In the latest sign the honeymoon is over between Donald Trump and his tech billionaire sidekick, Elon Musk, the president confirmed he will go ahead with his signature tax bill, despite Musk’s public criticism of it.
Musk has sneered at the bill in a series of social media posts and interviews, including one with CBS, in which he said he was “disappointed” to see the bill progressing, saying it would increase the budget deficit and “undermines the work that the Doge team is doing”, referring to the department he oversaw to slash jobs, spending and resources from federal agencies.
The disagreement between Trump and the world’s richest man comes as Musk confirmed on social media platform X that his time at the White House was officially coming to an end.
Musk has publicly diverged from the president on policy several times and had clearly signaled his intent to spend less time in Washington and more on his businesses, Tesla, SpaceX and xAI. It’s a drastic turnaround for Musk, who plowed $200m into Trump’s campaign and dedicated most of the last year to promoting Trump and far-right ideology online.
Here are the key stories at a glance:
Musk takes shot at ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
In a further jibe at Trump’s bill – known officially as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – Musk told CBS: “I think a bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.”
The bill is Trump’s marquee piece of legislation and would allow him to follow through on campaign promises, including tax cuts for individuals and corporations, and an end to clean energy incentives enacted under Joe Biden. It also funds the construction of a wall along the border with Mexico, as well as staff and facilities for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
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US federal court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs
A federal trade court on Wednesday blocked Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law. The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based court of international trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump has exceeded his authority, left US trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos.
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Trump laments size of ‘much too big’ airplane gifted by Qatar
Trump’s big, beautiful new plane from the government of Qatar has arrived – but the US president has a problem with it: it’s too big. The Qataris have given the president a Boeing 747-8, a stretch model of the jumbo that is more than 18ft longer than the much older 747-200B that flies as the current Air Force One.
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RFK Jr threatens ban on scientists publishing in top journals
Robert F Kennedy Jr has threatened to ban government scientists from publishing in the world’s leading medical journals, which he branded “corrupt”, and to instead create alternative publications run by the state.
“We’re probably going to stop publishing in the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Jama and those other journals, because they’re all corrupt,” the US health secretary said on the Ultimate Human podcast. He accused the publications of being controlled by pharmaceutical companies.
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US vows to ‘aggressively’ revoke Chinese students’ visas
The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the US will “aggressively” revoke visas of Chinese students, one of the largest sources of revenue for American universities, in the latest attack on the country’s higher education institutions.
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Family of child in US medical care fights deportation to Mexico
The family of a four-year-old girl who is receiving life-saving treatment in the United States are fighting against deportation, as her medical team warns she will likely die “within days” if forced to return to Mexico.
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US distances itself from Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
The Trump administration is distancing itself from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as questions swirl over its leadership, funding, ties to Israeli officials and links to private US security firms.
Reports and leaked video of its operations to bring food aid to Gaza depicted scenes of chaos, with crowds storming a distribution site and Israeli military officials confirming they had fired “warning shots” to restore order. Gaza health officials said at least one civilian had been killed and 48 injured in the incident.
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What else happened today:
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 27 May 2025.
