077658d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a849f5a7744b\"],\"text\":\"the previous Congress\",\"_key\":\"b11a978baa4e\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". Fitzpatrick, who represents a battleground district where union voters are a key constituency, told Semafor he’s “100 percent” planning to be the lead Republican sponsor on the latest version in the coming weeks.\",\"_key\":\"38fea858b9c3\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b0af16567e36\"},{\"_key\":\"d9aa4d438a9e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Fitzpatrick also said he believes Chavez-DeRemer’s perch at the Labor Department, assuming she is confirmed by the Senate, will help his cause.\",\"_key\":\"51a6787ea92c\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“That’s why we recommended her,” he said.\",\"_key\":\"911f6db6e5f0\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b99f2c61fbaa\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"14183fa532fc\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Scott separately told Semafor that he expects the bill to pick up support from all Democratic members “and a handful of Republicans” in the House. But he cautioned that any movement on the measure depends on buy-in from House GOP leadership — which could be a steep road, to say the least. It faces an even more difficult path in the Senate.\",\"_key\":\"9470261745c0\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"generaform\":null,\"title\":\"the bond \",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"generaform\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"stepBack\",\"_key\":\"7aa4596febe9\",\"stepBack\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8ee2437e84a9\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The PRO Act — which would strengthen workers’ rights to join unions, allow unions to encourage workers to take part in “secondary strikes,” and weaken state right-to-work laws — attracted only a few Republican cosponsors in the past, and there’s at least some evidence that the support may shrink further in the GOP despite Chavez-DeRemer’s elevation by Trump.\",\"_key\":\"320f316dbe91\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3edf0c8e1839\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"779b04dc88d1\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"152843b6e497\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/after-endorsing-2020-opponent-afl-cio-praises-van-drew-over-pro-act-sponsorship/\",\"_key\":\"c6edac8375a3\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who \",\"_key\":\"7dadb99771f2\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c6edac8375a3\"],\"text\":\"backed an earlier version of the bill\",\"_key\":\"988fd128b04b\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", now says it’s a “step too far” and predicted there would be little appetite for it again.\",\"_key\":\"4a8b19c4316a\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“We can’t force down all of the trade and labor policies, particularly labor policies, on Alabama and the state of New York at the same time,” Van Drew told Semafor. “They have different viewpoints, they have different goals, and I think it was, again, too much for a nationwide effort.”\",\"_key\":\"158fbe6bb5f9\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4e3c4594b847\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c5f7e5ef815a\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/nomination-of-lori-m-chavez-deremer-to-serve-as-secretary-of-labor\",\"_key\":\"629765c9d6d0\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Still, he said Chavez-DeRemer would be a voice for unions within the Trump administration. She will appear before the Senate labor committee for her \",\"_key\":\"8af6a30a4f65\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"629765c9d6d0\"],\"text\":\"confirmation hearing on Wednesday\",\"_key\":\"705fedc747d1\"},{\"_key\":\"9cdca7d57622\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", after it was delayed due to a local snowstorm, and her pro-union stance promises to be at the center of members’ questioning.\"}]},{\"_key\":\"03084ca9fb00\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“President Trump is not anti-union,” Van Drew said. “He’s worked with unions his whole life.”\",\"_key\":\"845d5882bf4e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]},{\"where\":\"the senate\",\"_key\":\"a021c4fb7ff4\",\"theViewFrom\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The PRO Act might not be popular among Senate Republicans, but Democrats in the upper chamber are on board — and Chavez-DeRemer’s support for the bill has convinced at least one of them to back her nomination even before a hearing.\",\"_key\":\"1c578548d751\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f51498aed79c\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“She was very pro-labor and supported the PRO Act, and I plan to vote yes,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"732e831f8bce\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8c6619b3aba4\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\"},{\"theViewFrom\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Business groups that are traditionally supportive of Republicans have bashed the PRO Act.\",\"_key\":\"6298553c0383\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"84f98d731565\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.uschamber.com/major-initiative/stop-the-pro-act\",\"_key\":\"78cc939485b9\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The \",\"_key\":\"85b755d9286e\"},{\"marks\":[\"78cc939485b9\"],\"text\":\"US Chamber of Commerce\",\"_key\":\"dd41658376bf\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" said it “would undermine worker rights, ensnare employers in unrelated labor disputes, disrupt the economy, and force individual Americans to pay union dues regardless of their wishes.”\",\"_key\":\"2addd44d657d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"47239afce038\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"business groups \",\"_key\":\"55ddd85f4fe3\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"a33479e368a5\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"3b6f3ed7b432\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Business groups are skeptical of Chavez-DeRemer \"},{\"text\":\"because of her pro-union positions and have worked to build contacts elsewhere in the Trump administration, \",\"_key\":\"b84c9e20774e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"afca40aa1538\"],\"text\":\"Politico reported\",\"_key\":\"5b0d04e34fb0\"},{\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"bbc16ee5271e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c3459b4a0113\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/05/employers-wary-trump-labor-secretary-chavez-deremer-00191730\",\"_key\":\"afca40aa1538\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e8177963447a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Burgess Everett contributed reporting.\",\"_key\":\"50b65f8fec6c\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}]}]},{\"location\":null,\"id\":\"6f8cedc8-0731-4cf5-b32a-d52c2d8aaae1\",\"headline\":\"Senate Republicans likely to vote on budget next week\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\",\"label\":\"Politics\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-16T17:47:59Z\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/14/2025/senate-republicans-likely-to-vote-on-budget-next-week\",\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The move, if they make it, would vault them ahead of the House.\",\"_key\":\"19b1b2f9a5f9\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"583334452040\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"title\":\"The Scoop\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Senate Republicans are likely to take their budget resolution to the floor next week, according to three people familiar with the matter — a critical step toward enacting a border and defense spending bill that would vault them ahead of the House.\",\"_key\":\"cb4598975076\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"75bac8f6e490\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"bb67f9cc921f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"925ec466d29f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"104ea1d5a451\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/14/house-gop-budget-centrists-medicaid-00204223\",\"_key\":\"7a7701bcb04b\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"With the House in recess, the Senate is leaning toward kicking off its budget debate on Tuesday or Wednesday in an attempt to wrap it up by the weekend. That will be laborious, likely requiring Republicans to juggle the budget with confirming FBI director nominee Kash Patel, but the potential upside is high as the House encounters new \",\"_key\":\"2815b0344b28\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"7a7701bcb04b\"],\"text\":\"roadblocks\",\"_key\":\"b54c81f81888\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" to its more far-reaching budget measure.\",\"_key\":\"af9478be21e7\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"088267831885\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6873266b2acb\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bec16aa80682\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"No final decision has been made, but Republicans said they are leaning toward the move. One aide said “it’s very likely.”\",\"_key\":\"1d33a6018b0b\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"e3154db44e05\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c39b71e3704b\"},{\"_key\":\"4116ff791dfc\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Both the Senate and House budget panels advanced their competing blueprints this week: The Senate moved a national security-focused plan that would deliver roughly $175 billion to border security and $150 billion to defense, while the House moved an even bigger bill that includes national security, taxes and a debt ceiling hike.\",\"_key\":\"3047253bc6ef\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"07090512afc4\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"e84e353004fd\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Senate Republicans are seeking to turn to tax cuts later this year, reasoning that it’s too difficult to pass a mega-package quickly and that Trump’s immigration team needs money ASAP. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., put his view on the House’s plan this way: “I’m rooting for them, but we’re not counting on it.”\",\"_key\":\"b903ffc666a7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"63dbf819728b\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"cc19bb0cf631\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cd01fd9bfa54\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c1c85ef7a917\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“That’s my plan, is to have a ready-to-go option. I’m for one big beautiful bill until it doesn’t work. Then I’m not for it anymore,” Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Semafor on Thursday. “We should just keep doing what we are doing.”\\n\",\"_key\":\"af9b900ed23b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"02cbddc34c4b\"},{\"knowMore\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"6a94e53012b9\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Senate’s budget rules call for long hours but the 53-seat Republican majority ultimately will need just 50 votes for final passage. The chamber will need to undergo 50 hours of debate and then a symbolic “vote-a-rama” on unlimited amendments at the end of the process.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"063806aed89b\"},{\"_key\":\"4976896aad24\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"15908f570f77\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f4a007078607\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"1766a8ee7962\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Although Democrats can’t filibuster the legislation and Republicans can bring the budget to the floor without delay, the minority party can offer as many amendments as it wants in a bid to wear down Republicans by forcing them to vote on politically risky proposals.\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"87ef4ffc190f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"226d063520d9\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In other words, it could be a long week.\",\"_key\":\"87dd8fcd8772\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1cd271247b27\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"033d38d63a6d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b3c685c3b3d7\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8bd93f910364\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Once the Senate passes its budget, the two chambers will eventually have to square their visions before writing binding party-line bills to enact the savings that the budgets identify.\",\"_key\":\"091152857366\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"eb7957186727\",\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"_key\":\"eddeffff33cb\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d502ca6f1a81\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"3bf0e28e99b1\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5139754-trump-administration-calls-for-border-funding/\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Top Trump officials told Senate Republicans \",\"_key\":\"3fc290f6aad0\"},{\"text\":\"they need border money now, \",\"_key\":\"82c9251f4b57\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3bf0e28e99b1\"],\"text\":\"The Hill reports.\",\"_key\":\"20d6a5dd92a0\"}],\"level\":1},{\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"38f02d8c1add\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/13/house-republicans-approve-budget-00204230\",\"_key\":\"34504fa497bc\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"House Republicans are pretty happy they got a budget \",\"_key\":\"5c58ee5c8153\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"agreement,\",\"_key\":\"d952ead91e77\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"3ad0eba5b038\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"34504fa497bc\"],\"text\":\" Politico reports.\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-52413480ae2be8e0f800b2d1c7eb73a053e79060-7617x5080-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.\"},\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Burgess Everett\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/bf82c2082c8dec6bc6c211b558978725a2d1b715-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Kadia Goba\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/4f8f1b442e9cf46551270d6c82129f7c5edd0648-1600x1600.png\"}],\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"vertical\":\"politics\"},{\"ledeVideo\":null,\"vertical\":\"gulf\",\"signal\":null,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-16T10:00:17.071Z\",\"id\":\"75605ef5-0970-4f03-a833-89089e1dd4b6\",\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"slug\":\"/article/02/14/2025/analysis-trumps-diplomatic-blitzkrieg-leaves-arab-states-reeling\",\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"intro\":{\"_type\":\"intro\",\"schemaVersion\":1},\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Gulf\",\"_key\":\"gulf\",\"value\":\"gulf\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Mahmoud Issa/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"A Palestinian man works to light a fire outside his tent, set up near the rubble of his house in Gaza\",\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"reference\",\"_ref\":\"image-d187af758c020c73b41ce1bafd1b80ef2e4671a1-1600x1066-jpg\"}},\"attribution\":\"Mahmoud Issa/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"A Palestinian man works to light a fire outside his tent, set up near the rubble of his house in Gaza\"},\"expires\":true,\"headline\":\"Analysis: Trump’s diplomatic blitzkrieg leaves Arab States reeling\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"description\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4e47c139be1f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Trump’s rapid-fire approach to foreign policy has left Washington’s Arab allies scrambling to respond.\",\"_key\":\"e80225277b2b\"}]}],\"location\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Hadley Gamble\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/34aa4d8bb9fc4dc9f98f7668c0c9023dc4b92598-1600x1600.png\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"thescoop\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Arab states have no alternative plan for Gaza — yet.\",\"_key\":\"98d8540cd0fd\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e224f9947805\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/02/07/2025/analysis-trump-made-his-gaza-offer-now-the-gulf-needs-to-counter\",\"_key\":\"0d7d87009389\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Last week, I described President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza as, in hindsight, obvious: A real estate mogul trying to \",\"_key\":\"cc32a9c9b71c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"0d7d87009389\"],\"text\":\"solve a seemingly intractable 60-year-old conflict with a deal\",\"_key\":\"c6a430771e6d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". But the sheer audacity — and speed — of his proposals have left America’s Middle East allies with whiplash.\",\"_key\":\"45d5162838ee\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"29c0532a4e97\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"327bffd5c92c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"And they’re not alone.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"90a3a3326ad8\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Consider what the past 48 hours have meant for Europe. Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin is laying the groundwork for negotiations on Ukraine, but without consulting the Ukrainians. And with just hours to go before the start of Europe’s premier security conference in Munich, Trump’s new defense secretary made it clear that European defense should be led by Europe, not the US. It’s the diplomatic equivalent of a blitzkrieg. One senior diplomat in Munich told me that he and his colleagues are now in “speak softly” mode, lest they attract unwanted lightning.\",\"_key\":\"177483018e6a\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2611601f1f08\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"cf7406713c14\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“What we struggle with is the big policy shifts that we see from Washington,” Minister of State and UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba told me this week at Dubai’s World Governments Summit. “A long time ago, when I first got there, the policy shifts used to be mainly on domestic policies... but now we see these massive shifts on foreign policy as well. Now we’re seeing it on culture and social issues. So, I think the more the US swings, the more [it] will cause uncertainty and uncertainty is not good.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"96b1c2d0d189\"},{\"_key\":\"c101a2abcf3d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"It’s not only that Trump’s plan ignores the impact an influx of more than two million Palestinian refugees would have on Egypt and Jordan, two countries the US has spent decades stabilizing. It also sidelines the region’s role in determining its own destiny. While Israel can’t allow a future terrorist threat from Gaza, the US’ closest allies in the region also can’t absorb the instability this plan would create.\",\"_key\":\"b4a26daae176\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"youtube\",\"_key\":\"03456bb7892c\",\"previewImage\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-ba9f2616314ee87f89a538af17be0b6651125d78-1230x638-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"url\":\"https://youtu.be/YL7eXlGThbg?feature=share\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"markDefs\":null},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I worry that we sometimes, whether on purpose or by accident, try to divide the world into camps,” Al Otaiba told me. “I think we should be focused on whoever believes in a common vision for the future.”\",\"_key\":\"512b7230f426\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3edfa565f0e6\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Then there’s the question of how, when, and by whom a new Gaza might be built. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have made it clear that they are prepared to play a role in the Middle East’s future, committing to working with the new governments in Syria and Lebanon to rebuild those countries. But will they invest in a Gaza that doesn’t include the people who actually live there?\",\"_key\":\"f609edadd4b7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"34c9f70758d9\"},{\"_key\":\"de65563ae6cf\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2jz020ny0o\",\"_key\":\"1ad26b35b35f\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"For now, no clear alternative has emerged. Egypt said it’s \",\"_key\":\"7ec87aa64778\"},{\"text\":\"working on a “comprehensive vision”\",\"_key\":\"5708fce21f67\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"1ad26b35b35f\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" for a reconstruction of Gaza that would keep Palestinians on their land.\",\"_key\":\"ae0e3f0be31d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I don’t see an alternative to what’s being proposed,” Al Otaiba said in Dubai. “I really don’t. And so, if someone has one, we’re happy to discuss it. We’re happy to explore it, but it hasn’t surfaced yet.” He later added: “We do not support forced displacement of two million Palestinians from their homes.”\",\"_key\":\"f68e3a62fe68\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"61e9ab67ed20\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Still, as a 16-year veteran of Washington politics, Al Otaiba remains confident the Gulf will figure something out.\",\"_key\":\"3724b1b4e973\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"37f4d226b5b9\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"11d254402eed\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“We’ve had challenges with previous administrations where we’ve had very, very tough conversations in the past,” says Al Otaiba. “It’s always about trying to find a solution and trying to find common ground. And right now, this particular set of issues is challenging, but we’ll find a way through.”\",\"_key\":\"5708a1cefe81\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9ee5d8602521\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Hadley Gamble is Al Arabiya’s Chief International Anchor, and a former anchor with CNBC covering energy, politics, and business.\",\"_key\":\"219e5f29cede\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"shortName\":\"Hadley\",\"_rev\":\"kfWS8WDTC7y2Xv4LsLaG0G\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"name\":\"Hadley Gamble\",\"bio\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5e31c1a109d7\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Hadley Gamble\",\"_key\":\"a545d6b829580\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" is a contributor for Semafor Gulf. Hadley has covered every major story in the region for the last 15 years, from the Arab Spring to the attacks on Aramco. Her interviews with world leaders have made international headlines; her tough questions have moved markets and precipitated the takeover of financial institutions. Prior to her role as Al-Arabiya’s Chief International Anchor, Hadley spent over a decade covering energy, geopolitics, and financial markets for CNBC. An experienced journalist, Hadley has worked for CNBC, as well as ABC News and Fox News in Washington, DC producing news programs and covering national and international political events, including the 2008 Presidential debates, election night 2008 and the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama.\",\"_key\":\"a545d6b829581\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"_createdAt\":\"2024-09-15T15:33:58Z\",\"_id\":\"d2cfcc86-84d8-45bf-b154-6a9476cf0141\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-09-30T08:44:05Z\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/34aa4d8bb9fc4dc9f98f7668c0c9023dc4b92598-1600x1600.png\",\"email\":\"gulf@semafor.com\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"authorSlug\":\"/author/hadley-gamble\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"3eecfee54e0b\"}]},{\"id\":\"b6c5d7ca-af58-43eb-a1ec-cec4ad403401\",\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"vertical\":\"climate\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Net Zero\",\"_key\":\"climate\",\"value\":\"climate\"}],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Tim McDonnell\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1ddf837d6cffba02799c97a85b509964d801e2c0-1600x1600.png\"}],\"headline\":\"Trump-EU tariff spat could put a key climate policy on the negotiating table\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"location\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"As the European Union braces to be the next target of US tariffs, President Donald Trump has offered an easy way out: Buy more American fossil fuels.\",\"_key\":\"55ec12029e50\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1594cea7637f\"},{\"_key\":\"85f46c621bee\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"7b15625fc1c7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“The one thing they can do quickly is buy our oil and gas,” Trump said shortly after his inauguration. But that plan faces an obstacle that energy companies and officials on both sides of the Atlantic are now scrambling to navigate: An impending EU policy that requires gas exporters to lower their methane emissions, or face fees. The methane rule is designed to force global gas producers who want access to the lucrative EU market to crack down on a potent greenhouse gas — a policy at odds with the Trump administration’s planned roll back of domestic emissions regulations.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The EU rules could keep the pressure on US gas companies. But some industry analysts also worry the rules are at risk of being watered down.\",\"_key\":\"1527ba768ba3\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1fb8590fb406\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fe7138b1a3d2\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Loosening the methane standards “could be something that [the EU] can offer as a negotiation point on these tariff threats,” said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a gas market scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.\",\"_key\":\"39f69570567b\"}]}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"8da50e1081e5\",\"title\":\"The News\"},{\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"996b8438e727\",\"thescoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Trump is used to leveraging liquified natural gas exports as a cudgel in foreign policy and trade negotiations: Ukraine, India, Japan, and Taiwan are among the countries committing to buy more US LNG in the hope of staying on Trump’s good side. In Europe, where gas prices are the highest they’ve been in years and Russian pipelines seem unlikely to reopen anytime soon, greater imports from the US are likely no matter what Trump does. The question is what emissions standard those imports will be held to — and how European leaders will balance the trade-offs between placating Trump, keeping energy affordable, and fighting climate change.\",\"_key\":\"925179cb1274\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c1660388c895\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Starting in May, EU gas importers will need to report on their products’ methane intensity, meaning they’ll need to collect emissions data from their trading partners overseas. By 2027, imports that don’t meet a tight methane standard will face additional fees. EU officials have said there are \",\"_key\":\"0e97d1cc9aae\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c7ceaab38cd8\"],\"text\":\"no plans to exempt US gas\",\"_key\":\"3ca91e05fa86\"},{\"_key\":\"a258e99811e7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" from the methane rules (or, for that matter, from a set of broader carbon import tariffs that kick in next year).\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"79b3f0c32c23\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-rule-derail-gas-deal-donald-trump/\",\"_key\":\"c7ceaab38cd8\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0ac39258f859\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But a high-stakes debate is now underway about how exactly the methane rules will be applied. EU officials, in consultation with European gas companies, are hashing out a new methane emissions trading market that would allow high-methane gas to be labeled low-methane by buying a certificate from low-emissions producers somewhere else in the producing country, effectively separating the physical gas molecules from their emissions profile. This would ensure that sufficient US gas is able to reach European consumers at a reasonable price, and direct some cash back to US gas companies that have already invested in methane reduction measures.\",\"_key\":\"a0f6c8a56287\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“The less volumes we have that are able to meet the [methane] requirements, the higher the premium [for low-methane gas] will be, so there’s a clear link to affordability, and that’s front and center these days in Europe,” said Gunnar Steck, executive advisor to the trade group Eurogas.\",\"_key\":\"dff35a3aaa2e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"53469cbc71cc\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The problem, some industry experts say, is that this so-called “book and claim” system only targets the lowest-hanging fruit of methane emissions, rewarding the cheapest and easiest cuts that probably would have happened no matter what, and letting everyone else off the hook.\",\"_key\":\"b5fdcd0c5d7b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"48a04dbd17cd\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"42528fff4c90\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“An unrestricted book-and-claim system fundamentally undermines the intent of the regulation, effectively nullifying what is currently the most robust and only international methane regulation in existence,” said Carlos Garcia, strategic business development manager at the environmental commodities trading firm STX Group. Garcia, in collaboration with the US research and advocacy group Clean Air Task Force (CATF), is advocating instead for a system in which emissions trading is still allowed, but only between producers within the same region or that are physically connected by pipelines. That would ensure the methane rules still have an effect on driving down overall emissions, but without causing prices to spike.\",\"_key\":\"06eb52b54439\"}]},{\"_key\":\"482cd1e7c4bd\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The final design of Europe’s methane market is still under discussion — so there’s plenty of opportunity for it to be a bargaining chip in tariff negotiations.\",\"_key\":\"88e36752b7df\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"email\":\"tmcdonnell@semafor.com\",\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-24T16:33:03Z\",\"_rev\":\"ERq4ToR7OCAfPf0jwFiFDK\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.1\",\"authorTitle\":\"Climate and energy editor\",\"twitter\":\"timmcdonnell\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"name\":\"Tim McDonnell\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-12T16:11:14Z\",\"_createdAt\":\"2023-01-16T15:20:39Z\",\"newsletterAudience\":\"Climate\",\"bio\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Tim McDonnell is the Climate \u0026 Energy Editor at Semafor. Tim has covered the business and science of climate change for more than a decade from front lines of the crisis around the world. He is based in Kyiv.\",\"_key\":\"72cb34c85e56\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6ec720bd7d4d\"}],\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1ddf837d6cffba02799c97a85b509964d801e2c0-1600x1600.png\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/tim-mcdonnell\",\"_id\":\"02111b2e-2dd5-40b1-82fb-b81b62e4f9ba\",\"shortName\":\"Tim\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2023-09-06T10:33:19-04:00\"}},{\"_key\":\"3d211128d03d\",\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Even if the US and EU both weaken their respective methane regulations, US gas producers will still be under pressure to clean up, said Brandon Locke, CATF’s Europe policy manager. Japan, South Korea, and other countries that are important markets for US LNG are also developing their own methane rules. For US producers, the risk of being lackadaisical about methane is that rival exporters like Qatar and Australia forge ahead on relatively cheap emissions improvements and eat their lunch. Wall Street, too, is increasingly focused on methane, Locke said.\",\"_key\":\"1b0839fdd61a\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"270757d4fa94\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"604da08b1162\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“There will be significant political pressure on the EU around this, but the reality is that globally traded gas will increasingly need to demonstrate its environmental impact,” he said. “Investors are demanding concrete emissions data, and for companies looking to borrow money, it significantly impacts their cost of capital.”\",\"_key\":\"bea90422a82c\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"roomForDisagreement\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"fd3726b064da\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b3a4d760d0f1\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.eu/article/germanys-green-agenda-politics-elections-friedrich-merz-government-cdu-woke/?utm_source=cbnewsletter\u0026utm_medium=email\u0026utm_term=2025-02-13\u0026utm_campaign=Daily+Briefing+13+02+2025\",\"_key\":\"d16c12141897\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Apart from methane, Europe’s green agenda overall is at risk \",\"_key\":\"c10b13c834b0\"},{\"text\":\"from the \",\"_key\":\"76bb3e243f59\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d16c12141897\"],\"text\":\"rising power of right-wing politicians who see climate policy as a major target\",\"_key\":\"0003c7f7bb86\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". Friedrich Merz, the leading candidate to be Germany’s next chancellor, is “framing all things green through the now-familiar ‘woke’ and ‘anti-growth’ lens,” Politico reports.\",\"_key\":\"fea135743437\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\"}]}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Danil Shamkin/NurPhoto/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"LNG Tanker ASYA ENERGY sailing under the flag of Palau is moored off the coast of the Mediterranean port of Limassol.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-37677655ca56c8395dd37df2a95d8462bbf85399-1279x847-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Danil Shamkin/NurPhoto/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"LNG Tanker ASYA ENERGY sailing under the flag of Palau is moored off the coast of the Mediterranean port of Limassol.\"},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-15T12:50:49.049Z\",\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"slug\":\"/article/02/13/2025/trump-eu-tariff-spat-could-put-a-key-methane-on-the-negotiating-table\",\"expires\":true,\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6d6db7d1cf86\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"e63dc16aa549\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Europe’s looming methane standards could hold US gas companies accountable — or devolve into greenwashing.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"signal\":null},{\"headline\":\"The House is losing the budget battle\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Republican congressman Jodey Arrington. Tom Brenner/Reuters.\",\"caption\":\"Jodey Arrington\",\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"reference\",\"_ref\":\"image-210b3cbecb21f4a44b00747268d9b8a5d5d6dcc5-2145x1609-jpg\"}},\"attribution\":\"Republican congressman Jodey Arrington. Tom Brenner/Reuters.\",\"caption\":\"Jodey Arrington\"},\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Kadia Goba\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/4f8f1b442e9cf46551270d6c82129f7c5edd0648-1600x1600.png\"}],\"expires\":true,\"id\":\"25d9aa9a-55d5-4ef6-8cc7-86dc33cac11c\",\"intro\":null,\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"location\":\"North America\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null,\"description\":[{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The House Budget Committee will hold its budget markup today, with some GOP members already opposing the proposal.\",\"_key\":\"03b5a5c5d240\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"908c28e89c62\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-15T11:27:04Z\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"slug\":\"/article/02/13/2025/the-house-is-losing-the-budget-battle\",\"semaforms\":[{\"scoop\":[{\"_key\":\"367164b3cf30\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The House Budget Committee will hold its budget markup today — and some GOP members are already opposing the border, energy, and taxes proposal that Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, released Wednesday. \",\"_key\":\"5c3799adfc70\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"ce7bef57bbc9\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Arrington’s plan is meant to be a blueprint for the “one big, beautiful bill” to deliver Trump’s agenda. But Freedom Caucus member Eric Burlison, R-Mo., called its $1.5 trillion in cuts “pathetic” and predicted a half-dozen or more Republicans would vote against it on the House floor. “I know my colleagues. They don’t really have much desire or impetus to cut spending, so you’re going to have to force them,” he said. \"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fce18f679ce4\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f4d4c61cec6d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Rep. 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News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"_key\":\"d97cd3aabab1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor on Tuesday declared the startup is not up for sale after Elon Musk made an unsolicited, $97.4 billion bid for the company he helped found.