House Democrats are asking the Department of Justice and FBI whether it is true, as Elon Musk now claims, that President Trump is in the Epstein files, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's the starkest example to date of how the highly public feud between the president and his onetime lieutenant is playing right into the hands of the Trump's political opponents.

• Trump "is in the Epstein files," Musk wrote Thursday in a post on X, adding, "That is the real reason they have not been made public."
• The Tesla CEO also called for Trump to be impeached, a position that even many Democrats are reluctant to take.

Driving the news: In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel first obtained by Axios, Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) asked that they "immediately clarify whether this allegation is true."

• The lawmakers asked for a timeline of the DOJ's declassification and publication of the Epstein files, an explanation for why they haven't turned over any new documents since February.
• And they requested a description of Trump's role in reviewing the files, a list of personnel involved in their release and an answer for why files previously released to Congress contained "significant redactions."
• Lynch is the acting ranking member of the House Oversight Committee and Garcia is the top Democrat on the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets.

State of play: Bondi released more than 100 pages of documents related to the Epstein case in February as part of a Trump administration push to provide more transparency into a wide array of high-profile cases.

• The files were substantially redacted, however, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), the chair of the declassification task force, has accused Bondi of "stonewalling" her demands for more files.
• "We agree with their conclusion that the release of these documents is long overdue," Lynch and Garcia wrote.

What they're saying: Musk's allegation "implies that the President may be involved in determining which files should be released and whether files will be withheld from the public if he personally chooses," the two Democrats wrote.

• They noted that Trump and Epstein's relationship has been well-documented.
• "Any attempts to prevent the appropriate release of the Epstein files to shield the President from truth and accountability merits intense scrutiny by Congress and by the Department of Justice," they added.

• Elon Musk's latest feud with Trump began with an X post, criticizing the GOP's spending bill.
• Tesla shares were down 14% by the market's close, wiping out $138B of the company's worth.
• Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates that about $34 billion was erased from Musk's net worth.

Bloomberg Billionaire Index reports that Elon Musk is nearly $34 billion poorer since his alliance with President Donald Trump went nuclear.

The Tesla CEO marched back onto the political battlefield after repeatedly bashing the GOP's "Big Beautiful Bill" on X all Wednesday, just days after he officially stepped down from the White House DOGE office. 

As Musk's marathon posting continued throughout Thursday, Tesla shares began to fall.

Trump told reporters during an Oval Office appearance that he and Elon "had a great relationship," but he wasn't sure if that would be the case anymore.

The president went on his own social media platform, Truth Social, to accuse Musk of criticizing the bill mainly because it would remove tax credits that benefit Tesla.

The jabs on social media only escalated from there.

Musk not only denied Trump's characterization, but he dug up old tweets from the president that appeared to back the CEO's views, accused Trump of having ties with the late financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and took credit for helping Trump win the 2024 election.

"This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to BI's inquiry regarding Musk's Epstein post. "The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again."

Trump responded with his own barbs, threatening to cancel federal contracts with Musk's companies.

Musk said he'd immediately decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in response to Trump's threat.

Tesla shares plummeted more than 14%, representing about a $138 billion wipeout of the company's total market cap.

Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated that $34 billion from Musk's net worth was wiped out after Thursday's fallout, representing one of the CEO's biggest single-day losses.

In November 2021, Musk put up a poll on Twitter, asking his followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. More than 57% of 3.5 million responders said, "Yes."

The post triggered a 16% decline in Tesla shares that week, leading to a $50 billion loss in the executive's net worth.

Musk, for his part, has insisted that his social media posts don't impact his companies' worth.

However, the Securities and Exchange Commission has begged to differ.

The SEC sued Musk as a consequence of his infamous 2018 tweet in which he said he would take Tesla private at $420.

The settlement that followed included a $20 million fine and a stipulation that required Musk to get legal approval for any social media posts about Tesla. The arrangement became known as Musk's "Twitter sitter."

Musk has tried and failed to strike down the arrangement, taking his case to the Supreme Court in 2023. It rejected his appeal last April.

