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Aimed At Pressuring Big Pharma; Goldman Says Trump’s Drug Exec. Order “Symbolic, Not Substantial”

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Aimed At Pressuring Big Pharma; Goldman Says Trump’s Drug Exec. Order “Symbolic, Not Substantial”

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed the Most Favored Nation (MFN) Executive Order on drug pricing, aiming to pressure the pharmaceutical industry to lower prices by linking them to those paid in other developed countries. The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to communicate these international price benchmarks to drug manufacturers. If significant progress isn’t achieved within several months, HHS is instructed to initiate a rulemaking process to enforce MFN-based pricing.

Following the MFN EO on drug pricing, Goldman analysts Asad Haider and team noted that stocks most exposed to the EO—such as Regeneron and Merck—rallied sharply, as both the text of the order and the subsequent press briefing alleviated worst-case fears priced into pharma stocks. 

According to Goldman’s political economist Alec Phillips, the EO appears more designed to increase the Trump administration’s negotiation leverage than to implement sweeping reforms immediately. The analyst expects the HHS to impose MFN-based pricing if no “significant progress” is made within several months.

The EO’s language is legally cautious. It repeatedly cites the need to act “consistent with law” and lacks clarity on scope—such as whether it applies to Medicare Part B, D, or both.

“Overall, while the EO appears intended to create leverage for negotiation with the industry and is likely to increase pressure on companies to announce some concessions, our political economist notes that the process appears to be in early stages and does not expect near-term implementation of the measures contemplated in the EO,” Haider told clients on Tuesday.

Haider continued, “Our net takeaway is that while the EO removes a potential worst-case scenario, we expect drug pricing to remain a focus and note that clarity across other policy, regulatory, and tariff-related vectors is needed for large-cap biopharma to see a sustained recovery.” 

Here’s Alec Phillips’ first-take 

President Trump’s executive order (EO) on “most favored nation” (MFN) drug pricing could lead to discussions with pharmaceutical companies regarding potential price concessions but does not look likely to lead to substantial near-term policy changes. It orders the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) to communicate price targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers based on prices paid in other developed economies. If “significant progress” has not been achieved on drug pricing after an unspecified period of time—we would expect the White House to give the industry at least several months—the order instructs HHS to propose a “rulemaking plan” to impose MFN pricing. The EO is unclear on whether this would apply only to drugs covered under Medicare and, if so, whether it would apply to all drugs and whether it would apply to Medicare Part B, D or both. In the event “significant progress” is not made, the EO also instructs: (1) HHS to certify safety of drug reimportation, (2) FTC and DOJ to take enforcement action against anti-competitive practices, (3) the Dept. of Commerce to “review and consider” exports of pharmaceuticals, and (4) FDA to “review and potentially modify or revoke” drug approvals. The order also instructs US Trade Representative to guard against “unreasonable or discriminatory” practices in other countries that raise prices in the US, including foreign price controls, and tells HHS to “consider” a program to sell direct to consumer at MFN prices.

Overall, the EO appears intended to create leverage for negotiation with the industry and is likely to increase pressure on companies to announce some concessions. That said, this process appears to be in early stages and we would not expect near-term implementation of any of the measures contemplated in the EO. Later this year, the main question will be whether the administration has authority to implement these kinds of changes unilaterally. With regard to Medicare, the administration has authority to negotiate discounts on 15 drugs this year under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and could potentially pursue broader price concessions as part of a CMMI demonstration. However, Medicaid pricing (rebates) is set in statute, and the administration has limited ability to constrain prices in the private market. In theory, Congress could affect these areas, but for now neither looks likely to be included in the House’s budget reconciliation package.

Overall, analysts view the EO as primarily a negotiation tool rather than a blueprint for immediate reform. The goal is to bring big pharma to the table to negotiate lower drug prices, allowing the Trump administration to advance its price reduction agenda.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 12:25

“It’s As If God Has A Sense Of Humor…”

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“It’s As If God Has A Sense Of Humor…”

Authored by Monica Showalter via AmericanThinker.com,

Get a load of the pope’s brothers…

It’s as if God has a sense of humor.

Imagine getting elected to the 2,000-year-old Chair of St. Peter. You’d become the head of state of an unbroken succession of popes as well as the leader of the world’s largest religion, one watched and followed closely by others, every word you said dissected closely. Your blessings would be sought, you’d deliver the global pieties, you’d avoid grubby politics, focusing on the tenets of your faith.

