Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
7:45 PM ET, February 12, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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 …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
White House says judges balking at Trump's actions are provoking a ‘constitutional crisis’  —  The White House said Wednesday that court rulings going against the Trump administration are coming from “judicial activists” on the bench whose decisions amount to a “constitutional crisis.”
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
It's a Good Thing Democrats Didn't Pack the Courts
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
Associated Press:
As Trump pushes whirlwind agenda, DOJ is challenged to defend his orders in court
Discussion: New Republic
RELATED:
Washington Post:
New Kennedy Center board elects Trump as chair.  Rutter departs as president.  —  President Trump's refashioned board of trustees voted him chairman in a meeting Wednesday afternoon.  President Deborah Rutter told staff she was leaving the institution.  —  The Kennedy Center board …
Wall Street Journal:
Judge Lifts Freeze on Trump's Buyout Plan for Federal Workers  —  Order reinstates program that offered federal workers eight months of pay and benefits if they voluntarily resigned  —  A federal judge on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its buyout offer …
New York Times:
Live Updates: Trump Holds Call With Putin to Start Talks on Ending Ukraine War  —  Where Things Stand  — Trump-Putin call: President Trump said that he had “a lengthy and highly productive” call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Wednesday that he characterized as the start of the negotiation to end the war in Ukraine.
RELATED:
NBC News:
Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as top U.S. intelligence official  —  Gabbard overcame initial skepticism from some Republican senators about her nomination, underscoring Trump's grip on the party.  —  WASHINGTON — The GOP-controlled Senate early Wednesday morning voted …
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Defying Johnson, Graham and Senate G.O.P. Push Their Own Budget Plan  —  Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who relishes being in the middle of the action, is leapfrogging the House G.O.P., which is still tied in knots over how to pass its budget.
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
Republicans Face Their First Big Test on Reconciliation — And the White House Has Doubts About Success
Ryan Grim / Drop Site News:
“Armored Tesla” forecast to win $400 million State Department contract after Trump's election, government document shows  —  The State Department's procurement forecast, revised as of late December 2024, lists Tesla as the recipient of the largest expected contract, with Marco Rubio's department planning …
Discussion: New Republic and Electrek
RELATED:
Miles Klee / Rolling Stone:
The Trump Administration Might Just Spend $400 Million on ‘Armored’ Teslas
Discussion: ABC News and El País
New York Times:
Republicans Love Trump's Spending Cuts.  Just Not in Their States.  —  Even as they praise the president's unilateral actions to slash federal spending, G.O.P. lawmakers have quietly moved to seek carve outs or exemptions for their own constituents.  —  Republicans in Congress have responded …
Discussion: NBC News and Raw Story
RELATED:
Ben Leonard / Politico:
Energy and Commerce Committee's Medicaid problem just got tougher
NBC News:
House GOP releases budget calling for trillions in cuts to taxes and spending
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House budget resolution in limbo as conservatives push deeper spending cuts and work requirements
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:
Colby Smith / New York Times:
CPI Report: Inflation Rose Unexpectedly in January
Reuters:
US sues New York state officials over immigration enforcement, attorney general says  —  The U.S. Justice Department has sued New York State officials over alleged failures to enforce federal immigration law, Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters on Wednesday.
New York Daily News:
Trump revokes $80 million from NYC after threat to claw back FEMA cash used to care for migrants  —  The Trump administration has revoked more than $80 million in funds from New York City bank accounts after Elon Musk earlier this week threatened to claw back FEMA money used to house migrants in …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Federal judge won't prevent withholding of FEMA funding for New York City migrant hotel stays
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
BREAKING: NIH admits funding freeze is illegal, will resume issuing grants  —  On Monday afternoon, Popular Information broke the news that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had frozen virtually all grant funding in violation of two federal court orders.
Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Elon Musk's DOGE takes aim at agency that had plans of regulating X  —  Elon Musk made a big leap late last month toward his long-shot goal of turning X into an “everything app,” a service that could encompass a broad range of services, including the ability to transfer money, similar to Venmo or PayPal.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Family of Venezuelan Migrant Sent to Guantánamo: ‘My Brother Is Not a Criminal.’ … Luis Alberto Castillo, a father of one from Venezuela, entered the United States on Jan. 19, one day before Donald Trump became president for a second term — swept into office on a promise to treat undocumented migrants with a heavy hand.
Daniel Payne / Politico:
Why the health care industry is letting RFK Jr. cruise to confirmation  —  From drugmakers to doctors, few health care groups are asking senators to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from becoming HHS secretary.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s expected Senate confirmation on Thursday to lead …
Discussion: New York Times
RELATED:
New York Times:
Behind Kennedy's Vow to ‘Follow the Science’ on Vaccines
Discussion: Breitbart
Jenna McLaughlin / NPR:
Tulsi Gabbard confirmed as director of national intelligence, overcoming skepticism  —  The U.S. Senate has confirmed former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to lead the intelligence community as director of national intelligence, despite initial skepticism.  —  Gabbard was confirmed 52-48 …
Wall Street Journal:
Musk's X Agrees to Pay About $10 Million to Settle Trump Lawsuit  —  Musk's platform becomes second social-media company to settle with Trump after Jan. 6, 2021 riot triggered bans  —  WASHINGTON—Elon Musk's X has agreed to pay about $10 million to settle a lawsuit that Donald Trump brought …
David Zipper / Slate:
Americans Are Actually in a Position to Make Elon Musk Feel Our Rage  —  The company is in a precarious position.  This is a case where buying choices can effectively communicate rage.  —  There are myriad reasons to loathe Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, who has become a top ally of Donald Trump.
Discussion: Raw Story and Forbes
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Her parents were injured in a Tesla crash. She ended up having to pay Tesla damages
Discussion: Electrek and TechCrunch
The Boston Globe:
Judge clears way for Trump's plan to downsize federal workforce.  Follow live updates.  —  A federal judge in Boston cleared the way for President Trump's plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program.  —  US District Judge George O'Toole Jr. found a group …
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Eric Adams Discussed Possible Republican Primary Run With G.O.P. Leader  —  The mayor discussed options to run for re-election in the Republican contest as recently as Monday.  Asked for comment, he said he was running as a Democrat.  —  Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has quietly explored running …
Discussion: Politico and Twin Cities
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
House Republican circulates petition to deport Omar  —  Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) is circulating a petition for his supporters to sign to deport a fellow member of Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).  —  Gil had previously called on Omar to be deported, arguing she is more loyal …
Discussion: Axios and New York Post
NBC News:
Judge rules Trump's sweeping plan to persuade federal workers to resign can move forward  —  U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. dissolved his restraining order blocking the “deferred resignations” program after finding the plaintiffs lacked legal standing.
Discussion: The National Pulse
Leah Feiger / Wired:
The GSA Plans to Sell Hundreds of Its Federal Government Buildings  —  The General Services Administration, staffed at its upper levels by Elon Musk associates, plans to sell 500-plus buildings—some of which house government agencies and the offices of US senators.
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Pope Francis's Stunning Rebuke of JD Vance Exposes MAGA's Dark Soul  —  The other day, JD Vance sought to reconcile President Donald Trump's “America First” vision with the tenets of Christianity.  Vance argued for a “Christian concept” that orders our ethical obligations in a series of concentric circles …
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House GOP budget plan targets deep SNAP cuts  —  The higher level of spending cuts in the newly released House Republican budget blueprint means some current food aid benefits for low-income Americans will likely be reduced, according to two GOP lawmakers.  House Republicans …
Discussion: USA Today
Justine Calma / The Verge:
The Trump administration restores federal webpages after court order  —  A federal judge told the CDC and FDA to restore pages containing key health information.  —  A federal judge told the CDC and FDA to restore pages containing key health information.
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell only Republican to vote against Gabbard  —  Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) on Wednesday voted against confirming former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) to serve as the nation's top intelligence official, sending a strong message to fellow GOP senators …
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 7:45 PM ET, February 12, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:


