A bitter public feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk erupted on Thursday, with the Tesla billionaire agreeing to calls for Trump's impeachment while Trump suggested ending Musk's government contracts.
Musk showed some signs of softening his tone, but Trump on Friday told ABC News Musk was a "man who has lost his mind" and that he was "not particularly" interested in talking to him right now.
The spat began in part because of Musk's criticism of Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a sweeping immigration and tax bill that would fund much of the president's domestic agenda.
Leavitt says president will look at executive action against blue state vaccine regulations
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about states such as California and Connecticut that have restricted religious exemptions for student vaccine mandates.
The press secretary said the president supports religious vaccine exemptions and would follow up.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, May 3, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
"I'll have the administration in the White House look into it and see what executive action, if any, we can take on that front," Leavitt said.
Jun 03, 2025, 1:25 PM EDT
White House reiterates Trump views antisemitic violence as 'terrorism'
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Tuesday's press briefing that President Donald Trump views recent attacks against the Jewish community in the U.S. as acts of "terrorism." She said the administration will look into any policy measures and actions to take in response.
"The president has made it very clear, as he said in his statement yesterday, that, yes, these antisemitic acts of violence are, do qualify as terrorism. And he does not want to see terrorism or violence of any form taking place in the United States of America," Leavitt said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, May 3, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP
Jun 03, 2025, 10:27 AM EDT
Trump meeting with GOP senators in an effort to get budget bill passed
President Donald Trump is working the phones and meeting with Republican senators to get his One Big Beautiful Bill Act through the Senate.
Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the White House Monday, according to a White House official. The meeting comes as Thune faces the Herculean task of moving this House-backed bill through the Senate as expeditiously as possible.
Thune has so far not made clear what his strategy will be for moving this package through the upper chamber. But as things currently stand, Thune can only afford to lose three of his GOP members to pass the package, and right now, he has more members than that expressing serious doubts about the bill.
Trump’s outreach over the last 24 hours seems targeted at those senators who have most vocally expressed those concerns. The conversations come as Trump continues to push Congress to deliver the package to his desk before July 4.
The president met separately with Florida Sen. Rick Scott on Monday to discuss the big beautiful bill, sources confirmed to ABC News.
President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for the new U.S. ambassador to China, former U.S. Senator David Perdue, at the White House in Washington, May 7, 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters
Scott is among a group of Senate hardliners who want to see larger cuts to government spending in this bill. Sen. Ron Johnson, who also received a call from Trump Monday, according to the White House, has also been vocal about his concerns that the bill doesn’t go nearly far enough to slash federal spending.
--ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
Jun 03, 2025, 10:14 AM EDT
Hegseth to testify June 10, 1st time since he used Signal to relay military attack plan
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to appear before Congress on June 10 in what will be his first public testimony since The Atlantic revealed he used the messaging app Signal to relay sensitive details about a pending military operation with others, including his personal attorney and his wife.
Hegseth, who has not held a news conference since being sworn in as Pentagon chief, is expected to appear before both the House and Senate Appropriations defense subcommittees.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers his speech during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, May 31, 2025.
Anupam Nath/AP
Gen. John Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also scheduled to appear, according to a Senate announcement.
The subject will be the Trump administration's upcoming 2026 budget request. But the hearing is also expected to include sharp questioning from Democrats on Hegseth's use of Signal app, which is now part of an ongoing investigation being led by the Defense Department's Inspector General Office.
