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6:40 AM ET, February 3, 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:
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:
Elon Musk says President Donald Trump has ‘agreed’ USAID should be shut down  —  The U.S. Agency for International Development is on the cusp of being shuttered, according the Trump administration's billionaire adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk — who has been wrestling for control of the agency in recent days.
CNN:
Senior USAID security officials put on leave after refusing Musk's DOGE access to agency systems
David McAfee / Raw Story:   ‘This is a five-alarm fire’: Experts pounce on Musk's new ‘grave national security threat’
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 and CBS News
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
RELATED:
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.
Brian Mann / NPR:
Trump used fentanyl to justify tariffs, but the crisis was already easing  —  President Trump says illegal street fentanyl is one of the main justifications for sweeping trade tariffs he plans to impose against Canada, China and Mexico on Tuesday.  A statement issued by the White House describes …
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Trump Tariffs Threaten to Upend Global Economic Order  —  The invoking of national security to unravel trade agreements could scramble the international trading system in China's favor.  —  President Trump's move this weekend to slap sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China is threatening …
New York Times:
Trudeau Announces Retaliatory Tariffs Against the U.S.
Skylar Woodhouse / Bloomberg:
Trump Ramps Up EU Tariff Threat, Plans Calls With Canada, Mexico
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
Bloomberg:
Trump Vows to Punish South Africa Over Expropriation Law  — 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.
RELATED:
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
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 …
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 »
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.
Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:
Senate urged to recall Kash Patel and put him under oath over FBI purge  —  During an appearance on Sunday afternoon, a very agitated former FBI official urged members of the U.S. Senate to drag Donald Trump's nominee to head up the department, put him under oath, and grill him over the ongoing purge …
Discussion: CBS News
RELATED:
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.
Washington Post:
Key Trump Cabinet members refuse to acknowledge Trump lost in 2020  —  Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and FBI nominee Kash Patel decline to fully acknowledge Biden's win, while Russell Vought still claims the vote was “rigged.”  —  Two of President Donald Trump's top law enforcement nominees …
Discussion: Grabien
Matt Viser / Washington Post:
Two weeks in, Donald Trump can't stop talking about Joe Biden  —  Joe Biden's presidency ended nearly two weeks ago.  His photos no longer hang on the walls.  His artwork choices in the Oval Office are gone.  But inside the head of Donald Trump, he is still very much present.
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.
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: NBC News
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
 
 
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 More Items: 
Chris Lunday / Politico:
German election: AfD's Weidel doubles down on Holocaust comments
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
 Earlier Items: 
KFF:
A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline
Samuel Bagenstos / Inside/Outside:
Why Write About the Illegality of What Trump and Musk are Doing?
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Kaya Yurieff / The Information:
Source: President Trump plans to announce TikTok America, a company that is ~50% owned by US investors and 19.9% by ByteDance, which would license the algorithm

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Newsquest's editorial development director says it now employs 36 “AI-assisted” reporters, freeing up the rest of the newsroom to “be out pounding the beat”

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Tortoise Media names Times journalist Rachel Sylvester as The Observer's political editor; a source says 50%+ of Observer staff have decided to leave
 
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