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7:50 AM ET, February 20, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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:
Corey Kilgannon / New York Times:
DOGE Cuts 9/11 Survivors' Fund, and Republicans Join Democrats in Rebuke  —  After 20 percent of the World Trade Center Health Program staff was terminated last week, Democratic lawmakers were outraged.  On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers joined them.  —  In a rare pushback against President Donald J …
NBC News:
Hegseth considering firing generals as early as this week
Discussion: The Independent, ABC News and NPR
Nate Raymond / Reuters:
Republican lawmaker seeks US judge's impeachment over ruling against Trump
NPR:
GOP senators fact check Trump's Ukraine rhetoric, while still backing his strategy
Politico:
Trump blindsides staff, Congress with conflicting Medicaid messages
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:   Republicans in Hispanic-heavy districts push Johnson not to slash Medicaid or SNAP
Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Trump Just Endorsed Sweeping Medicaid Cuts
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Trump's flurry of false claims about Ukraine  —  In remarks and social media posts, the president echoes Russian talking points. … — President Donald Trump, in remarks to reporters, Feb. 18  —  Subscribe for unlimited access to The Post  —  Save on unmatched reporting.
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Voice of America:
US figures do not support Trump claims on Ukraine spending  —  President Donald Trump on Wednesday repeated a claim that the United States has spent $350 billion on Ukraine's war — a figure that far eclipses the amount recorded by the Department of Defense and the interagency oversight group that tracks U.S. appropriations to Ukraine.
Discussion: Politico
Jack Blanchard / Politico:   Playbook: One month of Trump
Joshua Keating / Vox:
Is Trump about to hand Ukraine to Russia?
Anton Troianovski / New York Times:
Zelensky and Trump Trade Blows as Feud Escalates Over Peace Talks
Bernd Debusmann Jr / BBC:
Trump tells BBC that Russia has ‘the cards’ in peace negotiations
Quinnipiac University Poll:
Majority Say System Of Checks & Balances Not Working Well, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Congressional Job Approval: Democrats Hit All-Time Low, Republicans Hit Record High  —  mail_outline  —  Less than 4 in 10 voters think the system of checks and balances between the executive …
RELATED:
Politico:
Why the White House insists Elon Musk is merely an ‘employee’
Bloomberg:   Musk's DOGE to Lead Trump's Purge of Federal Regulations
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 …
Tierney Sneed / CNN:
Trump can't end birthright citizenship, appeals court says, setting up Supreme Court showdown  —  An appeals court will not allow the Trump administration to end birthright citizenship for certain children of immigrants, in a ruling that could propel the issue to the Supreme Court.
Discussion: NBC News and UPI
RELATED:
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
Trump's appeal on birthright citizenship order rejected by court
Discussion: Reuters and Scripps News
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 …
Michael David Smith / NBCSports.com:
Ex-NFL punter Chris Kluwe arrested over protest at Huntington Beach City Council meeting  —  Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was arrested over a protest at a city council meeting in Huntington Beach, California on Tuesday.  —  Kluwe was protesting Huntington Beach's decision to display a plaque …
Stephen Fowler / NPR:
DOGE released data about federal contract savings.  It doesn't add up  —  A new online tracker on the Department of Government Efficiency's website puts a dollar amount on the estimated savings from the DOGE effort to slash federal government spending at $55 billion.  —  But an NPR analysis finds the numbers don't add up.
RELATED:
GovExec.com:
IRS expected to fire 6,700 employees beginning Thursday  —  The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to conduct mass firings of 6,700 employees beginning Thursday, according to multiple employees notified of the plans.  —  Staff in their probationary periods—mostly recent hires …
Discussion: The Independent and Frontpage Mag
RELATED:
New York Times:
I.R.S. to Begin Laying Off Roughly 6,000 Employees on Thursday
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: Bloomberg
Maya Yang / The Guardian:
Trump receives widespread backlash to social post calling himself ‘king’  —  US president made comparison after administration rescinded New York City's congestion pricing plan  —  Donald Trump is receiving widespread backlash after he likened himself to a “king” on social media following …
Makena Kelly / Wired:
USDS Engineering Director Resigns: ‘This Is Not the Mission I Came to Serve’  —  “I do not believe that DOGE can continue to deliver the work of USDS, based on their actions so far,” wrote Anne Marshall in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.  —  The director of data science and engineering …
Discussion: New Republic
Dean Fioresi / CBS News:
Cal Fire captain found stabbed to death inside of her San Diego County home  —  A Cal Fire captain was found stabbed to death inside of her San Diego County home on Monday and authorities are still searching for the suspect.  —  Deputies were dispatched to a home in the 20200 block …
Washington Post:
Trump administration orders Pentagon to plan for sweeping budget cuts  —  The directive, detailed in a memo dated Tuesday, exempts a handful of programs, including the president's expanded military mission along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
D.C. U.S. attorney probing Democrats over alleged threats, documents show  —  Analysts say Ed Martin's ‘Operation Whirlwind,’ which targets statements by Democrats and others about Elon Musk, justices and government workers, is meant to stifle criticism.  —  D.C.'s top prosecutor escalated …
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump Team Finds Loophole to Defy Spirit of Court Orders Blocking Spending Freezes  —  Officials cite other legal authorities — not Mr. Trump's court-blocked directives — to keep withholding foreign aid and domestic grant money.  —  The Trump administration is systematically exploiting loopholes …
Discussion: Politico
Scioto Valley Guardian:
A judge in Mississippi orders newspaper to remove editorial, so we're publishing it  —  At Scioto Valley Guardian, Ohio's leading news website, we stand unwaveringly for the freedom of the press—a cornerstone of democracy enshrined in the First Amendment.  Today, we are reprinting an editorial …
Madeline Sherratt / The Independent:
11-year-old took her own life after classmates threatened to call ICE on her family, devastated mother reveals  —  ‘I waited a whole week for a miracle that my daughter would be well, but unfortunately, nothing could be done,’ despaired her mother  —  Your support helps us to tell the story
Rachael Levy / Reuters:
Exclusive: FDA staffers told that ‘woman,’ ‘disabled’ among banned words; White House says it's an error  —  Some U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists have been told to stop using the words “woman,” “disabled” and “elderly” in external communications, two sources familiar with the matter said …
Discussion: The Independent
Emily Ngo / Politico:
A resolute Eric Adams insists he can keep New York City running  —  The mayor struck defiant tone, and declined to criticize Trump over his ‘king’ remark.  —  NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams defiantly insisted Wednesday that New York City is running smoothly — even with four of his deputies ready to resign …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Study of TikTok, X ‘For You’ feeds in Germany finds far-right political bias ahead of federal elections
ProPublica:
Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared.
David Corn / Mother Jones:
RFK Jr., Onetime Environmentalist, Kills NIH Climate Change Programs
Dan Ronan / WTOP News:
Trump voter, disabled military veteran, ‘valuable member’ at FEMA fired as part of DOGE cuts
Discussion: Raw Story
Katherine J. Wu / The Atlantic:
The NIH Memo That Undercut Universities Came Directly From Trump Officials
 Earlier Items: 
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Scoop: Trump targets U.S. Institute of Peace and other federal boards
Benjamin Wittes / Default:
The Situation: What America Stands For Now
Allan Smith / NBC News:
Two more staffers quit John Fetterman's office as the senator carves his own lane with Trump
Discussion: Fox News, The Hill and The Intercept
Adam Przeworski / Adam's Substack:
Diary  —  I decided to keep a record of my thoughts as events transpire, a diary.
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Oops: Trump-Musk Cuts Just Wrecked an NIH Org Championed by GOPers
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo