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6:15 PM ET, February 4, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Musk Cronies Dive Into Treasury Dept Payments Code Base  —  Overnight, Wired reported that, contrary to published reports that DOGE operatives at the Treasury Department are limited to “read only” access to department payment systems, this is not true.  A 25-year-old DOGE operative named Marko Elez …
RELATED:
Wired:
A 25-Year-Old With Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System  —  The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department.  It's also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.
Dell Cameron / Wired:
Federal Workers Sue to Disconnect DOGE Server  —  Two federal workers, citing reports that Elon Musk's associates are operating an illegally connected email server at OPM, seek a restraining order.  —  Federal employees are seeking a temporary restraining order as part of a class action lawsuit accusing …
Discussion: FedScoop and Raw Story
David Dayen / American Prospect:
Illegal Executive Spending Decisions Are Happening Now
Discussion: Axios
Notes on the Crises:
Day Five of the Trump-Musk Treasury Payments Crisis of 2025: Not “Read Only” access anymore
Discussion: American Prospect and Raw Story
NBC News:
White House preparing executive order to abolish the Department of Education  —  The planned order follows years of campaign promises from President Donald Trump to abolish the federal Education Department.  —  The White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:   Trump Order Set to Ban Transgender Girls and Women From Female School Sports
Washington Post:
Here are the words putting science in the crosshairs of Trump's orders
Discussion: Nature and The Daily Caller
CNN:
Trump administration drafting executive order to initiate Department of Education's elimination
CNN:
FBI turns over names of 5,000 employees who worked on January 6 cases to Trump Justice Department, as agents sue  —  FBI officials have complied with demands to provide the Justice Department with a list of thousands of employees who worked on investigations related to the January 6, 2021 …
RELATED:
Politico:
FBI agents sue to block DOJ from compiling list of officials who worked on Jan. 6 or Trump cases  —  The agents are fearful that the Trump-led Justice Department will exact punishment against employees deemed disloyal.  —  FBI agents who worked on cases stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol …
Adam Goldman / New York Times:
‘Accidental’ F.B.I. Chief Builds a Following as Agency's Defender  —  Brian Driscoll was accidentally catapulted into the acting director's chair on Jan. 20 and has defended the bureau from the potential of mass firings, inspiring memes and satirical clips.  —  Brian Driscoll …
Marc Caputo / Axios:
About 20,000 federal workers took “buyout” so far, official says  —  About 20,000 federal workers have accepted the “buyout” offer put forward by the Trump administration last week, a senior administration official tells Axios. … - The offer is open through Thursday, meaning the total could rise …
RELATED:
Corbin Hiar / Politico:
Science funding agency threatened with mass layoffs
Discussion: Federal News Network
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
We Did This to Ourselves  —  Four years ago today, the House of Representatives voted to remove …
Discussion: Wall Street Journal and CNN
Michael Waldman / Brennan Center for Justice:
Breaking the Law  —  Just weeks in, the Trump administration has violated rules, laws, and the Constitution.  —  “In America,” Thomas Paine wrote at the founding, “the law is king.”  Amid today's governing and constitutional crisis, we are finding out whether that is still true.
RELATED:
Slate:
Elon Musk's Power Grab Is Lawless, Dangerous, and—Yes—a Coup
Rolling Stone:
Inside Trump and Musk's Clumsy, ‘Exhausting’ Hunt for Leakers
Discussion: Raw Story and The Independent
Michael Silver / New York Times:
NFL to remove ‘End Racism’ messaging in end zone ahead of Super Bowl: Sources  —  NEW ORLEANS — At his annual news conference Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed strong support for the league's policies designed to promote diversity at the club-employment level and indicated that those endeavors will continue.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Trump will attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans. He'll be the first sitting president to go
Washington Post:
RFK Jr. closes in on HHS Cabinet post after Senate panel vote  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., once seen as a long shot to serve as America's top health official, is now set to head to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now one step closer to running …
RELATED:
Adam Wren / Politico:
Sen. Todd Young will back Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Committee Votes to Advance Tulsi Gabbard's Bid for Intelligence Post
ABC News:
State Department moving to evacuate USAID staff worldwide: Sources  —  The State Department has begun working to assist in evacuating all USAID staff who are on foreign assignments worldwide, sources familiar with the effort told ABC News.  —  The Department is aiming to recall all USAID employees …
Discussion: Blaze Media and CBS News
Washington Post:
U.S. government officials privately warn Musk's blitz appears illegal  —  The billionaire's DOGE team has launched an all-out assault on federal agencies, triggering numerous legal objections.  —  The chaotic blitz by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has triggered legal …
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government  —  Thomas Shedd, a Musk-associate and now head of the General Services Administration's Technology Transformation Services (TTS), told government tech workers in a meeting this week that the administration plans …
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Negotiations stall ahead of shutdown deadline as Democrats slam Trump for subverting spending laws  —  Democrats are eying the March 14 deadline to push back on Trump's recent unilateral actions, saying he needs to follow the law on government funding.  —  WASHINGTON — Government funding negotiations …
Discussion: New York Times and DNyuz
The Hill:
Waffle House adding surcharge for every egg ordered  —  (NEXSTAR) - Waffle House restaurants across the nation will be adding a 50 cent surcharge to every egg ordered amid soaring prices due to inflation and the bird flu epidemic.  —  The surcharge took effect Monday, according to a Waffle House memo shared with Nexstar.
RELATED:
Jordan Valinsky / CNN:
Waffle House is placing a surcharge on every egg it sells
Greg Allen / NPR:
‘Beyond betrayal.’ Venezuelans in Florida are angry at Trump immigration policy  —  MIAMI — Venezuelan migrants in South Florida say they feel betrayed by a Trump administration decision to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of people who fled dictatorships and sought refuge in the U.S.
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Scoop: Senate Dems plot USAID revenge on Trump … - Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Axios on Tuesday that he's willing to place holds on Trump nominees on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  — Blumenthal said the caucus is proceeding as if there is a blanket hold on Trump nominations.
Jean Chemnick / Politico:
EPA spending freeze continues despite court orders  —  Two judges have ordered the administration to lift the freeze.  But nonprofits and states still can't get money for contracts backed by the Inflation Reduction Act.  —  The Trump administration is still freezing many climate …
Discussion: Esquire, RedState, Oregonian and Bloomberg
Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Proud Boys Lose Control of Their Name to a Black Church They Vandalized  —  A judge awarded the trademarked name and symbols to a Washington church to help satisfy a $2.8 million judgment against the far-right group.  —  The Proud Boys no longer have control over their own name.
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Begins Migrant Flights to Guantanamo Bay  —  The Trump administration has said it would expand operations at the American naval base in Cuba to hold up to 30,000 immigrants  —  WASHINGTON—The first flights carrying detained migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay have headed …
Richelle Wilson / WPR:
Half of Wisconsin Head Start programs can't access needed funds after federal freeze  —  One Head Start center in Waukesha closed last week, leaving more than 250 families without child care  —  One week after the Trump administration ordered a pause on federal grants and loans …
Daniel Gonzalez / Arizona Republic:
Family member condemns use of armored vehicle, stun grenades in Phoenix ICE arrest  —  A family member is speaking out against an ICE operation in northwest Phoenix on Sunday, calling it an unnecessary use of force that involved an armored vehicle, flash bang grenades and several dozen ICE agents …
Discussion: Daily Mail
Mike Brock / Techdirt:
To Stop The Coup, We Must Be Clear About The Truth: Two Plus Two Equals Four  —  In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the ultimate act of rebellion comes when Winston Smith insists that two plus two equals four, defying a system that demands he accept whatever reality the Party declares.
Andrea Hsu / NPR:
Trump administration adds fine print to ‘Fork’ resignation offer, deepening confusion  —  It's been a week since nearly all 2.3 million civilian employees of the federal government were presented with an offer: Agree to resign from your job by Feb. 6 and keep your pay and benefits through the end of September.
Minyvonne Burke / NBC News:
About 100,000 eggs worth $40K stolen from trailer in Pennsylvania  —  The theft occurred around 8:40 p.m. Saturday at Pete and Gerry's Organics in Greencastle.  —  Thieves poached about 100,000 eggs from the back of a distribution trailer, authorities in Pennsylvania said.
Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Ocasio-Cortez: Musk ‘one of the most unintelligent billionaires I have ever met’  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed tech billionaire and “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) head Elon Musk as “one of the most unintelligent billionaires that I have ever met.”
Ajit Niranjan / The Guardian:
Temperatures at north pole 20C above average and beyond ice melting point  —  Scientists say unusually mild temperatures linked to low-pressure system over Iceland directing strong flow of warm air towards north pole  —  Temperatures at the north pole soared more than 20C above average on Sunday …
 
