• Five Waymo vehicles were set on fire during protests in LA about Trump's immigration crackdown.
• The company suspended service in downtown LA, a spokesperson confirmed to BI.
• Waymo doesn't think the vehicles were intentionally targeted and is working with the LAPD.

Waymo suspended robotaxi service in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday after five vehicles were set on fire during protests against President Donald Trump's immigration raids in the city.

Photos show Waymo cars covered in anti-ICE graffiti burning in the street, engulfed in smoke.

A spokesperson for Waymo confirmed to Business Insider that five vehicles had been vandalized during the protests. The company temporarily suspended service in downtown LA and doesn't think its vehicles were intentionally targeted, the spokesperson said. Waymo is working with the Los Angeles Police Department, they added.

On Sunday night, the LAPD said on X that "burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases." Electric vehicles often use lithium-ion batteries.

The spokesperson told BI that Waymo, which Alphabet owns, operates more than 300 vehicles in LA and is continuing operations in other parts of the city.

It's not the first time that Waymo vehicles have been targeted in California. Last year, a crowd in San Francisco set one of the robotaxis on fire during Lunar New Year celebrations amid a wave of distrust about driverless vehicles.

The protests broke out on Friday after an immigration raid in the city. Over the weekend, Trump bypassed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's authority and ordered 2,000 National Guard members to the LA area. Despite the dramatic images, the protests have largely been peaceful, according to multiple reports.

The demonstrations have become a political lightning rod between Newsom and Trump, and the governor has announced that he's suing the administration. They may, however, serve as an olive branch between the president and Elon Musk, who had an ugly falling out last week.

• Elon Musk reshared two posts from Trump on Sunday amid protests in LA.
• It comes days after the feud between the two men reached a peak.
• Musk also shared an image of a masked protester waving a Mexican flag, writing: "This is not ok."

Elon Musk is back to cheering President Donald Trump on — for now.

On Sunday night, amid protests in the Los Angeles area, Musk posted a screenshot of a Truth Social post from Trump denouncing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass.

The president and his allies have cast the ongoing demonstrations, which began in response to immigration raids, as an "insurrection." His administration ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members to the LA area over Newsom's objections.

Earlier on Sunday night, Musk reposted a Truth Social post screenshot from Vice President JD Vance about the administration's response, adding two American flag emojis.

He also shared an image of a masked protester waving a Mexican flag on top of a damaged vehicle, writing: "This is not ok."

The posts come just days after the feud between Musk and Trump reached a fever pitch last week. At one point, Musk approvingly shared a post suggesting that Trump be impeached, while Trump floated revoking Musk's companies' government contracts.

The public fighting between the two men largely subsided over the weekend, and Musk deleted some of his posts, including one declaring that Trump was in the "Epstein files."

Trump has said that he has no plans to repair his relationship with Musk.

The feud began after Musk departed his role as the informal leader of the White House DOGE Office, with the tech titan criticizing Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" for adding trillions to the deficit over the next 10 years.

• Donald Trump and Elon Musk had a public fallout on Thursday after Musk criticized Trump's tax bill.
• Bill Ackman and Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, took to X to urge the duo to end their public feud.
• "Broooos please noooooo. We love you both so much," Ye wrote on X.

For some, watching Donald Trump and Elon Musk fall out is like watching your favorite power couple break up — and Bill Ackman and Ye really don't want that happening.

The billionaire hedge fund manager and the hip-hop mogul took to X to share their thoughts.

Ackman urged Trump and Musk to reconcile and continue working together.

"I support @realDonaldTrump and @elonmusk and they should make peace for the benefit of our great country. We are much stronger together than apart," Ackman wrote in his post, which is now pinned to the top of his X profile.

Musk responded to Ackman's post. "You're not wrong," the Tesla CEO wrote.

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, took a different approach.

"Broooos please noooooo. We love you both so much," Ye wrote on X, with an emoji of two people hugging.

Musk and Trump's relationship has taken a sharp turn.

Shortly after Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt at a rally in July, Musk took to X to declare his endorsement of Trump's presidential bid. He later stood by Trump's side at Mar-a-Lago on election night, celebrating his victory.

In November, Trump said Musk would help lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, which was tasked with cutting federal spending.

Early in Trump's second term, Musk was a regular fixture at the White House. At one point, the Tesla CEO brought his son, X Æ A-XII, to the Oval Office.

But in May, Musk began distancing himself from the administration.

Then on Thursday, it all came crashing down: Musk and Trump had a very public falling out, trading barbs on their respective social media platforms.

Musk, who left his role at DOGE last week, took to X to criticize Trump's tax bill in a flurry of posts, branding it the "Big Ugly Spending Bill."

Trump then fired back during a White House event, expressing his disappointment in Musk and dismissing the criticism as a case of "Trump Derangement Syndrome," before turning to Truth Social to defend his tax bill.

Representatives for Ackman and Ye did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider outside regular hours.

• Elon Musk predicted Trump's tariffs will trigger a recession later this year.
• Musk's comment comes amid a growing public fallout with the president.
• Wall Street has expressed similar concerns over Trump's tariffs.

Elon Musk predicted Donald Trump's tariffs will send the economy into recession, one of many verbal barbs the tech billionaire threw at the president on Thursday as their relationship collapsed into acrimony.

"The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year," Musk wrote on X while reposting another tweet that called Trump's tariffs "super stupid."

The morning began with Trump saying he was disappointed by Musk's opposition to his "One Big Beautiful Bill" during a press appearance to welcome the German Chancellor to the White House.

The feud intensified when Musk called out Trump's "ingratitude," and suggested establishing a new political party. The SpaceX cofounder also proposed decommissioning the company's Dragon spacecraft after Trump threatened to cut his government contracts, although Musk backed off that idea pretty quickly on X.

Fractures between the two emerged after Musk left his role recently at the White House. On Tuesday, Musk blasted the Republicans' tax-and-spending-cut bill, which Trump helped to shepherd through the House, calling it "pork-filled'" and a "disgusting abomination."

Musk isn't alone in criticizing the potential fiscal impact of this legislation. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated it could increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade.

Other experts also agree with Musk that Trump's tariffs could have a negative impact on the US economy.

JPMorgan predicted a 60% chance of a US recession after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on April 2. The bank adjusted the possibility down to below 50% recently after Trump paused most of his highest tariffs.

In a March interview with Fox News, Trump had also declined to rule out the possibility of a recession.

"I hate to predict things like that," said Trump.

"There is a period of transition," he added, "because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing back wealth to America. That's a big thing, and there are always periods of, it takes a little time, it takes a little time."

• Elon Musk said SpaceX will decommission its Dragon spacecraft immediately amid his feud with Trump.
• The announcement came after Trump said canceling Musk's government contracts would save money.
• SpaceX's Dragon ships are used in NASA missions to the International Space Station.

Elon Musk's feud with President Donald Trump has officially reached orbit.

Musk said in a post on X Thursday that SpaceX "will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately" in light of Trump's statement that floated canceling the billionaire's government contracts and subsidies.

The SpaceX CEO included a screenshot of Trump's earlier Truth Social post, which said terminating Musk's government contracts would be the "easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars."

Musk walked that decision back around five hours later.

"This is a shame this back and forth. You are both better than this. Cool off and take a step back for a couple days," X user Fab25june wrote on the platform.

"Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon," Musk said.

SpaceX's Dragon spaceships are used to transport NASA astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station.

In a statement to Business Insider, Bethany Stevens, NASA press secretary, said: "NASA will continue to execute upon the President's vision for the future of space. We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President's objectives in space are met."

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

The comments came as the feud between the former allies exploded on Thursday, with Trump and Musk publicly trading insults on their respective social media platforms, Truth Social and X.

Musk's government contracts are worth billions, with SpaceX working closely with NASA. SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, designed to be reusable, can carry up to seven passengers to and from orbit and is the first private spacecraft to transport humans to and from the ISS, the company says.

Since 2020, NASA has relied on SpaceX's Dragon to transport astronauts to and from orbit. The agency, which retired its space shuttle program in 2011, depended on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for crewed missions prior to partnering with SpaceX.

In 2024, NASA announced SpaceX was awarded a $843 million contract to help decommission the ISS by the early 2030s. The plan involved using a larger, super-powered Dragon spaceship to push the ISS out of orbit, eventually landing in a remote part of the ocean. NASA planned to transition to using privately-owned space stations in the future.

Steve Bannon, who served as the White House chief strategist in Trump's first term, said in an interview Thursday that Trump should act immediately in response to Musk's announcement about decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft.

"President Trump tonight should sign an executive order calling for the Defense Production Act," Bannon said, referring to a federal law that grants the president authority to influence or control domestic industry in the name of national defense,"and seize SpaceX tonight before midnight."

• Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had a tumultuous relationship over the years.
• While the two traded barbs during Trump's first presidency, they've become political allies.
• Musk officially joined the administration, but recently criticized Trump's "big, beautiful bill."

Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had something of an on-again-off-again relationship over the years.

The world's richest person and the two-time president of the United States weren't always close, but became singular political allies, with Musk calling himself "first buddy" following Trump's 2024 victory and donating more than $200 million toward pro-Trump super PACs.

At the beginning of Trump's second term, Musk was frequently seen on the president's side and served as the de facto head of the White House DOGE office, the cost-cutting initiative that made waves throughout the federal government.

In May, Musk started to separate himself somewhat from Trump, saying he'd devote more time to his businesses and spend less money on politics.

By early June, it appeared that their relationship was blowing up in real time as the two publicly disagreed over the "Big, Beautiful Bill."

Here's how the two billionaires reached this point.

November 2016: Musk says Trump is 'not the right guy' for the job

Just before the 2016 presidential election, Musk told CNBC he didn't think Trump should be president. 

"I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy. He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States," Musk said. 

The billionaire added that Hillary Clinton's economic and environmental policies were the "right ones."

December 2016: Musk appointed to Trump's advisory councils

After he won the presidency, Trump appointed Musk to two economic advisory councils, along with other business leaders like Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. 

Musk received criticism for working with the controversial president, but he defended his choice by saying he was using the position to lobby for better environmental and immigration policies. 

June 2017: Musk cut ties with the White House in protest of Trump's environmental policies

On June 1, 2017, after Trump announced the US would pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, Musk resigned from his roles on presidential advisory boards. 

"Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," Musk said in a tweet announcing his departure.

