Today in one sentence: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump that Canada “won’t be for sale, ever” during their first White House meeting, rejecting Trump’s repeated suggestion that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state; the Supreme Court ruled that Trump can enforce his ban on transgender military service while legal challenges continue; the Trump administration defended a Biden-era rule that expanded access to the abortion pill mifepristone; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a 20% cut in the number of four-star generals and admirals across the U.S. military; Trump said the U.S. would stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen after the group “capitulated” and pledged to stop targeting ships in the Red Sea; an Israeli minister said Gaza “will be entirely destroyed” and its residents “will start to leave in great numbers to third countries,” after the government approved a plan to seize and indefinitely hold territory; and Trump’s job approval rating dropped 33 points among Americans who consume little to no news.

1/ Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump that Canada “won’t be for sale, ever” during their first White House meeting, rejecting Trump’s repeated suggestion that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state. Trump responded, “Never say never,” but backed off further annexation talk during the tense but civil meeting. Trump, however, refused to lift tariffs on Canadian goods, saying it’s “just the way it is,” while also dismissing expectations for formal trade talks: “We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us.” Trump compared the U.S. to a “super luxury store” where countries must pay to access the market. Carney, meanwhile, called the conversation was “constructive,” but warned that negotiations would take time and involve broader issues. Despite efforts to reset relations, Trump nevertheless made clear he would dictate terms, not negotiate, while he continuing to threaten more tariffs on Canadian goods and industries. (NPR / NBC News / New York Times / CNBC / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Bloomberg / CNBC / Associated Press / Washington Post)

2/ The Supreme Court ruled that Trump can enforce his ban on transgender military service while legal challenges continue. The unsigned order lifted a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge in Washington state, who had called the policy “a blanket prohibition” unsupported by evidence. The policy, based on Trump’s January executive order, requires the military to discharge transgender service members and bars new enlistments. Three liberal justices – Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson – dissented. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, including Navy Commander Emily Shilling – a combat pilot with 19 years of service – said the policy ignores four years of open transgender military service under Biden’s administration, during which the Pentagon reported no decline in readiness, cohesion, or performance. (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / ABC News / Politico / NBC News / CNN / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Axios / Wall Street Journal)

3/ The Trump administration defended a Biden-era rule that expanded access to the abortion pill mifepristone, asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from three Republican-led states. The Justice Department said Missouri, Idaho, and Kansas lacked standing and chose the wrong venue, echoing arguments first made by the Biden administration – a technical argument aimed at preserving the executive branch’s authority over regulatory decisions. The states want to reverse FDA rules that allow mifepristone to be prescribed through telehealth and mailed to patients, calling it a threat to their abortion bans. Trump’s DOJ didn’t defend the drug itself, but supported Biden’s legal position that “states cannot proceed in this court.” (Axios / NPR / HuffPost / New York Times / Politico / Reuters / The Hill / CBS News)

4/ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a 20% cut in the number of four-star generals and admirals across the U.S. military, along with a 20% cut to National Guard generals, and a 10% reduction in general and flag officers overall. The memo described the move as a way to eliminate “redundant force structure” and shift resources to frontline troops. The cuts also follow firings of the top Navy officer, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and several women and minority leaders. Hegseth claimed senior ranks were bloated and accused many top officers of pushing “social justice, gender, [and] climate” agendas. Senator Jack Reed called the move potentially crippling and warned against “arbitrary percentages” not backed by analysis. Representative Seth Moulton warned that Hegseth is “creating a formal framework to fire all the generals who disagree with him.” (CNN / New York Times / Axios / Bloomberg / Reuters / Associated Press / NBC News / Washington Post)

  • Pete Hegseth cancelled 11 military aid flights to Ukraine without Trump’s approval or coordination with key national security officials. The verbal order, issued days after Trump’s inauguration, triggered confusion across the White House, Pentagon, and State Department, and forced a temporary pause in aid shipments. Trump never directed Hegseth to stop the aid, though the White House later claimed Hegseth was just following administration policy. (Reuters)

5/ Trump said the U.S. would stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen after the group “capitulated” and pledged to stop targeting ships in the Red Sea. “We will stop the bombings,” Trump said, claiming the group no longer wants to fight. “Operation Rough Rider” lasted over 50 days and struck more than 1,000 targets. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the strikes aimed to stop Houthi attacks on regional shipping and would end if the attacks stopped. The Houthis, however, denied a formal deal and vowed to keep targeting Israeli interests. They began attacking ships in the Red Sea after Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza, saying the strikes supported Palestinians and targeted Israeli-linked vessels. (Axios / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)

