memeorandum: Biden issues preemptive pardons to Milley, Fauci, Jan 6. panel members (Sabrina Rodriguez/Washington Post)

9:30 AM ET, January 20, 2025

Top Items:

Trump to take more than 200 executive actions on day one — EXCLUSIVE: President-elect Trump will sign more than 200 executive actions on Inauguration Day—a massive, first wave of policy priorities focused on border security, energy, reducing the cost of living for American families …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Louder With Crowder, Twitchy, New York Post, Business Insider, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Townhall, The Independent, RedState, ABC News and DNyuz

Seb Starcevic / Politico:

‘Disgrace’: Pope Francis revives feud with Trump just before inauguration — Pope Francis blasted Donald Trump's plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, calling the United States president-elect's proposal a “disgrace.” — “If true, this will be a disgrace …

Discussion: CNN, Reuters, America Magazine, Daily Mail, Variety, Associated Press, New York Post and Washington Examiner

Emily Yoffe / The Free Press:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump's Day One Executive Order on ‘Male and Female’ — The White House strikes out at gender ideology and pronouns. Also: ends housing of biological men in women's prisons; self-ID on passports; and more. — Toward the end of the 2024 presidential campaign …

Discussion: HotAir, USA Today, Sky News Australia, Deseret News, Breitbart, Politico, ABC News, The Information, New York Post and Crooks and Liars

Alex Leary / Wall Street Journal:

Trump to Call for ‘Revolution of Common Sense’ in Inaugural Address — In his speech, excerpts of which were shared with The Wall Street Journal, the incoming president will proclaim a ‘new era of national success’ — WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump will call for a …

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, Daily Mail, The Independent, Fortune and Grabien

Politico:
Playbook: Trump's second coming

Discussion: Drezner's World, Boston Herald and Politico

The Hill:
Trump plans barrage of Day 1 executive actions on border, energy, federal workforce

Discussion: NPR, Associated Press, CNN, DNyuz, NewsNation, Washington Times and USA Today

Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring: Nobody knows what Trump is going to do

Associated Press:
Trump returning to power after unprecedented comeback, emboldened to reshape American institutions

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Bloomberg, New York Times, Reuters, CNN, Baltimore Sun, Quartz, Los Angeles Times, Jewish Insider and Daily Mail

David Propper / New York Post:
Trump to suspend security clearances of 51 intelligence officials who falsely implied Hunter Biden laptop was Russian fake

Discussion: Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Daily Mail and The Post Millennial

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Trump's honeymoon won't last — This is a very bleak moment for the United States and the world.

Discussion: Fox News

Axios:
Day 1: Trump to declare “emergency” in burst of energy orders

Discussion: NBC News, Daily Caller News Foundation and Bloomberg

Politico: Trump is back with a big agenda, a mandate — and an axe to grind

Mike Allen / Axios:
Day 1: Trump to revoke security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials

Discussion: CBS News

New York Times:
Miller tells Republican leaders Trump will strip protections from career civil servants.

Discussion: Scripps News, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
TikTok Engineered Its Shutdown to Get Saved. But Trump's Solution May Fall Short.

Discussion: Fox Business, DNyuz, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, Reason, Rolling Stone and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Trump Aims for Show of Strength as He Returns to Power

Discussion: NBC News, Fox News, RedState and New York Daily News

Washington Post:
Trump's first orders likely to include border, drilling, DEI policies

Discussion: CBS News, NOTUS, Townhall, Twitchy, Breitbart, Political Wire, Kevin Drum, Al Jazeera and Grabien

Business Insider:
TikTok says it is ‘restoring service’ after Trump announces he will issue executive order

Discussion: Fox Business, DNyuz, New York Post, Washington Times, One America News Network, Mercury News, RedState, The Information, TMZ.com, New York Daily News, TechCrunch, Variety and Washington Post

Yascha Mounk / The Boston Globe: Trump is back. But a return of total resistance would be a bad strategy.