But then, you have these guys behind you, your two brothers, at  least one of whom loves himself some Trump.

It’s pretty fun, actually, given that the pope is trying to keep himself a bit of a mystery, a man for all people, a man above the political fray.

Here are some of older brother Lou’s tweets:

So he’s totally normal, working class American, just like the rest of us, part of the Catholic majority here who obviously voted for President Trump. And the fact that the brothers seem to be fairly close as family members pretty well confirms to us normals also that that is the kind of talk the new pope heard around his house growing up. He wasn’t a rarified intellectual, he knew very well what the smell of the sheep was, because he had his brothers.

Here’s one of the funnier vignettes from his election, on the phone with his brother John trying to tell him he’s now the pope:

When Pope Leo XIV was first elected, I expressed hope that his exposure to the ordinary people of Peru would probably ensure that he wasn’t a leftist wokester of the liberation theology stripe, because ordinary Peruvians often can sound like Trump voters.

As it happens, he didn’t need to go that far, they were right there in his own family. While I doubt he is as conservative as Lou is, he’s probably more conservative than he lets on, given the wokester atmosphere of the Vatican during the time of Pope Francis, where it would not have been tolerated, and he least knows and understands conservatives, which seemed to be a big problem for Pope Francis, who didn’t seem to have ever been exposed to them. There are reports that he, too, was a registered Republican, and voted in the last election.

The brothers, while chatty with the press, are pretty careful to protect him. Being conservatives, they clearly know what the mainstream media is about and do not give them anything they can hang on him, which is what they are looking for.

Brother Lou said he hadn’t heard from his brother, and actually wondered if based on his new position, he would ever get to talk with him again. If the pope is distancing himself from his brother because of his tweets, that won’t be a good thing. But if he eventually talks to him, away from the press, which was what interrupted the first call, it will be all good for the rest of us.

I think he will. And if so, it’s a reassuring thing for those of us in the U.S. that he’s not a crazed Trump-hater and has actually been around conservatives, which is a lot more than a lot of them can say.

Fox New host Raymond Arroyo predicts that Pope Leo XIV will probably get along better with President Trump than anyone can imagine, and with brothers like that, the rest of us have ample reason for reassurance that he’s not in that little leftist bubble so many of them are, based on we have seen in the past several years. Trump might even contact the brothers for the best advice on how to deal with the new pope. Who would be better?

Yes, it seems God has a sense of humor.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 12:05

Trump Not Going To Istanbul, As Kremlin Downplays ‘Direct’ Ukraine Peace Talks

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Trump Not Going To Istanbul, As Kremlin Downplays ‘Direct’ Ukraine Peace Talks

The Kremlin on Tuesday affirmed that “the Russian side continues to prepare for the negotiations that are scheduled to take place on Thursday.” This after on Sunday Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to resume direct negotiations with Kiev, and proposed the Istanbul talks.

Ukrainian President Zelensky then made a performative gesture – likely more meant to prove to the White House that he’s ‘willing’ – saying he’s ready to fly to Istanbul in person and urged Putin to do the same.

Putin spokesman Dimitry Peskov when grilled by reporters on Tuesday downplayed the whole event, describing that direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul later this week are merely “still possible”.

As for revealing the line-up for the Russian delegation, and who is expected lead, Peskov said “we will announce it as soon as the president [Putin] deems it necessary.”

Despite some sensational recent headlines and statements, one thing we can be sure will not happen is President Putin’s personal presence. And per the latest from Reuters, President Trump is not going to be there in Turkey either (after on Monday he actually floated the possibility):

  • KELLOGG, WITKOFF ARE HEADING TO ISTANBUL THIS WEEK: REUTERS
  • FORMAT OF TALKS IN TURKEY WITH KELLOGG, WITKOFF UNCLEAR: REUTERS

“All of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in Turkey. This is the right idea. We can change a lot,” Zelensky had said.

And Trump had responded by saying he was “thinking about actually flying over” – which would have to happen immediately on the heels of his big Gulf visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE.

Zelensky has meanwhile insisted that any talks should be preceded by the start of a 30-day ceasefire – which Washington appears to be backing, but which the Kremlin has already rejected.

Really, all the talk of pushing to get Putin in Istanbul to negotiate in person was about generating mainstream media headlines like the following:

Moscow worries that such a lengthy pause in fighting would only be used by Ukrainian forces to rearm and regroup along the front lines, at a moment they are exhausted and steadily losing ground.

Peskov told reporters further, “[Western] Europe is, after all, entirely on Ukraine’s side. It cannot claim to have an unbiased approach… Its approach is not balanced, it is rather pro-war, aimed at continuing the fighting, which is in sharp contrast to the approach demonstrated, for example, by Moscow or Washington,” according to Russian media.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 11:45

The Merch-Can-‘Til-Lists

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The Merch-Can-‘Til-Lists

By Michael Every of Rabobank

The Merch-Can-‘Til-Lists

Equity markets soared, as did bond yields and the US dollar, while gold and Bitcoin dropped following the US and China taking down their tariffs by 115 percentage points to 30% for the US (on top of legacy 25% Trump 1/Biden tariffs on 2/3rds of Chinese goods and 25% sectoral tariffs) and to 10% for China for 90 days.

Some say President Trump folded, “because markets.” Or “because neo-mercantilism” as there is nothing market-like in China’s dominance of the production and the staggering trade surpluses it runs. Yet there’s certainly dotted lines being drawn on things to show where folds could go.

On the other hand, markets soared despite tariffs that were unthinkable six months ago. Moreover, Trump claimed China has agreed to remove all non-tariff barriers — like massive direct and indirect state subsidies and infrastructure — and underlined that tariffs can go back up again, if not to 145%, if a deal isn’t done by 10 August.

Yet trade partners just saw pushing back at the US can work: why rush to sign a deal like the UK’s —which aims to freeze China out of supply chains— to then see the US say it doesn’t want to decouple from Beijing, or only in key sectors? That suggests the White House is going to have to breathe fire at someone to make their point. The candidate who fits that bill best might be the EU –if Japan, South Korea, or Canada don’t get there first– and now the US will be forcing its prescription drug prices down by executive order, with parties like Europe facing higher prices as a result, there are even more issues to clash over. In short, the trade war isn’t over.

At the meta level, we just published a report on neo-mercantilist ideology, which includes both China and Trumpism. Markets are caught between ‘Merch-can-‘til-Lists’, as China cementing itself into supply chains and de-risking from the West remains its grand macro strategy, and acting against it is the US equivalent. Indeed, markets cheering the victory of a non-market economy over a market-driven one, because the latter was mirroring the former, fail to see what’s happening.

The Financial Times reports US Treasury Secretary Bessent secretly met China’s Finance Minister Lan Fo’an in a basement after the IMF meeting three weeks ago: recall laughter at the US claiming to have made contact with China? Apologise if you were one of them.

Oren Cass, also in the FT, underlines liberal neo-mercantilists think the US needs tariffs to push back against state-backed champions supported by illiberal neo-mercantilists: “Perhaps the free-traders are betting on the latter, and would abandon American-style capitalism altogether before allowing so blasphemous a word as “protection” to pass their lips. What they cannot have, in the modern world, no matter how ideal in theory, is free trade and a free market at the same time.” Echoing @izakaminska, he says if the US wins this trade war, we might get free and fair trade in places; and if it loses, we won’t get it anywhere. That markets either don’t see this or don’t care, “because cheap stuff/asset prices” is worth thinking about. A lot.

At the macro level China is accelerating efforts to strip foreign firms from its supply chains. US bookings for Chinese cargo just leaped 35% and firms will surge inventory; but all will be looking for alternative supply to ensure there’s no repeat of the recent de facto embargo. Taiwan’s president just proposed a global “non-Red” supply chain ex-China: but has he looked at his own recently?

In short, a 90-day trade ceasefire is likely to restock/rearm and prepare for round 2: just like the Russia-Ukraine version will be.

On which note, Trump says he may join the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks to be held Thursday in Istanbul…if he’s wanted there more than he is between India and Pakistan, where both sides have claimed victory in their recent military clashes, but the former has clearly set new rules of engagement and things remain tense.

Trump is in Riyadh today. Rumors are he may meet Syria’s ex-Islamist president, whom the US designates a terrorist, and who’s reportedly offering to build a Trump Tower in Damascus – if tall enough, it might be visible from the outer suburbs where government attacks against ethnic minorities are taking place. What other headline-grabbing moves will be made, with what market impact? One thing is for sure: it will be all about geopolitics, realpolitik, and fossil fuels rather than the ‘Liberal World Order’ (LWO) and all things green.

