Alternet: ‘A flagrant violation of the law’: Michigan AG blasts ’embarrassing and disturbing’ Trump admin

Public health and infectious diseases know no borders, Nessel said, warning that the decision to shutter regional health programs, close CDC labs and close all 10 of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services’ regional offices jeopardizes public health in every community.

“Also it’s just a flagrant violation of the law. Disregards the separation of powers, and it places this new burden now, of course, on the states, because there are certain things that you rely upon the federal government to do, especially in terms of coordinating efforts between the states,” Nessel said.

In addition to their case on the mass firings, Nessel and 23 other attorneys general filed suit against Kennedy and the DHHS for terminating almost $11 billion in critical public health grants across the country.

https://www.alternet.org/a-flagrant-violation-of-the-law-michigan-ag-blasts-trump-admin

Alternet: ‘A way for Mar-A-Lago to get paid’: Don Jr.’s role in ‘anti-woke’ firm ‘raises serious questions’

In November 2024, Donald Trump Jr. became a partner in a Palm Beach, Florida-based investment firm startup named 1789 Capital. And its stated goal was to invest in “anti-woke” businesses.

The company has grown since then. And according to Business Insider reporter Bethany McLean, 1789 is raising questions about the possibility of President Donald Trump’s family “improperly making money by funneling government business to the companies it invests in.”

In an article published on May 12, McLean reports, “It’s not just legal experts who have concerns about the money flowing to Don Jr. One veteran Wall Street investor, who has personally reviewed 1789’s deals, says they enable the president’s son to profit from the (Trump) Administration’s actions — even if no contractors are given preferential treatment.”

https://www.alternet.org/don-jr-1789-musk

Reuters: Judge orders temporary halt to Trump administration’s government overhaul

President Donald Trump’s administration must temporarily halt its sweeping government overhaul because Congress did not authorize it to carry out large-scale staffing cuts and the restructuring of agencies, a federal judge said on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco sided with a group of unions, non-profits and local governments, and blocked large-scale mass layoffs known as “reductions in force” for 14 days.

“As history demonstrates, the President may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress,” said Illston.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judge-orders-temporary-halt-trump-administrations-mass-layoff-plans-2025-05-10

Rolling Stone: Elon Musk’s Regulatory Woes Are Conveniently Vanishing Under Trump

The Trump administration has been a boon for Elon Musk’s companies’ regulatory issues. The billionaire who has run the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) responsible for gutting certain federal agencies is now enjoying less scrutiny over his businesses since Donald Trump took office, NBC News reported.

An NBC News review of regulatory matters that involve Musk’s companies revealed that in more than 40 cases, regulators have not taken any public action in their investigations for many months.

Since Trump took office, the Justice Department has dropped a case against SpaceX that accused the company of refusing to hire asylum recipients and refugee immigrants to the U.S. A Labor Department probe into workforce discrimination at Tesla ended after Trump signed an executive order that gutted the office conducting the investigation. And the National Labor Relations Board has opened settlement talks over SpaceX firings of employees who criticized Musk. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was leading an investigation into Neuralink, which Musk owns, for potential animal welfare violations until one of Trump’s first executive orders fired inspectors general from USDA and 16 other agencies. The former inspectors generals are suing.

Corruption at its finest!

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-regulatory-matters-under-trump-1235336699

NJ.com: Another sign that Trump bromance is hurting Elon Musk and Tesla

Despite some analysts who believe Tesla stock will make a comeback — and there are those even suggesting a bull run — some employees (who already have sold their stock) don’t have the same perspective.

According to Business Insider, Musk is telling workers in Texas to take a week off:

Tesla told Austin workers on its Model Y and Cybertruck lines to stay home for the week of Memorial Day, three workers told Business Insider.

The break is unusually long, the workers said. Production lines were up and running during the same period last year, they said.

The electric vehicle maker notified employees earlier this week. The workers, who are paid hourly, were told they could either take paid time off or come in for cleaning and training but would not be working on the production line.

The workers said their schedules had been increasingly inconsistent since February. Some said they had been sent home early on multiple occasions.

So, what could have happened between December and May that might have triggered the collapse? Here’s The Guardian’s guess:

Never before has the world’s richest person been deputized by the US president to cull the very agencies that oversee his businesses. Musk’s attempts to radically dismantle government bureaus have won him sprawling influence. His team has embedded its members in key roles across federal agencies, gained access to personal data on millions of Americans and fired tens of thousands of workers. SpaceX, where he is CEO, is now poised to take over potential government contracts worth billions. He has left a trail of chaos while seeding the government with his allies, who will probably help him profit and preserve his newfound power.

