The Latest: Trump-Musk relationship appears to implode

After long months when President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk appeared united in their chaotic mission to remake Washington, their relationship imploded this week.

It began with Musk complaining about the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda, which the president at first took in stride. Eventually , Trump let slip that he was disappointed in his former adviser, prompting Musk to unleash a flood of insults and taunts.

Trump could hold back no longer. He posted that Musk had been “wearing thin,” that he had “asked him to leave” his administration, that the tech titan had “gone CRAZY.”

Meanwhile, Democratic state attorneys general are seeking to block Trump’s proposal for an overhaul of U.S. elections in a case that tests a constitutional bedrock — the separation of powers. A hearing on the issue was taking place Friday.

Here’s the latest:

Yemeni Americans could make Trump pay at the polls over his travel ban, says Detroit imam

A Michigan imam who presided over a prayer service marking the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha says President Donald Trump’s new travel ban could backfire on the Republican Party.

The travel ban announced Wednesday by the White House applies to citizens of Yemen and 11 other nations.

“We saw the price that the Democratic Party had to pay for undermining the Palestinian voice. There are many people that avoided voting altogether just because of this country’s policies toward Gaza,” Imam Imran Salha told The Associated Press, referring to Trump in November becoming the first Republican presidential candidate since 2000 to win the majority-Arab city of Dearborn.

“Let’s not make the same mistake,” Salha said.

Salha spoke to AP on Friday, after leading the Eid service at the Islamic Center of Detroit, a mosque with a significant number of Yemeni American worshippers.

Transgender troops face a deadline and a difficult decision: Stay or go?

As transgender service members face a deadline to leave the U.S. military, hundreds are taking the financial bonus to depart voluntarily. But others say they will stay and fight.

For many, it is a wrenching decision to end a career they love, and leave units they have led or worked with for years. And they are angry they are being forced out by the Trump administration’s renewed ban on transgender troops.

Active duty service members with gender dysphoria have until Friday to identify themselves and begin to leave the military voluntarily, while the National Guard and Reserve have until July 7. Then the military will begin involuntary separations.

“They’re tired of the rollercoaster. They just want to go,” said one transgender service member, who plans to retire. ”It’s exhausting.”

For others, it’s a call to arms.

“I’m choosing to stay in and fight,” a noncommissioned officer in the Air Force said. “My service is based on merit, and I’ve earned that merit.”

The service members spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they fear reprisals.

World Pride’s human rights conference ends with drag show amid mounting threats to LGBTQ+ community

World Pride ’s human rights conference ended Friday with a drag show featuring some of the most prominent stars from Rupaul’s Drag Race ahead of a weekend parade, rally and concerts amid anxieties over an increasingly hostile political environment for the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S.

Courtney Act, the first drag performer in the world to debut on a major label, crooned a slowed-down version of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” against a backdrop of glittering rainbow pixels. Peppermint, the first trans woman to originate a principal Broadway role, strutted in a shimmering bodysuit to Whitney Houston’s “I’m Your Baby Tonight.”

Bob the Drag Queen, a nonbinary comedian, actor and drag performer, belted Dionne Warwick’s “I Got Love.” And TV personality and actor Mrs. Kasha Davis twirled in a sparkling black gown to Kelly Clarkson singing the words “We are all misfits living in a world on fire. Sing it for the people like us.”

Many LGBTQ+ travelers have expressed concerns or decided to skip World Pride due to anxieties about safety, border policies and a hostile political climate. Yet cross-national strategizing has still been central to the gathering as international attendees at the human rights conference echoed that they wanted to send a clear message of opposition to U.S. officials with their presence.

“This is World Pride on Trump’s doorstep,” said Yasmin Benoit, a British model and asexual activist.

‘See you in the woodchipper,’ ex-USAID staffers tell Musk

A social media account run by recently terminated staffers of the U.S. aid agency that Elon Musk helped destroy had parting words for Musk Friday after his public falling-out with President Donald Trump.

“We’ll see you in the woodchipper,” the group, Friends of USAID, said on Instagram.

Ex-staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development began the account in the early days of the agency’s dismantling by the Trump administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

The remark referenced Musk’s own Feb. 3 boast on X after his DOGE team helped rout USAID staffers from the agency’s headquarters and computer systems.

“Spent the weekend feeding USAID into a wood chipper,” Musk said then.