Nearby, the New York Times explains ‘Why Trump Suddenly Declared Victory Over the Houthi Militia’, claiming the Pentagon spent $1bn in 30 days, lost two F-18A fighter jets and seven $30m drones, almost shot down an F-35, and used so many precision munitions it was worrying contingency planners, with CENTCOM’s metric of success being “bombs dropped.” This is an institutional mindset that assumes infinite supply chains and budget deficit and debt limits as if we were still had vintage LWO QE, negative rates, and either total US integration with the Chinese economy or a totally different US economy. The fact we have none of them –and that the US couldn’t defeat the modern equivalent of the Barbary Pirates, whom the infinitely less powerful early 19th-century US could– should worry markets vastly more than it seems to be doing.     

As another indicator of the shift away from the LWO, the UK Labour Party’s PM Starmer yesterday stated mass immigration has failed economically and politically, with declining GDP per capita, lower productivity, and a greater net strain on state finances, while threatening to make Britain “an island of strangers.” This obviously copies rhetoric from the anti-immigration Reform Party now leading the opinion polls. However, the rules and legislation Starmer is proposing will only slow the pace of British net immigration to a still-high level while infuriating left-wing voters, his own MPs, and UK industries from care homes to universities. Meanwhile, counter-terror police are investigating three potential cases of arson linked to Starmer: at his London home, which is let out; another property linked to him; and on in his old car.

Simultaneously, UK pension funds are to unlock up to £50bn of investments, with half reserved for UK firms, under a new “Mansion House accord” with the government. Expect to see a lot more of this “what is GDP *for*?” state leaning on private capital ahead: as our report on neo-mercantilism shows, it’s as much a part of that ideology as tariffs.

There’s less sign of that in the US budget bill emerging from Congress, however, or at least how to pay for it. So far, it seems to be rejecting higher taxes for the wealthy and removing the carried interest loophole “because lobbyists”, while adding no tax on tips and overtime and social security, plus more defense spending, meaning around $1.5 – 2 trillion on top of US fiscal deficits over the next decade.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 11:25

Despite Mainstream Panic, US Consumer Price Inflation Tumbles To Lowest In Over 4 Years

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Despite Mainstream Panic, US Consumer Price Inflation Tumbles To Lowest In Over 4 Years

While today’s CPI will be far less relevant now that the entire macro picture has been reset after this weekend’s trade war truce – which cut tariffs between US and China by 115% for 90 days…

…thus making any pre/post CPI number comparisons meaningless apples to oranges, the machines will certainly be reacting to what Bloomberg prints in the flashing red headline at 8:30am ET.

As we detailed here, higher-than expected inflation data is likely to accelerate the increase in yields spurred by the easing in trade tensions with China. 

As Bloomberg’s Alyce Andres notes, survey data ahead of Tuesday’s April CPI report sends a clear message that firms passed rising tariff-linked costs on to consumers. 

Higher Prices

  • ISM Manufacturing prices expanded to 69.8, the highest since June 2022.

  • ISM Services ticked up to 65.1 in April, the highest since January 2023.

  • S&P Global US Manufacturing firms increased their output prices by the greatest degree since early 2023.

  • S&P Global US Services prices advanced.

  • Richmond Fed manufacturing showed prices received rose to 2.65 from 2.34 in March.

  • New York Fed manufacturing prices received edged up to 28.7 from 22.4 in March.

  • Philadelphia Fed manufacturing report showed prices received gained to 30.7 compared to 29.8 in March.

  • Kansas City Fed manufacturing prices received surged to 29, up from 15 in March.

  • Kansas City Fed non-manufacturing showed selling prices rose in April.

  • Dallas Fed manufacturing outlook report showed prices received for finished goods advanced to 14.9, up from 6.3 in March.

  • Dallas Fed services selling prices rose to 8.4 from 5.2 in the prior month.

  • Chicago PMI showed prices expanded at a faster pace in April.

Lower Prices:

  • New York Fed services report showed prices received declined to 26.0 from 28.7 in March.

  • Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing data reflected a plunge in prices received to -0.1 from 8.4 in in the prior month.

  • Richmond Services prices received nudged down to 3.03 compared to 3.68 in March.

Optically, inflation indicators (hard, not soft survey) have notably deflated in the last month…

Source: Bloomberg

So, what did we get – did the ‘soft’ survey data once again completely decouple from the reality of ‘hard’ actual data?