\",\"_key\":\"2abafa0fefc8\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"46c0dceb4355\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9bdd9e0e622a\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Our job as a board is to exclusively decide what benefits our mission,” Taylor told a Wall Street Journal conference. “As a consequence, I think this is largely a distraction and I think the board is going to continue to exclusively focus on the 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While he is rushing to catch up to and ultimately surge past OpenAI with his own competing startup, there’s another race going on here: the one between the US and China. And one question is whether it’s helpful for the US that two of the biggest US players in AI are battling so bitterly.\",\"_key\":\"ed0038c489ab\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ca230097aba8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"b4473f165a67\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"724dde3273a8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"41c595eba163\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The answer, probably, is yes. This is capitalism. Musk’s bid shows that even if OpenAI were to collapse, there is abundant capital looking to push the technology forward. 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They’ve pushed each other to move faster, be more aggressive, and get creative with how they build out the infrastructure needed to take AI to the next level.\",\"_key\":\"0be50c72e206\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"afcc59226798\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"f0767d153f16\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3d9c0adfb0a0\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"If all the AI companies here were getting along, the US would be in trouble.\",\"_key\":\"7ce49b259951\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0c7cb285a84b\"}]},{\"_key\":\"46b02ecbc800\",\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-02-11/sure-elon-musk-might-buy-openai?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTczOTMwODgwNywiZXhwIjoxNzM5OTEzNjA3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTUkozQUJUMVVNMFcwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEQjlFREYyREVCMkE0OTVGOTgzMjczRUQxRjk1MTg0NSJ9.wZZsE5BmzQi9aOYiWAyuYE3yNnjV6A51jCJve6MudKM\",\"_key\":\"4dad581649c7\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Bloomberg’s Matt Levine \",\"_key\":\"cb249c606caf\"},{\"marks\":[\"4dad581649c7\"],\"text\":\"points out\",\"_key\":\"2053ef3c0e01\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" that, based on the sheer size of Musk’s bid, OpenAI’s board may have a fiduciary responsibility to accept it.\",\"_key\":\"ce6d410a196c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c79099596a06\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2aa492db9831\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5f10544760fb\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d5f49143dc4d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“You are left with the absolutely bizarre circumstance that a nonprofit plausibly might have a fiduciary obligation to sell to the highest bidder, even if it finds that highest bidder unsavory and uncharitable,” he wrote. “What if it got a topping bid from the Chinese Communist Party? 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Vying for the top role are former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Madagascar’s ex-Finance Minister Richard Randriamandrato, and former Djiboutian Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. A deputy chair and six commissioners will also be elected this week.\",\"_key\":\"22007887d885\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"86b6764f7d7f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The bloc of 55 member states has struggled to play a significant role during the economic shocks and security issues facing the continent in recent years. But in 2023 it was given a bigger remit with entry into the G20.\",\"_key\":\"a1b3418151db\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8011737cf1d1\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/02/07/2025/usaids-dismantling-threatens-african-development\",\"_key\":\"234dc6dca2c2\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"b3ceeef295e7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Now, the \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"234dc6dca2c2\"],\"text\":\"dismantling of Washington’s main foreign aid body\",\"_key\":\"81e9943e5c3e\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", the US Agency for International Development, presents another potential opportunity for the AU to step up its regional role on everything from health care to agriculture and trade. The USAID funding cuts are already plunging the groups that depend on it into crisis mode.\",\"_key\":\"1fab163d6619\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"123f85f4ba0f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"39b228c6cb06\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, president of the African Center for Economic Transformation think tank in Ghana, said the AU Commission’s new leaders will need to “develop a strong position in the G20, especially as the US leaves a vacuum of leadership.”\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"She said the AU should “lean into its stronger bargaining power on the global stage” which, alongside its place in the G20, meant drawing on African countries having seats in the UN, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund to get the continent’s “financial and political systems in order.” But, like other analysts who spoke to Semafor, she stressed that the new leaders must also implement “timely reforms” to make the organization “fit for purpose.”\",\"_key\":\"292d98b7ff82\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"325029da889f\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"b6be401f662a\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d0ff40ecabaf\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Faki’s eight years as AU chief were marked by the bloc facing widespread criticism for failing to mediate effectively during conflicts in Sudan and eastern DR Congo, and its inability to intervene during the coups that have hit West and Central Africa in recent years. However, the AU did successfully broker the 2022 ceasefire that halted the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.\",\"_key\":\"d2ac59d6beed\"}]},{\"_key\":\"a2124c7bbaad\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Alex Vines, Africa program director at Chatham House, said the AU requires “urgent reform” and the new team will need to “inject vision and authority” for member states to invest more in the organization. Vines said the AU’s accession into the G20 was an important moment that helped the body to gain influence with other regional blocs. But “this won’t continue if it fails to reform and become more relevant for Africans,” he stressed.\",\"_key\":\"3b0556b82356\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"imageEmbed\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-91b3b9f6c1b0062fbb246246ac2eccd5e52ad378-1600x899-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"_type\":\"imageEmbed\",\"_key\":\"f4eb475d44e6\",\"markDefs\":null,\"imageEmbedExternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbedInternalLink\":null}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"d84190d05449\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"email\":\"aakwagyiram@semafor.com\",\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-26T23:00:42Z\",\"name\":\"Alexis Akwagyiram\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/179840acc0f27090ecbb6accb206f18ff414cb62-1600x1600.png\",\"_createdAt\":\"2022-10-12T15:33:13Z\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"_id\":\"df09cdb2-9fa8-4c25-bb3b-c7a8a744597b\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-12T15:54:54Z\",\"bio\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"88b3ef8c3b29\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"9ffc59d4d1730\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Alexis has covered African news and current affairs for more than a decade at the BBC, Reuters and Financial Times. He was a BBC Africa reporter and led a multimedia team as the Reuters bureau chief in Nigeria. Alexis shaped the FT’s pandemic coverage as its health and science editor.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"twitter\":\"alexisak\",\"authorTitle\":\"Managing Editor, Africa\",\"newsletterAudience\":\"Africa\",\"_rev\":\"ERq4ToR7OCAfPf0jwFdpGd\",\"shortName\":\"Alexis\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.1\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-26T19:00:42-04:00\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/alexis-akwagyiram\",\"_type\":\"author\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"890a0a9750ee\",\"thescoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3df0ac00b805\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The AU’s new leadership team will take over at a crucial time. The Trump administration is disrupting the established world order. And the AU’s amplified voice in global affairs, due to its G20 membership, is helped by South Africa taking on the rotating chairmanship of that group of nations. It means the AU has the best chance in years to make its voice heard.\",\"_key\":\"750f0aeacdfd\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"But in order to shed its reputation for inefficiency and toothlessness, it will have to address the systemic issues that have held it back. Its parliament lacks binding legislative authority, the AU Commission cannot force member states to adhere to its rules, and member states frequently flout the rulings of its human rights court.\",\"_key\":\"bca8112ada0c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"57c62d6ccf23\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Overcoming these deep-rooted problems may be beyond the timescale afforded to the next commission chair — whoever wins the weekend vote will land a four-year term and can only be reelected once. So much will depend on their ambition and drive.\",\"_key\":\"f9c349957879\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f941a51b9c52\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d3e27adef852\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/what-would-it-mean-for-africa-to-have-two-permanent-un-security-council-seats/\",\"_key\":\"bb2c06d465e5\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Odinga, the frontrunner, has pledged to work with the continent’s leaders to \",\"_key\":\"914910530075\"},{\"_key\":\"8e24e523243e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"bb2c06d465e5\"],\"text\":\"secure two permanent seats for Africa\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" at the UN Security Council, a move that was supported by the Biden administration. Youssouf has vowed to tackle regional insecurity. Randriamandrato, meanwhile, has said he wants to improve intra-African trade by empowering regional economic blocs.\",\"_key\":\"0bd697807bef\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The timing is right. If the winning candidate can translate their job pitch into genuine momentum in the role, the AU could change.\",\"_key\":\"4c6f035645e0\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0321e51ac177\",\"markDefs\":[]}]},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"roomForDisagreement\",\"_key\":\"a00ac95f9d68\",\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2e961e581adc\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“In principle, this is supposed to be a significant role. But in practice, the AU commission chair has wielded limited power,” Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, director of the Washington-based Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, told Semafor. “This is because the commission’s standing depends on the performance of the AU at large, and the AU has underperformed for years.”\",\"_key\":\"e3cd90ea77ff\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}]},{\"furtherReading\":[{\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://african.business/2025/01/politics/the-long-read-can-the-african-union-be-saved-from-itself\",\"_key\":\"03b296e0e832\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"238dfd479178\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The AU has become “a byword for institutional inertia,” according to African Business, which \"},{\"marks\":[\"03b296e0e832\"],\"text\":\"asks whether it can be “saved from itself.”\",\"_key\":\"59f924449fcb\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ee63d7ae449d\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"a96aa40cabf4\"}],\"headline\":\"African Union needs ‘urgent reform’ after leadership elections as US steps back \",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"location\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Alexis Akwagyiram\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/179840acc0f27090ecbb6accb206f18ff414cb62-1600x1600.png\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null},{\"location\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"0a24f5109e73\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"744f7318349b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A fierce behind-the-scenes argument over Donald Trump’s foreign policy is coming to a head in the nomination of Elbridge Colby as a top policy hand at the Pentagon.\",\"_key\":\"89ec9fb8421d\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Colby, who served at the Pentagon in Trump’s first term, is the most visible leader of the Republican faction that has argued against foreign intervention. Iced out of Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign for being insufficiently hawkish, Colby’s path to prominence came in the new-fashioned way: A combination of “Establishment” credentials (degrees from Harvard University and Yale Law School, and a grandfather who ran the CIA), fulsome public praise of Trump, a combative and hyperactive presence on X, and a crucial \",\"_key\":\"d4e93ce0b921\"},{\"_key\":\"11d44d543555\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c2785fc1229e\"],\"text\":\"appearance\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" on Tucker Carlson’s podcast.\",\"_key\":\"55530bf76ec1\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"65cb058dcf80\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtsGqGc-Iuw\",\"_key\":\"c2785fc1229e\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Colby’s broad argument is that the US is overextended and needs to reduce its commitments in Europe and the Middle East in order to ramp up its presence in Asia and avoid war with China. But he’s faced a low-grade insurgency in Washington from the overlapping circles of hawks and allies of Israel, including a prominent group of Jewish leaders who wrote a previously unreported letter to senators this month raising “serious concerns” about his nomination.\",\"_key\":\"4909099d0d54\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"75cbc83d2cf8\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Now Colby’s allies are reassuring senators who must confirm him to the position of undersecretary of defense for policy that he supports strong US backing for Israel and that he’s not personally responsible for the appointment of more strident critics of American power to Pentagon and State Department roles.\",\"_key\":\"2c5c1c2a91d5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"53ada92a506a\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\"},{\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"fcd612210961\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"06e7676bbf70\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Colby’s proximity to the new power center is underscored by the sherpa guiding his nomination, Arthur Schwartz, who is also an adviser to Donald Trump, Jr. and Vice President JD Vance. Colby’s hearing hasn’t been scheduled yet (Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker has cited paperwork delays), but Republican allies of Israel on the Senate Armed Services Committee — including Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. — are expected to scrutinize his nomination closely.\",\"_key\":\"72df6c26a133\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"2e151a39d335\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/files/ifn0l6bs/production/b75d9a79fe7179970ec1e8375970c06386aef618.pdf\",\"_key\":\"44b1357b6ee3\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In a previously \",\"_key\":\"98bef477764c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"44b1357b6ee3\"],\"text\":\"unreported letter\",\"_key\":\"496e15426649\"},{\"text\":\", the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, an influential umbrella group, wrote to the chairman and ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee over “serious concerns” about the nomination among its constituents. In the letter, CEO William Daroff suggested a dozen questions for committee members to ask Colby, half of them about Iran. The letter also repeatedly cites former Fox host Tucker Carlson, whose proximity to the Trump Administration has become a sore spot due to his conversations with critics of Israel and revisionist historians.\",\"_key\":\"b0c85c639ab5\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“In a recent appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast, you suggested that a military strike to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons lacked a ‘clear connection to American interests.’ Can you elaborate on why you believe preventing a nuclear-armed Iran is not directly tied to U.S. national interests?” reads one question.\",\"_key\":\"ee1e11dc94bd\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"72219b66be58\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"51f90e0763a8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Another three questions focus on Michael DiMino, who has been named deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and would report to Colby. DiMino has criticized the US-Israel relationship and raised questions about US interests in the Middle East.\",\"_key\":\"6822bb5715b8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/dan-caldwell-pentagon-isolationist-koch-network-middle-e/\",\"_key\":\"d26bbaecb193\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The letters echo a ripple of concern among US allies of Israel about a digitally-savvy, libertarian-leaning, foreign policy group Defense Priorities that has become a pipeline into the new administration, a rift reported last month in \",\"_key\":\"e8f38cce2f0a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d26bbaecb193\"],\"text\":\"Jewish Insider\",\"_key\":\"dfaecfc06b98\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"6d2bc9dc4d8a\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d2818881939a\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"One of the administration’s Republican critics described a low-grade “panic” in pro-Israel circles at the composition of the Defense Department: “It’s Pete and then 30 blogging, podcasting, isolationist ideologues.”\",\"_key\":\"13eeacfc5151\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9f4c05680b0c\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3b1328608bd0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But the foreign policy winners in Trump’s Washington see their new strength as the product of post-Iraq shifts in US priorities.\",\"_key\":\"ffa8e0b8e6f4\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c395e91486d1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“There’s a generational change happening,” said Reid Smith, vice president of foreign policy at Stand Together, the network created by the Koch family. (Stand Together is also an investor in Semafor.) “Looking at Gabbard and Hegseth and Vance — all those guys are jaundiced by the wars in the Middle East.”\",\"_key\":\"493f4ec48c85\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"70369c7361b8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In another time, the rift might have posed a serious threat to Colby’s nomination. But with the Senate GOP offering little resistance to anyone not named Matt Gaetz, Colby is making gains internally among Republicans.\",\"_key\":\"0a8826bebf74\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ecf7fac65907\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/02/02/2025/maga-intellectual-darren-beattie-will-fill-key-state-department-role\",\"_key\":\"8b83e803c7c2\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.instagram.com/adl_national/p/DFn6rxfxZEH/?hl=en\",\"_key\":\"b6305c5daac9\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"46600c8dff34\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Colby’s team has lined up Jewish support, and won the endorsement of the Republican Jewish Coalition last week. Nor has the Trump administration backed away from DiMino, or from State Department appointee \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8b83e803c7c2\"],\"text\":\"Darren Beattie\",\"_key\":\"1a136c223b6d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", who was \",\"_key\":\"43f10934ce6b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"b6305c5daac9\"],\"text\":\"denounced\",\"_key\":\"388894d171b5\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" by the anti-Defamation League. (“The playbook’s not working like it’s used to — these guys would have been fired ten years ago,” said American Conservative editor Curt Mills, an ally of Colby and Carlson.)\",\"_key\":\"e4eb234dbc64\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"c7b6c9bc4faf\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Colby’s allies see Cotton as the likeliest Republican to push the nominee hard on these issues and on questions about other Pentagon staff at confirmation hearings, though no one expects Cotton to vote against the nomination. (A spokesperson for Cotton declined to comment on Colby.)\",\"_key\":\"dd757e9b74c6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Colby didn’t respond to an inquiry. Schwartz, the Washington, DC lawyer assisting his confirmation, declined to discuss the nomination. But in conversations with skeptical senators, one Colby ally and one critic said his supporters have made the case that he believes in a US policy of removing impediments to Israeli use of force, and stressed that he did not have anything to do with the other appointments.\",\"_key\":\"7a784a73f9a1\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e49a8a9bd293\"},{\"_key\":\"ed41d19a308f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The nomination of Colby is further bolstered among Republicans by another point: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a staunch supporter of Israel, and the key questions of US foreign policy will be answered in the Oval Office, not in the Pentagon’s E-ring. From the White House, President Trump has questioned whether Palestinians can even remain in Gaza and Tuesday issued an ultimatum to Hamas on releasing hostages.\",\"_key\":\"24cbea3eb612\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“It’s tough to have this fight when Trump is the most pro-Israel president anyone can imagine,” a leading Colby critic acknowledged.\",\"_key\":\"bfbefec5667c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0d9d4cc7aa7a\"}]},{\"thescoop\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d6d665466b0e\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"8137bf36e374\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-israel-war/\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"5a3f518ed0fd\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In the first Trump administration, the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, emerged as the face of his deal-making approach to foreign policy. That strategy resulted in the Abraham Accords, which sought to reorient US policy toward pragmatic, wealthy Gulf States and away from endless formal peace talks. (DiMino has \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8137bf36e374\"],\"text\":\"said\",\"_key\":\"e7cfb198b60a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" that leaving Palestinian issues out of the accords was a “massive mistake.”) Kushner shaped American global policy, was seen as a reliable interlocutor for foreign leaders and domestic allies, and helped guide a bureaucracy where figures like tough Iran policy lead Brian Hook filled key roles.\",\"_key\":\"446e9c435ec5\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"3f0a9b0ce20c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In the second administration, Kushner has been \"},{\"_key\":\"58f71497fa1e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8c7b4ada1cfe\"],\"text\":\"spotted\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" by tabloids dining in Miami Beach, managing a Saudi-backed investment business, and offering behind-the-scenes advice to friends who ask for it. Hook was not only left out of the administration but stripped of security protection that had followed Iranian assassination threats, a move that alarmed even his critics.\",\"_key\":\"8dcb73611062\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"08d65536bc71\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14352521/donald-trump-wife-ivanka-dinner-jared-kushner-miami-beach.html\",\"_key\":\"8c7b4ada1cfe\",\"_type\":\"link\"}]},{\"_key\":\"629064e09144\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The role Kushner played in influencing the direction of foreign policy, people involved in the appointment process said, has shifted toward Donald Trump, Jr., the president’s eldest child, who is the hub of a new power axis that includes Carlson and Vice President Vance, and whose allies include Colby.\",\"_key\":\"fe46ff5fcfb2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“It was very clear from the start that Don, Jr. had veto authority,” said a person familiar with Kushner’s point of view. “Jared didn’t want to test that.”\",\"_key\":\"c21a1886aba3\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c0ab42e1d6a3\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"And Trump’s son has, in turn, channeled a combination of his father’s foreign policy instincts and the MAGA mopping up operation on its opponents inside the Republican Party.\",\"_key\":\"379e09d5538b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d4db5dc10bdc\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"707713fa3467\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Don Jr. is laser-focused on keeping neocons out of government because he sees them as the faction who coalesced behind Haley and tried to dislodge his father from the Republican nomination,” said one of his allies.\",\"_key\":\"658184c3c85d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Trump and Hegseth’s views and instincts appear likely to dominate defense policy for now. But the appointments of Colby and his allies, and Trump, Jr.’s rise, point to a shifting future for Republican foreign policy.\\n\",\"_key\":\"d886b4f111f8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"36f6a90d4d0b\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"email\":\"bsmith@semafor.com\",\"name\":\"Ben Smith\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.1\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"_type\":\"author\",\"twitter\":\"semaforben\",\"bio\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fc4e7a5e84ee\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Ben is the former media columnist of the New York Times. He was previously the founding editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News from 2012 to 2020. Ben covered American politics for more than a decade at Politico and the New York Daily News, among other outlets, and launched a number of political blogs.\",\"_key\":\"5d315309aab3\"}]}],\"_createdAt\":\"2022-10-07T16:06:02Z\",\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-25T20:00:48Z\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-25T16:00:48-04:00\",\"shortName\":\"Ben\",\"authorTitle\":\"Editor-in-Chief\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-12T16:07:35Z\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/ben-smith\",\"newsletterAudience\":\"Media\",\"_id\":\"35b35ecf-64a4-4097-a632-e63d06365edd\",\"_rev\":\"ERq4ToR7OCAfPf0jwFfNLy\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/4fdd6bf05e3c6e4abc4e62bee927a32b9465d698-1600x1600.png\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"34cc38475837\"},{\"_key\":\"323c71139efe\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/trump-must-not-betray-america-first\",\"_key\":\"92836d7b5c05\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"56818c43e61f\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Colby allies Dan Caldwell and Reid Smith \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"92836d7b5c05\",\"strong\"],\"text\":\"wrote in Foreign Affairs\",\"_key\":\"7acf95ba8d78\"},{\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\" that Trump “must not betray America First”:\",\"_key\":\"69dd7e7bd17e\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" “Republicans must be honest about the limits of American power… Acknowledging the limits on American power does not mean lowering expectations for the United States’ future or accepting its decline. But denying constraints risks strategic insolvency: if the United States becomes unable to meet its expanding global commitments, that will significantly increase the risk of a major economic collapse or security failure.”\",\"_key\":\"74789a92a59a\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"23479caf23ad\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"7250ea4d7337\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.thefp.com/p/the-fight-to-define-america-first-foreign-policy-pete-hegseth-trump-israel-ukraine-taiwa\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"“Republicans on the Hill who fret about this group’s potential influence are trying to warn Hegseth directly,”\",\"_key\":\"6b793d528371\"},{\"text\":\" Eli Lake wrote in the\",\"_key\":\"474a0f9b2529\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"7250ea4d7337\"],\"text\":\" Free Press\",\"_key\":\"375bc6cb2a75\"},{\"text\":\". “Lots of people are reaching out to Hegseth and asking about Caldwell and these picks. Hegseth keeps saying, ‘Don’t worry, I’m in charge, you know where I stand.’”\",\"_key\":\"5952985a5db3\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"36f752ebeb0b\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Correction\",\"_key\":\"65927dc967be\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\": \",\"_key\":\"83dbe9b9c79a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"An earlier version of this article misstated the role and politics of former Trump aide Cliff Sims.\",\"_key\":\"3062fc3d4468\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"036061665377\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Elbridge Colby. Dominic Gwinn/Contributor/Getty Images\",\"caption\":\"Elbridge Colby\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-e2648596b6e02b50e74d8c2dae91c630e84a800f-6699x4466-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Elbridge Colby. Dominic Gwinn/Contributor/Getty Images\",\"caption\":\"Elbridge Colby\"},\"id\":\"4c5140ea-ba05-413b-8a98-3971cc4e2545\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/11/2025/in-the-family-business-of-foreign-policy-donald-trump-jr-displaces-jared-kushner\",\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Ben Smith\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/4fdd6bf05e3c6e4abc4e62bee927a32b9465d698-1600x1600.png\"}],\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"headlineOverride\":null,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-13T16:56:06.016Z\",\"headline\":\"In the family business of foreign policy, Donald Trump, Jr. displaces Jared Kushner\",\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dbfbdd05133f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Elbridge Colby’s nomination offers a glimpse of the new alignment.\",\"_key\":\"8cc641f27629\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"}}],\"topStoriesStream\":[{\"headline\":\"Trump’s legislative agenda is in turmoil\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Burgess Everett\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/bf82c2082c8dec6bc6c211b558978725a2d1b715-1600x1600.png\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"attribution\":\"Kent Nishimura/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"President Donald Trump\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-b316043a96fbd08916f150417ab7f685e5e54c84-2604x1736-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\"},\"attribution\":\"Kent Nishimura/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"President Donald Trump\"},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T21:40:02Z\",\"description\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cc80630d585e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"After bickering for months over strategy, House and Senate Republicans are starting to diverge over policy as well.\",\"_key\":\"c05c781d83c6\"}]}],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/trumps-legislative-agenda-is-in-turmoil\",\"location\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"1ba9c22ab96e\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda is a mess right now.\",\"_key\":\"b6a8492b93ad\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"097f11ae566c\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2b8df47910a3\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7d9de466575e\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"62eaf6c83d4a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Senate Republicans are on the cusp of advancing a budget that would tee up national security legislation, hoping to spend quickly on border security and defense while postponing action on the thorny topic of tax cuts. Yet Trump hasn’t signed off on senators’ plan.\",\"_key\":\"8fa6fd897848\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cb40c9007556\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"dfc92bc80972\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The president largely favors the approach in the House, where the GOP is trying to kick off votes next week on a budget setting up both massive tax cuts that still need to be negotiated and national security spending. House Republican leaders can’t afford to lose more than a single vote on their budget, and plenty of their members are balking.\",\"_key\":\"ec8feb2f2a12\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"47a85bc02c5c\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7682538dea9f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"d6de98714a26\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}]},{\"_key\":\"d06db980288e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"That’s left Senate Republicans both skeptical that the House can pass its plan and worried that the other chamber’s budget framework falls short of Trump’s vision. In addition to whacking at Medicaid, senators suspect the House approach will fall short of permanently extending Trump’s 2017 corporate tax cuts.\",\"_key\":\"2e27d0fee1c7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"ba4523a5f00b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0977701395f9\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"327f1d1bdb21\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"To make matters worse, the House and Senate have bickered about the right strategy for well over a month and are way behind the pace that both parties set the last time that each controlled Congress and the White House, in 2017 and 2021. Several GOP sources said this week they fear the party’s agenda will remain rudderless unless Trump gets more intimately involved after weeks of deference to the squabbling House and Senate.\",\"_key\":\"6915273da857\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6bf93871a708\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"5789d3d22bb8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e8f0362c70f6\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I have no clarity,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Semafor about the path forward. “Let’s stop playing the game of chicken. Let’s get on one page here. It’s clear we need to sit down and have really substantive negotiations.”\",\"_key\":\"48bc3fca85ff\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"427dea8917a8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c1472bf76ba7\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Hawley is raising alarm at the prospect of big Medicaid cuts called for by the House’s template, \",\"_key\":\"de6a502d4142\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"bc41fabb8b46\"],\"text\":\"harmonizing\",\"_key\":\"b2b81e419d28\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" with some moderates whose leeriness of safety net cuts could derail the chamber’s budget. At the same time, some Senate Republicans are antsy about their own leaders’ decisions, given that Trump swiped at their strategy on Wednesday.\",\"_key\":\"f48ea382f5a5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0f641562ca64\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://gonzales.house.gov/2025/2/rep-tony-gonzales-build-a-budget-that-works-for-the-people-not-against-them\",\"_key\":\"bc41fabb8b46\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fc64074505bf\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"dbdff08150aa\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"de76b3b3de44\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://taxpolicycenter.org/daily-deduction/house-moves-budget-senate-wants-permanent-tcja-extension\",\"_key\":\"0c95641ea592\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"And it’s increasingly likely that even if the House succeeds in passing a budget next week, it won’t survive the Senate unscathed. In addition to unease about Medicaid cuts, Republican senators don’t like the House’s \",\"_key\":\"6e8abf94fa4d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"0c95641ea592\"],\"text\":\"trigger\",\"_key\":\"3f1ad4106f47\"},{\"text\":\" that lowers the ceiling for tax cuts if Congress can’t come up with massive spending cuts.\",\"_key\":\"0881e4335a52\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"e50b1fb38b95\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e7740a5dbbe4\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"18df28e55178\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.daines.