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Democratic Senator Says He Will Stall Trump Nominees Until USAID Is Back — Schatz said he would hold up Trump's diplomatic confirmations — WASHINGTON—Sen. Brian Schatz (D., Hawaii) said he would place a “blanket hold” on all of President Trump's State Department nominees until …
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Inside Musk's Aggressive Incursion Into the Federal Government — The billionaire is creating major upheaval as his team sweeps through agencies, in what has been an extraordinary flexing of power by a private individual. — The billionaire is creating major upheaval as his team sweeps through agencies …
Discussion:
Reuters, Chicago Tribune, E&E News and The Daily Wire, more at Techmeme »


Democrats push back after Musk says Trump agrees to close USAID and workers are kept out — The Trump administration and billionaire ally Elon Musk moved to shutter an agency that provides crucial aid to fund education and fight starvation overseas, sparking a showdown with congressional Democrats …
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The Daily Beast, BBC, American Prospect, New York Magazine, NBC News, Reuters, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNN, ABC News, Politico, Associated Press, Bloomberg, New York Times, Daily Mail, WUSA, Slate, Fox Business, RedState, Mediaite, The Daily Wire, Common Dreams, Forbes, WSVN-TV, Crooks and Liars, WNYW-TV, Breitbart, The Independent, DNyuz, WTOP News, Daily Kos, The Daily Sceptic, The Post Millennial, New Republic, NOTUS, Semafor, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post and PinkNews, more at Techmeme »


USAID workers at Washington HQ told to stay home on Monday in unexpected, early-morning email — The main office of the US Agency for International Development in Washington was unexpectedly closed Monday and workers were emailed shortly after midnight that they should not come in …


Trump administration moves to further undercut USAID — Statements by Trump and Rubio show the administration is continuing its efforts to sideline the development aid agency's autonomy. — The Trump administration took a variety of steps Monday to further its campaign against the U.S. Agency …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Bloomberg, CNN, HotAir, Sun-Sentinel, CBS News, Al Jazeera, Blaze Media, Washington Examiner, MeidasTouch News, Scripps News, Hollywood Life, DNyuz, MPR News, The Gateway Pundit and The National Pulse


Musk's superteam of former iPad babies — Read to the end for Plimbo … Many other government websites faced outages throughout the weekend as they scrambled to figure out exactly how to comply with the instructions being sent out by the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM).


Warren Questions Bessent Over Musk Access to Treasury Payment System — In a letter to the Treasury secretary, the Democratic senator warned against meddling with a system that processes trillions of dollars of transactions. — Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent a letter …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, USA Today, American Crisis, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Marketplace, Bloomberg, Esquire, The Verge, The Lens, MeidasTouch News, Robert Reich, The Independent and Fortune

Hakeem Jeffries wants funding freeze ‘choked off’ in spending deal
Discussion:
Democratic Leader …, Axios, Associated Press and Digby's Hullabaloo

Elon Musk Suggests Getting Rid Of All Regulations In Midnight Call
Discussion:
Fortune, The Daily Wire, The Information and USA Today

Elon Musk is serving as a ‘special government employee,’ White House says
Discussion:
Rolling Stone and Forbes

Congressional Democrats denied entry to USAID building
Discussion:
ABC News, NPR and Baltimore Sun

Behind DOGE's Standoff at USAID: Desk Searches and Elon Musk Calling
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Wall Street Journal, CBS News, The Post Millennial, New York Post, Mashable, The Daily Wire, Baltimore Sun, Associated Press and Axios

‘Fork off’: Protesters gather outside OPM to condemn Elon Musk ‘stealing’ personal data
Discussion:
Raw Story, Blaze Media and GovExec.com


Trump to pause promised tariffs for 30 days after speaking with Trudeau — Trump, Trudeau spoke last hour for the second time today — Trump, Trudeau have 2nd phone call as tariff deadline nears — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump will hold off …
Discussion:
Reuters, USA Today, Detroit Free Press, New York Post, DNyuz, Breitbart and Daily Mail
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Live Updates: Mexico Reaches Deal With U.S. to Delay Trump Tariffs — President Trump said he would pause tariffs on Mexico for a month, but levies on Canada and China were still set to take effect on Tuesday. U.S. shares fell at the opening bell, following drops in Asian and European markets, amid fears of a trade war.
Discussion:
NPR, Washington Post, New York Daily News, American Enterprise Institute, Global News, HotAir, WTOP News, Slate, Jacobin, The Contrarian and freebeacon.com


White House: Mexico is ‘serious’, Canada appears to have ‘misunderstood’ Trump's executive order
Discussion:
The Economist, Ars Technica, Metro.co.uk, Digby's Hullabaloo, Retail Dive, The Free Press, Axios and New York Daily News

The oracle of Biden's inflation woes has a warning for Trump
Discussion:
Fortune, Business Insider, Fox News, Raw Story and New Republic

Trump backs off tariff threat with Mexico, digs in on Canada
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Washington Post, Associated Press, Bloomberg, New York Post, CNN, Breitbart, 6abc, The Gateway Pundit, PoliticusUSA, DNyuz, Tennessee Star, CNBC, The Daily Signal, American Enterprise Institute, The National Pulse, The Daily Wire, Raw Story, The Guardian, The Independent, Blaze Media, Los Angeles Times, Texas Standard, American Greatness, Al Jazeera, Boston Herald, The Post Millennial and CBS News

