The $400 Million Armored Tesla Story Is a Fake Scandal In a Sea of Real Graft and Horror  —  The State Department does a lot of business with a lot of different companies and has bought Tesla's before.  But freaking out and editing a spreadsheet when it's pointed out is weird.

RFK Jr. confirmed as Trump's health secretary, over Democrats' loud objections  —  Despite millions of dollars spent by groups opposed to his nomination, the Senate voted to install Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Scoop — Zelensky to Trump: Putin pretends to want peace because he's “afraid of you” … - While Trump told Zelensky he got the impression that Putin wants a deal, the Ukrainian president expressed a more skeptical view about the intentions of his Russian counterpart.

Manhattan's Federal Prosecutor Quits After Adams Case Is Ordered Dropped  —  Danielle R. Sassoon, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, quit after the Justice Department told her to withdraw corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams.

Elon Musk Is Faking It  —  Did you hear the one about how USAID spent $50 million — or was it $100 million? — providing condoms to Hamas?  This claim played a big role in the public relations campaign to rationalize the sudden, illegal dismantling of an agency that provides humanitarian aid …

Exclusive: Matt Schlapp, CPAC Chairman, allegedly sexually assaulted a man at a bar, witnesses say.  —  Matt Schlapp, the Chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts the CPAC convention, allegedly engaged in lewd conduct and allegedly sexually assaulted a man at a restaurant …

The Fringe Cause That Could Derail the Republican Agenda  —  We're not even a month into Donald Trump's new term and already, a cadre of Republican activists appears poised to fritter away his popularity and derail his administration's agenda with a maximalist demand for a budget-busting tax cut.

How to stop Trump's power grab  —  At this point, there is little doubt that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are engaged in a fundamentally unlawful effort to rewrite the American constitutional order.  Their efforts to redirect federal spending are attempts to seize Congress's power of the purse …

Aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman collides with ship in Mediterranean Sea  —  There are no reported injuries, nor is there flooding aboard the carrier.  —  The US warship USS Harry S. Truman is pictured anchored in The Solent, Oct. 8, 2018, near Portsmouth, England.

White House terminates top federal prosecutors amid DOJ, FBI purge  —  Numerous U.S. attorneys announced their departures during a period of extreme upheaval at the Justice Department, an institution long criticized by Trump.  —  WASHINGTON — The White House terminated multiple U.S. attorneys …

DOGE rips through Education Department, cutting contracts, staff and grants  —  Contracts that are key to interpreting data about the American education system were cut as DOGE seeks to trim spending.  Some contracts will be rebid.  —  The notices popped into email boxes …

Justice, FBI ousters remove longtime experts from daily threats meeting  —  Trump administration shake-ups at the Justice Department and FBI have eroded continuity on national security matters, people familiar with the situation said.  —  Every morning at 9:45, top FBI and Justice Department officials meet …

Trump's Purge vs. Roberts' Memo  —  This is a web version of The Lever's daily email newsletter.  —  On Lever Time: The tariffs may actually make everything worse.  —  ⬇️ Spend four minutes reading this 937-word newsletter to learn about:  — Trump's move to target a 90-year-old SCOTUS precedent.

The Truman Commission showed Americans why Congress must not ignore the world's wealthiest “dollar a year man” at DOGE  —  Good afternoon from Washington, where yesterday's snowfall is melting faster than ethics standards and watchdogs in the Trump administration.

Mass firings of federal workers begin as Trump and Musk purge U.S. government  —  Mass firings at multiple U.S. government agencies have begun as President Donald Trump and Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk accelerate their purge of America's federal bureaucracy, union sources and employees familiar with the layoffs told Reuters on Thursday.

If Indians and Pakistanis Can Relocate, Why Can't Gazans?  —  Population transfers aren't a Trump innovation.  There are plenty of examples from the 20th century.  —  President Trump's idea that the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and relocate two million Palestinians has elicited outrage and derision.

Walz considering Minnesota Senate run  —  Democratic Sen. Tina Smith announced earlier Thursday she would not seek reelection.  —  Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is considering a run for Senate next year, according to a person close to the governor who was granted anonymity to describe internal deliberations.

Linda McMahon is much worse than you think  —  💭 🤔 💥 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already …

Trump nominations loom over Senate's cherished Munich trip … - In an email to senators, Thune warned they may have to stay in town to vote on President Trump's nominations on Friday, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.  — That would delay, and potentially cancel …

DOGE's Website Is Just One Big Twitter Ad  —  The source code for the new Department for Government Efficiency's “official US government website” points to X as its primary source of authority while sharing links to the site sends users to x.com.  —  At a press conference in the Oval Office this week …

I Shudder to Imagine Kennedy Running Our Health Agencies.  —  The Senate has just confirmed as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, a science denialist who once said there is no vaccine that is safe and effective, who has suggested that Covid might have been genetically engineered to spare Jewish …

Senate panel votes ‘yes’ on Trump's pick to lead the FBI  —  Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's controversial pick to lead the FBI, was voted out of committee along party lines on Thursday morning.  The 12-10 vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee paves the way for Patel to be confirmed …

Trump's new passport rules are trapping transgender Americans in bureaucratic limbo  —  When Mary Fox went to apply for a passport, she brought copies of her birth certificate, certificate of legal name, driver's license, and a check, because the State Department website said passport fees had to be paid by check or cash.

Trump executive order leads to $100 energy bill hike for hundreds in Alabama  —  Donald Trump promised that, as president, he would drastically lower Americans' energy bills.  “[W]e're going to make it a much — a much different place,” Trump said during a November 14 speech at Mar-a-Lago.

Behind the Curtain: Masculine maximalism … - “Fix Bayonets,” Steve Bannon, a first-term Trump official whose “War Room” podcast makes him one of the most widely followed outside MAGA voices, texted us. … Trump, first in business and then politics, and Musk, first in business and now politics …