Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
10:35 PM ET, February 3, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Elon Musk's Blitz Shakes U.S. Government as He Sweeps Through Agencies  —  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 …
RELATED:
Alexander Ward / Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Matt Shuham / HuffPost:
Elon Musk Suggests Getting Rid Of All Regulations In Midnight Call  —  “If it's not possible now, it'll never be possible,” Musk said of his proposal to simply ignore all federal regulation as a baseline.  —  LOADING  —  President Donald Trump's “government efficiency” …
Denise Cana / Slate:
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
Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
Elon Musk Is President  —  He did not receive a single vote.  He did not get confirmed.  He does not receive a government paycheck.  —  The world's richest man has declared war on the federal government and, in a matter of days, has moved to slash its size and reach, while gaining access to some of its most sensitive secrets.
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government  —  Elon Musk's bureaucratic coup is underway.  —  Elon Musk is not the president, but it does appear that he—a foreign-born, unelected billionaire who was not confirmed by Congress—is exercising profound influence …
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
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 …
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
CONSTITUTIONAL STANDOFF  —  *Special Alert from The Contrarian*  —  Public opposition to the most wholesale and jaw-dropping violation of Americans' privacy and President Trump's unilateral outsourcing of the executive branch's operation to a private individual, Elon Musk, has taken hold.
NBC News:
Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz puts a hold on Trump's State Department nominees
Discussion: The Hill
Associated Press:
Trump and Musk move to dismantle USAID, igniting battle with Democratic lawmakers
Politico:
DOGE's access to federal data is ‘an absolute nightmare,’ legal experts warn
Discussion: American Prospect
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Musk Says Trump Wants to Shut Down U.S. Foreign Aid Agency
Politico:
Unions sue to block Musk team's access to Treasury payments
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Warren Questions Bessent Over Musk Access to Treasury Payment System
Laurel Wamsley / NPR:
Treasury Secretary Bessent, tapped to run CFPB, orders staff to halt work
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Democrats flood the zone with acts of anti-Trump resistance
Discussion: NCJA
Grace Yarrow / Politico:
Trump's USDA pick sails through committee
Discussion: Fox News and Roll Call
Washington Post:
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 …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo:   Trump II Punishes Fed Workers For Attending Trump I Diversity Training
Juan Perez Jr / Politico:
Trump administration finalizing plans to shutter Education Department
Discussion: NBC News
Arthur Jones II / ABC News:
‘Paid administrative hell’: Some Department of Education staff put on leave after Trump's DEI order
Discussion: Raw Story and Townhall
NBC News:
USAID personnel told to stay away from headquarters after Elon Musk's shutdown comments  —  Marocco held several national security positions during the first Trump administration, including at USAID, where he tried to consolidate power and slash funding.  —  WASHINGTON — Secretary …
RELATED:
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Elon Musk's DOGE Is Still Blocking HIV/AIDS Relief Exempted From Foreign Aid Cuts  —  The Trump Administration claims it is allowing “lifesaving” foreign aid to continue, but in reality, DOGE is preventing vital work on HIV and AIDS from saving lives.  —  One of President Donald Trump's …
John Paul Tasker / CBC News:
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 …
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump backs off tariff threat with Mexico, digs in on Canada
New York Times:
Live Updates: Mexico Reaches Deal With U.S. to Delay Trump Tariffs
New York Times:
Trump's Trade Move Could Increase Costs for Many Online Goods
Courtney Cohn / Democracy Docket:
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: Roll Call and Law & Crime
RELATED:
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Elon Musk Installs Illegal Server to Seize All Federal Workers' Data  —  Elon Musk has taken control of government employees' private data by having his cronies illegally install a commercial server at the Office of Personnel Management.  —  Musk and his handpicked associates at the fake …
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
A Coup Is In Progress In America  —  A coup is underway in the United States, and we must stop pretending otherwise.  The signs are unmistakable and accelerating: in just the past 48 hours, Elon Musk's DOGE commission has seized control of Treasury payment systems and gained unauthorized access …
CNN:
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 …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Top ‘60 Minutes’ Producer Says He Will Not Apologize Over Trump Lawsuit  —  Bill Owens, the show's executive producer, addressed his staff as CBS's parent company, Paramount, pursues a legal settlement with the president.  —  The head of “60 Minutes” told the show's staff on Monday …
RELATED:
Al Weaver / The Hill:
GOP's Susan Collins to back Tulsi Gabbard confirmation  —  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced on Monday that she will support Tulsi Gabbard to become director of national intelligence (DNI), giving her a key boost in her confirmation push.  —  Collins was considered a crucial swing vote …
RELATED:
Connor O'Brien / Politico:
Collins, Lankford back Gabbard for top Intel job ahead of committee vote
Discussion: Bangor Daily News
Reuters:
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.
Nandika Chatterjee / The Daily Beast:
Musk Says He's ‘Deleted’ Popular Free IRS Tax Filing Program  —  WHO ASKED FOR THIS?  —  The online tax filing option on the IRS website had a strong bipartisan 76% approval rating from registered voters.  —  Kanye West's Naked Grammys Stunt Could Cost Him $20M  —  THE NAKED TRUTH
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
Hakeem Jeffries wants funding freeze ‘choked off’ in spending deal  —  House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a key demand Monday as a March 14 government funding deadline approaches, saying President Donald Trump's recent federal spending freeze “must be choked off” …
RELATED:
Burgess Everett / Semafor:
‘Trump will screw up’: Schumer plots the Democratic comeback
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 10:35 PM ET, February 3, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:


Page version:
 
 See Also: 
memeorandum: site main
memeorandum River: reverse chronological memeorandum
memeorandum Mobile: for phones
memeorandum Leaderboard: memeorandum's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
memeorandum RSS feed
memeorandum on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
The White House:
At USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs Deep
Discussion: Blaze Media
Andrea Margolis / Fox News:
Trump announces new picks including deputy director of the CIA, chief Pentagon spokesman
Discussion: Breitbart and Raw Story
Joan Westenberg / The Index:
Elon Musk Is an Existential Threat to Big Tech
afsa.org:
Statement by AFSA on Decision to Dismantle USAID
Discussion: Fox News
Politico:
Senate confirms Chris Wright as Trump's energy secretary
Clara Jeffery / Mother Jones:
Nobody Voted for Elon Musk
 Earlier Items: 
Cathy Gellis / Techdirt:
Musk's Takeover Of The Government's Computer Systems Needs To Be Understood As A Cyberattack, Or Worse
New York Times:
‘Gender Ideology’ Ban Is Already Harming Health, Experts Say
Discussion: Daily Mail and DNyuz
Rob Golum / Bloomberg:
Former President Joe Biden Signs With Talent Agency CAA
Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:
Musk's superteam of former iPad babies
Elizabeth Nolan Brown / Reason:
No, Elon: It Isn't Illegal To Boycott X
Megan Messerly / Politico:
US to again withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, stop UNRWA funding
Rochelle Raveendran / CBC News:
Ford ‘ripping up’ Ontario's $100M contract with Elon Musk's Starlink in wake of U.S. tariffs
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Peter White / Deadline:
David Eilenberg, who was head of content at Roku Media for the last two years, is returning to ITV America to oversee its creative direction

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Paramount reports Q1 revenue down 6% YoY to $7.19B, a $550M net income, Paramount+ subs up 11% to 79M, and still expects the Skydance deal to close in H1 2025

Elaine Woo / LAist:
LAist lays off eight employees, or 5% of staff, citing the potential loss of $1.7M in CPB funding, which amounts to ~4% of the public media outlet's budget
 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page