An ugly bro-breakup for Trump and Musk

WASHINGTON As his big beautiful bill ran into trouble in the U S Senate this week and former best buddy Elon Musk launched a vigorous campaign on X to try to kill the law President Donald Trump sought to change the topic by issuing several headline-grabbing executive orders One presidential proclamation a reinstatement and expansion of the Muslim ban he sought in his first term was expected But Trump also ordered a broad analysis into whether former President Joe Biden covered up a cognitive decline and was incapable of executing presidential decisions That new probe threatens thousands of Biden s executive actions and pardons And in a third executive order Trump launched a new attack on Harvard barring foreign students and scholars from entering the country to attend conduct research or teach at that top Ivy League school The executive order was signed just days after a federal judge blocked the administration s attempts to revoke the school s ability to host international students The new Muslim ban slated to go into effect June fully restricts the entry into the United States of individuals from Afghanistan Myanmar Chad the Republic of Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan and Yemen It also partially restricts the entry of travelers from Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan and Venezuela The Trump administration cited national defense concerns for the ban and stated the decision was made after a review of a State Department statement that cited the nations as being lax in vetting applicants for passports and other trip documents and that their citizens have a history of overstaying their U S visas Lawful permanent residents existing visa holders certain visa categories and individuals whose entry serves U S national interests are exempt from the ban Rep Ilhan Omar D- th District who was born in Somalia called the new framework shameful Just like the first Muslim Ban this latest announcement flies in the face of basic morality and goes directly against our values Omar noted in a post on X This racist strategy will not make us safe it will separate families and endanger lives We cannot let it stand KILL the BILL Meanwhile Musk also took to X to blast Trump for a mega-budget bill that has passed the U S House and is now before the U S Senate The package would cut several ruling body programs including Medicaid and food stamps ramp up Pentagon and confines measure spending and make permanent the tax cuts Trump was able to implement in his first term which are now destined to expire at the end of the year Musk who quit his job as the head of the Department of Governing body Efficiency DOGE last week has called the budget bill that would implement Trump s policies a disgusting abomination because it would increase spending and raise the nation s debt ceiling Call your Senator Call your Congressman Bankrupting America is NOT ok KILL the BILL disclosed one of Musk s dozens of posts against the bill on X Musk also threatened to target or primary Republican incumbents in the midterm elections Trump blamed the end of a electric automobile tax credit in the budget bill for Musk s attacks The owner of Tesla says he doesn t care Trump also reported the mega-billionaire has fallen prey to Trump derangement syndrome and that he expected personal attacks from his former buddy Trump was right Musk then accused Trump of withholding information about Jeffrey Epstein because it implicated the president Meanwhile the Senate is making its revisions to the House-approved bill which are likely to include the elimination of an effort to increase the deductibility of state and local tax SALT deductions on federal income tax filings The House bill has been dubbed a big ugly bill by Democrats because of its cuts to social programs The liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Approach Priorities declared the bill s new work requirements could leave up to Minnesotans who are now enrolled in the initiative without coverage The bill would also require Minnesota to pay instead of for coverage of higher-income individuals that qualify for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act s expansion of the scheme All Minnesota GOP members of Congress voted for the bill Rep Tom Emmer R- th District called its approval a historic America First approach win for the American people and all of the state s Democratic U S House members voted against it In scenario you missed it Matthew Blake wrote that it s not only Minnesota s legislature that is struggling with pessimistic forecasts as lawmakers try to fashion budgets this year nearly all states are feeling the pain A longstanding undertaking that has helped more than small Minnesota businesses owned by women and minorities win transportation contracts is endangered by the Trump administration s war against DEI And Brian Arola wrote about the anxiety provoked by the U S Department of Homeland Precaution s designation of a multitude of rural Minnesota counties as sanctuaries in a list that was briskly taken down by the department after protests from officers representing red jurisdictions Your questions and comments A reader commented on a story about a activity that helps women-and-minority owned businesses win state transportation contracts that has been challenged by the owners of white-owned businesses as unconstitutional Consulting the census about of Americans are white and non-Hispanic The gender split is roughly - That suggests that approximately of Americans are white non-Hispanic men the reader declared Whether it be CEOs of the top companies or small business owners men control our financial sector very much out of balance with their numbers Roughly of CEOs are white non-Hispanic Of the who are women the large majority are white The Trump administration as is its norm provides no information on contracts or revenue to show that white small business owner men are being discriminated against because they aren t Please keep your comments and any questions coming I ll try my best to respond Please contact me at aradelat minnpost com The post An ugly bro-breakup for Trump and Musk appeared first on MinnPost