WASHINGTON − After watching Elon Musk rip his signature bill throughout the day, President Donald Trump unleashed a flurry of executive actions that bulldozed the discourse to other matters.
Although not the stated goal, the president’s blizzard of proclamations on the night of June 4 ‒ reviving a controversial travel ban, ordering an investigation into former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen and banning Harvard University from welcoming international students ‒ was classic Trump: when the going gets tough, change the subject.
Trump, never shy to lash out at his critics, has remained silent about Musk ‒ not a single Truth Social post ‒ as the world’s richest man this week launched a full-out effort to kill what Trump has called his “big, beautiful, bill.” (That could very likely change when Trump faces reporters Thursday as he hosts German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.)
Not even a peep after Musk urged his 220 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns, to lobby their lawmakers to “KILL the BILL.”
More: President Trump bans travel from 12 nations, partially restricts entry from seven others
The orders dropped later that evening. It came shortly after Trump attended a “summer soiree” for political appointees on the White House South Lawn, his first public appearance since playing golf over the weekend.
“We don’t want them,” Trump said in pre-taped remarks on his proclamation to impose a full travel ban blocking the entry of foreign nationals from 12 countries into the United States, while partially restricting entry of citizens from seven other nations.
Trump critics calls travel ban an effort to ‘distract’
Trump cited “national security risks” with these countries. Yet the timing of the order raised eyebrows.
In his proclamation, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller provided him a list on April 9 of countries to target with a travel ban. They were carrying out an executive order Trump signed on Jan. 20, the first day of his second term.
Trump pointed to last weekend’s fiery assault on pro-Jewish demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, saying it “underscored the extreme dangers” posed by the entry of foreign nationals. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a native of Egypt who came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in late 2022 and stayed after the visa expired, has been charged in the anti-Semitic attack.
But Egypt is not among the countries facing new restrictions.
The White House did not immediately say why it took Trump nearly two months after he received the report to take action. Democratic critics accused Trump of trying to shift the subject amid the legislative drama over the reconciliation bill.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn, said the travel ban is meant to “distract” to try to push through a “super unpopular” bill.
“How do you get that done?” Murphy said in an interview on MSNBC. “You distract people by making them think that they’re at war with other Americans ‒ making them think that they have something to fear from people who look different from them or speak a different language.”
More: Trump orders investigation of Joe Biden’s alleged ‘cognitive decline’ and use of autopen
If a sweeping travel ban wasn’t enough for one night, Trump also issued an order directing an investigation of Biden’s alleged “cognitive decline” to determine who decided his signature should be applied to official documents by autopen.
Biden’s use of an autopen, in particular for the last-minute pardons of family members, has become a fixation on the right. Trump has acknowledged that he, too, has also used an automatic pen but claims only for trivial items like responding to letters.
In another extraordinary proclamation, Trump suspended Harvard University from welcoming foreign students and researchers, escalating a battle with arguably the nation’s most prestigious university.
Peeling back Musk’s growing rift with White House
Musk’s barrage of criticism over the deficit implications for the massive tax and policy bill has put the legislation in jeopardy by giving skeptical Republican senators ‒ who Trump has criticized over their objections despite his constraint with Musk ‒ cover to voice their opposition.
A senior White House official told USA TODAY that Trump is disappointed by Musk’s criticisms over the tax bill but the president is committed to getting the legislation passed.
More: ‘Kill the bill’: Elon Musk tries to nuke Trump’s GOP tax plan
Musk’s tirade comes after he left the White House as a senior adviser last week after leading the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency for the past four months. Although Musk had started to voice criticism with Trump’s bill before his exit, Trump had seemed to smooth things over when he welcomed the Tesla and SpaceX CEO into the Oval Office for a send-off news conference.
Yet the rift between the Musk and the White House had started to widen.
Musk, prior to his White House departure, asked for his special government employee status to be extended beyond 130 days to allow him to continue to lead DOGE, but the White House declined, a source told USA TODAY.
Last weekend, Musk expressed disappointment after Trump withdrew his nominee for administrator of NASA, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire commercial astronaut with close ties to Musk.
And, Trump’s bill would also end $7,500 consumer tax credits for buyers of electric vehicles, a Biden policy that has benefited electric car companies like Musk’s Tesla.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers of USA TODAY
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump overpowers Musk’s attacks with blizzard of orders
