Closing summary
President Trump’s signature ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ has precipitated an epic fallout between the US president and one of his once closest allies, tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The vindictive blowup played out publicly on social media, with both men using their respective platforms, X and Truth Social, to exchange criticisms.
Here is a summary of how the rift unfolded.
Donald Trump kicked things off during an Oval Office meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz. Asked about Elon Musk’s criticism of his “Big, Beautiful Bill”, the US president told reporters: “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more.”
Trump also told reporters he was “very disappointed in Elon”, telling them: “He knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left. … He said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn’t said bad about me personally, but I’m sure that’ll be next, but I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Musk denied Trump’s statement on X, beginning a flurry of posts that stepped up his feud with the president. Musk wrote: “False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!”
He went on to claim that without him Trump would have “lost the election” before bemoaning what he called “such ingratitude”.
The president followed up by threatening to terminate Musk’s government subsidies and contracts, prompting a return threat from the Space X boss to decommission the Dragon spacecraft (which brought home astronauts stuck on the ISS for months), potentially throwing US space programmes into turmoil. Hours later Musk rescinded the threat.
Musk also suggested Trump should be impeached and that JD Vance should replace Trump, warning that Trump’s global tariffs would “cause a recession in the second half of this year” and claimed Trump was in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The White House described the Epstein assertions as an “unfortunate episode”, in a statement to CNN.
Meanwhile, Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally and Elon Musk critic, suggested there were grounds to deport the tech billionaire, who has US citizenship. Bannon told the New York Times: “They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately.”
The spectacular blowout between Trump and Musk sent Tesla shares into free fall. They dropped by about 14.2% on Thursday at market close, wiping roughly $152bn off the value of the compan7. The decline in Tesla’s share price on Thursday knocked about $8.73bn off Musk’s total net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The reported $152bn drop also decreased the value of the company to roughly $900bn.
Musk says SpaceX will not decommission Dragon spacecraft
Billionaire Elon Musk said on Thursday that his rocket company SpaceX will not decommission its Dragon spacecraft, just hours after stating that the company would begin decommissioning amid his escalating feud with US President Donald Trump.
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A short potted history of the Trump-Musk ‘big, beautiful’ breakup:
Many now say it was all inevitable.
But as AFP writes, for a few brief months US President Donald Trump and tech tycoon Elon Musk were inseparable.
Here are some key moments compiled by AFP before their relationship publicly imploded over Musk’s criticisms of Trump’s “big, beautiful” signature bill.
Jumping on stage
The world’s richest man literally jumped for joy when he first stumped for Republican candidate Trump on the campaign trail on 5 October, 2024. The South African-born Musk leapt in the air like one of his Space X rockets as he joined Trump on stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump escaped an assassination attempt three months earlier.
“As you can see, I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark MAGA,” Trump told the crowd, tipping his all-black “Make America Great Again” hat.
He would go on to become the campaign’s biggest donor, spending nearly $300 million.
‘Lil’ X’
Trump sprung a surprise on reporters when he brought Musk into the Oval Office for his first appearance before the media since his arrival in Washington. Even more surprising was that Musk brought his young son, named X Æ A-Xii but more widely known as “Lil’ X” - later putting him on his shoulders.
“This is X and he’s a great guy,” said Trump, as the boy picked his nose while his father boasted about his cost-cutting exploits with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Tensions? What tensions?
There were already rumors of tensions between the hard-charging Musk and other members of Trump’s administration when the tycoon attended his first cabinet meeting in February.
But Trump moved to squish any suggestions of trouble in paradise. “Anybody unhappy with Elon? If they are, we’ll throw ’em out of here,” said Trump, jumping in after AFP asked Musk whether the reports of strains were true.
Sleepovers
The president and the tech magnate seemed to spend most of their time together in the first feverish weeks of Trump’s return to power. They traveled together on Air Force One and his Marine One helicopter. Musk slept over at the White House, where he boasted of once eating a whole tub of ice cream.
In a display of macho bonding, they also attended mixed martial arts fights together.
Tesla showroom
Musk’s Tesla car company took a major hit from his bromance with Trump. Trump, knowing that a threat to Musk’s businesses could drive him out of his role, decided to help out.
The president turned the White House South Portico into a pop-up Tesla showroom for Musk, with a Cybertruck and a Model S parked outside. Trump even said he had purchased one.
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Amid speculation about how Musk’s businesses could suffer from the devolving relationship with Trump, NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens declined to comment on SpaceX.
But she did say: “We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president’s objectives in space are met.”
As Reuters reports, Musk and Trump’s tussle ruptured an unprecedented relationship between a US president and industry titan that had yielded some key favors for SpaceX: a proposed overhaul of NASA’s moon program into a Mars program, a planned effort to build a gigantic missile defense shield in space, and the naming of an Air Force leader who favored SpaceX in a contract award.
During the online rift, Musk said he would begin “decommissioning” SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft used by NASA.
