Washington, DC

1. Trump-Schumer deal eyed
2. Rodríguez under pressure
3. Trump targets minerals
4. Low hopes for Ukraine talks
5. US-Iran tensions flare
6. Bessent on Capitol Hill
7. Global economic fears

PDB: Miran resigns from White House post 

Homan holds press conference … Alphabet reports earnings … Fed’s Cook speaks at Economic Club of Miami

Senate zeroes in on Trump-Schumer deal

The long-running chill between President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has thawed enough to fund most of the government through September. Now comes a trickier test for the two brash New Yorkers: negotiating an immigration enforcement deal in a matter of days and taming conservatives and progressives alike, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Senators in both parties are encouraging conversations between Trump and Schumer to try and build on the success of ending the short shutdown Tuesday evening. If they can reach an agreement, it would be a “big deal,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo. And some think it’s possible; Schumer is “entirely transactional,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. But there are big political hurdles. Democrats want Schumer to roll Trump and the White House is very wary of anything that Schumer could spin as a win.

Rodríguez walks fine line in Venezuela

The Trump administration remains happy with Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez — even if she at times seems to be going rogue, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott and Burgess Everett report. Rodríguez is complying with many of the administration’s requests, even overhauling Venezuela’s oil sector. But she’s also been critical: Just last week she declared she’d had “enough” of “orders” from Washington. Those close to Trump’s team say Rodríguez will be judged on her “actions, not words,” as Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently explained. Rodríguez “has to say stupid sh*t” because she needs to appeal to a certain “audience” within Venezuela, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said. And the administration maintains leverage over the country. “She’s on a short leash,” one person close to the White House said. “Public comments do not necessarily line up with actions,” a senior administration official said.

Test for Trump’s critical minerals effort

The US push to blunt China’s dominance in critical minerals faces a test today as Rubio gathers officials from dozens of nations in Washington to discuss fortifying existing supply chains and forging new ones. The centerpiece of the administration’s strategy is a new $12 billion stockpile initiative, relying on a $10 billion Export-Import Bank loan — the largest in its history — bolstered by private capital. But the broader effort requires collaboration with allies who might still be bitter about Trump’s designs on Greenland. The administration had the opportunity to seek necessary private-sector buy-in during a related industry event on Tuesday. Critical mineral stockpiles “can buy some valuable time to diversify and reinforce alternative supply chains,” Dominic Raab, who leads global affairs at Appian, a private equity firm focused on mining, told Semafor. Separately, the EU is pitching its own critical minerals partnership with the US.

— Morgan Chalfant

Russian strikes color Abu Dhabi talks

The US, Russia, and Ukraine will sit down in Abu Dhabi for two days of talks about ending Moscow’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine, but hopes are low in Kyiv for any progress. Moscow ended a brief Trump-brokered pause in energy attacks by hitting Kyiv hard on Tuesday as temperatures plunged well below zero (though Trump defended Russia’s Vladimir Putin, saying he “kept his word”). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the attack used a record number of ballistic missiles, wrote on X that the strikes confirmed “the attitude in Moscow has not changed: they still count on war and the destruction of Ukraine and do not take diplomacy seriously.” And Russia is likely to resist a Western-backed ceasefire enforcement proposal, reported by the Financial Times, in which multiple violations by Russia would trigger a response from Europe and the US.

US-Iran tensions flare ahead of talks

A series of confrontations between Iran and the US threatened to derail talks set for this week. The US military said it shot down an Iranian drone that was headed toward the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, while Iranian gunboats tried to block a US-flagged tanker, heightening tensions in the Persian Gulf. But Washington said Friday’s talks — centered on Iran’s nuclear program, missile development, and regional influence — would still take place. The US has considerable forces in the Gulf and the incidents suggest that Iranian hardliners do not support the talks, analysts told The Wall Street Journal. If so, they are taking a risk by pushing Washington: The countries traded aerial attacks last summer, and Trump has warned of renewed strikes if Tehran doesn’t agree to halt its nuclear weapons development.

Bessent testifies amid Powell drama

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee this morning and the Senate Banking Committee tomorrow. It’ll be lawmakers’ first chance to grill him after the Justice Department opened an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — but don’t expect Republicans to partake. Financial Services Chair French Hill, R-Ark., told Semafor he wants Bessent to “illustrate how much better the American economy is doing than [was] forecast” a year ago, as well as to weigh in on why Republicans’ proposal to roll back regulations on smaller banks “is helpful to boosting economic growth.” Even Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., the GOP’s most vocal critic of DOJ’s investigation, said he planned to ask about tariffs — including “how some of these trading blocks … are going to give us any forward headwinds.”

— Eleanor Mueller

Economic pain is top issue worldwide

As the White House struggles to sell the American public on Trump’s affordability agenda, new Gallup polling shows that economic issues aren’t only vexing the US population. Economic challenges — including standard of living, rising prices, and low wages — were most often cited as the top domestic problem across 107 countries polled by Gallup last year. A median of 23% of adults across these countries singled out the economy; work, including unemployment, came in second, with a median of 10% naming it. The survey found that young adults are most worried about the economy, especially in wealthy countries, where far fewer of their older peers express the same concerns. In the US, for instance, 32% of adults aged 15-34 said that the economy is the country’s most pressing concern, while only 13% of those 55 and older said the same.

Blindspot: Taxis and education

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: A local official urged New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to ban Newsmax from taxicab TV monitors, The New York Post reported.

What the Right isn’t reading: The Trump administration’s effort to oust Education Department staff cost at least $28 million, a government watchdog said.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: At least 20 Republican incumbents hoping to hold on to their House seats were outraised by Democratic challengers last quarter, many of them in battleground districts.

Playbook: “What is the political usefulness of the Clintons these days?” an adviser to a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate asked.

Axios: Construction on some 200 miles of President Trump’s border wall is being held up by a lack of sign-off by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

WaPo: Trump’s vitriolic response to Trevor Noah over a joke the comedian made at the Grammy Awards is the latest example of how the president is falling out of step with voters who elected him in part because of his promises to revive free speech.

White House

• Fed Governor Stephen Miran resigned from his other role as a White House economic adviser. — Barron’s
• President Trump reiterated his call to “nationalize” elections, which are regulated by states under the Constitution; asked directly if that was something Republicans would do, House Speaker Mike Johnson said no.
• Stephen Miller was behind much of Trump’s most inflammatory rhetoric after the killing of Alex Pretti. — WSJ

Congress

• Bill and Hillary Clinton will sit for separate depositions with the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 27 and Feb. 26, respectively, in connection with the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Democrats are warning the Clintons’ subpoenas set a new precedent that could also be applied to President Trump post-2028.
• Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was hospitalized for “flu-like symptoms.”
• The House Ethics Committee will hold an unusual televised “trial” to consider corruption allegations against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla. — Axios
• Senators will introduce a bill today to reauthorize funding for the Export-Import Bank for the next 10 years, aiming to pour $70 billion into the agency. — FT

Inside the Beltway

• The Pentagon is threatening to sever ties with Scouting America if the organization doesn’t comply with various “anti-woke” reforms.