Musk's goal for Tesla is to curb dependence on fossil fuels through electric vehicles, solar power, and stationary energy storage. 

January 2020: 'One of our great geniuses'

During a January 2020 interview with CNBC, Trump praised Musk's accomplishments and intelligence. 

"You have to give him credit," the former president said, referring to Tesla becoming more valuable than Ford and General Motors. "He's also doing the rockets. He likes rockets. And he's doing good at rockets too, by the way." 

Trump went on to call Musk "one of our great geniuses" and likened him to Thomas Edison. 

May 2020: Trump backs up Musk in feud with California's COVID-19 rules

As the pandemic gripped the US in early 2020, Musk clashed with California public-health officials who forced Tesla to temporarily shut down its factory there. Trump voiced his support for Musk. 

"California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW," Trump tweeted in May 2020. "It can be done Fast & Safely!"

"Thank you!" Musk replied. 

May 2022: Musk said he would reinstate Trump's Twitter account

In May, Musk said he would unban Trump as Twitter's new owner. 

Musk called the ban a "morally bad decision" and "foolish to the extreme" in an interview with the Financial Times. Twitter kicked Trump off its platform following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. 

The Tesla billionaire has called himself a "free speech absolutist," and one of his key goals for taking Twitter private was to loosen content moderation. 

July 2022: Trump calls Musk a 'bullshit artist'

In July, Trump took aim at Musk, saying the businessman voted for him but later denied it. 

"You know [Musk] said the other day 'Oh, I've never voted for a Republican,'" Trump said during a Saturday rally in Anchorage, Alaska. "I said 'I didn't know that.' He told me he voted for me. So he's another bullshit artist."

On Monday, Musk tweeted that Trump's claim was "not true."

July 2022: Musk says Trump shouldn't run again

Musk stopped short of attacking Trump personally, but said he shouldn't run for president again. 

"I don't hate the man, but it's time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset. Dems should also call off the attack – don't make it so that Trump's only way to survive is to regain the Presidency," he tweeted. 

He continued: "Do we really want a bull in a china shop situation every single day!? Also, I think the legal maximum age for start of Presidential term should be 69." Trump is 76 years old. 

July 2022: Trump lashes out

Trump then went on the offensive, posting a lengthy attack on Musk on Truth Social, the social media company he founded. 

"When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it's electric cars that don't drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he'd be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, 'drop to your knees and beg,' and he would have done it," Trump said in a post that criticized two of Musk's ventures, Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX. 

"Lmaooo," Musk responded on Twitter.

October 2022: Trump cheers Musk's Twitter deal but says he won't return

Following Musk's official buyout of Twitter on Thursday, Trump posted to Truth Social, cheering the deal. 

"I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country," he said. He added that he likes Truth Social better than other platforms, echoing comments from earlier this year in which he ruled out a return to Twitter. 

On Monday, Musk joked about the potential of welcoming the former president back to his newly acquired platform.

"If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Trump is coming back on this platform, Twitter would be minting money!," the Tesla CEO tweeted. 

May 2023: Musk hosts Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' glitchy debut

Musk and other right-leaning voices in Silicon Valley initially supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis ended 2022 as Trump's best-positioned primary challenger. In November 2022, as DeSantis was skyrocketing to acclaim, Musk said he would endorse him. In March 2023, after enduring Trump's attacks for months, DeSantis prepared to make history by formally announcing his campaign in an interview on Twitter.

The initial few minutes were a glitchy disaster. Trump and his allies ruthlessly mocked DeSantis' "Space" with Musk and venture capitalist David Sachs. DeSantis' interview later proceeded, but his campaign was dogged for days with negative headlines.

September 2023: A Trump-style border wall is needed, Musk says

Musk live-streamed a visit to the US-Mexico border on Twitter, which he had rebranded as "X." Musk said that one of Trump's signature policies was necessary during his visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, to get a first-person look at what local officials called a crisis at the border.

"We actually do need a wall and we need to require people to have some shred of evidence to claim asylum to enter, as everyone is doing that," Musk wrote on X. "It's a hack that you can literally Google to know exactly what to say! Will find out more when I visit Eagle Pass maybe as soon as tomorrow."

Like Trump and others on the right, Musk had criticized the broader consensus in Washington for focusing too much on Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine in comparison to domestic issues like migration. 

March 2024: Trump tries to woo Musk, but the billionaire says he won't give him money.

Trump tried to woo Musk during a meeting at the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort. According to The New York Times, Trump met with Musk and a few other GOP megadonors when the former president's campaign was particularly cash-strapped. After the Times published its report, Musk said he would not be "donating money to either candidate for US President." 

It wasn't clear who Musk meant in terms of the second candidate. He had repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden, who looked poised to be headed toward a rematch with Trump.

July 2024: Musk endorses Trump after the former president is shot

Musk said he "fully endorsed" Trump after the former president was shot during a political rally ahead of the Republican National Convention. The billionaire's endorsement marked a major turning point in his yearslong political evolution from an Obama voter. Days later, it would come to light that Musk pressed Trump to select Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.

Trump announced Vance as his vice presidential pick at the Republican National Convention.

The ticket, Musk wrote on X, "resounds with victory."

It wasn't just his public support that Musk was offering. In July, The Wall Street Journal reported Musk had pledged roughly $45 million to support a pro-Trump super PAC. Musk later said he would donate far less, but his rebranding into a loyal member of the MAGA right was complete.

August 2024: Trump joins Musk for a highly anticipated interview

Trump, who ended the Republican National Convention primed for victory, stumbled after Biden abruptly dropped out of the 2024 race. The former president and his allies have struggled to attack Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee.

Amid Harris' early media blitz, Trump joined Musk on a two-hour livestream on X that garnered an audience of over 1 million listeners. The conversation covered topics ranging from a retelling of Trump's assassination attempt to illegal immigration to Musk's potential role with a government efficiency commission.

In August, Trump began floating the idea that he "certainly would" consider adding Musk to his Cabinet or an advisory role. The Tesla CEO responded by tweeting an AI-generated photo of himself on a podium emblazoned with the acronym "D.O.G.E"—Department of Government Efficiency.

"I am willing to serve," he wrote above the image.

September 2024: Musk says he's ready to serve if Trump gives him an advisory role

In September, Trump softened the suggestion of Musk joining his Cabinet due to his time constraints with running his various business ventures, the Washington Post reported. However, he also said that Musk could "consult with the country" and help give "some very good ideas."

Musk then replied to a tweet about the Washington Post article, expressing his enthusiasm.

"I can't wait. There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go," he wrote.

He later said on X that he "looked forward to serving" the country and would be willing to do with without any pay, title, or recognition.

October 2024: Musk speaks at Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania

Musk joined Trump onstage during the former president's rally, hosted on October 5 in the same location where Trump survived an assassination attempt in July. Musk sported an all-black "Make America Great Again" cap and briefly addressed the crowd, saying that voter turnout for Trump this year was essential or "this will be the last election." 

"President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution," Musk said. "He must win to preserve democracy in America."

The next day, Musk's America PAC announced that it would offer $47 to each person who refers registered voters residing in swing states to sign a petition "in support for the First and Second Amendments."

By October, the PAC had reportedly already spent over $80 million on the election, with over $8.2 million spread across 18 competitive House races for the GOP. 

The Tesla CEO later told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he might face "vengeance" if Trump loses the election.

November 2024: Trump wins the presidency and names Musk his administration

Musk was by Trump's side on election night at Mar-a-Lago, helping celebrate his victory.

Nearly a week after his 2024 presidential election win, Trump announced that Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were chosen to lead a newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE, as Musk likes to call it, in reference to the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin).

"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pay the way for my Administration to dismantle the Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies," Trump said in a statement. 

It's unclear whether the department will formally exist within the government, though Trump said the office would "provide advice and guidance from outside of Government" and work directly with the White House and Office of Management & Budget.

Musk responded in a post on X that the Department of Government Efficiency will be post all their actions online "for maximum transparency." 

"Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know!" Musk wrote. "We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining."

Outside of administrative duties, Musk has also attended "almost every meeting and many meals that Mr. Trump has had," the New York Times reported, acting as a partial advisor and confidant. The Tesla CEO also reportedly joined Trump's calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while both men were at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago club, where Musk seems to have settled in.

"Elon won't go home," Trump told NBC News jokingly. "I can't get rid of him." 

The two's close relationship has extended to a more personal friendship. Musk was seen attending Trump's Thanksgiving dinner and on the golf course with Trump and his grandchildren, where Kai Trump said he achieved "uncle status."

December 2024: Trump reaffirms he will be the next President, not Musk

While Musk and Trump are both big personalities, the President-elect made it clear that he'll be the one running the country. President-elect Donald Trump dismissed the notion that he "ceded the presidency" to Musk and said that even if the billionaire wanted to be president, he couldn't because he was born in South Africa.

"No, he's not going to be president, that I can tell you," Trump said at Turning Point USA's annual "AmericaFest" in December. "And I'm safe. You know why? He can't be? He wasn't born in this country."

Trump's comments came after Musk flexed his influence to help shut down a bipartisan emergency spending bill earlier that month. Some Republicans questioned why Trump hadn't been more active in derailing the bill, and Democrats baited the President-elect on social media with posts about Musk "calling the shots" and taking on the role of a "shadow president.

Prior to Trump addressing the subject, Trump's team also looked to shut down the idea that Musk is leading the Republican Party.

"As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view," Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition, told BI. "President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop."

January 2025: Musk and fellow billionaires celebrate Trump's inauguration

Trump was sworn into office on January 20. Several tech leaders were in attendance, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Google's Sundar Pichai. The "first buddy" was also front and center for Trump's inauguration.

Musk took the stage to celebrate at an inauguration event at the Capital One Arena, where he sparked accusations over a gesture he made that some said resembled a Nazi salute. Musk denied the allegations.

"Hopefully, people realize I'm not a Nazi. Just to be clear, I'm not a Nazi," he said during an interview with Joe Rogan.

February 2025: The White House says Musk isn't running DOGE

Though Musk has been the face of the DOGE effort, White House court filings said he has "no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself."

In the filing, Musk is described as a senior advisor to Trump with "no greater authority than other senior White House advisors." Officials have also called him a "special government employee."

Trump told reporters they can call Musk "whatever you want."

"Elon is to me a patriot," Trump said in February. "You could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant, you could call him whatever you want."

Later that month, a White House official told BI that Amy Gleason, who previously worked for US Digital Service, is the acting DOGE administrator.

March 2025: Trump buys a Tesla and calls out protesters

Despite court filings and White House officials stating otherwise, Trump told Congress that Musk is the leader of the DOGE office.

"I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it, which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight," Trump said during his speech on March 4.

Those questioning the constitutionality of DOGE were quick to respond by letting a federal judge know about their claims that Musk is in charge.

Meanwhile, calls for a Tesla boycott are growing as Musk becomes more involved in Trump's presidency. Protests, boycotts, and vandalism at Tesla dealerships across the US have spread since the beginning of 2025.

Trump stepped in to defend Musk's electric car company on Tuesday, with Teslas on the South Lawn of the White House. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote that he'd purchase a car to show support amid the public outcry.

"The Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World's great automakers, and Elon's 'baby,' in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for," the president wrote.

April 2025: Musk announces he's stepping back from DOGE

Three months into DOGE's mission to reshape the federal workforce, Musk announced that he would be stepping back from the effort. He broke the news during an underwhelming Tesla earnings call, where earnings per share were down 71% year over year.

"Starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla," Musk said during the call. He added that "the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency" had been completed.

At the time, Musk said he would keep spending one or two days each week on governmental duties, so long as Trump wanted him to do so.

May 2025: Musk says he'll be spending less on politics, criticizes the Republican agenda, and announces he's leaving government for good

By May, Musk started to step back from his political activity overall. During an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, he said he thinks he's "done enough" in terms of political contributions.

"In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," he said, adding that he didn't "currently see a reason" to pour money into politics. Previously, Musk had said his super PAC would contribute to 2026 midterm efforts.

A few days later, Musk told a reporter that he "probably did spend a bit too much time on politics," and that he'd "reduced that significantly in recent weeks."

Musk took a decidedly more critical tone regarding the overall Republican agenda. In an interview with CBS in late May, he said he wasn't pleased with Trump and House Republicans' "big beautiful" spending bill.

"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said.

And then, on May 28, Musk cut ties with DOGE and the Trump administration. The White House confirmed that it had started Musk's off-boarding process.

"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk wrote in a post on X. "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."

Under federal law, special government employees can't serve for more than 130 days a year. Musk left the administration 128 days after the inauguration.

June 2025: Musk and Trump escalate attacks, after Tesla CEO delivers sharp rebuke against the 'Big Beautiful Bill.'

Days after stepping away from his job in the White House, Musk delivered his harshest criticism yet of the GOP spending proposal called the "Big Beautiful Bill."

"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk wrote on X on June 3. "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."

Some congressional Republicans, including Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee, posted that they agreed with Musk. Meanwhile, Trump has consistently defended the bill on Truth Social, including just hours before Musk's critical post on X.

In an interview with CBS News that aired June 1, Musk said, "I'm a little stuck in a bind where I'm like, well, I don't want to speak up against the administration, but I also don't want to take responsibility for everything the administration's doing."

On June 5, the barbs escalated as Musk doubled down on his criticisms and Trump threatened the CEO's businesses.

Musk began to dig up old tweets from Trump, including one where the president said in 2013, "I cannot believe the Republicans are extending the debt ceiling—I am a Republican & I am embarrassed!"

Musk quote-tweeted it with the message, "Wise words," taking a dig at Trump's very different stance on the debt ceiling today.

Trump first shot back with a softer/more diplomatic response, saying that the CEO and he "had a great relationship," but he wasn't sure if it would continue.

The president said Musk was criticizing his bill because of the phase-out of the electric vehicle tax credit, which would likely have repercussions for Musk's Tesla.

Musk shot back within minutes on X, saying that while he thought the EV phase-out was unfair, what he really took issue with was the "MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."

The tone soon took a sharp turn after the president threatened on the same day to terminate the federal contracts that Musk's companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, rely on, and Musk began to take credit for Trump's 2024 electoral victory.

In response to Trump's threat to cancel the government contracts, Musk said on X that he'd immediately decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which provides NASA transport to and from the International Space Station.

• Elon Musk and Donald Trump are breaking up on social media.
• On the social media they own, that is: Musk is using Twitter and Trump is using Truth Social.
• But it wouldn't matter what platforms they use, or own: When you're this rich, famous and powerful, everything you say or type shows up everywhere, instantly.

It was easy to predict that Elon Musk and Donald Trump would break up someday. Even the dummy typing this imagined it.

What I didn't imagine was that the divorce between two of the most powerful men in the world would play out on rival social platforms.

Musk is tweeting away on the thing many of us still call Twitter — which he owns, of course — and Trump is firing back on Truth Social — the would-be Twitter rival he owns.

First and foremost, the spectacle of two billionaires having a potentially deeply consequential flame war is … truly something. When Jack Dorsey and crew were dreaming up their microblogging service nearly 20 years ago, they weren't dreaming of this.

But the fact that it's happening on two different social networks is also fascinating. And it underscores that "social networks" isn't always the best way to think about these platforms. At least when it comes to their mega-rich, mega-wealthy owners, these things are simply megaphones to holler at the world.

Trump, recall, became a surprisingly effective Twitter troll in the run-up to his first election, and especially once he took office. He became expert at "programming" the news by tapping out a few incendiary lines on his Twitter account, and reveling in the chaos that could create. (The guy typing this made a pretty good podcast about all that.)

Then Twitter banned Trump, which by all accounts deeply upset Trump, and that banishment helped prompt Musk to buy Twitter, and then reinstate Trump.

Why Trump never really came back to Twitter

But in the meantime, Trump had created his own Truth Social network as a Twitter alternative. And Trump has both a legal obligation and a financial imperative to post on Truth Social first.

A license agreement with Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that owns Truth Social, requires Trump to post all "non-political social media" items to Truth Social first, then wait six hours before running them anywhere else. More important: If the guy who owns the social media platform isn't using the social media platform for his social media, why would anyone else use it?

Even after Musk and Trump merged forces last summer, Trump still spent almost no time on Twitter. Instead, he's kept plugging away on Truth Social.

And what's happened since — and especially now — forces us to rethink how these platforms work.

For instance: Lots of people who used to use the platform formerly known as Twitter thought that removing Trump from Twitter would diminish his power. But that obviously wasn't true. Trump crushed all comers in the last Republican primary, and won a meaningful victory in last fall's general election, despite little-to-no presence on Twitter.

More important is that Trump's ability to make the world turn based on his words isn't dependent on Twitter at all. He's the President of the United States, so whatever he says, whenever he says it — on a Truth Social post, on the White House lawn, aboard Air Force One — gets instantly amplified, oftentimes with great consequence. Trump could spout off on Tumblr or Friendster (I just Googled — Friendster still exists) and his message would get out there.

At the same time, Trump's presence on Truth Social doesn't seem to have meaningfully boosted usage on that platform.

We can't measure that with traditional metrics — because, tellingly, Trump Media continues to not provide any metrics about how many people use the service — but on vibes. You may read plenty of stories about how Trump posted something on Truth Social, but what about anyone else?

Meanwhile, the things we can see from Trump Media don't suggest the platform is booming: In 2024, the company's meager revenue line actually declined by 12% over the previous year. Even more telling may be the company's seeming pivot into life as a bitcoin repository — which may turn out to make a lot of money for Trump and his partners, but doesn't suggest a real interest in running a media platform.

And at the same time, a Trump-less Twitter has … I don't know if thrived is the right word. A meaningful number of influential users and big advertisers have left the service, and its financial condition seems hopeful at best.

But despite the rise of would-be challengers, Twitter remains the most prominent place for public, real-time chatter, more or less by default. That's why people who tell you social media isn't great for you still use Twitter when they want to insert themselves into the conversation — like The New York Times' Ezra Klein did last year during crucial points in the election cycle.

That speaks to the stickiness of social networks, and how hard it is to replicate them somewhere else. But again, that isn't relevant to Musk's use of the platform to attack Trump: Musk could print out all of his insults on paper and they'd still carry the same weight and import.

When mega-billionaires speak, people listen

Put it another way: Mark Zuckerberg owns multiple huge social networks. If he were going to join this brawl, it wouldn't matter which one of them he used to come over the top rope. All that would matter is the world's second-richest man was in the fight, too, and anything he said or did would be covered by everyone, everywhere.

So cut to Thursday, when Trump has been calling to cut "Billions and Billions of Dollars" from the federal budget by "terminat[ing] Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts" and Musk is accusing Trump of suppressing embarrassing information about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein because Trump "is in the Epstein files."

The insults and threats are being lobbed from different platforms — and are at the same time directly responding to each other but also pretending the other one doesn't exist. Like exes who refuse to speak with each other, but spend all their time telling their mutual friends how awful the other one is, knowing it will get back directly to the person they're complaining about.

Except in this case, the exes are two of the most powerful people in the world. So it doesn't matter what platform they use to do it.

• Harvard University is battling the Trump administration in court to enroll international students.
• The State Department has also halted new student visa appointments, thus adding to the uncertainty.
• Universities overseas have moved to encourage Harvard applicants to study with them instead.

Universities around the world are giving "unconditional offers" — and touting how close tropical getaways are — in a bid to draw Harvard-bound international students grappling with President Donald Trump's crackdown on the Ivy League institution.

The Trump administration said on May 22 that it was banning Harvard from taking in international students. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later ordered all US embassies around the world to halt new student visa appointments while the State Department expands the screening and vetting of applicants' social media. The university's international students are continuing with their studies while the case continues to play out, thanks to a court order.

But amid the uncertainty, other universities overseas have moved quickly to welcome US-bound international students to their classrooms.

Last month, Germany's culture minister, Wolfram Weimer, told Bloomberg that Harvard can set up an "exile campus" in Germany, where students at American universities would be "more than welcome."

Harvard did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The National University of Singapore is extending application deadlines for its MBA program

The National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School said on May 29 that it was offering a "limited extension" to the application deadlines for its MBA and master's programs.

"Official American government policies continue to generate uncertainty and discomfort about student visas. At NUS Business School, we understand and sympathize with these worries," it said in a statement issued Thursday.

"If you have received a verifiable offer from a top-20 MSc or MBA programme but are now reconsidering your plans, we welcome you to instead join us at the National University of Singapore," it added.

