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1:15 PM ET, February 20, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
Many of Trump's early actions are unpopular, Post-Ipsos poll finds  —  Reviews from Americans on President Donald Trump's second term are mixed to negative, and 57 percent say he has exceeded his authority since taking office.
RELATED:
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's honeymoon is over  —  New polling shows Trump's approval declining — and a number of major warning signs appearing.  —  President Donald Trump came into office claiming a sweeping and historic mandate, but that was always oversold.  —  Trump's win was relatively modest, historically speaking.
Discussion: The Japan Times
Olivia George / Washington Post:   Trump ends federal leadership program, cutting off key talent pipeline
Hannah Natanson / Washington Post:
These feds took Trump's ‘fork’ deal. Then they got fired — creating a government ‘mess.’
Discussion: GovExec.com
Jessica Piper / Politico:
Warning signs for Trump in new polling
Discussion: Reuters, The Hill and FOX8 WGHP
Bruce Schreiner / Associated Press:
Sen. Mitch McConnell won't seek reelection in 2026, ending long tenure as Republican power broker  —  Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is announcing on Thursday that he won't seek reelection next year, ending a decadeslong tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes …
RELATED:
Politico:
McConnell to announce retirement from the Senate  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former majority leader and the most consequential Republican senator of his generation, will announce Thursday he will not seek reelection next year, according to people briefed on his plans.
Discussion: Breitbart and CBS News
Anders Hagstrom / Fox News:
Sen Mitch McConnell announces he will not run for re-election
Discussion: ABC News and The Hill
Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
“They're Scared Shitless”: The Threat of Political Violence Informing Trump's Grip on Congress  —  With the president smashing norm after norm, even lawmakers within his party have feared for their personal safety, and at least one has told confidants that it has swayed his decision-making.
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump blindsides staff, Congress with conflicting Medicaid messages
Blake Jones / Politico:
Valadao treads lightly on Medicaid as Obamacare vote haunts him
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
DOGE Puts $1 Spending Limit on Government Employee Credit Cards  —  The restrictions are already in place at the General Services Administration along with several other agencies.  Soon they'll roll out to most of the federal government, sources say.  —  Elon Musk's so-called Department …
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Brian Barrett / Wired:
The Incompetence of DOGE Is a Feature, Not a Bug  —  A series of mistakes by DOGE shows just how arbitrary and destructive this slash-and-burn strategy can get.  —  Within just the last week or so, Elon Musk's DOGE hit team of mostly young, almost exclusively male engineers and executives have done the following:
Stephen Fowler / NPR:
DOGE released data about federal contract savings. It doesn't add up
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
To Russia, With Love, Donald  —  Here at The Bulwark, you might have noticed, we tend to take a pretty cynical view of the current occupant in the Oval Office.  And yet, we confess that not even we had this one on our Week Four bingo cards: … Epic troll, sir!  Very cool!  Happy Thursday.
RELATED:
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
The past week has solidified a sea change in American—and global—history. …
Discussion: Chicago Sun Times and The Week
Financial Times:
US objects to calling out ‘Russian aggression’ in G7 statement on Ukraine  —  Trump administration splits with allies on holding Moscow responsible for war  —  The US is opposing calling Russia the aggressor in a G7 statement on the third anniversary of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine …
RELATED:
Reuters:
Exclusive: US refusing to co-sponsor UN motion backing Ukraine  —  The U.S. is refusing to co-sponsor a draft U.N. resolution marking three years since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine that backs Kyiv's territorial integrity and condemns Russian aggression, three diplomatic sources told Reuters …
David Gilmour / Mediaite:
Jesse Watters Makes On-Air Plea to Trump for Veteran Friend Who Got 'DOGE'd' In Pentagon Cuts  —  Fox News host Jesse Watters made an on-air plea that the Trump administration be “less callous” when implementing when laying off federal employees after a military veteran friend was “DOGE'd” in Elon Musk's Pentagon cuts.
Discussion: New Republic and The Independent
Marc Elias / Democracy Docket:
My Open Letter to Elon Musk  —  Elon Musk recently posted on his site that another lawyer and I are “undermining civilization.”  He goes on to ask if we suffered childhood trauma and concludes by suggesting we are suffering from “generational trauma.”  This is my response.  —  Mr. Musk,
Discussion: Raw Story
Christopher Flavelle / New York Times:
Trump Team Plans Deep Cuts at Office That Funds Recovery From Big Disasters  —  Staff at the office, a branch of the U.S. housing department that Congress uses to address the worst catastrophes, would be reduced by 84 percent.  —  The Trump administration plans to all but eliminate the office …
Discussion: Bloomberg and Raw Story
ProPublica:
Texas Banned Abortion.  Then Sepsis Rates Soared.  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion in 2021 …
Bernd Debusmann Jr / BBC:
Trump tells BBC that Russia has ‘the cards’ in peace negotiations  —  Donald Trump says he believes Russia has “the cards” in any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine because Russia has “taken a lot of territory”.  —  The US president told the BBC he trusted that Moscow wants to see an end to the war …
RELATED:
Jack McKessy / USA Today:
Ex-NFL punter Chris Kluwe calls MAGA ‘a Nazi movement’ in protest that led to his arrest  —  Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was arrested Tuesday on a charge of disturbing an assembly in Huntington Beach, California, per the city's arrest log.  The incident occurred at a city council meeting.
RELATED:
Michael David Smith / NBCSports.com:
Ex-NFL punter Chris Kluwe arrested over protest at Huntington Beach City Council meeting
The White House:
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Ends Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders  —  PRESERVING FEDERAL BENEFITS FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to ensure taxpayer resources are not used to incentivize or support illegal immigration.
RELATED:
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Freshman Congressman tells constituent he is powerless to stop Musk's budget cuts  —  At an open house in Fairbanks on Monday, Alaskan Congressman Nick Begich (R) told constituents that there was nothing he could do to stop agency budget cuts being implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk.
Discussion: KTUU and Anchorage Daily News
David R. Lurie / Public Notice:
Elite lawyers sell out the rule of law  —  🏛️ 📜 ⚖️ 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.
Oliver Darcy / Status:
AP's Back-Channel Press  —  News outlets across the political spectrum have united behind the AP, signing a WHCA-backed letter urging the White House to reverse its press ban, a copy of which Status has obtained.  —  On Wednesday, Julie Pace boarded a plane to Florida for a high-stakes meeting.
Kim Zetter / Wired:
DOGE Now Has Access to the Top US Cybersecurity Agency  —  DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.  —  Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old engineer …
Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:
IRS plans to lay off 7,000 probationary workers beginning Thursday, AP source says  —  The IRS will lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington and around the country beginning Thursday, a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press.  The layoffs affect probationary employees …
Reuters:
Boeing CEO says Musk ‘helping in a big way’ on timing of Air Force One planes  —  Boeing (BA.N) CEO Kelly Ortberg on Thursday said Elon Musk, the head of its space business rival SpaceX, is “helping us a lot” in navigating through delays in delivering Boeing's Air Force One presidential jet.
Chris Perez / Law & Crime:
‘Discovery will be needed’: Trump must fork over his personal financials if he follows through with Kamala Harris ‘60 Minutes’ lawsuit, CBS says  —  Lawyers for CBS say they plan to demand that President Donald Trump — who is allegedly letting DOGE pillage U.S. treasury data …
Steven Monacelli / The Texas Observer:
ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account  —  Fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids began to spread the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time.  Posts on social media and Reddit claimed that ICE had already been spotted …
Discussion: Eschaton
The White House:
Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy  —  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.  It is the policy of my Administration to dramatically reduce the size …
Julio Ricardo Varela / MSNBC:
Tom Homan's obsession with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a political miscalculation  —  This could be the opening Democrats need to re-engage Latinos who have been waiting for someone to stand up.  —  If President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, thought he could intimidate …
Discussion: Raw Story and HuffPost
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Patel on cusp of confirmation to run FBI as Collins says she'll oppose  —  Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's controversial nominee to lead the FBI, is on track to be confirmed in a matter of hours to run the federal law enforcement agency — but at least one Republican will withhold support.
 
