Trump admin live updates: White House drops NASA nominee with Musk ties

The Senate was expected to vote on Jared Isaacman next week.

Last Updated: June 1, 2025, 5:37 PM EDT

President Donald Trump on Friday claimed China violated its trade agreement with the U.S. and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said talks between the world's two largest economies stalled.

This week, Trump's global tariff policy hit a major roadblock as two federal courts ruled he does not have the power to unilaterally impose some levies. The tariffs can stay in place, for now, as the court considers the administration's appeal.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is leaving his role as a "special government employee" but is expected to remain an unofficial adviser to Trump.

Jun 01, 2025, 5:35 PM EDT

Ahead of Russia-Ukraine meeting, Rubio discusses talks with Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the war in Ukraine with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sunday, Russian state media Interfax reported.

"Lavrov and Rubio exchanged views on various initiatives concerning the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, including plans to resume direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul on June 2,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement about the call between the two leaders, Interfax reported.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets North Macedonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Timco Mucunski, at the State Department in Washington, May 29, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Rubio also "expressed sincere condolences in connection with the victims among civilians as a result of explosions of railway infrastructure in the Bryansk and Kursk regions on June 1,” the readout from the Russian Foreign Ministry said, according to Interfax.

"On the Russian side, it was emphasized that the competent authorities are conducting the most thorough investigation, and the results will be published in the very near future. The perpetrators will definitely be identified and will inevitably suffer the deserved punishment," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the call came at Russia’s request and that Rubio “reiterated President Trump’s call for continued direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to achieve a lasting peace.”

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Jun 01, 2025, 4:17 PM EDT

Nadler calls for DHS to stop ‘dangerous tactics’ after staffer is cuffed by agents

Department of Homeland Security federal agents briefly handcuffed a staff member in New York Rep. Jerry Nadler's Manhattan district office, according to a statement released by the Democratic congressman.

Rep. Nadler said agents “forcefully” entered his office on Wednesday but claimed no arrests were made and the situation “quickly deescalated.”

“If this can happen in a Member of Congress’s office, it can happen to anyone -- and it is happening,” Nadler said in a statement over the weekend.

The congressman called on Trump and DHS to stop the use of these “dangerous tactics.”

There is video circulating online of part of incident in which a federal agent can be heard saying, “You are harboring rioters in the office.”

A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers responded to reports that protesters were in Nadler’s office and based on earlier incidents in a nearby facility, "FPS officers were concerned about the safety of the federal employees in the office and went to the location to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those present."

Officers identified themselves and explained their intent to conduct a security check, but "one individual became verbally confrontational and physically blocked access to the office. The officers then detained the individual in the hallway for the purpose of completing the security check. All were released without further incident," the spokesperson said.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller

Jun 01, 2025, 3:49 PM EDT

Trump says he tanked NASA nominee over ‘prior associations’

Trump wrote on social media late Saturday night that he withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA administrator after he conducted a “thorough review of prior associations,” adding that the new nominee will be “mission aligned.”

Isaacman has recently donated to key Democrats, including Sens. Mark Kelly and Bob Casey, and to the California Democratic Party, according to public filings.

He donated $2,900 two times to Kelly in October 2022 and July 2021, according to Federal Election Commission campaign finance data. Isaacman donated $3,300 to Casey’s Senate run in July 2024, $2,900 in March 2022, and $15,400 to Casey Keystone Victory Fund in July 2024. In October 2024, he donated $5,000 to the California Democratic Party.

PHOTO: Jared Isaacman Testifies In His Senate Nomination Hearing To Be NASA Administrator
In this April 9, 2025, file photo, Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump's nominee to be National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator, testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, on April 9, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, FILE

Isaacman also donated to the Michigan Democratic Party on July 22, just nine days after Trump’s attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania.

But he also donated $2 million to Trump’s inauguration committee.

The NYTimes cited three unnamed sources saying that Trump told associates he intended to pull Isaacman’s nomination after being told that he had donated to prominent Democrats.

-ABC News’ Selina Wang, Kelsey Walsh and Luc Bruggeman

Jun 01, 2025, 3:19 PM EDT

Sen. Ernst issues sarcastic ‘apology’ over Medicaid remarks

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, posted an “apology” for remarks she made at a town hall meeting on Friday, in which she responded to someone in the audience shouting “People are going to die!” from cuts to Medicaid by saying, “Well, we all are going to die.”

On Saturday, Ernst posted an Instagram in which she appears to be sincere, saying, “I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall. A woman who was extremely distraught screamed out from the back corner of the auditorium, ‘People are going to die!’”

Senator Joni Ernst speaks during The Hill & Valley Forum 2025 at The Capitol Visitor Center, April 30, 2025.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

“And I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth,” she continued. “So I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy as well.”

Ernst faced a backlash over her town hall remarks, including from Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, who said on CNN on Sunday, “I think everybody in that audience knows that they’re going to die. They would just rather die in old age at 85 or 90, instead of dying at 40. And the reality is that, when you lose your health care, you are much more at risk of early death.”

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola