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9:30 AM ET, February 12, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Lauren Easton / The Associated Press:
AP statement on Oval Office access  —  The Associated Press issued this statement on Tuesday from Executive Editor Julie Pace:  —  As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism.
RELATED:
Oliver Darcy / Status:   Soon-Shiong's La-La Land
Hadas Gold / CNN:
The AP says it was blocked from the Oval Office over continuing to use “Gulf of Mexico”
New York Times:
Trump Softens Tone on Inflation After Pledging to Lower Prices  —  President Trump pledged to lower costs on “Day 1” as a candidate.  His administration now acknowledges it will take more time.  —  President Trump promised voters that, if elected, he would enact policies that would bring prices down on “Day 1” in office.
RELATED:
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Consumer prices rise 0.5% in January, higher than expected as annual rate rises to 3% … WATCH NOW  —  Inflation perked up more than anticipated in January, providing further incentive for the Federal Reserve to hold the line on interest rates.  —  The consumer price index …
Andrew Ackerman / Washington Post:
Inflation heated up in January, as prices for groceries and housing picked up
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
New York Times:
Live Updates: Musk Asserts Without Proof That He's Fixing a Bureaucracy Rife With Fraud  —  The billionaire, chosen by President Trump to lead a federal overhaul, insisted he was working transparently, but his team's secretive actions have delivered shocks across the government.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Orders Plans for ‘Large Scale’ Work Force Cuts and Expands Musk's Power  —  The latest executive order by the president made clear that the billionaire's cost-cutting team will have continuing oversight of the Civil Service.  —  President Trump signed an executive order …
Washington Post:
Trump executive order vows substantial cuts to federal workforce
emptywheel:
“The Fraudsters Complain the Loudest and the Fastest:” Legacy Media Ignores Import of Gaza Condom Fact Check
Discussion: Raw Story
New York Times:
Appearing With Trump, Musk Makes Broad Claims of Federal Fraud Without Proof
Discussion: CNN, The Guardian and Fortune
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Not Hyperbole Anymore: Musk Is In Charge of the US Government  —  These are wild times at TPM because they're wild times in the American government.  It's hard to keep up with everything happening from one moment to the next.  I had not had a chance to look at the new DOGE executive order President signed …
Discussion: Breitbart and Townhall
RELATED:
The White House:
Implementing The President's “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:  —  Section 1.  Purpose.
Washington Post:
Trump fires USAID inspector general one day after blistering report  —  Paul K. Martin, appointed by President Joe Biden, was dismissed a day after issuing a report assessing the Trump administration implemented its aid freeze and stop-work order.  —  February 11, 2025
Discussion: The Guardian
RELATED:
Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
Hegseth's visit to U.S. base in Germany met with student walkout  —  The civil disobedience by dozens of middle schoolers — and some adults — was aimed at the Trump administration's rollback of DEI initiatives.  —  February 11, 2025  —  Live updates: Trump signs executive order calling on agencies to work with Elon Musk-led group
Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
USAID IG fired day after report critical of impacts of Trump administration's dismantling of the agency
Axios:
Scoop: Dems “pissed” at liberal groups MoveOn, Indivisible … - “People are pissed,” a senior House Democrat who was at the meeting said of lawmakers' reaction to the calls.  — The Democrat said Jeffries himself is “very frustrated” at the groups, who are trying to stir up a more confrontational opposition to Trump.
Discussion: Breitbart, Mediaite, Fox News and CBS News
Wired:
Dozens of CFPB Workers Fired in After-Hours Blitz  —  Some affected employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were notified with an email that addressed them as [EmployeeFirstName][EmployeeLastName], [Job Title], [Division].  —  Dozens of Consumer Finance Protection Bureau employees …
Discussion: Slate and Yahoo Finance
RELATED:
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Trump burns down financial watchdog agency to spite Liz Warren
Julia Métraux / Mother Jones:
Project 2025 Is Gutting Medical Funding That Helped Russell Vought's Own Kid  —  The National Institutes of Health, the federal government's leading medical research agency, came under attack by Project 2025 well before its architect, Russell Vought, was confirmed to Donald Trump's second-term cabinet …
Discussion: STAT and Raw Story
Politico:
Treasury officials: Musk ally ‘mistakenly’ had power to alter payments system  —  The incident prompted an internal forensic investigation that remains ongoing.  —  Treasury Department officials said Tuesday that the agency last week “mistakenly” and “briefly” gave a member of Elon Musk's team …
RELATED:
The Bulwark:   When President Musk Speaks, Donald Trump Listens
David Morgan / Reuters:
US Republicans find unity on taxes a heavy lift in Trump ‘golden age’  —  Barely a month after predicting a new “golden age” under President Donald Trump, congressional Republicans are struggling to move forward on the president's tax-cut agenda, despite their control of both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Discussion: NOTUS and The Hill
RELATED:
Tom Dreisbach / NPR:
Jan. 6 video evidence has ‘disappeared’ from public access, media coalition says  —  Attorneys for a group of news organizations, including NPR, said in a legal filing on Tuesday that evidence used at the sentencing of a rioter charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol had “disappeared” from an online government platform.
RELATED:
Brandi Buchman / HuffPost:   Trump DOJ Accused of Deleting Evidence In Jan. 6 Court Cases
Eugene Ludwig / Politico:
Voters Were Right About the Economy.  The Data Was Wrong.  —  Here's why unemployment is higher, wages are lower and growth less robust than government statistics suggest.  —  Before the presidential election, many Democrats were puzzled by the seeming disconnect between “economic reality” …
Discussion: HotAir
Luis Ferré-Sadurní / New York Times:
Top FEMA Official Is Fired Over Payments for N.Y.C. Migrant Shelters  —  The Trump administration fired the Federal Emergency Management Agency's chief financial officer and three others after Elon Musk misleadingly claimed the agency had used disaster-relief funds for migrant services.
RELATED:
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
This obscure law is one reason Trump's agenda keeps losing in court  —  Lawsuits challenging Trump policies raise big constitutional questions, but they also rely on a law that requires the government to follow the correct procedures when changing course.  —  WASHINGTON — Lawyers challenging …
ProPublica:
The Staffers Helping Elon Musk Dismantle and Downsize the U.S. Government, One Agency at a Time  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  The Trump administration is not even a month old …
Discussion: Deseret News
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Trump Humiliated in the ‘Most Powerless Image Ever’ of a U.S. President: O'Donnell  —  Trump has always craved is the attention of the “truly rich,” and how he finally has it, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell said.
Discussion: CBS News
Will Selber / The Bulwark:
USAID Kept My Troops Safe in Afghanistan  —  IN 2008, I DEPLOYED TO AFGHANISTAN for the first time on a Provincial Reconstruction Team.  Our group included active-duty airmen and soldiers as well as reservists and guardsmen.  But the linchpin of our team was our USAID embed, David.
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Cutting Cancer Research  —  Sometimes, it gets personal.  —  My daughter is finishing up a master's degree.  Her work is completely over my head, but it involves the intersection of nutrition, agriculture, and climate change. … In other words, she's doing important work, real work that could help make many lives better.
Wall Street Journal:
How Mexico's Leader Is Writing the Playbook for Handling Trump  —  President Claudia Sheinbaum impressed Trump by sticking to her guns without antagonizing him  —  MEXICO CITY—When President Trump called her last week, President Claudia Sheinbaum was prepared to speak with a U.S. leader who wouldn't yield on tariffs.
Discussion: Associated Press
Julianne McShane / Mother Jones:
Please Don't Use Nancy Mace's So-Called Victim Hotline, Advocates Say  —  On the House floor Monday night—in a speech that was jarring, graphic, and nearly an hour long—Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) made disturbing allegations of sexual abuse against four men from her home state, one of whom is her ex-fiancé.
Reuters:
Egypt's President Sisi to stay away from White House if Gaza displacement on agenda  —  Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will not travel to Washington for talks at the White House as long as the agenda includes U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said.
Seb Starcevic / Politico:
Danish MEP slams ‘absurd’ proposal to rename Greenland ‘Red, White and Blueland’  —  Member of Congress said the U.S. will “proudly welcome” Greenlanders to “join the freest nation to ever exist.”  —  A Danish MEP denounced a proposal by an American lawmaker to rename Greenland “Red …
Wall Street Journal:
American Detainee Marc Fogel Arrives in U.S. Following Release From Russian Custody  —  Arrested in 2021, the schoolteacher was serving a 14-year prison sentence  —  American Marc Fogel arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday night after his release from Russia, where he was arrested in 2021 on marijuana charges …
Politico:
Trump to nominate Sean Cairncross as national cyber director  —  Cairncross is a former top official at the RNC and previously led a federal foreign aid agency during the first Trump administration.  —  President Donald Trump intends to nominate former administration official …
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Federal Agency Fires Staff, Calls It an Error, Fires Them Again  — Small Business Administration workers receive series of emails  — Firings align with Musk's effort to reduce federal workforce  —  President Donald Trump's Small Business Administration told probationary staff members …
Discussion: Politico
 
