What comes next in the Trump-Musk feud: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online mentation of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and investigation from the White House, Capitol Hill and the run trail.

In today’s edition, Kristen Welker dives into what comes adjacent successful the breakup betwixt President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Plus, our Capitol Hill squad examines the senators who could marque oregon interruption Trump’s “big, beauteous bill.” And Shannon Pettypiece answers this week’s scholar question connected the U.S.-China commercialized war.

Before we dive into each that, 2 bits of breaking quality this Friday afternoon:

• Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland antheral whose erroneous deportation to El Salvador gave mode to a protracted conflict implicit owed process, has been returned to the U.S. to look quality smuggling charges successful Tennessee.
• The Supreme Court allowed members of the Department of Government Efficiency to entree Social Security Administration data.

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— Adam Wollner

What's adjacent successful the feud betwixt Trump and Musk?

By Kristen Welker

The feud betwixt Elon Musk and President Donald Trump erupted yesterday successful an epic clash betwixt the world’s richest antheral and the world’s astir almighty antheral — and it’s not wide yet wherever the confrontation volition spell next.

White House main of unit Susie Wiles told maine this greeting that determination are “no plans” for a telephone call betwixt Trump and Musk today, contempt astatine slightest 1 study that it was a possibility. But conscionable due to the fact that there’s thing connected the books doesn’t mean the 2 men won’t person an impromptu call. After all, Trump has a idiosyncratic cellphone wherever helium often talks to everyone from satellite leaders to reporters. And 1 medication authoritative told maine thing tin happen, and they’d similar to “de-escalate a precise unfortunate situation.”

While the White House whitethorn beryllium looking to crook down the temperature, immoderate of the president’s allies were speedy to spell aft Musk. Steve Bannon, a erstwhile Trump White House adviser, told maine the president should “pull each declaration associated with Elon Musk” and commencement large investigations “immediately.” Bannon besides said, “Thus spake the ketamine,” successful a motion that immoderate of Trump’s allies are zeroing successful connected Musk’s alleged cause use. (Musk has said he took ketamine to dainty depression.)

At involvement successful each of this is the aboriginal of Trump’s signature legislation, which includes taxation chopped extensions, an elimination of taxation connected tips and overtime, and cuts and changes to national programs including Medicaid and nutrient stamps.

Musk has trashed the “big, beauteous bill,” arguing that it would balloon the country’s debt. Sources from the White House and connected Capitol Hill person told maine that portion Musk’s absorption mightiness embolden Republican senators who are already opposed to the measure, Musk is not flipping immoderate much votes to the “no” file astatine this point. I’m besides told that if these senators had to take betwixt Trump and Musk, they’d take Trump each time.

We’ll speech much astir the adjacent steps for Trump’s home argumentation measure connected “Meet the Press” this Sunday, with exclusive interviews with Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla. and Cory Booker, D-N.J.

Behind the scenes: Trump’s squad is taking the feud seriously: White House aides scrambled into astatine slightest 2 closed-door meetings Thursday to strategize astir whether and however to respond to Musk’s societal media barrage.

Vice President JD Vance was with Trump connected Thursday erstwhile the tweets began and they spoke aggregate times successful the afternoon, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the day’s events. Trump encouraged Vance to beryllium diplomatic astir Musk if asked astir him, the idiosyncratic said.

Meanwhile, Trump is considering selling oregon giving distant the reddish Tesla that helium purchased successful March, according to a elder White House official.

Read much connected the Trump-Musk feud →

The senators to ticker arsenic Republicans marque changes to Trump’s large bill

By Sahil Kapur, Julie Tsirkin and Frank Thorp V

Amid the back-and-forth betwixt Donald Trump and Elon Musk this week, Senate Republican leaders person been juggling a big of competing demands arsenic they hole to instrumentality up — and marque changes to — the House-passed “big, beauteous bill.”

