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6:00 PM ET, February 5, 2025

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 Top Items: 
New York Times:
C.I.A. Sends White House an Unclassified Email With Names of Some Employees  —  The list of partial names was provided in an effort to comply with an executive order to trim the federal work force.  —  The C.I.A. sent the White House an unclassified email listing all employees hired …
RELATED:
Daniel W. Drezner / Drezner's World:
The Story That Perfectly Encapsulates Trump 2.0's Foreign Policy Carnage  —  There has been a tsunami of awful foreign policy news.  Here is the perfect story to symbolize the entirety of the shitstorm.  —  How is the hard-working staff here at Drezner's World doing in processing …
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
There Is No Going Back  —  Even if anyone had elected Elon Musk to anything, the past week would still be one of the most serious examples of executive branch malfeasance in American history.  —  Musk has seized hold of critical levers of power and authority within the federal government …
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump-Musk Purge Scandal at Treasury Takes Yet Another Unsettling Turn  —  In an effort to tamp down the outcry around Elon Musk's autocratic and illegal power grabs, the Treasury Department has sent a new letter to Congress that casts Musk's takeover of the agency in benign terms.
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
King Musk's Government Purge Hits a Snag  —  Before Elon Musk can exercise authoritarian power, he must purge the federal bureaucracy.  But federal workers aren't playing ball.  —  Protesters gather outside the United States Office of Personal Management (OPM) headquarters, February 4, 2025, in Washington.
Discussion: Axios, PoliticusUSA, EsstN and Fortune
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Why Elon Will Be Trump's Undoing
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
DOGE Employees Ordered to Stop Using Slack While Agency Transitions to a Records System Not Subject to FOIA  —  Employees working for the agency now known as DOGE have been ordered to stop using Slack while government lawyers attempt to transition the agency to one that is not subject …
RELATED:
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Judge eyes short-term block on Musk allies' ability to share Treasury records outside the department
Discussion: New Republic
Associated Press:
Trump's suggestion that US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike  —  President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents was swiftly rejected and denounced on Wednesday by American allies and adversaries alike.
RELATED:
NPR:
Trump says the U.S. will ‘take over’ Gaza and relocate its people. What does it mean?
The Guardian:
Trump officials try to walk back president's comments on Gaza ‘takeover’ - live
New York Times:
Trump Proposes U.S. Takeover of Gaza and Says All Palestinians Should Leave
Axios:
Behind the Curtain: Trump's wild Middle East vision
Joey Cappelletti / Associated Press:
Pro-Trump Arab American group changes its name after the president's Gaza ‘Riviera’ comments
Dana Hull / Bloomberg:
White House Says Musk Will Police His Own Conflicts of Interest  —  The White House said Elon Musk, the billionaire leading President Donald Trump's government cost-cutting efforts, will determine if there are conflicts of interest between his work reviewing federal spending and his overlapping empire of six companies.
RELATED:
Mike Brock / Techdirt:
The 24-Hour Reality Check: Musk's Impossible Power Grab And America's Crisis  —  There are twenty-four hours in a day.  This isn't a matter of political opinion or technological disruption—it's as immutable as the fact that two plus two equals four.  No amount of genius, innovation …
David Corn / Mother Jones:
Trump White House Moves to Allow for a Musk Takeover of Government IT  —  The Office of Personnel Management is trying to make it easier to put ideologues and cronies in key tech roles.  —  It's a rather wonky position in the US government: chief information officer.  Most federal agencies and departments have one.
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump Brazenly Defies Laws in Escalating Executive Power Grab  —  In the radical opening weeks of his second term, President Trump has appeared to feel little constraint by any need to show respect for the rule of law.  —  In his first term, President Trump seemed to relish ripping through …
Discussion: The Daily Caller
RELATED:
New York Times:
List: Examples of Trump's Actions That Are Defying Legal Limits  —  Other presidents have occasionally claimed a constitutional right to bypass particular laws.  But in the opening weeks of his second term, President Trump and his administration have opened the throttle on blowing through …
NBC News:
Lawsuits imminent over Trump's dismantling of USAID
Wall Street Journal:
DOGE Aides Search Medicare Agency Payment Systems for Fraud  —  Elon Musk's allies have been on site at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services offices this week  —  Representatives of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have been working at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services …
Morgan Lee / Associated Press:
Thousands protest Trump administration policies in cities across the US  —  A movement to protest the early actions of President Donald Trump's administration took off Wednesday, as thousands of demonstrators gathered outside a federal courthouse in Philadelphia and at state capitols in Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Indiana.
RELATED:
Wired:
This DOGE Engineer Has Access to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration  —  Sources tell WIRED that NOAA employees were ordered to give an engineer from Elon Musk's DOGE task force access to all of the agency's Google sites by the end of business Wednesday.
RELATED:
Business Insider:
Elon Musk says DOGE will make ‘rapid safety upgrades’ to the air traffic control system following deadly plane crash  — Amid a blitz across the federal government, DOGE is set to take on the FAA next.  — Musk said that DOGE would “aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system.”
RELATED:
Sam Ogozalek / Politico:   Musk's cost-cutters to ‘plug in’ to air traffic control system, Trump's transportation chief says
Benjamin Guggenheim / Politico:
