Search
AI-powered search, human-powered content.
scroll to top arrow or icon

{{ subpage.title }}

Paige Fusco

Graphic Truth: Federal employment already dropping

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump to proceed with widespread cuts to the federal workforce, pending a full trial, overruling a San Francisco judge’s order in May that temporarily blocked layoffs at 22 agencies. Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling, thousands of government employees had been preparing for mass layoffs, with many notified of their pending terminations but awaiting official confirmation.

Here’s a look at the changing size of the federal workforce, which includes the US military, since Trump first took power in 2017.

Elon Musk in an America Party hat.

Jess Frampton

Elon Musk is about to discover that politics is harder than rocket science

Life comes at you fast. Only five weeks after vowing to step back from politics and a month after accusing President Donald Trump of being a pedophile, Elon Musk declared his intention to launch a new political party offering Americans an alternative to the Republicans and Democrats. Eighty percent of the more than 5.5 million respondents to his X poll had said they wanted one, so – naturally – the world’s richest man was obliged to give the people what they wanted. (Never mind that there’s no telling how many of the poll respondents are registered voters, American citizens, or even real people and not bots.) Vox populi, vox Dei.
Read moreShow less
- YouTube

Elon Musk vows to start a new political party

Elon Musk wants to start a new political party and it’s already making waves. In this episode of Ian Bremmer’s Quick Take, Ian unpacks Musk’s so-called “America Party,” driven by Musk’s frustration with both Republicans and Democrats.

Read moreShow less

Bavaria, Germany - June 6, 2025: PHOTOMONTAGE, Red cap with VOTE FOR ELON MUSK in front of US flag.

Can Musk’s “America Party” curb Trump’s power in 2026?

It started, as most of Elon Musk’s moves do, with a post on X. On July 5, the Tesla CEO and former adviser to US President Donald Trump announced the formation of the America Party, a new political movement meant to upend what he called “a one-party system, not a democracy.”

Why start a party? The two men have been feuding over the president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which became law July 4. Musk slammed the package – which pairs tax cuts with massive spending hikes for defense and immigration enforcement – for adding trillions to the US debt. He now plans to defeat legislators who supported it, vowing that “They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Read moreShow less

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (C) speaks to the media during a press conference after the Constitutional Court suspends her from duty at Government House.

Peerapon Boonyakiat / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

What We’re Watching: Thailand’s PM ousted, Musk vs Trump on bill and midterms, Turkey arrests journalists for blasphemy

Thailand’s PM suspended over flattering phone call

Thailand’s constitutional court accepted a petition on Tuesday to suspend Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as pressure mounts over the leader’s alleged mishandling of a border dispute with neighbouring Cambodia. The petition accuses Paetongtarn of violating ethical standards in a leaked phone call with influential Cambodian politician Hun Sen, during which she flattered Hun and disparaged her own country’s military. Paetongtarn now has 15 days to gather evidence pleading her case. If she is removed, her party will likely select a successor, but broader clashes with the opposition – and the streets – may just be beginning.

Read moreShow less

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the European Council summit at the headquarters of the European Council, in Brussels, Belgium, on June 26, 2026.

Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto

Hard Numbers: European leader faces no confidence vote, Sheinbaum wants to sue SpaceX, & more

401: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces a no-confidence vote over “Pfizergate,” a scandal over how she secured vaccines in 2021 by personally texting Pfizer’s CEO. It would take an unlikely 401 votes in the 720-strong European Parliament to oust her, but the vote may push her to make political concessions to both the left and right to shore up support.

Read moreShow less

A pie graph showing the percentage of Americans in favor of having a third major political party.

Ico Oliveira

Graphic Truth: Do Americans want a third party?

Remember when Elon Musk threatened to start his own political party during his spat with Donald Trump? It’s unclear how many Americans would switch their political affiliation to a Musk-run party specifically, but a plurality agree that they’d like another major political party to rival the Democrats and Republicans.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a discussion on the subject of hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem, November 18, 2024.

REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

What We’re Watching: Bibi on the brink, US-China truce, Elon-Trump detente

Will Israel’s government be dissolved?

The warning signs are flashing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the Knesset prepares to vote later today on whether to dissolve his government. The crisis was triggered when a pair of ultra-Orthodox parties in Bibi’s coalition signaled last week they would ditch the coalition over plans to end certain military exemptions. For more on what the collapse of Netanyahu’s government could mean, see here.

US and China reach tariff ceasefire

The United States and China reportedly agreed to a trade truce Wednesday, with US President Donald Trump saying Chinese imports will now face a 55% tariff while Beijing keeps a 10% levy on US products. Importantly, China has restarted its exports of high-tech magnets and rare earth minerals, and the White House reaffirmed Chinese students’ access to US colleges. Still, details of any larger deal covering broader issues of market access and technological competition are far from being ironed out.

Musk v Trump: Is it too late now to say sorry?

Elon Musk appears to be tapping out in his highly-public feud with US President Donald Trump, posting on X (early) this morning that he “regrets” the insults he’s hurled at the president.We’ll be watching to see if the detente holds between these two famously volatile figures. With midterms on the horizon, it matters: Musk’s financial firepower is significant, as we saw here.

For more: Ian Bremmer sat down with Semafor Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith to discuss the Musk-Trump beef and what it tells us about political power in America today.

Subscribe to our free newsletter, GZERO Daily

Latest