McConnell health update, Musk's political regret, Trump vs. Springsteen | NJ.com Politics Roundup

Mitch McConnell's office says he is continuing to recover 40 days after his hospitalization. In a statement on July 12th, McConnell said he had a fall that left him briefly unconscious and caused a mild case of pneumonia. He said he expects to return to the Senate to finish his term, which ends in early January, but gave no timeline. His office later repeated, the senator continues to improve and we will be sure to keep you updated. In the meantime, nothing to add to what he shared. Elon Musk says he got too involved in politics after his dramatic split from President Donald Trump. In a new interview with The Economist, Musk said he got carried away and acknowledged he may have been in too deep with politics. He said the goal was to address the massive U.S. deficit and defend the central mission of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk also said the team needed a close look at spending to make sure money was used in sensible ways and not wasted. Musk had been designated as a special government employee to run Doge's mission to slash government spending, and he was only permitted to work 130 days or less within a 365-day period. He left his government role in June 2025 after clashing with Trump in a public feud. Doge officially shut down operations on July 6th, about one year after Musk left the government. Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, later joined Trump as part of his delegation to China in May. Donald Trump and GOP leaders are turning up the heat on Senate Majority Leader John Thune as pressure grows over the Save America Act. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said President Donald Trump's patience is running out, while Thune pushed back and said Republicans need to get the votes. The House passed a $95 billion GOP-backed reconciliation package that includes $10 billion for states to implement voter ID laws and proof of citizenship requirements. Thune says he still does not have the votes, and House GOP leaders expect the White House to keep pressing as the Senate heads into the August recess. President Donald Trump again insulted Bruce Springsteen, this time at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. He criticized Springsteen's appearance and said he looks like hell after calling him a longtime foe. Trump also said Springsteen should run for office and mocked a recent show, saying he made four political speeches during his three-hour concert. Springsteen began his latest tour on March 31 in Minneapolis, where he called the Trump administration corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous. Trump later brought up a May 14 interaction at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, while John Landau said Springsteen and Chris Christie were on friendly terms and had been friends for years. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is rejecting predictions of a Democratic blue wave in November's midterm elections. On Fox News, Gingrich reacted to Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, saying that prison is violence. Gingrich called Talarico's comments a moment of mental health, and said they reflect what he described as a broader, big government socialist movement with weird values. Gingrich predicted voters will reject Democrats this fall, despite recent Emerson and Fox News polls showing Democrats leading the generic congressional ballot by 11 and 7 points, respectively.