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4:15 PM ET, January 31, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
Senior U.S. official to exit after rift with Musk allies over payment system  —  A top Treasury career staffer is expected to depart.  Surrogates of Musk's DOGE effort had sought access to sensitive payment systems.  —  The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department …
RELATED:
Tim Reid / Reuters:
Exclusive: Musk aides lock government workers out of computer systems at US agency, sources say  —  Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees …
Discussion: NBC News and Rolling Stone
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Elon Musk Is Trying to Get Control of Key Payment System—at Any Cost  —  A top-ranking official in the U.S. Department of the Treasury is resigning after a fight with Elon Musk over a sensitive payment system.  —  The Washington Post reports that David Lebryk, who has worked in the department …
Discussion: Bloomberg, The Mahablog and alicublog
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China begin Saturday, White House says … In an apparent ending to weeks of intense speculation, the White House confirmed Friday that President Donald Trump will be leveling aggressive tariffs this weekend on major U.S. trading partners.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Aides Hunt for 11th-Hour Deal to Dial Back Canada-Mexico Tariffs
Associated Press:
White House says Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will come Saturday. No word on exemptions
New York Times:   The Treasury official who oversees payments resigns suddenly.
Reuters:
North America braces for new Trump tariffs as Saturday deadline nears
New York Times:
Paramount in Settlement Talks With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit  —  A settlement, if reached, would be an extraordinary concession by a major U.S. media company to a sitting president.  —  When Donald J. Trump sued CBS for $10 billion days before the 2024 election, accusing the company …
RELATED:
The Bulwark:
A Wannabe Authoritarian Hard At Work
RELATED:
Joseph Shapiro / NPR:
People with intellectual disabilities do lots of jobs — but they don't direct air traffic
Axios:
What the data says about Trump's DEI air crash claims
Associated Press:
New York doctor indicted for prescribing abortion pill in Louisiana  —  A New York doctor was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury on Friday for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill online in the Deep South state, which has one of the strictest near-total abortion bans in the country.
CNN:
FBI agents who worked on January 6 and Trump investigations are expected to be fired Friday  —  The Trump administration is set to expand a purge of career law enforcement officials, with dozens of FBI agents who worked on January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and Trump-related investigations …
RELATED:
NBC News:
Head of FBI Washington Field Office is forced out in Trump administration purge
ABC News:
Federal employees told to remove pronouns from email signatures by end of day  —  The mandate is the latest effort in the Trump administration's push to end DEI.  —  President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.
Sam Stein / The Bulwark:
Rising Dem: Don't Raise Debt Limit Without Concessions From Trump  —  Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) joins Sam Stein to discuss Trump's first 10 days, including the chaos around federal funding, mass deportation orders, the possibility he may run for governor, and how the Democratic Party can find success in the age of Trump.
RELATED:
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Scoop: Sanders probing Trump's purge of labor officials
Discussion: Twitchy
CNN:
EPA workers receive emails warning their employment could be terminated  —  More than 1,100 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency received notice this week that they were deemed to be on probationary status and warning they could be fired immediately, according to an email obtained by CNN.
Discussion: Just Security, Townhall and GovExec.com
Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:
Career prosecutors withdraw from federal criminal investigation of GOP Congressman Andy Ogles  —  Local prosecutors are not commenting, but move may signal plans to drop investigation of one of President Trump's Republican allies  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Federal prosecutors based …
Discussion: Raw Story
John Ganz / Unpopular Front:
Groyperfication  —  I'm working on something long-ish on the “vibe shift” discourse that I'm hoping will come in lieu of the Sunday Reading, Watching supplement.  But I just wanted to quickly remark again on what I think is an underreported key to understanding contemporary politics …
David Corn / Mother Jones:
