TACO Trump

5.28.25

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Common Sense, your source for news and analysis on the circus that is American politics and entertainment.

Elon Musk to officially end Trump administration role… Hooray! It couldn’t come soon enough. ABC News reports, “Elon Musk is set to depart the Trump administration and leave his role as a ‘special government employee,’ a White House official told ABC News. The White House will begin Musk's off-boarding Wednesday night, the official said. Musk posted on X Wednesday night thanking President Donald Trump, saying his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team will continue to work throughout the government… As a special government employee, Musk was limited to an 130-day appointment -- a limit he could hit as early as Friday.”

Court strikes down many Trump tariffs… Politico reports, “A federal court has struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs on dozens of countries, saying his effort to justify them with broad claims of national emergencies exceeded his legal authority. The unanimous ruling of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade strikes a blow to one of the central planks of Trump’s economic agenda at a time he is seeking to use tariffs as leverage to strike trade deals around the world… The court found that the federal law that authorizes the president to impose tariffs, embargoes and sanctions in response to national emergencies — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 — ‘does not authorize the President to impose unbounded tariffs.’”

Side Note: Trump found out today in his White House press conference that Wall Street analysts refers to his trade habits as “TACO Trade” aka Trump Always Chickens Out. Needless to say, he didn’t take that very well.

Trump wants to pardon conspirators who sought to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer… Of course he does. NBC News reports, “President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would look at pardoning the men convicted in a scheme to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and swiped at the legitimacy of the case, which was brought during his first term… Over a dozen people were charged in connection with the plot to kidnap Whitmer, a Democrat, though only some of them were tried in federal court and thus eligible for a pardon from Trump. A federal judge sentenced the ringleader of the group, Barry Croft Jr., to over 19 years in prison and handed Adam Fox, another key player, 16 years.”

Seniors to talk to AI when calling Social Security Administration… CBS News reports, “Frank Bisignano, commissioner of the Social Security Administration, told CBS News that he believes technology, and specifically artificial intelligence, could be the key to improving his agency's customer service, despite recent changes that have prompted concern among some of the nearly 69 million Americans that receive Social Security each month.” Bisignano intends to complete the project this year. “The agency gets about 390,000 calls per day, according to SSA data. The average wait time for those calls as of April was 68 minutes, down from 112 minutes in January.”

Today’s Furry Friend

Meet Winnie, a feline who goes from life on the street to enjoying water out of glasses…

Today’s Buzz

Bono weighs in on Trump’s tantrum against Springsteen… “Bono is making it known where his allegiances lie in the ongoing drama between Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump. The U2 frontman, 65, was asked to disclose whose side he was on amid the continued barbed back and forth between the current U.S. President and the ‘Born in the U.S.A’ singer while visiting Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday. ‘I think there’s only one Boss in America,’ Bono replied, referring to Springsteen’s nickname as the audience applauded.”

Check back tomorrow evening for the next edition of Common Sense.