Musk and a spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

• Amazon cut jobs in its Books business, according to an internal email.
• The company started by selling books online in the 1990s.
• This remains a large business for the e-commerce giant.

Amazon is cutting jobs in its Books business, according to an internal email viewed by Business Insider on Thursday.

"Today, we are taking the very difficult step of eliminating some roles on your team," a senior Amazon manager wrote in the email. "Unfortunately, your role has been eliminated. This decision was not made lightly, and Books leadership and the HR team are here to support you through this transition."

The email stated employees will receive full pay and benefits for the next 60 days, or 90 days for employees in New York or New Jersey, plus additional severance.

"As part of our ongoing work to make our teams and programs operate more efficiently, and to better align with our business roadmap, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles within the Books organization," an Amazon spokesperson said. "We don't make these decisions lightly, and we're committed to supporting affected employees through their transitions."

The cuts affected fewer than 100 employees. The tech giant isn't reducing the size of its Books business because the roles will be repurposed for other parts of the company, according to Amazon.

Amazon got started by selling books online in the 1990s. While the company closed its physical stores in 2022, the online business remained big. Amazon sold $16.9 billion worth of books in the first 10 months of 2022, BI previously reported.

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The sun was shining, the sea was glistening, and the woman in front of me looked every bit the boss of this little slice of paradise in Thailand.

Dressed in breezy beachwear — a matching set with bold prints in yellow, pink, and orange — she stepped out of the hotel's front office and greeted me with a bright smile.

"Sunglasses are a must," she told me with a laugh, as she led me down the long entryway lined with lush greenery, the tropical sun blazing overhead.

Pauline Cabessa runs Cielo Samui, a boutique hotel on Koh Samui's Bo Phut beach.

For more than a decade, Cabessa and her husband escaped their home base in Saint Tropez every winter to holiday in Samui.

They were frequent guests of the hotel — then named Eden Beach Bungalows — where they struck up a friendship with the French owner. One day, during a casual conversation, he let slip that he was looking to sell the property.

Almost immediately, Cabessa and her husband, Francois Vargas, found themselves imagining what it would be like to take over the place.

The idea stuck, even after their vacation ended. "As we were on the plane, going back to work, we kept thinking, 'Oh, we need to find a way to make it,'" she said.

In 2017, they packed up their lives in France, said goodbye to their loved ones, and moved across the world to run the hotel — never mind the fact that neither of them had ever managed one before.

"I felt like it was time in life for a challenge," Cabessa, now 43, said. "Being an employee, doing the same thing all your life — if you don't do things that are a little bit crazy, then afterward it might be a little bit too late."

Renovating the hotel

As much as she loved Asia, Cabessa never thought she'd put down roots in Samui.

But her job managing a restaurant in Saint Tropez had started to feel hollow. It was as if the essence of hospitality was being replaced by a culture of showing off, she said.

"I was really losing the authentic connection I shared with people, and time with my family as well, because I was working a lot," she said. "Well, it was thanks to that that I am here now. With the money I earned there, I was able to take on this project."

She preferred to keep financial details private but said she and her husband co-own the hotel with another couple — longtime friends who came onboard as business partners. While their business partners are primarily investors and live in the US, she and her husband run the day-to-day operations of the hotel in Samui.

The opportunity to take over the hotel came at the right time, since she and Vargas were also thinking about expanding their family. Saint Tropez no longer felt like a place where they wanted to raise their kids.

"I wanted my daughter to learn more English and be in contact with people from different places. I wanted a second child as well," she said, adding that her son was born on Samui.

Her husband needed little convincing — he had been vacationing in Samui since 1997, long before the couple had even gotten together.

Although the idea of leaving his previous life behind to start anew in a foreign country felt daunting, Vargas told me he wasn't too worried.

"Moving to Samui was an opportunity to create our own dream," Vargas, 48, said. "I love what we do, the island, the security we can offer our kids, and the people."

For the first two years, Cabessa ran the hotel as it was, while Vargas, a chef, oversaw the in-house restaurant.

But when business ground to a halt due to the pandemic, she decided it was time to renovate.