Besides selling itself as "Asia's leading business school," NUS also touted how close Singapore is to vacation destinations, adding that the city "happens to be a short plane trip from Bali and Phuket."

The business school said the application deadlines for programs starting in August 2025 and January 2026 had been extended to June 22 and June 30, respectively. The original deadline for NUS's full-time MBA program, which starts in August, was April 2.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has said it will give 'unconditional offers' to Harvard-bound students

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, or HKUST, said on May 23 that it was extending an "open invitation" to Harvard's international undergraduate and postgraduate students to continue their studies there.

HKUST said the offer also applied to "those holding confirmed offers for Harvard degree programs."

"The university will provide unconditional offers, streamlined admission procedures, and academic support to facilitate a seamless transition for interested students," HKUST added.

When approached for comment, HKUST told BI on Tuesday that it was "opening its academic resources to affected international students (including Harvard University students) in response to recent US policy changes."

"Our invitation extends beyond Harvard-affiliated students, but to all outstanding students, both local and international — facing similar academic disruptions," HKUST added in its statement to BI.

The university said it maintains "robust transfer policies" and will be expediting admission reviews and streamlining credit transfers for qualified candidates.

HKUST said it has received "tens of inquiries " and a "wide range of questions" from affected students since their announcement.

The University of Tokyo said it would accept Harvard students on a temporary basis

The University of Tokyo said on May 26 that it was considering accepting international students from Harvard on a temporary basis.

The university's executive vice president for diversity and global affairs, Kaori Hayashi, told BI the university had previously accepted about 20 students from Ukraine who fled the country after Russia's invasion in 2022.

"Given the current unstable international situation, we wish to draw on our experience from the Ukraine crisis to assist talented students whose studies have been disrupted by external factors, whether or not their home institution is Harvard University," Hayashi added.

But students accepted under this program "will not be enrolled as regular degree-seeking students," said Hayashi. Instead, they will be given "temporary learning opportunities" and allowed to "take certain classes" at the university," she said.

"We also plan to issue academic transcripts so that credits for courses taken at UTokyo can be recognized when they return to their studies or pursue further education in the future," Hayashi added.

She added that the start date and duration of the program were still being worked out, but would be ready in the coming academic year.

• Elon Musk has sat down for at least five interviews in recent days.
• He's criticized Trump's spending bill and said he's spent too much time on politics.
• Here's what to know about each interview Musk has given.

Elon Musk is talking to the media again.

After months of largely avoiding sit-down interviews as he devoted time to DOGE, the tech titan suddenly seems to be all over the place.

Across five recent and forthcoming interviews, Musk has reflected on the work of DOGE, offered some criticism of President Donald Trump's legislative agenda, and indicated he's trying to spend less time on politics and more time on his companies.

Here's what you should know about what he said in each interview.

Bloomberg: Musk says he's spending less on politics

Perhaps the biggest revelation from Musk's sit-down with Bloomberg at the Qatar Economic Forum last week is that he's no longer going to be spending big on politics, like he did in the 2024 election.

"I think I've done enough," Musk said. "If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason."

If the tech titan holds true to those comments, Republicans will be losing out on what could have been tens of millions of dollars in political spending. Last year, Musk spent nearly $300 million, mostly on Trump.

He also said that it's up to Trump and Congress to make the project of DOGE a success.

"The DOGE team has done incredible work, but the magnitude of the savings is proportionate to the support we get from Congress and from the executive branch of the government in general," Musk said.

CNBC: New Tesla announcements

Musk's CNBC interview, which also took place last Tuesday, was mostly about Tesla.

He said that within just a matter of months, there could be 1,000 of the company's robotaxis on the streets of Austin, Texas.

"We'll start with probably 10 for a week, then increase it to 20, 30, 40," Musk said. "It will probably be at 1,000 within a few months." He's previously said the ramp-up will be quick.

He also mentioned that he still planned to be in Washington on a weekly basis, even as he spends more time on his companies.

"My rough plan on the White House is to be there for a couple days every few weeks, and to be helpful where I can be helpful," Musk said.

Ars Technica: Musk says he's spent too much time on politics

Musk spoke with Ars Technica, a tech-focused publication, in an Q&A published on Tuesday.

Though he mostly talked about SpaceX, he also said he's been too involved in politics since wading into the 2024 presidential race last year.

"I think I probably did spend a bit too much time on politics," Musk told the outlet. "It's not like I left the companies. It was just relative time allocation that probably was a little too high on the government side, and I've reduced that significantly in recent weeks."

The Washington Post: Musk laments that DOGE has become a 'whipping boy'

In an interview with the Washington Post, also published on Tuesday, Musk said that the "federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized" and that it's an "uphill battle trying to improve things" in Washington, DC.

He also lamented the political backlash that DOGE has generated, especially from Democrats.

"DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything," he said. "So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it."

That backlash has extended to his companies, particularly Tesla.

"People were burning Teslas," Musk said. "Why would you do that? That's really uncool."

CBS: Not a fan of the 'big beautiful bill'

In an interview with CBS — a network that's currently in the midst of a legal battle with Trump — Musk criticized the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which is the centerpiece of the president's legislative agenda because it adds trillions to the deficit.

"I was like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said. "I think a vote can be big, or it could be beautiful. I don't know if it could be both."

And that's just what we know from a clip that was released on Tuesday. The rest of the interview is set to air on Sunday, June 1.

• Two House Republicans voted against the "Big Beautiful Bill" on Thursday.
• Now, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump wants them to face primary challenges.
• "I don't think he likes to see grandstanders in Congress," she said.

Four months into his second term, President Donald Trump wants members of his own party thrown out of office over their perceived lack of loyalty to his "Big Beautiful Bill"

That was the message delivered by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt after two Republicans — Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — voted against Trump's bill as it passed the House on Thursday.

Asked by a reporter at a briefing later on Thursday whether Trump think the duo should be primaried, Leavitt responded: "I believe he does."

"I don't think he likes to see grandstanders in Congress," Leavitt said. "'What's the alternative?' I would ask those members of Congress. Did they want to see a tax hike? Did they want to see our country go bankrupt?"

Both Massie and Davidson are deficit hawks who voted against the bill because, in their view, it did not cut spending enough.

Other Republicans have raised concerns about the bill's effect on the deficit but voted for it anyway. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, the chairman of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, voted "present."

In response to Leavitt's comments, Massie asked for donations on X.

"For voting on principle, I now have the President AND his press Secretary campaigning against me from the White House podium," Massie wrote. "Can you help me by donating?"

A spokesperson for Davidson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While the Ohio congressman doesn't typically cross Trump, the president has long been critical of Massie — and vice versa. The Kentucky Republican backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during the 2024 GOP primary, and Trump previously called for Massie to face a primary challenge in 2020.

Earlier this week, Trump bashed Massie in front of reporters.

"I don't think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he's a grandstander," Trump said on Tuesday. "I think he should be voted out of office."

• Boeing secured a record-breaking $96 billion order from Qatar Airways during Donald Trump's trip.
• It was one of several wins this week, showing the planemaker is recovering from a troubling 2024.
• Trump's support came after tensions over Air Force One delays and concerns over a Qatari gift.

Boeing showed it's bouncing back from its turmoil as it won several victories from Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East.

On Wednesday, Qatar Airways agreed to buy at least 160 Boeing jets, in a deal the White House valued at $96 billion. It is the planemaker's largest-ever order for wide-body aircraft.

While the two CEOs signed certificates and shook hands, Trump and the Emir of Qatar applauded from behind the ornate desk. The president gave Boeing's Kelly Ortberg a pat on the back.

It's rare to see heads of state attend aircraft-order ceremonies. Trump's show of support for Boeing was a notable turn from the tensions between the two over delays in building the next Air Force One.

Receiving such a huge vote of confidence from an industry-leading airline is also a significant boost, especially since the order includes 30 Boeing 777X planes and options for dozens more.

The 777X is yet to be certified, running years behind schedule, meaning Qatar's order is a big show of faith in Boeing's future. Flight tests for the 777X had to be paused last August after damage was found on a key structure.

Several customers, including the largest, Emirates, voiced their frustrations after Ortberg then announced its launch would be further pushed back to 2026.

However, Qatar Airways has never dwelt on the delays. "Let us not cry over spilled milk," CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer told Business Insider last July.

Boeing is also likely to benefit from Tuesday's defense deal with Saudi Arabia, which the White House called "the largest defense-sales agreement in history," at roughly $142 billion.

These are all significant signs that the planemaker hasn't lost too much of its reputation after an ignominious 2024.

The year began with a door plug falling off a 737 Max in midair. Regulators subsequently capped Boeing's production as it works to overhaul its processes.

This week has seen progress here, too, as Boeing said it delivered 45 commercial planes last month — almost double the number in the same period last year.

Trump's change of heart

Even before Qatar Airways' order, planes were dominating the headlines around Trump's trip.

The president said Monday he would be "stupid" to turn down the Qatari royal family's proposed gift of a Boeing 747.

It has raised ethical and legal concerns, with politicians on both sides of the aisle questioning the gift. The luxurious $400 million plane would be one of the most expensive gifts ever received by the government from another country.

The timing may also raise questions about Qatar's motivation for announcing the mammoth Boeing order during Trump's visit, rather than at next month's Paris Air Show.

Trump wants the 747 to serve as Air Force One because Boeing is running years behind schedule in building the next presidential jet. He renegotiated the contract in his first term, and the planemaker has since lost billions on the project.

In February, Trump showed his frustration with the delays by touring a Qatari Boeing 747 in Palm Beach — believed to be the one now on offer.

So, his support for Boeing in Qatar shows a change of heart that will likely please the planemaker and help settle any apprehension over Air Force One.

The country's top exporter, Boeing, was also under threat from Trump's tariff plans.

Jets destined for Chinese airlines had to be sent back across the Pacific Ocean after they refused to accept them due to the trade war. On Monday, China and the US agreed to lower tariffs by 115%.

But overall, that may not be as valuable as the reputation boost provided during Trump's trip.

This week has helped the storied planemaker prove that it's moving on from the woes of 2024.

• Trump wants an F-35 stealth fighter with two engines because he doesn't like single-engine planes.
• He wants to call this new twin-engine F-35 the F-55.
• A former F-35 program manager told BI that this would basically mean building a new aircraft.

Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter is equipped with the world's most powerful fighter engine. It only has one of them, though, and President Donald Trump wants it to have two.