Reuters:
Trump holds victory rally in Washington ahead of inauguration

Discussion: Daily Mail, Raw Story, Axios, HuffPost, New York Times, The Guardian, Politico, DNyuz, Washington Post and Forbes

Joshua McElwee / Reuters:
Pope Francis says Trump's immigration raids would be a ‘disgrace’

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Wall Street Journal:
Trump to Sign Executive Orders on Immigration, Energy, Government Hiring

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Biden in Final Hours Pardons Cheney, Fauci and Milley to Thwart Reprisals — Acting on the day he leaves office, President Biden used his executive clemency power to protect people targeted by his incoming successor, Donald J. Trump, who has vowed “retribution.”

Discussion: Townhall, DNyuz and Semafor

Associated Press:

Biden pardons Fauci and Milley in an effort to guard against potential revenge by Trump — President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers …

Sabrina Rodriguez / Washington Post:

Biden issues preemptive pardons to Milley, Fauci, Jan 6. panel members — Biden explained that he was issuing the pardons, not because of any wrongdoing by those included, but to protect them after they had served their country. — President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons Monday …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, DNyuz and Daily Mail

Alexandra Hutzler / ABC News:

Biden preemptively pardons Anthony Fauci, Mark Milley and Jan. 6 committee members — The move comes just hours before Biden cedes power to Donald Trump. — In this Nov. 29, 2021 file photo Anthony Fauci (R), Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases …

Discussion: USA Today and Twitchy

Ella Lee / The Hill: Biden pardons Fauci, Jan. 6 committee ahead of Trump inauguration

Colleen Long / Associated Press:
Biden pardons the late Black nationalist Marcus Garvey as well as 4 others and commutes 2 sentences

Discussion: Breitbart, Word In Black, DNyuz, Washington Examiner, NPR, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, Rolling Stone, Reuters, Must Read Alaska, Fox News, New York Times, Axios, Associated Press and The White House

New York Times:
The One Thing Americans Remember About Biden

Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg and Twitchy

CBS News:

Vivek Ramaswamy expected to depart DOGE — Vivek Ramaswamy, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with entrepreneur Elon Musk, is expected to soon step away from the task force, CBS News has learned.

Discussion: Semafor, Joe.My.God., Business Insider, The Independent, DNyuz, Washington Examiner, Fox News, The Post Millennial, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Politico and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Techmeme »

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:

Elon Musk's DOGE to be sued within minutes of Trump inauguration — The legal status of Musk's government waste panel will be challenged in federal court almost as soon as the president-elect is sworn in.

Discussion: Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
DOGE: Dangerous Oligarchs Grab Everything

Discussion: The Dispatch, Reason and DNyuz

Billy Bambrough / Forbes:

It's ‘Just Begun’—Trump Meme Coin Suddenly Crashes Back As Melania Coin Shock Hits Crypto — Crypto markets have been rocked by the launch of an “official” Donald Trump memecoin this weekend—with traders braced for more mayhem this coming week. — Unlock over $3,000 in NFT, web3 and crypto perks — Apply now!

New York Times:

Trump's Cryptocurrency Surges to Become One of the World's Most Valuable — The new business venture by the Trump family is generating intensifying criticism, even as it has turned into an overnight phenomenon, generating a windfall on paper. — The Trump family's new crypto token surged …

Discussion: Daily Mail, Forbes, Rolling Stone, Quartz, Reuters, Decrypt, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CoinDesk, Associated Press, Kevin Drum, Grabien, Axios, Salon, Washington Times and Fox Business, more at Techmeme »

John Hudson / Washington Post:

Scores of career State Dept. diplomats resign before Trump's inauguration — Trump's team requested the high-level resignations as the president-elect prepares a sharp break with the Biden administration. — Scores of senior career diplomats are resigning from the State Department effective …

Discussion: Twitchy, Joe.My.God. and HuffPost

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Vowed to End the Ukraine War Before Taking Office. The War Rages On. — Donald J. Trump's promise to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours, “before I even become president,” proved to be hyperbole. — After they win elections and move into the White House …

Discussion: Reuters and Politico

Politico:

Eric Adams, in line for a potential pardon, to attend Trump inauguration — The New York City mayor headed to D.C. just days after meeting with Trump in Florida. — NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams left New York City in the middle of the night to head to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump …

Discussion: New York Post

CNN:

TikTok is coming back online after Trump pledged to restore it — New York CNN — TikTok appears to be coming back online just hours after President-elect Donald Trump pledged Sunday that he would sign an executive order Monday that aims to restore the banned app.