"That was not part of our original plan at all," she said.

Cabessa redesigned the hotel herself. Like many modern women, she drew inspiration from her Pinterest board.

With textured limewashed walls, stone floors, and an earthy-neutral palette, it's hard not to notice the strong Mediterranean design influences that Cabessa infused into the space.

She also added a yoga studio and a spa to the compound.

The renovation took nine months to complete and was "quite stressful," she said.

To stay afloat during the pandemic and retain their original staff, they opened a restaurant in the nearby tourist district of Fisherman's Village.

"Everybody moved back here when we reopened," she said.

These days, nightly rates for a regular suite begin at 8,500 Thai baht, or $260, with the largest option — a three-bedroom villa that accommodates up to eight guests — going for 26,000 baht.

Running the biz

Running a hotel is no walk in the park.

"People tell me, 'Your life is cool.' OK, there are coconut trees, there is the sun, I get it. But that doesn't mean that there are no challenges," Cabessa said.

With 45 staff members under her wing, she also finds herself smoothing things over with the occasional picky guest.

"I've got reviews from some people complaining about the noise of the waves when they live in the rooms near the beach," she said. "Sometimes people even tell me that the sand on the beach is too hard to walk on."

While Cabessa is always on-site and ready to fix any problems, some things are simply out of her hands. At the end of the day, Samui is an island. "I cannot control nature," she said.

Thankfully, her background working in Saint Tropez prepared her for high-pressure situations.

"We were doing around 600 people per lunch per day back then," she said. No matter how challenging things get in Samui, she says it's hard to find guests with higher expectations than those in France.

It's easy to see Cabessa's dedication in action: She pauses to greet each staff member by name — and in Thai — and never misses a chance to speak with passing guests, even as she's showing me around.

Most of her guests come from Europe, Australia, or around Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong. In recent months, she's also seen more American tourists.

An Australian couple in their 40s told me it was their first time in Samui, and they chose to stay here because the place seemed tranquil and the beach was, in their words, "right there."

All room types at the hotel include breakfast. Guests can also enjoy complimentary activities daily, like Pilates, yoga, and Muay Thai classes. Padel and kayaking are also available.

The idea is to create a place where guests can happily spend their entire stay without needing to step outside, Cabessa said.

Adapting to life on Samui

Cabessa says adapting to life on the island was a breeze.

Her kids, now 11 and 5, go to an international school. Her mother, who is retired, even moved to Samui from Lyon three years ago. She now lives just down the street from Cabessa.

"This is a safe country. You can let your kids play in a mall or on the beach, and you are not worried about that," Cabessa said. "I also love the culture of showing respect for your elders."

Working in hospitality, she also appreciates the friendliness of the Thai people.

"People are always smiling, and this is such a relief. Because if you live in Paris and you take the subway, nobody's smiling," she said.

The island has changed significantly since the first time she visited.

It's much easier to find international products or fresh produce now. And if something isn't available locally, she can order it from Bangkok, and it'll arrive within 24 hours.

Cabessa says she'll "never, ever" move back to France. And even if she doesn't live in Samui, Thailand will always be home.

"I'll never quit this country," she said.

Do you have a story to share about moving to a new country to run a hotel or resort business? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• Lester V. Ledesma is a photographer and has been traveling across Southeast Asia for almost 30 years.
• He says places like Bali have struggled with overtourism, while Myanmar has faced political turmoil.
• But there are three cities — Siem Reap, Ipoh, and Hanoi — that he feels have improved over the years.

I've spent nearly 30 years traveling around Southeast Asia, long enough to witness just how much the region has transformed.

Over the years, I've watched destinations rise and fall. Some began as exotic tourism gems, but now struggle with overtourism — Bali is a good example of this.

Other cities, like Bangkok, remain perennial tourist magnets, managing to thrive thanks to careful resource management. Then there are the places that showed great promise when they opened to the world — I'm looking at you, Myanmar — only to become no-go zones due to political turmoil.

Nonetheless, there are a few special spots in Southeast Asia that I often revisit. Like well-made coconut wine, these three seem to get better as the years go by.

