Balance of Power

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

The US and Iran are looking to arrange a second round of peace talks in the coming days, with Tehran mulling a pause in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to help ease the path toward an agreement on time and place.

The objective is to hold more discussions before an April 7 ceasefire expires next week, according to people familiar with the matter. One proposal is to return to Pakistan, where initial negotiations were held last weekend, though other venues are being considered, the people said.

US President Donald Trump said talks could resume “over the next two days” in Pakistan, the New York Post reported. That would build on a marathon yet inconclusive session in Islamabad on Saturday night.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
Bloomberg Television Markets Correspondent Norah Mulinda.
European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis.
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A review of Congressional plans for 2026 -- including funding the Department of Homeland Security, anticipated war powers resolutions tied to the Iranian conflict and defense spending outlooks -- led Bloomberg Intelligence's April 13 version of the Washington Policy Pulse. A reconciliation bill focused on specific funds for the DHS doesn't have much market impact, in our view, but debates over crypto, housing, and farming will continue throughout 2026. We also provided an update on Kevin Warsh's nomination hearing at the Senate Banking Committee and why a recent delay shouldn't be much of a concern.

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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

President Donald Trump said Iran reached out to his administration over peace negotiations, as the US began a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the war’s seventh week.

Even as Trump sought to jawbone negotiations back on track, there were few signs that was taking place after weekend negotiations failed in Islamabad. Iran blamed the collapse of talks on the US and Tehran has not confirmed further discussions on Monday.

“We’ve been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal,” Trump said at the White House, without elaborating on who participated in the conversation.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
American Enterprise Institute Nonresident Senior Fellow Heather Conley.
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
CIBC Private Wealth Managing Director Rebecca Babin.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

President Donald Trump sought to ratchet up pressure on Iran to cut a deal as the two sides prepared for direct talks in Pakistan to turn their fragile truce into a lasting peace.

Trump posted on social media Friday that Tehran’s only leverage is “short term extortion of the world by using International Waterways” — a reference to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for oil and natural gas that remains largely shut — and declared that the “Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards.”

While the two-week ceasefire was broadly holding across the Middle East, the continued closure of the strait and fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened to complicate negotiations due to begin over the weekend in Islamabad.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York.
Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Friday Reporter Public Affairs Founder Lisa Camooso Miller.
Former Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
Bloomberg Europe Correspondent Oliver Crook.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

The US and Iran prepared for peace talks in Pakistan with a fragile ceasefire largely holding, though issues such as Israel’s offensive in Lebanon and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz remain unresolved.

US Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead the American delegation in discussions scheduled for Islamabad on Saturday, while Iranian officials were due to arrive in the Pakistani capital on Thursday. Both sides appear to have paused strikes across the region after President Donald Trump’s announcement of a truce after nearly six weeks of fighting.

The exception is in Lebanon, where Israel’s ongoing campaign against Tehran-aligned Hezbollah risks undermining the negotiations. Israel’s military on Thursday told residents in eight Beirut neighborhoods to leave ahead of strikes, after a major operation that killed more than 200 people the previous day.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Chatham House Associate Fellow Natasha Hall.
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Maywood Strategies Founder Doug Farrar.
Bloomberg News US Stocks Reporter Alexandra Semenova.
Kpler Head of Policy and Geopolitical Risk Michelle Brouhard.
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