6/ An Israeli minister said Gaza “will be entirely destroyed” and its residents “will start to leave in great numbers to third countries,” after the government approved a plan to seize and indefinitely hold territory. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s statement marked Israel’s most explicit endorsement yet of mass displacement, military occupation, and full control over humanitarian aid. The plan moves civilians into so-called humanitarian zones while targeting Hamas fighters and infrastructure. Aid organizations warned that famine risks in Gaza are rising again after the collapse of the temporary ceasefire in March. At the same time, Israel escalated its regional campaign by bombing and “fully” disabling the main airport in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, in response to a missile strike near Tel Aviv. (The Guardian / CBS News / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / CNN / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

poll/ Trump’s job approval rating dropped 33 points among Americans who consume little to no news. Trump’s net approval among these low-engagement voters fell from +12 in January to -21 in April. A separate survey found a 13-point decline in approval among 2024 non-voters during the same period, from 44% to 31%. By contrast, Trump’s approval fell 14 points among high-engagement voters and 7 points among all adults. (Strength In Numbers)

The midterm elections are in 546 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. The Trump administration restarted student loan collections and will begin garnishing wages from 5.3 million defaulted borrowers later this summer. It also notified 195,000 people that their federal benefits, including Social Security, could be seized in 30 days. The move ends a five-year pause and reverses Biden-era relief policies. (CNBC / Axios)

  2. The Trump administration plans to shut down the EPA’s Energy Star program, ending the federal label for energy-efficient appliances after more than 30 years. The program is credited with saving over $500 billion in energy costs and may eliminate related tax credits for consumers. (Washington Post / CNN)

  3. House Republicans will likely eliminate the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit as part of their plan to fund Trump’s proposed tax cuts, Speaker Mike Johnson said. “I think there is a better chance we kill it than save it.” (Bloomberg)

  4. The Trump administration suspended air-quality monitoring at all 63 national parks, stopping data collection on pollutants like ozone and particulate matter. The program helps determine whether nearby industrial projects can proceed and is critical for tracking pollution that affects public health and visibility in parks. (Washington Post)

  5. A federal judge ordered North Carolina’s elections board to certify Democrat Allison Riggs as the winner of a contested state Supreme Court race, rejecting Republican Jefferson Griffin’s attempt to throw out thousands of ballots. Judge Richard Myers, a Trump appointee, ruled that retroactively invalidating votes would violate due process and equal protection, writing: “You establish the rules before the game. You don’t change them after the game is done.” Riggs won by 734 votes, confirmed by two recounts. Griffin has seven days to appeal. (New York Times / The Guardian / The Hill / Washington Post / WRAL)

  6. The Trump administration blocked Harvard University from receiving new federal research grants, escalating its dispute with the school over issues including antisemitism, race-based policies, and alleged ideological bias. Education Secretary Linda McMahon accused the university of “disastrous mismanagement” and said funding would resume only if Harvard meets the Trump administration’s demands. The move follows a freeze on $2.2 billion in grants and a pending lawsuit by Harvard challenging the legality of the funding cutoff. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / Politico / NBC News)

  7. Columbia University laid off 180 staffers after the Trump administration revoked $400 million in federal research funding. The administration pulled funding over Columbia’s handling of antisemitism and demanded changes, including a protest mask ban and expanded campus policing. Columbia accepted most terms and froze salaries while trying to restore the grants. (Axios / NBC News)

  8. A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s request to revoke the temporary legal status of roughly 400,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that Homeland Security’s effort to end their parole without individual review violated due process. (Reuters / USA Today)

  9. A declassified intelligence memo contradicts Trump’s claim that Venezuela’s government directs the Tren de Aragua gang, undermining his use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans without due process. The April memo, released under a Freedom of Information Act request, found no evidence the Maduro regime controlled or coordinated with the gang, saying the group operates independently in a lawless environment. Courts have already blocked further deportations, and the Supreme Court ruled that affected migrants must be allowed to challenge their removals. (New York Times / Politico)

  10. The Trump administration plans to cut more than 1,200 CIA positions and thousands more across other U.S. intelligence agencies over the next few years. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard claimed the downsizing was part of a strategy to align the workforce with national security priorities. Critics, however warn the cuts risk weakening intelligence capabilities amid rising global threats and increasing foreign efforts to recruit laid-off U.S. personnel. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post)

Six years ago today: Day 837: Legitimacy.