 
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 More Items: 
Tressie McMillan Cottom / New York Times:
Look Past Elon Musk's Chaos. There's Something More Sinister at Work.
David Zipper / Slate:
Americans Are Actually in a Position to Make Elon Musk Feel Our Rage
Discussion: Forbes
Reuters:
Iran's Khamenei cites need to further develop Iran's military after Trump threats
Foreign Policy:
DOGE Is Hacking America
Discussion: CityNews Toronto
Alan Charles Raul / Washington Post:
Why DOGE is unconstitutional  —  Trump is acting extra-constitutionally.
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Why the COVID Deniers Won
 Earlier Items: 
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
It's a Good Thing Democrats Didn't Pack the Courts
Jason Kelley / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
EFF Sues DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management to Halt Ransacking of Federal Data
Discussion: Wired, The Verge, Politico and UPI
Foreign Affairs:
The Path to American Authoritarianism
Aimee Picchi / CBS News:
Almost $500 million in food is at risk of spoilage after USAID pause, report says
Discussion: Frontpage Mag and The Guardian
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
President Elon Musk Suddenly Realizes He Might Not Know How to Govern
Discussion: Daily Kos
Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Judge orders HHS, CDC and FDA to restore deleted webpages with health information
 

 
From Mediagazer:

David Roeder / Chicago Sun Times:
Around 20% of Chicago Sun-Times staff, or 30 employees, took buyouts and have resigned, including most of the editorial board; 5 WBEZ workers also took buyouts

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
RFE/RL sues USAGM and its officials Kari Lake and Victor Morales, arguing they acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally in blocking funds allocated by Congress

Danielle Kaye / New York Times:
The US DOJ charges film director Carl Erik Rinsch for allegedly defrauding a “streaming platform” for $11M; an arbitrator ruled in May that he owed Netflix ~$9M

 
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