1. Siem Reap, Cambodia

When I first visited Siem Reap in 2003, it was something of a cowboy town, with more bicycles than cars. "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," starring Angelina Jolie, had been released a few years earlier, with scenes filmed at Angkor Wat, but the city still wasn't a common feature on the average bucket list.

Back then, its main landmark was Psar Chas — the old market — and the soon-to-be-renamed Pub Street was still just a jumble of guesthouses and restaurants that serviced mostly budget travelers.

Marijuana-laced "happy pizza" was a common item on menus, and there were even places that delivered straight to your room.

Two decades later, the hippie backpacker vibe has been greatly diminished, replaced by a more cosmopolitan collection of chic boutique hotels standing beside wine bars, hipster cafés, and restaurants boasting cuisine from all over the world.

These days, Siem Reap is basking in the glow of a post-COVID era facelift that widened the main roads and beautified the city's parks. To the east, the recently built Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport — which opened in October 2023 — has replaced the smaller landing strip that stood close to the city.

Despite more tourists, Angkor's UNESCO World Heritage sites are also managed better with an online booking app that lets you buy entrance passes without having to join the long lines. There's also more effective crowd control, especially in popular spots like Angkor Wat and the Bayon.

Clearly marked walkways and "no entry" signs help keep visitors from getting lost. Angkor may no longer offer the "lost jungle ruin" experience of decades past, but stricter regulations help ensure the preservation.

2. Ipoh, Malaysia

I remember when Lonely Planet's "Southeast Asia on a Shoestring" edition described Ipoh — a city in Malaysia about 120 miles north of Kuala Lumpur — as "so seedy you're unlikely to linger." Decades ago, I walked through the old quarter of this city and found little more than crumbling shophouses set alongside grand-but-aging colonial-era buildings.

Still reeling from the collapse of its industry in the '80s, this once-affluent tin mining community didn't seem to be doing too well. In fact, it had a hint of seediness that kept me from lingering too long.

Thankfully, much has improved since then. Renewed interest in local heritage sparked an urban revival that restored the city's venerable old structures. Colorful street murals added a quirky charm, making Ipoh an essential stopover for travelers in Malaysia on the Malacca-Kuala Lumpur-Penang route.

Nowadays, the city's rediscovered nostalgia is everywhere on display, from stylish B&Bs like the Sekeping Kong Heng — built on top of a still-operating vintage coffeeshop — to the ever-busy Concubine Lane where antique shophouses play host to numerous craft and souvenir stores.

And one of Malaysia's oldest bars — the 94-year-old Sinhalese Bar — still keeps its after-work crowd despite being surrounded by newfangled, IG-friendly espresso bars and watering holes. Ipoh's growing tourism industry has so far remained manageable, and I'm thankful that this picturesque heritage city has kept its soul.

3. Hanoi, Vietnam

When I first visited in 2007, I struggled to like Hanoi. At that point, it had not yet become a mainstream tourist destination.

Sure, it had interesting neighborhoods and a vibrant street scene, but I found locals in Vietnam's capital to be cold and indifferent toward outsiders. At times, it felt like everyone — taxi drivers, market vendors, even public toilet attendants — was just waiting to make a quick buck off me.

Maybe my not-so-great first impression had something to do with Vietnam's tough postwar years, when the country had to fend for itself.

But fast-forward 18 years, and the city feels completely different.

Hanoi has not lost any of its timeless character, and its ancient corner temples and ornate French colonial-era mansions still proudly display their patina.

Motorbikes continue to zoom recklessly, and conical hat-wearing vendors still roam the streets with their merchandise on their shoulders. But today's Hanoi seems to have put on a friendlier face.

Since my first visit, the city has upgraded its infrastructure and services to a more international standard. A new metro now provides a direct connection to the countryside, while price-regulated taxis and regular buses now transport travelers from the airport.