Sounds about right.

https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/05/another-sign-that-trump-bromance-is-hurting-elon-musk-and-tesla.html

The Atlantic: Trump’s Inevitable Betrayal of His Supporters

On Sunday, Donald Trump went on TV and told Americans that their children should make do with less. “They don’t need to have 30 dolls; they can have three,” the president said on Meet the Press. “They don’t need to have 250 pencils; they can have five.” Critics were quick to point out the irony of America’s avatar of excess telling others to tighten their belt. But the problem with Trump’s remark goes beyond the optics. It’s that his argument for austerity contradicts his campaign commitments—and exposes the limits of his transactional approach to politics.

Throughout his 2024 run, the president promised Americans a return to the prosperity of his pre-COVID first term. “Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods,” he told a Montana rally in August. “They’ll come down, and they’ll come down fast,” he declared days later in North Carolina. But at the same time, Trump also promised to impose steep tariffs on consumer goods—dubbing tariff one of “the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard”—even though the levies would effectively serve as a tax on everyday Americans.

These two pledges could not be reconciled, and once elected, Trump was forced to choose between them. The results have disillusioned many of those who voted for him. Trump’s approval on the economy has plunged since he announced his “Liberation Day.” A former strength has become a weakness. “If you look at his economic net approval rating in his first term, it was consistently above water,” the CNN analyst Harry Enten noted last month. “It was one of his best issues, and now it’s one of his worst issues.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/trump-s-inevitable-betrayal-of-his-supporters/ar-AA1EosZ3

Raw Story: ‘Trump humiliates Musk’: President mocks richest man in meandering graduation speech

President Donald Trump took a shot at his billionaire benefactor Elon Musk during a commencement address at the University of Alabama.

The president spoke Thursday night to graduating students, where he aired grievances about the 2020 election, offered advice – “think of yourself as a winner,” “be an original” and “never, ever give up” – and jabbed “internet people” like Musk and other tech mogulsreported The Daily Beast, which framed it as “Trump humiliates Musk.”

“They all hated me in my first term,” the president told students and their families, “and now they’re kissing my a–.”

“It’s true,” he added. “It’s amazing. It’s nicer this way now.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-humiliates-musk-president-mocks-richest-man-in-meandering-graduation-speech/ar-AA1E2I3Z

Original Daily Beast story here:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-takes-a-surprise-dig-at-elon-musk-after-tesla-ceos-white-house-exit

Associated Press: Trump brands his opponents as ‘communists,’ a label loaded with the baggage of American history

For years, President Donald Trump blamed “communists” for his legal and political troubles. Now, the second Trump administration is deploying that same historically loaded label to cast his opponents — from judges to educators — as threats to American identity, culture and values.

If opposing King Donald makes me a communist, I’ll wear the label proudly!

In fact I have been a Republican for 50 of my 70 years. The current group of corrupt clowns who have taken over the Republican parts just aren’t my type of Republicans. I’ll cast my lot with any commie or lefty who can throw these bums out.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-brands-his-opponents-as-communists-a-label-loaded-with-the-baggage-of-american-history/ar-AA1E6dVt

Daily Beast: Elon Musk’s SpaceX Hits Jackpot Under New Trump Budget Plan

President Donald Trump‘s new budget proposal would give SpaceX, Elon Musk‘s rocket company, a huge payday—despite making steep cuts to many areas of government spending.

Trump said in the proposal, sent to Congress Friday, that he wants to make “a down-payment on the development and deployment of a Golden Dome for America, a next-generation missile defense shield” that SpaceX will help buildThe New York Times reported.

That project alone could generate billions in federal contracts for the company, the Times observed.

The spending plan also makes Musk’s ambitions to reach Mars a top priority for the government, arguing that “U.S. space dominance” will “strengthen U.S. national security and strategic advantage.”

The corruption continues unabated.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/elon-musk-s-spacex-hits-jackpot-under-new-trump-budget-plan/ar-AA1E4jKP

New York Times: In Marin County, There’s Trouble in Teslaville

Tesla’s sleek electric vehicles used to be a status symbol in liberal Mill Valley, Calif. Now, they are despised by many — including those who drive them.

In the parking lots of Mill Valley, Calif., mysterious index cards have surfaced on the windshields of Tesla Model Xs and Model 3s.

“Stop Elon,” they urge in teal script. “Dump your Tesla.”

A few years ago, buying a Tesla in Mill Valley meant that you had money, but were not overly showy. It meant you were a progressive environmentalist who had style.

It meant you belonged.

Ten miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, tucked into the lush, green hills of Marin County, Mill Valley is an idyllic place to live — for those who are wealthy and liberal.

And for years, Teslas were “the Ferrari for the Patagonia-wearing crowd,” said Nathan Ballard, a political consultant who lives in Mill Valley and owns a black Tesla Model S.

But the sleek electric cars have come to mean something else entirely for Mill Valley residents since the presidential election.

https://archive.is/m8yJY