Musk and Trump turned on each other this week over the administration’s funding legislation this week. The dispute led Trump to threaten to yank billions of dollars in government contracts from Musk.

The sign-off to Friday’s Friends of USAID post noted DOGE’s hands-on role in cuts at USAID and other federal agencies.

“Sincerely, one of the 50,000 people you laid off by email”

Rep. Becca Balint says GOP control of the US House limits ways Dems can protect LGBTQ+ rights

In the final hour of World Pride’s human rights conference, Democratic Rep. Becca Balint, of Vermont, acknowledged that GOP control of the U.S. House limits the ways that Democrats can work to protect LGBTQ+ rights amid mounting threats.

Balint emphasized the importance of working with Republicans across the aisle and with human rights groups that have sued the Trump administration.

The Trump administration has issued executive orders to recognize people as being only male or female, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for females, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threatened research funding for institutions that provide the care.

All the efforts are being challenged in court, and judges have put some policies on hold.

“In this time of incredible fear and anxiety in our community, of course, it feels like we, as representatives, are not doing enough,” Balint said. ”… We have to get creative about how we do this work.”

Rep. Becca Balint urges Dems to take advantage of GOP confusion amid Trump, Musk fallout

In the final event of World Pride’s human rights conference, Democratic Rep. Becca Balint, Vermont’s first woman and first openly gay person to represent the state in Congress, urged Democrats to take advantage of the confusion within the GOP amid Trump and Musk’s public fallout, especially to protect transgender rights.

“We do have an opportunity here because our colleagues don’t know who to support and they’re scared, and we must exploit that,” Balint said.

Rep. Emily Randall, who won her race for Washington’s 6th Congressional District in 2024, said the tension between Trump and Musk “is reflective of the chaos within the Republican party.”

House leader Jeffries sees ‘opportunity’ in Trump-Musk feud

The House Democratic Leader calls the Trump-Musk breakup feud a “welcome development” in his efforts to defeat the GOP tax breaks and spending cuts package.

“To the extent that Musk has declared the bill a ‘disgusting abomination,’ we agree,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

“The opportunity that exists right now is to kill the GOP tax scam,” he said. “We have to keep the pressure on House Republicans and Senate Republicans to do the right thing.”

Senators urge Pentagon to reverse transgender ban

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, and 22 other Senate Democrats are calling on the Pentagon to reverse its decision to force transgender service members out of the military.

Active duty troops with gender dysphoria have until today to identify themselves and leave voluntarily, and Guard and Reserve members have until July 7. After that, the department will begin involuntary removals.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the senators said the ban will hurt military readiness, lethality and unit cohesion.

“Banning them from service will compromise good order and discipline, take deployable servicemembers out of the fight and create national security risks felt for years to come,” the letter said.

The department has said that “it is not in the best interests of the military” or national security to allow troops with gender dysphoria to serve.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to leave layoffs at Education Department in place

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to pause a court order to reinstate Education Department employees who were fired in mass layoffs as part of his plan to dismantle the agency.

The Justice Department’s emergency appeal on Friday to the high court said U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston exceeded his authority last month when he issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs of nearly 1,400 people and putting the broader plan on hold.

Joun’s order has blocked one of the Republican president’s biggest campaign promises and effectively stalled the effort to wind down the department. A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed.

The judge wrote that the layoffs “will likely cripple the department.”

But Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote on Friday that Joun was substituting his policy preferences for those of the Trump administration.

Democratic attorneys general challenge Trump’s election overhaul in court

Democratic state attorneys general are seeking to block President Donald Trump’s proposal for an overhaul of U.S. elections in a case that tests a constitutional bedrock — the separation of powers.

The top law enforcement officials from 19 states filed a federal lawsuit after the Republican president signed the executive order in March. The states say the order steps on states’ power to set their own election rules.

During a Friday hearing in federal court in Boston, lawyers for the states argued the changes outlined in the order could not be implemented before the next election and could cost California alone $1 billion to implement.

Lawyers for the U.S. government say the next federal election is 18 months away and the harm the states claim is speculative.

Trump plans to attend UFC 316 in New Jersey

Trump is set to attend Saturday’s nights UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey – continuing his trend of largely traveling domestically to attend sport events.

Since retaking the White House in January, Trump went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500 in Florida, as well as a UFC fight in Miami and the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia.

That means he’s traveled more frequently to watch sports than to attend political rallies or make other trips focused on domestic policy. Trump planned to spend Friday night at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, which makes for a short trip to be there for Saturday’s fight.