 
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 More Items: 
William Gallo / Voice of America:
North Korea rights groups face collapse amid US funding halt
David Gardner / The Daily Beast:
Trump Regrets Ditching Matt Gaetz as GOP Senate Falls in Line
Washington Post:
Experts say Trump comes close to the red line of openly defying judges
New York Times:
Nearly One in 10 U.S. Adults Identifies as L.G.B.T.Q., Survey Finds
Discussion: Gallup, The Hill and them.
Ben Mathis-Lilley / Slate:
Americans Are Asking: Did Trump Take Egg?
Politico:
Judge bars immediate deportation of asylum seekers fleeing torture, rape and other violence
 Earlier Items: 
Nandika Chatterjee / The Daily Beast:
Dolly Parton Calls Out Indiana Gov Over Plan to Dump Her Imagination Library
Thomas Frank / Politico:
FEMA email: Firings will affect ‘majority of our staff’
Canadian Press:
New poll says 27% of Canadians view the United States as an ‘enemy’ country
Discussion: CityNews Toronto
Reuters:
‘Stagflation’ fears haunt US markets despite Trump's pro-growth agenda
Discussion: Bloomberg and The Week
Makena Kelly / Wired:
USDS Engineering Director Resigns: ‘This Is Not the Mission I Came to Serve’
Discussion: The Verge
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
OpenAI backtracks, says its nonprofit will remain in control of its business operations, after a “constructive dialogue” with civic leaders and AGs of DE and CA

Alex Konrad / Upstarts Media:
Sources: Databricks is in advanced talks to acquire startup Neon, a maker of a serverless open-source alternative to AWS Aurora Postgres, for about $1B

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
TeleMessage's parent company says it is “investigating a potential security incident” and has suspended all of its services “out of an abundance of caution”
 
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