Under a roughly $5 billion contract, the craft has been the agency’s only US vessel capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station, making Musk’s company a critical element of the US space program.
Taking Dragon out of service would likely disrupt the ISS program, which involves dozens of countries under a two-decade-old international agreement. But it was unclear how quickly such a decommissioning would occur. NASA uses Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft as a secondary ride for its astronauts to the ISS.
Vice president JD Vance has chimed in on the online spat between President Trump and Musk, posting a picture on X with the comedian and podcaster Theo Von and asking:
“Slow news day, what are we even going to talk about?”
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White House describes Elon Musk's Epstein claim as an "unfortunate episode"
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has given a statement to CNN , describing Elon Musk’s claim that President Donald Trump is “in the Epstein files” as an “unfortunate episode”.
“This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted. The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again,” Leavitt told CNN in a statement.
How could the Musk-Trump blow-up harm Musk’s business interests?
The risk US transportation, environmental, communications and other regulators will take aim at Elon Musk’s many businesses is real, reports Reuters.
Below is a quick list of regulators that oversee Musk’s companies.
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission in April voted to open a review of the decades-old spectrum sharing regime between satellite systems sought by SpaceX. SpaceX wants access to new spectrum from the FCC in the coming years to speed deployment of satellite-based internet service.Food and Drug Administration
The FDA oversees the clinical trials for Neuralink, Musk’s brain implant company, deciding whether such trials can take place and whether Neuralink can eventually sell its device to consumers.Environmental Protection Agency
SpaceX faces environmental regulations from the EPA, which oversees the company’s wastewater discharges at its operating site in Texas. The company’s operations are also subject to environmental reviews.National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Tesla faces ongoing oversight from US auto safety investigators about the safety of its vehicles especially when using advanced driver assistance systems.Federal Aviation Administration
In September, the FAA proposed a $633,000 fine against SpaceX for failing to follow license requirements in 2023 before two launches. That investigation remains open.Federal Trade Commission
The FTC is a consumer protection agency that ensures social media companies like Musk’s platform X protect children’s privacy and safeguard Americans’ data. The FTC, which also enforces antitrust law, recently opened a probe into coordination between media watchdog groups, some of whom Musk has accused of orchestrating an illegal group advertiser boycott against his social media site.
“If you paid attention during physics class you will remember the third law of ego-dynamics. Namely: when two egos of equal mass occupy the same orbit, the system will eventually become unstable, resulting in an explosive separation and some very nasty tweets.”
So reads the op-ed by our columnist Arwa Mahdawi.
Read the full piece below on the “big, beautiful break up”.
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For Trump, the fight with Elon Musk is the first major rift he has had with a top adviser since taking office for a second time, after his first term was marked by numerous blow-ups.
Trump parted ways with multiple chiefs of staff, national security advisers and political strategists during his 2017-2021 White House tenure. A few, like Steve Bannon, remained in his good graces, while many others, like Ambassador John Bolton, became loud and vocal critics.
Anthony Scaramucci’s tenure in Donald Trump’s White House lasted just 11 days.
On Thursday, Scaramucci, who hosts The Rest Is Politics podcast with Katty Kay, ran his own take on the Trump-Musk break up on YouTube.
“You know I’m a gloater,” he said, “So let’s just get right into it, because I love gloating.”
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Summary of the day so far
Donald Trump and Elon Musk escalated their disagreement about the US budget bill into a big public argument on social media. Here’s a roundup of key moments so far:
Donald Trump kicked things off during an Oval Office meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz. Asked about Elon Musk’s criticism of his “Big, Beautiful Bill”, the US president told reporters: “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more.”
Trump also told reporters he was “very disappointed in Elon”, telling them: “He knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left. … He said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn’t said bad about me personally, but I’m sure that’ll be next, but I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Musk denied Trump’s statement on X, beginning a flurry of posts that stepped up his feud with the president. Musk wrote: “False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!”
He went on to claim that without him Trump would have “lost the election” before bemoaning what he called “such ingratitude”.
The president followed up by threatening to terminate Musk’s government subsidies and contracts, prompting a return threat from the Space X boss to decommission the Dragon spacecraft (which brought home astronauts stuck on the ISS for months), potentially throwing US space programmes into turmoil.
Musk also suggested Trump should be impeached and that JD Vance should replace Trump, warned that Trump’s global tariffs would “cause a recession in the second half of this year” and claimed Trump was in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Meanwhile, Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally and Elon Musk critic, suggested there were grounds to deport the tech billionaire, who has US citizenship. Bannon told the New York Times: “They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately.”
The spectacular blowout between Trump and Musk has sent Tesla shares into free fall. They dropped by about 14.2% on Thursday at market close, wiping roughly $152bn off the value of the compan7. The decline in Tesla’s share price on Thursday knocked about $8.73bn off Musk’s total net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The reported $152bn drop also decreased the value of the company to roughly $900bn.
