memeorandum: Musk's Junta Establishes Him as Head of Government (Garrett M. Graff/Doomsday Scenario)

4:45 PM ET, February 1, 2025

Top Items:

Elon Musk's team has gotten access to the Treasury Department's payments system. — Trump tariffs: The Canadian government has been notified by the United States government that goods exported to the United States will be subject to a 25 percent tariff, with a lower rate for Canadian oil …

John Paul Tasker / CBC News:

Trump launches trade war against Canada with with 25 per cent tariff on most goods — U.S. president slaps 25% tariff on most Canadian goods — Canada braces for threatened U.S. tariffs — President Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada on Saturday by imposing a 25 per cent tariff …

Discussion: UPI, PBS NewsHour, Daily Mail, Global News and Reuters

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:

Canada Poised to Retaliate Against Trump Tariffs, Rethink US Reliance — Freeland, a candidate for PM, calls for tariffs on Tesla cars — Levies will first hit goods easy to substitute, minister says — Canada is set to introduce escalating retaliatory counter-tariffs to try …

Discussion: New York Times, Fortune, Scripps News, Fox Business, The Register, DNyuz, Reuters, Forbes, E&E News and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

The Dumbest Trade War in History — Trump will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for no good reason. — President Trump will fire his first tariff salvo on Saturday against those notorious American adversaries . . . Mexico and Canada. They'll get hit with a 25% border tax, while China, a real adversary, will endure 10%.

Discussion: Mediaite, Cafe Hayek, CBS News, Raw Story, Democrats, Scripps News, ABC News, Breitbart, UPI, BBC, CNBC and Bloomberg

Jason Lalljee / Axios:
Trump tariffs will cost U.S. households $830 a year, study says

Discussion: WTOP News and Washington Examiner

Washington Post:
Trump sketches unprecedented plan for sweeping tariffs

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg, CNN, DNyuz, Fox News and ABC News

Eric Reinhart / New Republic:

The RFK Jr. Op-Ed the Los Angeles Times Didn't Want You to Read — Editors note: As The New Republic reported on Friday, the Los Angeles Times—currently in a race to the bottom with The Washington Post to determine which of the two venerable institutions can sell out to Donald Trump the hardest …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daring Fireball, Techdirt and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:

Ken Martin wins election as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee — The DNC's chair election marks a first step for a party looking to fill a void of leadership after the 2024 election. — Ken Martin, the longtime leader of the state Democratic Party organization in Minnesota …

Discussion: New York Times, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, UPI, Associated Press, Politico, Fox News, The Floridian, Vanity Fair and The Guardian

Katie Glueck / New York Times:

Who Is Ken Martin, the New Leader of the D.N.C.? — Democrats elected a Midwesterner and behind-the-scenes operator to take charge of a party still reeling from defeat. — Ken Martin, the Minnesota Democratic chairman, was elevated on Saturday to lead the Democratic National Committee …

New York Times:
Democrats choose a political operator from Minnesota as their next leader.

Discussion: NOTUS, ABC News, Semafor and Althouse

Elaine Godfrey / The Atlantic: Democrats Wonder Where Their Leaders Are

Brian Stelter / CNN:

Pentagon to swap traditional media with pro-Trump outlets under new rotational program for Defense Department workspace — One America News Network would soon replace NBC News and Breitbart would swap with National Public Radio in coveted Pentagon press corps workspace under a plan shared with journalists Friday night.

Discussion: The Guardian, Twitchy, Instapundit and The Daily Caller

Amanda Terkel / NBC News:
Pentagon removes major media outlets, including NBC News, from dedicated workstations in new ‘rotation program’

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Business Insider, RedState, Reuters, Vanity Fair, DNyuz and One America News Network

Alex Galbraith / Salon:
Defense Dept. evicts NBC, NPR, NYT from Pentagon offices to make way for Breitbart, OANN

Discussion: Mediaite and NPR, more at Mediagazer »

Axios: Behind the Curtain: Purges, punishments, payback

Michelle Cottle / New York Times:

The Truth About Democrats, According to Amy Klobuchar — Let's skip the happy talk: Democrats are in a dark place. It's not merely that Donald Trump has rolled back into Washington with an everything-everywhere-all-at- once approach to grabbing power. The new president is buoyed by eager …

Discussion: Salon

Garrett M. Graff / Doomsday Scenario:

Musk's Junta Establishes Him as Head of Government — Imagining how we'd cover overseas what's happening to the U.S. right now — I've long believed that the American media would be more clear-eyed about the rise and return of Donald Trump if it was happening overseas in a foreign country …

Josh Boak / Associated Press:

Trump fires the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — President Donald Trump has fired the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, in the latest purge of a Biden administration holdover. Chopra was one of the more important regulators …

Discussion: New York Times, The Verge, Washington Examiner, CNN, NPR, RedState, Politico, The Hill, CBS News, Reuters, Bloomberg, Axios, Tennessee Star and The Gateway Pundit, more at Techmeme »

Lois Henry / SJV Water:

