Elon Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Back Debt-Raising Megabill

Elon Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Back Debt-Raising Megabill

Elon Musk looks on during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025. Credit - Andrew Harnik—Getty Images President Donald Trump has made clear that any Republican member of Congress who opposes his sprawling tax-and-spending package dubbed the "One Big Beautiful Bill" will face his wrath. He launched a campaign to primaryRep. Thomas Massieof Kentucky and suggested he would do the same againstSen. Thom Tillisof North Carolina, before Tillis announced that he wouldn't seek reelection. Now, however, another powerful politicalkingmakerhas vowed to challenge any Republican who supports the bill. "Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!" tech billionaire and former close ally of Trump Elon Muskpostedon X. "And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth." Musk spent more than $250 million to help elect Trump in 2024 butsaidin May that he had "done enough" and was going to do "a lot less in the future." He added at the time, however, "if I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it." Musk posted his warning, among many posts on the topic, on Monday night as Senators continued to vote on a series of amendments to the megabill, which estimates say will add trillions to thenational deficitand lead to cuts toMedicaid. Anyone who campaigned on the PROMISE of REDUCING SPENDING , but continues to vote on the BIGGEST DEBT ceiling increase in HISTORY will see their face on this poster in the primary next yearpic.twitter.com/w13Qkm2e1A — Elon Musk (@elonmusk)July 1, 2025 Reigniting aonce-regretted feudwith the President and Republicans that exploded afterMusk left a temporary government rolein the Administration in May, Musk reiterated a prior idea he'd floated of starting anew political party. "It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!" hepostedon X. "Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people." In another post, hesaidthat if the bill actually passes, the "America Party will be formed the next day" to provide "an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE." When former Rep. Justin Amash, wholeft the Republican Party in 2019and opted not to run for reelection in 2020 amid criticisms of Trump, asked Musk to support his friend and fellow libertarian-minded conservative Massie, whom Trump has set his sights on ousting from the House, Muskresponded"I will." "The establishment is working to primary him because he's a genuine fiscal conservative and opposes the Big, Bloated Scam," Amash said of Massie. Trump took to his own Truth Social platform Monday night to lash out at Musk, suggesting that the wealthiest man in the world, who is also the CEO of electric-car company Tesla and space-technology company SpaceX, is self-interested. "Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate," Trumpposted, referring topoliciesthat incentivize—though don't require—the manufacture and purchase of electric vehicles. "It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE," Trump added. Musk's companies are estimated to receive about$38 billionin government contracts and subsidies. "Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this?" Trump added, referencing the Department of Government Efficiency that Musk spearheaded. "BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!" Musk previously dismissed Trump when the President made a similar claim about the former White House adviser's priorities. "Whatever. Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!)," hepostedon X in early June. Over the weekend, however, Muskpostedthat "A massive strategic error is being made right now to damage solar/battery that will leave America extremely vulnerable in the future." The bill threatens to endbillions of dollarsin green-energy tax credits, which some say could decimate the country's wind and solar industries. Musk reposted on Monday apost by Tillis, theRepublican Senatorwho announced on Sunday that he planned to retire at the end of his term and would be free from expected deference to party leaders, which backed Musk. "Folks, @ElonMusk is 100% right, and he understands this issue better than anyone," Tillis posted. "We should take his warnings seriously. We can't let Communist China become the long-term winner." Still, Musk insisted that his main focus is the national deficit. "All I'm asking is that we don't bankrupt America," hepostedas Senators continued to vote on amendments early Tuesday. The White House hasmaintainedthat the bill "actually reduces the debt burden on future generations," claiming that it "will unleash robust, real economic growth and restore fiscal sanity in America." But a new estimate from the nonpartisanCongressional Budget Officereleased on Sunday showed that the Senate version of the bill would add nearly $3.3 trillion to the deficit over a decade. Contact usatletters@time.com.

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June 30, 2025

Elon Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Back Debt-Raising Megabill

Elon Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Back Debt-Raising Megabill Elon Musk looks on during a Cabinet meeting at the White House...

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Russia takes full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region, Russian-backed official says

Russia takes full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region, Russian-backed official says

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia has taken full control of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, more than three years after President Vladimir Putin ordered thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian-backed head of the region told Russian state television. Luhansk, which has an area of 26,700 square km (10,308 square miles), is the first Ukrainian region to fall fully under the established control of Russian forces since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Putin in September 2022 declared that Luhansk - along with the partially controlled Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions - was being incorporated into Russia, a step Western European states said was illegal and that most of the world did not recognise. "The territory of the Luhansk People's Republic is fully liberated - 100%," Leonid Pasechnik, who was born in Soviet Ukraine and is now a Russian-installed official cast by Moscow as the head of the "Luhansk People's Republic", told Russian state television. There was no immediate confirmation from the Russian defence ministry, or comment from Ukraine. Ukraine says that Russia's claims to Luhansk and other areas of what is internationally recognised to be Ukraine are groundless and illegal, and Kyiv has promised to never recognise Russian sovereignty over the areas. Russia says the territories are now part of Russia, fall under its nuclear umbrella and will never be returned. Luhansk was once part of the Russian empire but changed hands after the Russian Revolution. It was taken by the Red Army in 1920 and then became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Along with neighbouring Donetsk, Luhansk was the crucible of the conflict which began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces in both Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia controls nearly 19% of what is internationally recognised to be Ukraine, including Luhansk, plus over 70% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Lincoln Feast.)