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The spectacular blowout between Trump and Musk has sent Tesla shares into free-fall.
The carmaker’s shares ended the day down 14%, wiping off $150bn in market value on a day absent other news about the company.
Investors have watched the unfolding drama with growing concern about what the fracas could mean for Musk’s business empire.
Openly feuding with Trump could pose multiple hurdles for Tesla and the rest of Musk’s sprawling business empire, writes Reuters.
The US transportation department regulates vehicle design standards and would have a big say in whether Tesla can mass-produce robotaxis without pedals and steering wheels.
The agency is also investigating Tesla’s driver-assistance software, known as “Full Self-Driving”, following a fatal crash.
“Elon’s politics continue to harm the stock. First he aligned himself with Trump, which upset many potential Democratic buyers. Now he has turned on the Trump administration,” said Tesla shareholder Dennis Dick, chief strategist at Stock Trader Network.
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It’s just days since the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, officially departed from the White House, but relations with Donald Trump have radically devolved since.
The online war of words between the two men has seen Musk, who has a huge online following, use his influence to run a poll to his 220 million followers on X.
“Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?” he asked.
A prolonged feud between Trump and Musk could make it more difficult for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections, reports Reuters.
In addition to his campaign spending, Musk helped connect Trump to parts of Silicon Valley and wealthy donors. The tech billionaire had already said he planned to curtail his political spending in the future.
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Steve Bannon calls for Musk's deportation
In an interview with the New York Times, Steve Bannon, a longtime Donald Trump ally and Elon Musk critic, said about the tech billionaire:
They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately.
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While Elon Musk and Donald Trump publicly trade barbs, a reminder that this started with a disagreement over Trump’s budget bill. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the key facts on that bill:
It would blow the US’s national debt up by $2.4tn over the next decade, according to a congressional budget office analysis
Extend tax cuts enacted during Trump’s first term
Money for mass deportations and a border wall
An array of new tax write-offs – but only while Trump is president
A potentially potent restriction on federal courts
Transformed social safety net programs
More benefits for the rich than the poor
The end of Biden’s green energy incentives
For the full details, click here:
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Musk suggests Trump should be impeached
In response to a tweet about how Donald Trump should be impeached and that JD Vance should replace Trump, Elon Musk wrote:
Yes.
Musk also warned that Trump’s global tariffs will “cause a recession in the second half of this year”.
The growing divide between Trump and his once closest confidante appears to have no sign of slowing down as the two men continue to take jabs at each other on their respective social media platforms.
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As Elon Musk and Donald Trump continue to sling accusations at each other on their social media platforms, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about what caused it to all fall apart:
Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Elon Musk should have turned on him “months ago”.
The president added:
I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
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Musk threatens to decommission Dragon spacecraft, the vessel that returned ISS astronauts
In a new tweet on Thursday, Elon Musk said:
In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.
Musk’s decision to decommission the spacecraft comes after Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday:
The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon’s governmental subsidies and contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!
If Musk follows through, this could have a big impact on the US’s space programme. It was a SpaceX Dragon capsule that brought back four astronauts stuck onboard the International Space Station (ISS) for several months.
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The rift between Elon Musk and Donald Trump is continuing to deepen, with close Trump confidante Laura Loomer saying:
It’s heating up. Will be interesting to see what Republican lawmakers do now. I know law makers who are asking if they should side with President Trump or Elon. I’ve been on the hill all day and it’s all anyone is talking about. The most powerful man in the world vs the richest man in the world.
In response, Musk wrote:
Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years…
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Elon Musk: 'Donald Trump is in the Epstein files'
Elon Musk just claimed that Donald Trump is in the Jeffrey Epstein files, saying:
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 went on to say:
Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.
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Trump threatens to 'terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts'
Donald Trump is going on a tirade on Truth Social against Elon Musk, saying:
Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!
In a separate post, Trump added:
The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”
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Kamala Harris did not address the graduating ceremony in Compton, where nearly 300 high school seniors earned their diplomas. But she did join them, accepting an honorary diploma as the daughter of what the school district board president called “Compton north” – a reference to her native Oakland.
Harris smiled and posed for selfies with the graduates as they crossed the stage.
It was Harris’s first public appearance since skipping the state party convention in Anaheim last weekend. The former vice-president has given herself a deadline of late summer to make a decision about whether to run for governor.
At the ceremony on Thursday, where Harris was surrounded by a crush of students, parents and educators jockeying for a photo as she made her way toward the exit, some made their view of the matter clear.
“Run again!” a man shouted from the bleachers as Harris was ushered into a waiting SUV. She did not appear to have heard the plea, but smiled and waved before the door closed.
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Elon Musk has been given six more weeks by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to respond to its civil lawsuit accusing the former Doge head of waiting too long in 2022 to reveal his large stake in Twitter (the platform Musk later bought and renamed X), Reuters reports.
