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5:40 PM ET, January 31, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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
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:
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
Greg Sargent / New Republic:   Trump and Elon Musk Just Pulled Off Another Purge—and It's a Scary One
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:
Washington Post:
FBI considering mass purge of agents involved in Trump investigations  —  Leaders appointed by the Trump administration are identifying potentially hundreds of FBI agents for possible termination, said people familiar with the plan.  —  President Donald Trump's administration has launched …
Discussion: Breitbart, Fox News and CBS News
New York Times:
Trump Administration Plans to Scrutinize F.B.I. Agents for Possible Purge  —  The move to enact the plan comes just one day after Kash Patel, President Trump's pick to lead the F.B.I., testified before Congress that the bureau would not be targeted for political reasons.
NBC News:
Head of FBI Washington Field Office is forced out in Trump administration purge  —  David Sundberg was notified Thursday that he was going to lose his job.  He was head of the Washington Field Office during its involvement in investigations of Donald Trump.
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.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Clues From D.C. Plane Crash Suggest Multiple Failures in Aviation Safety
Jarrett Renshaw / Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump set to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada starting on March 1, sources say  —  U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce new tariffs against Canada and Mexico that will begin on March 1, but will include a process for the countries to seek specific exemptions for certain imports …
RELATED:
New York Times:
The Treasury official who oversees payments resigns suddenly.
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Aides Hunt for 11th-Hour Deal to Dial Back Canada-Mexico Tariffs
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China begin Saturday, White House says
Associated Press:
White House says Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will come Saturday. No word on exemptions
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.
Discussion: WAFB-TV, Gothamist, The 19th and WTOP News
NPR:
Trump administration purges websites across federal health agencies  —  At the direction of the Trump administration, the federal Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies are purging its websites of information and data on a broad array of topics — from adolescent health to LGBTQ+ rights to HIV.
Discussion: Axios and USA Today
RELATED:
NBC News:   CDC site scrubs HIV content following Trump DEI policies
Theresa Gaffney / STAT:
CDC removal of databases on sexual orientation, gender identity sparks alarm
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
Washington Post:
Trump administration seeking access to database of immigrant minors  —  The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is responsible for caring for unaccompanied minors, has long operated independently of ICE.  —  The Trump administration is seeking to grant U.S. immigration officers access …
Brian Stelter / CNN:
CBS staff alarmed by reports of settlement talks with Trump over ‘60 Minutes’ Harris interview  —  Journalists, including some at CBS News, are expressing alarm at reports that CBS parent company Paramount Global is trying to settle a legally dubious lawsuit lodged by President Donald Trump last fall.
RELATED:
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Former ‘Meet the Press’ moderator Chuck Todd exits NBC News after nearly two decades  —  Former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News after nearly 18 years at the network.  —  Todd said in a memo to NBC News colleagues that Friday was his last day.
RELATED:
Jay Stahl / USA Today:
Chuck Todd exiting NBC News after nearly 20 years as Trump starts second term
Melissa Brown / The Tennessean:
Tennessee GOP passes immigration law to criminalize elected officials' votes  —  Tennessee Republicans finalized an immigration bill Thursday establishing a new enforcement office exempt from public records law and criminalizing local officials who support sanctuary policies for immigrants.
RELATED:
The Bulwark:
A Wannabe Authoritarian Hard At Work
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
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
Nandika Chatterjee / The Daily Beast:
Trump Admin Emails Air Traffic Controllers: Quit Your Jobs  —  REALLY?!  —  Federal employees were told they could use their paid time off to explore “dream destinations” before quitting.
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.
Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
We've Now Learned the Three Principles of Trumpism, and They're Ugly … We're nearing the end of week two of Trump 2.0, and several things are already manifestly clear.  First and foremost, that the new Trump administration was more than ready to hit the ground running at noon on January 20.
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 …
Bloomberg:
Trump Spending Freeze Temporarily Blocked by Federal Judge  —  A judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from freezing an array of federal grants and loans, undercutting a White House effort to halt the flow of funds already approved by Congress.  —  The temporary restraining order …
Discussion: Wall Street Journal and CBS News
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
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
Drew Friedman / Federal News Network:
Trump administration directs 70% cut to internal OPM staffing, programs  —  Trump administration officials are taking major steps to cut down the size of the workforce and federal programs at the Office of Personnel Management.  —  During an internal meeting Friday morning …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Michael Levenson / New York Times:
Woman Pardoned in Jan. 6 Case Gets 10-Year Sentence in Drunken-Driving Death
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Trump Media gifts DJT shares to FBI pick Kash Patel, Linda McMahon and president's son
Discussion: Bloomberg, NBC News and Forbes
Lee Soo-Jung / Korea Joongang Daily:
150,000 Koreans in U.S. subject to Trump's deportation order: Report
Discussion: Raw Story
Chris Marquette / Politico:
DEI not to blame in crash, says top Republican overseeing FAA
Discussion: The Atlantic, DNyuz and FOX 32 Chicago
 Earlier Items: 
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
MAGA's revenge of the mediocre: Trump's war on federal workers targets the meritorious
Discussion: Raw Story and NOTUS
Sam Stein / The Bulwark:
Rising Dem: Don't Raise Debt Limit Without Concessions From Trump
Discussion: Axios
Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
The DNC's outgoing chair says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in 2024