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June 30, 2025

Russia takes full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region, Russian-backed official says

Russia takes full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region, Russian-backed official says MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia has taken full control of U...

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China appoints ethnic affairs head as Xinjiang Communist Party chief

China appoints ethnic affairs head as Xinjiang Communist Party chief

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's ruling Communist Party has appointed the head of an ethnic affairs panel as its new party secretary in the vast northwestern region of Xinjiang, the official news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday. Chen Xiaojiang has also held a vice ministerial role since 2020 in the party's United Front Work Department, his profile on China's Wikipedia equivalent, Baidu's Baike, shows. The department runs influence operations related to ethnic minorities, religious groups and on the Taiwan issue at home and abroad. In 2020, he also became the first individual with an ethnic Han majority background to be appointed director of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission since it was re-established in 1978, the Caixin business outlet said. Xinhua did not say when Chen will officially take up the role. In 2022, the United Nations reported finding "serious human rights violations" against mainly Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang under China's national security and counter-terrorism policies, as well as forced labour accusations. China has repeatedly countered that the rights of all ethnic groups in the region were protected, while denying forced labour. It has dismissed the report as "groundless" and a part of the West's attempts to contain China. (Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Additional reporting by Claire Fu in Singapore; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)

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June 30, 2025

China appoints ethnic affairs head as Xinjiang Communist Party chief

China appoints ethnic affairs head as Xinjiang Communist Party chief BEIJING (Reuters) -China's ruling Communist Party has appointed the...

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Japanese manufacturers are slightly more optimistic despite Trump tariff worries

Japanese manufacturers are slightly more optimistic despite Trump tariff worries

TOKYO (AP) — Business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers has improved slightly, according to a survey by Japan's central bank released Tuesday, although worries persist overPresident Donald Trump's tariffs. The Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey said an index for large manufacturers rose to plus 13 from plus 12 in March, when it marked the first dip in a year. The survey is an indicator of companies foreseeing good conditions minus those feeling pessimistic. Major manufacturers include auto and electronics sectors, whoseexports to the U.S.drive the Japanese economy. U.S. autotariffsare a worry for major manufacturers likeToyota Motor Corp., but some analysts note global auto sales have held up relatively well in recent months. The U.S. has imposed 25% tariffs on auto imports. Japanese automakers have plants in Mexico, wherePresident Donald Trumphas announced a separate set of tariffs. The U.S. has also imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Japanese officials have been talking frequently with the Trump administration, stressing that Japan is a key U.S. ally. Trump posted on his social media site Monday that Japan wasn't buying enough rice from the U.S. "They won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage," the president wrote, adding that a letter to Japan was coming. Also on Monday, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told reporters at the White House that Trump "is going to finalize the frameworks we negotiated with a whole bunch of countries after the weekend." The Bank of Japan, which has kept interest rates extremely low for years to encourage growth, is expected to continue to raise interest rates, but some analysts expect that to wait until next year. The central bankraised its benchmark rate to 0.5%from 0.1% at the start of this year and has maintained that rate. The next Bank of Japan monetary policy board meeting is at the end of this month. The tankan findings work as important data in weighing a decision. The weak yen has raised the cost of materials for Japan at a time when the U.S. dollar has been trading at around 140 yen, up considerably from about 110 yen five years ago. A weak yen is a boon for Japan's exporters by boosting the value of their earnings when converted into yen. The tankan showed sentiment for large non-manufacturers fell to plus 34 from plus 35. That was better than some forecasts, which projected a deeper decline. The Japanese government reported last week that the nation's unemployment rate in May stood at 2.5%, unchanged from the previous month. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Threads:https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama

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June 30, 2025

Japanese manufacturers are slightly more optimistic despite Trump tariff worries

Japanese manufacturers are slightly more optimistic despite Trump tariff worries TOKYO (AP) — Business sentiment among large Japanese manufa...

