• Trump moves NSA Waltz to UN: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz made headlines in March for his culpability in the Signal snafu. At the time, Trump threw cold water on any potential firings with a comment about not wanting to give the Leftmedia “a scalp.” On Thursday, he announced that Waltz and his deputy would be replaced, followed by a Truth Social post in which Trump said he would nominate Waltz as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as the interim national security advisor while the Trump team searches for a replacement. Steve Witkoff, currently the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, is rumored to be a possible replacement. Witkoff’s tenure as special envoy has not gone well, with blunders in handling Iran and Hamas.

• Trump-nominated judge rules against Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act: It’s yet another blow to Trump’s deportations from a judge, but this time it comes from someone he nominated. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled Thursday in Texas that Trump’s use of the AEA “exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms.” Trump has been using the Alien Enemies Act to detain and deport members of the hostile foreign gangs like Tren de Aragua (TDA) and MS-13 on the grounds that TDA, at least, is a wing of Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela. Rodriguez’s ruling certifies Venezuelan nationals 14 years old and older as a protected class from deportation under the AEA. Perhaps it’s worth considering that 21st-century warfare may look very different from earlier eras, and violent gangs could very well be a military wing in such wars.

• Four Dems bail on Trump Impeachment 3.0: Demonstrating the buffoonery behind Rep. Shri Thanedar’s introduction of articles of impeachment against Donald Trump on Monday, four cosponsors of the resolution have now removed themselves from it. Reps. Robin Kelly (IL), Kweisi Mfume (MD), Jan Schakowsky (IL), and Jerry Nadler (NY) have all bailed on the charade. Their collective excuse for pulling their names was that party leadership had failed to green light this latest escapade. Nadler’s legislative director, Andrew Heineman, sent an email to fellow Democrat lawmakers’ legislative directors, calling on them to double-check before going along. “I don’t think any of us want to learn that their boss was added to a bill that’s been introduced from a Google Alert,” he wrote. Democrats know this amounted to little other than a virtue signal, and an embarrassing one at that.

• April jobs report: Following this week’s report of the first-quarter GDP contraction, April’s jobs numbers came in surprisingly better than expected. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 177,000 jobs were added last month, besting a Dow Jones forecast of 133,000. The headline unemployment rate came in as anticipated at 4.2%, showing a rather stable labor market. The overall unemployment rate dropped slightly to 7.8% while labor force participation ticked up to 62.6%. The healthcare industry led the way in job creation, adding 51,000, followed by transportation and warehousing with 29,000. The federal government reported 9,000 jobs lost, continuing a DOGE-induced decline with 26,000 federal jobs lost since January. The total number of federal jobs lost is actually higher, but it’s not currently calculated in the unemployment numbers since furloughed employees are still receiving severance.

• Maine bans lawmaker defending women’s sports: In Maine, if you refuse to go along with the lie that men can become women, then you will be punished. That’s what happened to State House Rep. Laurel Libby, who has been censured for refusing to apologize for expressing the truth that men should not be permitted to compete in women’s sports. Libby is not only banned from speaking in the legislature, she’s also banned from voting. While Libby has not been officially impeached or removed from office, Democrats have effectively done just that, blatantly infringing the First Amendment. But her appeal to the district court went nowhere, and now Libby’s emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court may also fall on deaf ears since it will be on Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who doesn’t know what a woman is, to decide if the case will go before the Supreme Court.

• Domestic terrorist gender-bender freed: In the latest example of the inmates running the asylum, Owen McIntire was arrested in March for torching a Kansas City Tesla dealership but was released from jail by a Boston-area federal judge to receive “gender-affirming care.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica Hedges released the 19-year-old domestic terrorist, who was in jail awaiting trial, because the gender-bender needs “treatment.” According to McIntire’s attorney, “Medically, Owen faces serious and ongoing needs. He takes daily medications for depression and ADHD and has consistently demonstrated insight into his diagnoses and compliance with his treatment. He also receives gender-affirming medical care, which began in March of this year and is likely to be interrupted or terminated entirely if he remains in pretrial detention.” Thanks to news reports and lawyer-speak, it’s unclear what the correct pronouns are.

• Trump threatens sanctions on buying Iranian oil: In what amounts to an indirect shot at China, Donald Trump on Thursday warned in a social media post: “All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW! Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions. They will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form.” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce clarified, “These sanctions are being imposed pursuant to President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign to drive Iran’s oil exports, including to China, to zero. China is by far the largest importer of Iranian oil. The Iranian regime uses the revenue it generates from these sales to finance attacks on U.S. allies, support terrorism around the world, and pursue other destabilizing actions.” This move also comes amidst the Trump administration’s ongoing nuclear talks with Iran.

Headlines

• Trump cuts federal funding for NPR and PBS over “biased” coverage (Washington Examiner)

• HHS report: Sex-change procedures for minors cause “irreversible” damage for “very weak evidence of benefit” (Washington Free Beacon)

• Tennessee bodycam of “Maryland man” traffic stop shows troopers’ hands tied despite smuggling clues (Fox News)

• Tren de Aragua spelled out “SOS” with their bodies in a Texas detention center (Not the Bee)

• Trump says he’ll revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status (Fox News)

• U.S.-Iran nuke talks postponed as Pete Hegseth warns Tehran will “pay” for Houthi support (NY Post)

• Hegseth gets 100% negative coverage from media, beating Elon Musk’s 96% (Hot Air)

• Humor: Twelve changes Trump would make as pope (Babylon Bee)

For the Executive Summary archive, click here.