SHOCKER – Despite the panic from the establishment, headline CPI disappointed, rising 0.2% MoM (below the +0.3% exp), pulling the headline down to +2.3% YoY (below the 2.4% exp) – the lowest since February 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

That’s quite a difference from the Democrat-sponsored surge in UMich inflation expectations (something it appears Democrats were unable to see or fear in 2021/2022 when President Biden was printing trillions in stimmies to save his base from actually working for a living)…

Source: Bloomberg

Under the hood, commodity prices just inched back into inflation (+0.1% YoY) while Services inflation continues to slide…

Source: Bloomberg

Headline CPI 0.2% MoM. Here are the details:

  • The index for shelter rose 0.3 percent in April, accounting for more than half of the all items monthly increase.

  • The energy index also increased over the month, rising 0.7 percent as increases in the natural gas index and the electricity index more than offset a decline in the gasoline index.

  • The index for food, in contrast, fell 0.1 percent in April as the food at home index decreased 0.4 percent and the food away from home index rose 0.4 percent over the month.

But Core Services rose MoM…

Source: Bloomberg

Egg prices – so much in focus during Trump’s first few weeks after Biden’s shitshow – plunged 12.7% MoM… the biggest MoM drop since March 1984…

Source: Bloomberg

Core CPI also rose 0.2% MoM (below the 0.3% exp) leaving it up 2.8% YoY as expected (lowest since April 2021)…

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

Core CPI +0.2% MoM. Indexes that increased over the month include household furnishings and operations, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, education, and personal care. The indexes for airline fares, used cars and trucks, communication, and apparel were among the major indexes that decreased in April. Here are the details:

  • The shelter index increased 0.3 percent over the month.

    • The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.4 percent in April and the index for rent increased 0.3 percent.

    • The lodging away from home index fell 0.1 percent in April.

    • Shelter inflation 0.34% MoM, and 3.99% YoY, unch from a month ago and the lowest since Nov 2021

    • Rent inflation 0.27% MoM, and 3.98% YoY, down from 3.99% in March and the lowest since Jan 2022

  • The index for household furnishings and operations increased 1.0 percent in April, after being unchanged in March.

  • The motor vehicle insurance index rose 0.6 percent in April.

  • The index for education increased 0.1 percent over the month, as did the index for personal care.

  • In contrast, the airline fares index fell 2.8 percent in April, after declining 5.3 percent in March.

  • The index for used cars and trucks fell 0.5 percent over the month, and the indexes for communication and apparel also declined.

  • The new vehicles index and the recreation index were unchanged in April.

  • The medical care index increased 0.5 percent over the month.

  • The index for hospital services increased 0.6 percent in April and the index for physicians’ services rose 0.3 percent over the month.

  • The prescription drugs index rose 0.4 percent in April.

And drilling down even more, the so-called SuperCore CPI (Services Ex Shelter) dropped to +3.01% YoY – the lowest since Dec 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

Recreation Services and Education costs are deflating…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, as Goldman noted ahead of the print, whatever we do learn about tariff-related inflation today lags the rapidly-changing policy reality… so choose the size of the salt crystal to take as you react to the algos initial reaction to this data.

Is the inevitable trajectory of CPI higher given the recent surge in M2…

Source: Bloomberg

Real average weekly earnings rose 1.7% YoY – the best growth in wages since March 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

Brace for an avalanche of this statement repeated ad nauseum all day from establishment economists – “…we’re sure the inflation from tariffs will hit next month…”

The new narrative: “lack of tariff inflation is transitory”

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 11:15

Democrats Attempt To Blockade ICE Detention Center In New Jersey

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Democrats Attempt To Blockade ICE Detention Center In New Jersey

When are Democrats finally going to accept that illegal immigration is not a winning issue for them? 

Their position only becomes more untenable as time passes.  Without federal dollars from agencies like USAID flowing into NGOs and by extension into far-left activist groups, the Democrat response to ICE deportations across the country has been limited.  No substantial mass marches, no big riots, no mobs at the border trying to throw the gates open.  

“Charity” programs designed to make it easier for migrants to enter the US and access welfare subsidies are fading out because there’s no more government cash for these charities to skim.  Once bustling villages on the Mexico side of the southern border are ghost towns.  Border crossings have plunged by 95% since Donald Trump took office.  The Cloward-Piven game is over – Conservatives won.

Democrat Party leaders, however, haven’t received the memo.  With their now limited resources they are attempting to create artificial drama to draw public attention and lure volunteer protesters to their cause.  They can’t keep the borders open anymore, but they can try to stop the deportations of the millions of illegals already in the US.