Page version:
 
 See Also: 
memeorandum: site main
memeorandum River: reverse chronological memeorandum
memeorandum Mobile: for phones
memeorandum Leaderboard: memeorandum's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
memeorandum RSS feed
memeorandum on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Jessica Grose / New York Times:
The Risks Trump Poses to K-12 Education
ABC News:
US embassies instructed to prepare for staff reductions: Sources
Adam Cancryn / Politico:
RFK Jr. taps former border patrol agent as senior adviser
Mitch McConnell / Courier-Journal:
Kentuckians can't afford the high cost of Trump's tariffs
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Top N.I.H. Official Abruptly Resigns as Trump Orders Deep Cuts
Emily Brooks / The Hill:
First DOGE committee hearing becomes referendum on Elon Musk
Discussion: New Republic
Charles Franklin / Homepage:
New Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds public strongly favors some Trump policies, strongly opposes others
 Earlier Items: 
emptywheel:
Trump Fired Inspectors General Who Identified $183.5 Billion in Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
Discussion: CNN
Haley Ott / CBS News:
Hegseth rules out Ukraine NATO membership as part of any ceasefire with Russia
Alex Gangitano / The Hill:
Musk calls for ‘wave of judicial impeachments’
ABC News:
US to swap Marc Fogel for Russian cybercrime kingpin Alexander Vinnik: Official
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
When President Musk Speaks, Donald Trump Listens
Discussion: NBC News
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Why the COVID Deniers Won
Discussion: The Democracy Labs
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Source says “most” journalists at Voice of America were put on administrative leave, a day after Trump signed an EO aimed at eliminating the USAGM

Michael Schaffer / Politico:
How The Dallas Express scooped the DC press corps on a congresswoman's dementia, highlighting the importance of local outlets in DC even as their numbers fall

Tara Bennett / AV Club:
How Looney Tunes' first original animated feature got released, as WBD's legacy franchise is at a crossroads, all but abandoned by the studio it helped define

 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page