Today in one sentence: Trump demanded that House Republicans support his tax and spending bill or risk facing primary challengers backed by him; Elon Musk will cut back on political donations after spending nearly $300 million to help Trump win the 2024 election; Trump abandoned his pledge to broker an immediate ceasefire between Russia-Ukraine after a two-hour call with Putin; Trump reportedly instructed aides to tell Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to “wrap it up” and end the war in Gaza; the Justice Department charged Rep. LaMonica McIver with assaulting federal law enforcement officers during a confrontation outside a Newark ICE facility; and Trump’s nominee to lead the IRS promoted a tax credit the IRS confirmed does not exist.

1/ Trump demanded that House Republicans support his tax and spending bill or risk facing primary challengers backed by him. The legislation would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, and boost defense and border spending. To offset the cost, it would reduce federal support for Medicaid, roll back clean energy tax credits, and cuts SNAP benefits. The Congressional Budget Office estimates at least 7.6 million people would lose Medicaid coverage under the bill. “Don’t fuck around with Medicaid,” Trump privately told members, urging them to stop pushing for deeper cuts to the program. Trump also criticized Republicans from high-tax states like New York for holding out over the SALT (state and local tax) deduction cap, telling them to “let it go.” Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose three Republican votes and has set a Memorial Day deadline. Despite Trump’s pressure, lawmakers said the bill is “still a long ways away” and that he “didn’t convince enough people the bill is adequate.” (Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / CNN / NPR / Axios / Politico / Bloomberg / NBC News / Politico / Axios / The Hill / Associated Press)

  • The Senate voted 66–32 to advance the GENIUS Act, a bipartisan bill to regulate stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency tied to assets like the U.S. dollar. The bill had previously failed to move forward after all Senate Democrats and two Republicans blocked it earlier this month over concerns related to Trump’s crypto ventures. After negotiations, 16 Democrats ultimately joined Republicans to support a revised version with added consumer protections and conflict-of-interest rules. The bill would require stablecoin issuers to hold asset reserves, prioritize repayment to holders in bankruptcy, and comply with anti-money laundering laws. (ABC News / CBS News / CNN / NBC News)

2/ Elon Musk will cut back on political donations after spending nearly $300 million to help Trump win the 2024 election. “I think I’ve done enough,” Musk said, adding,“I don’t currently see a reason” to keep spending and that he would “do a lot less” politically moving forward. Musk’s pullback follows a failed $25 million push in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race – his candidate lost by 10 points – and growing backlash over his role in Trump’s second term overseeing the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The agency cut tens of thousands of federal jobs, canceled contracts, and tried to shut down entire departments. DOGE claimed $170 billion in savings, though independent reviews called the numbers “inflated” and “misleading.” Tesla profits, meanwhile, dropped 71% last quarter. (NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press / Axios / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Politico)

3/ Trump abandoned his pledge to broker an immediate ceasefire between Russia-Ukraine after a two-hour call with Putin. Instead, Trump said Russia and Ukraine should negotiate directly without U.S. involvement, backing away from his earlier threats of sanctions. Trump called the conversation with Putin “excellent” and said talks would begin “immediately,” suggesting the Vatican as a host. European leaders, meanwhile, had expected Trump to pressure Putin to accept a ceasefire or face penalties. Ukrainian President Zelensky warned that sidelining the U.S. would benefit Russia and urged tougher sanctions. Trump declined, focusing instead on future trade with Russia if the war ends. (New York Times / Axios / Politico / Wall Street Journal / NPR / Axios / Bloomberg)

4/ Trump reportedly instructed aides to tell Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to “wrap it up” and end the war in Gaza. The U.S. wants Israel and Hamas to accept a new ceasefire and hostage deal proposed by envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations have made little progress. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has expanded the war with continued airstrikes and plans to flatten most of Gaza and relocate nearly 2 million Palestinians to a single “humanitarian zone.” (Axios / Wall Street Journal)

5/ The Justice Department charged Rep. LaMonica McIver with assaulting federal law enforcement officers during a confrontation outside a Newark ICE facility. Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said McIver impeded and interfered with officers as they arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who had trespassing charges dropped “for the sake of moving forward.” Video shows McIver using her arms to push past officers, though it’s unclear if the contact was intentional. McIver denied wrongdoing, calling the charges politically motivated and intended to deter congressional oversight. House Democrats condemned the prosecution and accused the Trump administration of abusing power to silence opposition. (CNN / Associated Press / Politico / Axios / Politico / Axios)

The midterm elections are in 532 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. Trump – without evidence – accused Biden of hiding his prostate cancer diagnosis while in office. Speaking off script at the White House, Trump said it “took a long time” for Biden’s cancer to be revealed and questioned why the public hadn’t been notified sooner. Trump misstated details of the diagnosis, confusing the Gleason score of 9 with cancer staging; Biden has Stage 4 prostate cancer. Trump also cast doubt on Biden’s past medical evaluations, referencing the White House doctor who cleared Biden cognitively. Biden’s office said the diagnosis was made last Friday after he developed urinary symptoms, and confirmed the cancer had spread to his bones. (NPR / Axios / The Hill / HuffPost)

  2. FDA will require new clinical trials before approving annual COVID-19 boosters for healthy individuals under 65. The agency said future approvals will focus on people over 65 and those with medical conditions that raise the risk of severe illness. FDA leaders Marty Makary and Vinay Prasad published the policy in the New England Journal of Medicine, stating there is not enough evidence to justify routine boosters for healthy adults. Vaccine makers will need to conduct randomized, controlled trials to get approval for use in lower-risk groups. The FDA estimated that 100 to 200 million people would still qualify for boosters under the new guidelines. (Reuters / Associated Press / STAT News / New York Times / Washington Post)

  3. Trump plans to appoint Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to lead the development of the “Golden Dome” – a U.S. missile defense system modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome. The system would combine ground-based interceptors and satellites to defend against threats like hypersonic and low-flying ballistic missiles. The Congressional Budget Office estimated parts of the project could cost up to $831 billion over 20 years. (ABC News / Wall Street Journal)

  4. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration’s potential suspension of habeas corpus during a Senate hearing, but mischaracterized the legal principle as the president’s “constitutional right” to deport people. Sen. Maggie Hassan corrected her that habeas corpus protects against indefinite detention without public justification. Noem, nevertheless, repeated her support for habeas corpus, but falsely claimed Trump could suspend it – even though the Constitution assigns that power to Congress in cases of rebellion or invasion. (Axios / Politico)

  5. Trump’s nominee to lead the IRS promoted a tax credit the IRS confirmed does not exist. Former Missouri congressman Billy Long worked with White River Energy Corp. and other firms to market “tribal tax credits” and the pandemic-era employee retention credit. The IRS froze the retention credit program in 2023 and warned that promoting false credits could trigger penalties. Long, meanwhile, earned nearly $250,000 from these efforts and received more than $135,000 in campaign donations from affiliated companies after his nomination. He faces Senate questioning Tuesday. (New York Times)

Four years ago today: Day 121: "Not the case."