House speaker Mike Johnson calls Musk ‘terribly wrong’ for slamming megabill
Politico reports that House speaker Mike Johnson said Elon Musk is “terribly wrong” after the tech billionaire – and, until last week, top Trump adviser – blasted Trump’s megabill as a “disgusting abomination” that will expand the “already gigantic” budget deficit.
“With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill,” Johnson told reporters.
Johnson said he spoke over the phone with Musk for what he described as a friendly conversation of more than 20 minutes yesterday about the “virtues” of the bill. “And he seemed to understand that,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that he discussed with Musk the accelerated repeal of many green energy tax credits in the House version of the bill, which Musk also voiced opposition to last week.
“But for him to come out and pan the whole bill, to me, is just very disappointing, very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him yesterday,” Johnson said. “It’s not personal,” the speaker added. “I just deeply regret that he’s made this mistake.”
House majority leader John Thune, according to Politico, simply said GOP senators “have a difference of opinion” with Musk and that he hoped “he’ll come to a different conclusion” after learning more about the bill.
Key events
Brazil’s president resists Trump’s threats to his supreme court
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, vowed on Tuesday to defend his country’s Supreme Court against attacks from the United States, in a sharp rebuke of potential sanctions from Washington against one of the top court’s justices.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Congress last week that the Trump administration could impose economic sanctions on the judge overseeing the trial of Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally accused of plotting a January 6-style attack by his supporters on government buildings in Brasília in 2023, to demand that the presidential election he lost be overturned.
“It is unacceptable for the president of any country in the world to comment on the decision of the Supreme Court of another country,” Lula told reporters, adding that the United States needs to understand the importance of “respecting the integrity of institutions in other countries.”
The Brazilian supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes is under fire from the far-right in Brazil and the US as he leads the court’s crackdown on what he has called threats to Brazil’s democracy, both online and in an alleged coup plot.
His orders to social media companies to remove posts from Bolsonaro supporters that he considered threats to democratic institutions were called censorship by Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, and Rumble, a right-wing alternative to YouTube backed by Peter Thiel and JD Vance.
The judge suspended Musk’s social media platform in Brazil until it acquiesced to his orders.
Tensions have spiked between the two nations since Trump took office, according to reports in the Brazilian press. Last month, the country’s leading newspaper, Folha de S.Paulo, reported that a Trump administration diplomat, David Gamble, was rebuffed when he asked, during a visit to Brazil, for the Brazilian gans PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) and CV (Comando Vermelho) to be designated terrorist organizations.
Two weeks later, according to Folha, a visit to Brasília by the head of the US Southern Command, Admiral Alvin Holsey, “caused discomfort among Brazilian military officials” and “a dinner he hosted that ended up sparsely attended after key invitees failed to show.”
The tension in that case was over the American’s announcement that he planned to visit a military base along the border with Peru and Bolivia, to highlight illegal trafficking, without getting permission from Brazil’s military.
The visit to the border was ultimately cancelled and Brazil’s defense minister and the leaders of its army, navy and air force did not attend the dinner hosted by the visiting US admiral.
Marjorie Taylor Greene would have voted against spending bill if she had read it, she says
Joseph Gedeon
Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene has drawn widespread criticism from Democratic colleagues for admitting that not only did she not read Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill before voting for it, but she would have voted against it had she read thoroughly.
Greene revealed she was unaware of a provision in Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” (OBBB) that would prevent states from regulating artificial intelligence systems for a decade. The Georgia representative said she would have voted against the entire bill if she had known about the AI language buried on pages 278-279.
“Full transparency, I did not know about this section on pages 278-279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years,” Greene wrote on X. “I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there.”
Democratic lawmakers, who all voted against the bill, responded with incredulity of Greene’s admission.
“You have one job. To. Read. The. Fucking. Bill,” Representative Eric Swalwell wrote in response.
Representative Ted Lieu said he had read the AI provision beforehand and “that’s one reason I voted no on the GOP’s big, ugly bill”, he posted on X. “PRO TIP: It’s helpful to read stuff before voting on it.”
Representative Mark Pocan was more forward: “Read the f**king bill instead of clapping for it like a performing monkey. You should have done your job while it was written. You didn’t. You own that vote.”
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Elon Musk’s online outburst could embolden fiscally conservative Republican senators – some of whom have already spoken out – to defy Trump as they continue crucial negotiations on Capitol Hill over the so-called “big, beautiful bill”, my colleague David Smith reports.
Musk drew immediate support from Thomas Massie, one of only two Republicans who last month voted against the bill in the House of Representatives. “He’s right,” Massie responded on X today.
Having narrowly passed the House, the bill is now under consideration in the Senate, which is aiming to pass a revised version by 4 July. Some Republican fiscal conservatives, such as senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul, share Musk’s concerns about the need for significant spending cuts.