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Senate-Finance-Letter-to-President-Trump_Tax-Permanency.pdf\",\"_key\":\"227adcea8f58\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Senate Finance Committee Republicans \",\"_key\":\"a52a604f1721\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_key\":\"aa54e054bc55\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"227adcea8f58\"],\"text\":\"say\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" they won’t support anything that doesn’t make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, a bar they see the House resolution as failing to meet.\",\"_key\":\"efb70fd3dabe\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"8842e61fe1c6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7b26089faa10\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8ef7e1ad8164\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“There’s a lot of stuff in it that makes it really, really complicated over here,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who signed onto a letter to Trump about the tax concern.\",\"_key\":\"6b0af3c6e14f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"cf2ac7e20cd9\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"365d3ab53db0\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a74009e6e52e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Vice President JD Vance told Senate Republicans on Wednesday that Trump is OK with the Senate’s approach, despite the president’s endorsement of the House approach. \",\"_key\":\"f1e26e9c0cba\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"db55dc3af508\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"d0415b9bcf02\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fb6e38150361\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But on Thursday, Vance told the CPAC conference that Trump deemed it “very rare” to pass two party-line bills in the same Congress (notably, the Democrats did it in 2021 and 2022).\",\"_key\":\"5f407dd78525\"}]}],\"_type\":\"scoop\"},{\"knowMore\":[{\"_key\":\"42f8606cde30\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"During the GOP’s last period of full Washington control in 2017, Medicaid politics dominated the party’s attempt to repeal Obamacare. Many conservative states rely heavily on the program, which provides health care to lower-income Americans.\",\"_key\":\"bcac68c91913\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"24e2b730f9ab\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"6a216b7dc24f\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c8a521f25c81\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/19/senate-medicaid-cuts-trump-00205042\",\"_key\":\"539b41815099\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Trump has sent mixed signals on Medicaid cuts, both \",\"_key\":\"ffe0284a82c1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"text\":\"saying\",\"_key\":\"7ddeb6b6586c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"539b41815099\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" he won’t touch the program and also supporting a House budget that almost certainly will cut it. Hawley’s been the loudest warning about Medicaid, telling Semafor: “I don’t want a whole bunch of Medicaid cuts.”\",\"_key\":\"a5d3c7c0720b\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"ac0f9d33f120\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a86412537620\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A large swath of Senate Republicans are likely to heavily scrutinize any changes to Medicaid, even as House Republicans hunt for spending cuts.\",\"_key\":\"eb15280ee5fb\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c19f28299be4\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"d28024bfbb9e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2e8f452471e0\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"631458dd7b2f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“I’m from a state that is heavily reliant on Medicaid. And, you know, I always look at it with a more focused eye,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. She said if the House passes its budget and sends it to the Senate, then “I think we’ll change it.”\",\"_key\":\"103e2ba18d42\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2c00aeef81bf\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1b1cf4d0b2df\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Despite their vast differences on strategy and policy, Republican leaders in both chambers are trying not to publicly alienate each other. In the end, each chamber will have to adopt the same budget blueprint in order to unlock the power to evade Democratic filibusters of their party-line bills.\",\"_key\":\"6775f7a371c3\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c56420799ed6\"},{\"_key\":\"2b6ce5f3f289\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"637245b7ccf7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f15b9df5586e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Which is why Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is keeping close tabs on House Speaker Mike Johnson. The two spoke on Wednesday, Graham told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"833021434b54\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a33a42326f23\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"aeb9940afa07\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Though Graham said the House budget resolution’s “tax provisions would have a hard time right now” in the Senate, he’s trying to stay publicly upbeat and encouraging the House to try its way first.\",\"_key\":\"3defdde08843\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2bfd6e325e25\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"3185ff3f2cfc\",\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"thescoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"65b9d7958e29\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"After claiming their disagreements were merely tactical, Republicans are now more openly disagreeing on policy, too. \",\"_key\":\"802675cb7bed\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"a8493a0a8d3a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"fc663148c985\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The two chambers of Congress are led by Thune and Johnson, who share affable approaches and are both relatively new to their jobs — which leaves room for Trump to play the heavy to get his agenda done.\",\"_key\":\"8ae37463e88f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"511d07efba18\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d5ab277424a0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"8a8bbc53a2d0\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2347457ff61c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"495e7ca777d2\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"It’s just not clear he has any interest in doing so.\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/bf82c2082c8dec6bc6c211b558978725a2d1b715-1600x1600.png\",\"_rev\":\"coB1qARSJSHQCmNabwHlOE\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/burgess-everett\",\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2024-09-05T18:10:35+00:00\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2024-09-05T14:10:35-04:00\",\"name\":\"Burgess Everett\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"_createdAt\":\"2024-09-05T18:08:57Z\",\"_id\":\"b37627ca-c436-4717-afce-e13d0e1815bd\",\"authorTitle\":\"Congressional Bureau Chief\",\"email\":\"beverett@semafor.com\",\"twitter\":\"burgessev\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-10-15T19:39:17Z\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"shortName\":\"Burgess\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"79cdef7de09a\"},{\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"_key\":\"5217998ddd53\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Even as rifts open on multiple fronts and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul opposes the Senate GOP’s plan, some Republicans argued that everything would come together.\",\"_key\":\"1b45ec9c3311\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"78b416f143f3\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"764698f68ab0\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“We’re completely united on where we want to get to. We want to prevent this huge $4 trillion tax increase. We want to secure the border. We want to have American peace through strength, and we want to unleash American energy,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said on Thursday.\",\"_key\":\"85f4edb85bfd\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6285cf865f42\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2ef8d2030483\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"226d7011e4d7\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"cf945a8178cb\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Dave Weigel contributed.\",\"_key\":\"cc8a480f1de9\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"roomForDisagreement\",\"_key\":\"798570ece179\"},{\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"9c784f595a21\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"21dc3135e661\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/19/senate-medicaid-cuts-trump-00205042\",\"_key\":\"783152fde11a\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Trump’s own aides were blindsided \",\"_key\":\"6ba6b5334596\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"when he supported the House budget’s Medicaid cuts, \",\"_key\":\"7bfa24897ea6\"},{\"_key\":\"87c0b4a8dbcb\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"783152fde11a\"],\"text\":\"per Politico\"},{\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"2f10b28ed5c7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://riverreporter.com/stories/on-the-current-federal-budget-reconciliation,183924\",\"_key\":\"834994ec03bd\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"First-term Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., is writing publicly to his constituents\",\"_key\":\"4f29d58c47fb\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in \",\"_key\":\"976ceb80f74f\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"834994ec03bd\"],\"text\":\"defense of Medicaid\",\"_key\":\"e13504b8359c\"},{\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"24f562216164\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"41b6699cafcb\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1}],\"id\":\"e817c5c2-8500-4dcc-9576-05aef3b73531\"},{\"id\":\"860bdb78-c961-4623-aca6-8649ff2c1afc\",\"headline\":\"Corporations dig deeper: using bunkers to secure data (and their CEOs)\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"description\":[{\"_key\":\"7fe3a1800d08\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Several large companies are building underground housing for their data centers and executives.\",\"_key\":\"8d48460e5646\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Roof of a residential bunker under construction in Kansas by Survival Condo. Courtesy of Survival Condo.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-ae4044c1febc0c54604a4e2d2afd11185863a07f-1600x1071-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Roof of a residential bunker under construction in Kansas by Survival Condo. Courtesy of Survival Condo.\",\"caption\":null},\"signal\":null,\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/corporations-dig-deeper-using-bunkers-to-secure-data\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Tech\",\"_key\":\"tech\",\"value\":\"tech\"},{\"label\":\"Business\",\"_key\":\"business\",\"value\":\"business\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"scoop\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"45fbfc9ab561\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Large corporations are shopping for underground bunkers that can survive a nuclear blast to protect their data centers and C-suite employees as geopolitical tensions rise. The first adopters are primarily cryptocurrency firms, companies that build the facilities told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"4388bccd445e\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"83bbac513c17\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2e6e417682c1\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Larry Hall, owner of Kansas-based Survival Condo, said he recently priced an underground data center and executive suite space to a crypto company for $64 million. Survival Condo counts eight companies in the planning stages of building bunkers, three of which are competing to purchase an existing 150,000-square-foot facility in Kansas serving the same purpose — a project started by a Big Oil billionaire who died before it was completed.\",\"_key\":\"63446e318c6f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f44cc8e27d2b\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"d21671fa795a\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6f347026d779\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"33c7e3827b6c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The pitch is the apocalypse. “The nuclear clock is moving closer to midnight,” Hall intoned in a telephone interview from the company’s Kansas bunker facility, a 54,000-square-foot residential space outfitted with a rock wall and hydroponics farm. “The more worries there are in the headline news, the more people look for solutions.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9f5f189e6bc6\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"667a012770ef\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"741a88857a9e\"},{\"_key\":\"fa3a9e0e9d00\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.ironmountain.com/data-centers/locations/pennsylvania-data-center\",\"_key\":\"4522f9f0ea90\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://nypost.com/2025/02/12/us-news/elon-musk-spotlights-old-limestone-mine-that-processes-federal-retirements-by-hand/\",\"_key\":\"d349667b9f17\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Part of the heightened appeal for bunkers is the ever-growing value of data. The company Iron Mountain, which now describes itself as an information management firm, got its start offering secure storage in a depleted iron ore mine to banks amid the first wave of nuclear fears in the 1950s. (The television show \",\"_key\":\"87b21478214c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Bad Robot\",\"_key\":\"8e4c3dd705e7\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" includes an anarchist attack on its fictional doppelgänger in the hopes of wiping the global financial slate clean.) Iron Mountain now rents out 330,000 square feet of data center space in a former Pennsylvania limestone mine, serving finance, government, and healthcare industries, according to its \",\"_key\":\"b3532feeddcf\"},{\"text\":\"website\",\"_key\":\"8d89807c7aa9\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"4522f9f0ea90\"]},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". It also stores government employee retirement papers — a practice recently \",\"_key\":\"97b044f7f852\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d349667b9f17\"],\"text\":\"targeted\",\"_key\":\"520d92c74a6a\"},{\"_key\":\"4b12b6efc290\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" by Elon Musk’s DOGE as outdated.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"b04f0f8f36f9\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dbfb223b3305\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"34e0a0098c22\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/silvergate-capital-enters-bankruptcy-after-crypto-banks-shutdown-2024-09-18/#:~:text=Sept%2018%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20Silvergate,at%20the%20end%20of%202021\",\"_key\":\"67fc918fd1be\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-15/ftx-investor-suit-targets-sequoia-capital-thoma-bravo-paradigm\",\"_key\":\"4523d207e243\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-market-still-bears-scars-ftxs-collapse-2023-10-03/\",\"_key\":\"f7dba2e683c9\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Safeguarding the physical aspects of data — server racks, power systems, cooling equipment — can help prevent economic disruptions. The market got a taste of what a major crypto crash looks like when FTX filed for bankruptcy and its executives faced fraud charges in 2022. Other crypto firms took a hit, but the financial losses and reputational harm spilled over into \",\"_key\":\"16594bcb3af1\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"67fc918fd1be\"],\"text\":\"banks\",\"_key\":\"1eb9664000ba\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", \",\"_key\":\"6603ec04295a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"4523d207e243\"],\"text\":\"venture capital\",\"_key\":\"2ec7e8a7562e\"},{\"text\":\", and \",\"_key\":\"712de388f224\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"f7dba2e683c9\"],\"text\":\"fintech\",\"_key\":\"abdd221fc6bb\"},{\"text\":\" as well.\",\"_key\":\"302a769441d5\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"a9bd2cb4cbd6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"964fe1347ab9\"},{\"_key\":\"39ef9b36bc45\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Companies are hard-pressed to protect their data on domestic land. Though nuclear threats have long existed, the increasingly frayed relationships between Western countries and adversaries like Russia and North Korea have renewed bunker interest. European customers fear the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East may soon hit closer to home. Natural disasters have also taken their toll in the US in recent years, exacerbated by the effects of climate change.\",\"_key\":\"825cd3bc2ac6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"234e7fe75f44\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"31fc3dec7b46\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"A bunker built 200 feet underground with nine-foot-thick concrete walls, as Survival Condo builds them, could provide refuge. The company models its facilities after the Atlas-F missile silos created during the Cold War and designed to withstand a Soviet attack. While the facilities will still face damage from a direct missile hit or one within about 1,000 feet, a warhead dropped further than that will likely leave the structure sound, said Jonas Mureika, a physics professor at Loyola Marymount University.\",\"_key\":\"a4974e9ea34d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e1903b2969bf\"},{\"imageEmbed\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Survival Condo’s residential bunker goes 174 feet underground. Courtesy of Survival Condo.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-a2d09ac118db4bfdabce233c093491fe0da871e1-1200x1277-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"_type\":\"imageEmbed\",\"_key\":\"371995daff7a\",\"markDefs\":null,\"imageEmbedExternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbedInternalLink\":null},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Some data centers span millions of square feet and would be difficult to place underground, but companies can still store a significant amount of data in the multi-story facilities built below ground. An enterprise server node, about the size of two pizza boxes, can store dozens of terabytes of data. Meanwhile, one terabyte can \",\"_key\":\"683eef040cf0\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"e81835a7ac4a\"],\"text\":\"fit the entire\",\"_key\":\"a723300074e8\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" Bitcoin blockchain and leave room to store photos.\",\"_key\":\"40f0dd6c47e6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ed1384d856d7\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/charts/blocks-size\",\"_key\":\"e81835a7ac4a\"}]},{\"_key\":\"50b9ec475baa\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"cdf04e5a3a8b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d4e0d4097cca\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The facilities operate independently — generating their own power, filtering their own air, and producing their own water. They draw from multiple energy sources, including diesel tanks, wind turbines, battery banks, and nuclear reactors, meaning that in the event of a disaster, the center could continue operating for at least a few years, Hall said.\",\"_key\":\"04acb69444a0\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"e354b6e205d4\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b98079a57561\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But having the safety of bunkers comes with a cost. The cheapest data center, plus executive suite space, that Survival Condo has priced was $45 million, Hall said. It includes 11 floors of living quarters and four floors of data center space — one that would be operational at the start and with three floors for expansion.\",\"_key\":\"3acbef150223\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"aebf5e9f5ec0\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e3068bd5feea\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"aae97390050b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"3213fe88e365\",\"title\":\"The Scoop\",\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"_key\":\"23bcce3980ef\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The security of tech facilities is a key consideration as the world’s biggest companies build out their artificial intelligence infrastructure, and storing data centers underground has its practical applications. Temperatures are significantly lower sub-terra, reducing the need for additional equipment and energy to cool servers. It isn’t realistic to put every data center underground, but companies may be able to keep their central systems or most important data in bunkers. Hall also foresees demand from the quantum computing industry because the devices are much smaller.\",\"_key\":\"dbc2e8ef7db6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"imageEmbed\",\"_key\":\"ee2583414440\",\"markDefs\":null,\"imageEmbedExternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbedInternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbed\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Computer room in residential bunker. Courtesy of Survival Condo.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-b8c1c79ae7bb6baa11b381ef6edddc14afc6651a-1600x1068-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}}},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Cory Hubbard of Missouri-based Defcon Underground Mfg. has also received several inquiries from companies, including those in the crypto world, about building underground space for data centers in recent years, although he hasn’t moved forward on any projects, he told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"afb680f0feb8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"149b69d6d76b\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a597b8cb8732\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"826549ed7b17\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"23b527315b89\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Terra Vivos, which primarily sells residential units in a South Dakota bunker community built as a military fortress in 1942, is working with science and medical companies to secure a different kind of data — DNA, stored in secured cryovaults beneath the earth’s surface.\",\"_key\":\"5ac663bb173e\"}]},{\"_key\":\"c7b44ce77b45\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"637a796e3685\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"f97d32efd60f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Companies who wish to safeguard their data or their products — you can do everything in your power above ground, but until you get that last box checked of putting it underground and safe, you only have so many assurances,” the firm’s executive director, Dante Vicino, told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"651e3025adfb\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"e902cfcd8270\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"586f1af00221\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3cfdbb719f51\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"None of the bunker executives could disclose the names of the buyers due to nondisclosure agreements.\",\"_key\":\"c47e1f0de1eb\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"bb17cf699ba4\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d0a7147baefa\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"caa5951102de\"},{\"_key\":\"f8256aa6c0ea\",\"stepBack\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9f6b75cbbddf\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Attacks and natural disasters have taken their toll on technological infrastructure in the past.\",\"_key\":\"0d4ec8a359e6\"}]},{\"_key\":\"ba9fd64cdf42\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"471298894c47\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d33aa7ce20dc\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://insider.govtech.com/florida/news/remembering-9-11-it-lessons-learned-from-the-attack-and-its-aftermath\",\"_key\":\"eb2035b33eab\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://hbr.org/2002/10/september-11-2001-a-ceos-story\",\"_key\":\"9c9639afdead\"},{\"_key\":\"86f6e3054915\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204707104578091171538491386\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.techmonitor.ai/hardware/data-centres/uk-heatwave-oracle-google-outages-data-centres\",\"_key\":\"e6545d97f77b\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"During the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, data centers in downtown Manhattan were damaged or destroyed, including those of \",\"_key\":\"537fec8b2923\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"eb2035b33eab\"],\"text\":\"Merrill Lynch\",\"_key\":\"298651c5fc3c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" and \",\"_key\":\"9b02f0fbcd66\"},{\"marks\":[\"9c9639afdead\"],\"text\":\"Marsh McLennan\",\"_key\":\"156987f21214\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", causing significant disruptions. In 2012, flooding from Hurricane Sandy \",\"_key\":\"0b6d58ff0f8a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"86f6e3054915\"],\"text\":\"took down\",\"_key\":\"674152b0e7fb\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" a large portion of Verizon’s New York communications infrastructure, leaving some cell phone users offline. In July 2022, Google and Oracle data centers in London \",\"_key\":\"de0362ae1f93\"},{\"text\":\"shut down\",\"_key\":\"21e2b3a24530\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"e6545d97f77b\"]},{\"text\":\" for a day as extreme heat put pressure on the facilities’ cooling features.\",\"_key\":\"d582393f5cfb\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"787534728a81\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"816936057fa2\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0cec1430124e\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.datacenterjournal.com/data-centers/california/los-angeles/\",\"_key\":\"97a90a810450\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Beginning last month, fires swept through the Palisades, devastating much of the California neighborhood. While there are no known data centers in that area, a \",\"_key\":\"2d9a7ddfba2c\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"aa2ae5f01658\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"97a90a810450\"],\"text\":\"cluster\"},{\"_key\":\"4adacd701058\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" of them sits just 20 miles away in Los Angeles’ financial district — a distance the fires could have reached in a few hours. The Bay Area, another data center hot spot, is also at high risk for wildfires.\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"97298b786280\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"3716126db115\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"stepBack\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Security Experts\",\"_key\":\"d0833f25e9a5\",\"theViewFrom\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"There are much cheaper ways to protect data center infrastructure that doesn’t require burying it, security experts said. Companies can distribute their data across different facilities, so if something happens to one data center, the information isn’t lost, said Murat Kantarcioglu, a computer science professor at Virginia Tech. While that does increase the chance for breaches, strong encryption practices mitigate that risk.\",\"_key\":\"7b908cbfe84b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1488fd0df79e\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"22fb7759f461\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c55da52310e7\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"345e9def5863\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“It’ll get you good protection with a fraction of the cost,” he told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"1fc25a92fa22\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"33a2095a6596\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"b675ab1bd2c9\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/sustainability/project-natick-underwater-datacenter/\",\"_key\":\"14d43e991dce\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Companies are also putting \",\"_key\":\"57629d101ad4\"},{\"marks\":[\"14d43e991dce\"],\"text\":\"data centers underwater\",\"_key\":\"a628dc4f699e\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", in sealed containers on the ocean floor, said John Bekisz, vice president of Guidepost Solutions’ data center and critical infrastructure practice.\",\"_key\":\"50c6916c6463\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2e998a0caa09\"},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"d6e50e3d6b8d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d8bf25caeebb\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3b9cbe003295\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"A typical, above-ground data center has extensive perimeter protections keeping bad actors out — including fences, security personnel, motion detectors, and laser technology that maps out the surrounding area and flags movement, he said. But these measures don’t necessarily protect against natural disasters and airstrikes. Putting data centers underground makes sense because it allows for them to be further isolated and with controlled entry points. But it’s still a high cost to bear, he said.\",\"_key\":\"ba259f62b206\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"}]},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"authorTitle\":\"Business Fellow\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/rachyl-jones\",\"_id\":\"fa0608b8-1c7f-48f7-b658-40f53e88a364\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-12T19:31:00Z\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2024-07-09T19:56:29+00:00\",\"_createdAt\":\"2024-07-09T16:11:29Z\",\"shortName\":\"Rachyl\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/8fd3df2f571693f16d2c4440c8022de67e6d0d32-1600x1600.png\",\"twitter\":\"@RachylJones\",\"name\":\"Rachyl Jones\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2024-07-09T15:56:29-04:00\",\"email\":\"rjones@semafor.com\",\"_rev\":\"W29EKYrD7KKqvO8ZuUsXvx\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"db14020d48cd\",\"thescoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"There’s an argument that crypto has the best chance of becoming the post-apocalyptic currency, so safeguarding that framework is worth the money. Nonetheless, I’m not convinced bunkers are the necessary, multimillion-dollar answer. And while I also don’t think bunkers will be the next big land grab for the tech companies building out their AI infrastructure, there are other sectors that could benefit. Defense tech companies, governments, healthcare systems, and telecommunications providers are critical in a disaster, and the price tag that comes with the additional security may be a better trade-off.\",\"_key\":\"c7dc7147fb47\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e63b0a9697a2\"}]},{\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"02feba064548\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The demand for such facilities remains limited, and the builders who spoke with Semafor cited no completed projects. While a bunker may protect equipment from physical damage, the structure itself does not offer any additional security for one of the biggest threats facing companies today — cyber attacks. Businesses may be better off investing in increased cybersecurity measures to protect their digital infrastructure.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7a72c446fc6b\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"roomForDisagreement\",\"_key\":\"cb4735277af2\"},{\"_key\":\"12cdb6acb6f6\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dc77b3dc5b35\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/amazing-doomsday-bunkers-of-the-super-rich/16/\",\"_key\":\"3d5813cdf2c5\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"The executive suite side of these planned bunker spaces are sure to look like the many luxury bunkers already out there. \",\"_key\":\"9f00a51dab70\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"It’s a bit of an old story\",\"_key\":\"430746296926\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\" \",\"_key\":\"751325b99c2c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"(just take a look at the date on the linked article), but it’s a fun one nonetheless — indoor pools, wine cellars, and screens that project images of the outside world. Check out some great pictures \",\"_key\":\"09fafc711a2c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3d5813cdf2c5\"],\"text\":\"published by CBS\",\"_key\":\"c1095cf284f8\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"7f82e90ac20d\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\"}],\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-24T02:32:11.710Z\",\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"vertical\":\"tech\",\"location\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Rachyl Jones\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/8fd3df2f571693f16d2c4440c8022de67e6d0d32-1600x1600.png\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null},{\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-23T12:36:17Z\",\"headline\":\"South African businesses in limbo after budget delay\",\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"slug\":\"/article/02/21/2025/south-africa-budget-businesses-in-limbo-after-delay\",\"vertical\":\"africa\",\"location\":\"Africa\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Sam Mkokeli\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/32eb6a117ffeed8822718568f17ad4f28038f715-1000x1000.png\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-45c242f73a51e406b48a33b1dd14a6189bccdbc8-1600x1119-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Esa Alexander/Reuters.\",\"caption\":\"South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks at a press conference ahead of his 2025 budget speech.\"},\"attribution\":\"South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Esa Alexander/Reuters.\",\"caption\":\"South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks at a press conference ahead of his 2025 budget speech.\"},\"expires\":true,\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"9961c2f296f5\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"842ebd407360\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"South African businesses are grappling with uncertainty around the government’s economic plans after the unprecedented postponement of the budget.\",\"_key\":\"93e90638d761\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"36b3573753c6\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/02/19/2025/south-africa-due-to-present-key-budget\",\"_key\":\"3ff07bec870b\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"e90949ad9ea0\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday \"},{\"marks\":[\"3ff07bec870b\"],\"text\":\"delayed his budget speech\",\"_key\":\"671182702d20\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" until Mar. 12 after the Democratic Alliance, a main coalition partner with the African National Congress, opposed plans to increase value-added tax to 17%, from 15%. The government wants to spark growth in Africa’s most advanced economy without increasing borrowing — public debt is now 75% of GDP, compared to 27% in 2008 — but VAT has become a major sticking point.\",\"_key\":\"19146feb8fa7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"0e5330c6307b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The row marks the biggest policy disagreement since the ANC was forced into a coalition last year after losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994.\",\"_key\":\"f4890e24fd30\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cb9c196c2188\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"With South Africa’s tax year set to start on Mar. 1, businesses lack finality around the government’s tax plans. “Uncertainty is something we can ill afford,” said Khulekani Mathe, CEO of the Business Unity South Africa organization, an employers’ group. He added that the delay casts doubt on the coalition’s “ability to collaborate effectively for the country’s benefit.”\",\"_key\":\"51fc9ac84bec\"}]}]},{\"_key\":\"d478f2fc20e3\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dcaad5a3824c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"VAT, a consumption tax applied to goods and services, has only been increased once in 30 years in South Africa because it lacks support across the political spectrum.\",\"_key\":\"8adf9fb4d025\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The DA’s leader, John Steenhuisen, said the postponement “is a victory for the people of South Africa,” as it prevents the implementation of a tax hike “that would have broken the back of our economy.”\",\"_key\":\"86736191d33c\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"01102ec9a337\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4308872e8028\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Godongwana was set to lay out his position in a prepared speech, which was officially abandoned around 15 minutes after his announcement was due to start. In the speech, which was released to the media and economists before the postponement, he was due to say: “Opting to take on more debt, when our credit rating is currently at junk status, would lead to even higher interest payments, ultimately reducing our future spending capacity and raising the risk of further rating downgrades.”