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10:30 PM ET, February 6, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Katherine Long / Wall Street Journal:
Exclusive |  DOGE Staffer Resigns Over Racist Posts  —  A staffer for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency whose access to U.S. Treasury payment systems was approved by a federal judge on Thursday has links to a deleted social-media account that advocated for racism and eugenics.
RELATED:
ProPublica:
Elon Musk's Demolition Crew  —  On President Donald Trump's authority alone, Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has been unleashed on federal agencies.  Employees from Musk's companies and those of his allies, as well as young staffers he's recruited, are wresting authority from career workers and commandeering computer systems.
Shelby Talcott / Semafor:
DOGE follows longtime Musk pattern — and turns attention to Social Security Administration  —  Elon Musk's DOGE shuttered USAID.  It has searched Medicare payments and gained access to a sensitive Treasury Department payment system.  Its initial Labor Department presence prompted a lawsuit.
Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico and DNyuz
Wired:
The US Treasury Claimed DOGE Technologist Didn't Have ‘Write Access’ When He Actually Did  —  Sources tell WIRED that the ability of DOGE's Marko Elez to alter code controlling trillions in federal spending was rescinded days after US Treasury and White House officials said it didn't exist.
Newsweek:
DOGE Emails Went Out to Federal Judges by Mistake  —  One of the people who received an email from allies of  —  was a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit aimed at blocking these messages.  —  “I, like probably every other judge in the country, also received the [Office of Personnel Management] …
CNN:
Musk associates sought to use critical Treasury payment system to shut down USAID spending, emails show
Washington Post:
Musk's DOGE agents access sensitive personnel data, alarming security officials
RELATED:
Politico:
Note to Our Readers  —  POLITICO has been the subject of debate on X this week.  Some of it has been misinformed, and some of it has been flat-out false.  Let's set the record straight.  —  POLITICO has been the subject of debate on X this week.  Some of it has been misinformed, and some of it has been flat-out false.
Christian Paz / Vox:
What a wild conspiracy theory about Politico tells us about how Trump governs
Liam Reilly / CNN:
White House says it will cancel $8 million in Politico subscriptions after a false right-wing conspiracy theory spreads
Stephen Groves / Associated Press:
Senate confirms Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead powerful White House budget office  —  The Senate confirmed Russell Vought as White House budget director on Thursday night, putting an official who has planned the zealous expansion of President Donald Trump's power …
RELATED:
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Senate confirms Russell Vought to lead White House budget office
Discussion: CBS News and Forbes
Zach Montague / New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Judge Delays Program Offering Federal Workers Incentives to Quit  —  Where Things Stand  — Judge delays resignation plan: A federal judge in Massachusetts has stopped, at least temporarily, the Trump administration's effort to get federal employees …
RELATED:
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Musk aims to hobble federal workers ahead of ‘buyout’ deadline
Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Deadline for Trump's federal worker buyout proposal temporarily blocked by judge
RELATED:
Roy Canivel / The Daily Dot:
Conservative film critic who called child trafficking movie a ‘call to action’ arrested for child molestation  —  In 2023, Aaron Craig Gleason wrote a review for the conservative publication the Federalist about The Sound of Freedom, an indie hit and a favorite among right-wing circles.
RELATED:
Wired:   Elon Musk's DOGE Is Working on a Custom Chatbot Called GSAi
Juliet Macur / New York Times:
N.C.A.A., Following Trump's Order, Excludes Transgender Athletes From Women's Sports  —  The decision, effective immediately, came a day after President Trump signed an order barring transgender girls and women from playing in women's sports at federally funded educational institutions.
RELATED:
NCAA.org:
NCAA President Charlie Baker issues statement regarding Trump administration executive order
Reuters:
Trump administration to keep only 294 USAID staff out of over 10,000 globally, sources say  —  President Donald Trump's administration plans to keep fewer than 300 staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development out of the agency's worldwide total of more than 10,000, four sources told Reuters on Thursday.
RELATED:
Jessica Riedl:
Yes, My Name has Changed...  ...but my focus on center-right economic policy will continue  —  Hi everyone, well, this is awkward.  I have always been comfortable presenting my economic research in meetings, speeches, national TV interviews, and Congressional testimony.
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Sotomayor hits presidential immunity decision in first public comments since new Trump admin  —  Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday doubled down on her opposition to the presidential immunity decision last summer and expressed concern about public confidence in the high court.