Trump, who has been pressuring Republicans to pass his signature legislation to enact his domestic agenda, attacked Paul on Truth Social earlier today, writing: “Rand Paul has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting “NO” on everything, he thinks it’s good politics, but it’s not. The BBB is a big WINNER!!!”
He then posted again: “Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!”
House speaker Mike Johnson calls Musk ‘terribly wrong’ for slamming megabill
Politico reports that House speaker Mike Johnson said Elon Musk is “terribly wrong” after the tech billionaire – and, until last week, top Trump adviser – blasted Trump’s megabill as a “disgusting abomination” that will expand the “already gigantic” budget deficit.
“With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill,” Johnson told reporters.
Johnson said he spoke over the phone with Musk for what he described as a friendly conversation of more than 20 minutes yesterday about the “virtues” of the bill. “And he seemed to understand that,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that he discussed with Musk the accelerated repeal of many green energy tax credits in the House version of the bill, which Musk also voiced opposition to last week.
“But for him to come out and pan the whole bill, to me, is just very disappointing, very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him yesterday,” Johnson said. “It’s not personal,” the speaker added. “I just deeply regret that he’s made this mistake.”
House majority leader John Thune, according to Politico, simply said GOP senators “have a difference of opinion” with Musk and that he hoped “he’ll come to a different conclusion” after learning more about the bill.
Family of Colorado fire-bomb suspect taken into Ice custody
The family of the Egyptian national charged with attacking people with a makeshift flamethrower and other incendiary devices at an event for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, was taken into federal custody today, officials said.
The Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said in a social media video post that Ice had taken into custody the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who lived in Colorado Springs and who federal officials have said was in the US illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa and an expired work permit – though he had a pending asylum claim.
Noem said while Soliman will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, federal agents were also “investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack – if they had any knowledge of it or if they provided any support for it”.
Ice did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for more details about the detention of Soliman’s family.
According to local media reports, Soliman’s family included two teenagers and three younger children. FBI and police officials had said on Monday that the family has cooperated with investigators. The suspect told investigators he acted alone.
DHS officials said Soliman entered the US in August 2022 on a tourist visa, filed for asylum the following month, and remained in the country after his visa expired in February 2023.
A police affidavit filed in support of Soliman’s arrest warrant said he was born in Egypt, lived in Kuwait for 17 years and moved three years ago to Colorado Springs, about 100 miles south of Boulder, where he lived with his wife and five children.
Federal and local authorities said at a news conference in Boulder yesterday that Soliman had done nothing to draw law enforcement attention before Sunday’s attack. He was believed to have acted alone, they said.
US announces visa restrictions for several central American government officials
Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, has announced visa restrictions for several unnamed Central American government officials and their families for allegedly exploiting Cuban medical professionals, Reuters reports.
Rubio, who did not name the officials or the countries they are from, said the officials are responsible for Cuban medical mission programs that include elements of forced labor and the exploitation of Cuban workers.
“These steps promote accountability for those who support and perpetuate these exploitative practices,” he said in a statement.
“Attacks on the judiciary itself are dangerous to the rule of law and to the actual judges themselves,” says Dick Durbin, citing a spike in violence and threats against judges and their families in light of the president’s rhetoric.
“Let us recognise that violence begets violence,” he says. “Threats of violence … are never acceptable.
“People are welcome to debate the merits of any particular judicial decision but we cannot condone personal attacks and threats against judges who rule against this administration, and we can’t allow partisan politics or the latest outrage from the president to undermine the judicial branch and our constitutional order.”
Durbin cites language used by Trump and his allies to attack the “authority and legitimacy” of the judiciary and to intimidate judges, including demanding impeachment of a judge who ruled against him.
It is difficult to imagine either President Bush, President Obama or President Biden using such unhinged, bombastic and childish language, or calling for the impeachment of a judge simply for ruling against his administration.
The reason it’s difficult is because Obama or Biden never did anything like this.
Durbin goes on to say that Trump and “his allies go after anyone who dares to speak up because fear of political retribution is now at the core of this Maga world, and my Republican colleagues have been silent as the president has made the statements he has about judges”.
Democratic senator Dick Durbin points out the “flood the zone” context, saying Trump had “signed more executive orders than any president in history, leading to more court challenges than any president in history”.
“Seems pretty logical to me,” he said.
The Republican senator Ted Cruz highlighted that the number of nationwide injunctions during the second Trump administration so far is “greater than the entire 20th century and greater than all of those issued against Bush, Obama and Biden combined”.
However, among the factors contributing to this high number are the several executive orders signed by Trump and a high number of policies being challenged in court.