Progressive political leaders are taking to throwing themselves upon the ramparts of ICE detention facilities to disrupt prisoner transfers.  The situation has escalated after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for trespassing at an ICE center in New Jersey.  Baraka arrived at the facility with a cadre of protesters and Democrat representatives.  He is seen in bodycam in an argument with officers and apparently refusing to leave the area, at least initially.  The details of the arrest are not yet clear, but the establishment media is running with the narrative that this is political persecution on the part of the Trump Administration.

The arrest led to an angry flurry by protesters including at least one Dem representative who seemed to physically attacked officers.  Democratic representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez visited the center known as Delaney Hall on Friday saying they wanted to “inspect” the facility.  Their posture became confrontational when they were apparently denied entry.

Footage circulating on social media better illustrates what ICE officers have been dealing with; leftists have been using sit-down tactics and human chains in an effort to prevent arrested illegals from entering or leaving the federal building.  It’s hard to say how this will stop mass deportations but it does put the spotlight on Dem politicians, which is what they care about the most.

DHS officials have called the actions “a bizarre political stunt”.  Democrats claim they were only there for an oversight visit, but the event was clearly a planned protest.  The Trump administration is now warning that the three congressional reps involved in the incident may also be arrested for assault and interfering with federal agents.

The hysterical fervor of progressives has grown stale and is not being met with the same oppositional apathy as it was during the BLM riots and the pro-Gaza protests.  It’s unlikely that continuing such tactics will bear fruit for them.  The Democrat argument is essentially that illegals must be awarded the same due process as legal citizens; meaning, it takes them two seconds to cross the border but two years or more to deport them.  This is not federal law and it’s certainly not going to get much support from the American public.

The Overton Window on immigration was pushed so far to the left during the Biden Administration that Democrats simply came to assume that mass deportations were impossible.  

And, as usual, when leftists don’t get their way they throw the biggest and loudest tantrum they can.  

Maybe the country will become so embarrassed by their wailing and flailing that it will give them what they want just to shut them up?  

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 10:05

Watch Live: Trump Speaks From Saudi Arabia After Signing Hundreds Of Billions In Joint Deals

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Watch Live: Trump Speaks From Saudi Arabia After Signing Hundreds Of Billions In Joint Deals

Update(1005ET): Trump said to be moments away from speaking live from Riyadh after signing hundreds of billions of dollars in US-Saudi investment deals…

* * *

If there’s one thing that’s clear by now, it’s that Saudi Arabia and the royal family loves President Donald J. Trump.

For example, in an unusual move and break with protocol, it was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) who rushed to greet Trump the moment the president stepped off Air Force One at the Royal Terminal on Tuesday.

Via Al Monitor

The greeting was typically lavish, as Trump was received at the Royal Terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, after which he and MbS walked a lavender carpet and sat down amid marble columns in navy-and-gold armchairs, as the NYT Times detailed.

“Trump lands in Saudi Arabia to a royal welcome from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” Al-Monitor journalist Elizabeth Hagedorn pointed out. “Biden, by contrast, got the governor of Mecca.”

As Air Force One entered the kingdom’s airspace earlier Tuesday, Saudi fighter jets escorted it while approaching the Saudi capital.

And later, “The presidential limousine, nicknamed The Beast, was escorted by riders on Arabian horses as it drove to the royal court,” NYT detailed.

Among the first major events includes Trump speaking at an investment forum hosted by the Saudi government. Accompanying him are Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other top officials.

The investment forum has also seen the Saudi crown prince greet Elon Musk as well as other important tech and silicon valley chief executives, including from BlackRock, Palantir, Nvidia, OpenAI, IMB, CitiBank, and others.

Others eyeing potential investments from the Saudis, include billionaire medical entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of The Los Angeles Times.

The president said before cameras upon the start of bilateral talks, “MBS is a friend, we have a good relationship.”

“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump added.

Via Reuters

Trump is hoping to secure a $1 trillion investment in US industry from the kingdom, significantly over and above the crown prince’s earlier investment pledge of $600bn, upon this first stop in his Gulf tour which will later include Qatar and UAE.

Importantly, the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, was at the airport with MbS for Trump’s grand greeting at the VIP Royal Terminal.