 
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 More Items: 
The Tico Times:
El Salvador Abandons Bitcoin as Legal Tender After Failed Experiment
Discussion: Reason and The Daily Hodl
Associated Press:
Trump envoy calls Gaza rebuilding timeline in Israel-Hamas truce ‘preposterous’
New York Times:
Trump's Attempt to Freeze Grant Funding Leaves Nonprofits Reeling
Discussion: CBS News, NBC News and WUSA
Robert King / Politico:
Dr. Oz makes the rounds in the Capitol
Discussion: STAT
Washington Post:
Live updates Trump, Netanyahu meet at White House
Discussion: NBC News
Maya Goldman / Axios:
Doctors sue Trump admin over removed health data
Associated Press:
About 10 killed at adult education center in what officials say is Sweden's worst mass shooting
 Earlier Items: 
The Hill:
Senate preparing to move first on budget package amid House stalemate
Politico:
Trump moves to put nearly all USAID Washington staff on leave
Bloomberg:
EU Sees a Path to Negotiate With Trump to Avoid a Tariff Fight
Discussion: BBC
Noah Feldman / Bloomberg:
Trump Is Testing Our Constitutional System. It's Doing Fine.
Discussion: ABC News
Garrett Shanley / The Independent Florida Alligator:
State audit finds overall unnecessary spending under former UF President Ben Sasse
Discussion: Politico and Florida Politics
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Affirmative action for white men
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo say they're building a high-tech studio aiming to help artists use AI as a creative tool to make films, shows, and video games

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Streamers court YouTubers for new shows or spinoffs; sources: Amazon made $100M+ in profit on Beast Games and Netflix held talks with Dude Perfect for a series

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
The Guardian, City AM, GB News, and Newsquest appear to have introduced “consent or pay” models in recent months, joining Mail Online, Mirror, and more

 
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