Democratic senator Dick Durbin has just posted about the hearing on X:
Donald Trump and his extreme allies keep using unhinged language to threaten judges … even calling for impeachment. Just imagine if President Obama had done that. Republicans would’ve thrown a fit.
Senate judiciary committee hearing on judicial branch’s oversight of executive authority
The senate judiciary subcommittees are holding a joint hearing on the judicial branch’s check on executive power, amid federal judges halting several of Donald Trump’s orders with nationwide injunctions. I’ll bring you any key lines here.
Trump was not informed of Ukraine drone attacks in advance, says White House
Donald Trump was not informed in advance of Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russia, Karoline Leavitt said.
On Sunday, Ukraine said it launched 117 drones in an astonishing operation code-named “Spider’s Web” to attack Russian nuclear-capable long-range bomber planes at airfields in Siberia and the far north of the country.
Trump to sign order doubling metals tariffs, White House says
Donald Trump will sign an executive order today making official his vow to double tariffs on steel and aluminum, Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Last Friday Trump announced that he would increase tariffs on the two metals from 25% to 50%. Yesterday, Us steel and aluminum prices jumped while shares of foreign steelmakers fell.
White House says it is aware of reports of Israelis firing on Palestinian people seeking aid in Gaza
The White House said that it is aware of reports of Israeli troops firing on Palestinian people seeking aid near a food distribution site in southern Gaza.
“We’re going to look into reports before we confirm them from this podium or before we take action,” Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
At least 27 people were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for food at a distribution point set up by an Israeli-backed foundation in Gaza, according to health officials in the strip – the third such incident in three days. Israel admitted on Tuesday for the first time that its forces shot at individuals who were moving towards them.
‘A disgusting abomination’: Musk tears into Trump budget bill days after leaving White House
Elon Musk has significantly upped the ante in his criticism of Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending cut bill, calling it a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled … disgusting abomination” that will expand the “already gigantic” budget deficit.
The billionaire, who only formally left his top role in the White House last week, wrote on his X platform:
I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.
It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.
The broadside comes as Trump pressures Republicans in the Senate to approve the legislation, which narrowly passed in the House of Representatives.
Asked about Musk’s criticism, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it,” she added.
Last week, Musk had sharply criticised Trump’s spending plan, saying he was “disappointed” with the response to the federal cost-cutting efforts of his signature “department of government efficiency” (Doge) that would increase the budget deficit.
In an interview with CBS News, he called the bill too expensive and a measure that would “undermine” his work to make the government more “efficient”.
White House says it’s monitoring China’s compliance with trade deal
The White House said that it is actively monitoring China’s compliance with last month’s tariff agreement, in response to questions on how it is handling Beijing’s curbs on rare earth minerals.
Karoline Leavitt also reiterated that Donald Trump would soon be speaking with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
“I can assure you that the administration is actively monitoring China’s compliance with the Geneva trade agreement,” she told reporters. “Our administration officials continue to be engaged in correspondence with their Chinese counterparts.”
Fema ‘taking hurricane season seriously’, says White House after agency head ‘joked’ that he didn’t know about it
The White House said that Fema (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) is taking severe storms seriously, following a Reuters report that the head of the agency said he was not aware of hurricane season.
“We know that we are into hurricane season now, and I know Fema is taking this seriously, contrary to some of the reporting we have seen based on jokes that were made and leaks from meetings,” Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Reuters reported that David Richardson, who has led Fema since early May, had told baffled staff he had not been aware that the US has a hurricane season. It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Fema’s parent agency, told Reuters the comment was a joke and that Fema is prepared for hurricane season.
Trump has said Fema should be shrunk or even eliminated, arguing states can take on many of its functions, as part of a wider downsizing of the federal government. About 2,000 full-time Fema staff, one-third of its total, have been terminated or voluntarily left the agency since the start of the Trump administration in January.
At the same time, data seen by the Guardian has showed that more than a dozen National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices along the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico coast are understaffed as the US plunges into an expected active season for ruinous storms. There is a lack of meteorologists in 15 of the regional weather service offices along the coastline from Texas to Florida, as well as in Puerto Rico – an area that takes the brunt of almost all hurricanes that hit the US. Several offices, including in Miami, Jacksonville, Puerto Rico and Houston, lack at least a third of all the meteorologists required to be fully staffed.
And the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the Miami-based nerve center for tracking hurricanes, is short five specialists, the Guardian has learned, despite assurances from the Trump administration that it is fully staffed ahead of what’s anticipated to be a busy hurricane season that officially started on Sunday.
Experts have warned the turmoil unleashed by Trump upon the NWS and Fema, which has had multiple leadership changes and still does not have a completed plan for this year’s hurricane season, will dangerously hamper the response to a summer that will likely bring storms, floods and wildfires across the US.