That's no small change. Redesigning an F-35 for twin engines is essentially building a whole new aircraft, a former US Air Force pilot who was involved with the F-35 program told Business Insider. That could take decades and require huge expenditures from an administration that's set on slashing government spending.

"The airframe is completely designed around a single engine," explained retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Gunzinger, who worked on the advanced F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter as a program manager for flight simulation test and evaluation.

"To put two engines in it would be a complete redesign of not only the hardware and the airframe, but also the software," he said. The plane would need to be larger and could see decreased range.

Trump pitched an idea on Thursday for a new twin-engine version of the F-35 that he said he would call the F-55.

"The F-35, we're doing an upgrade — a simple upgrade — but we're also doing an F-55. I'm going to call it an F-55," Trump said during a business roundtable in Qatar. He said that the jet would be a "substantial upgrade" with two engines because "I don't like single engines."

"We're going to do an F-55" if the price is right, Trump said. "And that will be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35."

The F-35 is a fifth-generation stealth aircraft made by US defense giant Lockheed Martin. It was developed and manufactured as part of a multinational program, and since the first jet rolled off the production line, more than 1,100 have been delivered to the US and militaries overseas.

The F-35 stealth fighter is a cornerstone of US airpower, with not just the ability to penetrate contested airspace but also quarterback American combat assets. While some Trump allies have criticized the aircraft over its high costs and questioned its ability to compete with drones, the president appears to be supportive of the program and the plane's prime contractor, as Trump also wants to upgrade the F-22 Raptor.

Both the F-35 and the F-22 are receiving upgrades, the most notable for the former being the Block IV upgrades and Tech Refresh 3 expected to deliver significantly improved capabilities. The president's plans appear to be outside of these ongoing efforts on the fifth-gen fighters.

In the case of the F-55, it almost certainly amounts to building a new fighter rather than modernizing existing F-35s considering the engineering challenges.

Trump's comments came several weeks after Lockheed Martin's CEO James Taiclet said his company would "supercharge" the fighter aircraft and turn it into a "fifth-generation-plus" aircraft with nearly the capabilities of a sixth-generation fighter like the F-47, which will be built by competitor Boeing. The upgraded F-35 could include improved stealth tech and materials, better sensors, and longer-range weapons. The CEO made no mention of a second engine.

A twin-engine F-35? More like a new F-55 fighter

The F-35's powerful single Pratt & Whitney F135 engine sets it apart from other fifth-generation aircraft like the American F-22 Raptor, the Russian Su-57, and the Chinese J-20 and new J-35, which all have twin engines. The J-35 resembles a twin-engine F-35, at least in appearance.

The F-35's lone F135 engine produces a whopping 43,000 pounds of thrust. The F-22's engines are each less powerful, by contrast, but together create 70,000 pounds of thrust.

Gunzinger, a former F-111 Ardvaark pilot who served with the US Air Force for over 20 years, said that the F-35 has only one engine because compromises were made during development to ensure that the plane met the needs of multiple services simultaneously.

The F-35 comes in three variants: the A for conventional take-off and landing, the B for short take-off and vertical landing, and the C for carrier-based operations. These three variants are generally operated by the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, respectively.

The Marine-operated F-35B is especially unique because of the lift fan that allows it to land and take off in a hover. A twin-engine F-35B is unlikely considering the daunting technical hurdles to build it. "Technologically, it's a bridge too far to put two engines in an F-35B," Gunzinger said.

During his remarks Thursday, Trump said he likes having more engines because there's a backup if one goes out. The only other US single-engine fighters are the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the AV-8B Harrier, the STOVL aircraft the F-35B is replacing.

Gunzinger said two engines are, indeed, better than one, pointing to several instances when single-engine aircraft with engine issues wouldn't have been lost had it had a second engine. But the F-35 is a single-engine aircraft through and through. Anything else is a effectively a different plane.

Talking about transforming the F-35 into a twin-engine aircraft is "talking about a completely different aircraft" that's years — if not decades — away, Gunzinger said. Unless there's a secret fighter jet program underway in the desert somewhere or it is based on Lockheed's failed bid to build the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, this idea could mean starting from scratch to create a design with the right aeronautics, carrying capacity, and small radar cross-section.

Frank Kendall, who was secretary of the Air Force until late January, told Breaking Defense that "a two-engine version of F-35 would be virtually a complete redesign," adding that the idea is "an option that was never presented and that we never considered."

The White House did not provide further details on the F-55, and neither did the Air Force when BI asked. Lockheed Martin would not say whether it has been in discussions with the White House about a twin-engine F-35 or a new F-55. Lockheed said only that it looks forward to working on the administration's "vision for air dominance."

Gunzinger said that building both the F-55 and Boeing's NGAD doesn't make sense. "The Air Force really can't afford another major fighter program," he added. "With the current budget and capabilities, you really have to decide on do you want an F-55, which is a brand new aircraft, or do you want the NGAD," another brand new aircraft. And both planes would likely bring similar capabilities to the fight.

• Republicans are trying to pass Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" in the coming weeks.
• It includes new tax cuts, changes to Medicaid, saving accounts for kids, and other provisions.
• Here's what you should know about the centerpiece of Trump's legislative agenda.

For months, President Donald Trump has pursued his sweeping agenda through executive actions. Now comes the hard part.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are finally putting pen to paper on what Trump has called the "One Big Beautiful Bill," a sweeping fiscal package that will serve as the centerpiece of the president's legislative agenda.

The bill includes GOP priorities like no taxes on tips or overtime, cuts to Medicaid, "MAGA accounts" for children and several other provisions.

It will take weeks for lawmakers in the House and Senate to work out the final details, and it's likely that some changes will be made along the way. Republicans hope to send the bill to Trump's desk by July 4.

Here's what you should know about what's in the "One Big Beautiful Bill."

The bill includes cuts to Medicaid, and millions could lose health coverage

As part of the plan approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, states would implement work requirements in 2029 for childless adults on Medicaid who do not have a disability, mandating they work for 80 hours a month.

A component of the plan would increase the price of doctors' visits, mandating beneficiaries making above the federal poverty limit to pay co-payments of up to $35. States would also be required to stop taxing hospitals and nursing homes in order to secure more federal funding.

Medicaid recipients in some states would have more paperwork to regularly confirm their residency status and income. And the plan would lower federal funding for some recipients in states that fund medical coverage for undocumented immigrants.

The Congress Budget Office estimated the legislation would save about $912 billion over the next decade in federal spending, about $715 billion of which would derive from Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts. The CBO said about 8.6 million people could lose their insurance coverage.

The plan came short of expectations among some ultraconservatives who wanted more Medicaid cuts at the federal level. Some GOP leaders wanted per-capita caps for those in Medicaid expansion states and a lower across-the-board rate at which the federal government supplements each state's funding for Medicaid programs.

Democrats have strongly opposed the bill, emphasizing that millions of Americans will potentially have their lives uprooted by Medicaid cuts.

No tax on tips or overtime, making Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, and more

Some of Trump's flashiest campaign promises were to remove taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security. This bill largely gets those done, but only for the next four years — lawmakers will have to decide whether to renew the cuts in 2029.

The bill would allow workers in an "occupation that traditionally and customarily receives tips" to claim a tax deduction for the sum of all tips that they received in the previous year. It would also do the same for overtime wages. Neither deduction is available to anyone who is a "highly compensated employee."

To help accomplish Trump's "no taxes on Social Security" pledge, Republicans created a new $4,000 tax deduction for seniors making less than $75,000 per year. There's also a provision in the bill to fulfill Trump's promise of no taxes on car loan interest.

There's also an extension of the child tax credit, which is currently $2,000 but was set to decrease to $1,000 after this year. The bill would increase the credit to $2,500 through 2028, then it would drop to $2,000 permanently after that.

If you're thinking of buying an electric vehicle, you might want to do so before the end of the year. The bill would eliminate existing tax credits for new and used EVs, and it would impose an annual registration fee of $250 for EV owners.

The bill also makes permanent a slew of tax cuts that Trump and Republicans enacted in 2017. The average American won't feel much of a difference, since they've probably gotten used to the existing tax rates and brackets that have existed since 2018. But it's the most consequential part of the bill from a budgetary perspective, adding trillions to the deficit over the next several years.

MAGA savings accounts

The bill establishes "Money account for growth and advancement" accounts, or MAGA accounts, for children. The idea was originally proposed by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

The federal government would pay $1,000 to babies born from 2024 through 2028. After the cutoff, parents will still be able to put $5,000 per year into each account.

Cruz's proposal is similar to previous Democratic-led efforts for "baby bonds," but the biggest difference is that there is no income cutoff. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, a Democrat, envisioned a program primarily targeted at low-income families.

A repeal of Biden's student loan forgiveness plans

If enacted, the reconciliation bill would mean major changes for student-loan borrowers. The legislation proposes terminating all existing income-driven student-loan repayment plans, including Biden's SAVE income-driven repayment plan, which would have shortened the timeline for debt relief and provided cheaper monthly payments. While SAVE is currently paused due to litigation, Trump and Republican lawmakers have said they would not carry out the plan if it survives in court.

Under the bill, borrowers would have two repayment plan options: one, called the Repayment Assistance Plan, would allow for loan forgiveness after 360 qualifying payments, and the other option would be a standard repayment plan with a fixed monthly payment over a fixed time period set by the servicer.

Payments made under the Repayment Assistance Plan would be calculated based on the borrower's income and would count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

A 10-year ban on state-level AI laws

House lawmakers handed a major win to Big Techby including a 10-year federal preemption on all state artificial intelligence laws in the larger bill. Congress has talked about a federal AI policy, but no serious legislative proposals have emerged.

In the meantime, states have tried to fill to void. Major tech companies have long fought state-level AI regulations. Last year, California lawmakers passed the nation's most sweeping AI legislation only for Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto it.

Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic lobbied against California's bill. Meta recently wrote to the White House that state laws "could impede innovation and investment."

The issue isn't going away. In the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers in at least 45 states introduced AI-related bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Unlike most of the other provisions on this list, the AI regulation ban faces major hurdles to making it into law. Republicans must adhere to strict parliamentary rules to pass Trump's bill without facing a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. One rule is that all provisions must be primarily fiscal in nature, and many expect that the AI provision will fail that test.

