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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 …
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The Atlantic, Raw Story, HuffPost, Associated Press, Baltimore Sun, Forbes, USA Today, RedState, CBS News, Mock Paper Scissors, Axios, The Post Millennial, The Guardian, Fortune, Good Politics/Bad Politics, NOTUS, Chase 🌾 …, E&E News, Wall Street Journal, Althouse, Saywhat Politics and Mourning Dove
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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 …
Discussion:
Vox, AMERICAN HERITAGE and Alternet.org
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White House Budget Office Orders Pause in All Federal Loans and Grants — The full extent of the order was not immediately clear, but the directive sent to government agencies on Monday threatened to paralyze a vast swath of federal programs. — The White House budget office has ordered a pause in grants …
Discussion:
Jill Filipovic, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Independent
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Trump administration orders sweeping freeze of federal aid — In a two-page memo, the Office of Management and Budget ordered all federal agencies to temporarily suspend payments. — One week in, the Trump administration is broadening its assault on the functions of government …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, MeidasTouch News, NBC News, Minnesota Reformer, New Republic, Hollywood Life, Justin's Political Corner and E&E News
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All federal grants and loan disbursement paused by White House — The White House budget office has ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans, according to an internal memorandum sent Monday, potentially impacting trillions in government spending and halting public programs that affect millions of Americans.
Discussion:
The Hill, USA Today, NBC News, Daily Mail, Roll Call, Fox News, Forbes, One America News Network, Bloomberg, Hollywood Life, American Greatness, FOX 13 Tampa Bay, The Guardian, Reason and IJR
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Playbook: Trump's massive power grab — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — Good Tuesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, currently drinking tea and reading up on the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. What a life. — DRIVING THE DAY
Discussion:
The Transom
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Trump's Most Lawless Action Yet — Pausing funds appropriated by Congress is a deliberate taunt to draw a legal challenge that the White House's most radical architects think will give them unilateral spending power. — President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force …
Discussion:
Baltimore Sun and Digby's Hullabaloo
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Trump administration orders federal funding freeze on all public loans, grants and more aid
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
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White House orders freeze on federal aid to focus on Trump's conservative agenda
Discussion:
Daily Mail
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Trump orders pause to all federal grants and loans
Discussion:
The Hill, Scripps News, CBS News, WVEC, Raw Story and Heatmap News
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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:
Axios, New York Times, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Scripps News, Bloomberg, HuffPost, Fox News, The Hill, WXYZ-TV, Townhall, The Guardian, Michigan Advance and The Daily Caller
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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:
Breitbart and Talking Points Memo
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Michigan Sen. Gary Peters will not run for reelection, opening a key Senate seat
Discussion:
USA Today, Fox News, Axios, Politico, The Independent and Associated Press
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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:
Eschaton
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Read the Memo Pausing Federal Grants and Loans — The White House's Office of Management and Budget issued a memo ordering a temporary halt to “all federal financial assistance,” potentially paralyzing a vast swath of federal programs. … See more on: U.S. Politics, Donald Trump
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider and Semafor
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He Did It: Trump Calls for Ending the Federal Income Tax!
Discussion:
Baltimore Sun and Louder With Crowder, more at Techmeme »
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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:
The Guardian and New York Times
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Confirmed: Unions Squandered the Biden Years
Discussion:
New York Times and EWOC
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The Strategy Behind Trump's Policy Blitz — The staff was still setting up dinner on Mar-a-Lago's outdoor patio on a balmy early-January evening when Donald Trump sat down. He was surrounded by several top advisers who would soon join him in the West Wing and who wanted to get his input …
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Trump's Dictatorial Theory of Presidential Power - What the Executive Orders, in the Aggregate, Tell Us — In a flurry of executive orders and proclamations this past week, President Donald Trump took decisive action on a range of significant issues including border enforcement, energy policy …
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Trump Is Ignoring the Law — and Congress Doesn't Care
Discussion:
Fox News, HuffPost and The Guardian
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Trump signs 4 new executive orders, transforming military — President Trump signed a bevy of new executive orders Monday evening that have the potential to significantly transform the Defense Department (DOD). — The new orders prevent transgender people from openly serving in the military …
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Post, BBC, KRQE NEWS 13, CBS News, them., ABC News, Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, The Gateway Pundit, CNBC, Scripps News, PBS NewsHour, New York Post, USA Today, Townhall, MeidasTouch News, The Guardian, IJR and Fox News
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Trump Administration Halts H.I.V. Drug Distribution in Poor Countries — PEPFAR's computer systems also are being taken offline, a sign that the program may not return, as Republican critics had hoped. — The Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries …
Discussion:
New Republic, Raw Story, Advocate, Mediaite, Brown Babe and them.
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House Republicans brace for tough talk on cuts — DORAL, Florida — House Republicans are in for a long day of tough conversations about how to pay for President Donald Trump's massive legislative agenda at their Florida retreat, with various factions already drawing red lines over the package.
Discussion:
Deseret News, Fox News and New York Times
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Congressional Republicans' coming war on poor people
Discussion:
Fox News, Punchbowl News, E&E News and Politico
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Emmer cheers Trump's federal aid freeze
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
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Acosta La Vista — The anchor signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network, Status has learned. … The anchor, I'm told, signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network …
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Tillis Assured Hegseth's Former Sister-in-Law Her Testimony Could Convince GOP Senators to Vote No — North Carolina senator provided pivotal 50th ‘yes’ vote to confirm Hegseth as defense secretary — WASHINGTON—A key witness in the contentious Senate confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Townhall, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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Google says it will change Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ in Maps after government updates … Google said Monday it will change the name of Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” after the government updates its “official government sources.” — The company also said it will start using Mount McKinley …
Discussion:
Quartz, HuffPost, Associated Press, Fortune, Must Read Alaska, Benzinga, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, The Verge and USA Today, more at Techmeme »
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Google Maps says U.S. users will see Trump's new name for Gulf of Mexico
Discussion:
Axios, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Reuters, The Hill, Global News, Deadline, Townhall, IJR, Metro.co.uk, Mashable, The Hollywood Reporter, israelhayom.com, New York Post, TechCrunch and Alternet.org
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Week One inside Trump's DOJ: ‘It feels like a non-violent war’ — Fear reigns among the staff at the beleaguered law-enforcement agency as a new reality sets in. — Career lawyers and staff at the Department of Justice say the rush of changes in the first week of the Trump administration make them feel like they're under siege.
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Trump administration fires DOJ officials who worked on criminal investigations of the president
Discussion:
Civil Discourse …, USA Today, Washington Post, Politico, ABC News, Associated Press, Fox News, WUSA, Mediaite, New Republic, Raw Story, Alternet.org, Bloomberg, CBS News, Reuters, The Independent, Washington Examiner, Lawyers, Guns & Money, One America News Network, NPR, emptywheel, The Daily Signal and CNBC
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Trump Administration Payment Freeze May Delay Money For Critical Preschool Program — Head Start providers logging onto the online funding system this morning found a message warning of delays because of “potentially unallowable grant payments.” — LOADING
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Johnson Joins the Trump Entourage, Shrinking the Role of House Speaker — In positioning himself as a junior partner to the president and doing his bidding on matters large and small, the Louisiana Republican is diminishing a job that involves leading a coequal branch of government.