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This is Washington Edition, the newsletter about money, power and politics in the nation’s capital. Every Friday, Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Nathan Dean gives his insights into what’s been happening and what’s coming up in the nooks and crannies of government and markets. Sign up here. Email our editors here. Need to KnowToday we saw US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announce the Justice Department was dropping its investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, potentially clearing the way for Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Fed. So, let’s assume he’s confirmed. What do you need to know? Stacey Vanek Smith brings us the summary of his nomination hearing with her piece “Kevin Warsh Pitches a More Insular Fed”. I also recommend former New York Fed President Bill Dudley’s piece for Bloomberg Opinion “Warsh Wants Fed Regime Change. Here’s Where to Start”. And finally to summarize, Catarina Saraiva and Maria Eloisa Capurro bring us “What to Expect From Kevin Warsh at the Federal Reserve”. It’s important to note that while I think Pirro’s decision to drop the investigation is likely to satisfy Senator Thom Tillis, who was blocking Warsh’s confirmation because of it, she left the door open to a future criminal probe. I’m not sure the ambiguity will give Powell enough comfort to leave as Fed governor when his term as chair is up on May 15. (He can stay on the board into 2028.) Stay tuned. 
Republican Senator Thom Tillis at the Senate Banking confirmation hearing this week.
Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg
I often say marijuana stocks have “hot sauce.” They’re spicy, and they have lots of volatility. This week was no exception, when acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced he was rescheduling FDA-approved and state-licensed marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Here’s Redd Brown with an explainer of what it means for Americans. But as my colleague Andrew Silverman writes on the Bloomberg terminal, it’s a bit messy for weed firms. It means a marijuana company can realize what is known as 280E tax relief, which means firms can now deduct ordinary business expenses, lowering their tax bills. But that’s only for FDA-approved and state-licensed revenue. That leaves out sales for recreational use. Guess we may see a lot of companies trying to incentivize folks to get their medicinal cards soon? If you don’t have a terminal, here’s our view in a nutshell: Marijuana is a difficult industry. Very difficult. But the rescheduling could spur a needed boost for research and development and mergers along with weakening momentum for full federal legalization — and taxation — of cannabis. What To Know This Weekend
Today’s Top NewsTrump will send envoys to Pakistan with the intention of meeting with Iranian officials, while Tehran sounded a pessimistic tone on the prospects for talks to end the eight-week war roiling the global economy. The US sanctioned a Chinese oil refinery as well as dozens of shipping firms and vessels that transport Iranian oil, as the Trump administration ramps up economic pressure on Tehran ahead of diplomatic talks. The Justice Department released a sweeping report calling for a significant expansion of the federal death penalty, including policy recommendations for faster executions and adopting additional execution methods. Consumer sentiment in the US fell in April from a month earlier to a record low, reflecting the worries of inflation-weary Americans about the economic fallout from the war with Iran. 
The Food and Drug Administration has given three drugmakers accelerated pathways to approval for psychedelic medications with clinical trials underway after Trump’s order to expedite research and access to treat PTSD. The value of the US government stake in Intel has increased fourfold to hit a value of about $36 billion after the chipmaker’s financial outlook showed a resurgence in sales. The US and European Union reached an agreement to coordinate on securing critical minerals and bolstering supply chains, in a move meant to reduce reliance on China for rare earths and permanent magnets. At a time the US should be in its busiest home-selling season, an already strained housing market is slipping deeper into dysfunction as uncertainty from the Iran war makes deals both hard to price and hard to wait out. Must Reads From Bloomberg GovernmentThe Pentagon agency tasked with protecting classified information released to US federal contractors found more than 800 security violations and more than 1,000 open security vulnerabilities last fiscal year. The Justice Department relied on a lesser-known bank deception statute to indict the Southern Poverty Law Center while omitting an element needed to prove the crime: intent to influence a financial institution. Watch & ListenToday on Bloomberg Television’s Balance of Power early edition at 1 p.m., hosts Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz interviewed Representative Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, about redistricting, midterm fundraising and the party’s strategy. 
On the program at 5 p.m., they talk with Representative Glenn Ivey, a Maryland Democrat, about Republican moves to pass Homeland Security funding on a party-line vote and the Pentagon’s budget priorities. On the Big Take podcast, Bloomberg cybersecurity reporter Margi Murphy walks host Sarah Holder through the story of how Anthropic discovered the cybersecurity risks of its Mythos artificial intelligence tool and what they could mean for banks, businesses and the government. Listen on iHeart, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Chart of the Day
No fewer than 10 public opinion polls dropped this week, and it’s hard to find any silver linings for Trump. His approval rating in the RealClearPolitics average is 40.3%, the lowest of his second term. Some individual polls are even worse: A CNBC poll released Wednesday showed Trump at 40% approval, the lowest mark in that poll in both his first and second terms. The Republican pollsters that Trump sometimes cherry picks for good news aren’t much help: Rasmussen Reports (44%), its sister company RMG Research (42%) and Echelon Insights (41%) all largely track the downward trend. Analyst Nate Silver’s weighted average of polls is at 39%. “For historical context, that’s right around where his net approval was at the end of his first term, in the aftermath of January 6th,” the Silver Bulletin’s Eli McKown-Dawson wrote. — Gregory Korte What’s NextKing Charles is scheduled to begin his first state visit to the US on Monday and will address Congress on Tuesday. The Virginia Supreme Court hears arguments Monday on of the pending attempts to block the state’s redistricting referendum. The Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence will be published Tuesday. The Florida legislature convenes a special session on redistricting Tuesday. Durable goods orders for March will be reported Wednesday. The Fed Open Markets Committee makes a decision on its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday. The March personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, will be published Thursday. More From BloombergLike Washington Edition? Check out these newsletters:
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The future of green design grows in West Africa
Also this week: What robot cars are actually promising, and Morocco debuts a rocket-shaped tower. ...