Top Items:
Chicago Sun Times:
Illinois shut out of Medicaid after Trump administration halts federal grants and loans — The Trump administration's federal freeze has shut Illinois out of Medicaid, according to Gov. JB Pritzker's office. The government-funded health insurance program covered about 3.9 million people …
Discussion:
New Republic, Ars Technica, Semafor, Fortune, Wirepoints and Raw Story
RELATED:
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
White House says Medicaid portal ‘will be back online shortly’ after Trump funding freeze blamed … Medicaid reimbursement portals were down Tuesday in every U.S. state on the heels of a funding freeze ordered by the Trump administration of federal grants and loans, Sen. Ron Wyden said.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, ABC News, Hollywood Life, Mother Jones, Raw Story, WUSA, FOX 32 Chicago, PoliticusUSA, Arizona Mirror, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian and CT Mirror
STAT:
As some Medicaid sites freeze up, White House acts to clarify pause on grants and programs — Payments system appears to be an issue after budget office issued broadly worded memo — WASHINGTON — A memo from the White House budget office indicates that Medicaid payments should not be affected …
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Republican congressman suggests some children receiving free school lunches should work at McDonald's instead — Rep. Rich McCormick said that the freeze on federal aid would allow the government to review all programs including ones that provide free school lunches to low-income children.
Discussion:
New Republic, Alternet.org and Raw Story
Washington Post:
White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion — Trillions of dollars could be on hold, according to an Office of Management and Budget memo. — The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government …
CBS News:
Medicaid, Head Start, health centers say they're locked out of federal funding website — A wide range of organizations and agencies that depend on federal health department funds say they have been locked out of the online system responsible for tracking and depositing their money …
Discussion:
The Guardian, HuffPost, Business Insider, Mock Paper Scissors, Alternet.org and Center For Children …
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
White House Budget Office Orders Pause in All Federal Loans and Grants
White House Budget Office Orders Pause in All Federal Loans and Grants
Discussion:
The Hill, Rolling Stone, Politico, VTDigger, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New Jersey Globe, Bloomberg, The Independent, Jill Filipovic and Fox News
NBC News:
Trump's funding freeze creates widespread confusion
Trump's funding freeze creates widespread confusion
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, USA Today, Missouri Independent, State of California, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, E&E News, Raw Story and Forbes
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
States lose access to Medicaid payment portal amid Trump federal aid freeze
States lose access to Medicaid payment portal amid Trump federal aid freeze
Discussion:
Politico, Quartz, Mediaite, Bloomberg, NewsNation, MeidasTouch News and Hollywood Life
Jack Blanchard / Politico:
Playbook: Trump's massive power grab
Playbook: Trump's massive power grab
Discussion:
The Transom and Raw Story
Chris Megerian / Associated Press:
Legal battle looms as Trump orders a funding freeze during a review of federal loans and grants
Legal battle looms as Trump orders a funding freeze during a review of federal loans and grants
Discussion:
CBS News, HuffPost, Politico, Axios, USA Today, Bloomberg, Roll Call, KSNT 27 News, The Guardian, Truthout, Associated Press, New Jersey Globe, STAT, Deseret News, NPR, Forbes, New Republic, The Independent, FOX 32 Chicago, WKRG News 5, E&E News, The Verge, Pandemic Info, WVEC, Raw Story, Scripps News, Mediaite, Heatmap News and The Root
Washington Post:
Caroline Kennedy warns senators of ‘predator’ RFK Jr. in searing letter — In a letter to lawmakers, the former U.S. ambassador to Australia and cousin of Trump's HHS nominee, questions Robert F. Kennedy's ethics and views on vaccines. — Caroline Kennedy on Tuesday warned senators …
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Caitlin Yilek / CBS News:
Caroline Kennedy calls RFK Jr. a “predator” in letter to senators a day before his confirmation hearings
Caroline Kennedy calls RFK Jr. a “predator” in letter to senators a day before his confirmation hearings
Discussion:
ABC News and New York Post
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Democrats' playbook for Trump 2.0: Tune out the noise and focus on economic issues — As Trump floods the zone in his first week in office, Democrats are departing from their “resistance” strategy in his first term and zeroing in on issues that cost them the last election.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo and Slate
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Laura Kelly / The Hill:
Senate Democrats block GOP's ICC sanctions bill — Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked Republicans from advancing legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court, arguing the bill had sweeping consequences on allies and American businesses. — Republicans failed to get the 60 votes needed …
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Reuters, Semafor, IJR, Jewish Insider and Washington Post
Politico:
Democrats declare ‘constitutional crisis’ on funding freeze
Democrats declare ‘constitutional crisis’ on funding freeze
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Axios, PoliticusUSA and NBC News
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Scoop: Senate Democrats unify against GOP on ICC sanctions
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Democrats to hold ‘emergency’ meeting on Trump's spending freeze
Democrats to hold ‘emergency’ meeting on Trump's spending freeze
Discussion:
The Register, KOIN.com and Iowa Capital Dispatch
Melissa Nann Burke / The Detroit News:
Michigan's Gary Peters won't seek reelection to U.S. Senate. Here's why — Washington ― Gary Peters, Michigan's senior senator and a former congressman, said he won't seek reelection next year and will retire from the U.S. Senate when his second term ends in January 2027.
