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7:15 PM ET, February 2, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover  —  Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.  —  Elon Musk's takeover of federal government infrastructure is ongoing …
RELATED:
CNN:
Senior USAID security officials put on leave after refusing Musk's DOGE access to agency systems  —  Two top security officials at the US Agency for International Development were put on administrative leave Saturday night after refusing to allow officials from Elon Musk's Department …
David McAfee / Raw Story:
‘This is a five-alarm fire’: Experts pounce on Musk's new ‘grave national security threat’  —  It was reported on Sunday that two officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were threatened with arrest and then put on leave after refusing to let Elon Musk access systems at the agency …
ABC News:
Turmoil inside USAID: DOGE reps take over offices, senior officials placed on leave  —  DOGE leader Elon Musk has called USAID a “criminal organization.”  —  Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk arrives for the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington.
Politico:
Musk on USAID: ‘Time for it to die’
Discussion: NBC News and NPR
New York Times:
Top Security Officials at Aid Agency Put on Leave After Denying Access to Musk Team
Discussion: Washington Post and Oregonian
Reuters:
More USAID staff ousted as Trump administration dismantles aid agency
Discussion: CBS News and NBC News
Washington Post:
USAID security officials on leave after refusing access to Musk allies
Discussion: New York Times
Robert B. Hubbell / Today's Edition Newsletter:
The coup rolls on, but we will prevail.
Discussion: DNyuz
Financial Times:
Trump faces backlash from business as tariffs ignite inflation fears  —  Experts warn aggressive trade measures against US allies will hurt consumers and roil supply chains  —  Donald Trump faced a backlash from business groups and some in his own Republican party after kicking off a trade war …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Canada, Mexico Want America to Feel the Pain of Tariffs Too  —  Both countries are planning precision strikes against U.S. exports in response to Trump's unilateral tariffs  —  in Toronto.  —  Canada and Mexico will suffer severe economic blows from the tariffs President Trump announced on Saturday.
Zia Weise / Politico:
Brussels vows ‘firm’ response to threatened Trump tariffs as EU braces for trade war
Bloomberg:
Car Prices Face $3,000 Increase as Tariffs Hit Auto Sector
Discussion: Axios, The Verge, Fox Business and DNyuz
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Trump Tariffs Threaten to Upend Global Economic Order
New York Times:
Top F.B.I. Agent in New York Vows to ‘Dig In’ After Removals at Agency  —  James E. Dennehy, the highly respected leader of the largest and most important field office in the bureau, said in an email to staff that the F.B.I. was in a “battle of our own.”  —  The top agent at the F.B.I.'s …
Discussion: Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Amanda Friedman / Politico:
Sen. Mark Warner warns of ramifications for Trump's FBI and Justice Department firings  —  The Virginia Democrat says the impacts could be “devastating” for cybersecurity and crime investigations.  —  Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said on Sunday that the Trump administration's recent firings …
Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post and CBS News
CBS News:
FBI distributing questionnaire probing agents' work on Jan. 6 Capitol riot cases, sources say
Discussion: Politico
Michelle Myers / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
ICE raided his family's North Philly car wash. Here is Jeffrey Lee's account of what happened.  —  Jeffrey Lee, 35, was en route to his family's business, Complete Autowash Philly, when a call came through his car's speaker.  The caller ID read “Dad” but there was an ICE agent on the other end …
David Bauder / Associated Press:
The power of independent journalism: From her Brooklyn apartment, she ‘scooped’ the nation's media  —  First word of the Trump administration's since-rescinded order to freeze spending on federal loans and grants came not from a major news organization, but from a woman working alone in her Brooklyn apartment.
Timothy Snyder / Thinking about:
The Logic of Destruction  —  What is a country?  The way its people govern themselves.  America exists because its people elect those who make and execute laws.  The assumption of a democracy is that individuals have dignity and rights that they realize and protect by acting together.
Discussion: Scripting News
Samuel Bagenstos / Inside/Outside:
Why Write About the Illegality of What Trump and Musk are Doing?  —  NYU Law professor Noah Rosenblum posted on Bluesky yesterday that “[t]here has never been a larger gap in my (admittedly quite short) professional life between how lay folks and law profs are talking about what is happening in government right now.
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
Laya Neelakandan / CNBC:
Ontario to remove U.S. alcohol from shelves after Trump's tariffs announcement … Ontario will pull all American alcohol from its government-run liquor shelves beginning Tuesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian imports.  —  Outlets of the Liquor Control Board …
RELATED:
CBC News:
Doug Ford announces Ontario ban on American liquor in response to U.S. tariffs
Discussion: Saywhat Politics
NBC News:
Trump is waging war against his own government  —  One federal employee who spoke with NBC News said that the government workforce feels like they're being attacked regularly with “psychological warfare.”  —  WASHINGTON — Less than two weeks into his term, President Donald Trump is waging war …
RELATED:
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Throughout now-president Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, it was clear that his support was coming …
Discussion: The Colorado Sun
Associated Press:
Rubio says Panama must reduce Chinese influence around the canal or face possible US action  —  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio brought a warning to Panamanian leader José Raúl Mulino on Sunday: Immediately reduce what President Donald Trump says is Chinese influence …
RELATED:
United States Department of State:
Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Panamanian President Mulino
The White House:
IMPOSING DUTIES TO ADDRESS THE FLOW OF ILLICIT DRUGS ACROSS OUR NORTHERN BORDER  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)
Discussion: Vanity Fair, Reuters and USA Today
RELATED:
Josh Boak / Associated Press:
Trump says Americans could feel ‘some pain’ from his new tariffs that are triggering a trade war
Yamiche Alcindor / NBC News:
Union official says Education Department employees were placed on leave after taking diversity training during Trump's first term  —  A letter to the affected employees obtained by NBC News said they would continue to receive their full salaries and benefits and would not be required to do any work-related tasks.
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
Don't Believe Him  —  This is an edited transcript of an audio essay on “The Ezra Klein Show.”  You can listen to the conversation by following or subscribing to the show on the NYT Audio App, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech / The Hill:
Confusion over federal funding freeze prompts public health concerns
ABC News:
Trump administration taps controversial conservative journalist for top job
Discussion: Semafor and The Post Millennial
Jared Gans / The Hill:
Paxton weighs Cornyn challenge as Texas GOP rift deepens
KFF:
A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline
Rebecca Solnit / The Guardian:
Fighting for justice doesn't have to be a big dramatic act. It can be small
 Earlier Items: 
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
GOP pollster says Trump voters ‘tired’ of being accused of racism
David Smith / The Guardian:
Wrecking ball: Trump's war on ‘woke’ marks US society's plunge into ‘dark times’
Gary Fineout / Politico:
Florida Republicans just declared war on each other
Discussion: Honolulu Civil Beat
Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Kicks Aside Congress With Sweeping Claims of Presidential Power
Discussion: Washington Post and The Bulwark
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Memo to Elon: Know Your Boss
Discussion: Raw Story