Young Hanoians come across to me as more welcoming, offering more smiles and fewer scowls. In fact, during recent trips, I've had random folks help me navigate fish-out-of-water situations. Like when a local customer scolded a noodle vendor who was trying to rip me off. There was also a friendly couple at a dessert stall who proudly taught me how to order ca phe in Vietnamese.

Friendly interactions like these — a quick translation, a helpful tip, or even a friendly chat — now color my view of the storied and beautiful city.

• Seventeen's new album has been fueling a K-pop photo card trading frenzy.
• The variety of photo cards has spawned a booming market for trading and collecting.
• The cards' popularity come as K-pop companies' stock soars.

"I have your man," I typed at 1 a.m., my hands trembling with excitement. "Do you have Joshua on hand to trade?"

Joshua Hong's K-pop band Seventeen released a new album on May 26. That album comes with serious math for trading card aficionados: There are seven versions of the record, each containing four photo cards — that's 336 unique cards, or "boy paper," to collect. I wanted him badly enough to wheel and deal my way through a maelstrom of trading card listings.

My late-night obsession is a small sliver of the sprawling business of K-pop photo card trading, a blood sport that's equal parts lottery and enterprise.

Supply and demand

The pieces of boy paper I'm attempting to secure are highly desirable collectibles in the fandom, said Kay Koo, an expert in marketing and K-pop from Korea University. Fans buy copies of the same album, hoping to find their favorite card.

"They serve as tangible indicators of fan loyalty," Koo told BI.

"Some fans even purchase over 100 copies of the same album to collect every photo card produced for that release, humorously calling this practice 'collecting Dragon Balls,' referencing the Japanese manga where collecting all seven Dragon Balls summons a dragon capable of granting any wish," Koo added.

Jackie Ko, a proud Carat — the name Seventeen fans go by, à la Swifties — has amassed 3,300 cards since she started collecting in 2021. She buys albums, keeps most of the cards she pulls, then tries to trade duplicates.

Ko, who's based in the US, also looks for fresh pieces from online sites like Mercari Japan, Neokyo, and PocaMarket — or from her local K-pop store's photo card trading nights.

"The chase and journey of finding certain photo cards is thrilling in itself as well, and there comes a sense of achievement when said card is found, or when a certain collection is finally complete," she said.

Ko estimates she's spent around $25,000 on photo cards and albums. Some of the more expensive cards she owns are rare cards of Seventeen's leader, S.Coups — she's seen them being resold for around $400 a piece.

Kia Pastoral, who became a Carat in October 2022, has a growing collection of 368 photo cards. She goes on X to look for new pieces and relies on her friends in the Philippines for more local trades. Pastoral estimates she's spent around $600 on cards.

"I buy the albums not just for the photo cards, but also for the album itself and other inclusions," Pastoral said. "I definitely love the feeling of unboxing new albums and getting excited to see which member I pull."

Ko described the adrenaline rush from buying albums as "addictive."

"I don't think I would be buying this many albums if not for the photo cards," she said.

The high

I can relate to Ko and Pastoral's descriptions of the unboxing high. I bought five albums from a local K-pop store in Singapore for around $25 Singapore dollars, or $19.50, a piece.

Staff at two K-pop album stores in Singapore said new shipments of the Seventeen album came in just this week, and fans have been snapping it up.

Much like Pokémon card collectors, Carats like Ko and Pastoral keep their photo cards neatly protected in decorative card holders and a variety of A4 and A5 binders.

Both fans have brought their photo cards on trips. Ko, for one, says she doesn't leave the house for an outing without a photo card on her.

Fans and local stores can make money in the photo card resale market.

Listings on an online Singaporean marketplace range from $5 to $25 per photo card. K-pop shops in Singapore also sell exclusive photo cards for $15 to $20 a piece.

Merchandising is king

The photo card feeding frenzy is just one branch of the sprawling landscape of K-pop, with its seemingly infinite supply of boy and girl groups debuting every year. Seventeen has been around for 10 years, and their peers at parent company Hybe, BTS, are set to return this month in full force for the group's 12th anniversary.

Though K-pop stocks dipped in 2024, Goldman Sachs analysts projected in a June 5 report that "Mega IPs" — bands like BTS, that perform in stadium-sized venues — would continue to buoy the companies this year.

