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5:00 AM ET, February 3, 2025

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 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:
Bloomberg:
Musk Says DOGE Halting Treasury Payments to US Contractors  — Musk Calls USAID ‘a criminal organization’ that should ‘die’  — Billionaire expanding his reach across government spending  —  Elon Musk said his “DOGE team” of government efficiency enforcers is shutting down payments …
Ellen Knickmeyer / Associated Press:
USAID security leaders on leave after trying to keep Musk's DOGE from classified info, officials say  —  The Trump administration has placed two top security chiefs at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas …
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’
New York Times:
Top Security Officials at Aid Agency Put on Leave After Denying Access to Musk Team
Discussion: NBC News and Oregonian
ABC News:   Turmoil inside USAID: DOGE reps take over offices, senior officials placed on leave
Reuters:
More USAID staff ousted as Trump administration dismantles aid agency
Discussion: Axios, CBS News and NBC News
Pia Singh / CNBC:
Dow futures drop more than 450 points after Trump hits U.S. trading partners with tariffs: Live updates  —  Stock futures tumbled Sunday night to kick off a new trading month, as investors weighed new U.S. tariffs on goods from key trade partners and their potential impact on the economy and corporate profits.
RELATED:
Lindsay Wise / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Move to Put Tariff Hikes Ahead of Tax Cuts Has Spooked Almost Everyone  —  The president has an ambitious economic plan, starting with trade, and doesn't appear interested in negotiations—yet  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump's aggressive move to place tariffs on hundreds of billions …
Discussion: Grabien
New York Times:
Trudeau Announces Retaliatory Tariffs Against the U.S. … Where Things Stand  — Retaliation begins: A day after President Trump announced stiff tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, the Canadian government detailed its own retaliatory 25 percent tariffs on more than $100 billion worth of U.S. goods …
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Trump Tariffs Threaten to Upend Global Economic Order
Skylar Woodhouse / Bloomberg:
Trump Ramps Up EU Tariff Threat, Plans Calls With Canada, Mexico
Brian Mann / NPR:
Trump used fentanyl to justify tariffs, but the crisis was already easing
Bloomberg:
Car Prices Face $3,000 Increase as Tariffs Hit Auto Sector
Discussion: Axios, The Verge, Fox Business and DNyuz
Zia Weise / Politico:
Brussels vows ‘firm’ response to threatened Trump tariffs as EU braces for trade war
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 …
RELATED:
Politico:   FBI agents, officials asked to detail their work on Jan. 6 cases
NBC News:
Agents ‘have started to pack up their desks’ as fear of FBI mass firings swirls
Discussion: The Hill
Ben Smith / Semafor:
MAGA intellectual Darren Beattie will fill key State Department role  —  The Scoop  —  Secretary of State Marco Rubio will appoint Darren Beattie, a speechwriter in President Donald Trump's first term, acting undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, two people briefed on the plans said.
Discussion: Mediaite
RELATED:
ABC News:
Trump administration taps controversial conservative journalist for top job
Discussion: The Post Millennial
Bloomberg:
Trump Vows to Punish South Africa Over Law to Expropriate Land  — Ramaphosa enacted new expropriation policy last month  — Rand weakened as much as 2% against dollar after Trump comment  —  President Donald Trump said the US would halt all future funding to South Africa because of its new land-expropriation law.
Discussion: UPI, Reuters, RedState and Human Events
RELATED:
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 …
Los Angeles Times:
Thousands rally in downtown Los Angeles, shut down 101 Freeway to protest Trump's immigration policies  —  Thousands of demonstrators rallied in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday and shut down a section of the 101 Freeway to protest President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and his aggressive deportation policies.
CBS News:
Sen. McConnell on what he'll do as President Trump shakes up Washington with an onslaught of executive orders  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell, after stepping down from his Senate leadership position, bucked President Trump and was one of only three Republicans to vote against the president's nominee for defense secretary.
Discussion: Breitbart, Raw Story and Mediaite
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.
Chris Lunday / Politico:
German election: AfD's Weidel doubles down on Holocaust comments  —  “I find it quite disturbing when the Holocaust is politically instrumentalized,” far-right leader says.  —  BERLIN — The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel, ignited a fresh wave …
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Follow the Money  —  Hey guys, I'm sending out Monday's Triad on Sunday night for reasons that will be clear when you read it.  So you won't get another Triad in your inbox on Monday—but keep your eyes on the Bulwark homepage, YouTube channel, and podcasts.  The team is doing great work making sense of the chaos monkeys.
Discussion: NPR, more at Mediagazer »
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
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Throughout now-president Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, it was clear that his support was coming from three very different factions whose only shared ideology was a determination to destroy the federal government.  Now we are watching them do it.  —  The group that serves President Donald …
Discussion: NBC News
RELATED:
 
 
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 More Items: 
Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech / The Hill:
Confusion over federal funding freeze prompts public health concerns
Jared Gans / The Hill:
Paxton weighs Cornyn challenge as Texas GOP rift deepens
KFF:
A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline
 Earlier Items: 
Samuel Bagenstos / Inside/Outside:
Why Write About the Illegality of What Trump and Musk are Doing?
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
Don't Believe Him  —  This is an edited transcript of an audio essay on “The Ezra Klein Show.”
 

 
From Techmeme:

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Nintendo delays preorders for the Switch 2 from April 9, 2025 due to concerns about Trump's tariffs but the June 5 launch date remains unchanged

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Klarna has halted its planned IPO in the wake of Trump's tariffs turmoil; StubHub has also delayed its IPO plans

Annmarie Hordern / Bloomberg:
President Trump reiterates he's open to tariff relief for China if it approves the sale of TikTok's US operations; the app faces an April 5 divestment deadline

 
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