Two Dem lawmakers barge into House speaker's office in backlash against Musk  —  Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) barged into House Speaker Mike Johnson's office unscheduled on Wednesday and challenged him about Elon Musk's team gaining access to a sensitive payment system at the Treasury Department.
Discussion: Axios and New Republic
Fox News:
Politico pays employees late; staffers believe Elon Musk's crackdown on government spending played a role  —  Politico has received at least $8.2 million from the US government  —  Politico staffers received their bi-weekly direct deposits late this week, irking staffers who believe Elon Musk's crackdown …
RELATED:
Axios:
DOGE targets government media subscriptions after MAGA attacks
Reuters:
Top Trump prosecutor in DC dropped federal case against Capitol rioter he represented  —  As President Donald Trump moved last month to free the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol, his newly appointed top prosecutor in Washington put his name on a request that a judge drop charges …
RELATED:
Roger Parloff / Default:   Trump's Petty Purge of 15 Young Jan. 6 Prosecutors
April Rubin / Axios:
Trump-voting states have more to lose if Education Department dismantled … - States that voted for Trump last November, on average, use more federal funding in their education apportions than states that voted for former Vice President Harris.  — “That dependence is, in large part …
New York Times:
Cows Have Been Infected With a Second Form of Bird Flu  —  A new version of the virus is widespread in wild birds but had not previously been detected in cows.  —  Dairy cows in Nevada have been infected with a new form of bird flu that is distinct from the version that has been spreading through herds …
Discussion: STAT, Beyer, DNyuz and Michigan Advance
Associated Press:
The House speaker defends Trump's Gaza plan, while other Republicans express doubts.  —  Amid global alarm, top administration officials sought to soften elements of President Trump's proposal to force Palestinians out of the territory and take it over.  Experts said the plan would violate international law.
Emma Dumain / Politico:
Senate's top appropriator says Elon Musk has gone too far  —  The Senate's top appropriator thinks Elon Musk has gone too far.  Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, is raising alarms about the influence that billionaire Elon Musk is wielding inside the Trump administration and across federal agencies.
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell slips and falls outside Senate Chamber  —  Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) slipped and fell on the stairs leaving the Senate Chamber on Wednesday afternoon, prompting concerned aides to rush to help the 82-year-old lawmaker.  —  McConnell appeared to slip …
Jake Lahut / Wired:
Elon Musk's Takeover Is Causing Rifts in Donald Trump's Inner Circle  —  “He's getting too big for his britches,” says one Trump world source.  —  Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, publicly at least, are on good terms.  —  Yet when it comes to the staff in and around the new administration, it's a different story.
Discussion: NBC News and HuffPost
Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
Foreign Aid Freeze Leaves Millions Without H.I.V. Treatment  —  President Trump's pause on aid, and the gutting of the primary aid agency, could jeopardize the health of more than 20 million people worldwide, including 500,000 children, experts say.  —  Two weeks into President Trump's sweeping freeze …
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
New Democratic bill targets Elon Musk  —  A veteran House Democrat is introducing new legislation to respond to billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk's overhaul of the federal government: Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) on Wednesday rolled out the Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy …
Discussion: Fortune and TechCrunch
Jason Beeferman / Politico:
LG Delgado won't endorse Hochul  —  SNUBBING HIS BOSS: Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado won't commit to endorsing his own boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul, for reelection in 2026.  —  “My focus right now isn't on the election,” Delgado told Playbook when asked if he would support Hochul's reelection in 2026.
Politico:
Phil Murphy hands Republicans an attack line with immigrant housing gaffe  —  Tom Homan, the Trump administration's border czar, said the New Jersey governor's comments were “foolish”  —  New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's suggestion that he might harbor an immigrant at his home and daring …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Brooke Migdon / The Hill:
Trump says transgender athletes will not be permitted entry to 2028 Olympic Games
Alexander Tin / CBS News:
As Trump shuts down USAID missions, officials warn Ebola outbreak in Uganda will spread
Discussion: BBC and Foreign Policy
David Dayen / American Prospect:
L.A. Times Owner Has Financial Motivations for Boosting RFK Jr.
Janus Rose / 404 Media:
You Can't Post Your Way Out of Fascism  —  If there's one thing I'd hoped people had learned …
CBS News:
60 Minutes publishes transcripts, video requested by FCC
Aaron Wiener / Washington Post:
Trump ordered workers back to the office. They ask, where, exactly?
Discussion: The Independent
 Earlier Items: 
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Bondi's DOJ Day 1 directives: Fight weaponization of justice, eliminate cartels, lift death penalty ban
Ben Fox / Politico:
‘Frankly Insane’: Trump's Plan to Ship Migrants to Guantanamo Could Quickly Collapse
Discussion: Military.com, IJR, Breitbart and UPI
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Elon Musk and the League of Shadows
Discussion: The Hill and Axios
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
Watch The Credit-Ratings Agencies
Tyler McBrien / New York Times:
Musk? Trump? Who Exactly Is Running the Federal Government?
Discussion: Raw Story and Reuters
 

 
From Techmeme:

Lauren Thomas / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for ~$30B; Alphabet was close to a $23B deal for Wiz last summer before talks ended

Scharon Harding / Ars Technica:
Some owners of devices running Roku OS report seeing autoplaying video ads before they can access the home screen; Roku says it is just a test

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
A critical Apache Tomcat RCE flaw is being exploited, letting attackers take over servers via a PUT request; Wallarm: the attack “requires no authentication”

 
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