They tin yet spend to suffer conscionable 3 GOP votes connected the Senate floor, assuming each Democrats reason the bundle arsenic expected. Here are the senators who could marque oregon interruption the bill:

Rand Paul: He’s the lone Republican legislator who has voted against this authorities each measurement of the way. He has blasted the spike successful subject spending, the immense summation successful deficits and, successful particular, the $5 trillion indebtedness bounds hike. Paul does enactment a cardinal portion of the bundle — an hold of Trump’s 2017 taxation cuts — but helium wants to offset it with trillions of dollars successful further spending cuts, connected which the GOP has nary anticipation of uncovering consensus.

Susan Collins: The Maine legislator is the sole Republican to correspond a authorities that Democrats consistently triumph astatine the statesmanlike level. And she faces re-election this year. Her trajectory has been revealing, from supporting the archetypal fund solution to voting against the revised version. A cardinal crushed for her opposition? Concerns that the Medicaid cuts would harm low-income and older constituents.

Lisa Murkowski: When she voted for the fund blueprint successful April that kick-started the process of penning the legislation, the Alaska Republican rapidly followed it up with a wide acceptable of grievances that volition request to beryllium addressed, oregon she’ll beryllium “unable to support” the last product. That includes the changes to Medicaid, the outgo of the taxation cuts and the phaseout of cleanable vigor taxation credits that payment her state.

Ron Johnson: The Wisconsin Republican has railed against the measure and its estimated $2.4 trillion publication to the deficit, insisting helium can’t ballot for it arsenic written. He has slammed the thought of a megabill, calling for breaking it up and limiting the indebtedness ceiling hike. Trump asked him to beryllium “less negative” during a gathering astatine the White House this week, Johnson said.

Read much connected the different cardinal senators to ticker →

Grabbing the 3rd rail: Senate Republicans unfastened the doorway to cutting Medicare ‘waste’ successful Trump docket bill

✉️ Mailbag: Who loses successful a U.S.-China commercialized war?

Thanks to everyone who emailed us! This week’s scholar question is connected the ongoing commercialized warfare betwixt the U.S. and China.

“Who is successful worse signifier if the 2 countries don’t commercialized immoderate longer?”

To reply this, we turned to elder argumentation newsman Shannon Pettypiece, who has been covering the ins and outs of Trump’s tariff agenda. Here’s her response:

Both the U.S. and China person a batch to suffer by cutting disconnected commercialized ties with each other, but successful immoderate ways, not arsenic overmuch arsenic they did earlier the archetypal question of China tariffs Trump imposed successful 2018.

Chinese companies person been shifting accumulation offshore, to neighboring countries similar Vietnam and adjacent Mexico, portion Chinese officials person worked to boost commercialized with different trading partners, similar the European Union. The stock of full Chinese exports to the U.S. has dropped to an estimated 14% successful 2024 from 19% successful 2018. Across China’s full economy, U.S. exports relationship for 3% of China’s gross home product, and a sustained U.S. tariff complaint of 60% could trim China’s GDP by 2 percent points, according to Goldman Sachs.

In short, that would beryllium atrocious for China’s economy, but not wholly crippling. China’s system isn’t connected the strongest footing astatine the moment. Its maturation has slowed since the Covid pandemic and the state is grappling with a illness successful its existent property market, which has wiped retired the savings for galore Chinese.

The U.S. has besides been moving to lessen its dependence connected China successful caller years, and U.S. companies person progressively been shifting their manufacturing retired of China. China accounts for astir 15% of full U.S. imports, down from astir 22% successful 2018. But the U.S. is inactive heavy babelike connected China successful a fig of cardinal areas, similar uncommon world metals important for U.S. manufacturing of cars and defence equipment. About a 3rd of U.S. imports from China are successful merchandise categories wherever the immense bulk of those items travel from China, according to Goldman Sachs. That means, adjacent a impermanent halt to shipments from China could pb to proviso concatenation shortages, similar those seen during the Covid pandemic.

But who blinks archetypal oregon offers much concessions successful a commercialized standoff could person conscionable arsenic overmuch to bash with authorities arsenic economics. China removed word limits connected President Xi Jinping successful 2018, fundamentally allowing him to stay successful powerfulness for life. Meanwhile, the U.S. volition person midterm elections adjacent twelvemonth and different statesmanlike contention successful 2028.

That’s each From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Dylan Ebs.

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