Speaker Johnson says he texted Elon Musk after his criticism over the bill's cost
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) reacts to Elon Musk's criticism of President Trump's agenda bill. Johnson says he addressed the concerns from Musk and other GOP colleagues by speaking with them directly about the 'big beautiful bill.'June 1, 2025
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Murder investigation after death of woman in north Belfast
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The senate referee who could decide the fate of Trump's mega-bill
A rarely-talked-about, unelected bureaucrat within the Senate may have the power to tank President Donald Trump 's big beautiful bill. The Senate Parliamentarian, a position held by Elizabeth MacDonough since 2012, is about to weigh in on whether the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act runs afoul of the upper chamber's rules. The parliamentarian is more often than not an afterthought, typically because their role is to be the Senate's hall monitor, essentially making sure mundane processes on the floor are adhered to. However, the parliamentarian is thrust into the spotlight every time senators try to pass a bill through budget reconciliation, a process that allows the Senate to pass items with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster. Since Trump's big beautiful bill is going through reconciliation, MacDonough has the power to veto certain provisions that she feels aren't related to the budget or are solely policy objectives. The appeal of the reconciliation process is obvious. Since Republicans control 53 seats in the Senate, a united GOP can essentially pass the bill without input from a single Democratic senator. The catch is, MacDonough can pick and choose which line items in the bill need to be slashed with red ink. She will be responsible for interpreting whether the Big Beautiful Bill complies with something called the Byrd Rule, which has been around since 1985. The Byrd Rule is named after the late Sen. Robert Byrd, who was a key figure in instituting the guardrails around reconciliation packages like the one Trump is trying to ram through. The most important facet of the Byrd Rule states that reconciliation bills cannot have provisions in them that don't have an effect on the budget. Put simply, if a provision doesn't meaningfully increase or decrease federal spending, it can be considered extraneous and be tossed out of the bill. 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This comes as federal judges have slapped the second Trump administration with an unprecedented 25 nationwide injunctions in its first 100 days , most of which curtailed the government's ability to deport illegal migrants. During a townhall on Friday, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told a constituent that she believed this provision has no chance of getting through the Senate. 'I don't see any argument that could ever be made that this affects mandatory spending or revenues, so I just don't see that I don't see that getting into the Senate bills,' Ernst said. The big beautiful bill also contains a section that prohibits Medicaid funds from going to any clinic that provides abortions. Back in 2017, the parliamentarian found that a similar provision in a reconciliation bill violated the Byrd Rule, which could mean she'll strike it down again this time. The current bill's regulations on AI could also be cast aside in the impending Byrd Bath. 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Elon Musk's DOGE nerd army left 'drugs, graffiti, roaches and rats' behind after taking over Institute of Peace
A group of bureaucrats at the Institute of Peace claim their building was ravaged by billionaire Elon Musk 's DOGE agents. George E. Moose, acting president and CEO of the institute, filed an affidavit testifying that employees found it damaged when they returned after DOGE took it over. A photograph of marijuana was posted by Economist reporter Daniel Knowles on the Bluesky social media platform. He said it was provided to him by someone from the institute who found it in the garbage after DOGE left. 'Among other things, they reported evidence of rats and roaches in the building. Vermin were not a problem prior to March 17, 2025,' Moose wrote, adding that employees also discovered 'water leaks, damage to the garage door, and missing ceiling tiles in multiple places in the building.' He also reported evidence that 'someone had scrawled graffiti on one of the outside spaces.' Social media posts showed that the building logo was also removed, but was put back up after officials returned. 'One of the first things DOGE did upon entering the U.S. Institute of Peace was tear down the logo. . . .and one of the first things we did upon recovering the building, was put it back up. It is a heck of a logo, packing a ton of history, culture, and aspiration into a small symbol. Hopefully the institute survives to continue to bring all that to life,' wrote Keith Mines on LinkedIn. The White House did not return a request for comment. The Institute of Peace was founded as an independent, national institution funded by Congress and was established in 1984. The battle over the Institute of Peace is considered one of the most dramatic attempts by DOGE to take control of an organization. Entrenched employees refused to leave the building when ordered to do so. President Trump first signed an executive order that specifically ordered the Institute of Peace reduce its size to the statutory minimum, prompting his administration to fire 11 of the 14 board members. The remaining board members appointed Kenneth Jackson acting president and fired Moose. When agency officials refused to grant DOGE officials access to the building, they returned with FBI agents to gain entry. The White House condemned behavior by Institute of Peace employees after the standoff, describing them as 'rogue bureaucrats.' 'They barricaded the doors. They also disabled telephone lines, internet connections and other IT infrastructure within the building. They distributed fliers internally, encouraging each other to basically prevent these individuals from accessing the building,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time. 'It's a resistance from bureaucrats who don't want to see change in this city. President Trump was elected on an overwhelming mandate to seek change and implement change. And this is unacceptable behavior.' DOGE employees said the standoff with the Institute of Peace was among the most contentious of its fights with Washington bureaucracy. 'It was by far the least peaceful agency that we've worked with, ironically,' one DOGE agent told Fox News host Jesse Watters in an interview, revealing they found 'loaded guns' in the building. DOGE employees told Fox News they found spending on private jet flights, and a $130,000 contract with the Taliban for 'generic services.' They also said that the chief accountant had deleted over a terabyte of accounting records, which they were able to restore 'That's the definition of a cover up,' Musk said. D.C. federal judge Beryl Howell ruled in May that the Institute of Peace is not part of the executive branch and so the Trump administration illegally removed the president of the organization and staff, while 'probably terrorizing employees and staff at the institute.' 'The President's efforts here to take over an organization outside of those bounds, contrary to statute established by Congress and by acts of force and threat using local and federal law enforcement officers, represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and employees of USIP, who deserved better,' Howell wrote.