Concerts, albums, and merchandising are all part of the monetization mechanism for bands under Hybe.

In 2023, Seventeen, per statistics compiled by Goldman, notched an all-time high of 4.5 million albums sold in week one of release that broke the Grammy-nominated BTS's record of 3.3 million copies.

Photo cards aren't the only factor driving physical album sales.

"In the early years, fans used to buy more albums to collect additional photo cards. Nowadays, they often trade or sell them among themselves," said Stephanie Choi, an assistant professor in ethnomusicology at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

"There are so many different reasons for album purchase, and photo cards are one of the many reasons," Choi added. Fans may want to mass-buy albums to clinch spots at exclusive events or just to help their idols chart better.

Still, it's fair to say that Seventeen's fame isn't built on a house of cards.

"While photo cards are crucial for immediate sales, digital strategies and continuous online engagement are indispensable for long-term fan base growth and sustainable commercial success," Koo, the marketing expert from Korea University, added.

Hybe's stock is up 43% in the last year.

The man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at pro-Israel demonstrators was charged in Colorado state court Thursday with 118 counts, court documents show.

The big picture: Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who was also charged with a federal hate crime, now faces 28 counts of attempted murder.

• The 45-year-old is also facing multiple counts related to the use and attempted use of an explosive/incendiary device and one count of cruelty to animals.
• Soliman is being held in lieu of a $10 million bond.

Zoom in: Sunday's attacked left 15 people injured, the Boulder County District Attorney's office said Thursday.

• All of the victims are expected to survive.

Context: The suspect yelled "Free Palestine!" as he threw the Molotov cocktails at pro-Israel demonstrators on Sunday, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.

• The demonstration was organized by Run for Their Lives in support of the hostages as "a peaceful walk to show solidarity with the hostages and their families, and a plea for their release."

Go deeper: Suspect in Boulder Molotov attack faces federal hate crime charge

Elon Musk's bitter public breakup with President Trump has included an undeniable fact: the world's richest man contributed more than any other billionaire donor to support Republicans in 2024 — by a lot.

Why it matters: Musk has said he'd pull back on political spending, after his six months in Washington left him with empty DOGE promises and his companies in turmoil.

• But where he puts his cash has massive potential influence — including toward any future political pursuits.

• In one of his first and most damning swipes at Trump, Musk claimed credit for the president's 2024 victory: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate." He blasted the "ingratitude."
• While a newer Republican megadonor, Musk joined an existing class funneling millions to Trump in 2024.
• Other top donors included businessman Timothy Mellon and Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson who, with her late husband, was Trump's biggest backer in 2020.

By the numbers: Of the roughly $295 million Musk contributed to Republicans in the 2024 election, the vast majority went to Trump.

Zoom out: The Musk-Trump feud bursted publicly mostly on social media Thursday, beginning with Trump speaking in the Oval Office and Musk rapidly posting on X.

• While the president had offered his former special government employee a warm sendoff Friday, the Tesla CEO this week ratcheted up his attacks on Trump's signature bill. Musk has criticized the bill for its cost: estimates say it could add trillions to the federal deficit.
• On Wednesday, Musk urged his followers on X to call their representatives to "KILL the BILL."

Go deeper: How Trump and Musk went from bromance to bitter dispute

Congressional Republicans are openly attacking Elon Musk like never before after the billionaire Tesla founder claimed President Trump is "in the Epstein files" and even called for him to be impeached.

Why it matters: It's a stunning fall from grace for a man who flexed so much influence over Republican lawmakers just weeks — even days — earlier.

• "This is absolutely childish and ridiculous. Enough of this nonsense," Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) said of Musk's comments, adding that the recently departed Trump lieutenant has "lost some of his gravitas."
• "Nobody elected Elon Musk, and a whole lot of people don't even like him, to be honest with you, even on both sides," said Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.).
• A spokesperson for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Driving the news: Musk initially focused his attacks on the massive GOP tax and spending cut legislation, arguing Tuesday that it doesn't go far enough in cutting the deficit.