Trump is more of a Diet Coke drinker, (or perhaps there was a remote fear in his mind of being poisoned?)…

President Trump salutes as the Saudis play the American National Anthem…

developing…

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 10:05

Court Order Blocking Trump From Targeting Perkins Coie Is Overreach

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Court Order Blocking Trump From Targeting Perkins Coie Is Overreach

Authored by Kenin Spivak via RealClearPolitics,

Federal District Court Judge Beryl Howell’s injunction prohibiting the implementation of Donald Trump’s executive order restricting the Perkins Coie law firm spoils a righteous core with judicial activism.

On March 6, Trump issued an executive order asserting that “the dishonest and dangerous activity of…Perkins Coie has affected this country for decades. Notably, in 2016 while representing failed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Perkins Coie hired Fusion GPS, which then manufactured a false “dossier” designed to steal an election…. Perkins Coie has worked with activist donors including George Soros to judicially overturn popular, necessary, and democratically enacted election laws….”

The order also accused Perkins Coie of racial discrimination, citing its “publicly announced percentage quotas in 2019 for hiring and promotion on the basis of race and other categories prohibited by civil rights laws.”

The order suspended security clearances for the firm’s lawyers and barred them from federal buildings, prohibited the government from engaging the firm, directed federal contractors to disclose if they use the firm’s services, and referred the firm to be investigated for violating civil rights laws. The order was one of several similar orders issued, or contemplated, against leading law firms.

Howell, an Obama appointee, previously served as chief judge for the District of Columbia, in which capacity she was a strong supporter of Jack Smith’s Trump prosecution. Her 120-page opinion excoriated the administration for disregarding the First Amendment and failing to comply with her orders. She criticized the content and formatting of the Justice Department’s memoranda, averred that the government had no credible evidence of racial discrimination or other wrongdoing by Perkins Coie, and rejected all of its arguments.

Howell is right that the First Amendment and principles of American justice mandate that lawyers be able to deliver candid advice and zealous advocacy to their clients. But, she goes too far by ignoring the compelling case that Perkins Coie conspired with Hillary Clinton and Fusion GPS to improperly influence the 2016 election and destabilize the Trump presidency by developing the fraudulent Steele dossier (which falsely accused Trump of being a Russian agent), and then misleading government investigators about its provenance.

She began her decision by quoting Shakespeare’s admonition to “kill all the lawyers” to make it easier to seize power, and Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote that the legal profession “is the most powerful existing security against the excesses of democracy.” Howell then held that “using the powers of the federal government to target lawyers for their representation of clients and avowed progressive employment policies in an overt attempt to suppress and punish certain viewpoints…, is contrary to the Constitution, which requires that the government respond to dissenting or unpopular speech or ideas with tolerance, not coercion…. Simply put, government officials cannot… use the power of the State to punish or suppress disfavored expression.”

Access to unvarnished legal advice is sacrosanct, but Howell goes off the rails. She never acknowledges that much of Perkins Coie’s wrongdoing had nothing to do with its legal advice, but came in its capacity as a political kingpin. She bewilderingly asserts that using the firm’s admissions of racial discrimination violates its First Amendment rights. Her related attack on the administration’s opposition to diversity programs reveals her motives for this bizarre conclusion.

She never discusses the constitutional infirmities of requiring a client to hire a lawyer in whom they lack trust. Perkins Coie sought to destroy Trump personally and politically. Its beliefs differ from his. That is more than sufficient reason under Article II and the Fifth and Sixth Amendments that the president, who is the executive branch of government, may choose not to work with it.

On the other hand, Trump may not target Perkins Coie because its lawyers provide legal services to litigants whose positions are adverse to his administration, bar the firm from federal buildings, or require federal contractors to disclose their law firms.

The question of whether the security clearances granted to Perkins Coie lawyers may be limited is a close one, given the firm’s fraudulent manipulation of Congress and the FBI. The firm’s defenders are fixated on the fact that the partners who led its fraudulent services have moved on. So what. The firm is organized on a partnership model. Partners still at the firm likely were involved in, and benefited from, the fraud.

When progressives applaud as conservative lawyers like John Eastman are indicted and unconstitutionally subjected to disbarment for giving legal advice to President Trump on the 2020 election, it is difficult to sympathize with a law firm that engaged in a conspiracy to steal an election and topple a sitting president. Nonetheless, in a free society, government officials do not use their power to punish lawyers because of their clients or advice, while also recognizing that being a lawyer is not a free pass to commit fraud or override the constitutional powers of the president.