In a filing in federal court in Washington DC, the SEC and Musk agreed to push back the deadline for Musk’s response to 18 July from 6 June, calling it “reasonable and in the interest of conserving judicial resources”.
The SEC has said Musk’s 11-day delay in disclosing his initial 5% Twitter stake allowed him to buy more than $500m of the company’s shares at artificially low prices, at the expense of unsuspecting investors. The SEC’s lawsuit seeks to force Musk to pay a civil fine and give up profits it claims he didn’t deserve.
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Musk calls Trump's tax legislation the 'Big Ugly Bill'
Elon Musk is continuing his criticism of president Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” on X by calling it the “Big Ugly Bill”, perhaps in reference to Trump’s dislike of taunting nicknames.
“The Big Ugly Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion!” Musk wrote in a post.
“Keep the EV/solar incentives cuts in the bill, also cut all the crazy spending increases in the Big Ugly Bill so that America doesn’t go bankrupt!” he wrote in another post.
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World Relief, a global Christian humanitarian organization, released a statement condemning Trump’s travel ban on 12 countries and imposing restrictions on seven others.
“This is the latest assault on legal immigration processes,” Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief, said. “It’s always been difficult for most individuals in many of these countries to obtain visas, but this blunt order restricts the entry even of those who meet strict qualifications and undergo thorough vetting. We urge the administration to reconsider these restrictions and to pursue policies that scrutinize individuals in the interest of ensuring security without banning entire nationalities from lawfully visiting or emigrating to the United States.”
The statement added that the travel ban will “separate families, hinder international missions and development and tarnish our country’s reputation for justice and fairness”.
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Trump says it may be better to allow Russia and Ukraine to ‘fight for a while’ before intervening.
“You see it in hockey, you see it in sports,” Trump said during today’s meeting with Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz. “Let them go for a couple of seconds.”
Calling the war a “bloodbath”, Trump made this suggestion while comparing the conflict to trying to pull apart fighting children.
“Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy,” the president said. “They hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart. They don’t want to be pulled. Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.”
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Musk: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election'
In a series of replies on X, Elon Musk is ramping up his attacks against Donald Trump, saying:
Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
He went on to say:
Such ingratitude.
Musk’s comments come after Trump told reporters that he is “very disappointed” in the billionaire tech executive and that he had “helped Elon out a lot”.
The growing divide between the two men come after Musk’s public disapproval of Trump’s tax and spending bill, which Musk called a “disgusting abomination”.
On Thursday, Trump said that Musk knew the bill better than anyone else in his administration, a claim which Musk pushed back on, saying, “False,” and adding that he was never shown the bill.
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Musk on Trump’s claim that he knew the ‘big beautiful’ bill better than anyone: ‘False’
In what appears to be a growing public divide between the two men, Elon Musk hit back on Donald Trump’s latest comments from the White House that the tech billionaire knew about Trump’s tax and spending bill better than anyone.
In a post on X, Musk wrote:
False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!
Musk’s response comes after Trump said he was “very disappointed” in Musk on Thursday in front of reporters after Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination” earlier this week.
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In response to whether he has any evidence that anything specific was signed without Joe Biden’s knowledge during Biden’s presidency, Donald Trump said:
I don’t think Biden would know whether or not he signed it.
Trump went on to reply “no” in response to a follow-up question on whether he himself uncovered any of that information, adding:
But I’ve uncovered the human mind. I was in a debate with the human mind, and I didn’t think he knew what the hell he was doing.
Earlier this week, Trump, as part of a Republican-led campaign to discredit Biden and overturn some of his executive actions, ordered an investigation into Biden’s actions as president, accusing top aides of covering up Biden’s “cognitive decline”.
In response, Biden issued a statement, saying:
Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.
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Trump: 'I'm very disappointed in Elon'
Donald Trump continued his criticisms of Elon Musk following the tech billionaire’s disapproval of his tax and spending bill, telling reporters:
Elon knew the inner workings of this bill, better than almost anybody sitting here … He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that’s billions and billions of dollars …
And I can understand that, but he knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left. And if you saw the statements he made about me, which I’m sure you can get very easily, it’s very fresh on tape, he said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn’t said bad about me personally, but I’m sure that’ll be next, but I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.
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Trump on having good relationship with Musk: 'I don't know if we will any more'
In response to Elon Musk’s criticism of his “big, beautiful” bill, Donald Trump told reporters:
I’ve always liked Elon … You saw the words he had for me … He hasn’t said anything about me that’s bad. I’d rather have him criticise me than the bill because the bill is incredible. It’s the biggest cut in the history of our country.
He went on to say about one of his closest confidantes:
Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more.
Earlier this week, Musk sharply criticized Trump’s tax and spending bill on X, saying:
I’m sorry but I just can’t stand it anymore … This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.