• By Thursday, he turned his sights on Trump, claiming Trump is "in the Epstein files" and adding, "The truth will come out."
• He took his boldest step by responding to a post that said "Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him" with a single word: "Yes."

What they're saying: "We're getting people calling our offices 100% in support of President Trump," said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), a member of House GOP leadership.

• "Every tweet that goes out, people are more lockstep behind President Trump and [Musk is] losing favor," Hern added.
• Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) said Musk is "starting to look a little crazy" and "was always an important voice, but ... it's going to be a lot more people weighing what Trump has to say than what Musk has to say."

Between the lines: Musk's $420 billion net worth and ability to pour millions into any given GOP primary has been something of a Sword of Damocles for congressional Republicans since he entered politics.

• He has even signaled he supports primary challenges against the 215 House Republicans who voted for the bill.
• But now that it's Trump vs. Musk, Republican lawmakers privately say they're far more afraid of a Trump non-endorsement than they are of Musk's money.

What we're hearing: "I would rather have Trump on my side," said one House Republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer candid thoughts on the electoral side of the Trump-Musk blowup.

• Said another: "On the value of Elon playing against us in primaries compared to Trump endorsing us in primaries, the latter is 100 times more relevant."
• "Elon can burn $5 million in a primary, but if Trump says 'that's the person Republicans should reelect,' it's a wasted $5 million," the lawmaker said.

The intrigue: Even critics of Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill" say Musk is undermining the substantive case he and others are trying to make against the legislation in its current form by turning to personal attacks.

• "I think it undermines his effectiveness," said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). "I would not have recommended that."
• Others said Musk waited too long to weigh in: "It was disappointing to see Elon Musk's outrage, if you will, come when it did. We could've used his voice a couple weeks ago," said Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.).

Yes, but: There remains a small rump caucus of Republicans who are willing to keep saying complimentary things about Musk — even at the risk of alienating Trump.

• Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a steadfast opponent of the bill who Trump has called to primary, said that while he doesn't support impeaching Trump, he still respects Musk.
• "This is the language Trump speaks in. [Musk] is speaking it back to him," Massie said.
• Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) called Musk a "genius" and said "words, to me, don't matter. It's what he does."

The bottom line: Republicans are finally acknowledging that this rift was foreseeable given the big personalities involved.

• "You've got two high-profile, strong leaders. In some ways, this was probably bound to happen," said Norman.
• Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) told Axios: "I think we all kind of knew that it was not going to end great."

Harvard University filed a complaint Thursday challenging President Trump's proclamation a day earlier that ordered the suspension of the entry of international students.

The big picture: Trump's attempt to strip Harvard of its ability to host international students marks an escalation in a weeks-long legal battle between the president and the Ivy League school.

Driving the news: Harvard argued in Thursday's filing, which amends an existing lawsuit, that Trump's proclamation violates the First Amendment.

• The university alleges that the president's actions "are not undertaken to protect the interests of the United States," but instead to pursue a government vendetta against Harvard."
• "With the stroke of a pen, the DHS Secretary and the President have sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission and the country," the university's amended complaint states.
• "Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard."

What they're saying: Harvard President Alan Garber said in a message to the campus community that the university is working on contingency plans to ensure international students can continue their work at Harvard.

• "International students and scholars make outstanding contributions inside and outside of our classrooms and laboratories, fulfilling our mission of excellence in countless ways," he said.
• "We will celebrate them, support them, and defend their interests as we continue to assert our Constitutional rights."
• The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment Thursday evening.

State of play: Trump suspended the entry of international students to attend Harvard through an executive order on Wednesday.

• He ordered cabinet officials to determine whether international students at Harvard who are in the U.S. should have their student visas revoked.
• The suspension was expected to last at least 90 days, per the order.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's order to DHS to terminate Harvard's student and exchange visitor program certification has stalled in the courts.

More from Axios:

• Trump suspends entry to Harvard's international students
• Foreign students consider fleeing Harvard after Trump threats, university says
• Trump admin nixes Harvard's ability to enroll international students

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.