Latest news with #ex-DOGE
Politico
10-06-2025
- Business
- Politico
Playbook PM: Why Republicans' megabill deadline could slip
Presented by THE CATCH-UP FORLORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY: Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) dumped some cold water on Republicans' self-imposed July 4 deadline to deliver their sprawling megabill to President Donald Trump's desk. 'I think a lot of us would be surprised if it passed by July 4,' Curtis said at the POLITICO Energy Summit, per POLITICO's Kelsey Brugger. 'I think that's a false deadline. I don't think that we need to put a specific deadline on it. Let's get it right.' A message for Musk: Curtis also downplayed any perceived influence that Elon Musk has over negotiations among Senate Republicans amid the billionaire tech mogul's ardent campaign against the megabill. 'If he would stop and slow down and realize the way Washington works, because what he does with a business is very different in the culture and everything is so different than what we do in Washington, D.C.,' Curtis said, adding that there's 'a lot we could learn from him and vice versa.' Curtis also shrugged as to why exactly Musk has recently targeted the bill. 'I'm a U.S. senator voting on this bill, and I don't know why he hates it. You can see how he's missed an opportunity,' Curtis said. Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), chair of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, had similar words for Musk this morning, saying that the ex-DOGE head didn't voice any concerns over the bill when he had the chance. Guthrie and Musk met over breakfast just hours after the House passed the bill, and 'he never mentioned the bill that morning,' Guthrie said at the summit, per POLITICO's Kelsey Tamborrino. Instead, he said, Musk talked about competition with China to dominate AI. Guthrie also addressed Musk's generic threats to primary Republicans who back the bill, once again downplaying the influence of the world's richest man against that of the GOP flagbearer. 'I assume that if [Musk] chooses somebody to primary, President Trump would probably take the opposite side, and in my district ... if I had that problem, I think President Trump would be a good person to come campaign in my district,' Guthrie said. More highlights: HAPPENING TODAY: New Jersey voters are heading to the polls for the state's gubernatorial primaries. For the GOP, Jack Ciattarelli is the leading candidate. But the Democratic primary is the race to keep an eye on: Despite Rep. Mikie Sherrill's frontrunner status, five other candidates all have a legitimate path to the nomination. POLITICO's Madison Fernandez and Daniel Han have more on what to watch tonight Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@ 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. THE LATEST ON LA: Trump's decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles in response to a string of protests over the administration's immigration actions will likely cost $134 million, the Pentagon's budget chief told lawmakers this morning, POLITICO's Connor O'Brien and Joe Gould report. 'Acting Pentagon comptroller Bryn MacDonnell, testifying at a House budget hearing on Tuesday alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said the estimate covers costs such as travel, housing and food. … Hegseth sparred with Democrats during the hearing in defense of the deployment, arguing Newsom and Bass, both Democrats, mishandled the situation.' Survey says: A new YouGov poll finds that Trump's deployment of Marines to Los Angeles is deeply unpopular, with a 47 percent disapproval mark, compared with 34 percent who approve. Dispatching the National Guard isn't much better: 45 percent disapprove and 38 percent approve. See the full results Disinformation digest: 'Fake Images and Conspiracy Theories Swirl Around L.A. Protests,' by NYT's Steven Lee Myers 2. ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: The World Bank said this morning that U.S. economic growth 'may halve this year as a result of President Trump's tariff policies, while the global economy is set to suffer a more modest, but still significant, slowdown,' per WSJ's Paul Hannon. The projection says the U.S. will 'grow by just 1.4% in 2025, a sharp deceleration from the 2.8% expansion recorded in 2024' and global 'output to grow by 2.3% this year and 2.4% the next, having previously projected an expansion of 2.7% in each year.' Caution sign: 'The World Bank warned that the slowdown in both the U.S. and global economies could be more severe if tariffs were increased further from the levels that prevailed in late May.' What Trump will like: But the World Bank also 'effectively endorsed President Donald Trump's complaint about the high tariffs that other nations impose on American products, calling for U.S. trading partners to sharply reduce their import taxes to more closely match the lower levies typically imposed by Washington,' WaPo's David Lynch writes. 3. WHERE THE WHITE HOUSE IS SAVING AID: The White House is racing to assuage concerns from key House Republicans who are wary of plans to slash global AIDS funding ahead of a Thursday vote on a $9.4 billion spending cuts package, POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill reports. 'In recent days, White House officials have conveyed to GOP leaders that they will not only maintain life-saving treatments under PEPFAR but will also — in response to concerns from more than a dozen House Republicans — preserve some prevention programs as well.' 4. GUANTANAMO UPDATE: The Trump administration is 'planning to dramatically ramp up sending undocumented migrants to Guantanamo Bay starting this week, with at least 9,000 people being vetted for transfer,' POLITICO's Nahal Toosi and Myah Ward scoop. 'That would be an exponential increase from the roughly 500 migrants who have been held for short periods at the base since February and a major step toward realizing a plan President Donald Trump announced in January to use the facility to hold as many as 30,000 migrants. The transfers to Guantanamo could start as soon as Wednesday, the documents state.' 5. MUSK READ: DOJ and DHS in 2022 and 2023 'tracked foreign nationals coming and going to Elon Musk's properties,' WSJ's Dana Mattioli and colleagues scoop. The investigation 'focused on people visiting the tech billionaire, from countries in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, who might have been trying to influence him.' Though WSJ notes that several agencies, including the FBI, were briefed on the probe, it never progressed to any charges and its current status is unclear. But even last year, as he worked to help reelect Trump, Musk's frequent travel with foreigners concerned staffers for his super PAC over 'who was joining him at meetings and events.' Officials 'had to institute extensive vetting to keep foreigners out of their efforts.' 6. BOSS HOGG: DNC Vice Chair David Hogg is getting involved in yet another Democratic primary, defying party leadership amid a broader struggle over the DNC's direction under Chair Ken Martin, who recently told party leaders in a private conversation that he's unsure about his ability to lead the party because of infighting created by Hogg. 'Hogg's political group, Leaders We Deserve, is backing 37-year-old state Del. Irene Shin, who is part of a crowded Democratic field vying later this month to fill [late Rep. Gerry] Connolly's seat in Northern Virginia after his death last month,' WaPo's Patrick Svitek reports. 7. VAX POPULI: HHS is 'circulating a document on Capitol Hill to explain its decision to remove the Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for pregnant women — citing studies that largely found the shot is safe,' POLITICO's Sophie Gardner and Lauren Gardner report. 'The document, which HHS sent to lawmakers days before Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his plan to fire the panel that advises the CDC on immunizations, says that studies have shown that women who got the vaccine during pregnancy had higher rates of various complications.' But the author of one study cited tells POLITICO that 'the results of our manuscript were misinterpreted.' 8. THE YOUTH MOVEMENT: Iowa Democrats are pushing hard for a younger generation to take up the mantle and make the party competitive in a red state once again. But the crop of candidates — both in Iowa and beyond — who came up online are proving a bit difficult to harvest. 'This weekend, as Zach Wahls, a 33-year-old state senator, planned to launch his Senate campaign, some Democratic operatives in Iowa circulated an old message board in which Mr. Wahls, at age 19, had opined about his pornography preferences and volunteered that his parents had given him a subscription to Playboy magazine when he was 16,' NYT's Reid Epstein writes. 'Other campaigns have confronted similar turbulence.' 9. FOR YOUR RADAR: North Korea 'appears to be building a new uranium-enrichment plant in its main nuclear complex, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog warned this week, the strongest sign yet that the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, plans to grow its nuclear weapons supply,' NYT's Choe Sang-Hun reports from Seoul. TALK OF THE TOWN Tulsi Gabbard, in a dramatic video on X, warned of a 'nuclear holocaust' and chastised 'warmongers' for bringing the world 'closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before.' Michael Stipe, Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlile are among the artists appearing on an album to benefit Democracy Forward. SPOTTED: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Lina Khan running through the Capitol together on the way to votes this morning. MEDIAWATCH — Mark Guiducci is taking over as top editor of Vanity Fair, per NYT's Katie Robertson. The 36-year-old Guiducci 'takes over a job that is very different from the one held by previous editors of Vanity Fair. He will be the first 'global editorial director' at Vanity Fair — gone is the editor in chief title — and will oversee Vanity Fair in the United States as well as editions across the world.' TRANSITIONS — Cally Barry is now senior adviser and comms director for Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.). She most recently was comms director for Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas). … Marybeth Nassif is joining Jones Walker as a director in the government relations practice group. She previously was a professional staff member for the House Appropriations Committee. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
New York Post
08-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Elon Musk body-checked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ‘like a rugby player' during fiery clash at White House: report
Elon Musk aggressively body-checked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the White House after being called a fraud – igniting a fiery clash that sparked the billionaire's messy falling-out with President Trump, a new report claims. The heated scuffle broke out in mid-April after both men pitched rival plans for the Internal Revenue Service to Trump in the Oval Office, with the president ultimately backing Bessent's choice, the Washington Post quoted former White House official Steven Bannon as saying. The pair left the meeting hurling insults at each other within earshot of the president's office, Bannon told the outlet. Advertisement 3 Elon Musk reportedly hurled his body into Scott Bessent's rib cage during a heated scuffle in the White House. Getty Images 'Scott said, 'You're a fraud. You're a total fraud,'' Bannon said, referencing the-then Department of Government Efficiency honcho's attempt to slash $1 trillion in federal spending. The verbal spat turned allegedly physical when the world's richest man rammed his shoulder into Bessent's rib cage 'like a rugby player,' prompting the treasury chief to fight back, the paper said Bannon claimed. Advertisement Bannon told the outlet it took multiple people to break up the playground tussle, before the SpaceX and Tesla founder was quickly removed from the West Wing. 'President Trump heard about it and said, 'This is too much,'' said Bannon, who has long been critical of Musk and his involvement in Trump's campaign and presidency. 3 The fiery clash started when Bessent called Musk a 'fraud.' Francis Chung/UPI/Shutterstock The latest details on Musk's dramatic White House exit emerged just days after the X owner went on a multi-day social media rampage against the commander in chief over his support of the 'big, beautiful' bill making its way through Congress. Advertisement Their breakup has unfolded in real time on social media and escalated after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he was 'disappointed' in the ex-DOGE chief, noting, 'I've helped Elon a lot.' 3 The latest details on Musk's dramatic White House exit emerged just days after the X owner went on a multi-day social media spiral against Trump. FRANCIS CHUNG/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Musk proceeded to lash out against the president, accusing the Trump administration of withholding documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein because the president would be mentioned in them. Trump charged that Musk has gone 'crazy' and threatened to cancel the 'Billions and Billions' of dollars in contracts and subsidies the entrepreneur receives from the federal government. Advertisement Bannon also demanded a federal investigation into Musk's immigration status, pressing that he should be deported 'immediately.' Musk, who hails from South Africa, is an American citizen, according to reports. The White House and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reps for Musk couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elon Musk Deletes Epstein Accusation From X Amid Trump Feud
Although Elon Musk has been known to lean on 'free speech' when convenient, the ex-DOGE boss appears to be backpedaling after dropping a major bombshell. Following a heated exchange in which he claimed his former bestie Donald Trump is included in the Jeffrey Epstein files, the X mogul appears to have deleted the loaded post from his own platform. More from Deadline Elon Musk Blows Up Internet & Maybe D.C. With Claim That Trump Is In Epstein Files: 'Holy Sh*t' All-Out Feud Erupts Between Trump And Musk: POTUS Threatens To End Government Contracts, Tesla Titan Invokes Epstein Files – Update Trump Can Resume Restricting AP's Access To Oval Office And Other Spaces, Appeals Court Rules The feud comes after Musk denounced Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would add an estimated $2.4 trillion deficit over the next decade. The Tesla CEO previously concluded his stint with DOGE last month. After Trump threw down a gauntlet, Musk responded to his threat to terminate Tesla's government subsidies with the Epstein allegation. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' he wrote in the since-deleted tweet. 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out,' added Musk in another post that has also disappeared from his profile. While it has never been a secret that the late, disgraced billionaire Epstein and Trump were party pals back in the 1990s, Trump always has denied he had anything to do with his convicted friend's penchant for underaged girls. CNN's Dana Bash has since said she's spoken to Trump, who is more 'resigned' than angry at Musk, relaying that he told her, ''I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy has got a problem.'' 'He says he won't be speaking to him for a while, but he wishes Elon Musk well,' added Bash. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democratic congressman steps up his work to pull Musk toward his party
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., talked with one of Elon Musk's 'senior confidants' on Thursday about whether the ex-DOGE leader, now feuding with Donald Trump, might want to help the Democratic Party in the midterms. 'Having Elon speak out against the irrational tariff policy, against the deficit exploding Trump bill, and the anti-science and anti-immigrant agenda can help check Trump's unconstitutional administration,' Khanna told Semafor on Friday. 'I look forward to Elon turning his fire against MAGA Republicans instead of Democrats in 2026.' Khanna, who has known Musk for more than a decade, has long argued that Democrats unwisely pushed him away from their party. Now the world's wealthiest man, Musk benefited from the Obama administration's clean energy investments, defending them against Republican attacks in the 2012 election. He supported Democratic nominees for president until 2024, when he endorsed Trump for president — and spent more to help elect him than he had for any Democrat. Since Musk began attacking the Trump-backed GOP tax bill as an 'abomination' this week, Democrats in Congress have amplified his criticism and even adopted some of his language. But few besides Khanna have gone as far as talking about bringing Musk back into the Democratic tent; most Democrats are furious at Musk's DOGE work to dismantle parts of the federal government and are confident that he is a political liability for Trump. 'How great is it that that dipshit Elon Musk is out?' Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota said at last Friday's Democratic fish fry in South Carolina, after Musk left the administration. 'The decisions he was making were literally killing people, so he could dance around and act like he was doing something.' Musk was a 'historic villain' whose unpopularity had helped Wisconsin Democrats win the state's April 1 supreme court race by 10 points, said state Democratic Party chairman Ben Wikler. At their 'Fighting Oligarchy' rallies, the largest political events since Trump was sworn in, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., torched Musk as the embodiment of what Democrats and fair-minded Americans should be against. Some Democrats believe that Musk could have stayed in their coalition, had they paid him a little more respect — specifically, had Joe Biden invited Musk to the White House electric vehicle summit early in his presidency. Khanna is in that camp. Others counter that the party's overall shift leftward after 2016 alienated Musk, who was never coming back. He clashed with Elizabeth Warren ('Senator Karen') over the idea of a wealth tax, and with progressives over the 'woke mind virus' that he blamed for the gender transition of his third child. That's the camp where most Democrats are, although some — like Walz — see this as a political opportunity. Still, the idea of an irate multibillionaire making problems for Republicans is enticing to plenty of Democrats, who have not been above meddling in GOP primaries to help weaker candidates win nominations. What if Musk made Republicans burn money to defend their incumbents, as he slammed them with TV ads? That's all theoretical, as Musk said last month that he would do 'a lot less' political spending now that he'd achieved his goal of electing Trump. If Musk is sincere about the political views he posts about on X, he is completely at odds with the Democratic Party, and the best they could hope for is him making trouble for Republicans out of spite. In Politico, Holly Otterbein and Lisa Kashinsky about the Democrats who hoped that Musk would have a 'villain-to-hero' arc, and help them beat Trump. But Khanna was the only voice in the party who fully believed it could happen.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
CNN's Abby Phillip Sums Up Trump-Musk Breakup In A Way You Might Not Expect
Abby Phillip brought viewers up to speed on the Donald Trump-Elon Musk split, in a hurry and in style, on Thursday. The CNN 'NewsNight' host used memes and gifs ― 'which Musk's platform [X] made famous,' she said ― to sum up the feud between the president and his ex-DOGE sidekick, who happens to be the world's richest man. The breakup has its roots in Musk's criticism of Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill. But once the president began to respond, the fallout accelerated in a volley of insults and threats. If the shocked expressions of Judy Garland, Matt LeBlanc, Eddie Murphy, Don Knotts, and others don't help you understand the extraordinary dissolution of their bromance, at least you'll be entertained. Breaking down the Elon-Trump feud in gifs for those who missed today's drama — Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) June 6, 2025 AOC Gets Delightfully Catty On Trump-Musk Split Donald Trump Says He's 'Very Disappointed' In Elon Musk As Rift Grows 6 Wildly Different Ways Fox News Hosts Struggled To Process Trump-Musk Blowup