Trump's Border Deals With Canada, Mexico Avert Trade War for Now
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Fox News, New York Times, Daily Mail, Twitchy, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, New Republic, One America News Network, NBC News and Washington Examiner

Trump backs off tariff threat with Canada and Mexico
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CNBC, Fox News, Business Insider, NBC News, The Guardian, NPR, Politico, Global News, Al Jazeera, Reuters, West Virginia Watch, DNyuz, Blaze Media, BBC, Associated Press, New York Post, WNYW-TV, The Independent, WHYY, Axios, Quartz, Deadline, UPI, New Republic, Scripps News, CBS News, E&E News and The Verge

Trump 2nd term live updates: Marco Rubio made acting administrator of USAID: Sources


I'm a Federal Worker. Elon Musk's Government Data Heist Is the Entire Ballgame. — On Friday night, reports emerged that Elon Musk's aides had tussled with Office of Personnel Management and Treasury staffers while demanding access to troves of information about federal employees.
Discussion:
Vox
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Musk associates given unfettered access to private data of government employees
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite and The Column

Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach
Discussion:
The Daily Signal


Trump preps order to dismantle Education Dept. as DOGE probes data — Closing the agency would require congressional approval, so the new administration hopes to diminish it in the meantime. — President Donald Trump is preparing an executive order aimed at eventually closing the Education Department and …
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Trump Advisers Weigh Plan to Dismantle Education Department — Administration officials are discussing executive order that could shut down key functions of the agency — Trump administration officials are weighing executive actions to dismantle the Education Department as part of the campaign …
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Politico, Reuters, The Guardian, Scripps News, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Jewish Insider, Townhall and The Gateway Pundit


Trump II Punishes Fed Workers For Attending Trump I Diversity Training — In an ironic twist, the Trump administration appears to be punishing Department of Education employees for attending diversity training sessions that were held during his first term. — Over the weekend the news began …
Discussion:
ABC News and MeidasTouch News


DOJ Says Trump Administration Doesn't Have to Follow Court Order Halting Funding Freeze — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argued Monday that a federal court order blocking President Donald Trump's federal funding freeze doesn't halt the administration's efforts.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Law & Crime
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E.P.A. Tells More Than 1,000 They Could Be Fired ‘Immediately’ — A spokeswoman for Lee Zeldin, the new head of the agency, said the goal was to create an “effective and efficient” federal work force. — The Trump administration has warned more than 1,100 Environmental Protection Agency employees …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New Republic, The Daily Signal, The Daily Wire and New York Post
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CFPB halts work after Trump appoints Bessent as acting head — The consumer watchdog agency was formed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Elon Musk wants to “delete” it. — President Donald Trump on Monday appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the acting director …
Discussion:
Reuters, NBC News, Bloomberg Law, The Independent and DNyuz, more at Techmeme »
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Treasury Secretary Bessent, tapped to run CFPB, orders staff to halt work
Discussion:
Consumer Financial …, Politico, New York Times, CNBC, consumerbankers.com, The Daily Caller, UPI, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, RedState, Fox Business and Daily Kos


Bill Cassidy's decision on RFK Jr. could jeopardize his Senate career — As a doctor, Cassidy is troubled by RFK Jr. As a politician, he has reason to support him anyway. — Bill Cassidy is deeply torn over what to do about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — As a doctor who once prescribed life …
Discussion:
Fox News
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Trump orders creation of US sovereign wealth fund, says it could buy TikTok — U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ordering the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments to create a sovereign wealth fund and said it may purchase TikTok. — “We're going to stand this thing up within the next 12 months.


Ford ‘ripping up’ Ontario's $100M contract with Elon Musk's Starlink in wake of U.S. tariffs — Musk part of President Donald Trump's team that wants to destroy families, Ford says — Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is “ripping up” Ontario's nearly $100 million contract …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Financial Times, Business Insider, CBS News, TechCrunch, Washington Examiner, New York Daily News, MeidasTouch News, Canadian Press, New York Post, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, Raw Story, Global News, CP24, Quartz, Crooks and Liars, Fox Business and The Verge, more at Techmeme »


Trump appoints speechwriter fired for attending conference with White nationalists to top State Department role — Darren Beattie, a former Donald Trump speechwriter who was fired in 2018 after CNN revealed he spoke at a conference attended by White nationalists, has been elevated to a top job …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Forward, WTOP News, The Independent, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, Revolver News and New Republic


Trump plans to invoke obscure 18th century wartime law in bid for mass deportations — President Donald Trump is set to test the limits of his immigration crackdown by invoking a wartime law to deport immigrants alleged to be gang members without court hearings, a broad authority …
Discussion:
The Independent, Townhall and Reuters

Russian and Uzbek Nationals Charged with Conspiracy to File False Voter Registration Applications — For Immediate Release — A Russian national and an Uzbek national, both residing in Florida, were arrested for their alleged participation in a scheme to submit false and fraudulent voter …


‘Trump will screw up’: Schumer plots the Democratic comeback — Chuck Schumer's advice for Democrats staring at a long two or more years out of power: Just wait. — “Trump will screw up,” he told Semafor in an interview. — The Senate minority leader and his 47-member caucus finally got …
Discussion:
Deep Learning State Machine, RedState and The Hill


Key State Department Programs ‘Wiped Out’ After Dozens of Contractors Fired — The deep cuts to the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor — which focuses on advancing democracy — is the latest way Trump is trying to slash foreign aid. — Copy — Dozens of contractors working …