Kenin M. Spivak is founder and chairman of SMI Group LLC, an international consulting firm and investment bank. He is the author of fiction and non-fiction books and a frequent speaker and contributor to media, including The American Mind, National Review, the National Association of Scholars, television, radio, and podcasts.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 09:50

TikTok Illegally Sent Europeans’ Personal Data To China, EU Regulators Claim

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TikTok Illegally Sent Europeans’ Personal Data To China, EU Regulators Claim

Color us not surprised…

TikTok has been fined €530 million by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) for illegally transferring Europeans’ personal data to China and failing to be transparent with users, according to the Free Beacon and Politico. 

In its first ruling on data transfers to China, the DPC said TikTok failed to properly assess how Chinese surveillance laws could impact the safety of European user data and couldn’t ensure adequate protection once the data was transferred.

This is the third-largest fine ever imposed under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As TikTok’s EU headquarters are in Ireland, the Irish DPC serves as its lead regulator.

During the inquiry, TikTok admitted that Chinese surveillance laws—giving authorities broad powers to demand data access—“materially diverge from EU standards.” Despite previously claiming it did not store European or U.S. user data in China, TikTok informed the DPC in April that it had discovered in February that “limited EEA User Data” had, in fact, been stored there.

Irish DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said the regulator was taking this discovery “very seriously.” Although TikTok claims it has since deleted the data from Chinese servers, Doyle noted the DPC is still considering “what further regulatory action may be warranted.”

Politico says that TikTok now has six months to either bring its data practices into full compliance with EU privacy laws or suspend all data transfers to China. TikTok said it “strongly contest[s]” the DPC’s findings and plans a full appeal.

“Beyond the DPC’s failure to substantively consider the extensive safeguards [already implemented by TikTok], we are disappointed to have been singled out despite relying on the same legal mechanism employed by thousands of other companies providing services in Europe,” said Christine Grahn, TikTok’s head of public policy and government relations for Europe.

Grahn also emphasized that TikTok has “never received a request for European user data from the Chinese authorities, and has never provided European user data to them.”

She warned the ruling “risks setting a precedent with far-reaching consequences for companies and entire industries across Europe that operate on a global scale,” and “delivers a blow to the European Union’s competitiveness.”

TikTok highlighted its €12 billion investment in Project Clover, which includes building data centers in Europe to store data locally and implementing additional privacy safeguards. While the DPC acknowledged this effort, it said it was not enough to change its decision.

The Free Beacon writes that DPC deputy commissioner Graham Doyle said: “TikTok failed to verify, guarantee and demonstrate that the personal data of [European] users, remotely accessed by staff in China, was afforded a level of protection essentially equivalent to that guaranteed within the EU.”

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 09:31

Netanyahu Blasts Media ‘Spin’, Says Trump Ties ‘Excellent’ – Dispatches Hostage Negotiators 

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Netanyahu Blasts Media ‘Spin’, Says Trump Ties ‘Excellent’ – Dispatches Hostage Negotiators 

Via The Cradle

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he has approved a negotiating delegation to travel to Qatar on Tuesday to participate in US-led prisoner exchange talks.

The decision was announced after the embattled premier met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Mike Huckabee earlier in the day and spoke over the phone with US President Donald Trump.

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

“I thanked President Trump for his assistance in the release of IDF soldier Edan Alexander. President Trump, for his part, reiterated his commitment to Israel and his desire to continue close cooperation with me,” Netanyahu wrote on social media.

“In my meeting with Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee, we discussed the last-ditch effort to implement the outline for the release of the hostages presented by Witkoff, before the fighting escalates. To this end, I have instructed that a negotiating delegation be sent to Doha tomorrow,” Netanyahu added.

He also said he had informed his US allies “that negotiations would only take place under fire.”

Netanyahu’s announcement came a few hours after he rejected reports that a rift exists between him and Trump, calling his relationship with the US president “excellent.”

“These spins – most of them are born here [in Israel.] They’re born in a certain media outlet that’s trying to promote a certain candidate. And in order to promote him, they need to say: ‘Trump and Netanyahu are no longer,’” Netanyahu said in a video posted on his X account.

This comes as Israeli-US captive Edan Alexander was released by Hamas on Monday evening. Officials from Washington reportedly informed Tel Aviv that his release will kickstart a new round of prisoner exchange talks.

Alexander’s release reportedly prompted a partial stop in Israeli army operations inside Gaza.

“A significant number of military operations have indeed been halted. There are no airstrikes in Gaza, aside from a few attacks, and no drone reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Army Radio had reported Monday morning.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/13/2025 – 09:10

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