#may 202

1/ Senate Republicans threatened to block Trump’s tax and spending bill, saying it would add trillions to the national debt and gut safety net programs. “We have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit,” Sen. Ron Johnson said, calling the $1.5 trillion in proposed cuts “a rounding error.” The bill, which passed the House by one vote, includes a $4 trillion debt ceiling hike and would cut nearly $700 billion from Medicaid, disqualifying over 8 million people. Sen. Rand Paul added that the plan’s cuts are “wimpy and anemic” and would “explode the debt.” Trump, however, said he expects “significant” Senate changes, but claimed the bill remains “the most significant piece of legislation” ever. Speaker Mike Johnson also insisted that the bill doesn’t cut Medicaid, but instead targets “fraud, waste, and abuse,” though nonpartisan analysts said some claims about ineligible recipients were false. (NBC News / The Guardian / New York Times / USA Today / Politico / Washington Post / ABC News / The Hill)

2/ Trump announced and then two days later delayed a 50% tariff on all European Union imports until July 9 after EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked for more time to negotiate a deal. Trump said she “wants to get down to serious negotiation,” calling their conversation a “very nice call.” On Friday, Trump said trade talks were “going nowhere” and accused the EU of being “very difficult to deal with.” He then proposed the 50% tariff starting June 1, escalating from the 10% rate he set during an earlier 90-day pause. Von der Leyen, however, said the EU was ready to move “swiftly and decisively.” (NBC News / New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Reuters / NPR / Politico / CNBC)

3/ Trump threatened a 25% tariff on iPhones not made in the U.S., despite warnings that a domestically built model could cost up to $3,500. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.,” Trump posted on Truth Social, insisting iPhones be made “not in India, or anyplace else.” Trump later said the tariff would also apply to Samsung and “anybody that makes that product,” and could take effect by the end of June. Analyst Dan Ives, however, called the idea of U.S.-made iPhones a “fairy tale,” saying it would take years and sharply raise prices. (TechCrunch / Axios / NBC News / The Guardian / CNBC / CBS News)

4/ The Trump administration stopped all new student visa interviews as it prepares to require social media screening for every applicant. A State Department cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered embassies to “not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity” until further notice. The administration has already revoked visas and detained students over pro-Palestinian activism, citing national security and antisemitism concerns, though it hasn’t made specific evidence public. More than one million international students are currently in the U.S., and all new applicants are now subject to the pause. (Politico / Reuters / Axios / Bloomberg / CBS News / The Hill)

5/ A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from banning international students at Harvard. The Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s certification to host foreign students last week, ordering roughly 7,000 international students to transfer or lose legal status. Harvard sued within 24 hours, accusing the administration of trying to “erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body” and punish the school in “retaliation” for rejecting federal oversight of its curriculum, hiring, and protests. Judge Allison Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order Friday, citing “immediate and irreparable injury.” DHS, however, said Harvard “lost this privilege” for failing to turn over student protest records and creating an “unsafe campus environment hostile to Jewish students.” (New York Times / ABC News / Associated Press / Washington Post / NBC News)

6/ The Trump administration ordered federal agencies to cancel all remaining contracts with Harvard University, totaling about $100 million. A letter from the General Services Administration directed agencies to submit cancellation lists by June 6 and “seek alternative vendors” for future work. The order follows an earlier move to freeze more than $3 billion in federal research grants to Harvard. “I am considering taking THREE BILLION DOLLARS of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump accused Harvard of antisemitism and racial discrimination, citing a Harvard Law Review fellowship awarded to a student charged – but not convicted – in a 2023 protest. The administration also claimed the university defied a Supreme Court ruling banning race-based admissions, pointing to a drop in Black enrollment. Harvard called the cuts unconstitutional and a threat to academic freedom. “We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action,” said President Alan Garber. “It imperils the futures of thousands of students.” (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Associated Press / NPR / NBC News / ABC News / Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Politico)

The midterm elections are in 525 days.

✏️ Notables.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that Covid-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children or pregnant women. Kennedy bypassed the CDC’s usual process and claimed the vaccines were removed from the CDC’s immunization schedule without consulting its advisory panel. (STAT News / Washington Post / Reuters / CNN)

Trump, in a campaign-style commencement speech at West Point, called the graduates “the first West Point graduates of the Golden Age” and vowed to purge the military of “social experiments.” Trump defended his elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion policies and reiterated his ban on transgender service members, saying: “We’ve liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings.” Trump also criticized past “nation-building crusades,” promised new “stealth planes” and a “Golden Dome” missile shield, warned cadets to avoid “trophy wives,” calling them a common mistake that “doesn’t work out too well,” and claimed his reelection gave him “the right to do what we want to do.” (Associated Press / USA Today / Axios / New York Times / Washington Post)

