Today in one sentence: Republican Sen. Joni Ernst dismissed concerns that Medicaid cuts in Trump’s tax bill would lead to deaths, saying “Well, we all are going to die”; the Trump administration corrected multiple fake citations in its “Make America Healthy Again” report, which included references to studies that don’t exist and appears to have been partly generated by AI; the Supreme Court refused to hear challenges to Maryland’s assault weapons ban and Rhode Island’s magazine limit, leaving both laws in place; the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to revoke humanitarian parole for 532,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela; Elon Musk left the Trump administration; the Trump administration is using Palantir to build a centralized system that merges Americans’ personal data across federal agencies; and Trump reposted a baseless claim that Biden was “executed in 2020” and replaced by “clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities.”

1/ Republican Sen. Joni Ernst dismissed concerns that Medicaid cuts in Trump’s tax bill would lead to deaths, saying “Well, we all are going to die.” Ernst later mocked criticism of her comments in a video filmed at a cemetery, saying: “I made an incorrect assumption that everyone […] understood that yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth.” Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson also downplayed the cuts, claiming that “4.8 million people will not lose their Medicaid unless they choose to do so.” The Congressional Budget Office, however, has projected that 7.6 million would lose coverage due to new work and reporting rules – not because they’re ineligible but because they fail to meet stricter documentation requirements. Johnson called the changes “common sense,” though past data shows similar rules caused eligible people to lose coverage for failing to complete or navigate complex paperwork. The bill, titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” would cut $723 billion from Medicaid while extending trillions in tax breaks for the wealthy. (NBC News / Washington Post / NPR / Salon / Des Moines Register / Politico / New York Times / The Hill / Rolling Stone / NBC News / USA Today)

2/ The Trump administration corrected multiple fake citations in its “Make America Healthy Again” report, which included references to studies that don’t exist and appears to have been partly generated by AI. The report, led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., cited nonexistent research, misattributed authors, and included broken links. At least one version contained “oaicite” tags, which are markers tied to OpenAI tools like ChatGPT. “Frankly, that’s shoddy work,” AI expert Oren Etzioni said. “We deserve better.” Columbia epidemiologist Katherine Keyes, who was falsely listed as author of a nonexistent study, said the error “makes me concerned given that citation practices are an important part of conducting and reporting rigorous science.” The White House, meanwhile, blamed “formatting issues,” but gave no clear explanation for how federal health policy ended up relying on invented sources. (New York Times / USA Today / Washington Post / NBC News / Reuters / ABC News)

  • The CDC contradicted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and kept COVID-19 shots on the childhood vaccine schedule, allowing them for kids 6 months and older through “shared clinical decision-making.” The agency, however, removed its recommendation for pregnant women, despite CDC guidance still warning they are “more likely to need hospitalization” or die from COVID-19. (New York Times / The Hill / Washington Post)
  • The Trump administration ended a $258 million HIV vaccine research program. NIH officials said the agency would instead focus on “currently available approaches” to control the virus. Researchers, however, warned the move will derail clinical trials and stall the vaccine pipeline for years. “This is a setback of probably a decade,” Scripps immunologist Dennis Burton said. (Science / New York Times / CBS News)

3/ The Supreme Court refused to hear challenges to Maryland’s assault weapons ban and Rhode Island’s magazine limit, leaving both laws in place. Maryland’s law bars AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles, while Rhode Island bans magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Lower courts upheld both, with the 4th Circuit calling AR-15s “military-style weapons designed for sustained combat operations” and the 1st Circuit saying large magazines are “associated with criminal activity.” Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, dissented: “We have avoided deciding [this issue] for a full decade.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh called the Maryland ruling “questionable,” but said the court should wait for more input from lower courts, adding it “presumably will address the AR-15 issue soon.” (NBC News / Reuters / Washington Post / CBS News / New York Times)

4/ The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to revoke humanitarian parole for 532,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The unsigned emergency order overturned a lower court ruling that had blocked the administration from ending the Biden-era program without case-by-case review, exposing many migrants to possible deportation while legal challenges continue. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissented, writing that the Court “undervalues the devastating consequences of allowing the Government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens while their legal claims are pending.” Homeland Security officials defended the move as a return to “common-sense policies” and claimed the Biden program admitted “poorly vetted” migrants. In a separate ruling, Judge Edward Chen blocked the administration from invalidating work permits for 5,000 Venezuelans, finding that Secretary Kristi Noem likely exceeded her authority and calling the administration’s rationale “unpersuasive.” (Washington Post / Associated Press / Reuters / NPR / New York Times / Reuters / NBC News / The Hill)