SCOOP: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Admits Settlement for “Misconduct” Accusation  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has admitted to the US Senate that he has reached at least one settlement agreement in which he was accused of misconduct or inappropriate behavior.  —  After the Senate Finance Committee …
Discussion: Mediaite and New Republic
ProPublica:
“People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid.  That's Not True.  —  Organizations that provide vital care for desperate and vulnerable people around the world have been forced to halt operations, turn away patients and lay off staff.
RELATED:
Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blocks Jan. 6 rioters from state jobs after Trump pardons  —  In a written directive, the Democratic Illinois governor tells his hiring office that “no one who attempts to overthrow a government should serve in government.”  —  Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is blocking …
Politico:
USDA ordered to scrub climate change from websites  —  The directive could affect information across dozens of programs including climate-smart agriculture initiatives.  —  Agriculture Department employees have been ordered to delete landing pages discussing climate change across agency websites …
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Twitchy
Slate:
The D.C. Air Disaster Is a Flashing Warning Sign About DOGE  —  From the moment he returned to the White House, Donald Trump launched a full-scale assault on the federal workforce.  The president has fired or demoted an unprecedented number of senior officials and civil servants.
Discussion: The Verge
Lois Henry / SJV Water:
Decision to dump water from Tulare County lakes altered after sending locals into a mad scramble  —  Water managers were relieved Thursday evening after the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to back off of a sudden decision earlier in the day to dump massive amounts of water from Kaweah and Success lakes.
Discussion: Los Angeles Times
Jay Stahl / USA Today:
Chuck Todd exiting NBC News after nearly 20 years as Trump starts second term  —  Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News.  —  The NBC chief political analyst and former “Meet The Press” moderator announced the news in a memo shared with staff Friday.  The exit comes amid broad shifts …
James Romoser / Politico:
How Trump Could Snatch a Third Term — Despite the 22nd Amendment  —  Four ways Trump could stay in power beyond 2028.  —  Less than two weeks have passed since the last presidential inauguration, but try to imagine the next one.  —  It's Jan. 20, 2029.  The nation has weathered another tumultuous four years under Donald Trump.
Discussion: Raw Story
John Hudson / Washington Post:
A career official tried to undo Trump's purge at USAID.  He was then purged, too.  —  The dramatic purge and counter-purge played out in emails obtained by The Washington Post, as Trump's pause on aid upends humanitarian work around the world.  —  The Trump administration's purge of dozens …
Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
The DNC's outgoing chair says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in 2024  —  As the Democratic National Committee prepares to elect a new chair, its departing leader says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in the 2024 race.  In an interview with The Associated Press …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Rachel Frazin / The Hill:
Zeldin: Anyone who isn't ‘committed to’ Trump's directives shouldn't be at EPA
Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
We've Now Learned the Three Principles of Trumpism, and They're Ugly
Annie Massa / Bloomberg:
Trump Media Gives Stock Awards to Two of President's Nominees
Discussion: CNBC
ProPublica:
ICE Enforcement Official Tapped to Lead Unaccompanied Migrant Children Office, Triggering Alarms
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
MAGA's revenge of the mediocre: Trump's war on federal workers targets the meritorious
Discussion: Raw Story and NOTUS
 Earlier Items: 
Harold Hutchison / The Daily Caller:
'That's Good': MSNBC Host Applauds DNC Chair Candidates Blaming ‘Racism And Misogyny’ For Kamala's 2024 Loss
Washington Monthly:
Trump Is About to Step on Putin's Trap
Washington Post:
Records undercut Tulsi Gabbard's claim of ignorance on cleric's views
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: the Academy has talked informally with Netflix and others about airing the Oscars in future years; its exclusive negotiating window with Disney lapsed

Marc Tracy / New York Times:
No Other Land, about Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes, won Best Documentary at the 2025 Oscars, a rebuke after no distributor picked it up in the US

Ben Mankiewicz / CBS News:
Interviews with Ted Sarandos, Sony's Tom Rothman, and Nancy Meyers on how movies have changed in the era of streaming

 
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