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12:15 PM ET, February 16, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Edward-Isaac Dovere / CNN:
Democrats confront their powerlessness as Trump flexes authority  —  Amid Democrats' shock and bickering over how much to respond to President Donald Trump is a deeper question rippling through leaders across the Capitol and across the country: How much should they rely on the same institutional …
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Elena Schneider / Politico:
Dems concede Republicans ‘running circles’ around them online as Trump remakes Washington  —  The Democratic response to Trump, one Texas lawmaker said, is “too slow and too tepid and not meeting the moment.”  —  The Department of Government Efficiency created its own account on X last November …
New York Times:
Trump Suggests No Laws Are Broken if He's ‘Saving His Country’  —  President Trump shared a quotation on social media, making it clear it was one he wanted people to absorb: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”  —  President Trump on Saturday posted on social media …
New York Times:   Venting at Democrats and Fearing Trump, Liberal Donors Pull Back Cash
Nick Cohen / Writing from London:
Trump's true enemy isn't China or Russia but liberal democracy  —  The new Cold War between Europe and America  —  Americans looking with some desperation for a reputable rationale behind the betrayal of Ukraine have reached for the comfort of realpolitik.  —  America's superpower rival is China, they say.
Discussion: The Guardian and Breaking Defense
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Sugam Pokharel / CNN:
European leaders to hold emergency summit on Ukraine as Trump-Putin call strains ties
Reuters:
Trump team to start Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia in coming days, Politico reports
New York Times:   Hegseth's Bruising 72-Hour Debut Overseas
Jasper Jolly / The Guardian:
Protesters target Tesla showrooms in US over Elon Musk's government cost-cutting  —  Demonstrations across the US against tycoon's ties to Trump highlight potential risks to firm's reputation and sales  —  Protesters gathered outside Tesla dealerships across the US on Saturday in response …
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Rachel Leingang / The Guardian:   ‘A particularly heinous villain’: a disdain for Musk has sparked protests across US
Chandelis Duster / NPR:   Protests are set to take place on Presidents Day. Here is why
NBC News:
Justice Department fires multiple immigration judges amid case backlog  —  A union representing the judges said it “makes no sense” to make cuts to immigration courts as Trump promises to carry out mass deportations, which must go through the courts.  —  WASHINGTON — The Department …
Discussion: New York Times and The Hill
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Alexandra Koch / Fox News:
Trump administration fires more than a dozen immigration judges
Discussion: CBS News
Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
DOGE Mismanagement Principles  —  Sam Rayburn, the Texan who served as House Speaker for 17 years was fond of saying: … Rayburn was talking about policymaking, but the point extends to more broadly to governing.  Trashing government agencies is easy.  Making them work is hard.
Discussion: The UnPopulist and CNN
Liam Knox / Inside Higher Ed:
Ed Department: DEI Violates Civil Rights Law  —  In a sweeping and unprecedented letter issued over the weekend, the Office for Civil Rights declared race-based scholarships, cultural centers and even graduation ceremonies illegal.  —  The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights declared …
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
House GOP budget resolution in jeopardy amid concerns from moderates  —  The House GOP's budget resolution could be in jeopardy of not clearing the full chamber amid concerns from moderates over likely cuts to social safety net programs — particularly Medicaid — with a handful undecided on whether they will support the key measure.
Discussion: HuffPost
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Billy House / Bloomberg:
Steve Bannon, US Hospitals Join GOP Rebellion Over Medicaid Cuts
Discussion: Salon and HuffPost
Washington Post:
ICE struggles to boost arrest numbers despite infusion of resources  —  Trump has ordered a wartime effort to increase deportations, but ICE statistics show arrests have dipped so far this month.  —  Since taking office, President Donald Trump has launched an all-of-government immigration crackdown …
Discussion: Raw Story and washingtonpost.com
Politico:
Appeals court rejects Trump in showdown over firing of ethics watchdog  —  The D.C. Circuit panel voted, 2-1, against the president's bid to immediately remove Hampton Dellinger.  —  A divided federal appeals court panel has again turned down President Donald Trump's request to follow through …
Discussion: Washington Examiner
Representative Claudia Tenney:
Congresswoman Tenney Moves to Make President Trump's Birthday a Federal Holiday  —  Washington, DC - Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today introduced the Trump's Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act to officially designate June 14 as a federal holiday to commemorate President Donald J. Trump's Birthday and Flag Day.
Discussion: WALV-TV and WKRN News 2
ProPublica:
Trump Official Destroying USAID Secretly Met With Christian Nationalists Abroad in Defiance of U.S. Policy  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  Before Peter Marocco was selected …
New York Times:
This Is What the Courts Can Do if Trump Defies Them  —  Are we heading toward a full-blown constitutional crisis?  For the first time in decades, the country is wrestling with this question.  It was provoked by members of the Trump administration, including Russell Vought …
Brandon Drenon / BBC:
US government tries to rehire nuclear staff it fired days ago  —  The US government is trying to rehire nuclear safety employees it had fired on Thursday, after concerns grew that their dismissal could jeopardise national security, US media reported.  —  The National Nuclear Security Administration …
Discussion: NBC News, Washington Examiner and NPR
Emma Burrows / Associated Press:
US presented Ukraine with a document to access its minerals but offered almost nothing in return  —  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on U.S. interests.
Marcia Brown / Politico:
Trump administration firings hit key office handling bird flu response  —  The layoffs in USDA's National Animal Health Laboratory Network program office come as egg prices reach record high amid worsening outbreak.  —  Laboratories in a national network of 58 facilities responding to the spread …
Discussion: Rolling Stone and Breitbart
Jim Tankersley / New York Times:
Trump Officials Attack a German Consensus on Nazis and Speech  —  Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk have challenged decades-long approaches to political extremism that were designed to prevent another Hitler.  —  The American vice president visited a concentration camp on Thursday afternoon.
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 More Items: 
Washington Post:
Trump's global funding freeze leaves anti-terror programs in limbo
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
The Courts Aren't The Cavalry; We Are  —  Lots of people are talking about early wins in court.
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
Peter S. Goodman / New York Times:
How Trump's One-for-One Tariff Plan Threatens the Global Economy
Discussion: Associated Press
James Mackenzie / Reuters:
Israel receives shipment of heavy bombs cleared by Trump
Discussion: Breitbart
Ronda Kaysen / New York Times:
Home Builders Say Trump Tariffs Are Raising Construction Costs
Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
‘Acting Like a King’: Michigan's Attorney General on the Lawsuit to Undo Musk's Damage
 Earlier Items: 
Matt Brown / Associated Press:
NAACP lists companies that dump DEI in its tactical spending guide for Black Americans
Garrett M. Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
Musk, Trump Establish New Era of Kleptocracy in America
Asawin Suebsaeng / Rolling Stone:
Trump Publicly Admits He Thinks He Can Break Any Law He Wants
Washington Post:
Musk accused Reuters of ‘social deception.’ The deception was his.
Edward Helmore / The Guardian:
US Forest Service and National Park Service to fire thousands of workers
Discussion: New York Times