Six days after bagging an honorary key to the Oval Office, Elon Musk forced every Republican into a loyalty test between himself and President Trump.

• In rapid succession, they're choosing Trump.

Why it matters: Today's nasty MAGA divorce featured Musk going there on every front, from citing Jeffrey Epstein to calling for impeachment and saying he'd decommission the rocket that keeps the International Space Station supplied in orbit.

• But on the budget bill fight that sparked the breakup, the Republicans who were willing to listen to Musk's ideas yesterday have mostly gone quiet.

🎤 "Nobody elected Elon Musk, and a whole lot of people don't even like him, to be honest with you, even on both sides," Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) told us.

• Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) said Musk is "starting to look a little crazy."
• "Every tweet that goes out, people are more lockstep behind President Trump and [Musk is] losing favor," said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.).
• A spokesperson for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

🤑 Between the lines: Republicans have long respected and feared Musk's $420 billion net worth and ability to pour millions into any given GOP primary.

• He has even signaled he supports primary challenges against 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 Musk's money.

🔥 The other side: 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.) said Musk has "the right to say whatever he wants," calling him a "genius" and saying "words, to me, don't matter. It's what he does."

The bottom line: Other critics of Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill" told us Musk is undermining the case by turning to personal attacks.

• "I think it undermines his effectiveness," said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). "I would not have recommended that."
• Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said: "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."

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— Andrew Solender

Republicans know they are playing with fire by making significant changes to Medicaid. Now GOP senators are eyeing Medicare as well, raising the blood pressure for party strategists even higher.

Why it matters: Medicare is part of the third rail of politics.

• But some GOP senators think they can find billions in savings by targeting "waste, fraud and abuse" and get away with it politically, as long as they don't cut benefits for the program's core beneficiaries.
• "Find me an American who thinks we should have waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare," Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mt.) told reporters.
• "Find me a voter that says that's a good idea."

✅ Trump gave GOP senators a green light yesterday to explore ways to save money on Medicare, as Politico first reported.

• "The president is willing to eliminate any waste, fraud and abuse anywhere," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) told us about the White House meeting.

Zoom out: The House-passed bill included hundreds of billions in Medicaid cuts. The CBO estimates those changes would cause at least 11 million Americans to lose their health care coverage.

• A last-minute push from conservatives tried and failed to create even deeper cuts on the Medicaid side, as we previously reported. But moderates successfully blocked the attempt.

Zoom in: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) a staunch Medicaid defender, called potential cuts to Medicare a "terrible idea" and "crazy."

• Privately, top GOP strategists are worried, convinced that they may be handing Democrats an issue on Medicare to help them improve their standing with senior citizens, who have high turnout in midterm elections.

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— Stef Kight, Hans Nichols, Peter Sullivan and Justin Green

Senate Majority Leader John Thune's office is on the cusp of victory in the annual bipartisan Congressional Physical Activity Challenge, sources familiar tell us.

• 🗳 Why it matters: Bragging rights are on the line. But there's controversy in this year's contest.

Zoom in: Thune's team is the most active team on average, which gives them a claim to victory.

• But on overall points, Sen. Cynthia Lummis' (R-Wyo.) team will take the top spot for the third year in a row.
• Or in terms congressional staffers might appreciate: Thune's team won the electoral college; Lummis' squad took the popular vote.

Zoom out: It's not quite the Masters, or the French Open, but every May, aides and lawmakers across the Capitol sneak workouts into their busy schedules to rack up points for their team, as the Washington Examiner reported.

• Teams carefully monitor the leaderboard, where data from their special (loaned) smart watches get uploaded.
• 21 teams — from both chambers and parties — competed this year.
• While the official results have not been released, the contest has ended and teams are able to view their standing in an app.

The intrigue: Sen. Rick Scott's (R-Fla.) office appears to be in close second behind Team Thune in the esteemed "average points" category.

• Some Scott competitors have internally raised the idea of a recount to ensure all their points have been tallied, sources tell us.

What they're saying: "Honored that Team Lummis has once again won most points," Lummis told Axios in a statement. "I'm pleased that so many teams competed and improved their physical health this year."

• "I'm looking forward to seeing which team ultimately claims the 'average points' sub category," she added.

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— Stef Kight and Hans Nichols