Good morning, everyone. It’s Wednesday - that means we are halfway to the weekend!
Today’s Dispatch is jam-packed, so let’s get right to it, shall we?
Elon Musk Blasts Trump's Tax Bill as "Disgusting Abomination"
Elon Musk launched a scathing attack on President Trump's signature "One Big Beautiful Bill," calling it a "disgusting abomination" that will "massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion." The Congressional Budget Office projects the bill would add $3.8 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. Musk later posted: "In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people." The White House dismissed his criticism, with Press Secretary Leavitt saying, "The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill."
Senators Who Agree with Musk
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): Paul wrote on X later Tuesday, "I agree with Elon." "We have both seen the massive waste in government spending, and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake. We can and must do better.” Musk replied to Paul's post with an American-flag emoji. Paul said the current spending cuts in the bill "are wimpy and anemic," adding that he "still would support the bill even with wimpy and anemic cuts if they weren't going to explode the debt."
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT): Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also backed Musk's warning of the deficit being blown out. "Congress has hollowed out America's middle class through reckless deficit spending and the inflation it causes," Lee wrote on X. "The Uniparty propels this vicious cycle, and must be stopped in its tracks." Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, responded to Musk's post by writing, "The Senate must make this bill better."
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): Wisconsin's Ron Johnson has threatened to withhold his vote unless Republicans agree to return spending to pre-pandemic levels. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he thinks there are "enough" Republicans to "stop the process" in order to prioritize stronger reductions in spending and the national deficit. Johnson would like to see a return to pre-pandemic spending levels, which would effectively amount to a roughly $6 trillion cut in spending.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he thought “Elon is exactly right that we need to cut more spending, and I hope and believe that the Senate will make the bill substantially better.”
President Trump is pushing the Senate to pass his tax and spending bill by Independence Day, posting on social media to urge senators "to work as fast as they can to get this Bill to MY DESK before the Fourth of JULY." Senate Majority Leader John Thune can lose no more than three Republican votes, and more than three Republicans have voiced serious concerns with the bill. We shall see what happens!
Trump’s Deportation Surge
The Trump administration is ramping up deportations, but it's still not hitting the ambitious targets set by the president's team. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons reported Sunday that arrests have jumped to 1,600 per day—more than double the 656 daily average from earlier this year. That's real progress, but it's still short of the 3,000 daily arrests that senior adviser Stephen Miller wants to see. Sources say Miller was not pleased with ICE's performance in late May, pushing hard for faster execution of the president's mass deportation agenda.
The numbers tell the story: May saw 190 deportation flights—the highest monthly total since September 2021. Immigration tracking data shows ICE averaged about 850 deportations daily in early May, with April's total reaching over 17,200 people removed from the country. That's a nearly 30% jump from the same period last year, marking the first time Trump's deportation numbers exceeded Biden's comparable monthly figures.
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Approval for Federal Workforce Cuts
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to halt a judicial order blocking mass federal layoffs and agency restructuring. A federal judge had ruled that Trump "exceeded his authority" in ordering the downsizing, writing that "the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress." The Supreme Court requested responses by June 9th.
USDA Halts Demand for Food Stamp Recipients' Data
The Department of Agriculture has put on hold its unprecedented demand that states turn over sensitive data about SNAP recipients, including names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, and addresses going back five years. The pause comes after a coalition of groups filed a lawsuit alleging the directive violated federal privacy laws. Over 40 million people receive SNAP benefits monthly.
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Smuggling a Potential “Agroterrorism” Fungus
The Justice Department announced charges against two Chinese nationals, Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, for allegedly smuggling Fusarium graminearum, a fungus classified in scientific literature as a potential agroterrorism weapon, into the United States. According to officials, Jian and Liu, both citizens of the People’s Republic of China, received funding from the Chinese government for their research, some of which was conducted at the University of Michigan. A DOJ press release revealed that Jian’s electronic devices contained information indicating her affiliation with and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. It is further alleged that Liu, Jian’s boyfriend and a researcher at a Chinese university studying the same pathogen, admitted to smuggling the fungus through Detroit Metropolitan Airport to conduct research at Jian’s laboratory at the University of Michigan.
Some Good News!
The U.S. Army has met its 2025 recruiting goals four months early! More than 61,000 young Americans are serving their country, which is a welcome number considering the decline in the last administration!
A Few More Things...
U.S. immigration authorities detained the family of the man charged in the Colorado attack yesterday. His wife and five children remain in custody.
Chuck Schumer spoke with FBI officials and said, "When antisemitism is allowed to fester in more quarters of society, it historically leads to more terrorism and violence."
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for an underwater explosion that hit Russia's Crimea bridge
Law enforcement in both Germany and Poland has renewed a search for Madeleine McCann
On This Day in History…
1783: The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrated their hot air balloon for the first time in France, marking the beginning of human flight.
1812: The U.S. House of Representatives passed its first war declaration, approving a declaration of war against Britain by a vote of 79-49.
1896: Henry Ford completed and tested his first automobile, the "Quadricycle," in Detroit, paving the way for the future of the motor industry.
1919: The U.S. Congress approved the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing women's suffrage, and sent it to the states for ratification.
1940: The "Miracle of Dunkirk" evacuation ended, saving more than 330,000 Allied soldiers from advancing German forces.
1942: The Battle of Midway began, becoming one of the most decisive U.S. victories against Japan during World War II.
1984: Bruce Springsteen released "Born in the U.S.A.," which became one of his defining works.
1989: Chinese troops crushed pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters who had occupied the square for seven weeks.
Alright friends, I hope your day is great and I’ll see you back here bright and early tomorrow for another installment of the Dawn Dispatch!
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