“Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday suggested California consider withholding tens of billions in annual federal tax dollars amid reports Donald Trump is preparing funding cuts targeting the state,” Politico reports.
“Newsom’s suggestion came after CNN reported the president was considering a ‘full termination’ of federal grant funding for California’s universities.”
“A federal appeals court panel on Friday reinstated parts of President Donald Trump’s ban of the Associated Press from several key areas where presidential press events are typically held, including the Oval Office, Air Force One and the president’s home in Mar-A-Lago,” Politico reports.
“The Defense Department inspector general’s office is examining whether it was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or an aide, perhaps acting at his behest, who used Hegseth’s account on the unclassified chat application Signal to divulge detailed information about forthcoming air attacks on Yemen,” the Washington Post reports.
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“The Supreme Court on Friday let members of the Department of Government Efficiency, formed by Elon Musk, have access to sensitive records of the Social Security Administration,” the New York Times reports.
“The court’s order was brief and unsigned, which is typical when the justices rule on emergency applications.”
Washington Post: “Taken together, the orders were another example of the Supreme Court granting the Trump administration’s emergency requests to lift or scale back lower court rulings blocking his initiatives while legal challenges play out.”
Three top White House officials will meet with Chinese trade representatives in London on Monday, as trade tensions seemed to cool between the two giants, Quartz reports.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, will be returned to the US, where he will face federal criminal charges, CNN reports.
“Abrego Garcia has been indicted on two criminal counts in the in the Middle District of Tennessee: conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain.”
New York Times: “The stunning move, which had been quietly planned for several weeks, could provide a much-needed offramp for the Trump administration, which has bitterly opposed a series of court orders to take steps to release him following his wrongful removal on March 15.”
Wired: “While Elon Musk and Donald Trump post through their breakup, DOGE shows no signs of slowing down—and potential recruits are being told they can make up to $195,000 a year.”
“President Trump is planning to give TikTok another lifeline,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“With a mid-June deadline approaching and trade talks with China in limbo, Trump is expected to sign an executive order staving off enforcement of a law banning or forcing the sale of the app.”
“It would be the third extension since Trump took office in January.“
“Two nonpartisan groups are launching a $5 million advertising campaign urging vulnerable Republican senators to oppose the GOP’s mega budget reconciliation bill,” Axios reports.
“It’s one of the first major media campaigns against the tax and spending cut package, landing as Senate Republicans negotiate changes to the bill.”
Thirteen House Republicans are urging Senate leaders to “substantially and strategically” improve clean energy tax credit provisions in the House-passed megabill, Politico reports.
“Five leaders of the Proud Boys, four of whom were found guilty of engaging in a seditious conspiracy to keep President Donald Trump in power on Jan. 6, 2021, want the government to pay them $100 million in restitution over claims their constitutional rights were violated,” the Washington Post reports.
“The lawsuit follows Trump’s decision to pardon virtually all Jan. 6. defendants in one of his opening acts as president, an extraordinary attempt to recast the official public narrative about an attack that halted a cornerstone of America democracy: the peaceful transfer of power.”
Politico: “Rep. Nick LaLota of New York warned GOP senators against lowering the House’s $40,000 cap on the state-and-local-tax deduction, while Rep. Chip Roy of Texas vowed to oppose any attempt to delay or otherwise water down the phaseout of clean-energy tax credits provided for in the House-passed megabill.”
“Just a few months ago, investors were willing to massively increase the valuations of Elon Musk’s companies, in part because of his proximity to Donald Trump and the centers of Washington power. That ended yesterday,” Axios reports.
“Markets and private investors attributed literally hundreds of billions of dollars of value to the idea that Musk’s privileged access would flow to the success of Tesla, SpaceX, xAI and the like.”
“Investors will now potentially have to reprice a Musk empire at odds with Trump as opposed to at his side.”
A new KFF Health poll finds that more than 70% of Americans are worried about the impact of Medicaid cuts in the bill leading to more people uninsured and hurting hospitals.
ProPublica: “As the Trump administration prepared to cancel contracts at the Department of Veteran Affairs this year, officials turned to a software engineer with no health care or government experience to guide them.”
“The engineer, working for the Department of Government Efficiency, quickly built an artificial intelligence tool to identify which services from private companies were not essential. He labeled those contracts ‘MUNCHABLE.'”
“The code, using outdated and inexpensive AI models, produced results with glaring mistakes. For instance, it hallucinated the size of contracts, frequently misreading them and inflating their value. It concluded more than a thousand were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.”
“Damian Williams, the former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, is leaving the law firm Paul Weiss to join Jenner & Block, defecting from a firm that struck a deal with the Trump administration to sign on with one that fought it in court,” the Washington Post reports.
USA Today: “A White House official confirmed on background June 6 that Trump no longer wants the Tesla Model S he bought in March in a show of support for the company after incidents of vandalism at Tesla dealerships across the country.”
“The electric car, worth about $80,000 new, still sits in the White House parking lot.”
“I’m not going to speak for either of them. I was with the president in the Oval Office yesterday afternoon as some of this unfolded, and I can just say he was disappointed. I mean, he said that himself. I was as well. But look, I believe in redemption. I think we can resolve and get everybody together again.”
— Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), quoted by Punchbowl News, on the feud between President Trump and Elon Musk.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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