memeorandum: Republican state attorneys pressure Costco to drop diversity policies (Bipasha Dey/Reuters)

2:00 PM ET, January 28, 2025

Top Items:

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: Semafor

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 …

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 …

Discussion: Business Insider, Vox, New York Times, Forbes, Off Message, Alternet.org, AMERICAN HERITAGE and Digby's Hullabaloo

Nate Raymond / Reuters:

Non-profits, health groups sue over Trump's freeze on grants, loans — Four groups representing non-profits, public health professionals and small businesses filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging U.S. President Donald Trump administration's sweeping directive to temporarily freeze federal loans, grants and other financial assistance.

Discussion: CNBC, The Guardian, Reuters, Chicago Tribune, Alternet.org, The Verge, Baltimore Sun, WVEC, Raw Story, Hollywood Life and CBS News

Politico:

Democrats declare ‘constitutional crisis’ on funding freeze — Senate Democrats vowed to fight a White House freeze on federal financial assistance, calling for a delay in the confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominee for White House budget chief, threatening potential court actions …

Discussion: The Hill, PoliticusUSA, Scripps News, The Guardian and NBC News

Jennifer Hansler / CNN:

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.

Chris Cameron / New York Times:

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: New Jersey Globe, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bloomberg, The Independent and Jill Filipovic

Jack Blanchard / Politico:
Playbook: Trump's massive power grab

Discussion: The Nation and The Transom

David Dayen / American Prospect:
Trump's Most Lawless Action Yet

Discussion: HuffPost and Digby's Hullabaloo

New York Times:
States Plan to Sue to Block Trump's Federal Grants Freeze

Discussion: The Hill, Chalkbeat and New Jersey Online

Politico:
Trump administration orders sweeping freeze of federal aid

Discussion: Missouri Independent, Rolling Stone, Talking Points Memo, MeidasTouch News, New Republic, Justin's Political Corner and E&E News

CBS News:
Trump administration orders federal funding freeze on all public loans, grants and more aid

Discussion: Associated Press, MeidasTouch News, The Root, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and Daily Mail

Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket: Breaking: The Handbasket is first to report catastrophic OMB funding memo

David Super / Balkinization:
Unlawful Funding Freeze Sows Chaos

Discussion: Roll Call

Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:
Trump administration targets thousands of programs in funding freeze

Discussion: Bloomberg, NBC News and Daily Mail

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: USA Today, New York Post, New York Times and The Independent

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: NBC News, New York Times, The Hill, freebeacon.com, Axios, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Scripps News, Fox News, HuffPost, WXYZ-TV, Bridge Michigan, Townhall, Politico, The Guardian, Alternet.org and The Daily Caller

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: New Jersey Online, New York Post, Roll Call, Breitbart and Talking Points Memo

Joey Cappelletti / Associated Press:
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters will not run for reelection, opening a key Senate seat

Discussion: Politico, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Bloomberg, Fox News, Axios, The Hill, The Independent and Associated Press

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: The Guardian, Raw Story and New York Times

Daniel Wiessner / Reuters:
Trump fires US labor board member, hobbling agency amid legal battles

Discussion: Axios, HuffPost, RedState and Breitbart

Hamilton Nolan / How Things Work:
Confirmed: Unions Squandered the Biden Years

Discussion: New York Times and EWOC

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: Slate and Eschaton

Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:

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 …

Adam Cox / Just Security: Trump's Dictatorial Theory of Presidential Power - What the Executive Orders, in the Aggregate, Tell Us

Ankush Khardori / Politico:
Trump Is Ignoring the Law — and Congress Doesn't Care

Discussion: USA Today, Fox News, The Guardian and HuffPost

Washington Post:

Trump's perceived enemies brace for retribution with plans, dark humor — Officials and others across the country who incited the president's ire say they are preparing for him to make good on pledges to settle scores now that he's back in office. — Sitting in front of a fireplace on New Year's Eve …

Discussion: Raw Story and E&E News

Edward Luce / Financial Times: Trump and the Dr Strangelove experiment

Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Emmer cheers Trump's federal aid freeze

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

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.

Tierney Sneed / CNN:

Lawsuit alleges new Trump administration email system for federal employees raises privacy concerns — A lawsuit brought by two federal employees alleges that the Trump administration has set up an email distribution system for the entire federal workforce that raises security concerns for workers' private data.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and FedScoop

Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Trump Hit With New Lawsuit for Funneling Sensitive Info to Elon Musk

Discussion: Nextgov/FCW

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Kristi Noem calls human beings ‘dirtbags’ as she cosplays as ICE agent in New York City — Kristi Noem began her tenure as Department of Homeland Security secretary by dressing up as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent and calling human beings “dirt bags.”

Discussion: Breitbart and New York Post

ABC News:
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins immigration enforcement operations in NYC

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Bloomberg, Fox News, Shore News Network, New Republic, RedState, VINnews, The Independent, The Post Millennial, IJR and Daily Mail

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: New Republic, Bloomberg, Iowa Attorney General, The Hill, Baltimore Sun, The Independent, New York Post, Quartz, CBS News, IJR, Twitchy and Fox News

Oliver Darcy / Status:

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 …

Lindsay Wise / Wall Street Journal:

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: Vanity Fair, The Bulwark, Townhall, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

G. Elliott Morris / ABC News:

Once again, Trump starts a term with a weak approval rating — Most modern presidents were more popular at the start of their terms. — 33:45 — Donald Trump starts his term with a positive net approval rating. — Today, 538 is unveiling a new polling average for President Donald Trump's job approval rating.

Carmen Paun / Politico:

Trump's beef with the World Health Organization is personal — He's said the UN body's head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, treated China better than him during the pandemic. — President Donald Trump's decision to end U.S. membership in the World Health Organization revives a five-year-old grudge with the WHO's leader.

Discussion: Breitbart

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:

The MAGA terror has begun — Their leader is glorifying political violence and weaponizing the threat of it. — ⛓️‍💥 ✍️ ⚖️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent media is more important right now than ever.

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

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.

Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:

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

The White House:

Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, and to ensure the readiness and effectiveness of our Armed Forces, it is hereby ordered: