‘See you in the woodchipper,’ ex-USAID staffers tell Musk — 2:00 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A social media account run by recently terminated staffers of the US aid agency that Elon Musk helped destroy had parting words for Musk Friday after his public falling-out with President Donald Trump.
“We’ll see you in the woodchipper,” the group, Friends of USAID, said on Instagram.
Ex-staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development began the account in the early days of the agency’s dismantling by the Trump administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.The remark referenced Musk’s own Feb. 3 boast on X after his DOGE team helped rout USAID staffers from the agency’s headquarters and computer systems.
“Spent the weekend feeding USAID into a wood chipper,” Musk said then.
Musk and Trump turned on each other this week over the administration’s funding legislation this week. The dispute led Trump to threaten to yank billions of dollars in government contracts from Musk.
The sign-off to Friday’s Friends of USAID post noted DOGE’s hands-on role in cuts at USAID and other federal agencies.
“Sincerely, one of the 50,000 people you laid off by email.”
Balint says GOP control of the US House limits ways Dems can protect LGBTQ+ rights — 1:58 p.m.
By the Associated Press
In the final hour of World Pride’s human rights conference, Democratic Rep. Becca Balint, of Vermont, acknowledged that GOP control of the U.S. House limits the ways that Democrats can work to protect LGBTQ+ rights amid mounting threats.
Balint emphasized the importance of working with Republicans across the aisle and with human rights groups that have sued the Trump administration.
The Trump administration has issued executive orders to recognize people as being only male or female, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for females, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threatened research funding for institutions that provide the care.
All the efforts are being challenged in court, and judges have put some policies on hold.
“In this time of incredible fear and anxiety in our community, of course, it feels like we, as representatives, are not doing enough,” Balint said. “… We have to get creative about how we do this work.”
Representative Becca Balint urges Dems to take advantage of GOP confusion amid Trump, Musk fallout — 1:30 p.m.
By the Associated Press
In the final event of World Pride’s human rights conference, Democratic Representative Becca Balint, Vermont’s first woman and first openly gay person to represent the state in Congress, urged Democrats to take advantage of the confusion within the GOP amid Trump and Musk’s public fallout, especially to protect transgender rights.
“We do have an opportunity here because our colleagues don’t know who to support and they’re scared, and we must exploit that,” Balint said.
Representative Emily Randall, who won her race for Washington’s 6th Congressional District in 2024, said the tension between Trump and Musk “is reflective of the chaos within the Republican party.”
Trump may win the fight over the tax bill. But Musk is built for the long war. — 1:04
By James Pindell, Globe Staff
Donald Trump can still win a fight. Just ask Elon Musk.
After Musk criticized Trump’s prized “Big Beautiful Bill,” the signature tax cut package of the president’s second term, Trump lashed out. On Truth Social, he called Musk “a man who lost his mind,” mocked Tesla’s quickly tanking stock price this week, and reminded everyone that SpaceX wouldn’t exist without government contracts he approved.
It was vintage Trump: personal, performative, and politically effective. Republicans on Capitol Hill have galvanized behind Trump, increasing the chances some version of the tax bill will get through. Musk, despite cultivating a following on the right, was swiftly painted as a disloyal elite.
But while Trump still dominates the short-term politics of the Republican Party, Musk holds a very different kind of power, one that may ultimately outlast Trumpism.
House leader calls Trump-Musk feud an ‘opportunity’ — 12:32 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The House Democratic Leader calls the Trump-Musk breakup feud a “welcome development” in his efforts to defeat the GOP tax breaks and spending cuts package.
“To the extent that Musk has declared the bill a ‘disgusting abomination,’ we agree,” said Representative Hakeem Jeffries.
“The opportunity that exists right now is to kill the GOP tax scam,” he said. “We have to keep the pressure on House Republicans and Senate Republicans to do the right thing.”
Senators urge Pentagon to reverse transgender ban — 11:51 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Senator Tammy Duckworth and 22 other Senate Democrats are calling on the Pentagon to reverse its decision to force transgender service members out of the military.
Active duty troops with gender dysphoria have until today to identify themselves and leave voluntarily, and Guard and Reserve members have until July 7.
After that, the department will begin involuntary removals.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the senators said the ban will hurt military readiness, lethality and unit cohesion.