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Trump on Chinese international students: 'It's our honor to have them' despite visa revocation announcement
In response to a question about whether he is allowing Chinese students into the US, Donald Trump said:
Chinese students are coming. No problem, no problem. It’s our honor to have them. Frankly, we want to have foreign students, but we want them to be checked.
Trump’s response follows just days after the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, announced that the US will “aggressively” revoke the visas of Chinese students studying at US universities.
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Speaking to reporters, Donald Trump said that his travel ban “can’t come soon enough”.
In response to a reporter’s question on why Egypt was not on the list despite the Boulder, Colorado, attack suspect being Egyptian, Trump said:
Because Egypt has been a country that we deal with very closely. They have things under control.
He said his travel ban applies to “the countries that don’t have things under control”.
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Donald Trump has welcomed the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, to the White House ahead of their bilateral meetings.
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Chad’s president, Deby Itno, has instructed the Chadian government to suspend granting visas to US citizens, saying:
Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give but Chad has its dignity and pride.
Chad’s decision on Thursday comes in response to Donald Trump’s latest total travel ban against 12 countries including Chad, Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) made a record high number of arrests on Tuesday, detaining more than 2,200 people as Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy continues.
NBC News reported that the figure represents the most people ever arrested by Ice in a single day.
Hundreds of the people arrested were enrolled in Ice’s alternative to detention program, under which migrants who are awaiting legal status are given background checks to determine they are not a safety risk, then tracked by the government using ankle monitors or smartphone apps.
The record total comes after senior officials over the weekend instructed rank-and-file Ice officers to arrest more people, even without warrants. In May, the White House demanded that Ice arrest 3,000 people a day.
Some of the arrests “appear to be the result of a new Ice tactic”, NBC News reported, in which Ice officials arrest migrants who are enrolled in the alternative to detention program when they arrive at pre-scheduled check-in meetings at Ice offices.
For the full story, click here:
Trump: Chinese president Xi 'graciously invited … me to visit China'
Donald Trump said that the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has invited him and the first lady to visit China, which he reciprocated.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the phone call with the Chinese president was “very good” and that they discussed “some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal.”
He added:
The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries. There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products. Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined … During the conversation, President Xi graciously invited the First Lady and me to visit China, and I reciprocated.
As Presidents of two Great Nations, this is something that we both look forward to doing. The conversation was focused almost entirely on TRADE.
He added that the two of them did not speak about Russia and Ukraine, or Iran.
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Chinese president Xi on Trump call: 'Consensus has been reached'
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is addressing his call with Donald Trump, according to the latest lines coming through the news wires.
Saying that a “consensus has been reached”, Xi added that the two sides “should enhance consensus” as well as “reduce misunderstanding, strengthen cooperation” and “enhance exchanges”.
Xi went on to say that it is important to “dispel disruptions to China-US relations” and stressed that “China has sincerity and has principle”.
He added that “both sides should make good use of established economic trade consultation mechanisms” and that “dialogue, cooperation is the only right choice for China and the US”.
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The African Union has released the following response to Donald Trump’s travel ban, urging his administration to adopt a “more consultative approach and to engage in constructive dialogue” with the countries targeted:
The African Union Commission has taken note of the recent proclamation by the Government of the United States imposing new travel restrictions affecting nationals from several countries, including some on the African continent.
While recognising the sovereign right of all nations to protect their borders and ensure the security of their citizens, the African Union Commission respectfully appeals to the United States to exercise this right in a manner that is balanced, evidence-based, and reflective of the long-standing partnership between the United States and Africa.
The Commission remains concerned about the potential negative impact of such measures on people-to-people ties, educational exchange, commercial engagement, and the broader diplomatic relations that have been carefully nurtured over decades. Africa and the United States share mutual interests in promoting peace, prosperity, and global cooperation.
The African Union Commission respectfully calls upon the US Administration to consider adopting a more consultative approach and to engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned. The Commission appeals for transparent communication, and where necessary, collaborative efforts to address any underlying issues that may have informed this decision.
The Commission stands ready to support efforts that promote understanding, resolve concerns, and strengthen cooperation between Africa and the United States.
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Ahead of the Trump-Xi call today, CNN reported that Chinese officials – who were deeply wary of Trump’s unpredictability and track record of putting foreign leaders in awkward or embarrassing situations – had put off a phone call, according to people familiar, even as Trump stated on multiple occasions this spring that he expected to speak with Xi soon.
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Afghan women waiting for visas feel betrayed and abandoned by US travel ban – Reuters
Afghan women’s rights defender Fatima, 57, who is waiting in limbo in Pakistan for her US visa to be processed, had her dreams shattered overnight after Donald Trump included Afghans among those banned from entering the US.
She worked for decades for US-funded projects in central Afghanistan and now risks being pushed back to her home country, where she fears for her safety and her teenage daughter is unable to attend school. Giving only her first name for security reasons, she told Reuters:
Unfortunately, the decisions made by President Trump turned all the hopes and beliefs of us into ashes. We are not al-Qaeda, we are the ones who fought back, we are the ones who gave our youth, our strength, our physical energy, our voices, everything we had, for the dream of a peaceful nation, for a country where we could simply breathe, we stood beside Nato forces. And today, to be abandoned by America is not only tragic, it is devastating, It is a source of deep despair.