Trump's emergency water order responsible for water dump from Tulare County lakes — The sudden announcement Thursday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that Kaweah and Success lakes would immediately begin dumping water was in response to President Trump's Jan. 24 executive order mandating …

Discussion: OutsideTheBeltway, Digby's Hullabaloo and Politico

Los Angeles Times:
Acting on Trump's order, federal officials opened up two California dams

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, DNyuz and Governor of California

New York Times:
Trump Officials Release Water in California That Experts Say Will Serve Little Use

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, SJV Water, Deep Learning State Machine, flightless bird, liar and Just some stuff

Kos / Daily Kos:

Red states love Trump—and mooching off the federal funds he wants to cut — West Virginia is one the nation's most reliably Republican states, as is Louisiana. Voters there overwhelmingly pulled the lever for Donald Trump in 2024, striking a decisive blow against former Vice President Kamala Harris …

Discussion: Breitbart

The United States Senate Committee on Finance:

Wyden Demands Answers Following Report of Musk Personnel Seeking Access to Highly Sensitive U.S. Treasury Payments System — In New Letter to Treasury Secretary Bessent, Wyden Warns That Political Meddling in Treasury Payments Risks Severe Economic Damage, Calls Out Dangerous Conflicts …

Discussion: CNN, Truthout, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, New York Times, Althouse, DNyuz, Mediaite, Salon and Digby's Hullabaloo

Stephanie Nolen / New York Times:

Health Programs Shutter Around the World After Trump Pauses Foreign Aid — Lifesaving treatment and prevention programs for tuberculosis, malaria, H.I.V. and other diseases cannot access funds to continue work. — Lifesaving health initiatives and medical research projects have shut …

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

‘There will be many casualties’: Panama girds for war as Rubio opens talks — On the ground in Panama City ahead of Marco Rubio's first trip as secretary of State. — PANAMA CITY — Marco Rubio's weekend visit to Panama is set to offer clues to a pressing question: whether the next four years …

Discussion: Raw Story, Fox News, Florida Politics, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Blaze Media and Bloomberg

John Hudson / Washington Post:
Rubio embarks on mission impossible: Retake the Panama Canal

Discussion: Raw Story, NPR, Associated Press, Breitbart, The Daily Wire, Scripps News, Reuters and CBS News

Michelle R. Smith / Associated Press:

Pro-RFK Jr. letter to the Senate includes names of doctors whose licenses were revoked or suspended — A letter submitted to the U.S. Senate that states it was sent by physicians in support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services includes the names …

Joseph Goldstein / New York Times:

N.Y. Hospital Stops Treating 2 Children After Trump's Trans Care Order — The hospital canceled their appointments the same week an executive order from President Trump threatened to punish doctors and hospitals for offering gender-affirming care. — A leading New York City hospital system …

Discussion: IJR

Rolling Stone:

Air Traffic Control Offices Are in Chaos in Trump's New Administration — Sources say air traffic control offices have been in a state of Trumpian despair since he took over — and that was before the plane crash near D.C. — Almost as soon as Donald Trump was sworn in late last month …

Discussion: DNyuz, Reason and The Post Millennial

Associated Press:
Air traffic controllers were initially offered buyouts and told to consider leaving government

Discussion: Raw Story, CNN, HuffPost, Hollywood Life and NPR

CBS News:

Trump says he ordered precision military air strikes on ISIS leaders in Somalia — The U.S. military conducted coordinated airstrikes against ISIS operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African nation during President Trump's second term. — Mr. Trump said Saturday in a post …

Discussion: New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, Scripps News, Politico, Bloomberg, Townhall, DNyuz, New York Post, Mediaite, One America News Network, Fox News, Daily Mail, NPR, UPI, Raw Story, Deseret News and WTOP News

CNN:

Elon Musk spent more than $290 million on the 2024 election, year-end FEC filings show — Elon Musk spent a total of more than $290 million on the 2024 election, new federal filings show, boosting President Donald Trump and Republicans in a staggering effort that has helped to secure unprecedented access …

Discussion: The Independent

National Press Club:

National Press Club Statement On Pentagon's Decision to Remove Media Organizations from Workspaces — WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — National Press Club President Mike Balsamo today issued the following statement in response to the Defense Department's decision to revoke dedicated workspace …

Michael Sainato / The Guardian:

Strike averted at Costco as Teamsters reach a tentative deal — Some 18,000 employees across the country were poised to walk out after union negotiations stalled — A strike that would have seen some 18,000 workers at Costco around the US walk off the job at midnight was averted on Saturday …

Discussion: CNN, CBS News, Quartz, Fox Business, UPI, DNyuz, WTTG-TV, NPR, Associated Press, New York Post, Press Telegram and Bloomberg

Filip Timotija / The Hill:

Greene suggests throwing out foreign outlets: ‘American media first’ — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) suggested throwing out foreign news outlets of the White House briefing room as she appears to have taken an issue with a reporter's accent during a press briefing on Friday.

Discussion: Mediaite