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Musk's GOP broadside, South Korea's new leader and a Dutch breakdown

 
Today's POLITICS story

Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill

What happened
President Donald Trump yesterday told Senate Republicans he wants them to pass his multitrillion-dollar "big, beautiful bill" and deliver it to his desk by July 4. But Trump ally and leading donor Elon Musk, who left the administration Friday, urged Republicans to reject the "massive, outrageous, pork-filled" legislation, calling it a "disgusting abomination" in a social media post. "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong."

Who said what
Musk said in follow-up posts that the bill would "massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit" and "burden" Americans with "crushingly unsustainable debt." Next November, he added, "we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people." Musk's "bombshell attack on Trump's prized megabill marks a dam-breaking moment" in their alliance, Politico said, and his "thinly veiled threat" could "become a financial albatross for the GOP" in the 2026 midterms.

Musk's posts "provided a shot in the arm" for "budget hawks — and Democrats," The Washington Post said, and "appeared to complicate the path to passage for the legislation," which passed in the House by one vote last month "after conservatives revolted over its enormous price tag." The White House and GOP leaders shrugged off Musk's criticism, saying he was angry over green-energy cuts that will harm his businesses. 

Musk is "testing the limits of his political influence," The Associated Press said. Trump "enjoys fierce loyalty among the GOP base," so "in the end, his opinion may be the only one that matters." Still, some of the "Republicans who rallied behind the bill are claiming buyer's remorse about measures they swear they did not know were included" in the 1,037-page legislation, The New York Times said, including limiting the judiciary's ability to hold people in contempt, and a decade-long ban on states regulating AI.

What next?
Senate Republicans will spend the coming weeks deciding which tax breaks and social safety net cuts to change from the House GOP version. The "nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is expected to soon provide an overall analysis" of the bill's financial impact, the AP said, and "Republicans are ready to blast those findings" as "flawed." Independent budget analysts forecast the House version would add between $3 trillion and $5 trillion to the national debt.

 
 
Today's International story

South Korea elects liberal Lee as president

What happened
Lee Jae-Myung was sworn in as South Korea's president today after his main challenger, conservative former labor minister Kim Moon-soo, conceded defeat this morning. With all votes counted from yesterday's snap election, Lee got 49.4% to Kim's 41.2%. Turnout surpassed 79%, the highest since 1997. Lee, a 61-year-old left-leaning former factory worker who grew up in poverty, took office immediately because his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached and removed from office for briefly declaring martial law in December.

Who said what
The election was widely seen as a referendum on Yoon, who was officially removed in April, three years into his five-year term. Lee, whose Democratic Party controls the National Assembly in Seoul, "takes office as one of the most powerful presidents that South Korea has elected in recent decades," The New York Times said. 

Despite his "storming victory," Lee's "honeymoon will barely last the day," the BBC said. South Korean voters "vehemently rejected the military dictatorship that was almost forced upon them," but the new president "has a Donald Trump–shaped crisis to avert" before he can focus on strengthening democracy and uniting the country.

What next?
Lee began his five-year term hours before Trump doubled U.S. steel tariffs to 50%, hitting one of South Korea's main exports to its second-largest trading partner. Another of the country's core industries, cars, is already subject to 25% Trump tariffs. 

 
 
Today's EUROPE Story

Dutch government falls over immigration policy

What happened
The Dutch coalition government collapsed yesterday after far-fight leader Geert Wilders (pictured above) withdrew his Party for Freedom's ministers from Prime Minister Dick Schoof's Cabinet. Wilders claimed that the coalition's other three parties were stymieing his hardline anti-immigration measures.

Who said what
Wilders' departure ended the "rocky 11-month rule by the country's first far-right government" and highlights how immigration "continues to roil European politics," said The New York Times. Schoof, a career civil servant tapped by Wilders to be prime minister, called the decision to sink the government "unnecessary and irresponsible." 

The coalition always "seemed a marriage of convenience," complete with "infighting," and an "emboldened" Wilders said yesterday he intends to become prime minister, the BBC said. The "far right and Green-left parties are neck-and-neck" in polls, but Wilders' decision to "collapse the government is being seen as reckless" and may scare away future coalition partners.

What next?
The Schoof administration will go "down in history as one of the shortest-lived governments in Dutch political history," The Associated Press said. The remaining ministers "will run a caretaker administration until new elections can be organized," probably in the fall.

 
 

It's not all bad

A landmark international study has found that structured exercise after cancer treatment can cut a patient's risk of death by 37% and disease recurrence by 28% — results more effective than many drugs. The eight-year study, involving colon cancer patients in six countries, showed that coaching-supported activity significantly improved outcomes. Experts say the findings, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, will likely transform global cancer care guidelines and highlight exercise as a powerful low-risk intervention.

 
 
Under the radar

As sports betting becomes increasingly ubiquitous in the U.S., athletes are reckoning with its darker side: online harassment and verbal abuse. Many players say this activity is directly linked to the legalized availability of online and in-person sports gambling. 

The accessibility of athletes on social media makes it easier for angry fans to get at them, as gamblers "have a direct line" to "fling appalling messages at players or teams that don't meet their predictions," said the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.'s family "received online death threats following a tough start" to his season, while Boston Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks said there were people "threatening his wife's life," said The Associated Press. MLB players "agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years." 

In the NBA, this "kind of abuse has become an unavoidable part of players' lives," said The Athletic. People message New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson after games and "threaten him and his family, including his months-old daughter." 

And it's not just professional athletes. Betting on the NCAA's March Madness led to similar abuse, said PBS News. A 2024 report found that comments from sports bettors are "one of the most common types of harassment college athletes receive," said ESPN. Teams are working to "take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families," said the AP.

 
 
On this day

June 4, 1940

British forces and civilians with boats completed a daring evacuation of over 338,000 Allied soldiers from the French port city of Dunkirk during World War II, as invading Nazi forces were closing in. Christopher Nolan's 2017 film "Dunkirk" helped affix the crucial evacuation in U.S. popular culture.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

"Raids by ICE stir anger in San Diego" as "agents with assault rifles detain restaurant workers and use flash grenades on a protest," the Los Angeles Times says on Wednesday's front page. "Federal, local agents clash with protesters" outside a Minneapolis Mexican restaurant, The Minnesota Star Tribune says. "Tariffs are projected to slow U.S. growth" and "China is ready to play hardball on trade," The Wall Street Journal says. "Battle over supply chain is the new trade war," says The New York Times. "Foreign aid, NPR targeted for cuts" proposed by Elon Musk's DOGE, but "Musk labels Trump's tax measure an 'abomination,'" The Washington Post says. "Texas Republicans risking blowback" over rural-slamming Medicaid and SNAP cuts in GOP bill, says the Houston Chronicle.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Bad trip

Two hikers in New York called 911 to report that they were lost and their friend had died — but when a park ranger arrived, he found all three hikers alive, well and high on hallucinogenic mushrooms. The person wrongfully declared dead was uninjured and allowed to return to the group's campsite on Cascade Mountain, said officials. The other two were taken to a waiting ambulance; it's unclear if they are in any legal trouble.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Francis Chung / Politico / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Lee Young-ho / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Robin Van Lonkhuijsen / ANP / AFP via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images