Senior Trump Aide Finally Deems Elon Musk Too Annoying

After investing weeks at Mar-a-Lago to catch Donald Trump’s ear, Elon Musk has been relegated to the outskirts of Trump’s inner circle.

That separation was forced by chief of staff Susie Wiles—Trump’s so-called “ice maiden” and his 2024 campaign co-manager—who denied Musk a coveted permanent office in the White House.

Wiles is singularly focused on advancing Trump’s mission: That means reining in his chaotic Cabinet, managing staff, and limiting access to the president in order to streamline his operation.

“I don’t welcome people who want to work solo or be a star,” Wiles told Axios by email in early January. “My team and I will not tolerate backbiting, second-guessing inappropriately, or drama. These are counterproductive to the mission.”

That philosophy turned into a concrete win for Wiles hours after the forty-seventh president was inaugurated. While signing executive orders in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that Musk would not be receiving a space in the West Wing to work on the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, despite growing attention to his influence in Trump’s administration. (DOGE is not an official department but rather a team tasked with slashing up to $2 trillion in federal spending, if Musk’s own metrics are to be believed.)

“He’s getting an office for about 20 people that we’re hiring to make sure that these [executive orders] get implemented,” Trump said last week.

Instead of a spot beside Trump, Musk and his team will be based in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. That’s still inside the White House compound, but a walk from the main complex.

It’s an essential feat for Wiles, who sought to squash rumors that the world’s richest man was morphing into a “co-president” for Trump, or the “real vice-president,” instead of JD Vance. Last week, Musk appeared to overstep after Trump announced a public-private tech initiative—Stargate—to advance the development of artificial intelligence in the U.S. Moments later, Musk wrote on X that he believed the effort was a dud from the jump, claiming that he had it on “good authority” that the finances weren’t there to back Trump’s first major achievement.

“I cannot stress teamwork and mutual support enough,” Wiles, the first woman to hold what’s commonly referred to as the world’s toughest job, told Axios. “It’s not magic: set goals and timelines for me and the team and then work to exceed them. Simple, yes, but this worked quite nicely on the campaign.”

Every single Democratic senator signed a resolution Monday condemning Trump’s mass pardon of the January 6 insurrectionists.

“The Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers,” the one-line resolution reads.

Trump pardoned Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and multiple people who beat, tasered, and choked Capitol Police Officers that day, leading even the Fraternal Order of Police—a staunchly pro-Trump union—to condemn his decision. At least a handful of Republicans, too, were shocked by his decision.

Fetterman, who has made a habit of playing devil’s advocate for the Republican Party, was the last to sign onto the resolution, seemingly only after public confusion and pressure.

“Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon,” Fetterman told ABC News last week. “What I’m saying, though, that, that, pardons I can agree with, some that I don’t. And I think that’s really what it comes down to.” It now seems like he agrees with all of them.

This piece has been updated to note Fetterman’s late addition signing onto the resolution.

Donald Trump is apparently disappointed with how his mass deportation effort is going, and as a result, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ramping up their daily arrest goal.

The Washington Post reports that ICE is boosting its daily arrests from a few hundred to between 1,200 and 1,500 each day. A high number of arrests by the agency means that more abuses are to be expected, and that legal immigrants and U.S. citizens are likely to get caught up in the dragnet.

The Trump administration reportedly held a phone call with senior ICE officials and told them that each of the agency’s field offices should make 75 arrests per day, with managers being held accountable for any shortfalls. This is an escalation from what “border czar” Tom Homan has told the media in recent weeks, claiming that ICE would prioritize detaining gang members and people with criminal records instead of mass detentions.

In a statement Sunday, ICE said that they had begun targeted operations in Chicago and cities across the country, claiming that 950 people were arrested across the country.

Last week, Congress passed the Laken Riley Act, which allows undocumented immigrants to be detained merely if they are suspected of committing a crime. As soon as Trump signs the bill, ICE will have expanded powers to detain undocumented immigrants and begin deportation proceedings. But the sweeps and mass arrests are already in full swing.

Meanwhile, military flights full of deportees have started going out to various countries, creating standoffs and tariff threats between Trump and foreign leaders in some cases. While Trump’s promised deportations haven’t gotten off to the start he would have liked, officials at all levels of government will be stepping up their efforts to make him and hardline conservatives happy.

Lindsey Graham is fully aware that Donald Trump’s inspectors general purge was illegal—he just doesn’t care.

The senator appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday and discussed the president’s firing of 17 crucial department watchdogs in the middle of the night, when the law states that they require a 30-day advance notice before being terminated.

“It’s a very common thing to do,” Trump told reporters in Florida. “I don’t know them … but some people thought that some were unfair or some were not doing their job. It’s a very standard thing to do.” Trump does know some of these people, as he fired multiple inspectors general who were appointed during his first term.

Graham’s media appearance just served to reaffirm the president’s lie.

“You know, I’m not overly worried about [the firings],” Graham said. “It’s not the first time people have come in and put their team in—when you win an election, you need people in your administration that reflect your views. So I’m not really worried about that.”

“But very quickly, the law says he’s supposed to give 30 days’ notice. He didn’t do that,” said host Kristen Welker. “Do you think he violated the law?”

“No, he didn’t. No, well, technically, yeah. But he has the authority to do it,” Graham said, waffling shamelessly. “So I’m not, you know, losing a whole lot of sleep that he wants to change the personnel out. I just want to make sure that he gets off to a good start. I think he has. I’m very supportive of what he wants to do with America.”

Republican leadership has made it very clear that they’ll be dutifully falling in line behind Trump, even if it means turning long-held rules into mere suggestions.

Trump reportedly doubled down on his threat to seize Greenland in a phone call with Denmark’s prime minister, sending the country’s government into a panic.

Trump spoke to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on the phone for about 45 minutes last week. While neither leader has commented specifically on the call, officials close to the situation said it went poorly, as reported by The Financial Times. They stated that Trump was “aggressive and confrontational” on the call.

“It was horrendous,” one official said. “He was very firm,” another added. “It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous.”

“The intent was very clear. They want it. The Danes are now in crisis mode,” another official told the publication. “The Danes are utterly freaked out by this.”

“It was a very tough conversation. He threatened specific measures against Denmark, such as targeted tariffs,” said a former Danish official.

Trump has threatened to buy Greenland since his election victory, along with vows to take back the Panama Canal and make Canada the fifty-first state. And while many took his comments in jest, the recent phone call shows that he is seriously interested in seizing Greenland, perhaps due to its unique geopolitical position, its significant U.S. air base, or its potential real estate development.