Discussion:
New York Times, NBC News, RedState, freebeacon.com, The Hill, One America News Network, WXYZ-TV, Washington Examiner, Bridge Michigan, Axios, Raw Story, CBS News, Scripps News, Townhall, HuffPost and The Guardian
RELATED:
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Scoop: Pete Buttigieg taking “serious look” at Michigan Senate race in 2026 … - “Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve,” said a person close to Buttigieg. — “He's honored to be mentioned for this and he's taking a serious look.”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Daily News, New Jersey Online, New York Post, Roll Call and Breitbart
Joey Cappelletti / Associated Press:
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters will not run for reelection, opening a key Senate seat
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters will not run for reelection, opening a key Senate seat
Discussion:
Politico, One America News Network, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Independent, Axios, Bloomberg, Fox News and The Hill
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Live Updates: White House Defends Trump's Funding Freeze as Opponents Rush to Block It — Where Things Stand — Federal aid pause: The White House budget office ordered a pause in grants, loans and other federal financial assistance, a sweeping move it said was necessary to bring …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, Reuters, ABC News, Breitbart, New Jersey Monitor, TMZ.com, The Hill, Fox News, NewsNation and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Trump Ousts Top Labor Board Leaders Who Backed Broader Worker Rights — Jennifer Abruzzo says she was fired by email late on Monday — Donald Trump is forcing out top leaders of the US labor board, ushering in a swift reboot of workplace law enforcement while testing the limits of presidential authority.
Discussion:
How Things Work, Raw Story, Truthout, RedState and New York Times
RELATED:
Emily Peck / Axios:
Trump fires acting Labor Board chair in legally dubious move … - Wilcox was the NLRB's first Black woman board member. … Wilcox had served as acting board chair just for a few days at the end of the Biden administration — and it had been expected she would be replaced and resume her duties as board member.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Competitive Enterprise …, NPR and The Gateway Pundit
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
Trump fires senior labor board official in ‘unprecedented and illegal’ move
Trump fires senior labor board official in ‘unprecedented and illegal’ move
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Clea Caulcutt / Politico:
France floated sending troops to Greenland, foreign minister says — The comments came as Denmark's prime minister travels to Berlin, Paris and Brussels to shore up support from allies. — PARIS — France has discussed with Denmark sending troops to Greenland in response …
Discussion:
HotAir, Raw Story and Breaking Defense
RELATED:
Steve Vladeck / One First:
120. The Impoundment Crisis of 2025 — The Trump administration's Monday spending freeze is likely to provoke a crisis over the constitutionality of “impoundment”—one that the justices could well have to resolve *very* soon. — Welcome back to “One First,” a weekly newsletter that aims …
RELATED:
Zachary Price / Default:
A Primer on the Impoundment Control Act
A Primer on the Impoundment Control Act
Discussion:
HuffPost, Bloomberg and The Nation
Paul Krugman / The Contrarian:
Departing the New York Times — As many people reading this know, last month I retired from my position as an opinion writer at the New York Times—a job I had done for 25 years. Despite the encomiums issued by the Times, it was not a happy departure. If you check out my Substack …
Jennifer Bowers Bahney / Raw Story:
Social media dumbfounded as Jim Acosta quits on air — yet ‘CNN rewards Scott Jennings’ — Social media erupted Tuesday with users shocked and upset with CNN's decision to let anchor Jim Acosta go — while keeping conservative commentator Scott Jennings. — The ruckus started …
RELATED:
Reuters:
Americans sour on some of Trump's early moves, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds — Americans have a dim view of some of President Donald Trump's early barrage of executive orders, including his attempt to do away with so-called birthright citizenship and his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Discussion:
Carolina Journal
Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga / KCUR:
Kansas' tuberculosis outbreak is now the largest in the U.S. since the 1950s — The outbreak started last January. Kansas health officials say numbers are trending downward, but they still expect to find more cases. — A tuberculosis outbreak that started in Wyandotte County, Kansas …
Discussion:
Scripps News, WHDH-TV, WVEC and CBS News
RELATED:
Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
The Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak in U.S. History Is Happening Right Now in Kansas
The Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak in U.S. History Is Happening Right Now in Kansas
Discussion:
The Guardian, CBS News and New Republic
Bipasha Dey / Reuters:
Republican state attorneys pressure Costco to drop diversity policies — Nineteen Republican attorneys general have called on Costco Wholesale (COST.O) to abandon its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, citing concerns about discrimination and legal risks.
Discussion:
Iowa Attorney General, Daily Mail, Bloomberg, Fox Business, Baltimore Sun, New York Post, The Independent, IJR, The Hill, Quartz and CBS News