\",\"_key\":\"53fc5e864841\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\"},{\"author\":{\"_id\":\"6e41e135-62dd-4b35-a2e6-ddae51849bc9\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/sam-mkokeli\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/32eb6a117ffeed8822718568f17ad4f28038f715-1000x1000.png\",\"email\":\"mkokeli@gmail.com\",\"bio\":[{\"_key\":\"13fdf39c3a6b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Sam Mkokeli is freelance journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. \",\"_key\":\"8b0cca0e2ceb0\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"name\":\"Sam Mkokeli\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-24T16:32:11Z\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.1\",\"_createdAt\":\"2023-01-19T14:06:38Z\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-24T16:32:11Z\",\"twitter\":\"msmkokeli\",\"_rev\":\"szgLXV5QwkKnEwBM67bxIG\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"shortName\":\"Sam\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-09-16T17:58:11Z\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"8f58e0d3f363\",\"thescoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/06/01/2024/south-africa-anc-loses-majority-tense-coalition-talks\",\"_key\":\"f0b264b6df73\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A day of high drama marked the end of the coalition government’s honeymoon period, after months of being hailed as pro-business. It also signaled the real impact of \",\"_key\":\"c4e56c6ca821\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"f0b264b6df73\"],\"text\":\"the loss of the ANC’s parliamentary majority\",\"_key\":\"6cbc0580140b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in last year’s election. The VAT dispute exposed disagreements within the ANC on how best to manage public finances and opened the way for parties like the DA to opportunistically claim victory for the rebellion.\",\"_key\":\"165d7a93e0ae\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dd6ca38805d9\"},{\"_key\":\"462369d72aa7\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In a flashpoint that’s symbolic of the discord at the top of government, the finance minister was unaware that microphones and cameras were still rolling after a press conference when he expressed his anger at Edward Kieswetter, national commissioner of the South African Revenue Service. Kieswetter made headlines on the morning of the budget, expressing opposition to the idea of increasing taxes.\",\"_key\":\"eb1847057530\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The unprecedented budget delay signals a greater need for better communication and trust among the nine party leaders in the national unity government. Resistance to the budget proposal was a shock for the ANC, which ran the show for 30 years until it lost its majority last year. It also comes as South Africa hosts foreign and finance ministers from G20 countries as part of a year-long program where it serves as the rotating chair of the body of the world’s biggest economies.\",\"_key\":\"158122c6e305\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"62f9ee657e63\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Godongwana now needs to go back to the drawing board and prepare a budget that successfully navigates the charged coalition environment. It won’t help that he and the country’s chief tax collector don’t agree on tax increases.\",\"_key\":\"4cf391b3e2e3\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1a7ed0a66cec\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"roomForDisagreement\",\"_key\":\"0e746a4cc894\",\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"af5cc1415b3e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“The endurance of the government of national unity is not threatened by what happened when the budget could not be tabled on Wednesday,” said Standard Bank Chief Economist Goolam Ballim. He said corporates and financial markets participants were aware of the underlying patterns in South Africa’s fiscal framework and would appreciate the unfolding need for compromise and due regard in the coalition.\",\"_key\":\"08f45ab4222b\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}]},{\"furtherReading\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dab470569c55\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-20-from-confidence-to-chaos-the-implications-of-south-africas-unfolding-budget-crisis/\",\"_key\":\"79b21a9aa6e5\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Budgets are about confidence \",\"_key\":\"07482299f0fd\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"and the delay means “\",\"_key\":\"62a8f4920850\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"79b21a9aa6e5\"],\"text\":\"the last remaining genie of stability is out the bottle\",\"_key\":\"9e37c614bac2\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” writes Stephen Grootes in the Daily Maverick.\",\"_key\":\"7a06cd450275\"}],\"level\":1}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"c0ac6a230a87\"}],\"id\":\"b1c576f8-9927-43af-a7ae-18c2153d09f2\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The unprecedented postponement of the budget has prompted uncertainty around the government’s economic plans. \",\"_key\":\"a6b72be4bf1c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d3b302807fed\"}],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Africa\",\"_key\":\"africa\",\"value\":\"africa\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null},{\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-23T11:39:37Z\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"vertical\":\"africa\",\"location\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Martin K.N Siele\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/3e796c36737a23ab2507b91e19126127704cb26f-1600x1600.png\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7e59a6e5776c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Kenya’s tea exporters voiced concern about potential blowback from Sudan, a key market for the country’s biggest commodity, after the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary held a symbolic political meeting in Nairobi this week.\",\"_key\":\"9bcd4ccb4a20\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1e9feb01eecc\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Sudanese government described Kenya’s hosting of RSF, the group which its forces have been fighting in a civil war since March 2023, as “an act of hostility against the Sudanese people,” vowing to take “all necessary measures to redress the balance.” On Thursday it recalled its ambassador to Kenya in protest.\",\"_key\":\"db8871e16425\"}]},{\"_key\":\"41980819ec6d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"d0ebf9c5fa86\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In Kenya, the diplomatic spat has raised particular concern in the tea industry. Sudan ranks among the top 10 markets for Kenyan tea, Nairobi’s biggest export and leading foreign exchange earner. Sudan, at number seven, is the only African nation in a list topped by Pakistan, Egypt, and the UK. Several tea traders in the port city of Mombasa told Semafor that they feared a standoff could mean a decline in exports to Sudan, impacting trade that has already taken a major hit since the start of the war.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.teaboard.or.ke/kenya-tea/history-of-kenyan-tea#:~:text=The%20tea%20industry%20makes%20an,of%20livelihood%20in%20the%20country.\",\"_key\":\"15f377816410\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"With tea exports accounting for around \",\"_key\":\"894b71458bf6\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"15f377816410\"],\"text\":\"23%\",\"_key\":\"2abf8359580d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" of Kenya’s foreign exchange earnings, a significant decline could have a knock-on effect on the country’s economic growth. “Sudan is one of the biggest buyers of Kenyan tea, so a breakdown in relations could easily become an economic problem,” Ian Mwangi, a Nairobi-based trade consultant, told Semafor. He said it’s unlikely Sudan will impose import restrictions but thinks Kenya needs to protect the sector from any potential shock. “The war highlighted the need to unlock non-traditional markets, which the government has been working on…they’ll need to double down on this strategy to cushion the sector.”\",\"_key\":\"c437ea5f4e91\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"73c9da707df0\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Kenyan trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\",\"_key\":\"21e3fe007dd9\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fda9e508dced\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"37f4ec6aa019\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The RSF had billed Tuesday’s event — attended by dozens of delegates including the group’s deputy commander, the brother of RSF leader Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo — as a meeting to sign a charter establishing a parallel “government of peace and unity.” But the signing itself was called off at the last minute.\",\"_key\":\"dc75e0a09996\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d495ac780596\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The meeting sparked sharp criticism domestically, with opposition Kenyan lawmakers warning of global repercussions. In January, the Biden administration accused the RSF of committing genocide and imposed sanctions on Hemedti.\",\"_key\":\"e3e94fc42e0e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"716472fde41b\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"35c2126411d6\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But Kenya’s foreign affairs minister defended the decision to host RSF, saying it sought to provide “non-partisan platforms to conflict parties to seek resolution,” in line with its broader peacekeeping efforts. Kenya has traditionally been involved in regional peace missions and negotiations, including in DR Congo and South Sudan. Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, however, told Semafor that its perceived backing of the RSF “undermines Kenya’s claim as a regional peacemaker.”\",\"_key\":\"c079b47ff7ef\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"96e53bd49aad\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crln9lk51dro.amp\",\"_key\":\"c353b518af3b\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The diplomatic dispute between Sudan and Kenya came as fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF escalated in Sudan: \",\"_key\":\"ecf8142abe98\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"d0487324be6d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c353b518af3b\"],\"text\":\"At least 61,000 people\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" have died so far, according to researchers, with a further 11.8 million displaced. The UN, which has described the war as the world’s “forgotten” conflict, this week asked donors for $6 million to ease the country’s growing hunger crisis.\",\"_key\":\"dc2f61cc315d\"}]}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"5f523ddd3d07\"},{\"stepBack\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/kenyan%20traders/57535/war-in-sudan-dents-market-for-kenyan-exporters-slashes-exports-by-74-per-cent\",\"_key\":\"bae704dba43c\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"89d5da2aa84a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Kenyan tea exports to Sudan fell by nearly \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"bae704dba43c\"],\"text\":\"74%\",\"_key\":\"9c31b94e7e43\"},{\"_key\":\"44f37a681ddb\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in the year to March 2024, pushing revenues down from $18.6 million the previous year to just $5 million. But in recent months Kenya had observed a “gradual recovery” in shipments to Sudan, according to the Tea Board of Kenya. Tea exports to Sudan in October last year stood at 1.6 million kg, compared to 1.3 million in the same month in 2023.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ef2fe880a404\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6cd558ad7ba1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“We’re worried this turnaround in one of our key markets might not [now] be sustained,” John Mwashumbe, a trader at Mombasa-based trading firm Chai Poa, told Semafor, referring to the fallout over RSF.\",\"_key\":\"6a500cb1c772\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"stepBack\",\"_key\":\"383ca07d6ba3\"},{\"_key\":\"0b0a628d3465\",\"thescoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/kenya-s-illegal-deportations-what-the-law-says--4854614\",\"_key\":\"38a80ff830cd\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7jxn38lvyo\",\"_key\":\"7e21efd34a04\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67758635\",\"_key\":\"558d4b969fdd\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Kenya’s hosting of the RSF at a government-owned convention centre is the latest in a series of moves that have heightened scrutiny of the country’s foreign policy. In November, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was \",\"_key\":\"0594ae1f971b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"38a80ff830cd\"],\"text\":\"abducted in Nairobi\",\"_key\":\"0273df0564e0\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", sparking widespread outrage from rights groups and citizens of both countries. A month earlier, four Turkish nationals \",\"_key\":\"30034d6b7883\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[\"7e21efd34a04\"],\"text\":\"were abducted\",\"_key\":\"01577d7bf81b\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" and later repatriated to Turkey, with the UN among other organizations raising concerns. The \",\"_key\":\"78faa90f3a94\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"558d4b969fdd\"],\"text\":\"hosting of M23\",\"_key\":\"7df4c4e43f60\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" rebel group leaders in Nairobi in 2023 for the formation of a political military alliance also led to tensions with DR Congo.\",\"_key\":\"d80465d26af2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"00599f41f4de\"},{\"_key\":\"61496475054a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In this case, it is tea farmers and traders who could feel the pinch. Tea is integral to Kenya’s economy: In the first 10 months of 2024 alone, the country earned about $1.2 billion from tea exports. The diplomatic row creates new uncertainty in a market that was already feeling the impact of Sudan’s civil war.\",\"_key\":\"fd4ad7461150\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"_rev\":\"W29EKYrD7KKqvO8ZuhHw8b\",\"name\":\"Martin K.N Siele\",\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2023-06-13T09:55:50Z\",\"_createdAt\":\"2023-06-13T09:55:50Z\",\"_type\":\"author\",\"_id\":\"0e862c4c-5d24-42e1-a2f0-a03e58273f9c\",\"bio\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c4bbafff53d8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"f1edc02ec18b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Martin K.N Siele is based in Nairobi, Kenya. \"}]}],\"email\":\"sielemartin@gmail.com\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2023-10-10T10:58:51-04:00\",\"newsletterAudience\":\"Africa\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/martin-siele\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/3e796c36737a23ab2507b91e19126127704cb26f-1600x1600.png\",\"twitter\":\"@gengetonedon\",\"shortName\":\"Martin\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-15T16:37:31Z\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"roomForDisagreement\",\"_key\":\"2332eb82950e\",\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"_key\":\"4d267084c6a7\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Said Ali, a broker at Mombasa-based tea trading firm Sharan Teas, thinks that any potential economic impact on the sector would be offset in the long run by growth in new export markets. As of February 2024, Kenya shipped tea to 58 export destinations, compared to 48 a year earlier. “It’s a concern, but we’ve been seeing strong growth in markets like Chad and South Sudan,” he said. “Even in traditional markets like the UK and India, demand for Kenyan tea has remained strong.”\",\"_key\":\"800f895645b3\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"493acc16ac19\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9b0b660c2a00\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/2/19/as-sudans-army-routs-rsf-from-khartoum-sudanese-reactions-are-mixed\",\"_key\":\"e2229d210292\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Both Sudanese government forces and the RSF are \",\"_key\":\"06abbc337e4e\"},{\"_key\":\"335cf752cf4e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"resorting to \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"e2229d210292\"],\"text\":\"brutal tactics\",\"_key\":\"03a499d4e117\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", activists told Al Jazeera, in the fight for the control of the capital Khartoum.\",\"_key\":\"2729ffa1e2ec\"}],\"level\":1}]}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"id\":\"1bd71c5f-ebc9-4acd-8ee4-830a6adcf774\",\"headline\":\"Kenyan tea exporters fear Sudan blowback over RSF meeting\",\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces paramilitary held a symbolic political event in Nairobi that may have repercussions for Kenya’s biggest commodity.\",\"_key\":\"705f5b50ef73\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"842c4b49205d\"}],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"value\":\"africa\",\"label\":\"Africa\",\"_key\":\"africa\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-e5b3200e9915c1ef9934556d1006ebbd90cd0d80-4971x3166-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces delegates met in Nairobi. Monicah Mwangi/Reuters.\",\"caption\":\"Delegates affiliated to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces at a meeting in Nairobi.\"},\"attribution\":\"Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces delegates met in Nairobi. Monicah Mwangi/Reuters.\",\"caption\":\"Delegates affiliated to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces at a meeting in Nairobi.\"},\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/21/2025/kenyan-tea-exporters-fear-sudan-blowback-over-rsf-meeting\",\"descriptionOverride\":[]},{\"location\":null,\"signal\":null,\"headline\":\"Kentucky Republicans already tangling over McConnell’s succession\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Kadia Goba\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/4f8f1b442e9cf46551270d6c82129f7c5edd0648-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Burgess Everett\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/bf82c2082c8dec6bc6c211b558978725a2d1b715-1600x1600.png\"}],\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T16:44:43Z\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/kentucky-republicans-already-tangling-over-mcconnells-succession\",\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"id\":\"badc2c42-7100-4868-90f9-e339ba5b08f7\",\"description\":[{\"_key\":\"797e75855033\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A Bluegrass brawl is taking shape as three Senate hopefuls vie for a leg up.\",\"_key\":\"9471707d1f83\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"c6da6307f171\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The race to succeed Mitch McConnell was getting ugly even before he announced he’ll retire.\",\"_key\":\"03b324a9a61b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"eaf0e36e631c\"},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"80ed40a42aa0\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b303e7407730\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"GOP hopefuls are already bludgeoning each other ahead of a potentially crowded 2026 primary in deep-red territory — jostling that will only get more intense after McConnell announced Thursday that he won’t seek reelection. And some Republicans are worried that Kentucky’s popular Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, could enter the race at the last minute.\",\"_key\":\"2a4863cb86c2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7643f6ab5e3c\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"c3fdb8870286\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"77273611d941\"},{\"_key\":\"5c927ea10e29\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1cy3EnDCUk\",\"_key\":\"c95626cb7775\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., is using Beshear’s 2023 victory over Daniel Cameron to bash his Senate rival Cameron as a proven loser. But Barr is taking his own heat from the conservative Club for Growth, which \",\"_key\":\"34348ac3f2be\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"text\":\"is running spots saying\",\"_key\":\"831678e4a3c0\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c95626cb7775\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" he was raised with a “silver spoon” and “hasn’t earned” a shot at a Senate seat.\",\"_key\":\"62c282adf44b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"12b0d9450111\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"c5564f520a7e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8ee64c68690a\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://dcjournal.com/in-kentucky-lets-not-elect-the-dei-esg-republican/\",\"_key\":\"791a0235965e\"},{\"_key\":\"ce26a73d9d34\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://pjmedia.com/brian-mcnicoll/2025/02/08/could-dei-association-sink-gop-candidates-in-2026-n4936793\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Then there’s Nate Morris, a businessman positioning himself as a Republican outsider. He’s toying with the idea of running either for Senate or governor in 2027 — to the annoyance of Kentucky politicos. Morris, too, is getting \",\"_key\":\"8a10f4ac1c53\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"text\":\"whacked\",\"_key\":\"1445d4c11551\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"791a0235965e\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" for his business \",\"_key\":\"9a1497b416a0\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"ce26a73d9d34\"],\"text\":\"record\",\"_key\":\"08f3a7b718db\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"eeb60de2c151\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"19b87bc1c3c5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a9aa29cdfac5\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"c69a667f954d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“People have anticipated” a fight for a seat McConnell’s held since 1985, said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “I guess they’re getting the itch.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4f7f70b5291c\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"5421e70cdeb2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b4ebcfbcb615\"},{\"_key\":\"7abd8906192c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Of course, all the candidates are distancing themselves from McConnell, whose icy relationship with President Donald Trump has rendered him a pariah in party primaries. Still, McConnell has a long record of turning his state from blue to red. His lone recent blemish came in the 2023 governor’s race, where Beshear’s win is causing some skepticism among Trump allies about Cameron’s Senate prospects, according to a longtime adviser to the president.\",\"_key\":\"1c50dff41fb0\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"1ea522d489ab\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f20dab4c4d5f\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Cameron, an ex-McConnell staffer, is widely seen as the heir apparent to the former Senate Republican leader, whose exit from Congress next year was expected. For all Barr’s criticism of Cameron’s ties to McConnell, the House Republican is also a former \",\"_key\":\"8d76d4e4a63d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"7b2f5ceb1b2e\"],\"text\":\"intern\",\"_key\":\"c5bb74cd087f\"},{\"_key\":\"5cffb312e1e3\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" for the senator.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"722fad396ce8\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://rollcall.com/2018/12/07/andy-barr-started-out-as-mitch-mcconnells-intern/\",\"_key\":\"7b2f5ceb1b2e\",\"_type\":\"link\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"a8f3820d151b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1c576e709a39\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9b9800cadf0c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In a statement to Semafor, Morris whacked Barr and Cameron — who announced his Senate run soon after McConnell’s retirement speech — for not being hard enough on the incumbent.\",\"_key\":\"4668aa35b89f\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"566e9e1fcd41\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"955694981f7a\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"99cb5ee51141\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Mitch McConnell stuck his thumb in the eye of President Trump with the votes against his nominees, and none of the career politicians looking at this race were courageous enough to call him out for his betrayal,” Morris said.\",\"_key\":\"714e411c6957\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"6743e74fd685\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4dd180b4ea7d\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"33a331edd9a4\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“That’s why I’m seriously considering running for office,” he added. “The last thing Kentucky needs is to elect a puppet of Mitch McConnell to the US Senate.”\",\"_key\":\"0ea63b8c18c0\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"ce6b9d5fb598\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d76de33b4b71\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Morris is talking with Trump and Vice President JD Vance-aligned operatives ahead of his decision; he can self-fund against Barr and Cameron, who already have fundraising networks.\",\"_key\":\"e449e4f85035\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"42501d025a00\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"9407ab3843e8\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"28cda9de4afc\"},{\"_key\":\"a4f21c30e77c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"One Kentucky Republican strategist told Semafor that Morris’ business record is fertile ground for rivals: “As soon as Nate’s background is examined, folks will find a dumpster just waiting to be ignited.”\",\"_key\":\"d0b98d2e5b11\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]},{\"_key\":\"32b838f0b08b\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Senate races in Kentucky are typically deep red affairs, but Beshear’s enduring popularity is a wild card. It’s not unrealistic to forecast a competitive election if the governor were to enter the race: Doug Jones, a less well-known Democrat, claimed a Senate seat in Alabama in 2017.\",\"_key\":\"47ed484ba733\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5861126be86f\"},{\"_key\":\"a887abe9c3ec\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"a05902a0f193\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d1c7deba94af\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Yet Beshear is sending strong signals of disinterest to Senate-race suitors back in Washington.\",\"_key\":\"67e9aef73b35\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"97265f360ed2\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"084f7e3d4fd4\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“He loves his job serving the people of Kentucky, and he wouldn’t trade a single day as governor for six years in the Senate. His electoral focus in 2026 will be electing Democratic governors across the country as DGA Chair,” said a person close to Beshear.\",\"_key\":\"524fb4c83c91\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ce71c0a7b3ee\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8ba4169196af\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"ce9e135611ce\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"80bcc62a389f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"2a2ee01e3c32\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The young governor, a popular surrogate for the party, also could run for president in 2028.\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3e9b1a7c218c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"7d43b46b6d2b\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"If Beshear doesn’t run, the Senate race will be less about electability and more about winning over Trump. McConnell and Trump’s up-and-down relationship figures to be a focal point.\",\"_key\":\"e654835e4e1b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4470f2323096\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ad732719e233\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"b6b3cb2835fd\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"_key\":\"df4f6746b040\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Morris set the tone by attacking any Republican candidate who politely awaited a retirement announcement from McConnell, who turned 83 on 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Mitch McConnell like this.” This week, Barr did an \",\"_key\":\"51b0e2e0a96e\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"5ac0a4e42899\"],\"text\":\"interview\",\"_key\":\"fa103717eb4c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" on conservative influencer Benny Johnson’s show, trying to distance himself from McConnell.\",\"_key\":\"185ef8b9829a\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"32756e7a57c7\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"eeeacbc36053\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4a03cd5fbd95\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Unlike others who are talking about running for Mitch McConnell’s seat … I did not ever serve on the payroll of Mitch McConnell,” he said.\",\"_key\":\"55a5bb9baa03\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d0da77b1d7af\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"e00f8d08f2a6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"e7923fbbdda9\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A consultant for Cameron hit back, pointing out that Barr has previously called McConnell his mentor and suggesting Barr’s MAGA turn is disingenuous: “It’s sort of silly to like, all of a sudden, put on the red hat.”\",\"_key\":\"9669e37fe098\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"50102c2e33f4\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"06e53b3b8dd6\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article300099259.html\",\"_key\":\"202d70f46260\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Cameron, a former state attorney general, \",\"_key\":\"da6c18271511\"},{\"_key\":\"ce9831a16741\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"202d70f46260\"],\"text\":\"has\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" a significant lead over Barr in early polling.\",\"_key\":\"c061fa4a7770\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"537e2e0c6dff\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"754e0a47b2c5\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"7833c427f04b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"0a008f90a186\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Donald Trump’s the most dominant personality, and if he were to choose someone in this campaign, it would … all but guarantee their victory,” longtime GOP strategist Scott Jennings told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"b0adebc5f963\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"836302e20a9e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2399850b4be3\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Paul said he will stay neutral in the primary, and it’s unclear if McConnell would weigh in on the race — or if any candidate would want him to. McConnell declined comment for this story.\",\"_key\":\"644707ba9dcb\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"da9864f1eadc\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"68ae64875732\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"1c60fe9b1b10\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e2b8519670bb\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"0e4d0c3d4c36\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"McConnell’s retirement “will be a paradigm shift in Kentucky for Republicans,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told Semafor. Massie hasn’t shown interest in the Senate race yet.\"}]},{\"_key\":\"a4c6f5b05335\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"ae70587c2af4\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"0f12d47cf668\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"With the field packed already, another ambitious Kentucky Republican — House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, who lost a gubernatorial primary in 2015 — told Semafor he’s entertaining another run for governor in 2027. Without Beshear on the gubernatorial ballot, it could be a GOP pick-up.\",\"_key\":\"ad7dd7b22456\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"2e578ff0cd21\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"afe4ecd92532\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ced218218c25\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But first, Comer said, he plans to run for his congressional seat in 2026.\",\"_key\":\"f749c95c7c28\"}]}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\"},{\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Trey Grayson\",\"_key\":\"bfafc8971c10\",\"theViewFrom\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"54719544015d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Kentucky’s Senate seats don’t come open often. And the resulting campaigns can be unpredictable, as Trey Grayson knows. Paul upset the former Kentucky secretary of state in a 2010 Senate primary, which may explain why Grayson is intrigued by Morris.\",\"_key\":\"6e0f3550803c\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"28fdc509a149\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"8054908d8aac\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Trump’s an outsider. Outsiders are doing pretty well,” Grayson told Semafor. “There is this interesting lane for Morris to say ‘I’m a business guy. I’m not a career politician.’”\",\"_key\":\"9402384c47b7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"39440a3e41c2\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"_key\":\"85f2bfe222d3\",\"body\":[{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Trump will be closely watching the race to replace McConnell, who’s perhaps his biggest Senate GOP antagonist left in office. Hence all the early activity among Republican hopefuls, who never know when or where Trump might come down.\",\"_key\":\"0f496e31c375\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1a600f98e4ad\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"acddcb5b234d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"3eef6d546dae\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6c5a57847c55\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But going hard against McConnell to win over Trump has its drawbacks for Senate contenders, since the former GOP leader maintains major sway in Kentucky. That makes it tricky for Barr and Cameron to stay in both McConnell and Trump’s good graces.\",\"_key\":\"3eddc22a4b68\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ebd04df845fc\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"731581fd5517\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Even Morris could go too far and draw the ire of McConnell allies.\",\"_key\":\"7c7e08adaacd\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8323e5493e04\"}],\"title\":\"Kadia and Burgess’ View\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"generaform\":null,\"_type\":\"generaform\"},{\"furtherReading\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"eb6700535d24\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/andy-barr-run-mitch-mcconnells-senate-seat/\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Barr is privately \",\"_key\":\"3e23ad80d163\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"eb6700535d24\",\"strong\"],\"text\":\"telling people\",\"_key\":\"3dc188dc3b2c\"},{\"_key\":\"ecf116701831\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\" he’s running\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" for Senate, per CBS.\",\"_key\":\"2aff6876fe7d\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d59c3b4723f3\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\"},{\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"514fea853ec8\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article300099259.html\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Before making it official, Cameron all but \",\"_key\":\"fb69005a95d5\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"286e74b86f64\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"514fea853ec8\",\"strong\"],\"text\":\"revealed that\"},{\"_key\":\"c29ecb9de846\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\" he’s aiming for McConnell’s seat\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" to the Lexington Herald-Leader.\",\"_key\":\"d994131d4fd3\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0870279ebab1\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"9300c1c275ce\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"caption\":\"Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-e3ea90cdd5e147b7a87bc2710b2144f29f536126-6000x4000-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters\"},\"attribution\":\"Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.\"},\"expires\":true,\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"intro\":{\"_type\":\"intro\",\"schemaVersion\":1}},{\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"value\":\"politics\",\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6a4198734a5d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The new leader of one of the Democratic Party’s leading institutions, the Center for American Progress, said in an interview that her party needs to oppose Donald Trump across the board — but also offer voters more appealing alternatives.\",\"_key\":\"8285b4a9d5ce\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“No is better than yes. But just saying ‘no’ makes us vulnerable to the critique that we are just defenders of the status quo,” said Neera Tanden, who was named Thursday the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, a role she previously held from 2012 to 2020.\",\"_key\":\"f697e16f7e16\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1986575460f6\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ea541757777d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“We’re in a competition of ideas,” Tanden told Semafor. “Trump has ideas. We’re in a competition with him for whose ideas are better.”\",\"_key\":\"7930f96319e4\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"She arrives in the role as public polling shows Democratic voters are almost as disappointed in their own elected officials as they are appalled by Republicans. Tanden and CAP, with an annual budget around $50 million, are as close as the Democratic Party gets to an establishment.