A debt ceiling hike, the end of IRS Direct file, money for a border wall, and more

Avoiding default: Republicans would raise the debt limit by $4 trillion, staving off a potential default that could come later this summer. One way or another, Congress will have to address the debt issue soon. The federal government is expected to exhaust its borrowing ability sometime in August.

Billions for missile defense: Trump wants the US to have a futuristic missile defense system inspired by Israel's vaunted "Iron Dome" air defenses, but the US shield would include space-based components and focus on longer-range missile threats rather than the smaller weapons Israel faces. House Republicans have allocated roughly $25 billion for overall missile defense, most of which will go to the "Golden Dome" project.

700 more miles of Trump's border wall: Republicans proposed spending roughly $47 billion on border barriers, which will cover 701 miles of "primary wall," 900 miles of river barriers, and 629 miles of secondary barriers. Trump repeatedly fought in his first term to build a massive border wall between the US and Mexico but struggled to get funding through Congress.

A big tax increase on large university endowments: Republicans would significantly increase Trump's 2017 groundbreaking tax on colleges and universities with large endowments. Under the bill, the tax rate would be tied to the size of their endowment, adjusted by student enrollment.At the low end, the rate would remain at 1.4%. At the highest level, universities would pay 21% tax if they have an endowment of $2 million or more per student.

IRS direct file: The big beautiful bill would officially kill off the IRS's Direct File program, a Biden-era initiative that has long been a subject of Republican ire. In April, a Treasury Department official told BI that it was a failed and disappointing program. The new legislation would instead allocate funding towards studying a public-private partnership to provide free filing for a majority of taxpayers.

• President-elect Donald Trump has 11 grandchildren.
• They range in age from a newborn to 18.
• His second-youngest child, Tiffany Trump, just gave birth to her first baby.

A lot has changed for the Trump family since President Donald Trump first moved to the White House in 2017.

Back then, his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was still married to his now ex-wife, Vanessa Trump, and the president had three fewer grandchildren.

His newest grandchild, Alexander, was born on May 15, 2025, to his daughter Tiffany and son-in-law Michael Boulos.

In all, Donald Trump has five children — Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and Barron — and the four eldest each have children of their own. Barron, who's 19, started his freshman year of college in 2024.

Donald Trump's eldest grandchild, Kai, is already stepping into the spotlight. She spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention and frequently posts photos on Instagram with her grandfather — she even posted on X that Elon Musk had "uncle status."

Another of Trump's grandchildren, 9-year-old Theodore Kushner, sat center stage at Super Bowl LIX when his grandfather became the first president in history to attend the game.

It stands to reason that as the rest of the Trump grandchildren grow up, they may become more publicly outspoken and publicly known.

Here's a guide to all 11 of Donald Trump's grandchildren.

Kai Madison Trump

Kai Trump is the oldest of Donald Trump's grandchildren at 18 years old. She's also the oldest child of Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump and was born in May 2007.

Her parents, who were married from 2005 to 2018, have five children together.

Kai spoke onstage at the Republican National Convention last year, making her first foray onto the political stage, and sat on the inauguration stage in January when Trump was sworn in.

She's also set to play college golf and verbally committed to playing at the University of Miami beginning in 2026, she shared on Instagram in August 2024.

She thanked Donald Trump, who owns more than a dozen golf courses, in the post, writing, "I would like to thank my Grandpa for giving me access to great courses and tremendous support."

Donald John Trump III

After Kai came Donald J. Trump III, who celebrated his 16th birthday on February 18. Donald Trump Jr. posted a photo with all of his kids, including his son, on Thanksgiving.

Donald J. Trump III was also onstage at the RNC in 2024 and attended the 2025 inauguration.

Tristan Milos Trump

Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump's third child, Tristan, was born in October 2011 and is now 13 years old.

Spencer Frederick Trump

Spencer is the fourth of Donald Trump Jr.'s five children; he was born in October 2012 and is 12 years old.

His middle name comes from his great-great-grandfather, Frederick Trump, and great-grandfather, Frederick Trump Sr.

Donald Trump also had an older brother, Frederick Trump Jr., who died in 1981.

Chloe Sophia Trump

Chloe is the youngest child of Donald Trump's eldest child. She was born in June 2014, making her 10 years old.

Her dad posted a photo on Instagram in December of her and her older brother Spencer fishing.

Arabella Rose Kushner

Donald Trump's second child is Ivanka Trump, who married Jared Kushner in 2009. She gave birth to their first child, Arabella, in July 2011. Arabella is now 13 years old.

Ivanka Trump regularly shares photos of her kids on social media. In a July 2024 Instagram post about Arabella's birthday, Ivanka wrote that her daughter loved singing, playing the piano, riding horses, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Joseph Frederick Kushner

Ivanka's second child, Joseph, was born in October 2013, making him 11 years old now.

Ivanka said on her Instagram that Joseph liked computers, dirt biking, and skateboarding.

Joseph and his cousin Spencer, who are 11 months apart, share the same middle name.

Theodore James Kushner

Ivanka's youngest child, Theodore, was born in March 2016. He's 9 years old and loves football, parkour, poker, and Rubik's cubes, his mom wrote on her Instagram.

He was seen alongside his mother and grandfather in their suite at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in February.

Eric Luke Trump

Donald Trump's third child, Eric, has been married to Lara Trump since 2014.

Their first child, Eric Luke (who goes by his middle name), was born in September 2017, making him 7 years old.

Luke has appeared at Trump rallies, such as the September 2024 North Carolina rally pictured above, and appeared at the 2024 RNC with his sister.

Carolina Dorothy Trump

Until recently, 5-year-old Carolina was Donald Trump's youngest grandchild. She was born to Eric and Lara Trump in August 2019.

Alexander Trump Boulos

Tiffany Trump announced the birth of her first child, Alexander, on May 15, 2025, with her husband, Michael Boulos, via Instagram. He's now the president's youngest grandchild and his seventh grandson.

• Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos met in Mykonos in July 2018 and wed at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.
• Boulos grew up in Nigeria, where his family owns an automotive company, and he works in business.
• Donald Trump revealed Tiffany was pregnant at a campaign event in 2024. She has welcomed a baby boy.

Tiffany Trump and her husband, Michael Boulos, are new parents.

Tiffany Trump gave birth to a baby boy, Alexander Trump Boulos, in the early hours of Thursday, she shared on social media.

Trump began dating Michael Boulos in 2018, and he proposed to her with a reported $1.2 million engagement ring at the White House, shortly before President Donald Trump left office after his first term. The couple wed at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.

Boulos' father, Massad Boulos, is CEO of the Nigerian automotive business SCOA Nigeria and serves as a senior advisor on Middle Eastern affairs in Trump's second White House administration.

Donald Trump had shared that his daughter was expecting her first baby at a campaign event in Michigan with Massad Boulos in October.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Here's a timeline of Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos' relationship.

July 2018: Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos met at Lindsay Lohan's beach club in Mykonos, Greece, according to People magazine.

Boulos grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where his family owns the automotive conglomerate SCOA Nigeria. He was studying project management at City, University of London, when he met Tiffany, then a law student at Georgetown, on vacation in Mykonos.

"I wasn't there when they met," Lohan told People magazine at the premiere party for her MTV series, "Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club," in 2019, adding that she knew both Tiffany Trump and Boulos but didn't know exactly how they met.

September 2018: They made their first public appearance together at New York Fashion Week.

Boulos joined Tiffany Trump in the front row of the Taoray Wang show during New York Fashion Week.

November 2018: Page Six reported they were dating and that Tiffany Trump introduced Boulos to her family over Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago.

"Tiffany is happy she has so far been able to keep things with Michael under the radar," an unnamed source told Page Six. "But she introduced him to her family at Thanksgiving, and he comes across as a very intelligent young man from a great family. There was no mention of the president's unfortunate comment about African nations."

In January 2018, Donald Trump reportedly referred to African nations and Haiti using an expletive during a meeting with lawmakers. He denied the reports, writing on X that the language he used was "tough" but that the widely reported remark was "not the language used."

January 2019: Boulos made his first appearance on her Instagram.

Trump posted an Instagram photo of her and Boulos in the Red Room of the White House at Christmastime. Boulos also shared a photo with her at a White House Christmas party, captioned, "Christmas vibes are the best vibes," in a post that no longer appears on his page.

February 2019: They attended New York Fashion Week with Tiffany Trump's mother, Marla Maples.

As they had the year before, Tiffany Trump and Boulos sat in the front row of the Taoray Wang show.

April 2019: Boulos joined the Trump family for Easter services at the Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida.

Tiffany Trump shared a photo of herself and Boulos, as well as snapshots with her father, Donald Trump Jr., and Kimberly Guilfoyle, on Instagram. The photos are no longer available on her Instagram page.

May 2019: They stepped out together at the Cannes Film Festival.

Public records showed that the three-night trip to France, during which the couple stayed at the Marriott Jesta Fontainebleau hotel, cost taxpayers at least $20,000, Quartz reported.

"For operational security reasons, the Secret Service cannot discuss specifically nor in general terms the means, methods, resources, costs, or numbers we utilize to carry out our protective responsibilities," a Secret Service spokesperson told Quartz.

June 2019: They flew to Orlando for a rally kicking off Donald Trump's 2020 campaign.

"With every ounce of heart and mind, and sweat and soul, we're going to keep making America great again, and then we will indeed keep America great," Donald Trump said in his speech. "I will keep it so great. Better than ever before. We're going to keep it better than ever before. And that is why tonight, I stand before you to officially launch my campaign for a second term as president of the United States."

August 2019: Tiffany Trump wished Boulos a happy birthday on Instagram, writing that he fills her life with "so much joy, kindness and laughter!"

"Happy Birthday, @michaelboulos," she captioned a photo of her and Boulos. "You fill my life with so much joy, kindness and laughter! Thank you for always putting a smile on my face!"

September 2019: Boulos joined his girlfriend to hear Donald Trump speak at the UN.

Boulos sat behind Tiffany, who was seated beside Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle.

November 2019: They greeted guests at the national Thanksgiving turkey pardoning event in the Rose Garden of the White House.

How the turkey pardoning tradition started is still a bit of a mystery, but the White House traces it all the way back to President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

December 2019: They celebrated New Year's together at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump's other children were in attendance, as well as his then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

July 2020: Trump and Boulos waved to crowds gathered at Mount Rushmore for Independence Day fireworks.