Johnson confident of passing big tax and immigration bill despite Musk criticism

Speaker Mike Johnson is expressing confidence that the growing dispute between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk will not harm the GOP’s prospects of passing Trump’s big tax and immigration bill.

Musk has tweeted on X that lawmakers should call lawmakers and “KILL the BILL.”

Johnson told reporters that he exchanged text messages with Musk on Thursday, but he would not reveal the content. He also said he was in constant communication with Trump.

“Members are not shaken at all,” Johnson said of the dispute. “We’re going to pass this legislation on our deadline.”

Watchdog investigates if staff was asked to delete Hegseth’s Signal messages

The Pentagon watchdog is looking into whether any of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s aides were asked to delete Signal messages that may have shared sensitive military information with a reporter.

That’s according to two people familiar with the investigation and documents reviewed by The Associated Press. The people weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The inspector general is asking some past and current staffers who were with Hegseth on the day of the airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen who actually posted the information and who had access to his phone.

Details about the military strikes were shared in multiple Signal chats, including one that inadvertently included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.

Neither the Pentagon nor the inspector general’s office immediately responded to requests for comment.

— By Tara Copp

Elon Musk pulls back on threat to withdraw Dragon spacecraft

Musk is dialing back his threat to decommission a capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station for NASA. The threat came as President Donald Trump and Musk argued on social media on Thursday.

Trump said he could cut government contracts given to Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX. Musk responded by saying SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft.

It was unclear how serious Musk’s threat was, but several hours later — in a reply to another X user — he said he wouldn’t do it. SpaceX is the only U.S. company capable right now of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules. It could also pay Russia to ferry astronauts.

Elon Musk could lose big profits for Tesla under a new GOP budget proposal

Republican senators have inserted language into the budget bill amid the Musk v. Trump feud that would eliminate fines for gas-powered cars that fall short of fuel economy standards. Tesla has a thriving side business selling “regulatory credits” to other automakers to make up for their shortfalls.

The credits business was widely thought vulnerable to cuts even before the feud, and Musk has downplayed its importance. But the changes would hurt Tesla as it reels from boycotts. Credit sales jumped by a third to $595 million in the first three months of the year as total revenue slumped. (edited)

Hiring was slow but steady last month; unemployment rate stayed at 4.2%

The government’s monthly jobs report, released Friday, showed that employers added 139,000 jobs last month, down slightly from the previous month’s gain of 147,000. Hiring at that level is typically enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising over time, but represents a slowdown compared with a year ago, when nearly 200,000 jobs were added.

The hiring mostly occurred in the health care, restaurant and hotels, and financial services industries. The Trump administration’s top economists have previously criticized job gains in those areas as mostly either low-paying or, in the case of health care, partly dependent on government spending.

Manufacturing, a particular focus of the White House and the intended beneficiaries of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, cut 8,000 jobs last month. Since Trump’s inauguration, the sector has gained just 6,000 positions. It shed jobs last year.

The overall job gains were slightly better than financial markets expected, so stock futures rose on the news.

What’s next for Trump-Musk relationship?

After Thursday’s spectacular blow-up between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — which unfolded in real time — the big question for this Friday is: What next?

In a call with ABC News on Friday, Trump called Musk a “man who has lost his mind.” According to the network’s correspondent, Jon Karl, the president said he is “not particularly” interested in speaking with Musk directly.

Still, Trump said Musk wants to talk to him, Karl reported.

Shares of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker plunged more than 14% as investors dumped holdings, as investors fear his dispute with President Donald Trump could end up hurting the company.

There appear to be no plans for a call between the two men Friday

A source familiar with Trump’s thinking said Musk wants to have a call but the president doesn’t want to do it today. The person requested anonymity to disclose private conversations.

— By Chris Megerian

Judge puts temporary hold on Trump’s latest ban on Harvard’s foreign students

A federal judge late Thursday temporarily blocked a proclamation by Trump that banned foreign students from entering the U.S. to attend Harvard University.

Trump’s proclamation was the latest attempt by his administration to prevent the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college from enrolling a quarter of its students, who account for much of Harvard’s research and scholarship.

Harvard filed a legal challenge the next day, asking for a judge to block Trump’s order and calling it illegal retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of White House demands. Harvard said the president was attempting an end-run around a previous court order.

A few hours later, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston issued a temporary restraining order against Trump’s Wednesday proclamation.