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, Raw Story and Wirepoints
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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:
NBC News, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, ABC News, Daily Mail, Futurism, The Mahablog, Alternet.org, Hollywood Life, Daily Kos, FOX 32 Chicago, NewsNation, Chicago Tribune and Arizona Mirror
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:
CNN, USA Today, New Republic and Raw Story
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Los Angeles Times
CBS News:
Medicaid, Head Start, health centers say they're locked out of federal funding website
Medicaid, Head Start, health centers say they're locked out of federal funding website
Discussion:
The Guardian, HuffPost, Mock Paper Scissors, Alternet.org, Quartz and Center For Children …
Sarah Kliff / New York Times:
Medicaid System That Provides Funding to States Stops Working, Officials Say
Medicaid System That Provides Funding to States Stops Working, Officials Say
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:
HuffPost, KELOLAND.com, Baltimore Sun and Mediaite
Axios:
Scoop: Trump offering buyouts to all federal workers, source says … We're five years past COVID and just 6 percent of federal employees work full-time in office. That is unacceptable," a senior administration official tells Axios.
Discussion:
The Hill
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NBC News:
Trump administration will offer all 2 million federal workers a buyout to resign — An email is set to go out to federal workers beginning Tuesday. — President Donald Trump's administration is set to offer every single federal worker the chance to take a “deferred resignation” …
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:
Associated Press, Washington Post, Axios, Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Breitbart, ABC News, New Jersey Monitor, TMZ.com, Fox News and The Gateway Pundit
Damian Paletta / Wall Street Journal:
White House Budget Freeze Tried to Flip Script on Busted Budget Process
White House Budget Freeze Tried to Flip Script on Busted Budget Process
Discussion:
ABC News
Daniel Barnes / NBC News:
D.C. federal judge temporarily blocks Trump plan to pause federal aid spending — The order from Judge Loren AliKhan runs through next Monday, when further arguments in the case are scheduled. — Trump administration freezes nearly all federal grants and loans
Discussion:
The Hill, Fox News, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, WVEC, that diabolical feminist and Bloomberg
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Chris Megerian / Associated Press:
Legal battle looms as Trump orders a funding freeze during a review of federal loans and grants — The White House is pausing federal grants and loans starting Tuesday as President Donald Trump's administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending …
Discussion:
St. Louis Business Journal, Business Insider, CBS News, Pluribus News, Reuters, New York Times, Roll Call, HuffPost, The Hill, Politico, Daily Mail, Axios, WHDH-TV, Time, USA Today, Minnesota Reformer, Houston Landing, Truthout, New Jersey Globe, Baltimore Sun, STAT, Deseret News, KSNT-TV, Washington Examiner, ABC27, HotAir, The Guardian, Mother Jones, New Republic, Bloomberg, WKRG-TV, Forbes, Pandemic Info, The Post Millennial, Hollywood Life, WVEC, Raw Story, E&E News, Mediaite, American Greatness, The Forward, Heatmap News, FOX 32 Chicago and The Independent
Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
Trump's funding freezing temporarily halted by federal judge
Trump's funding freezing temporarily halted by federal judge
Discussion:
ABC News, Associated Press, New York Post and VINnews
Nate Raymond / Reuters:
Non-profits, health groups sue over Trump's freeze on grants, loans
Non-profits, health groups sue over Trump's freeze on grants, loans
Discussion:
The Hill, HuffPost, Fox News, Business Insider, The Guardian, RedState, WUSA, Idaho Capital Sun, New Republic, Reuters, Ohio Capital Journal and Raw Story
Zoe Tillman / Bloomberg:
Trump's Freeze on Grant Funding Temporarily Halted by Judge
Trump's Freeze on Grant Funding Temporarily Halted by Judge
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Times, Missouri Independent, Roll Call, Fox Business and E&E News
Politico:
Judge blocks Trump's spending freeze
Judge blocks Trump's spending freeze
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, USA Today, CNBC, Daily Mail, New York Post, NC Newsline and WUSA
Steve Karnowksi / Associated Press:
Live updates: Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump's federal funding freeze
Live updates: Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump's federal funding freeze
Discussion:
Associated Press, Deseret News, NBC News, New Jersey Online, NewsNation, Raw Story and The Hill
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 …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, New York Post, Mother Jones, HuffPost, STAT, New York Daily News, Alternet.org, ABC News, Forbes and The Independent
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Washington Post:
Trump moves to fire members of EEOC, NLRB boards, breaking with precedent — The dismissals target two independent agencies that oversee large swaths of U.S. workers, employers and labor unions. — President Donald Trump has moved to fire Democratic members of two independent federal commissions …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and RedState
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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, Washington Examiner and Truthout
Emily Peck / Axios:
Trump fires acting Labor Board chair in legally dubious move
Trump fires acting Labor Board chair in legally dubious move
Discussion:
American Prospect, Washington Examiner, Reuters, NBC News, RedState and NPR
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:
Competitive Enterprise …
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
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:
Associated Press, New York Times, NBC News, RedState, Axios, WXYZ-TV, USA Today, One America News Network, Washington Examiner, Bridge Michigan, Raw Story, CBS News, Scripps News and The Hill
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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.”
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 …
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Ilya Somin / Reason:
Trump's Attempt to Usurp Congress's Spending Power
Trump's Attempt to Usurp Congress's Spending Power
Discussion:
Robert Reich, Raw Story, HuffPost, AMERICAN HERITAGE, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bloomberg and New York Times
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
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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 …
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, more at Mediagazer »
Dave Lawler / Axios:
White House on mysterious drone swarms: “This was not the enemy” … - “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were approved by the FAA for research and various other reasons. … - More “mysterious” drone sightings had been reported just this week …
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Brad Dress / The Hill:
Trump says drones over New Jersey were ‘not the enemy’
Trump says drones over New Jersey were ‘not the enemy’
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico, USA Today, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Metro.co.uk, CBS News, Breitbart, WHDH-TV, Newsweek, One America News Network, WUSA, RedState, The Guardian, ABC News, Twitchy, Raw Story, VINnews and Shore News Network
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:
Mother Jones, Slate and Digby's Hullabaloo
Emily Davies / Washington Post:
White House emails federal workforce offering easy way to quit — The email is the most sweeping effort yet by the new Trump administration to shrink the ranks of government employees. — The White House's Office of Personnel Management sent an email blast Tuesday to civilian government employees offering …
Discussion:
The Hill and Nextgov/FCW
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Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Trump Hit With New Lawsuit for Funneling Sensitive Info to Elon Musk
Trump Hit With New Lawsuit for Funneling Sensitive Info to Elon Musk
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Mail and Washington Examiner
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, Jewish Insider, The Daily Caller and IJR
RELATED:
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Scoop: Senate Democrats unify against GOP on ICC sanctions
Scoop: Senate Democrats unify against GOP on ICC sanctions
Discussion:
NOTUS
Fox News:
Pentagon pulling Gen. Milley's security detail and clearance ‘immediately,’ may face demotion in retirement — EXCLUSIVE: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will announce he is “immediately pulling” retired Gen. Mark Milley's personal security detail and security clearance, multiple senior administration officials tell Fox News.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Colby Smith / New York Times:
The Fed Is About to Hit Pause on Rate Cuts. Here's Why. — Faced with a solid economy and mounting inflation concerns, the U.S. central bank has said it will “move cautiously” on cutting interest rates. — At the Federal Reserve's final gathering of 2024, Chair Jerome H. Powell announced …
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