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Trump news at a glance: Musk exits White House after facing pressure to recommit to his businesses

The honeymoon between Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be over, after the tech billionaire announced his official exit from the White House to get back to business.

Musk’s term as a special advisor to the president was due to expire this month, but his announcement that he was wrapping up follows a rash of social media posts and interviews, in which Musk criticised Trump’s tax spending bill, known as “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”.

Musk has come under increasing public pressure over his time leading the department of government efficiency (Doge), in which he slashed thousands of jobs, resources and public spending, but he has continued to defend his efforts.

The billionaire had for weeks been signalling his intent to spend less time in Washington and more on his businesses, Tesla, SpaceX and xAI. It’s a drastic turnaround for the world’s richest person, who plowed $200m into Trump’s campaign and dedicated most of the last year to promoting Trump and far-right ideology online, as Nick Robins-Early writes.

Musk spent this week focused on a SpaceX launch – which lost control of its Starship prototype rocket – and gave a round of high-profile media appearances, all of which featured him emphasizing his dedication to his companies or attempting to explain away his Doge shortcomings.

Here are the key stories at a glance:

Musk says the Doge mission ‘will only strengthen’

Musk thanked Trump in a social media post announcing his official White House exit for “the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending”, adding, “The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

Trump announced he was going ahead with negotiating the tax spending bill that Musk criticized, which would allow him to deliver on campaign promises, including tax cuts for individuals and corporations, an end to clean energy incentives and the construction of a wall along the border with Mexico.

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US federal court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs

A federal trade court on Wednesday blocked Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law. The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based court of international trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump has exceeded his authority, left US trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos.

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Trump laments size of ‘much too big’ airplane gifted by Qatar

Trump’s big, beautiful new plane from the government of Qatar has arrived – but the US president has a problem with it: it’s too big. The Qataris have given the president a Boeing 747-8, a stretch model of the jumbo that is more than 18ft longer than the much older 747-200B that flies as the current Air Force One.

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RFK Jr threatens ban on scientists publishing in top journals

Robert F Kennedy Jr has threatened to ban government scientists from publishing in the world’s leading medical journals, which he branded “corrupt”, and to instead create alternative publications run by the state.

“We’re probably going to stop publishing in the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Jama and those other journals, because they’re all corrupt,” the US health secretary said on the Ultimate Human podcast. He accused the publications of being controlled by pharmaceutical companies.

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Doctors fear ‘devastating’ effect after RFK Jr order on Covid boosters

Advocates for pregnant people said they are alarmed by Robert F Kennedy Jr’s unprecedented and unilateral decision to remove Covid-19 booster shots from the recommended immunization schedule.

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US vows to ‘aggressively’ revoke Chinese students’ visas

The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the US will “aggressively” revoke visas of Chinese students, one of the largest sources of revenue for American universities, in the latest attack on the country’s higher education institutions.

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Family of child in US medical care fights deportation to Mexico

The family of a four-year-old girl who is receiving life-saving treatment in the United States are fighting against deportation, as her medical team warns she will likely die “within days” if forced to return to Mexico.

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US distances itself from Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

The Trump administration is distancing itself from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as questions swirl over its leadership, funding, ties to Israeli officials and links to private US security firms.

Reports and leaked video of its operations to bring food aid to Gaza depicted scenes of chaos, with crowds storming a distribution site and Israeli military officials confirming they had fired “warning shots” to restore order. Gaza health officials said at least one civilian had been killed and 48 injured in the incident.

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