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to leave education layoffs in place — 11:40 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to pause a court order to reinstate Education Department employees who were fired in mass layoffs as part of Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.
The Justice Department’s emergency appeal on Friday to the high court said US District Judge Myong Joun exceeded his authority last month when he issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs of nearly 1,400 people and putting the broader plan on hold.
Democratic attorneys general challenge Trump’s election overhaul in court — 11:00 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Democratic state attorneys general are seeking to block Trump’s proposal for an overhaul of US elections in a case that tests the separation of powers.
The top law enforcement officials from 19 states filed a federal lawsuit after the Republican president signed the executive order in March.
The states say the order steps on states’ power to set their own election rules.
During a hearing, lawyers for the states argued the changes outlined in the order could not be implemented before the next election and could cost California alone $1 billion to implement.
Lawyers for the US government say the next federal election is 18 months away and the harm the states claim is speculative.
Tesla shares recover some of Thursday’s big loss — 10:19 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Tesla shares rose 5% in early trading on Wall Street, pushing the company’s market value back above $1 trillion.
The gain recoups only some of Thursday’s big loss, when Tesla shares fell more than 14% and the EV maker’s market value dropped by about $150 billion.
Johnson confident of passing big tax and immigration bill — 10:12 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Speaker Mike Johnson is expressing confidence that the growing dispute between Trump and Musk will not harm the GOP’s prospects of passing Trump’s big tax and immigration bill.
Musk has tweeted on X that lawmakers should call lawmakers and “KILL the BILL.”
Elon Musk could lose big profits for Tesla under a new GOP budget proposal — 9:54 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican senators have inserted language into the budget bill amid the Musk v. Trump feud that would eliminate fines for gas-powered cars that fall short of fuel economy standards.
Tesla has a thriving side business selling “regulatory credits” to other automakers to make up for their shortfalls.
The credits business was widely thought vulnerable to cuts even before the feud, and Musk has downplayed its importance.
But the changes would hurt Tesla as it reels from boycotts. Credit sales jumped by a third to $595 million in the first three months of the year as total revenue slumped.
Elon Musk pulls back on threat to withdraw Dragon spacecraft — 9:50 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Musk is dialing back his threat to decommission a capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.
The threat came as President Donald Trump and Musk argued on social media on Thursday.
Trump said he could cut government contracts given to Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX. Musk responded by saying SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft.
It was unclear how serious Musk’s threat was, but several hours later — in a reply to another X user — he said he wouldn’t do it.
Pentagon watchdog investigates if staffers were asked to delete Hegseth Signal messages — 9:49 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The Pentagon watchdog is looking into whether any of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s aides were asked to delete Signal messages that may have shared sensitive military information with a reporter.
That’s according to two people familiar with the investigation and documents reviewed by The Associated Press. The people weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Neither the Pentagon nor the inspector general’s office immediately responded to requests for comment.
Hiring was slow but steady last month — 9:48 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The government’s monthly jobs report, released Friday, showed that employers added 139,000 jobs last month, down slightly from the previous month’s gain of 147,000.
Hiring at that level is typically enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising over time, but represents a slowdown compared with a year ago, when nearly 200,000 jobs were added.
The hiring mostly occurred in the health care, restaurant and hotels, and financial services industries. The Trump administration’s top economists have previously criticized job gains in those areas as mostly either low-paying or, in the case of health care, partly dependent on government spending.
Trump’s Friday schedule — 9:11 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Trump’s Friday schedule, according to the White House
- 1:30 p.m. – Trump will sign executive orders
- 2:00 p.m. – Trump will attend the swearing in ceremony for the secretary of the Navy
- 3:00 p.m. – Trump will travel to Bedminster, N.H.
- 9:30 p.m. – Trump will attend a UFC fight at the Prudential Center
White House attacks Wu over criticism of ICE tactics – 9:05 a.m.
By Niki Griswold, Globe staff
The White House hit back at Mayor Wu’s criticisms of federal immigration enforcement efforts in Massachusetts Thursday evening, a day after US Attorney Leah Foley also took issue with Wu’s statements.
Wu in recent days has criticized ICE agents’ tactics, including wearing masks, not displaying or offering identification, and not consistently and readily providing warrants and information for people they detain. She compared masked ICE agents to “secret police,” and mentioned that the New England-based neo-Nazi group NSC-131 also wears masks, while emphasizing that members of local law enforcement, like the Boston Police Department, do not cover their faces in their daily work.