They were joined by Eric Trump and Lara Trump.

August 2020: They attended the funeral of Donald Trump's brother, Robert.

Robert Trump died on August 15, 2020, at the age of 71.

"He was not just my brother, he was my best friend," Donald Trump said in a statement. "He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace."

August 2020: Tiffany Trump and Boulos attended the Republican National Convention, where she gave a speech.

Tiffany Trump spoke on the second night of the RNC in support of her father and mentioned her recent graduation from Georgetown Law School.

"Like so many students across the world, I graduated from law school during the pandemic," she said. "Our generation is unified in facing the future in uncertain times. And many of us are considering what kind of country we want to live in. As a recent graduate, I can relate to so many of you who might be looking for a job. My father built a thriving economy once and believe me, he will do it again."

October 2020: They arrived in Nashville to watch the final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

The debate featured plexiglass barriers between the candidates to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and a mute button to prevent them from talking over each other.

November 2020: They joined Donald Trump at the White House to watch the election results come in.

The Trumps watched election results in the East Room of the White House.

January 2021: The couple announced their engagement on Instagram the day before Trump left office.

The day before Biden's inauguration, Tiffany Trump shared an Instagram photo of her and Boulos standing in the White House Colonnade.

"It has been an honor to celebrate many milestones, historic occasions and create memories with my family here at the White House, none more special than my engagement to my amazing fiancé Michael!" she wrote. "Feeling blessed and excited for the next chapter!"

Boulos also announced their engagement on Instagram, writing, "Got engaged to the love of my life! Looking forward to our next chapter together."

Boulos proposed in the White House Rose Garden with a diamond ring worth $1.2 million, People magazine reported.

July 2021: Trump and Boulos, who moved to Miami after her father's presidency, were spotted in Mykonos.

Tiffany Trump and Boulos vacationed in Mykonos, where their relationship began, over the summer.

May 2022: Tiffany Trump and Boulos chose Mar-a-Lago as their wedding venue.

Page Six reported that Donald Trump and his ex-wife, Tiffany's mother Marla Maples, would host the wedding at Mar-a-Lago with over 500 people expected to attend.

November 2022: Tropical Storm Nicole made landfall north of Palm Beach days before the wedding, putting their wedding plans in jeopardy.

Days before the wedding, Mar-a-Lago and its surrounding coastal residential areas were under mandatory evacuation orders because of the storm.

A Mar-a-Lago employee confirmed to Business Insider that the club had reopened on Friday, November 11, just in time for Trump and Boulos' welcome dinner.

November 2022: The wedding proceeded as planned.

Tiffany Trump wore a sparkling long-sleeved wedding dress from Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab, a likely nod to Boulos' Lebanese heritage. The couple exchanged vows under a gazebo decorated with cascading bouquets of pastel-colored flowers.

In an Instagram post, Tiffany Trump described the wedding as "the most magical day."

May 2024: Tiffany Trump and Boulos attended the closing arguments of Donald Trump's hush-money trial in New York City.

Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The former president denies ever having sex with Daniels and has called the trial a "witch hunt."

July 2024: They attended days two and four of the Republican National Convention.

Unlike in 2020, Tiffany Trump did not speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

October 2024: While speaking at a campaign event, Donald Trump announced that Tiffany Trump and Boulos were expecting their first child.

Speaking to a crowd at the Detroit Economic Club, Donald Trump shared the news while acknowledging the presence of Michael Boulos' father, businessman Massad Boulos, at the event.

"He happens to be the father of Tiffany's husband Michael, who's a very exceptional young guy, and she's an exceptional young woman," he said. "And she's going to have a baby, so that's nice."

November 2024: In the days before the election, Tiffany Trump and Boulos appeared at campaign events in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Tiffany Trump delivered a rare speech in Reading, Pennsylvania, telling the crowd, "Hello, we love you, we support you, and my father's here fighting for you and he's never gonna let you down, so please vote. Let's get this country back on track."

November 2024: Tiffany Trump and Boulos celebrated Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election.

Tiffany Trump and Boulos joined other Trump family members and associates at the campaign's election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida.

December 2024: Trump chose Boulos' father, Massad Boulos, to serve as a senior advisor on Middle Eastern affairs.

In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump described Massad Boulos as "an accomplished lawyer and a highly respected leader in the business world."

"He has been a longtime proponent of Republican and Conservative values, an asset to my Campaign, and was instrumental in building tremendous new coalitions with the Arab American Community," he wrote in part.

Trump's description of Massad Boulos as an "accomplished lawyer" may not be accurate. Although Massad Boulos listed a law degree from Texas Southern University on his LinkedIn profile, a Business Insider investigation found that he does not appear to be licensed to practice law in any of the countries where he's lived.

Massad Boulos was also widely reported to be the billionaire owner of Boulos Enterprises and told The New York Times in December that his company was worth billions. However, Boulos Enterprises is owned by a different Boulos family. The small automotive company Massad Boulos runs, SCOA Nigeria, is reportedly worth about $865,000.

Massad Boulos later told The New York Times that he was referring to his father-in-law's companies when asked about his business. Massad Boulos' wife, Sarah Fadoul Boulos, is the daughter of wealthy Lebanese businessman Michel Zouhair Fadoul, who runs The Fadoul Group's conglomerate.

In an email to Business Insider, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt called media reports examining Boulos' credentials "fake news."

"The truth is Mr. Boulos is a highly respected businessman who has proudly served as the CEO of some of his family's group of companies based in West Africa for more than 27 years, and his family has employed tens of thousands of people around the globe," Leavitt said.

January 2025: Tiffany Trump and Boulos attended Donald Trump's second inauguration.

Tiffany Trump wore a gray off-the-shoulder dress designed by Zuhair Murad to the inaugural balls. She wrote on Instagram that she was six months pregnant.

March 2025: Tiffany Trump and Boulos joined other Trump family members at Donald Trump's joint address to Congress.

Donald Trump Jr. attended the address with his girlfriend, Bettina Anderson. They were joined by Melania Trump, Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump.

April 2025: Ivanka Trump hosted a baby shower for Tiffany Trump, where she publicly revealed the sex of the baby.

Ivanka Trump shared photos on Instagram from Tiffany Trump's Peter Rabbit-themed baby shower.

"Every detail was inspired by Beatrix Potter's world — from bunny tails to garden treats — to celebrate the little boy she's about to welcome into her life," Ivanka Trump wrote.

May 2025: Tiffany Trump gave birth to a baby boy, Alexander Trump Boulos.

"Welcome to the world our sweet baby boy, Alexander Trump Boulos," Tiffany Trump wrote in an Instagram post on May 15. "We love you beyond words! Thank you for coming into our lives!"

"He's a blessing," Boulos added in a comment on the post.

Members of the extended Trump family congratulated Tiffany Trump and Boulos in the comments.

"No greater joy in the world," Marla Maples, Tiffany Trump's mother and Donald Trump's ex-wife, wrote. "Michael and Tiffany this Gran Mar Mar loves you all so much!! You rocked it, my girl!"

Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.'s ex-fiancée and Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to Greece, wrote: "Congratulations, mama, so happy for you all and welcome to the amazing world of being a boy mom! Love you!"

• President Donald Trump's deal with Paul Weiss marked a turning point in his war on Big Law.
• But the firms fighting Trump's orders have used the deal as evidence that they're legally flimsy.
• A lawyer for Susman Godfrey argued that it proves the orders were never about national security.

President Donald Trump's deal with Paul Weiss was his first big win in his war against Big Law.

In court, it's coming back to haunt him.

For the law firms choosing to fight Trump's executive orders targeting them, rather than striking deals with the president, the Paul Weiss deal has turned into a potent weapon.

They have cited Trump's quick revocation of the order — just six days after it was initially issued — to argue that they never had any legitimacy in the first place. The order, had it been carried out, would have revoked the security clearances of Paul Weiss lawyers out of "the national interest" and barred them from entering government-owned buildings, potentially including even courthouses and post offices.

The argument emerged again in a Washington, DC, federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon as a lawyer representing the firm Susman Godfrey told a federal judge that Trump's turnabout on the Paul Weiss order was evidence that the White House never really believed the law firms posed a national security risk.

"There was no change in circumstances with respect to the trustworthiness of Paul Weiss between the issuing of that executive order and its rescission a few days later," said Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., a lawyer at Munger Tolles representing Susman Godfrey. "And I think in some ways that tells you all you need to know about whether there's anything legitimate about the suspension."

After Paul Weiss agreed to a deal with Trump, in March, its chairman, Brad Karp, told lawyers at the firm that the agreement resolved an "existential crisis" that "could easily have destroyed our firm."

The decision divided the legal profession. Critics said that by choosing to reach an agreement with Trump instead of fight in court — as Perkins Coie had at the time — Paul Weiss empowered Trump to go after more Big Law firms.

Eight more Big Law firms made deals with Trump, averting altogether possible executive orders targeting them, and pledging a total of nearly $1 billion in pro bono hours toward Trump's political priorities.

For the four law firms fighting executive orders — Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey — the Paul Weiss deal had the opposite effect.

It was a clear indication, they have all argued, that the legal justifications for Trump's orders were baloney.

Under legal precedents, government agencies are required to conduct an "individualized review" to issue and revoke security clearances, judges have ruled in the cases. Reversing the Paul Weiss order in under a week was clearly too short a time to individually weigh whether each person working at the firm posed an actual national security threat, the four law firms have each argued.

Thursday's court hearing, overseen by US District Judge Loren AliKhan, was over whether the judge should permanently block the order targeting Susman Godfrey, a law firm that represents The New York Times in a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, and has represented Dominion Voting Systems in its lawsuit against Fox News.

Richard Lawson — who has been left as the sole Justice Department lawyer defending the government in these cases — said in the hearing that the executive branch has "inherent discretion on security clearances." He has also argued that because each of Trump's executive orders says security clearances should be reviewed "consistent with applicable law," they could not possibly be illegal.

The four judges, overseeing the lawsuits, including AliKhan, have not been persuaded. Each swiftly issued a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of the executive orders.

On Friday, US District Judge Beryl Howell issued the first order permanently blocking one of the executive orders against Perkins Coie.

She wrote in her 102-page opinion that Trump's actions and public statements indicated his executive orders had nothing to do with national security, but were instead motivated by his dislike of specific people working at particular law firms and because he wanted "big numbers" in pro bono pledges from each firm.