  • The Trump administration ordered federal law enforcement to triple daily immigration arrests, pulling FBI agents off counterterrorism and cybercrime cases to meet a quota of one million deportations a year. Agents were told not to record the reassignments, and some field offices stopped opening new national security investigations. “We need to arrest three times the amount of people we’re arresting right now,” White House adviser Tom Homan said, while Stephen Miller told ICE officials last week that arrest numbers were the “floor, not a ceiling.” (CNN)
  • The State Department ordered U.S. embassies and consulates to screen the social media accounts of all foreign nationals seeking to visit Harvard “for any purpose,” including students, staff, speakers, and tourists. A diplomatic cable signed by Secretary of State Rubio called the policy a pilot for expanded visa vetting nationwide and said private accounts may suggest “evasiveness” and “call into question the applicant’s credibility.” Visa applicants must make their social media public or face referral to the Fraud Prevention Unit and possible denial. (Politico / Axios / CNN)
  • The Trump administration deported Jordin Melgar-Salmeron to El Salvador 28 minutes after a federal appeals court ordered his removal blocked. Despite earlier promises to delay, the government claimed “administrative errors” and argued the deportation process had already begun even though the court’s order was issued before the flight took off. (New York Times)
  • The Trump administration deported 238 Venezuelan men to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador despite knowing that most had no U.S. criminal convictions, according to internal Homeland Security data. Officials publicly labeled them “rapists,” “savages,” and “terrorists,” but records show that over half had only immigration violations and six had violent convictions. (ProPublica)

5/ Elon Musk left the Trump administration, ending a controversial four-month run leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk claimed DOGE saved $175 billion in federal spending, but independent reviews found inflated figures, double-counted contracts, and missing documentation. “We’re simply advisers,” he said, walking back earlier promises to cut $2 trillion, while blaming DOGE’s failures on federal bureaucracy: “DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything. If there was some cut, real or imagined, everyone would blame DOGE.” In a separate interview, Musk said he was “disappointed” in Trump’s $3.8 trillion spending bill, which he claimed “undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.” When pressed on whether he’s still aligned with Trump, Musk replied: “I don’t want to speak up against the administration, but I also don’t want to take responsibility for everything this administration’s doing.” Nevertheless, Musk defended DOGE as “a way of life” and asked, “Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?” Trump, presenting Musk with a ceremonial gold key in the Oval Office, said Musk led “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations,” adding, “Elon’s really not leaving […] DOGE is his baby.” DOGE has dismantled agencies, pushed out over 250,000 federal workers, and disrupted services, with researchers and unions warning of long-term damage. Musk, who appeared with a black eye he said came from his son, made no mention of the lawsuits, failed agency overhauls, or Tesla’s plunging sales tied to his government role. (Axios / CBS News / USA Today / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Bloomberg / The Verge / The Guardian / Politico / The Hill / CNBC)

  • Trump questioned whether Elon Musk’s pledge to cut $1 trillion in federal spending was ever real, asking aides, “Was it all bullshit?” The comment followed months of internal frustration over Musk’s short and chaotic tenure leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk announced layoffs, slashed foreign aid, and sought agency data without White House approval. Trump’s aides said they often learned of Musk’s moves from news reports and had to clean up after his attacks on Republican allies and resistance to tariff policy. (Wall Street Journal)
  • Elon Musk used ketamine regularly, mixed it with other drugs, and carried a pill box containing about 20 medications while helping Trump’s campaign and advising his administration. People close to Musk said he took Ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms, and stimulants resembling Adderall, and told associates the ketamine was damaging his bladder. During this period, Musk made a Nazi-like gesture at a Trump rally, insulted cabinet members, and gave a garbled interview while wearing sunglasses. When asked about the report, Musk told a reporter to “move on” and denied drug use. Trump, meanwhile, said: “I’m not troubled by anything with Elon. I think he’s fantastic.” (New York Times)
  • Trump pulled Jared Isaacman’s NASA nomination citing a “review of prior associations.” Isaacman previously made donations to Democrats and had disclosed those donations to Trump in person during the 2024 transition. Trump, however, told aides he was “surprised to learn” of them. Isaacman’s company, Shift4 Payments, has invested $27.5 million dollars in SpaceX and processes payments for Starlink, Musk’s satellite internet provider. The White House said the next nominee must be “in complete alignment” with Trump’s “America First agenda.” (Semafor / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News)

