Morgan Chalfant

Washington, D.C.

Principals Editor at Semafor

@semafor Principals editor. Previously @thehill. Retweets are not endorsements. Reach me at [email protected] or DM for Signal

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Articles

🟡 Semafor Principals: On the edge | Semafor

1 week ago | semafor.com | Morgan Chalfant

Virginia Dems go down to wireVirginia Democrats were still counting votes in their close statewide primaries on Tuesday, after Jay Jones narrowly won their nomination for attorney general. Jones, a former state legislator, narrowly prevailed over Shannon Taylor, a county prosecutor from suburban Richmond. She’d run as the “only Democrat” who’d prosecuted a Klansman, while Jones ran as a civil rights advocate.
Russia sanctions on pause as Iran conflict heats up

1 week ago | semafor.com | Morgan Chalfant |Burgess Everett

The Senate is pushing off plans to sanction Russia and its trading partners until at least July, as war between Iran and Israel and Republicans’ massive tax cuts bill blot out the popular bipartisan legislation. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are zeroing in on a revised version of their bill that would shield Ukraine’s allies from some sanctions for trading with Russia and make other technical changes.
Debatable: Biden’s clean energy tax credits

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Morgan Chalfant

what’s at stakePresident Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill is dividing Republicans on a handful of issues — including how aggressively to pare back clean energy tax credits that were enacted under the Biden administration. Republicans have hammered the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping party-line Democratic policy bill that passed in 2022 which stands as the largest-ever US spending package to fight climate change.
🟡 Semafor Principals: ‘Fine porcelain dinnerware’ | Semafor

1 week ago | semafor.com | Morgan Chalfant

Tax Cuts Day in the Senate is here The Senate Finance Committee’s tax-focused piece of President Donald Trump’s megabill is expected to land as soon as today, after a slight delay that shouldn’t be a shock: It’s the most scrutinized and controversial piece of the legislation. The draft will include Republican senators’ changes to House-passed tax deductions, clean energy credit cutoffs and Medicaid cutbacks. Sen.
🟡 Semafor Principals: Brink of war | Semafor

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Morgan Chalfant

Grenell juggles three unique jobsRic Grenell’s collection of jobs is growing: He was recently named to Live Nation Entertainment’s board of directors. In the role, Grenell is expected to earn a cash retainer of $100,000, in addition to garnering an annual $200,000 in restricted stock grants upon his appointment, according to company disclosures.
Dems struggle with economy messaging, poll finds

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Morgan Chalfant

Democrats are missing an opportunity to take advantage of President Donald Trump’s weaknesses on the economy, according to the center-left think tank Third Way. A new memo from the group argues that Democrats need to lean into the fight over fiscal responsibility by painting Republicans as irresponsible on the economy and the national debt.
Dems struggle with economy messaging, poll finds

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Morgan Chalfant

Democrats are missing an opportunity to take advantage of President Donald Trump’s weaknesses on the economy, according to the center-left think tank Third Way. A new memo from the group argues that Democrats need to lean into the fight over fiscal responsibility by painting Republicans as irresponsible on the economy and the national debt.
🟡 Semafor Principals: A billion here, a billion there | Semafor

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Morgan Chalfant

Senators mystified by $1B in megabill Senate Republicans are stumped by new language in the Banking Committee’s portion of the GOP’s tax-and-spending bill that would spend $1 billion under a law that lets the president mobilize key sectors during emergencies, Semafor’s Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller and Shelby Talcott report.
🟡 Semafor Principals: Family feuds | Semafor

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Morgan Chalfant

US, China set for trade talks The US and China head into high-stakes negotiations over trade and tariffs in London today, a meeting that was hastily scheduled after Trump’s phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week. Top on the agenda will be export controls, with Beijing preparing to “push Washington to remove recent restrictions on the sale of jet engines and a variety of technology and other products to China,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
Uncommon bonds: ‘Right to repair’ in the military

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Morgan Chalfant

The Defense Department spends hundreds of billions of dollars annually on government contracts for weapons, gear, and other systems. But intellectual property constraints often prevent the Pentagon from repairing its equipment, forcing it to rely on the original contractors to make the repairs. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., long a champion of so-called “right to repair” in the US military, has found an ally in freshman Sen.