In the chaotic withdrawal of US-led foreign troops as Taliban forces seized Kabul in 2021, western countries vowed to help, especially those Afghans who had worked for them or on projects they backed. But many have been disappointed.
Then president Joe Biden pledged to help “Afghan allies” and introduced the P-2 programme for admission as refugees for Afghans who met certain criteria, including having worked for US organisations and media.
The main refugee advocate agency this year estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 Afghans were waiting in Pakistan for their visas to be processed, though that included applicants to the Special Immigration Visa (SIV) program for those who directly assisted the US military and government, which was exempted from this week’s order.
Fatima said she had hoped never to leave her country but as the prominent head of a women’s rights group she felt she had no choice after the Taliban returned to power. The US government instructed her to travel to a third country for processing and, like many, her only option was neighbouring Pakistan, where she arrived in 2023. She finally received notice that she should send her family’s passports to prepare for a flight in January. But a decision that month by Trump to halt refugee processing threw that into disarray and Fatima has not heard from US authorities since.
In the meantime, Pakistan began once again ramping up a repatriation drive that began in 2023, leaving many in the pipeline for US processing fearful of even leaving the house in case they are stopped by police.
Mahbouba Seraj, a prominent Kabul-based women’s rights advocate, said the new US decision was a huge blow to women’s rights defenders and other vulnerable groups.
This is absolutely terrible because a whole lot of those … people were waiting, they have all of their paperwork done, they are completely vetted, they are all ready to come to the US, they have sold their houses, they have no life in Afghanistan and they are all waiting. Now this is what happens.
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China's Xi and Trump hold call at White House's request, Chinese state media reports
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and Donald Trump have held their much-anticipated phone call this morning, the official Xinhua state news agency reports, as relations continue to be strained by trade disputes.
Chinese state media said the call took place at the White House’s request. No other information was immediately made public. The Chinese foreign ministry said this morning that the call was ongoing as of 9am ET.
The call comes amid accusations between Washington and Beijing in recent weeks over critical minerals in a dispute that threatens to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the two biggest economies reached in Geneva last month.
It is the first known call between the leaders to take place during Trump’s second term. Previously, they spoke in January ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
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Johnson to try to speak to Musk again over billionaire's escalating GOP megabill row - Bloomberg
Bloomberg is reporting that the House speaker, Mike Johnson, has once again reached out to Elon Musk by text and plans to speak with him today to talk through his opposition to the GOP tax- and spending-cut megabill, over which the billionaire appears “dug in”.
“JOHNSON on @BloombergTV says he has texted with @elonmusk and plans convo today. Musk appears ‘Dug in’ in opposition to bill, [Johnson] said. Johnson says bill will be ‘jet fuel’ for economy and deficit concerns are misplaced,” according to Bloomberg.
Musk’s relentless attacks on the bill, which is now under consideration in the Senate and is supposed to be the second Trump administration’s flagship legislation, escalated significantly yesterday, with Politico noting that he dropped no less than 32 hostile posts on his X platform in the hours before Trump took to the stage at a White House lawn event. In one post he said the bill would put America “in the fast lane to debt slavery”.
Yesterday, Johnson admitted publicly that Trump was “not delighted” by Musk’s “180” on his “big, beautiful bill”, though the president has not weighed in publicly himself. And yesterday, Politico reported that Republicans close to the White House were keen to reframe Musk’s criticisms of the bill as rooted in his own self-interest due to the bill’s impact on his business interests, notably Tesla.
The tech billionaire lambasted the bill as a “disgusting abomination” on Tuesday, a day after Johnson had spent half an hour trying to convince Musk that the bill would, in the long term, make the government more effective. Johnson said that conversation ended “on a great note” and so he was “surprised” when Musk “24 hours later, he does a 180 and he comes out as opposed to the bill”. Johnson said he had tried to call Musk on Tuesday but he didn’t answer.
In his tirade against the bill on Tuesday, Musk called it “outrageous” and “pork-filled” due to its effects on increasing the federal deficit. It marked a significant escalation in language, as in previous comments to CBS News he had said he was “disappointed” by the bill and said it would “undermine” the federal cost-cutting work of his team at Doge.
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Under the travel ban Trump announced last night, the nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be “fully” restricted from entering the US, according to the proclamation. Meanwhile, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partly restricted.
Human Rights First highlights the case of Trump’s targeting of Afghanistan, which “marks another broken promise to Afghans who supported and advanced the US mission in Afghanistan for decades”.