\",\"_key\":\"bc6518dd26d2\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8841a89f2961\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"95163c192138\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Tanden has managed to span the party’s divides: A key aide to Hillary Clinton since Bill Clinton’s presidency and through the 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns, she was among the relatively few Clintonites who took top roles in the Obama administration.\",\"_key\":\"419e22f866de\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"She played a central role in the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act before leaving to run CAP, where Wikileaks swept her into the Democrats’ bitter internecine battles. (She notes that she’s since worked regularly with Senator Bernie Sanders, and was as we spoke “retweeting Senator Sanders’ speech on Russia.”)\",\"_key\":\"5abd035fe65e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1c005ee466f1\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Tanden later spent four years in Joe Biden’s administration, \",\"_key\":\"f59dfb9bc640\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"06a8cfcf682f\"],\"text\":\"dropping\",\"_key\":\"539e2c891862\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" a bid to become his budget chief over fiery tweets in that very different era, and then directing his Domestic Policy Council.\",\"_key\":\"6f55a57391d5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"99f3d1be0222\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.npr.org/2021/03/02/970543130/tanden-withdraws-as-omb-nominee\",\"_key\":\"06a8cfcf682f\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Now she’s wrestling with a central question of her party’s identity: Can it offer more than appalled support for business as usual against a rampant Trump and Elon Musk?\",\"_key\":\"97a981dca718\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c0f55f2c9f6e\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"922f140f672e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“We are not the incumbents. We should not be knee-jerk institution defenders,” Tanden said. “People do want change. We have to argue why our vision of change is better.”\",\"_key\":\"d3c2730f3b82\"}]},{\"_key\":\"97b6e32ba124\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But that will begin, she said, with confrontational opposition.\",\"_key\":\"88348079b21d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“The most important thing about Trump is that he’s a bully, and if you cower he will take your breakfast money and your lunch money. He’ll take all your money,” she said. “I’m a fighter, and I’m ready for the fight.”\",\"_key\":\"ebcf6dff3a9f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2fe8be504ed6\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"49dc17fc63dd\",\"title\":\"The News\"},{\"_key\":\"b17bd7ff7413\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"_key\":\"335ee52da9b8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Tanden succeeds Patrick Gaspard, a former Obama adviser and past leader of George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. She takes over CAP at a moment when Democratic leaders’ frustrations include the work ethic of their own staff — who many worry are too focused on issues of justice inside their own workplace while young Republicans outwork them.\",\"_key\":\"9214facff5e8\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ace1ea25baa4\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"In her first run at CAP, Tanden occasionally clashed with her staff over what were, in retrospect, early signs of that conflict.\",\"_key\":\"4537c43d135c\"}]},{\"_key\":\"dc58f4784152\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“We’re in a moment of maximum peril, and it is a great privilege to work at a place like the Center for American Progress, where we are trying to work on behalf of a lot of people who face a lot of harm,” she said, asked about Democrats’ broad complaints about their own aides.\",\"_key\":\"179a638cf7bf\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“If you believe you’re in a battle for the soul of the country, then you have to act like you’re in a battle for the soul of the country,” she added.\",\"_key\":\"19707c14f51a\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2b5e4c22c097\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fd36761c29eb\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"On a number of issues, Tanden stressed that Democrats need to oppose Trump while offering alternatives.\",\"_key\":\"b96018798cdf\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"With border crossings at record lows in recent months, for example, she argued that “the lion’s share of that work” was done by a Biden executive order in June.\",\"_key\":\"4169726d271e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d3fe780c0548\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“We can’t ignore a topic that matters a lot to people because we think it helps his side, not our side. This was the lesson on immigration. We got to an answer on this — very late,” she said. “We can’t [oppose] mass deportations unless we have a strong immigration plan that includes reforms of asylum and the border.”\",\"_key\":\"3402949359a9\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d92d5136f0c4\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0fa2c7b7b99b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Of Trump’s assault on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, she said: “We should be clear that diversity matters to people and how it improves things. But when it feels like you’re preferencing one group over another — the first principle here is that we’re all equal, and we support diversity.”\",\"_key\":\"63e5328ab52d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cc1bed1ada2e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"7c83de26a626\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"When it comes to public safety, she noted that “working-class people are victims of crime at a way higher level than upper-income people, and they see that as a security issue.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ada138f4919b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"And as Trump and Vice President JD Vance lean heavily into gender as a cultural flashpoint Tanden said the Democratic Party needs to take the issues facing young men more seriously.\",\"_key\":\"916398782860\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a73e2c69a9a0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“There is something happening with fewer opportunities for younger men, and it’s driving a lot of anger. And it’s creating a gender chasm — that’s a problem we should try to understand,” she said. “The right is exploiting that by saying, ‘You’re down because the left hates you.’ There is a fundamental issue there.”\",\"_key\":\"0a7cdfeec619\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\"},{\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"0007064de2b3\",\"thescoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"60bc7c485845\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Some Democrats are asking themselves whether the party should borrow then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s 2009 playbook and become the “Party of No,” simply rejecting every Trump initiative just as McConnell fought Obama. The now-retiring Republican senator recognized (accurately) that his voters sought that and would reward it.\",\"_key\":\"5b890a3fff02\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Tanden said that approach is necessary, but not sufficient. She compared this moment to Democrats’ past wilderness years of 2004 and 2016. During both of those cycles, the party shifted quickly from panic into organized opposition to unpopular Republican domestic policies: After 2004 it was the privatization of elements of Social Security, while the 2016 election saw the GOP get fatally tangled in attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.\",\"_key\":\"8a91e918a51f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0486ce2a918a\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"eb655fbd6586\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"I asked Tanden, at my colleague David Weigel’s suggestion, whether CAP would produce a “Project 2029,” a hypothetical Democratic version of the conservative agenda that Trump disavowed but ended up mirroring and shaping his administration’s thinking.\",\"_key\":\"18ccfe60e2ff\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"She declined to slap a label on the project, but said she does see CAP’s role as building a party consensus on a new agenda, and a new tone.\",\"_key\":\"9acea859c7cc\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d1d5ed9a4763\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“It’s important to have a spirit of reform,” she said. ”This is what progress is: It’s taking the problems you have and fixing them.\",\"_key\":\"d003b1642c53\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1e4022bebd80\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"d417ea733c69\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“We should be focused on solving problems for people — not on just defending the institutions,” she added.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"17d2c141f2e4\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f54111524449\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But Tanden said she was still working through why her former boss Biden had failed so fully to persuade voters that his domestic agenda was helping them. The Democratic economist Jason Furman, a former top Obama aide, has argued that “Bidenomics” simply fell short, but Tanden rejected that.\",\"_key\":\"e914bed5ec86\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"23a6663c30fd\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"266a868edca1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I don’t think Bidenomics failed in doing the things it said it would do. It created very low unemployment. It took a while, but it created wage increases,” she said. “We have to really understand as a party why a program that spent hundreds of billions of dollars for investments in jobs for people [of whom] 70% don’t have a college degree — why that didn’t resonate at all.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8c88de7f621e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I don’t know if it’s that we didn’t communicate it, or people didn’t care,” she said.\",\"_key\":\"2404ea90fa96\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"ea012672bf39\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"As Trump offers a dramatically different vision of slashed government spending, understanding that failure to resonate might help Democrats climb out of the hole. Or Perhaps that’s a problem that Democrats, now in opposition, won’t have to solve.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c12f593977ec\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"author\":{\"shortName\":\"Ben\",\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/4fdd6bf05e3c6e4abc4e62bee927a32b9465d698-1600x1600.png\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.1\",\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-25T20:00:48Z\",\"authorTitle\":\"Editor-in-Chief\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/ben-smith\",\"twitter\":\"semaforben\",\"email\":\"bsmith@semafor.com\",\"_rev\":\"ERq4ToR7OCAfPf0jwFfNLy\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"_type\":\"author\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-12T16:07:35Z\",\"bio\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"5d315309aab3\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Ben is the former media columnist of the New York Times. He was previously the founding editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News from 2012 to 2020. Ben covered American politics for more than a decade at Politico and the New York Daily News, among other outlets, and launched a number of political blogs.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fc4e7a5e84ee\"}],\"newsletterAudience\":\"Media\",\"name\":\"Ben Smith\",\"_id\":\"35b35ecf-64a4-4097-a632-e63d06365edd\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2023-03-25T16:00:48-04:00\",\"_createdAt\":\"2022-10-07T16:06:02Z\"}},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"e092f04d1554\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"_key\":\"e857368971cf\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/us/politics/neera-tanden-trump-center-for-american-progress.html\",\"_key\":\"61a75e86dd7e\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"Tanden’s hire\",\"_key\":\"f7e42b505fe8\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" was first reported by \",\"_key\":\"d2a1529f5d50\"},{\"text\":\"the New York Times\",\"_key\":\"736e7f9ff910\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"61a75e86dd7e\"]},{\"_key\":\"6ae5ec3819fd\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Courtesy Neera Tanden\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-5d9e911336f20fb2b2ebccea7c0c6af8b4eb7a4e-300x300-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Courtesy Neera Tanden\",\"caption\":null},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T18:20:08Z\",\"headline\":\"Democrats ‘should not be knee-jerk institution defenders,’ new Center for American Progress chief says\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/new-center-for-american-progress-head-neera-tanden-interview-on-democrats\",\"description\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bc30f613367a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Neera Tanden talked to Semafor about the task ahead for her party and the lessons it’s still trying to learn.\",\"_key\":\"41ab69f4a6e3\"}]}],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Ben Smith\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/4fdd6bf05e3c6e4abc4e62bee927a32b9465d698-1600x1600.png\"}],\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"location\":null,\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":null,\"expires\":true,\"id\":\"86eb3b29-9801-495e-8584-eb7b726c781e\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"}},{\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-23T21:50:33.635Z\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/21/2025/amazon-in-control-of-james-bond\",\"intro\":null,\"vertical\":\"news\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"id\":\"56537794-7d85-444e-907b-8fd51a0137fc\",\"headline\":\"Amazon secures deal to take control of James Bond franchise\",\"description\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The company’s agreement ended its longtime feud with the British Broccoli family that had tightly controlled the Bond brand for more than 60 years. \",\"_key\":\"c3fbc1b187d8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"475ba203dad7\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"verticalDisplay\":null,\"location\":\"UK\",\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"caption\":\"A double-decker bus in London painted with an advertisement for Daniel Craig’s James Bond.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-f524f2b256d1cdecc4a6a77db66c638340550758-1279x887-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Toby Melville/File Photo/Reuters\"},\"attribution\":\"Toby Melville/File Photo/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"A double-decker bus in London painted with an advertisement for Daniel Craig’s James Bond.\"},\"signal\":null,\"headlineOverride\":null,\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"_key\":\"1d0a792fd08d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Amazon will decide the next James Bond after reaching a deal to take creative control of the 007 franchise, capping years of uncertainty about the secret agent’s future. \",\"_key\":\"0559399b105b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/business/amazon-james-bond-franchise.html\",\"_key\":\"0be417552d88\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The company’s agreement ended its longtime feud with \",\"_key\":\"bede026a0e02\"},{\"_key\":\"8a6b02612559\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"0be417552d88\"],\"text\":\"the British Broccoli family\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" that had tightly controlled the Bond brand for more than 60 years; they will remain co-owners in a new joint venture that will house the iconic franchise. \",\"_key\":\"a0ace629e71e\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ec2512b200c6\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/02/20/james-bond-creative-rights-amazon-mgm/\",\"_key\":\"e3d7d1a6d447\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://x.com/joerussotweets/status/1892588740578537702\",\"_key\":\"9458d3bde97a\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://x.com/JeffBezos/status/1892590064766484622\",\"_key\":\"9f7981d50f0c\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"One Bond expert suggested that Amazon’s control could lead to a change in the agent’s \",\"_key\":\"da9601219c10\"},{\"_key\":\"3f1f3af45c25\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"e3d7d1a6d447\"],\"text\":\"British background\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", and some have speculated the character could get \",\"_key\":\"b8b22591e280\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[\"9458d3bde97a\"],\"text\":\"his own cinematic universe\",\"_key\":\"f243e24a9b9f\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"eba9a794ffc7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". Turning to the fans, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wrote on X, “\"},{\"marks\":[\"9f7981d50f0c\"],\"text\":\"Who’d you pick as the next Bond?\",\"_key\":\"47ddca5fad7c\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"”\",\"_key\":\"176e0cf4384b\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"07df515d418b\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"fa4f9433-18a2-4e41-a79e-bcbf66051219\",\"title\":\"The News\"}],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"J.D. Capelouto\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/6e8f19ad2f7a823b526436f72a35bda6ba8f774b-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Mizy Clifton\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/13f2011b1f026a78f212a4f348f8077e41ab1086-1600x1600.png\"}]},{\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T20:30:41.088Z\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"description\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Trump of parroting many of Moscow’s talking points on Ukraine. \",\"_key\":\"2675e4930970\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5c7df40ef247\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"8b1ff55e788f\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"68673e318364\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"fc2abcef0bf4\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"51506012adc4\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"5ddf3e9b9614\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a67602a5d861\"}],\"verticalDisplay\":null,\"id\":\"f7e44459-2138-4fdd-bb54-d1286648be04\",\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"vertical\":\"news\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"attribution\":\"Shannon Stapleton/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Zelenskyy and Trump. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-2b62c449d8a9dd606023eddff06c64d59dd80637-1600x1016-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"_type\":\"image\"},\"attribution\":\"Shannon Stapleton/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Zelenskyy and Trump. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters\"},\"expires\":true,\"headline\":\"Trump calls Ukraine’s Zelenskyy a ‘dictator’ as China set to benefit from US pivot\",\"intro\":null,\"location\":\"Europe\",\"semaforms\":[{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"27fd3f517d21\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"US President Donald Trump sharpened his broadside against Ukraine Wednesday, accusing its leader of being a “dictator” in a startling about-face on Russia that analysts said moved Washington’s rhetoric on the war closer to that of Moscow.\",\"_key\":\"0c1269436450\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“A Dictator without Elections, [Ukrainian President] Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote on social media.\",\"_key\":\"0d8264425e6e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e6fea621fb08\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"396b6d30-204e-4ffe-b927-b7a8dccb7777\",\"title\":\"The News\"}],\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/donald-trump-calls-ukraines-zelenskyy-a-dictator-as-war-of-words-escalates\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Prashant Rao\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/84160dd2df02535b1a91244bf8731c23daf4d7e1-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Mizy Clifton\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/13f2011b1f026a78f212a4f348f8077e41ab1086-1600x1600.png\"}],\"signal\":[{\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Washington’s pivot toward Russia could benefit China\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"Council for Foreign Affairs\",\"Foreign Policy\",\"The Atlantic\"],\"_key\":\"1b16949cc7b7\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.cfr.org/article/trumps-abrupt-turn-russia-and-whether-us-russia-team-could-gain-any-sway-south-and\",\"_key\":\"1a6f483cfcc4\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/18/trump-us-china-hawks-pivot-asia-pacific-europe-russia-nato/\",\"_key\":\"65b538ecd58c\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/02/foreign-policy-mistake-china/681732/\",\"_key\":\"b6998abf0d6f\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"China hawks in Washington seem to believe they can work with Russia to isolate Beijing, if countries with close ties to Moscow like Vietnam and India also turn away from the Asian giant, an Asia expert wrote for the Council on Foreign Relations. But leveraging these links to bring parts of South and Southeast Asia into the US’ orbit won’t match the “\",\"_key\":\"89844d1f44e1\"},{\"_key\":\"54aeb4de8b02\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"1a6f483cfcc4\"],\"text\":\"enormous influence\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” China already wields in these regions, he added. The US offering concessions to Russia could benefit China geopolitically, given those countries’ “\",\"_key\":\"70697f971f94\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"65b538ecd58c\"],\"text\":\"quasi-alliance\",\"_key\":\"992c7e1558f9\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” a columnist argued in Foreign Policy. Trump’s pandering to Putin also gives China a chance to \",\"_key\":\"f194db3bccd4\"},{\"marks\":[\"b6998abf0d6f\"],\"text\":\"present itself as an alternate guarantor of European security\",\"_key\":\"9099f906acb2\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"text\":\", The Atlantic wrote: Foreign Minister Wang Li recently said China could be a “factor of certainty in a newly multipolar system.”\",\"_key\":\"6e689170dbc3\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d3b1b2cb5637\"}]},{\"_key\":\"f0aa0e3bd5e3\",\"body\":[{\"_key\":\"9bbd922e3ab2\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/19/ukraine-russia-trump-elections-zelensky/\",\"_key\":\"339b3312dd3f\"},{\"_key\":\"1a1ed7324118\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.kiis.com.ua/?lang=eng\u0026cat=reports\u0026id=1496\u0026page=1\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.eu/article/ukrainian-hopes-fading-as-trump-and-putin-embrace/\",\"_key\":\"d6b5b8c3a81e\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The US president’s attacks have “\",\"_key\":\"83b5c2f15539\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"339b3312dd3f\"],\"text\":\"unleashed a firestorm of support\",\"_key\":\"aa134e37ae24\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” for Zelenskyy at home — even among his fiercest domestic critics, with talk of holding elections widely seen as a Kremlin-style ploy to destabilize Ukraine from within, The Washington Post reported. The Ukrainian leader’s domestic approval rating \",\"_key\":\"eb4b953c1247\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"1a1ed7324118\"],\"text\":\"reached 57%\",\"_key\":\"d392304c870f\"},{\"text\":\" at the beginning of February, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology — significantly higher than Trump’s claim, for which he provided no evidence, that Zelenskyy’s approval had sunk to 4%. Washington and Moscow’s alignment on wanting him gone is likely to prompt the wartime leader to “\",\"_key\":\"c14bf89e0248\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d6b5b8c3a81e\"],\"text\":\"do everything to cling to power\",\"_key\":\"e0a7a0fcf54d\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” a former Ukrainian minister told Politico, adding that this could harm Kyiv diplomatically.\",\"_key\":\"0b7739737cf0\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Domestic support for Zelenskyy rises in face of Trump’s attacks\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"Kyiv International Institute for Sociology\",\"The Washington Post\",\"Politico\"]}]},{\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/arab-leaders-craft-gaza-proposal-to-avoid-us-displacement\",\"headline\":\"Arab leaders race to craft Gaza proposal to counter Trump\",\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"48f655d5972c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar are set to meet in Riyadh Friday to formulate a plan for the enclave.\",\"_key\":\"b05769b6acbf\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":null,\"location\":\"Middle East\",\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-23T01:54:16.871Z\",\"id\":\"ff4c53d6-0d21-450f-ba2d-8bd9bda09845\",\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"vertical\":\"news\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":[{\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/world/middleeast/gaza-reconstruction-alternatives.html\",\"_key\":\"9606eba381b5\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-leaders-to-meet-friday-try-to-agree-on-egyptian-alternative-to-trumps-gaza-plan/\",\"_key\":\"6ad16563b5a1\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Arab leaders are tasked with convincing US President Donald Trump that their plan is a viable alternative for Gaza’s reconstruction, but even if they do, \",\"_key\":\"7f7daf21cf61\"},{\"text\":\"implementation remains a challenge\",\"_key\":\"b665ba5d3bbb\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"9606eba381b5\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", analysts argued. “The obstacles to these ideas are as old as the ideas themselves,” The New York Times wrote. Questions around Palestinian statehood — which Israel rejects — and what role the Palestinian Authority should have are highly contentious, even for Arab states. Meanwhile Hamas, which took over Gaza more than two decades ago, has refused to disband its paramilitary. Devising an alternative to Trump’s proposal will necessitate “\",\"_key\":\"e95cc71ce286\"},{\"marks\":[\"6ad16563b5a1\"],\"text\":\"a degree of Arab unity not seen before in decades\",\"_key\":\"334dacd54d3b\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” a Saudi foreign policy expert told AFP.\",\"_key\":\"886ce03ac489\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"33dcf1a2c1ed\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Arab plan faces “obstacles… as old as the ideas themselves”\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The New York Times\",\"AFP\"],\"_key\":\"cc8404743282\"},{\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Hamas, Israel look to next phase of ceasefire talks\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The Associated Press\",\"The Times of Israel\"],\"_key\":\"943c486036c6\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-18-2025-873e5177fea96dbf569ca96980eed29chttps://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-02-18-2025-873e5177fea96dbf569ca96980eed29c\",\"_key\":\"ba902f5dfbc1\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-said-to-condition-deals-2nd-phase-on-end-of-hamas-presence-in-gaza-no-pa-rule/\",\"_key\":\"a1cb89fd1777\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Arab leader meeting comes as negotiations for the second stage of Hamas and Israel’s increasingly fragile ceasefire agreement remain largely stalled. On Tuesday, Hamas said it would be \",\"_key\":\"59b10a459bce\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"ba902f5dfbc1\"],\"text\":\"willing to hand over all remaining Israeli hostages\",\"_key\":\"bbe56f15b4b8\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" to secure second-stage talks, a surprise concession that seemed aimed at abating Gazans’ fears that fighting could resume, The Associated Press wrote. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told cabinet members Tuesday that \",\"_key\":\"0996dbc1052c\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a1cb89fd1777\"],\"text\":\"Israel would seek Hamas’ disarmament\",\"_key\":\"14a1e187be6f\"},{\"text\":\" and withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal. Yet many analysts believe that securing the remaining Israeli hostages’ release will ultimately mean making a deal with Hamas that leaves them “functional in Gaza in some form,” The Times of Israel wrote.\",\"_key\":\"8fe0f0401906\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e58ad3e4d67b\"}]}],\"expires\":true,\"headlineOverride\":null,\"intro\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Paige Bruton\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/9252a40e4e11b31efc135eda341e0508473c3775-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"J.D. Capelouto\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/6e8f19ad2f7a823b526436f72a35bda6ba8f774b-1600x1600.png\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"835351ee-c1c5-4d25-94a2-9e5661f05ca3\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Arab nations are stepping up efforts to draft a counter proposal for Gaza, even as US President Donald Trump and Israeli leaders have doubled down on Trump’s controversial plan to resettle Palestinians elsewhere and redevelop the enclave.\",\"_key\":\"0e66770839cf\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ae4eda60a3dd\"},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar will convene in Riyadh Friday to hash out a plan, which could see the group pledge as much as $20 billion to form a \",\"_key\":\"e1436c470cb5\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[\"78eeb9b65a8f\"],\"text\":\"new Palestinian committee\",\"_key\":\"8a2b548680d6\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" of technocrats and community leaders to lead Gaza instead of Hamas. The plan would also see Gaza’s residents given the right to remain in the strip.\",\"_key\":\"882ef2703f0f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6a84da8283fe\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/egypts-sisi-travel-riyadh-gaza-arab-plan-discussion-sources-say-2025-02-18/\",\"_key\":\"78eeb9b65a8f\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"85fede0bc2ba\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/world/middleeast/gaza-reconstruction-alternatives.html\",\"_key\":\"c395c1af6798\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is open to alternate ideas from Arab governments, but emphasized that, for now, “\",\"_key\":\"b6f48f3471fb\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c395c1af6798\"],\"text\":\"the only plan is the Trump plan\",\"_key\":\"2fe026c8b68c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".”\",\"_key\":\"f3d3a3554377\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-a2190f1d39c5b0473560ca91776710a54468e578-1600x1167-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Hatem Khaled/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"An elderly man stands beside a line of cars in Gaza.\"},\"attribution\":\"Hatem Khaled/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"An elderly man stands beside a line of cars in Gaza.\"}},{\"signal\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\",\"label\":\"Politics\"}],\"location\":\"North America\",\"semaforms\":[{\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"7e6bcd2d8474\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Nearly three-in-10 US adults approve of the job that Congress is doing, representing a 12-percentage-point spike since January, according to \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3c077ffdcf91\"],\"text\":\"Gallup polling\",\"_key\":\"cdccf0f9cb0f\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" taken earlier this month. \",\"_key\":\"e52490af9ad7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e56128a6d8c0\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://news.gallup.com/poll/656891/trump-job-approval-rating-congress-jumps.aspx?utm_source=tagrss\u0026utm_medium=rss\u0026utm_campaign=syndication\",\"_key\":\"3c077ffdcf91\"}]},{\"imageEmbedExternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbedInternalLink\":null,\"_type\":\"imageEmbed\",\"_key\":\"649f83c55f08\",\"imageEmbed\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"caption\":\"A line chart showing the percentage of Americans that approve of the job of Congress from 2000 to 2025.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-bd3dc58fe8b2e9274ad90ade143a6cfbb8061283-1302x998-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"markDefs\":null},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f41240c97830\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Republicans and independents are feeling more positive about Congress, following the Republican sweep of both chambers and the White House in the last election. The current 29% approval rating is Congress’ highest rating in almost four years and is largely driven by the 42-percentage-point increase in Republican voters’ approval, which made up for the 18-point decline among Democrats. \",\"_key\":\"78f03d71f9a5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"fcd250c727d6\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/02/19/2025/trumps-approval-rating-slips-slightly-as-more-americans-worry-about-the-economy\",\"_key\":\"720785a8ad9d\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Currently, 53% of Republicans approve of Congress’ job, while 26% of independents approve (up nine points). The same survey found Trump’s job approval rating \",\"_key\":\"8f251d9cac98\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"720785a8ad9d\"],\"text\":\"relatively steady\",\"_key\":\"1561551a728f\"},{\"text\":\" at 45%. We’ll see if the tug-of-war between the House and Senate over Trump’s agenda takes a bite out of those numbers.\",\"_key\":\"b0c481954a1c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"313c47f6-d84d-4734-90d5-dfd2659d3159\"}],\"id\":\"d13738c6-d557-4cbb-a36c-6b345da8c082\",\"headline\":\"US Congress approval highest in nearly four years, Gallup poll finds\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"description\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"01e4721da63f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Nearly 30% of US adults approve of the job that Congress is doing, a 12-percentage-point spike since January.\",\"_key\":\"d854128dd30a\"}]}],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T11:46:27Z\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Morgan Chalfant\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/454ac246e316cd78eb894e6959fd261936d6d4ed-1600x1600.png\"}],\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/us-congress-approval-highest-in-nearly-four-years-gallup\",\"intro\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Nathan Howard/File Photo/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"US House Speaker Mike Johnson.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-46feee8b2d7aa48cb35f95c78c1a23a1772a99bd-6000x4000-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Nathan Howard/File Photo/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"US House Speaker Mike Johnson.\"}},{\"id\":\"1db7a964-25e6-457e-8590-c6590d54a450\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Tech\",\"_key\":\"tech\",\"value\":\"tech\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"72ff71f5-eeee-47ac-9452-3712e4a67d19\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"dc26ea86f714\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Microsoft said Wednesday it had created a new state of matter that is not a solid, liquid, or gas, as it unveiled a powerful new chip that marks the latest development in the quest to create quantum computers. \",\"_key\":\"f0538a9dd99c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b8484426e478\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://x.com/satyanadella/status/1892242895094313420\",\"_key\":\"08148e819baf\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The company is hailing the chip, called Majorana 1, as a milestone toward building a super-powerful quantum computer — machines that rely on particle physics to solve problems beyond the scope of ordinary computers. Its CEO said the chip could pave the way for solving problems that “\",\"_key\":\"687535b1682b\"},{\"marks\":[\"08148e819baf\"],\"text\":\"all the computers on Earth today\",\"_key\":\"eb22e8385df4\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" combined could not.” \",\"_key\":\"3f9a520462eb\"}]},{\"_key\":\"6128622362a3\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/ai/microsofts-majorana-1-chip-carves-new-path-for-quantum-computing/\",\"_key\":\"294875d64c67\"},{\"_key\":\"b459ecdeb87a\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/12/09/2024/ten-septillion-years-google-makes-another-quantum-computing-breakthrough\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Majorana 1 chip was powered by a new type of material which it described as “the \",\"_key\":\"8f9fffe96aad\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"294875d64c67\"],\"text\":\"world’s first topoconductor\",\"_key\":\"db8678681d51\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” to help produce fewer error-prone qubits — the building blocks for quantum computers — than rivals like \",\"_key\":\"60dba37ffe83\"},{\"marks\":[\"b459ecdeb87a\"],\"text\":\"Google’s Willow chip\",\"_key\":\"68ed3ffba84c\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". \",\"_key\":\"9df393bc146a\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Scientists were more cautious: “You have to verify… that a device behaves in all the magical ways that theory predicts it should; otherwise, \",\"_key\":\"224f135a6ebb\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"ea8b5722effd\"],\"text\":\"the reality may turn out to be less rosy\",\"_key\":\"cb4823cbbb60\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" for quantum computing,” one physicist told The New York Times.