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Do Democrats Have a Plan?  —  Senator Brian Schatz on how the Party should be responding to Donald Trump's breakneck assault on the government.  —  Three weeks into office, President Trump has issued a slew of controversial executive orders, fired officials across government agencies …
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
Trump Tax Priorities Total $5 to $11 Trillion  —  In a closed-door meeting with House Leadership today President Trump reportedly outlined his tax priorities.  According to press reports, they included extending the expiring pieces of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA); …
Discussion: Axios and Breitbart
Ella Nilsen / CNN:
Trump energy secretary allowed 23-year-old DOGE rep to access IT systems over objections from general counsel  —  A representative from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was granted access to the Energy Department's IT system on Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright …
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Federal Election Commission Chair Says Trump Has Moved to Fire Her  —  Ellen L. Weintraub, who has served as a commissioner for the nation's top elections watchdog since 2002, said she did not recognize a letter from President Trump relieving her from her post as legally valid.
Discussion: Reuters, Fox News, Bloomberg and Daily Mail
RELATED:
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
FEC commissioner says Trump has moved to fire her
Wall Street Journal:
White House Preparing Order to Cut Thousands of Federal Health Workers  —  The executive order could come as soon as next week, if the Trump administration goes ahead with plans  —  The White House is working on an executive order to fire thousands of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services workers …
Discussion: Raw Story and Baltimore Sun
Stephanie Nolen / New York Times:
Dozens of Clinical Trials Have Been Frozen in Response to Trump's USAID Order  —  The stop-work order on U.S.A.I.D.-funded research has left thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies, with no access to monitoring or care.  —  Asanda Zondi received a startling phone call …
Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story
Andrew Prokop / Vox:
All the ways Elon Musk is breaking the law, explained by a law professor  —  Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is moving fast and breaking the law — lots of laws.  —  The scope of Trump and Musk's sweeping effort to purge the federal workforce and slash government spending …
Discussion: Rolling Stone and Reuters
RELATED:
Matt Dixon / NBC News:
Casey DeSantis considers running for Florida governor amid push from top donors  —  The wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has long been rumored as a potential 2026 candidate, but the prospect is inching closer to reality.  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican donors at a gathering last week …
Discussion: al.com, Boston Herald and New York Post
David Gutman / The Seattle Times:
Judge in Seattle accuses Trump of trying to change the Constitution  —  A federal judge in Seattle has once again blocked the Trump administration's attempt to rescind birthright citizenship — the guarantee embedded in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that every person born in the U.S. is an American citizen.
Niraj Chokshi / New York Times:
Airline Pilots in the DC Plane Crash Acted as Expected, Experts Say  —  The pilots of the American Airlines regional jet in the Washington airport collision acted as expected, aviation safety experts and other pilots said.  —  Just after 8:43 p.m. on Jan. 29, an air traffic controller …
Discussion: CBS News, Washington Examiner and DNyuz
New York Times:
C.D.C. Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People  —  The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday, confirmed transmission in two households.  Scientists called on the agency to release the full report.  —  Cats that became infected with bird flu might …
Discussion: Forbes and DNyuz
Daily Kos:
Trump taps televangelist kook to run new White House ‘faith’ office  —  Christian nationalism is in full swing after Donald Trump's Thursday announcement of a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias,” as well as a new White House Faith Office led by right-...
ABC News:
Rubio acting director of the National Archives  —  In addition to being the Secretary of State and the acting director of USAID, Marco Rubio is also the acting archivist of the United States, according to a high-level official.  —  Per the official, Rubio has been the acting archivist since shortly …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Aarian Marshall / Wired:
Feds Halt the National Electric Vehicle Charging Program
Shawn McCreesh / New York Times:
Trump Pauses Online Tirade to Preach Unity
Bradley Hope / Whale Hunting:
Breaking: Christmas Comes Early for Kleptocrats - DOJ Shutters Anti-Corruption Units
Discussion: Rolling Stone and The Hill
Andrew Roth / Michigan Advance:
Michigan legislator says she underwent sterilization to avoid pregnancy during Trump presidency
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Man pardoned in Jan. 6 case arrested on 2016 solicitation charge
Discussion: Mediaite and Raw Story
Caroline O'Donovan / Washington Post:
Whole Foods says Trump's actions make union win moot
Discussion: WHYY
 Earlier Items: 
Sam Stein / The Bulwark:
Trump and Musk Are Strangling the Government
Andrew Goudsward / Reuters:
Trump administration disbands task force targeting Russian oligarchs
Discussion: Los Angeles Times
Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:
‘Trump Brazenly Defies Laws’ is not an A17 story
U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Treasury Targets Oil Network Generating Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Iran's Military
Timothy W. Ryback / The Atlantic:
The Oligarchs Who Came to Regret Supporting Hitler
Sigal Samuel / Vox:
JD Vance accidentally directed us to a crucial moral question