diff --git a/tests/e2e/lib/multinode-helpers.sh b/tests/e2e/lib/multinode-helpers.sh
index 0b9e2240e..c6a62583b 100755
--- a/tests/e2e/lib/multinode-helpers.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/lib/multinode-helpers.sh
@@ -4,13 +4,6 @@
 # Provides utilities for managing simulated IPs, starting/stopping node services,
 # and verifying NATS cluster health.
 
-# Suppress urllib3 InsecureRequestWarning from AWS CLI (we use --no-verify-ssl)
-export PYTHONWARNINGS="ignore::urllib3.exceptions.InsecureRequestWarning"
-
-# Helper to filter AWS CLI output (removes Python warnings that break jq)
-aws_json() {
-    "$@" 2>&1 | grep -v "^urllib3\|^InsecureRequestWarning\|certificate verification"
-}
 
 # Network configuration
 SIMULATED_NETWORK="10.11.12"
@@ -163,7 +156,7 @@ wait_for_instance_state() {
 
     while [ $attempt -lt $max_attempts ]; do
         local state
-        state=$(aws_json aws --endpoint-url https://${NODE1_IP}:${AWSGW_PORT} --no-verify-ssl ec2 describe-instances \
+        state=$(aws --endpoint-url https://${NODE1_IP}:${AWSGW_PORT} ec2 describe-instances \
             --instance-ids "$instance_id" \
             --query 'Reservations[0].Instances[0].State.Name' \
             --output text) || {
diff --git a/tests/e2e/run-multinode-e2e.sh b/tests/e2e/run-multinode-e2e.sh
index 54c3401d3..80941590c 100755
--- a/tests/e2e/run-multinode-e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/run-multinode-e2e.sh
@@ -35,13 +35,6 @@ trap cleanup EXIT
 # Use Hive profile for AWS CLI
 export AWS_PROFILE=hive
 
-# Suppress urllib3 InsecureRequestWarning from AWS CLI (we use --no-verify-ssl)
-export PYTHONWARNINGS="ignore::urllib3.exceptions.InsecureRequestWarning"
-
-# Helper to filter AWS CLI output (removes Python warnings that break jq)
-aws_json() {
-    "$@" 2>&1 | grep -v "^urllib3\|^InsecureRequestWarning\|certificate verification"
-}
 
 echo "========================================"
 echo "Multi-Node E2E Test Suite"
@@ -141,13 +134,12 @@ echo ""
 wait_for_gateway "${NODE1_IP}" 30
 
 # Define AWS CLI args pointing to node1's gateway
-# Use --no-verify-ssl because the self-signed cert only has localhost SANs, not node IPs
-AWS_EC2="aws --endpoint-url https://${NODE1_IP}:${AWSGW_PORT} --no-verify-ssl ec2"
+AWS_EC2="aws --endpoint-url https://${NODE1_IP}:${AWSGW_PORT} ec2"
 
 # Verify gateway responds
 echo ""
 echo "Testing gateway connectivity..."
-aws_json $AWS_EC2 describe-regions | jq -e '.Regions | length > 0' || {
+$AWS_EC2 describe-regions | jq -e '.Regions | length > 0' || {
     echo "ERROR: Gateway not responding correctly"
     exit 1
 }
@@ -160,7 +152,7 @@ echo "========================================"
 
 # Discover instance types
 echo "Discovering available instance types..."
-AVAILABLE_TYPES=$(aws_json $AWS_EC2 describe-instance-types --query 'InstanceTypes[*].InstanceType' --output text)
+AVAILABLE_TYPES=$($AWS_EC2 describe-instance-types --query 'InstanceTypes[*].InstanceType' --output text)
 echo "  Available: $AVAILABLE_TYPES"
 
 # Pick nano instance type
@@ -172,14 +164,14 @@ fi
 echo "  Selected: $INSTANCE_TYPE"
 
 # Get architecture
-ARCH=$(aws_json $AWS_EC2 describe-instance-types --instance-types "$INSTANCE_TYPE" \
+ARCH=$($AWS_EC2 describe-instance-types --instance-types "$INSTANCE_TYPE" \
     --query 'InstanceTypes[0].ProcessorInfo.SupportedArchitectures[0]' --output text)
 echo "  Architecture: $ARCH"
 
 # Create test key
 echo ""
 echo "Creating test key pair..."
-KEY_MATERIAL=$(aws_json $AWS_EC2 create-key-pair --key-name multinode-test-key --query 'KeyMaterial' --output text)
+KEY_MATERIAL=$($AWS_EC2 create-key-pair --key-name multinode-test-key --query 'KeyMaterial' --output text)
 echo "$KEY_MATERIAL" > multinode-test-key.pem
 chmod 600 multinode-test-key.pem
 echo "  Key created: multinode-test-key"
@@ -205,7 +197,7 @@ fi
 echo "  AMI ID: $AMI_ID"
 
 # Verify AMI
-aws_json $AWS_EC2 describe-images --image-ids "$AMI_ID" | jq -e ".Images[0] | select(.ImageId==\"$AMI_ID\")" > /dev/null
+$AWS_EC2 describe-images --image-ids "$AMI_ID" | jq -e ".Images[0] | select(.ImageId==\"$AMI_ID\")" > /dev/null
 echo "  AMI verified"
 
 # Phase 5: Multi-Node Instance Tests
@@ -222,7 +214,7 @@ echo "Launching 3 instances to test distribution across nodes..."
 INSTANCE_IDS=()
 for i in 1 2 3; do
     echo "  Launching instance $i..."
-    RUN_OUTPUT=$(aws_json $AWS_EC2 run-instances \
+    RUN_OUTPUT=$($AWS_EC2 run-instances \
         --image-id "$AMI_ID" \
         --instance-type "$INSTANCE_TYPE" \
         --key-name multinode-test-key)
@@ -260,7 +252,7 @@ echo "Test 2: DescribeInstances Aggregation"
 echo "----------------------------------------"
 echo "Verifying all instances are returned via fan-out query..."
 
-DESCRIBE_OUTPUT=$(aws_json $AWS_EC2 describe-instances --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].InstanceId' --output text)
+DESCRIBE_OUTPUT=$($AWS_EC2 describe-instances --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].InstanceId' --output text)
 DESCRIBED_COUNT=$(echo "$DESCRIBE_OUTPUT" | wc -w)
 
 echo "  Launched: ${#INSTANCE_IDS[@]} instances"
@@ -285,12 +277,12 @@ echo "  Test instance: $TEST_INSTANCE"
 
 # Stop instance
 echo "  Stopping instance..."
-aws_json $AWS_EC2 stop-instances --instance-ids "$TEST_INSTANCE" > /dev/null
+$AWS_EC2 stop-instances --instance-ids "$TEST_INSTANCE" > /dev/null
 wait_for_instance_state "$TEST_INSTANCE" "stopped" 30
 
 # Start instance
 echo "  Starting instance..."
-aws_json $AWS_EC2 start-instances --instance-ids "$TEST_INSTANCE" > /dev/null
+$AWS_EC2 start-instances --instance-ids "$TEST_INSTANCE" > /dev/null
 wait_for_instance_state "$TEST_INSTANCE" "running" 30
 
 echo "  Cross-node operations test passed"
@@ -311,7 +303,7 @@ echo "Cleanup: Terminating test instances"
 echo "----------------------------------------"
 for instance_id in "${INSTANCE_IDS[@]}"; do
     echo "  Terminating $instance_id..."
-    aws_json $AWS_EC2 terminate-instances --instance-ids "$instance_id" > /dev/null
+    $AWS_EC2 terminate-instances --instance-ids "$instance_id" > /dev/null
 done
 
 # Wait for termination - track failures