These individuals are now in grave danger of retaliation by the Taliban since the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. While Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders are exempt from the travel ban restrictions, other at-risk Afghans will be impacted by this hateful ban. Many are at grave risk due to the deteriorating conditions in-country and many have been waiting for years to reunite with loved ones in the United States. The US government has a duty to protect these individuals and the travel ban makes it even harder for them to escape persecution, jeopardizing their lives and the promises made to them by the United States.
Shala Gafary, the managing attorney at Project: Afghan Legal Assistance at Human Rights First, said:
The Trump administration’s travel ban will block vulnerable Afghans from reaching safety and prolong the separation of desperate families with loved ones in the United States, including in some cases children who were separated from parents during the 2021 withdrawal.
Our country has a duty and moral imperative to honor commitments made to those who risked everything in support of advancing American values.
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Human rights groups condemn Trump's 'racist' and 'cruel' travel ban
In a statement condemning the Trump administration’s travel ban, Human Rights First said the ban “disproportionately targets Muslim-majority nations and undermines the United States’ foundational principles of equality under the law”.
It said that “this new iteration of [Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ from his first term] is “a continuation of that assault on the rights of vulnerable populations, especially Muslims and other minorities, and represents a dangerous abuse of executive power”.
Robyn Barnard, senior director of refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, said the policy was “divisive and racist” and would only serve to “undermine national security and “target those most in need of protection”. She said:
This return to divisive and racist policies to target entire populations marks yet another anti-immigrant and punitive action taken by President Trump.
The ban will harm refugees, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable populations, including many who have been waiting to reunite with loved ones in our country. Bans do nothing to make our country secure, but rather undermine our national security and arbitrarily target those most in need of protection.
Amnesty International USA said on X:
President Trump’s new travel ban is discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel. By targeting people based on their nationality, this ban only spreads disinformation and hate.
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Democrats decry Trump travel ban as a 'distraction' and say it won't make America safer
Democrats have decried Donald Trump’s travel ban as a “distraction” and say it will not make the United States safer.
Senator Chris Murphy, from Connecticut, said on X yesterday that “it was no coincidence” that Trump announced the ban last night:
Not a coincidence Trump announced his travel ban tonight. He’s trying to distract us from the core story. And the core story is their bill to throw 15 million people off their health care in order to give a $270,000 tax cut to the richest Americans.
Senator Adam Schiff, from California, said “bigotry is not a national security strategy” and the ban would “only further isolate the US” from the rest of the world. He posted on X:
This is Trump’s reckless first term travel ban all over again. Just like before, Trump’s expanded ban on travelers from around the world will not improve our national security and will only further isolate the US from the rest of world [sic]. Bigotry is not a national security strategy.
Senator Ed Markey, from Massachusetts, wrote on X:
Make no mistake: Trump’s latest travel ban will NOT make America safer. We cannot continue to allow the Trump administration to write bigotry and hatred into US immigration policy.
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India and the US are holding high-level talks this week, aiming to finalise tariff cuts in sectors such as farm and automobiles as part of an interim deal, two government sources said, with an announcement likely later this month.
A US delegation led by senior officials from the office of the United States trade representative began closed-door, two-day discussions in New Delhi on Thursday with Indian trade officials headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, the sources said.
“During the current round of talks, negotiators are discussing tariff cuts on specific sectors including agriculture and autos, and proposed benefits for Indian companies,” one Indian government source, said.
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Putin is ready to help Trump on Iran nuclear negotiations, the Kremlin says
President Vladimir Putin told US president Donald Trump that he was ready to use Russia’s close partnership with Iran to help with negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
Trump said after a phone call with Putin on Wednesday that time was running out for Iran to make a decision on its nuclear programme and that he believed Putin agreed that the Islamic Republic should not have nuclear weapons.
Putin, according to Trump, suggested that he participate in the discussions with Iran and that “he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion”, though Iran was “slow walking”.
“We have close partner relations with Tehran and, naturally, President Putin said that we are ready to use this level of partnership with Tehran in order to facilitate and contribute to the negotiations that are taking place to resolve the issue of the Iranian nuclear dossier,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Asked when Putin could join the negotiations, Peskov said that dialogue with Tehran and Washington continued through various channels.
“The president will be able to get involved when necessary,” Peskov said.
Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging top aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline”.
The investigation will build on a Republican-led campaign already under way to discredit the former president and overturn some of his executive actions, including pardons and federal rules issued towards the end of his term in office.
Biden issued a statement dismissing the idea of a cover-up as “ridiculous”. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
GOP lawmakers on Wednesday sought testimony from five of Biden’s top aides and advisers, including his first chief of staff, about his “mental and physical faculties”. The House oversight committee headed by the Republican representative James Comer of Kentucky was already speaking to four others, according to reports from CBS News.
A separate inquiry was launched on Tuesday by Ed Martin, a justice department attorney, into clemencies Biden issued in his final days in office to family members as well as death row inmates.
Biden’s cognitive abilities during his presidency have been a Republican talking point for several years and Trump has frequently suggested that some of Biden’s actions are invalid because his aides were usurping presidential authority to cover up what Trump claims is Biden’s cognitive decline.