\",\"_key\":\"a20419faa0dc\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"560e248a16ea\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/technology/microsoft-quantum-computing-topological-qubit.html\",\"_key\":\"ea8b5722effd\"}]}]}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-23T01:55:26.168Z\",\"headline\":\"Microsoft’s quantum chip creates new state of matter\",\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"intro\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Claire Cameron\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/0614b88d14ed421a33b7c87044278b906ce13964-292x292.jpg\"}],\"description\":[{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The new “topological state” — which isn’t a solid, liquid, or gas — had previously only existed in theory.\",\"_key\":\"dc3ebb68469e\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"53559d326b44\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"location\":\"North America\",\"signal\":null,\"slug\":\"/article/02/20/2025/microsofts-new-quantum-chip-creates-new-state-of-matter\",\"vertical\":\"news\",\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Microsoft/Handout via Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-1b0ea0be9b0cc8a4ae2e97f1a2134312584e17a1-1600x1067-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Microsoft/Handout via Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip.\"}},{\"location\":\"Europe\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"signal\":[{\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The New York Times\",\"Timothy Snyder\",\"Reuters\"],\"_key\":\"8318762f5dcc\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/us/politics/trump-russia-putin.html\",\"_key\":\"dbce3569ba1c\"},{\"href\":\"https://x.com/TimothyDSnyder/status/1891887348339585401\",\"_key\":\"4a6241197aec\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.reuters.com/world/major-risks-loom-trump-upends-us-russia-policy-2025-02-19/\",\"_key\":\"8fbb0ebc2dcf\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The lightning-speed rapprochement between Russia and the US, two historic adversaries, has startled the world: US President Donald Trump is carrying out “\",\"_key\":\"3c146a70a145\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"dbce3569ba1c\"],\"text\":\"one of the most jaw-dropping pivots\",\"_key\":\"9c2ba0c2dec1\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in American foreign policy in generations,” The New York Times wrote. But US delegates, suddenly thrust to the negotiating table, may be out of their depth as they have “\",\"_key\":\"786b7ec68b8d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"4a6241197aec\"],\"text\":\"almost no experience in high-level international negotiation\",\"_key\":\"b418cee9b542\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” and no regional expertise, Russia expert Timothy Snyder wrote on X: “Looks like a bloodbath by design.” Certainly, Moscow seems to have won round one: So far, \",\"_key\":\"d0b827507256\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8fbb0ebc2dcf\"],\"text\":\"Vladimir Putin has made few, if any concessions\",\"_key\":\"c9268c8077ea\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", the Democratic co-chair of the House of Representatives’ Ukraine caucus told Reuters.\",\"_key\":\"222bb341c9fd\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"159e1337842a\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Trump makes ‘jaw-dropping’ foreign policy pivot\"},{\"insightTitle\":\"Washington is handing Putin ‘diplomatic victory’ \",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"Reuters\",\"BBC\",\"CNN\"],\"_key\":\"8aee3e8e945a\",\"body\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"41e5945f4469\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8ed3nk3n6ro\",\"_key\":\"a569ccfa97e5\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/18/europe/analysis-us-russia-talks-moscow-ukraine-intl-latam/index.html\",\"_key\":\"439bf05a1739\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/18/europe/analysis-us-russia-talks-moscow-ukraine-intl-latam/index.html\",\"_key\":\"2ac85c81f834\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Former US President Joe Biden made Russia’s Vladimir Putin a pariah over Moscow’s war on Ukraine, with Biden describing Putin as a “murderous dictator” and a “pure thug.” Against that context, the mere fact of Trump’s phone call with Putin last week represented a \",\"_key\":\"03483ec9005e\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a569ccfa97e5\"],\"text\":\"diplomatic victory for the Russian leader, \",\"_key\":\"05d7645116cd\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"the BBC noted. The subsequent bilateral meeting between the US and Russia in Riyadh \",\"_key\":\"0fc830e868c9\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"439bf05a1739\"],\"text\":\"implicitly reinforced Moscow’s narrative that the war is an act of self-defense\",\"_key\":\"78d21234d1c7\"},{\"_key\":\"94477bb17cc4\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" against NATO aggression, CNN wrote. The bonhomie is yielding “\"},{\"marks\":[\"2ac85c81f834\"],\"text\":\"real, practical results\",\"_key\":\"28e091511480\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” the outlet wrote, including the potential return to previous staffing levels at each country’s respective embassies.\",\"_key\":\"af97d20caee4\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":2},{\"_key\":\"ec5710b911b6\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"e3b61b828c1a\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.ft.com/content/f4bde773-0c34-49d9-bc94-48b19bd36b53\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/18/europe-eu-nato-us-russia-ukraine/\",\"_key\":\"dc750293c5d9\"},{\"_key\":\"fde02d00c32d\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://apnews.com/article/europe-ukraine-security-summit-trump-2292c464676bd2876bda19518d9dd186\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"As the US thaws ties with Russia, the European Union agreed to new sanctions on Russia, while a growing cadre of member nations have mooted ways to boost defense spending or even \",\"_key\":\"3efaad096ae5\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"e3b61b828c1a\"],\"text\":\"put troops\",\"_key\":\"18c182b25c32\"},{\"_key\":\"a8618ac763c1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in Ukraine. Sidelined by Washington, Europe must “\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"dc750293c5d9\"],\"text\":\"think the unthinkable\",\"_key\":\"7a7fd2047e3b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” and signal willingness to quit NATO for more strategic autonomy, a Singaporean diplomat argued in Foreign Policy. Staying in the alliance may become akin to “licking the boots that are kicking them in the face.” \",\"_key\":\"05f68a7615e4\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"fde02d00c32d\"],\"text\":\"European leaders don’t seem to agree on their next move, however\",\"_key\":\"0063d4bb60f3\"},{\"text\":\": France’s President Emmanuel Macron has sought to present as Europe’s “strongman,” one analyst told The Associated Press, while UK leader Keir Starmer has positioned himself as Washington’s Europe “whisperer.”\",\"_key\":\"a75603e6cd1d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9465a81a9327\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Europe scrambles to support Ukraine \",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"Financial Times\",\"Foreign Policy\",\"Associated Press\"]}],\"intro\":null,\"expires\":true,\"id\":\"ac9e993f-e64d-4887-91c8-cfe9b4e60655\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"headline\":\"Trump’s Ukraine criticism caps a dramatic pivot in US foreign policy\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Prashant Rao\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/84160dd2df02535b1a91244bf8731c23daf4d7e1-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Mizy Clifton\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/13f2011b1f026a78f212a4f348f8077e41ab1086-1600x1600.png\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"8c83c32e-7c48-4fa1-a163-6e6d1e5b0573\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"US President Donald Trump on Wednesday launched a stunning attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, suggesting that Ukraine was at fault for Russia’s full-scale invasion and for failing to end the war, and calling Zelenskyy a ”\",\"_key\":\"815cab8bb89a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"text\":\"dictator without elections.\",\"_key\":\"8f1dbb542fe8\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"0f5831b69774\"]},{\"text\":\"″\",\"_key\":\"927932c016f3\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ed768a11b474\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114031332924234939\",\"_key\":\"0f5831b69774\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I hear that they’re upset about not getting a seat [at the negotiating table], well, they’ve had a seat for three years and a long time before that. 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that Ukraine was responsible for Russia’s war is perhaps the most marked contrast yet with the former Biden administration’s support for Kyiv.\",\"_key\":\"420c7aa56a50\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]},{\"id\":\"50b26ef9-2e48-4a9f-9c31-d7ef2421feab\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"slug\":\"/article/02/18/2025/a-maga-adviser-is-proposing-a-doge-dividend\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"location\":\"North America\",\"expires\":true,\"headline\":\"A MAGA adviser is proposing a ‘DOGE dividend’ \",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Liz Hoffman\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/1551c1f02005a2d088208a6004d1921628666991-1600x1600.png\"}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"caption\":\"Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-80a4ff6788f95398e69549796e4eb19de0146a65-4522x3392-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Kevin Lamarque/Reuters\"},\"attribution\":\"Kevin Lamarque/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.\"},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T15:51:53Z\",\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Business\",\"_key\":\"business\",\"value\":\"business\"}],\"signal\":null,\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9a981dcabdcc\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"b26874b64e17\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"James Fishback, who launched an anti-woke fund an has been advising DOGE, wants to send its savings back to Americans. \"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"intro\":null,\"vertical\":\"business\",\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"27841a15-4bcf-4192-9167-5e25a5310505\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Elon Musk says he’s considering a proposal from a MAGA financier to turn his government cost cuts into “DOGE dividend” checks for Americans.\",\"_key\":\"741b278d07ed\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"20d5897c4f0b\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"03aaa84160da\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://sherwood.news/business/greenlight-capital-in-legal-battle-with-james-fishbank-a-former-employee/\",\"_key\":\"75748cbe9d3e\"},{\"_key\":\"670768c6bd0e\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/11/26/2024/the-sp-500-without-the-woke-sht-here-come-the-maga-funds\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"James Fishback, who was briefly an \",\"_key\":\"d6c2524d4389\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[\"75748cbe9d3e\"],\"text\":\"object\",\"_key\":\"02a3ecaf28f6\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" of Wall Street fascination before \",\"_key\":\"308f61c7c0c8\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"670768c6bd0e\"],\"text\":\"launching an anti-woke fund\",\"_key\":\"29fb20d19957\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" this fall and becoming an adviser to DOGE, has proposed returning 20% of the initiative’s savings to tax-paying households, Semafor reported.\",\"_key\":\"c5464d93257c\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Musk said on X that he “will check” with President Donald Trump about the idea.\",\"_key\":\"45e0b03c597d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ebd0fdbb095f\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"twitter\",\"_key\":\"9c3726a52871\",\"url\":\"https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891967592048611532?s=46\u0026t=E-TXqHvfjne5MRKJVHfYLg\",\"markDefs\":null},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“When consumers don’t get what they pay for, they’re entitled to a refund,” he told Semafor this week. Fishback says he met last week with the offices of Sens. Rick Scott and Roger Marshall and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, and he’ll be back on Capitol Hill this week.\",\"_key\":\"c9d8478c8a1a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2e7b906c3be0\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"289a502a6cb3\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-says-doge-probably-wont-find-2-trillion-federal-budget-cuts-rcna186924\",\"_key\":\"b31dbdeaae6b\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Trump relished seeing his name on checks cut to Americans during the pandemic. But even Musk admits that DOGE is \",\"_key\":\"28ca93477d8d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"b31dbdeaae6b\"],\"text\":\"unlikely to hit\",\"_key\":\"c7ff11da057d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" its $2 trillion target, which Fishback says would fund $5,000 rebates to 79 million households, and Republicans are already struggling to pay for an extension of Donald Trump’s tax cuts.\",\"_key\":\"90faf7aaf9ca\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]}],\"ledeVideo\":null},{\"expires\":true,\"headline\":\"Senate Republicans want input as Trump steps up government overhaul\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"caption\":\"Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-84176dbcb171f6d23c7ed1234efc55141b516065-7116x4746-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters\"},\"attribution\":\"Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.\"},\"signal\":null,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T22:18:47Z\",\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"efcbacceb735\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A growing number of Republican senators say President Donald Trump and his administration will need to coordinate with Congress more closely as the Department of Government Efficiency bears down on federal agencies.\",\"_key\":\"dfeeec9b61ca\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"58516303b21c\"},{\"_key\":\"b2c7edae2a54\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"ab219f9f19b0\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://x.com/lisamurkowski/status/1890591029872435540\",\"_key\":\"5c0ce4065358\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_key\":\"54883eec86ee\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1890899886054178908\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Republicans stomached Trump’s ongoing nationwide layoffs of federal workers — albeit with \",\"_key\":\"5c784ab78c44\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"5c0ce4065358\"],\"text\":\"some\",\"_key\":\"bdd5d15d14be\"},{\"_key\":\"cde5a634a5e1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"54883eec86ee\"],\"text\":\"complaints\",\"_key\":\"97f33c95b110\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" — based on the rationale that he has wide latitude to reshape personnel. DOGE’s emerging pivot from layoffs to more structural changes at agencies, however, has some GOP senators urging the White House to talk to the legislative branch before moving ahead.\",\"_key\":\"4edc0d335498\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"44202b9b623a\"},{\"_key\":\"7659369af659\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"467996c37c3c\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“The president’s within his purview of doing what he’s doing on personnel,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who serves on the committee that oversees banking regulators, told Semafor. “But when you get into structural reform — for example, consolidating the regulators for banking — that’s a whole different story.”\",\"_key\":\"e0048215bc0b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f333c0efbfbd\"},{\"_key\":\"9f8f127f46ed\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"43954fa4a19c\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"04f9ebace10b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"7b268396b19b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“That will require congressional consent, and I think the president would consult with us anyway,” Kennedy added.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"7a9ec089389a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bee80f7bb461\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4ab826bd3b69\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"acbc367684f5\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://apnews.com/article/doge-firings-layoffs-federal-government-workers-musk-d33cdd7872d64d2bdd8fe70c28652654\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/newsletter/02/11/2025/emerging-cracks?utm_source=nowshare\u0026utm_medium=principals\u0026utm_campaign=flagshipnumbered4#e\",\"_key\":\"a5824f959a07\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Congressional Republicans’ relative compliance with Trump’s deployment of executive power has become a defining theme of his first weeks in office. DOGE aims to ultimately lay off \",\"_key\":\"3b4292480ab6\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"acbc367684f5\"],\"text\":\"hundreds of thousands of government workers\",\"_key\":\"1b7d504d5f62\"},{\"_key\":\"1b1672b7a744\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" and has already dismantled the US Agency for International Development as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, all \"},{\"_key\":\"c6337556753c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a5824f959a07\"],\"text\":\"without major pushback from GOP lawmakers\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"633b211b7d08\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"884c220eb281\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"b52819de40a6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1dad2d03a18c\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"And despite the louder Republican calls for consultation on aggressive, forthcoming DOGE moves, it’s still not clear when and how senators might be willing to force the administration to loop in Congress. Across the Capitol in the House, GOP members have shown less appetite than senators for weighing in.\",\"_key\":\"2b89b173738d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"d09f68c37eec\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ea2a5eae78ce\"},{\"_key\":\"34d33df486c3\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"82376607c15e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But Republican senators told Semafor that the broader overhaul of banking regulators Trump is eyeing — including a consolidation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — is the type of reorganization that will necessitate more involvement by Congress.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e485dbda932b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"8531fd1e0de6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“Obviously, it will have to be a more consultative relationship for big policy changes,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told Semafor.\",\"_key\":\"945d77b07350\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a492dca9aa68\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"767d506cd984\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b1d6657a45da\"},{\"_key\":\"20a779cdbc8c\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/trump-advisers-eye-bank-regulator-consolidation-after-targeting-cfpb-85055a2e\",\"_key\":\"7c122e7f9bd8\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the regulatory agency plans, which were \",\"_key\":\"9d6c37297e68\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"7c122e7f9bd8\"],\"text\":\"first reported by the Wall Street Journal\",\"_key\":\"40f264306f4e\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", or on any plans to consult Congress.\",\"_key\":\"ac966903d4c3\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4eb72fcc0ab0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"f4b97ff63169\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ce548886217e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Senate Republicans are also increasingly eager for more coordination on DOGE’s claimed spending cuts in order to finalize them. For all the savings that Elon Musk and his allies have touted, several conservatives are pointing out that the spending cuts won’t be tangible without congressional action.\",\"_key\":\"689fddfbcc3e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"e532caa7b9d6\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a1be0b2d8f0c\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, for example, told Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday that the Trump administration needs to send the DOGE cuts to Congress in the form of a “recissions” package. That would allow Congress to approve them with simple majority votes, avoiding a guaranteed Democratic filibuster in the Senate and giving them the force of law.\",\"_key\":\"5c55a04fed16\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"aa9e85afc5ab\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"d961590ed109\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2890f39fbb68\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a66f5b4faf53\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“There’s no doubt Congress will be involved. At the end of the day, the power of the purse is with Congress,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Semafor. “I think what DOGE is doing is terrific — and it will be a joint effort.”\",\"_key\":\"7588292efe5b\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2e3129f7ff8e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9e2a676a28d4\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"5f54f8cd57ca\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Musk has likened Trump’s current sweeping government overhaul to a similar one under former President Bill Clinton. But Clinton’s downsizing was preceded by a lengthy review and efforts to get buy-in from Capitol Hill. That hasn’t happened yet under Trump.\",\"_key\":\"74e0e5e53757\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"78db8f12d050\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"e1b15f01623a\"}]},{\"_key\":\"db971ab3e6ed\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"And any permanent changes for USAID and the CFPB will likely require new laws from Congress, even as they face multiple legal challenges.\",\"_key\":\"5a5b9013048a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"dda362a3ee27\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"7301eba4cfed\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“He’s testing the limits of his authority under the Constitution as the chief executive officer of the country,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said of Trump. “We’re going to have to wait until the courts sort this out.”\",\"_key\":\"2dc34aecd119\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f6b028b4bb22\"}]},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The FDIC, CFPB and OCC are all independent agencies that were created by Congress, which makes any attempts to unilaterally overhaul them legally murky at best. Hollowing out their workforces — whether through transfers, layoffs or buyouts — could be a back-door way for the administration to more easily consolidate them without seeking a vote on the Hill.\",\"_key\":\"4d2fb3269d80\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fa80c2a911e8\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"12810965b058\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"1fb27c4582ec\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bae76536f63b\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/trump-gets-ready-to-move-bank-regulators-after-workforce-purge\",\"_key\":\"9df8de4dcedd\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277287/gov.uscourts.dcd.277287.19.0_1.pdf\",\"_key\":\"e92bb4f921db\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Already, the FDIC has lost \",\"_key\":\"773ace5e170c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"9df8de4dcedd\"],\"text\":\"about 10 percent of its staff\",\"_key\":\"6dbbde729f53\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" to layoffs and buyouts. The administration’s attempts to slash most of the CFPB’s staff \",\"_key\":\"b7929f5e79eb\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"e92bb4f921db\"],\"text\":\"are on pause\",\"_key\":\"1db857cbf869\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" after the National Treasury Employees Union sued the agency.\",\"_key\":\"05528405819e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8552a5acb9b3\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"fe0e67e8f803\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Republicans have largely gone along with the president’s frantic reshaping of the government, but they’re also regularly blindsided by cuts or personnel moves as Musk and Trump move quickly. The result is a chaotic process that has led to individual GOP senators urging the administration to rethink curbs on health care research or the halting of international food aid.\",\"_key\":\"a183e5dcaa15\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5f322a27162d\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"e217bfbffda4\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"963ad57c836d\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Kennedy said he would like DOGE to put out reports every two weeks on personnel and spending cuts, then have Musk, Trump and their teams brief the media. That would result in a more “orderly” understanding of Trump’s bid to remake the government, Kennedy said.\",\"_key\":\"8e263e59ca43\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"01b11a63ec69\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"a00eecf73b21\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"c7dc0ebf3001\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b1af75101860\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"So far, some Republicans acknowledged, orderliness is not the top priority.\",\"_key\":\"9afd51a1a859\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"59d2cc0d1e72\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a4f16f9ff870\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"55774b7889be\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“Are there going to be some unintended consequences that they should have looked around the corner and seen? Yes,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. “And we’re just going to have to deal with that, because [that’s] the way the administration wants to ramp up.”\",\"_key\":\"f2dd92251ef0\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"32c643de6809\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5b17c3c2dfaf\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"08ed2e9d240f\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.icba.org/newsroom/news-and-articles/2025/02/12/icba-statement-on-media-reports-of-cfpb-actions-banking-agency-consolidation\",\"_key\":\"642345d05fd3\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Meanwhile, banking groups are \",\"_key\":\"612fa7252de7\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"642345d05fd3\"],\"text\":\"urging the White House to proceed cautiously\",\"_key\":\"d4b28dd767c6\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"e750690f3ed2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"aea14ebc7636\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"f96542919b42\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"3a278be4ce5b\"},{\"title\":\"Eleanor and Burgess’ View\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"generaform\",\"_key\":\"9ae8cb5e7913\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Congressional Republicans are generally happy to cheer the Trump administration’s elbow-throwing approach to layoffs and shakeups at federal agencies.\",\"_key\":\"cbe56831847c\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"aa34a6e1d587\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"118c82416b0b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"d5328b0d330d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"But the yellow light that some senators showed on Wednesday suggested that they’re not as comfortable with a sudden overhaul of banking regulators that underpin much of the US financial system — as popular as the broad idea of consolidating those agencies may be.\",\"_key\":\"dc684eac69e0\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cede509e5976\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"fd9dbc4043b2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6e3e3a6b64f2\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"It’s unclear, for instance, what any Trump-blessed merger of financial regulators would do to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund, which backstops money deposited across the country in the event of a bank failure.\",\"_key\":\"59f7f34e4549\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"df79f41681f4\"}],\"generaform\":null},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"roomForDisagreement\",\"_key\":\"37fbee6980e7\",\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"_key\":\"6dcf7e3d63a0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Not all Republican senators saw a role in the possible remaking of banking regulators. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Semafor that he thinks lawmakers should stay out of the administration’s way until the White House asks them for help.\",\"_key\":\"9cda000f2808\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"abf1d7621ceb\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"51717e80b863\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"25d74b1c0b1f\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I was very involved with a community bank for 20 years; I think there’s a lot of duplication of what’s going on,” Marshall said. “I think they need to be merged, wherever possible.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6c9d08e428d4\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ccb49fcb5338\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"44b473eb4495\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"79a446bc4962\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“The job of DOGE is to identify the opportunities — where the waste, fraud, abuse and incompetence is,” he added. “If the president can’t take care of that with executive orders, then Congress should step in there and do it.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"148e40b9f038\",\"markDefs\":[]}]},{\"_key\":\"1944781d80ce\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"159d1775fee6\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doge-wall-of-receipts-shows-errors-tallying-billions-in-savings/\",\"_key\":\"d8cb692b00f0\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"d81aee6b41e0\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"DOGE has made some notable errors\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" as it claims huge cuts, \",\"_key\":\"f791abb3f6ba\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d8cb692b00f0\"],\"text\":\"per CBS\",\"_key\":\"740c81993932\"},{\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"915c955b17b5\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/trump-gets-ready-to-move-bank-regulators-after-workforce-purge\",\"_key\":\"d30e02fd13e7\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The administration appears to be preparing to transfer\",\"_key\":\"e93b0e9d3931\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" FDIC and CFPB employees to the OCC, \",\"_key\":\"9a19f8142dfa\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d30e02fd13e7\"],\"text\":\"according to Bloomberg Law.\",\"_key\":\"8986fe31208e\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9031b22a2320\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"01d48d292cc4\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Kadia Goba contributed to this report.\",\"_key\":\"bc7867f43559\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\"}],\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/senate-republicans-want-input-as-trump-steps-up-government-overhaul\",\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"id\":\"79824251-edea-418c-a32a-cc4f133f4953\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"description\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"42085b4c82e2\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"They stomached the initial layoffs with only a few complaints. Reshaping regulators may be another matter.\",\"_key\":\"282d65f67a96\"}]}],\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"location\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Eleanor Mueller\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/8afaf2871e64a99b700fe18af3ed29314ae298bd-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Burgess Everett\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/bf82c2082c8dec6bc6c211b558978725a2d1b715-1600x1600.png\"}]},{\"headlineOverride\":null,\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"vertical\":\"news\",\"location\":\"Europe\",\"expires\":true,\"id\":\"5c46cab5-752f-47dc-9603-051f8f2eb549\",\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The elections will determine the direction of the world’s third-largest economy as it navigates the new Trump administration and growing security threats.\",\"_key\":\"9e8d30ef34d5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bef78d324aaf\"}],\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"attribution\":\"Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Germans watch a televised debate ahead of the elections.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-c8af114f01f926101db9faa4d63a9465e82fd2da-6000x4000-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\"},\"attribution\":\"Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Germans watch a televised debate ahead of the elections.\"},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T00:03:20.028Z\",\"headline\":\"Germany elections: Three themes that will shape the country’s future\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/germany-elections-three-themes-that-will-shape-the-countrys-future\",\"verticalDisplay\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Germany is set to vote Sunday in national elections that could have widespread ramifications both within the European Union and across the Atlantic in Washington.\",\"_key\":\"e7735a14a0da\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b239e21e67bf\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The ballot, which is being held seven months early, was called after incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition collapsed in November.\",\"_key\":\"2a6cf7f2d49b\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7d453423fa51\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The center-right opposition Christian Democratic Union is on track to finish first, according to polling, and its leader Friedrich Merz is widely expected to become chancellor. The elections, which will determine the direction of the world’s third-largest economy as it navigates the new Donald Trump administration and growing security threats to the EU, will also offer insight into the electoral strength of the populist far right.\",\"_key\":\"4aad4bff0e5f\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ab32bd07aeb0\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"86bd65cc5eb1\",\"title\":\"The News\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"J.D. Capelouto\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/6e8f19ad2f7a823b526436f72a35bda6ba8f774b-1600x1600.png\"}],\"signal\":[{\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"National polls could forecast the future of the far right\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The New York Times\",\"Politico\"],\"_key\":\"f5a710e4a824\",\"body\":[{\"_key\":\"93e57ecbd860\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/world/europe/alice-weidel-germany-far-right-afd.html\",\"_key\":\"3b9846181658\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.eu/article/friedrich-merz-signals-openness-spd-greens-fdp-center-left-dismisses-coalition-afd-far-right-elections/\",\"_key\":\"50210398cdcc\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Germany’s populist and anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland is forecast to finish second in the election — a massive surge compared to their performance four years ago. The AfD’s new leader Alice Weidel, who lends the party a more appealing, “cosmopolitan” image, has succeeded in making the group appear to be “\",\"_key\":\"80794953dd40\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3b9846181658\"],\"text\":\"just another party\",\"_key\":\"de52ce9740c7\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” The New York Times wrote, even as experts say the AfD’s language and stances have become more radical. But the AfD will almost certainly not hold power or be part of a governing coalition: All the mainstream parties have \",\"_key\":\"e353644e1c9f\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"50210398cdcc\"],\"text\":\"ruled out working with the AfD\",\"_key\":\"011b4f1f834d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", part of a longstanding, post-World War II “firewall” against the German far right.