6/ The Trump administration is using Palantir to build a centralized system that merges Americans’ personal data across federal agencies. Since March, when Trump signed an executive order to “eliminate information silos,” officials have deployed Palantir’s Foundry platform inside at least four agencies, including Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and the IRS. Government officials confirmed the goal is to compile “detailed portraits of Americans” using bank records, medical claims, student debt, disability status, and more. The project is being run through the Department of Government Efficiency, where several officials previously worked at Palantir or firms backed by founder Peter Thiel. Thirteen former employees signed a letter this month urging the company to cut ties with the government over the project’s risks. One employee who resigned over Palantir’s new ICE contract wrote: “This has changed for me […] this is a red line I won’t redraw.” (New York Times)

The midterm elections are in 519 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump’s tariffs after a trade court ruled his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act “exceeds any tariff authority” granted by Congress. That decision struck down tariffs on imports from over 60 countries and gave the administration 10 days to unwind them. Trump called the ruling “so wrong and so political” and claimed it would “completely destroy Presidential Power.” Separately, a second federal judge found the tariffs unlawful and paused enforcement for 14 days. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, said “activist judges” were undermining diplomacy, and trade adviser Peter Navarro added that “Even if we lose, we will do it another way.” (Bloomberg / Axios / Politico / ABC News / Associated Press / CNBC)

  2. Trump attacked the conservative legal group that helped choose his judges after a federal court ruled his tariffs illegal. Trump called Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo a “sleazebag,” who “probably hates America” and that the group gave him “bad advice” on judicial picks. “Where do these initial three judges come from?” Trump wrote. “Is it purely a hatred of ‘TRUMP?’” One of the judges, Timothy Reif, was appointed by Trump. A federal appeals court later paused the ruling while it considers next steps. (New York Times / Washington Post / Axios / Bloomberg)

  3. Trump accused China of breaking a temporary trade truce and threatened to reinstate the suspended tariffs, saying Beijing “HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.” The White House claimed China failed to resume shipments of rare earth minerals, a key part of the deal reached May 12, which lowered U.S. tariffs from 145% to 30% for 90 days. “We haven’t seen the flow of some of those critical minerals like they’re supposed to be doing,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said. China, meanwhile, denied violating the deal and blamed the U.S. for imposing new restrictions on chip technology and revoking student visas. “The United States has unilaterally escalated new economic and trade frictions,” China’s Commerce Ministry said, warning of “forceful measures” if U.S. actions continued. (New York Times / Axios / CNBC / Washington Post)

  4. Trump said he’ll double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50% effective June 4. He made the announcement at a U.S. Steel plant in Pennsylvania while promoting a $14 billion deal with Japan’s Nippon Steel that he previously opposed. Trump called it a “planned partnership” and claimed “U.S. Steel will continue to be controlled by the U.S.A.,” though he acknowledged that “we haven’t seen that final deal yet.” Nippon and U.S. Steel haven’t released full terms, and the companies haven’t confirmed whether the deal structure has changed from the original acquisition that Biden blocked in January. (CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / New York Times / NPR / CNBC)

  5. The Trump administration plans to eliminate federal protections and open 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to oil drilling and mining. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum claimed the Biden-era restrictions “undermined our ability to harness domestic resources” and exceeded federal authority. (New York Times)

  6. Trump nominated his former defense attorney and current senior Justice Department official to the federal appeals court overseeing Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Emil Bove pushed to drop bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, triggering multiple resignations, and has ordered lists of FBI staff involved in Jan. 6 investigations. Trump called him “SMART, TOUGH,” and said he would “do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.” (Wall Street Journal / CNN / New York Times)

  7. Trump reposted a baseless claim that Biden was “executed in 2020” and replaced by “clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities.” The post came from a fringe Truth Social account and was shared by Trump without comment to his nearly 10 million followers. “There is no Joe Biden,” the post read, falsely claiming Democrats “don’t know the difference.” Biden, however, is alive and currently undergoing treatment for advanced prostate cancer, which he disclosed last month. (New York Times / NBC News / Daily Beast)

Three years ago today: Day 499: "Common sense."
Four years ago today: Day 134: "My Republican friends."
Five years ago today: Day 1230: "Everything to divide us."
Eight years ago today: Day 134: Showdown supreme.