Donald Trump signed a proclamation to restrict foreign student visas at Harvard University, the White House said on Wednesday.
The order would suspend for an initial six months the entry into the US of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard. Trump declared that it would jeopardize national security to allow Harvard to continue hosting foreign students.
The proclamation is the US president’s latest attempt to choke the Ivy League school from an international pipeline that accounts for a quarter of the student body, and a further escalation in the White House’s fight with the institution.
“I have determined that the entry of the class of foreign nationals described above is detrimental to the interests of the United States because, in my judgment, Harvard’s conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,” Trump wrote in the order.
Trump’s proclamation also directs the US state department to consider revoking academic or exchange visas of any current Harvard students who meet his proclamation’s criteria.
Harvard in a statement called Trump’s proclamation “yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights.”
“Harvard will continue to protect its international students.”
Hegseth tells Nato meeting US reviewing its 'force posture'
The United States is reviewing its force posture, defense secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday told reporters while in Brussels for a Nato meeting with defense ministers.
“There are reasons why we have troops in certain places, and we respect and understand that. It is also prudent that we review that force posture in real time alongside our allies and workers to make sure it’s right sized”, Hegseth said.
He said that Nato allies are nearing a consensus on committing 5% of GDP to defence spending
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Donald Trump’s newly signed travel ban contains an exemption that could apply to players, staff or associated families with clubs participating in the 2025 Club World Cup, 2026 Fifa World Cup or the 2028 Olympics.
The US president has signed a sweeping order banning travel from 12 countries and restricting travel from seven others, reviving and expanding the travel bans from his first term.
The nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be “fully” restricted from entering the US, according to the proclamation. Meanwhile, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted.
There is an exemption, however, outlined in section 4 of the order, which states that “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state” are not subject to the ban.
Venezuela has hit back over the Trump administration’s travel ban by warning that the US itself is a dangerous place, while Somalia immediately pledged to work with Washington on security issues.
The mixed responses came after Donald Trump signed a ban targeting 12 countries also including Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen in a revival of one of the most controversial measures from his first term.
“Being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans,” Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister in Caracas, said after the announcement, warning citizens against travel there and describing the US government as fascist. “They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”
Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the US, said in a statement: “Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised.”
Calls early on Thursday to the spokesperson of Myanmar’s military government were not answered. The foreign ministry of Laos did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
President Vladimir Putin told US president Donald Trump that he was prepared use the partnership between Russia and Iran to contribute to a settlement of the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
Trump has asked Serbia to take US deportees, Bloomberg reports
President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing Serbia and other Balkan countries to take in the migrants deported from the US, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
The outlet reported:
The requests to countries in the region are ongoing and part of a broader strategy to find foreign governments willing to receive migrants sent from the US, including some who originally entered under Biden-era protections, according to the people, who requested anonymity because the talks were private.
Nearly five months into his second term, Donald Trump has announced a new sweeping travel ban that could reshape the US’s borders more dramatically than any policy in modern memory.
The restrictions, revealed through a presidential proclamation on Wednesday, would target citizens from more than a dozen countries – creating a three-tiered system of escalating barriers to entry.
The proclamation represents one of the most ambitious attempts to reshape the US’s approach to global mobility in modern history and potentially affects millions of people coming to the United States for relocation, travel, work or school.
Trump travel ban to 'sow division and vilify communities'
Good morning, and welcome to our blog covering developments in US politics and Donald Trump’s administration. International aid groups and affected countries reacted to the sweeping order banning travel from 12 countries and restricting visitors from seven others, with claims that it will sow division and vilify communities.
The nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be “fully” restricted from entering the US, according to the proclamation. Meanwhile, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted.
In a video released on social media, Trump tied the new ban to Sunday’s terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The suspect in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list. The Department of Homeland Security says he overstayed a tourist visa.
“This policy is not about national security – it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.
Few of the affected countries have so far responded but Somalia immediately pledged to work with the US to address security issues. “Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of president Nicolas Maduro, described the US government as fascist and warned Venezuelans of being in the US.
The truth is being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans … They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”
We’ll be covering all the developments in this story and you can read our report here:
In other news:
Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging top aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline”. The investigation will build on a Republican-led campaign already under way to discredit the former president. Biden issued a statement dismissing the idea of a cover-up as “ridiculous”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with Trump on Thursday, hoping to build a personal relationship despite discord over Ukraine and the threat of a trade war. The president is due to greet Merz at 11.30am EST.
Trump is committed to passing his so-called “big beautiful” tax bill in the US Senate despite opposition from billionaire Elon Musk, a White House official said on Wednesday. The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, added that the White House will not consult Musk on every policy decision. Estimates say that the bill could add $2.4trn to the deficit. Musk has stepped up attacks on the bill on X, urging supporters to “Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL.”
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