"None of these agreed-upon policy or practice changes appear to explain or address how any national security concerns sufficient to warrant the Paul, Weiss EO could have changed so rapidly," Howell wrote of the announced deal between Trump and Paul Weiss. "The speed of the reversal and the rationale provided in the Paul, Weiss Revocation Order, which focused only on agreements to advance policy initiatives of the Trump Administration, further support the conclusion that national security considerations are not a plausible explanation."

Howell also addressed the circumstances of Trump's executive order targeting Susman Godfrey. After signing the order, Trump announced, "We're just starting the process with this one." It was an indication, Howell wrote, that Trump may view the orders as leverage for a negotiation rather than trying to legitimately address national security issues.

"Whether President Trump's focus on 'the process' refers to enforcement of the Susman EO or that this Order was the opening gambit — akin to the Paul, Weiss EO followed by the Paul, Weiss Revocation Order — for deal negotiations, is unclear," Howell wrote.

On Thursday, AliKhan, asked Lawson if he wanted to share a view on how Howell's order might affect the Susman Godfrey case.

Lawson stumbled through a response.

"No, I don't. There's nothing in there that, I mean, obviously we have a big issue with the finding," Lawson said, laughing. "But I don't think there's anything urgent I need to bring to the court's attention."

Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the UK to open its markets and benefit both countries, as well as his hopes to make progress with China.

• When you see a movie or a TV show, do you think about where it was made?
• Lots of people in Hollywood do — they're seeing more and more productions move outside the US.
• Donald Trump says he wants to reverse that. But his proposal is hard to understand.

There are many stories out right now about Donald Trump's call for a "100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands."

But let's give the concision award to Variety, which noted that Trump's Sunday night announcement generated many questions in Hollywood, "starting with: Huh?"

Let's also note that Trump frequently changes his mind about things, and most definitely about his tariff policies. So it's entirely possible his Hollywood tariff post leads to nada.

While we're throat clearing, let's also note that, unlike some of Trump's other tariff pushes, this one doesn't imagine a world where work that left the US long ago comes back to the country. Movie (and TV) production remains a huge business in the US, employing millions of people.

And lastly, Trump is correct in noting that film (and TV) production has been leaving Hollywood for years. Sometimes it has gone to other places in the US: Disney has made more than a dozen Marvel movies in Georgia. "Sinners," one of the year's biggest movies, was made in Louisiana.

But there's a clear trend in international production, driven by lower labor costs and tax incentives. Production spending in the US fell by 28% between 2021 and 2024, but rose just about everywhere else. "Thunderbolts," Marvel's most recent movie, is also set to be the last one filmed in Georgia for the foreseeable future — most of Marvel's production has moved to London.

So what would Trump's plan do to correct that? No one seems to have any clue.

"Hollywood studio executives scrambled Sunday night to determine what the announcement would mean for their business," The Wall Street Journal reports. "As is often the case with Mr. Trump's declarations on social media, it was not entirely clear what he was talking about," The New York Times deadpans. Stocks of studios and streamers like Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery were down Monday morning.

If you take Trump's post at face value, it does indeed pose all kinds of questions. Like: Would the tariffs apply to American-owned/produced movies, or to movies from studios all over the world? Would it apply to American productions that are mostly filmed in the US but have some scenes shot in other countries? What about movies where some postproduction work, like visual effects, is handled outside the US?

And at the most basic: How, exactly, do you tariff a movie or TV show? They don't arrive in this country via cargo ships or planes. US Customs and Border Protection doesn't sign off on their import.

My sneaking suspicion is that Trump doesn't know, either. It's just that he seems to think tariffs are the solution to just about any problem.

Otherwise, if Trump were truly concerned about encouraging more domestic film (and TV) production, he might go about it the way just about everyone else does: with tax breaks and other financial incentives.

Which, it turns out, is exactly the pitch Trump heard from the actor Jon Voight and his manager, Steven Paul, this weekend, per Bloomberg. Voight — one of three actors Trump said earlier this year would be his "special ambassadors" to bring back work to Hollywood — and Paul spent time with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and suggested a pretty normal plan, Bloomberg says: "more federal tax incentives for US film and TV production," which involves "expanding existing tax credits and bringing back ones that have expired."

Voight and Paul didn't propose tariffs, Bloomberg reports. But Trump did. So here we are. Let's see if it goes anywhere.

• A federal judge appeared impatient with a DOJ lawyer defending a Trump Big Law executive order.
• Jenner & Block asked a judge to permanently block the order, saying it was illegally targeted.
• A Justice Department lawyer struggled to come up with legal rationales at a Monday hearing.

A federal judge appeared poised to hand Big Law another win after he snapped Monday at a Justice Department lawyer attempting to justify President Donald Trump's executive order targeting one firm.

During Monday's court hearing, Richard Lawson, the Justice Department attorney, argued that Trump's order could not possibly be illegal because it required federal agencies to act "consistent with applicable law."

Lawson appeared to struggle through arguments, at times not giving direct responses to questions from the judge.

Lawson said Trump could target Jenner & Block, the Big Law firm, because the president said "Jenner discriminates against its employees based on race" — even though no court or government agency had come to that conclusion.

"Give me a break," US District Judge John Bates snapped, as Lawson said federal agencies should be allowed to follow the order because the firm engaged in "racial discrimination."

The oral arguments, in a Washington, DC, federal court, were part of Jenner & Block's lawsuit seeking to permanently block Trump's March 25 executive order targeting the firm. Bates previously ordered the federal government to pause the implementation of Trump's order.

Jenner & Block, represented by the elite law firm Cooley LLP, is one of four firms that sued the government seeking to stop Trump's executive orders. Nine other Big Law firms all made deals with Trump, collectively promising nearly $1 billion in pro bono work, to avert orders targeting them.

The law firms fighting the Trump administration, so far, are winning. Federal judges have swiftly issued temporary restraining orders preventing the executive orders from going into effect. And in court hearings for other cases, federal judges have been similarly impatient with Lawson's arguments, Business Insider reported Sunday.

During one hearing last week, for the law firm Perkins Coie's lawsuit seeking to stop an executive order, a judge referred to some of the Justice Department's positions as "hyper-technical legal arguments that may have no merit."

'A pretty strange reading'

Bates, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, appeared impatient Monday as he questioned Lawson over the legal basis for Trump's order.

Trump, in the first section of the order, said he targeted Jenner & Block in part because the firm previously hired a lawyer who worked for former Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller, among other reasons.

The order would strip Jenner & Block employees of security clearances, cancel any contracts with the firm and its clients, and ban all employees from government buildings and from meeting with government officials.

"Ordering guidance specific to Jenner & Block that limits access to federal buildings, access to federal employees, access to federal agencies — the rationales in Section One that warrant that are what? Are what?" Bates asked Lawson.

In court filings and in Monday's hearing, Lawson has argued that judges should give broad leeway to Trump's power to target people and companies through executive orders, especially for purported national security issues.

Lawyers for Jenner & Block say the order is effectively government retaliation for free speech, violating the First Amendment. They also say Trump's order would violate their clients' right to counsel, as well as Jenner & Block's obligation to advocate on behalf of their clients without government interference.

The law firm argues that the order would also effectively kick several Jenner & Block lawyers out of their military reserve service because that service depends on their having security clearances.

Lawson said federal agencies would review security clearances on "an individual-by-individual basis" rather than issuing a blanket suspension of everyone at the firm to remain "consistent with applicable law."

Bates said he found that to be "a pretty strange reading" of the executive order.

"You think an agency official, given this executive order, is going to say, 'Well, I'm going to do a person-by-person analysis to decide whether I will suspend the security clearances of these seven Jenner people subject to my agency,'" the judge asked incredulously. "Is that what you think?"

Bates also reserved sharp questions for Jenner & Block's attorney, Michael Attanasio, during the hearing.

He asked whether it was necessary to strike down the entire executive order, or just the parts that directly harmed the law firm.

Attanasio asked the judge to issue a permanent injunction against the entire order, much like Trump withdrew the executive order he issued for Paul Weiss, which struck a deal with the president. The lawyer said Trump issued the order against Jenner & Block as "retribution."

"It was set up to be one form of punishment, and it should be taken down the same way, just as the President did for Paul Weiss," Attanasio said. "The difference being this time it gets taken down not on bended knee, but because this court enforces the constitution."

Bates said a written opinion in the case was "forthcoming."

Correction: April 28, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated the amount of pro bono work the nine other firms collectively promised. It is nearly $1 billion, not $1 trillion.

• Bill Ackman said a fear of looking weak is preventing the US and China from cutting tariffs.
• The billionaire hedge fund manager said tariffs should fall to "more reasonable levels" of 10% to 20%.
• He also questioned the belief that China can "win" a trade war with the US.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has said that China and the United States should dramatically cut their tariffs on one another, and only the fear of "looking weak" is stopping them.

Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square who supported President Donald Trump during the election, made the comments as imported Chinese goods entering the United States face a 145% tariff and American goods entering China face a 125% tariff.

A 10% baseline tariff on all imports into the United States remains in effect, while Trump has paused his raft of country-specific tariffs.

Ackman, who thanked Trump for announcing a 90-day pause on his proposed "reciprocal" tariffs earlier this month, posted on X on Saturday that tariffs were "very damaging in the short term to companies that rely on China for a large percentage of their goods."

He added China and the United States should reduce tariffs to "more reasonable levels — say 10% to 20% — as quickly as possible."

"The only thing stopping the reduction in tariffs to a more sensible level is the fear on the part of both countries' leadership of looking weak," he said.

"A pause, however, would not be a sign of weakness because it requires both countries to take down their tariffs. It is just common sense," he added.

Ackman also questioned the view that China could "win" a trade war with the United States.

"The problem with this assessment is that, the longer the tariffs persist, the more rapidly every company that has a supply chain based in China relocates it to India, Vietnam, Mexico, the U.S. or some other country," Ackman wrote.

"This is true for US and non-US companies. As a long-term player, China must understand this dynamic," he continued.

Ackman added that whatever happened, companies would no longer be willing to keep their supply chains in China. "That cake is already baked," he added.

Trump and China's leadership made conflicting statements this week about the status of trade talks.

"We're meeting with China," Trump said in an interview with "Time" magazine, which was published on Friday but held on Tuesday.

On Thursday, two Chinese officials said there were no ongoing talks.