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Bob Vylan Banned From U.S. Over Glastonbury Controversy

Bob Vylan Banned From U.S. Over Glastonbury Controversy

British punk-rock and hip-hop duo Bob Vylan will not be able to perform in the U.S., where they were scheduled to open for American singergrandson's tour in October and November, after a controversial performance at the Glastonbury Festival in England over the weekend. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landaupostedon X on Monday that the Department has revoked the duo's visas "in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants." Landau added: "Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country." At the Glastonbury Festival, which is aired annually on BBC, one of the group's members, Bobby Vylan, led the crowd on Saturday to chant, "Death to the IDF," referring to theIsrael Defense Forces, to the shock of organizers and onlookers. The duo has faced a firestorm of criticism in the U.K., and British policesaidthey are examining videos of the incident for possible criminal violations. The Israeli embassy in the U.K.saidit was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage" and that "when such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence." "We are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday," Emily Eavis, the co-organizer of Glastonbury and daughter of the festival's founder, said in astatement. "Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence." U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Vylan's actions on the Glastonbury stage,saying, "There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech." He also demanded that the BBC answer questions about streaming the controversial remarks. In a statement, the BBCsaidVylan's expressions "were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves." It explained that the performance was aired on its channels because the BBC team was dealing with "a live situation" but added that "with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance." Starmer had previously said that it was "not appropriate" for Irish rap trioKneecap, who have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and accused the U.S. and U.K. of enabling it, to be performing at the festival, and the BBC haddecidedin advance not to broadcast Kneecap's performance live to "ensure that our programming meets our editorial guidelines." Bob Vylan performed before Kneecap's set, where festival attendees had gathered in anticipation with Palestinian flags. Singer Bobby Vylan first led the crowd to chant, "Free, free, Palestine!" Then he interjected: "Alright, but have you heard this one though?" before leading a chant of "Death, death to the IDF!" The chant recalled the phrasing of "Death to Israel" and"Death to America" chants by Iraniansas well as"Death to Arabs" chants by Israelis. Following the controversy that ensued, Bobby Vylan wrote "I said what I said"on Instagram, where he shared a statement that explained: "Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place." Here's what to know. Bob Vylan is composed of singer-guitarist Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan, and they collectively refer to themselves as "the Bobs." The two have used stage names reportedly to maintain privacy, but some U.K.mediahave since identified Bobby Vylan as 34-year-old Pascal Robinson-Foster. The duo, which formed in Ipswich in 2017 and has more than 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, is known for its politically charged music and performances. According totheIndependent, their songs "often speak out against racism, homophobia, toxic masculinity and far right politics," and in past performances Bobby would preface their song "Pretty Songs" by saying "violence is the only language that some people understand." The paper also said that Bobby has been deliberately provocative in past performances, such as by swinging a baseball bat at the crowd or wearing the soccer jersey of the rival team of where they were performing. Last year, Bobbytold theIrish Timesthat he was infuriated by bands that didn't speak up more about Gaza. The U.K. and U.S. governments' response, he said, "but also the people's response – the people of these countries … will be remembered forever. It will be documented throughout history. If you're asking yourself, 'Oh, what would you have done during slavery? What would you have done throughout the Holocaust?' You're doing it now – right now. With what it is happening over there in Palestine, you're doing it." Since the Glastonbury performance, the duo wasreportedlydropped by United Talent Agency. Sen. Ted Cruz (R, Texas)repostedvideo of the incident on X, and commented: "Truly sick. Thousands of people screaming 'Death to the IDF.' This is the base of the Democrat Party." StopAntisemitism, an advocacy group in the U.S.,flaggedon X that the duo has scheduled performances in the U.S. later this year and said of Bobby Vylan: "This antisemite must have his visa denied/rescinded - his hate is not welcome here." Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Floridarespondedto the post, saying "On it." Leo Terrell, who chairs the Justice Department's task force to combat antisemitism, also responded to StopAntisemitism's post, which he was tagged in. "These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces, are abhorrent and have no place in any civil society," Terrellpostedon X. "We understand that Mr. Vylan is planning to travel to the United States as part of the Inertia Tour. In response, Mr. Terrell's Task Force will be reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States." After Landau's announcement, Terrellthankedthe State Department for "moving so fast on this." Bobby Vylan "is a person who wants to incite violence and we're not going to allow that under the Trump Administration," Terrell said on Fox News. "The Trump Administration is not going to allow antisemitism to exist in this country." A State Department spokesperson told TIME before Landau's announcement that it does not publicly discuss the details of individual cases but that the Department "is committed to protecting our nation and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety." The spokesperson added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been clear that "a U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right." Trump Administration immigration officials announced in April that they would screen visa applicants' social media accounts for "antisemitic" content. "There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world's terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,"saidDepartment of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin at the time. The Administration has also claimed to reject censorship at home and abroad, with the State Departmentannouncingvisa restrictions in May for foreign officials who restrict "protected expression" in the U.S. "Free speech," Rubio said in the announcement, "is among the most cherished rights we enjoy as Americans." Contact usatletters@time.com.

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June 30, 2025

Bob Vylan Banned From U.S. Over Glastonbury Controversy

Bob Vylan Banned From U.S. Over Glastonbury Controversy British punk-rock and hip-hop duo Bob Vylan will not be able to perform in the U.S.,...

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