The Trump administration removed more than 100 National Security Council staffers. Most of those put on administrative leave were career officials detailed from agencies like the Pentagon and State Department. They were told by email they had 30 minutes to clear out. A White House official called the NSC “the ultimate Deep State” and that “We’re gutting the Deep State.” (CNN / Politico / Bloomberg / Axios / Washington Post)

Trump accused Putin of being “absolutely CRAZY” after Russia launched 355 drones and nine cruise missiles into Ukraine – the largest aerial attack since the 2022 invasion. “He’s killing a lot of people,” Trump said. “I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” warning that “He’s playing with fire,” and claimed, “if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia.” Trump said he is “absolutely” considering new sanctions, but hasn’t approved any military aid to Ukraine since taking office in January. The Kremlin, meanwhile, dismissed Trump’s remarks as “emotional overload.” (Politico / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Reuters / New York Times / Associated Press)

NPR and three Colorado public radio stations sued Trump, calling his executive order to cut off federal funding for NPR and PBS “textbook retaliation” and a violation of the First Amendment. The lawsuit said Trump’s order illegally bypassed Congress, which controls federal spending. Trump, meanwhile, claimed public broadcasters spread “left-wing propaganda” and said funding should go to outlets that offer “fair, accurate, unbiased” coverage. (NPR / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

A federal judge – again – blocked Trump from moving forward with mass federal layoffs and agency overhauls, saying he “must do so in lawful ways” and “with the cooperation of the legislative branch.” The injunction stops Trump’s February 11 order, which targeted 22 federal agencies for job cuts and structural changes. Judge Susan Illston wrote that “Agencies may not conduct large-scale reorganizations and reductions in force in blatant disregard of Congress’s mandates.” The Trump administration called the decision “judicial overreach” and appealed to the 9th Circuit and the Supreme Court, arguing that the president has full authority to direct agencies to reduce staff. (NPR / CBS News / Washington Post / New York Times)

A federal judge blocked Trump’s executive order punishing the law firm Jenner & Block, calling it “an unconstitutional act of retaliation.” Judge John Bates wrote that Trump targeted the firm “because of the causes Jenner champions, the clients Jenner represents, and a lawyer Jenner once employed” – a reference to Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor on Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Bates said the administration offered no national security justification and accused Trump of trying “to chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like.”

Federal judges blocked Trump’s executive orders punishing two law firms linked to the Russia investigation, calling the actions unconstitutional and politically motivated. Judge Richard Leon struck down the order against WilmerHale, writing that Trump aimed to “coerce” the firm over its ties to Robert Mueller and declaring the move an attack on “an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases.” In a separate ruling, Judge John Bates blocked the order against Jenner & Block, calling it “an unconstitutional act of retaliation” based on “the causes Jenner champions, the clients Jenner represents, and a lawyer Jenner once employed” – a reference to Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor on Mueller’s Russia investigation. Both judges said the administration provided no national security rationale and accused Trump of trying “to chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like.” (Washington Post / New York Times / Axios CNBC)

Trump pardoned a convicted tax felon less than three weeks after his mother attended a $1 million Mar-a-Lago fundraiser. Paul Walczak had admitted to stealing over $10 million in employee taxes to fund luxury spending, but argued that he was targeted “over his family’s conservative politics.” The judge said there “is not a get-out-of-jail-free card” for the rich, yet Trump’s pardon erased his prison sentence and $4.4 million in restitution. (New York Times)

Trump pardoned former Virginia sheriff Scott Jenkins one day before he was set to begin a 10-year prison sentence for federal bribery and fraud. Jenkins was convicted of selling deputy badges for over $75,000 in cash, allowing wealthy donors to carry concealed weapons and avoid traffic stops. Prosecutors called it a “cash-for-badges scheme,” while Trump dismissed the conviction as the work of a “corrupt and weaponized Biden DOJ.” (ABC News / Associated Press / Washington Post)

Trump’s new political appointee overseeing pardons personally reviewed a clemency request for Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder convicted of seditious conspiracy for the Jan. 6 attack. Ed Martin, a longtime ally of Jan. 6 defendants who called the riot “like Mardi Gras,” accepted 11 applications, including four Proud Boys leaders, within days of taking the role. He’s pledged to advance them after previously firing the prosecutors who secured their convictions. (Politico)

Trump Media will raise $2.5 billion from investors to buy bitcoin and create a company-run “bitcoin treasury,” expanding Trump’s direct financial stake in a market he regulates. The company, controlled by Trump’s family, called the move protection against “harassment and discrimination by financial institutions,” according to CEO Devin Nunes. The announcement follows Trump’s private dinner for top $TRUMP memecoin holders and dropped enforcement cases against major crypto firms. (Politico / The Verge / Associated Press)