In a press release Thursday evening, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson accused Wu of inciting “hatred” against law enforcement and backing “illegal immigrants over Americans.”
“If the mayor had any shame, she’d be embarrassed for fanning the flames of hate while ICE agents face unprecedented threats to themselves and their families — but that’d be asking too much in today’s Democrat Party,” the White House press release read.
Wu has not, in fact, defended criminals and has regularly repeated that the Boston Police Department cooperates with federal authorities when a person is facing a criminal warrant, regardless of the person’s immigration status.
Wu has also touted the Boston Police Department’s success in lowering violent crime rates in the city, and received an endorsement in her reelection race from the city’s largest police union.
The White House characterized Wu’s comments as “disgusting, dangerous attacks” on federal agents who are removing “criminal illegal immigrants from the streets.” The press release also listed several photos, names, and nationalities of people, described in the release as “sick animals,” who ICE says the department has removed from Massachusetts for alleged crimes.
Call me maybe? — 8:43 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The feud between Trump and Musk is a moving target, with plenty of opportunities for escalation or detente.
However, there appear to be no plans for a call between the two men today.
A source familiar with Trump’s thinking said Musk wants to have a call but the president doesn’t want to do it today. The person requested anonymity to disclose private conversations.
Is a Trump-Musk detente coming? — 8:42 a.m.
By the Associated Press
After Thursday’s spectacular blow-up between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk – which unfolded in real time – the big question for this Friday is: What next?
In a call with ABC News on Friday, Trump called Musk a “man who has lost his mind.”
According to the network’s correspondent, Jon Karl, the president said he is “not particularly” interested in speaking with Musk directly. Still, Trump said Musk wants to talk to him, Karl reported.
Judge puts temporary hold on Trump’s latest ban on Harvard’s foreign students — 8:21 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A federal judge late Thursday temporarily blocked a proclamation by Trump that banned foreign students from entering the US to attend Harvard University.
Trump’s proclamation was the latest attempt by his administration to prevent the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college from enrolling a quarter of its students, who account for much of Harvard’s research and scholarship.
Harvard filed a legal challenge the next day, asking for a judge to block Trump’s order and calling it illegal retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of White House demands. Harvard said the president was attempting an end-run around a previous court order.
A few hours later, US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston issued a temporary restraining order against Trump’s Wednesday proclamation. Harvard, she said, had demonstrated it would sustain “immediate and irreparable injury” before she would have an opportunity to hear from the parties in the lawsuit.
Burroughs also extended the temporary hold she placed on the administration’s previous attempt to end Harvard’s enrollment of international students.
Trump and Musk break up, and Washington holds its breath — 8:17 a.m.
By the Associated Press
After long months when Trump and Musk appeared united in their chaotic mission to remake Washington, their relationship imploded this week like a star going supernova.
It began with Musk complaining about the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda, which the president at first took in stride. Eventually, Trump let slip that he was disappointed in his former adviser, prompting Musk to unleash a flood of insults and taunts.
He accused Trump of betraying promises to cut federal spending, shared a suggestion that the president should be impeached and claimed without evidence that the government was concealing information about his association with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Perhaps most viciously, Musk insisted that Trump wouldn’t have won last year’s election without his help.
Trump, not one to slouch from a fight, could hold back no longer. He posted that Musk had been “wearing thin,” that he had “asked him to leave” his administration, that the tech titan had “gone CRAZY.”
Maybe, Trump threatened, he should save taxpayer money by canceling government contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies.
Goodbye Mr. Nice Guy? Investors dump Tesla on bet Trump may lash out at Musk through his car company — 8:14 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Investors bought hundreds of billions of dollars of Tesla stock after Trump was elected on a bet that politics were more important than profits.
In three hours Thursday, they learned yet again how dangerous that gamble could be.
Shares of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker plunged more than 14% in a stunning wipeout as investors dumped holdings amid a bitter war of words between the president and the world’s richest man.
The disagreement started over the president’s budget bill, then quickly turned nasty. After Musk said that Trump wouldn’t have gotten elected without his help, Trump implied that he may turn the federal government against his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.
The drop on Thursday partially reversed a big runup in the eight weeks since Musk confirmed that Tesla would be testing an autonomous, driverless “robotaxi” service in Austin, Texas, this month.
