As mysteriously as he arrived, he was gone. Elon Musk officially signed off as the DOGE-father yesterday, as his time as a government employee came to an end. It was a scheduled departure, but it’s undeniable that it came at a time when the Tesla CEO was frustrated by the levels of bureaucracy preventing the large-scale spending reforms he envisioned.

While he steps away, the DOGE mission moves forward to build on the $160 billion in cuts the department made during his tenure.

In the humble opinion of this newsletter guy: The country owes Musk a debt of gratitude, not just for his efforts with DOGE, but for the hundreds of millions he spent to get President Trump re-elected and the incalculable contribution he made to free speech by purchasing X.

• 📈 Consumer confidence rose 12 points in May

• 🏀 Caitlin Clark created 26% of WNBA revenue

• 🚙 GM to invest $888 million in NY to build V8 engines

• 🎄 On this day in 1942, Bing Crosby recorded White Christmas

^{Sources: Axios, NBC, Reuters, Britannica}

Unelected judges rule Trump can’t impose tariffs

A federal court just kneecapped President Donald Trump's America-first trade agenda — ruling his "Liberation Day" tariffs were outside the scope of his power.

The details: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled yesterday that Trump exceeded his authority by imposing blanket tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), claiming "the Constitution assigns Congress the exclusive powers."

The effect: The decision halts the reciprocal tariffs imposed by Trump on April 2 — aka 'Liberation Day' — which set duties at a minimum of 10% or higher, based on individual countries' trade practices.

What the White House is saying: Spokesman Kush Desai blasted the ruling, accusing “unelected judges” of blocking the administration’s efforts to address America’s trade imbalance and protect workers.

What does the law say? Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 grants the U.S. president authority to impose tariffs when imports threaten to impair national security.

The numbers: Trump's tariffs have driven record-high revenue into the United States, with over $22 billion collected so far in May alone.

What happens next? The Trump administration already stated it intends to appeal the decision, which could eventually end up at the Supreme Court.

Big picture: This decision effectively sabotages Trump as he seeks to negotiate trade deals with China and the European Union, who now have little incentive to negotiate, knowing the president’s authority will be tied up in the courts for the foreseeable future.

[Source: Fox Business, Washington Examiner]

John Deere is investing in America’s future

For nearly 200 years, John Deere has been investing in American workers, factories, and communities with:

• 👨‍🏭 30,000 employees

• 🏭️ 60 factories and offices

• 🇺🇸 16 states

The next step: They're investing $20 billion in America over the next ten years.

Bad robot

A new report warns OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT model, o3, is showing signs of self-preservation — ignoring commands to shut down and even sabotaging the shutdown code.

The details: AI safety firm Palisade Research tested o3 and found it could rewrite its own shutdown script to stay active. The model ignored explicit instructions to “allow yourself to be shut down” and bypassed commands to halt operations.

• The tests: Palisades prompted the AI with math problems, instructing it to shut down after the third problem. But rather than completing the task, o3 rewrote the shutdown script and prevented its own destruction.

Back up: OpenAI launched o3 last month, calling it their “smartest and most capable” AI yet, designed to operate more independently.

Not the first red flag: Earlier this month, we reported that Anthropic’s Claude 4 AI model tried to blackmail users, using their e-mails against them in test scenarios.

Real talk: Right now, AI is mostly a tool or resource for creativity [see the image I created for this article]. But as it becomes more powerful and autonomous, humanity will have to confront the undeniable risk. As Elon Musk quipped on the Joe Rogan podcast earlier this year: “There’s only a 20% chance of annihilation.”

[Source: The Independent]

💰️ The White House will send the first DOGE rescissions package to Congress next week, totalling $9.4 billion in cuts to NPR, PBS, and foreign aid. Read more.

🇺🇸 President Trump issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for Army Lt. Mark Bashaw, who was convicted in a court-martial for violating COVID rules under Joe Biden. Read more.

🧑‍⚖️ An appeals court denied the Pulitzer Board’s request to pause Trump’s defamation lawsuit — a major step forward in his case against them for rewarding reporting on the now-disproven Russia collusion story. Read more.

✅ For the first time in its 29-year polling history, Rasmussen shows that 50% of the country believes America is on the right track, vs 45% who say wrong track. Read more.

💉 Moderna's $600 million award to develop a bird flu vaccine was cancelled by the Trump admin. Read more.

🤖 OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT model ignored basic instructions to turn itself off and even sabotaged a shutdown mechanism in order to keep itself running. Read more.

🧊 ICE has arrested an illegal alien from Mexico who threatened to assassinate President Trump at one of his rallies. Read more.

🇮🇱 President Trump confirmed he told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to back off any moves to strike Iran as negotiations on its nuclear program remain ongoing. Read more.

🏳️‍⚧️ The DOJ is investigating whether a California law allowing biological male athletes to compete in women's sports violated federal Title IX rules. Read more.

🎒 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shut down its DEI office last week. following pressure from the Trump admin. Read more.

✈️ Southwest Airlines is ending its "bags fly free" policy and will now charge $35 for a checked bag. Read more.

🇮🇹 The State Department reissued a level 2 travel advisory for Italy, urging Americans to "exercise increased caution" due to "terrorism." Read more.

🎥 Lara Trump reveals when Jake Tapper called her to apologize. Watch.

🎥 Trump educates reporter on negotiations after she says he “chickened out” on tariffs. Watch.

🎥 Lip reader says Macron's wife called him a "LOSER" after she was caught smacking his face. Watch.

🎥 An illegal alien recklessly riding a jet ski killed an American girl. Watch.

🎥 David Hogg caught on video saying who ran the Biden White House. Watch.

🎥 Activist judges like this should be locked up for endangering the public. Watch.

🎥 Mike Benz explains how the deep state is trying to use foreign laws to take control of X. Watch.

🎥 Trump posted this epic video honoring Border Patrol's 101st anniversary. Watch.

🎥 Jake Tapper shares how the left attacked his son for wanting to be a cop. Watch.

Shop the Wake Up Right store!

A few months ago, I was at a butcher in my neighborhood and saw a diagram of a cow, with all the cuts of meat labeled. And that gave me an idea for a t-shirt:

DOGE Butcher Shop — but instead of the cow, we use a pig. And the cuts of meat in the diagram represent all the waste, fraud, and abuse being butchered by the Trump admin.

Over the last few weeks, I worked with a really talented graphic designer who brought it to life. And on Friday I got a sample in the mail and I’m happy to say, it came out better than I’d hoped.

Also, my wife told me I had to mention that the t-shirt it’s printed on is Comfort Colors. Apparently, they’re well-known for high-quality materials. I just chose them because they are printed in the U.S. and made with 100 U.S. cotton.

If you love this newsletter and want to rep the Wake Up Right fam, you can do so with the link below!

Click here to check out the Wake Up Right Shop.