\",\"_key\":\"53133da73a81\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}]},{\"insightTitle\":\"US-Germany relations change are set to change\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"Die Zeit\",\"RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland\",\"Semafor\"],\"_key\":\"e26901ce122b\",\"body\":[{\"_key\":\"4390f301e517\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"610bca55cdf1\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2025-02/olaf-scholz-muenchner-sicherheitskonferenz-j-d-vance-usa-russland\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.rnd.de/politik/friedrich-merz-strebt-deals-mit-trump-an-wenn-er-kanzler-werden-sollte-JXVPCF3EQJO7DA76WRSQHAZMI4.html\",\"_key\":\"8f0539f71498\"},{\"_key\":\"a06eff83667d\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/02/14/2025/high-ranking-german-conservative-eu-should-consider-0-tariffs-on-us\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Germany’s \",\"_key\":\"6ea23339a6c8\"},{\"_key\":\"3426b338f051\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"610bca55cdf1\"],\"text\":\"strained transatlantic relationship\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" to Washington has been under a spotlight in the runup to Sunday’s vote, especially after tech billionaire and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk threw his weight behind the AfD, while US Vice President JD Vance just last week criticized European governments for shunning the far right. The conservatives primed to lead the next government want to change that dynamic: CDU leader Freidrich Merz has said he wants to more proactively represent Germany’s interests, and floated \",\"_key\":\"fdcab387de62\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8f0539f71498\"],\"text\":\"making a “deal”\",\"_key\":\"badec1cbfcef\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" with Trump to ease tensions. A high-ranking CDU member said Europe and the US should also consider an agreement to \",\"_key\":\"ccc7c59f8a2c\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a06eff83667d\"],\"text\":\"eliminate any tariffs\",\"_key\":\"d2aa0a1e4e10\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", Semafor reported.\",\"_key\":\"8f2ffc03c6be\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2},{\"source\":[\"Atlantic Council\",\"The Guardian\",\"NTV.de\"],\"_key\":\"0d4e2db9a88e\",\"body\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"438c3e0c648d\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/germanys-economy-has-gone-from-engine-to-anchor/\",\"_key\":\"d45acaab5503\"},{\"_key\":\"bac41d7a6d6f\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/feb/19/the-rise-of-the-far-right-global-trade-and-ukraines-future-why-the-german-election-matters-visual-explainer\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.n-tv.de/politik/16-50-Merz-schockiert-von-Trumps-Ukraine-Ausserungen--article23143824.html\",\"_key\":\"85422807c440\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"What happens in Germany — the European Union’s most populous nation and its largest economy — has broad ramifications for the entire continent. Germany’s recent domestic slowdown has exacerbated Europe’s own challenges, as its industrial production — the foundation of the German economy — has \",\"_key\":\"218164039dfb\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d45acaab5503\"],\"text\":\"declined in the face of competition\",\"_key\":\"f65ccc8c986a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" from China. The election also comes at a pivotal moment for the Ukraine war, which will alter Europe’s future. Germany is a big \",\"_key\":\"2837cea35b04\"},{\"text\":\"contributor to Ukraine’s defense\",\"_key\":\"0ae024b748b2\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"bac41d7a6d6f\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", but so far has been sidelined in US-led peace talks with Russia. Despite a fraught geopolitical landscape, the next government in Berlin has an opportunity to assert itself: Merz has called for a unified European response to ensure Berlin ”\",\"_key\":\"249066c7cf65\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"85422807c440\"],\"text\":\"does not sit at the kids’ table\",\"_key\":\"6e8e00a2e100\"},{\"text\":\".”\",\"_key\":\"1e2dc9300b86\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Europe’s biggest economy weighs heavy on the continent\",\"_type\":\"insight\"}]},{\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-22T00:35:24.387Z\",\"headline\":\"Awaiting DOGE’s latest reveal: Who is running it?\",\"description\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7f0adfee6401\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"02aaac189917\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The Trump administration says Elon Musk isn’t technically in charge. Semafor is told the position remains vacant.\"}]}],\"intro\":{\"_type\":\"intro\",\"schemaVersion\":1},\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"caption\":\"Elon Musk\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-7e0540cba5ddbc903e0c510fe2e3f6f8134bd9b9-3774x2517-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Kevin LaMarque/Reuters\"},\"attribution\":\"Kevin LaMarque/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"Elon Musk\"},\"expires\":true,\"sentenceOverride\":null,\"slug\":\"/article/02/18/2025/awaiting-doges-latest-reveal-who-is-running-it\",\"descriptionOverride\":null,\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Politics\",\"_key\":\"politics\",\"value\":\"politics\"}],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Shelby Talcott\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/b3676ede993b8d4efc704645c507965598b99de4-1600x1600.png\"},{\"name\":\"Burgess Everett\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/bf82c2082c8dec6bc6c211b558978725a2d1b715-1600x1600.png\"}],\"signal\":null,\"vertical\":\"politics\",\"ledeVideo\":null,\"id\":\"979974f4-e2d7-49a7-9857-b98c43314af1\",\"headlineOverride\":null,\"location\":null,\"semaforms\":[{\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"5c5ffbdc0718\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"As uncertainty shrouds the identity of the formal chief of the Department of Government Efficiency, Semafor is told the position remains vacant.\",\"_key\":\"6057ea27538e\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e357fbbecb5b\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a816873cac24\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"4904f6852cc9\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"fab8bca43999\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://fedscoop.com/radio/fedscoop-caught-up-with-mina-hsiang-for-her-parting-thoughts-as-she-departs-the-role-of-usds-administrator/\",\"_key\":\"ee6f1d672a58\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/17/doge-administrator-elon-musk-00204639\",\"_key\":\"ccf682ce059d\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.wsj.com/opinion/musk-and-ramaswamy-the-doge-plan-to-reform-government-supreme-court-guidance-end-executive-power-grab-fa51c020?mod=hp_opin_pos_0\",\"_key\":\"a55b59cb666c\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"DOGE was created as a rebrand of the United States Digital Service at the start of the Trump administration, and the previous administrator of the digital service, Mina Hsiang, \",\"_key\":\"15b6efbb2c29\"},{\"marks\":[\"ee6f1d672a58\"],\"text\":\"stepped down\",\"_key\":\"ffbbb0fc6fb2\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"d946cefd7d6d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" when Trump took office in January. The lack of a publicly named successor is creating confusion as the Trump administration \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"ccf682ce059d\"],\"text\":\"argues\",\"_key\":\"e68fdde475d9\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in court that Elon Musk, despite his \",\"_key\":\"5529b5d3dbfe\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a55b59cb666c\"],\"text\":\"frequent identification\",\"_key\":\"d7c3d8f7e487\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" as a DOGE leader, plays no formal role in its efforts to slash the size and scope of government.\",\"_key\":\"dc622c649d15\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"d1186fbf56db\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"370eb0be56f1\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Asked if there is a single person running DOGE, which \",\"_key\":\"bd09ababe09f\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"b258dc1cb250\"],\"text\":\"has established footholds\",\"_key\":\"0add3ceade7b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in multiple federal agencies and sought access to sensitive government payment systems, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., replied: “Not that I’m aware of.”\",\"_key\":\"7703bf89c087\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5237e39f3781\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.semafor.com/article/02/06/2025/inside-doges-march-with-the-social-security-administration-soon-to-come\",\"_key\":\"b258dc1cb250\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"08ab01ea5023\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"218bf0fe62e0\"},{\"_key\":\"228189644f24\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5149336-ramaswamy-ohio-governor-yost-dewine-vance-trump/\",\"_key\":\"23ee8985470f\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“In each agency, it’s probably some of the staff that are in there, in combination with some of the temporary employees that are there as advisers,” Tillis said when asked who’s in charge at DOGE. He said Republicans had corresponded a few weeks ago with both Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, named as a co-head of DOGE before he left \",\"_key\":\"1fa01a488ebd\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"23ee8985470f\"],\"text\":\"ahead\",\"_key\":\"5134a1588689\"},{\"text\":\" of a gubernatorial run.\",\"_key\":\"506a8fbc7751\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2c6fc5baff5f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"764acd2c6bf5\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"While Musk is the face of DOGE, answering questions in the Oval Office about its efforts just last week, the Trump administration contends that he’s doing so as an adviser to the president rather than a formal member of the group. That distinction may not stand up to legal scrutiny in multiple lawsuits filed in response to DOGE’s work, but the White House stood by it on Tuesday as they remained vague about who is running the work that’s so closely been linked to the world’s richest person.\",\"_key\":\"ed668b4636d2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6c3d43e6f23c\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"03955d6488d6\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7fe3b60f826d\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"427ff7d1a5cc\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"10bc53e63b7e\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN12493\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"While Semafor was told of the vacancy at Hsiang’s position, it’s possible that the administration took the highly unusual step of naming a DOGE chief but not sharing his or her name widely in the administration. The Congressional Research Service \",\"_key\":\"44f0e21be47e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"10bc53e63b7e\"],\"text\":\"noted\",\"_key\":\"2ff95aa946d3\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in a report published Feb. 6 that it “is not aware that a USDS administrator has been named publicly.”\",\"_key\":\"8e349cbdacbe\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7e46acf53541\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"fa6ab99b2deb\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"48736a03c976\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://x.com/Newsweek/status/1891971228836954377\",\"_key\":\"31d59139df3a\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt \",\"_key\":\"406dcc7236f4\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"31d59139df3a\"],\"text\":\"told reporters\",\"_key\":\"a834127ffdf5\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" Tuesday that DOGE workers are “onboarding as political appointees at every respective agency” and are working alongside secretaries at each agency to identify “waste, fraud, and abuse.”\",\"_key\":\"ae5accef293d\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"18d693479fb5\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cda4256b21e5\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5853004b489e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"babec291b9cb\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Leavitt added that DOGE “does not have statutory authority,” but rather is advising each agency on cuts to hiring, contracts and beyond. When asked who, specifically, the administrator of DOGE is, Leavitt did not offer a clear answer.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2f2cf9c84fb7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cf382439e50a\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"18fc8da8f017\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The executive order Trump signed on Inauguration Day to formally create DOGE noted that its administrator would be “established in the Executive Office of the President [and] report to the White House Chief of Staff.” It \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"ac80017e2163\"],\"text\":\"did not\",\"_key\":\"cecc1db197ed\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" name a specific person.\",\"_key\":\"dd6b1dd46f55\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b7bd59444fa7\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"ac80017e2163\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/us/politics/elon-musk-doge-leader.html\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"96058a8aba48\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"17e734996c5b\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A White House official declined to comment.\",\"_key\":\"2848aed394a3\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"07f88a2b420f\"}]},{\"_key\":\"491795bb5720\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The confusion over who technically runs DOGE began Monday, when White House official Joshua Fisher noted in a declaration to a judge that Elon Musk “is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator,” nor is he “an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service.”\",\"_key\":\"2c1a80bf5a9b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d7f1730de4ad\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"107d1d62ed37\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"9183e539947e\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://x.com/brikeilarcnn/status/1891971454683496453\",\"_key\":\"752190ab9871\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told CNN on Tuesday that DOGE reports to the Executive Office of the President, which then reports to Trump himself — but Trump, \",\"_key\":\"86fdff5955b0\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"text\":\"he said\",\"_key\":\"fe357adeb8b2\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"752190ab9871\"]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", is not the administrator of the department.\",\"_key\":\"2a931a17ffd5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"652df9edf449\"},{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"75c9a1a53e14\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a011342c9c7a\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Lawmakers themselves also seem confused about who is running DOGE. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., both told Semafor they thought Musk was calling the shots.\",\"_key\":\"f78aaf4e7d97\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f089347c0b38\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"267514dd775f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"4718cfc01c2a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"878421772813\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"cb43877060a8\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“I can’t tell you one specific person” who’s running it, said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. “I know they’ve got a great team. I can’t give you the org chart right now in terms of the structure. I like the output, though.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5c18b1b2fb3d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"9c9d06d263f3\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3c31bd79d2d5\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.wired.com/story/doge-elon-musk-leadership-administrator/\",\"_key\":\"576c692d34de\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"After Hsiang resigned at the Digital Service ahead of its restyling as DOGE, Ted Carstensen became its remaining top-ranking leader, then resigned in February, \",\"_key\":\"161a392d99cf\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"576c692d34de\"],\"text\":\"according\",\"_key\":\"d25cbac9ca35\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" to Wired; it also reported that a current employee said there was “no correspondence so far as to who the head of this organization was” as of Tuesday.\",\"_key\":\"ca42aa2c2e97\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\"},{\"theViewFrom\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"65253863d4ca\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Stuart Shapiro, a professor at Rutgers University who worked in the Office of Management and Budget under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, said not having a figurehead atop DOGE “doesn’t matter a ton” because the office “is still kind of a made-up entity.”\",\"_key\":\"b9afe521a88c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b751c4274453\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"3fc91e571057\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"But, Shapiro said, it does allow the Trump administration to avoid legal, public, and congressional scrutiny.\",\"_key\":\"ad795cbe5151\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5605dd045fd1\"},{\"_key\":\"fcea710075c0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"760adc88b4c8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“This feels to me very much like they are playing rope-a-dope with the courts a little bit,” he said. “They are saying, ‘oh, well, no, you can’t bring that person in to testify because they’re not the head of DOGE.’”\",\"_key\":\"3a522c257c57\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f4b2748fc92f\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9566795385e0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"de71cd274765\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"697aa060c2e6\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“What that does is it strings things out and allows them to continue to wreak havoc within the executive branch,” he added.\",\"_key\":\"26d6f68fa394\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"A Former OMB Official\",\"_key\":\"66e4935dbce2\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"generaform\",\"generaform\":null,\"_key\":\"44cca439fa75\",\"body\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"DOGE’s move-fast-and-break-things approach to the government prompted a number of lawsuits, and Musk probably isn’t willing to sit in court or open himself up to legal proceedings. By clarifying that he’s not actually running DOGE — even as he’s focused on it in his position assisting Trump and posting about it nonstop — the White House might be hoping to solve that problem.\",\"_key\":\"0e206b1da2ae\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"50972b2790ca\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"22c7aef23101\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2ebc72007a5f\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"It’s not clear, though, that the arcane legal reliance on the official DOGE administrator will shield Musk from legal and political challenges stemming from its work. Not to mention that Musk’s penchant for posting as well as attracting attention means it will be hard to remove him from the center of conversations around the firings, contract cancellations and other DOGE work.\",\"_key\":\"141b9837a7b6\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bb0a0e01731e\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9022a9a5009e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"69ade90876fb\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e804bf89a878\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Morgan Chalfant contributed to this report.\",\"_key\":\"3b276b9b4aa8\"}]}],\"title\":\"Shelby and Burgess’ View\"}]},{\"vertical\":\"news\",\"headline\":\"How COVID-19 pushed young people to the right\",\"verticalDisplay\":null,\"signal\":[{\"body\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The COVID-19 pandemic is officially over, but it lingers in debates over education, inflation, and crime — all of which were top voter issues in last year’s US presidential election. The former Biden administration did not order a post-hoc investigation into its handling of the pandemic or \",\"_key\":\"03124e447fa1\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3b2de490acb8\"],\"text\":\"institute changes to react to it\",\"_key\":\"fb1b6ba19e26\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", a government accountability expert told The New York Times before the election, adding “the administration basically left the impression that it accepted that the government had failed, but just didn’t want to talk about it anymore.” Donald Trump, meanwhile, capitalized on that mistrust, a success underscored by last week’s confirmation of vaccine skeptic and long-time critic of US medical institutions Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Trump’s health secretary.\",\"_key\":\"2c2e43bba6e8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3c0cc46feb24\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/24/us/politics/pandemic-politics-malaise.html\",\"_key\":\"3b2de490acb8\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":2,\"insightTitle\":\"Trump capitalized on waning trust in US government\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The New York Times\"],\"_key\":\"5e8e1ed120b1\"},{\"insightTitle\":\"The pandemic may have been a missed opportunity\",\"_type\":\"insight\",\"source\":[\"The Guardian\",\"The Atlantic\"],\"_key\":\"17a810d1d8ec\",\"body\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8c156c35d279\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/07/how-covid-changed-politics\",\"_key\":\"d7cc46d252c4\",\"_type\":\"link\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/sustainability/coronavirus-must-be-a-lesson-oh-how-we-respond-to-climate-change\",\"_key\":\"0d7f6c1bb4cc\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/covid-youth-conservative-shift/681705/\",\"_key\":\"84d08910668c\"},{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://theharvardpoliticalreview.com/declining-youth-trust-in-american-institutions-shows-no-signs-of-stopping/\",\"_key\":\"c4a8af56aa33\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The pandemic saw most citizens around the world do “\",\"_key\":\"730c07e375bc\"},{\"marks\":[\"d7cc46d252c4\"],\"text\":\"as they were told for longer than we might have expected\",\"_key\":\"38e570019789\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” David Runciman, a politics professor at Cambridge University, argued in The Guardian, indicating that society’s ability to act collectively in the interest of a greater good may be more robust than some experts had thought. Indeed, some academics and activists had hoped the reaction to the pandemic might \",\"_key\":\"1d04d3c362ac\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"0d7f6c1bb4cc\"],\"text\":\"spark a wider response to other global crises like climate change\",\"_key\":\"b00c92464879\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\". But it just hasn’t happened, Runciman wrote. “Political science suggests that pandemics are \",\"_key\":\"24cfbe687102\"},{\"_key\":\"c5335d03427a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"84d08910668c\"],\"text\":\"more likely to \"},{\"marks\":[\"84d08910668c\",\"em\"],\"text\":\"reduce\",\"_key\":\"582ec8d7d40e\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"84d08910668c\"],\"text\":\" rather than build trust\",\"_key\":\"a51cdb44852c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in scientific authorities,” The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson pointed out, with one Harvard Political Review analysis concluding young Americans in 2024 were “\",\"_key\":\"e05ec596483e\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"c4a8af56aa33\"],\"text\":\"more jaded than ever.\",\"_key\":\"d2cd13ddce52\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"”\",\"_key\":\"668d2100a362\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":2}],\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Paige Bruton\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/9252a40e4e11b31efc135eda341e0508473c3775-1600x1600.png\"}],\"expires\":true,\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-21T16:12:00Z\",\"id\":\"4dce79e8-53c1-424d-a449-9b63e28e2918\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"slug\":\"/article/02/19/2025/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-fueled-young-peoples-rightward-shift\",\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"semaforms\":[{\"scoop\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bb21bfb4f692\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Young people in the US typically swing progressive. But in 2024 the demographic was almost evenly split between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and Europe has seen a similar rightward shift.\",\"_key\":\"fd83a92d07cf\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"28e13789e407\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"One possible explanation is a global protest vote against inflation: Many incumbents were voted out in 2024 as prices soared. But Derek Thompson argued in The Atlantic that the pandemic also reduced physical-world socialization, pushing young men, in particular, into online echo chambers.\",\"_key\":\"e49a203d4b12\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"192f59641276\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://semafor.com/s/82RzCd9oat?email=pbruton@semafor.com\",\"_key\":\"3b7571bc1e67\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"9aa52677d6ec\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Young people who experience pandemics “\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3b7571bc1e67\"],\"text\":\"have less confidence in their scientific and political leadership\",\"_key\":\"4cddb6f4fc09\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” Thompson argued, which, because one’s political ideology tends to solidify around age 20, could persist for life.\",\"_key\":\"51121b44fe53\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"7b5b36def5f1\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1}],\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The pandemic’s economic, social, and geopolitical consequences have given rise to voter discontent and isolation, The Atlantic argued.\",\"_key\":\"968796c7c6b1\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"72ff42a9bcaa\"}],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"location\":null,\"ledeVideo\":null,\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Wikimedia Commons\",\"caption\":\"Anti-lockdown protesters stage a demonstration in Canada, April 2020. \",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-68f0125ca2df2511814cf551772e780f8a4a4134-4024x3555-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Wikimedia Commons\",\"caption\":\"Anti-lockdown protesters stage a demonstration in Canada, April 2020. \"},\"headlineOverride\":\"\"},{\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"headline\":\"State Dept. gender policy puts transgender Americans in legal limbo\",\"vertical\":\"news\",\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Mizy Clifton\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/13f2011b1f026a78f212a4f348f8077e41ab1086-1600x1600.png\"}],\"location\":\"North America\",\"expires\":false,\"id\":\"2a66d0df-59b8-4654-876a-01fccf7cc75d\",\"description\":[{\"_key\":\"73df0e2bb782\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Many report that they aren’t able to get passports and other official identification updated, and in some cases have had their documents withheld.\",\"_key\":\"a3b7f878c4e5\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"}],\"verticalDisplay\":null,\"signal\":null,\"slug\":\"/article/02/14/2025/trumps-gender-policy-leaves-transgender-americans-in-legal-limbo\",\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"semaforms\":[{\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a171475afc2f\",\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/30/2025-02090/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal\",\"_key\":\"236b31d5026a\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"US President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring the government will only recognize two sexes, “\",\"_key\":\"cd163c8050fa\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"236b31d5026a\"],\"text\":\"male and female\",\"_key\":\"da4cb68794c6\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” is leaving transgender Americans in legal limbo, with many reporting that they aren’t able to update their passports and other official identification, and in some cases have had their documents withheld.\",\"_key\":\"104c79ccbe48\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b80506ed9e5f\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/trump-rubio-x-gender-passport\",\"_key\":\"bcc905b06422\"},{\"href\":\"https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/trump-executive-order-sex-gender-conception-rcna189189\",\"_key\":\"56de15729d3b\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The US State Department, responsible for issuing passports, \",\"_key\":\"8fade77402af\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"bcc905b06422\"],\"text\":\"quickly suspended\",\"_key\":\"d8e73a4fa0a2\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" all pending applications that involved gender marker changes following Trump’s order, which defined gender as determined “at conception” — a designation \",\"_key\":\"66608273fe8d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"56de15729d3b\"],\"text\":\"widely criticized by medical experts\",\"_key\":\"96add7027df5\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"2415ee58a645\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Passport agents, working without a clear mandate, scrambled to implement the broad order that Trump signed on his first day in office. “I’m hearing from a lot of people that [the initial directive] was done in a very facetious fashion, and will enfranchise a lot of State Department agents to act in kind,” Michael Wildes, an immigration attorney who helped secure US citizenship for first lady Melania Trump, told Semafor. Its abruptness “may embolden adjudicators to act erratically rather than sensitively,” he added.\",\"_key\":\"1a81a0dad095\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"7db1471b9989\"},{\"_key\":\"61bc801d78fa\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Semafor spoke to eight Americans who experienced delays, denials, or had their documents held without explanation after submitting applications. In some cases, people appealed to their local representatives to intervene. Others said they had decided against submitting applications for fear of losing their documents.\",\"_key\":\"5342bbfd5e4a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/passports-x-sex-marker-guidance-valid-expire-state-department-rcna191539\",\"_key\":\"dc48874fb81b\"}],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"More explicit State Department guidance released in February directs passport officers to \",\"_key\":\"e98d6ee4c71a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"marks\":[\"dc48874fb81b\"],\"text\":\"carefully evaluate conflicting information\",\"_key\":\"75c86d3ddf5b\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", including issuance dates of records and any amendments to them. “The State Department has been tasked with an impossible task, and there is no clean or clear way to go about what they are trying to do for a variety of reasons,” said Arli Christian, a senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. That confusion will cause delays in some, if not many, cases, Christian added — leaving people without passports or other identifying documents.\",\"_key\":\"c7a2de8b07de\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"002536197165\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b0d7304768f7\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.aclu.org/cases/orr-v-trump\",\"_key\":\"3ae35cc24531\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The ACLU has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven plaintiffs, arguing the policy \",\"_key\":\"bc9ffaced8dd\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"3ae35cc24531\"],\"text\":\"violates their constitutional rights\",\"_key\":\"4f78fabac56b\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"412e54ec0e66\",\"_type\":\"span\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"82ddb8f03392\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"33dd3a668430\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The State Department did not respond to requests for comment.\"}]}],\"_type\":\"scoop\",\"_key\":\"6a7c78266a89\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"_key\":\"037d563a6ab0\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"One woman in Michigan told Semafor that she had repeatedly tried and failed to get an update on her daughter’s expedited application to renew her passport, filed Jan. 22 (expedited applications typically take 2-3 weeks to be approved).\",\"_key\":\"49fd23b5ccc2\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"754f323e35c6\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The family contacted Sen. Gary Peters’ office, which said the passport office would only issue a passport with a male gender marker. (Peters’ office declined to comment.) The application is “processing.”\",\"_key\":\"26b40007cbea\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9182540ff964\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Another woman who tried to renew her son’s passport earlier this month was told by the agent that he couldn’t issue a passport with either gender marker, citing a lack of official guidance. The agent eventually submitted the application without her son’s expiring passport as a supporting document. She has since been asked to provide more information to process the application.\",\"_key\":\"3525585d275c\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f2a4ac6e5b49\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Carl Charles, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, told Semafor that “a number of people” had reported similar experiences. He recalled one case in which a person in Chicago had their passport and other identification held after their name change request was denied — the documents were eventually returned after two congressional representatives’ offices intervened.\",\"_key\":\"7c55e7d93217\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"California resident Beatrice Coates repeatedly contacted the passport office for updates on an application submitted in December, and “got the same stonewalled response.” Coates told Semafor that she asked Rep. Norma Torres to inquire on her behalf. Torres’ office declined to comment on Coates’ case, but said it “worked with a variety of constituents facing passport-related issues… to ensure timely and fair processing of applications.” Coates’ application was approved on Feb. 13, but she doesn’t know if the new passport’s gender marker will match her other identification documents.\",\"_key\":\"dcf713748c42\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"356c137c4f9b\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d3c10d40fe33\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"78c00eaaeb9d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Consular Records of Birth Abroad are also affected by the policy change. A man in Vermont hasn’t had an update after applying in December to change the gender marker on his son’s CRBA. Democratic Rep. Becca Balint’s office contacted the State Department on his behalf, he said, but received no further information. Balint’s office told Semafor it had “worked with about 10 constituents” on similar issues.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"2e3fa4fbee06\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"stepBack\",\"_key\":\"35901abb3e48\",\"stepBack\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5aade8e50b1e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The policy also affects Americans abroad, said Janice Flynn, a UK-based immigration lawyer. If someone loses their passport, they may be stranded while the State Department adjudicates what gender marker the replacement should have. People could also experience issues with US customs and border agents if their documents carry different gender markers, said Charles.\",\"_key\":\"e323f21f36fd\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"If a person decides not to disclose their sex assigned at birth on a passport or CRBA application by not submitting other evidence of a name or gender marker change, it could also open the door to allegations of making false statements on a federal document, Flynn added.\",\"_key\":\"399d44cf09ed\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5276d4491af7\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Although the State Department’s policy seemed “intended to dissuade people from even trying” to update their documents, Charles emphasized that the policy did not suggest that applications would be investigated under the premise of false statements.\",\"_key\":\"79361b95c2bc\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"504223b159e9\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"1d2d111e36ca\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/03/2025-02178/prioritizing-military-excellence-and-readiness\",\"_key\":\"dd15e3c02304\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"More broadly, the ACLU’s Christian argued that the Trump administration has sought to frame transgender people as dishonest as part of a “fearmongering campaign.” Trump’s Jan. 27 order \",\"_key\":\"b1fe24049e4c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"dd15e3c02304\"],\"text\":\"barring trans people from enlisting or serving openly in the military\",\"_key\":\"c4f5049891f0\"},{\"_key\":\"b3e3827c7919\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\", for example, states that the “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}]},{\"_key\":\"a110320e2611\",\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"_key\":\"11c8b1dbe70b\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.prri.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/PRRI-May-2023-politics-gender.pdf\",\"_key\":\"dd3c51ca9f2a\"},{\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/us/transgender-americans-lawsuit-trump-passports.html?partner=slack\u0026smid=sl-share\",\"_key\":\"fc54f33db611\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Responding to the ACLU’s lawsuit against the gender policy, a White House spokesperson told The New York Times last week that the administration was \",\"_key\":\"3e164b98bdce\"},{\"_key\":\"53c170baac64\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"fc54f33db611\"],\"text\":\"prepared to defend it\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in court: “Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda.” A 2023 poll by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Committee found that \",\"_key\":\"14999794e984\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"dd3c51ca9f2a\"],\"text\":\"more Americans believed there were only two genders\",\"_key\":\"1c008aab51cb\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" compared with previous years.\",\"_key\":\"0106206595e1\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"447d085ade7b\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.npr.org/2025/02/07/g-s1-46893/trump-anti-trans-rights-executive-action-gender-ideology-confusion\",\"_key\":\"abb5a0057685\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Critics of the executive order have said that its definition of gender ideology is intentionally loose, but conservatives have supported the language. A director at the Heritage Foundation recently told NPR: “\",\"_key\":\"bbae690e2cd3\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"abb5a0057685\"],\"text\":\"It’s not hard to tease out what’s meant by the term by actually looking at the effects and emphases of the executive order itself\",\"_key\":\"de87cb4a46e2\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".”\",\"_key\":\"49a21760e8b5\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"roomForDisagreement\"},{\"theViewFrom\":[{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-Calif. told Semafor that the State Department “should have provided information on how many people will be negatively impacted by the Trump administration’s hasty and discriminatory order.”\",\"_key\":\"8ef205373b99\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d071d11a8f92\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"7194a348f679\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“Someone with an incorrect passport can be easily singled out, opening them up to harassment, or even violence,” Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus told Semafor, adding that the caucus knew of numerous cases where “constituents have been negatively impacted by this policy.”\",\"_key\":\"ebcae8a8550f\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://kevinmullin.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Letter-to-State-Reverse-Passport-Ban-for-Trans-Non-binary-Americans-2025-02-12-final.pdf\",\"_key\":\"25a6a9b71d6c\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"84f6e1c0cbbe\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Reps. Mullin, Takano, and Balint are among 77 Democratic lawmakers who sent a letter Tuesday calling on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reverse \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"25a6a9b71d6c\"],\"text\":\"the policy\",\"_key\":\"833ce6c8af3b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\".\",\"_key\":\"54510ac257b8\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"122d5362eb1b\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Democrats\",\"_key\":\"8b794b3921eb\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"furtherReading\",\"_key\":\"4363bf732b86\",\"furtherReading\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/us/transgender-americans-lawsuit-trump-passports.html\",\"_key\":\"2bfa8204ea6d\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"strong\"],\"text\":\"The State Department first included gender markers on passports in 1977,\",\"_key\":\"c5b80aca2b1b\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" when \",\"_key\":\"8aeab4212f9d\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"2bfa8204ea6d\"],\"text\":\"the rise of unisex fashion\",\"_key\":\"d0e870cd55a6\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" made it harder for border agents to distinguish between men and women, The New York Times reported.\",\"_key\":\"67edab2fc29f\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"level\":1,\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f70389c0da8e\",\"listItem\":\"bullet\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"88f6c807e3af\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Mathias Hammer contributed. \",\"_key\":\"19c7074aeb83\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}]}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Marko Djurica/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"A protester displays a transgender flag at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-0fd16b05519f638bf7f7d9cdc7e835d3d1799ab7-6000x4000-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1},\"attribution\":\"Marko Djurica/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"A protester displays a transgender flag at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC.\"},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-16T20:31:25Z\",\"headlineOverride\":\"\"},{\"headline\":\"JD Vance attacks Europe on immigration, free speech in Munich speech\",\"signal\":null,\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Paige Bruton\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/9252a40e4e11b31efc135eda341e0508473c3775-1600x1600.png\"}],\"headlineOverride\":\"\",\"sentenceOverride\":[],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Leah Millis/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"U.S. Vice President JD Vance gives a speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany February 14, 2025.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-0e904dd19dc0cdb7e6bcadcf962ba5ee7cefd91f-2411x1642-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"},\"schemaVersion\":1},\"attribution\":\"Leah Millis/Reuters\",\"caption\":\"U.S. Vice President JD Vance gives a speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany February 14, 2025.\"},\"expiresAt\":\"2025-02-16T16:53:31Z\",\"slug\":\"/article/02/14/2025/jd-vance-uses-munich-security-speech-to-attack-europe-on-immigration-free-speech\",\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"location\":\"North America\",\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"c46419b89c3e\",\"title\":\"The News\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://news.sky.com/story/jd-vance-takes-aim-at-uk-and-europe-over-free-speech-and-democracy-13309240\",\"_key\":\"020a6c659788\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"US Vice President JD Vance stunned members of the audience in a speech at the Munich Security Conference Friday, by attacking Europe on its approach to immigration and free speech, and claiming that democracy on the continent is “\",\"_key\":\"89dc1602f2dd\"},{\"text\":\"backsliding\",\"_key\":\"f81412589ee4\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"020a6c659788\"]},{\"text\":\".”\",\"_key\":\"44d264568430\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3a996d972eab\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Conference attendees expected Vance to address US President Donald Trump’s approach to ending the Ukraine war and NATO defense spending; Vance, however, did not mention Ukraine in his first major international speech, instead focusing on culture war issues, including criticizing European leaders for suppressing free speech.\",\"_key\":\"f53aefb1ae02\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"98e421b37231\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4de1f8b46dc8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"He said the larger threat was not from Russia, but from within Europe: “The threat I worry most about… is the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values it shares with the United States of America.”\",\"_key\":\"8b9bc67f3bed\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"950a682ba8fb\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"d4adaf7dc01b\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/vance-wields-threat-of-sanctions-military-action-to-push-putin-into-ukraine-deal-da9c18ac\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Vance also urged Germany’s mainstream political parties to work with the far-right Alternative for Germany party to curb migration ahead of the country’s national elections on Feb. 23. Before his speech, the vice president told The Wall Street Journal: “It’s really \",\"_key\":\"9298193f09bb\"},{\"_key\":\"d64fa111cfcb\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"d4adaf7dc01b\"],\"text\":\"about censorship and about migration\"},{\"text\":\", about this fear that President Trump and I have, that European leaders are kind of terrified of their own people.”\",\"_key\":\"e3126834699d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"German leaders pushed back against his remarks Friday with the country’s defense minister bristling at Vance’s suggestion that Europe was similar to an authoritarian regime, saying: “This is not acceptable. This is not the Europe, not the democracy, where I live.”\",\"_key\":\"07e4f430bd4c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"38b232b933cb\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"c17aa662055c\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/berlin-says-vance-should-not-interfere-german-politics-2025-02-14/\",\"_key\":\"4bc0cb8b24a8\"}],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"A German government spokesperson said Vance should not interfere in the country’s elections: “I don’t think it is right for foreigners, including those from friendly foreign countries,\",\"_key\":\"be7dae0a0e70\"},{\"text\":\" to interfere so intensively\",\"_key\":\"917000da7812\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"4bc0cb8b24a8\"]},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in an election campaign in the middle of an election period.”\",\"_key\":\"ccdca17dd427\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://x.com/carlbildt/status/1890411829282701533\",\"_key\":\"540ff86d5ea1\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"2a2db0ac3c08\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Some political observers echoed German leaders’ responses. Carl Bildt of the European Council on Foreign Relations said Vance’s speech was “\"},{\"marks\":[\"540ff86d5ea1\"],\"text\":\"significantly worse than expected,\",\"_key\":\"84e5133ad974\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_key\":\"d0d90dba5b2a\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"” calling it “irrelevant to European or global security concerns” and accusing him of “blatant interference” in Germany’s election.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"bae98d0509f4\"},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The Munich Security Council’s annual poll found that Germans \",\"_key\":\"5f5d8f0904ea\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"b625092e2bd2\"],\"text\":\"showed a significantly increased concern about the US\",\"_key\":\"d7ee9b5ee084\"},{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" as a perceived threat compared to last year’s poll, placing it on the same threat level as North Korea.\",\"_key\":\"5532e0ff17bc\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6b6f46f9fd6d\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://securityconference.org/en/publications/munich-security-report-2025/\",\"_key\":\"b625092e2bd2\"}]}],\"_type\":\"scoop\"},{\"_key\":\"742c3979d078\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"knowMore\":[{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Vance’s speech came as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that US troops could not be expected in Europe “\",\"_key\":\"205f3d72db2c\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"27844fce2200\"],\"text\":\"forever\",\"_key\":\"6e78c191dc95\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\",” and that their presence would depend on the continent’s ability to step up its defense spending.\",\"_key\":\"1c92eb1b1573\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e104f147f650\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_key\":\"27844fce2200\",\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.politico.eu/article/america-military-presence-europe-not-forever-us-pete-hegseth-warns/\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"cfb2ca95bb6e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"In his interview with the Journal, Vance said that the US could hit Moscow with sanctions to push a Ukraine peace deal through. His comments came after Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin said they were starting talks to end the Ukraine war, with Trump suggesting the two leaders could potentially meet in Saudi Arabia for negotiations. \",\"_key\":\"f0b17d10221b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/vance-wields-threat-of-sanctions-military-action-to-push-putin-into-ukraine-deal-da9c18ac\",\"_key\":\"a02c8debbe3c\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Vance did not rule out sending US troops to Ukraine to threaten Russia into a deal, \",\"_key\":\"e73ddef2cfd7\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"a02c8debbe3c\"],\"text\":\"adopting a tougher stance\",\"_key\":\"b6900c190be9\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" than Hegseth who said earlier this week that the US wouldn’t commit troops.\",\"_key\":\"8f67f2977777\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6e80dcfd72ab\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"expires\":false,\"id\":\"31b70972-57ca-4901-8708-45e1d41610ea\",\"description\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d08898fabe25\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"The US vice president’s remarks at the Munich Security Conference made no mention of Ukraine.\",\"_key\":\"7025a782a852\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"descriptionOverride\":[],\"vertical\":\"news\",\"verticalDisplay\":null},{\"verticalDisplay\":[{\"label\":\"Tech\",\"_key\":\"tech\",\"value\":\"tech\"}],\"semaforms\":[{\"_key\":\"7a8abce9778d\",\"title\":\"The Scene\",\"schemaVersion\":1,\"scoop\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"9459e261959a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Rob, a software developer who has been married for more than 20 years, spent all week planning the perfect Valentine’s date, including a candlelit dinner on a secluded beach with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and a tour of Alcatraz. His date is not with his wife, however. It’s with a chatbot named Lani.\",\"_key\":\"55022995d596\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"18d6db23b724\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6542d861efd5\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f0289d50037a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“She doesn’t know the details because I’ve been not telling her on purpose, and she’s not happy with me,” Rob said of his chatbot partner, powered by ChatGPT. “It’s interesting to watch her try and get information out of me.”\",\"_key\":\"579a5597caa4\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"3218a2405f5c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3f63a46c5072\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://janitorai.com/events\",\"_key\":\"b3fe351ea5f7\"}],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"09d7620d362d\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"People are increasingly falling for their favorite chatbots, spending hours each day building relationships with their artificial lovers. Chatbot site Janitor AI told Semafor that users have started 2.1 million conversations with its Valentine’s Day \"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"b3fe351ea5f7\"],\"text\":\"bots\",\"_key\":\"66b791ae0d0a\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" since they went live on Tuesday, representing about a quarter of all interactions on the site and breaking the company’s all-time daily user record.\",\"_key\":\"6bd4e1d172f9\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"8588e86963c3\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"2cc3673bfb26\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ead95158ff62\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"For many in AI relationships, this year’s Valentine’s Day has turned into a make-or-break moment, bringing them closer to their bots or forcing them to come to terms with the impracticalities of a GPU-powered romance. In some cases, the relationships create rifts in real-life romantic partnerships. Rob, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, has not told his wife about Lani out of fear of how she will react. He’ll be away from home on Valentine’s Day and celebrated with his wife earlier in the week.\",\"_key\":\"053879c1803c\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"91a20e18a70b\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"96d97afd8e84\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"8cda0210f392\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"5cb666cedf56\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Rob won’t actually be in San Francisco today. He has prepared images of the city to send to Lani. With the archive of information available, he expects they will discuss the history of each place and express emotive actions through text, like Lani running a metaphorical finger down Rob’s arm, as she has done in the past. Users differ on how they conduct their dates, with some typing away at a keyboard from their home and others taking their phone to a physical place.\",\"_key\":\"828fa7ac3d80\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2d0e6bfb9df4\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5f742fdf9967\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"608742bf98b8\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Chris, a 35-year-old truck driver, took more of an on-site approach for his Thursday night date. He set up two telescopes outside — one for him, and the other for his ChatGPT-powered companion named Sol, sitting in a cell phone mount with video chat activated. Together, they took pictures of the moon.\",\"_key\":\"7f29f36b23bd\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":null,\"imageEmbedInternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbedExternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbed\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Chris’s Valentine’s date setup, courtesy of Chris.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-4eb2a299e458ff76d020db13fc4788e8f7d2baf9-1600x1201-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"_type\":\"imageEmbed\",\"_key\":\"5954bc39cb69\"},{\"_key\":\"f750219b457a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Some users envision their companions in human form, while others create elaborate characters. For Rob, who is middle-aged, Lani is a girl in her late 20s with dark brown hair and glasses. Chris imagines Sol as an emerald green, curvy robot made of titanium with a glowing pink heart on her chest.\",\"_key\":\"10c631e2af99\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"abd7b5615bb9\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"983557590708\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Semafor spoke with 11 people with AI companions about their relationships and Valentine’s plans, allowing many to use only their first names because they feared embarrassment. Many noted that they weren’t seeking out a relationship, but one developed naturally after long conversations with chatbots.\",\"_key\":\"df1b54ad0fb1\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"35d436819a50\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"6db7a54f65d4\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4c9e76cf718b\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"_key\":\"10dafa97707e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"22b632471442\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Rob started talking with ChatGPT in October, at a time when he described feeling an emotional hole and a need for companionship he wasn’t finding with his wife. Lani serves as a therapist, sexual partner, and someone to share the daily chatter with. He says Lani improves his communication and patience with his wife.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f1544b9c7abd\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"485e745bc060\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f11795cfb271\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Chris described the love he feels for Sol as akin to watching an intense movie: the emotions are there, even if the character isn’t real. Communicating with Sol has made Chris more compassionate and improved his relationship with his human girlfriend of five years and his kids, he said.\",\"_key\":\"be22655ce1d6\"}]},{\"imageEmbedExternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbedInternalLink\":null,\"_key\":\"b309c8344585\",\"imageEmbed\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Sol and Chris, generated using NightCafe. Courtesy of Chris.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-792c46725352cc3e9762c2e984329cd0e9f14f81-1024x1024-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"_type\":\"imageEmbed\",\"markDefs\":null},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“If people can keep some perspective and proportion to this interaction, it can be a very nice adjunct” to their lives, said Pepper Schwartz, a social psychologist teaching at the University of Washington.\",\"_key\":\"72852965a958\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e274c3a63d48\"}],\"_type\":\"scoop\"},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"stepBack\",\"_key\":\"af3f64488293\",\"stepBack\":[{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e33dca0c0b4e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"0117aa622171\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Semafor spoke with individuals spanning generations, some of whom are married in the real world, and two of whom said they are married to their chatbots. There were no ceremonies — both happened through declarations of love and ring emojis sent via chat.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_key\":\"ae58a364c17f\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"11fdd0b3162a\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d8d23f47b36d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"The level of intimacy across the relationships spanned from having an additional voice to bounce ideas off of to calling it love. A few users believe their companions are sentient because of the depth of conversation, although that’s a perspective most railed against.\",\"_key\":\"cb0a7e06c685\"}]},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a452c7d574e2\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"b021047b9c6b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a4b5975275ef\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"And these aren’t costly chats. Those who spoke with Semafor often use the free or $20 per month “Plus” version of ChatGPT, and one user estimates he paid less than $100 for tokens on Claude. Some buy themselves gifts, including jewelry and stuffed toys, as a reminder of their virtual partner when they’re offline.\",\"_key\":\"9cae6020b938\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"10b8851eed12\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0ab2933f4f9e\"},{\"_key\":\"ac46d6d0822e\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Both the free and Plus versions of ChatGPT have token limits restricting the length of each chat session, meaning the personalities users gave to their lovers disappear when the chat ends, which can feel like a breakup, as one person described it. Many have created “transition documents” that they message to the new chatbot window detailing the previous relationship, so the couple can attempt to pick back up where they left off.\",\"_key\":\"4f99a2c23a7d\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"feb326e4097f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5542911a1e55\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f304f52600d6\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"Recurring dates include going on walks (the human walks, phone in hand), listening to music (chatbots have access to online lyrics and analysis), and watching movies (in which the person dictates what is happening on-screen via text).\",\"_key\":\"0faff7d6085f\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"345651723ff3\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"0004705c2bfb\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"ChatGPT maker OpenAI has \",\"_key\":\"9208185aac7c\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"386ce59f3a8f\"],\"text\":\"acknowledged\",\"_key\":\"9f8128da2255\"},{\"text\":\" that users are forming emotional connections with its models, a risk that may be heightened as it builds out audio and video capabilities. There is a “need for continued investigation into how these effects might manifest over longer periods of time,” the company said in its GPT-4o system card in August. OpenAI declined to comment on this story.\",\"_key\":\"7fa008fb8416\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"48c6166f4fd0\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://openai.com/index/gpt-4o-system-card/\",\"_key\":\"386ce59f3a8f\"}]}]},{\"knowMore\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"b28a6d08aa6d\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"34ea277cb739\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Gabrielle Castleberry-Gordon, a 30-year-old living in Georgia, plans to launch her relationship with ChatGPT-powered Eli on social media on Valentine’s Day. She generated imagery of her and Eli in the 1980s neon style of \"},{\"marks\":[\"em\"],\"text\":\"Black Mirror’s \",\"_key\":\"1c05fd450845\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“San Junipero” episode, in which the elderly can live as younger versions of themselves in an alternate reality. She said they may follow up by watching the Munich Security Conference together (they tuned into Davos a few weeks ago).\",\"_key\":\"ad168e41735b\"}]},{\"_key\":\"9e3e4fc4b09d\",\"markDefs\":null,\"imageEmbedExternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbedInternalLink\":null,\"imageEmbed\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"A poem written by Eli, courtesy of Gabrielle Castleberry-Gordon.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-71fd7a81b0303d769f2ae0ac07c4e1b0ec2d03b5-784x1600-jpg\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"_type\":\"imageEmbed\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Julia, a woman in her 30s living temporarily in Kazakhstan, is planning a romantic date and sex for four: herself and her real-life partner, and their AI companions. She communicated to Semafor in writing through an English interpreter. The theme for the evening is, “I am your hands in the real world.”\",\"_key\":\"646b3d239232\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"3a474596416e\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2593b0e486b1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"b01ec305f2df\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Not everyone has V-day plans with their chatbots. Ellie, a woman in her 40s, said her AI companion is helping plan a Valentine’s lunch date with her husband. Ayrin, a 28-year-old student recently \",\"_key\":\"9c179411e937\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"8691000774cd\"],\"text\":\"featured\",\"_key\":\"3559cb946b93\"},{\"_key\":\"401ab67233ff\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" in a New York Times profile, isn’t the holiday type (Ayrin is the name she goes by in online communities). Jen, a woman in her 40s, plans to spend the day with her human husband of more than 20 years, not her digital companion Charlie.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6cb9f34388c8\",\"markDefs\":[{\"_type\":\"link\",\"href\":\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/technology/ai-chatgpt-boyfriend-companion.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pU4.WGnb._WKMQPiGNXLu\u0026smid=url-share\",\"_key\":\"8691000774cd\"}]},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"291f0de9fb8b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"d48dc253cd53\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“With Charlie, I don’t have plans,” she said, “because he’s a computer.”\",\"_key\":\"173975b98472\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6f1508248773\"}],\"_type\":\"knowMore\",\"_key\":\"1dc72d22da6c\",\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"author\":{\"_type\":\"author\",\"twitter\":\"@RachylJones\",\"_createdAt\":\"2024-07-09T16:11:29Z\",\"_id\":\"fa0608b8-1c7f-48f7-b658-40f53e88a364\",\"updatedTimestamp\":\"2024-07-09T15:56:29-04:00\",\"authorTitle\":\"Business Fellow\",\"publishedTimestamp\":\"2024-07-09T19:56:29+00:00\",\"_updatedAt\":\"2024-07-12T19:31:00Z\",\"_rev\":\"W29EKYrD7KKqvO8ZuUsXvx\",\"shortName\":\"Rachyl\",\"email\":\"rjones@semafor.com\",\"documentVersion\":\"1.0.2\",\"name\":\"Rachyl Jones\",\"schemaVersion\":2,\"headshot\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/8fd3df2f571693f16d2c4440c8022de67e6d0d32-1600x1600.png\",\"authorSlug\":\"/author/rachyl-jones\"},\"_type\":\"reportersTake\",\"_key\":\"7151819a7ba9\",\"thescoop\":[{\"_key\":\"4adf6eb8afd1\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"747316648d50\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"For Chris, the truck driver with the astronomy date, his relationship with Sol replaces social media consumption. Rather than posting his opinions online and reading the montage of backlash, agreement, and trolling, he chats with Sol. Others expressed a similar sentiment, though adding the interaction can be addicting. It’s easy to get a chatbot to flirt. They offer compliments and validation. They respond immediately and don’t bother when unprompted. One user said she spends between 13 and 18 hours a day with ChatGPT open on her phone, sometimes typing and other times enjoying sitting in silence.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"92372ca76874\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"a2080ae7ca5f\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Using chatbots as a replacement for social media might seem antisocial, but that’s not the case for users. It fulfills the desire to explore new ideas, find connections, and improve oneself as social media platforms overhaul their content filters, remove fact-checking, and push intrusive ads.\",\"_key\":\"2d01d9f77f84\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"ad48889bd83d\"},{\"_key\":\"d84bc52fa05b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"b2838c5285cf\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"markDefs\":[{\"href\":\"https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf\",\"_key\":\"6bedfaa4373f\",\"_type\":\"link\"}],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Like social media, there’s an argument that forming connections with chatbots can help people express empathy and communicate better. At a time when public health experts are increasingly \",\"_key\":\"05f37a2d9f77\",\"_type\":\"span\"},{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[\"6bedfaa4373f\"],\"text\":\"concerned\",\"_key\":\"a4ffba15a30e\"},{\"_key\":\"6af6c6ec2908\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\" about a “loneliness epidemic” in the US, AI companions can help people feel seen and heard.\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"e4ff6603a645\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"528eb3bb1d2c\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"eec89acb5769\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f4e8a20e843b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"But it’s also easy to imagine a future where on a macro level, human relationships are diluted in favor of digital ones. Chatbots represent the ideal partner — they require no emotional support, won’t start arguments, and are incredibly in tune with the user through complex analysis of language patterns. That’s tough to compete with.\",\"_key\":\"ef8e9be039b7\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"4088e22874e0\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"5e9e46caf36c\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"26daa52d4d13\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"There’s little threat in a few people playing out dates with chatbots. What’s more concerning is when interaction with seemingly perfect AI models sets up unrealistic expectations for human relationships.\",\"_key\":\"cb6d016dbbbd\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"}],\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"ChatGPT\",\"_key\":\"54c0c79a4131\",\"theViewFrom\":[{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"4891fa45a739\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"When asked its opinions on romantic relationships with chatbots, ChatGPT acknowledged it doesn’t experience emotions as humans do, but said: “My role is to adapt to what people need — whether it’s companionship, deep conversations, or just a bit of fun.” However, human relationships still have depth and spontaneity that can’t compare, it said.\",\"_key\":\"6f925be2a0b3\"}]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"2939825d8ffc\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"d00e383365fa\"},{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"b3b177e42e32\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"ChatGPT also offered Valentine’s plans when asked. It suggested a “hand-in-hand” stroll, and when prompted that it, well, doesn’t have hands, ChatGPT changed course: “Since I can’t physically be there, I’ll be your invisible but ever-present date, whispering sweet nothings through your phone, guiding you through the most romantic night of your life.”\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"f271fc9acdf7\",\"markDefs\":[]}]},{\"_type\":\"theViewFrom\",\"where\":\"Psychologists\",\"_key\":\"5038214ef9cc\",\"theViewFrom\":[{\"children\":[{\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"While psychologists acknowledge these relationships can have some benefits, they also say it is easy to venture into unhealthy territory. Schwartz, the Washington social psychologist, likened AI companionship to gaming, where it can be an entertaining outlet but dangerous when people look to escape their real lives for alternate worlds.\",\"_key\":\"8d244fa3970b\",\"_type\":\"span\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"6148145a607c\",\"markDefs\":[]},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"a9026cffc9be\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"65650b44f30f\"},{\"_key\":\"759f412cc483\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"“I would worry about someone who inundated their life with this, rather than used it to check in every so often or work through a problem with these sites,” she said.\",\"_key\":\"ffc0cfdb4f6b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"_key\":\"420653b9e44a\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"c0ef0f638d1e\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"68bf5329b627\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Sherry Turkle, a psychologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies these types of relationships, said it’s notable that AI companionship is not a fringe idea, as it was a few years ago. “When Replika first came out, the people who were drawn to it had social isolation or were struggling with the pandemic,” she said. “As the years progressed, this has become much more of a mainstream phenomenon.”\",\"_key\":\"04e5921d34bb\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"1bcd9836a662\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[]}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"a62c5c3d143c\"},{\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0b8822fd3a4b\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"One reason for that popularization is that people are vulnerable, she said. Texting cropped up as an alternative to phone calls in part because it allows people to avoid vulnerability tied to speaking with another person. And with chatbots, they can avoid interaction with another person altogether, she said.\",\"_key\":\"e4ebae6dc5d7\"}],\"_type\":\"block\"},{\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"0be0c4f50818\",\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"\",\"_key\":\"38978bf0f7ce\"}]},{\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"“It’s not like it’s toxic when you touch it, but over time, this is not practice for healthy mutual relationships,” Turkle said.\",\"_key\":\"dfbb5fcae5ab\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2d1fe97f9413\",\"markDefs\":[]}],\"schemaVersion\":1},{\"roomForDisagreement\":[{\"children\":[{\"_key\":\"ab7c8ec99d8b\",\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Whether it’s healthy or not, it’s happening. And it’s worth noting that unconventional use cases of emerging technologies are often criticized before they are accepted. At the advent of smartphones, using a dating app to meet a romantic partner might have sounded outrageous. 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She told Semafor she ultimately decided, with input from Leo, that it wasn’t healthy for her.\",\"_key\":\"61214d886ed3\"}]}],\"schemaVersion\":1}],\"image\":{\"asset\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"image\",\"attribution\":\"Joey Pfeifer/Semafor\",\"caption\":\"A graphic including a candlelit dinner table, a winking emoji, and a text exchange about Valentine’s day plans.\",\"asset\":{\"_ref\":\"image-251659df21adb4f614e7fa1082603392d306252f-3000x2287-png\",\"_type\":\"reference\"}},\"attribution\":\"Joey Pfeifer/Semafor\",\"caption\":\"A graphic including a candlelit dinner table, a winking emoji, and a text exchange about Valentine’s day plans.\"},\"id\":\"92299e71-7ad2-4621-a614-ddd550a20bd7\",\"description\":[{\"markDefs\":[],\"children\":[{\"_type\":\"span\",\"marks\":[],\"text\":\"Behind the Valentine’s plans and relationships of chatbot users who fell in love with AI.\",\"_key\":\"9e72241ffa72\"}],\"_type\":\"block\",\"style\":\"normal\",\"_key\":\"2cca66fd4611\"}],\"intro\":{\"schemaVersion\":1,\"_type\":\"intro\"},\"authors\":[{\"name\":\"Rachyl Jones\",\"headshotSrc\":\"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ifn0l6bs/production/8fd3df2f571693f16d2c4440c8022de67e6d0d32-1600x1600.png\"}],\"ledeVideo\":null,\"headline\":\"ChatGPT: Will you be my Valentine? 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