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5:35 PM ET, February 20, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
Senate confirms Kash Patel as FBI director  —  The Trump loyalist is taking over a bureau in turmoil over firings and an effort to gather names of people who worked on Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigations.  —  WASHINGTON — Kash Patel, a longtime loyalist to President Donald Trump …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Senate Confirms Kash Patel as F.B.I. Chief  —  Where Things Stand  — F.B.I. leader: The Senate confirmed Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist with a long history of attacking the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to oversee the bureau on a 51-49 vote.
Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:
Live updates: Senate narrowly confirms Kash Patel for FBI director
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:
Bernd Debusmann Jr / BBC:
Trump tells BBC that Russia has ‘the cards’ in peace negotiations
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.
Jon Campbell / Gothamist:
Gov. Hochul won't remove NYC Mayor Adams from office, sources say … We rely on your support to make local news available to all  —  Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2025.  Donate today  —  Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
RELATED:
New York Times:
Hochul to Seek New Oversight, but Won't Remove Adams for Now  —  Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is said to be planning to announce that she will not remove Mayor Eric Adams at this time, but she will seek to increase the state's supervision of New York City's affairs.
NBC News:
Gov. Kathy Hochul won't remove embattled NYC Mayor Eric Adams — for now
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
Stephen Fowler / NPR:
DOGE released data about federal contract savings. It doesn't add up
ProPublica:
DOGE's Millions: As Musk and Trump Gut Government, Their Ax-Cutting Agency Gets Cash Infusion  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  While Elon Musk and his underlings demand budget cuts …
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 …
Reuters:   US refuses to co-sponsor UN motion backing Ukraine ahead of war anniversary, diplomats say
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: New Republic, Bloomberg and Raw Story
New York Times:
Trump Dismantles Government Fight Against Foreign Influence Operations  —  The Trump administration has reassigned or forced out several dozen government employees who had been working to fight foreign interference in U.S. elections at multiple agencies, according to current and former officials.
RELATED:
Default:   The Rise and Fall of America's Response to Foreign Election Meddling
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
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
X Hinted at Possible Deal Trouble in Talks With Ad Giant to Increase Spending  —  Interpublic recently signed an advertising agreement with the platform; other agencies are also in negotiations  —  A lawyer at advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group fielded a phone call in December …
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.
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 …
Radley Balko / Rolling Stone:
Critics Worry Kash Patel Will Purge the FBI.  Would He Even Need To?  —  “An unnervingly large percentage of the agency will be sympathetic to what Patel wants to do,” a former FBI agent tells Rolling Stone  —  At the first rally to kick off his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump played …
RELATED:
Olivia George / Washington Post:
Trump ends federal leadership program, cutting off key talent pipeline  —  The decades-old Presidential Management Fellows Program was axed as part of the president's workforce purge.  —  The Trump administration ended the Presidential Management Fellows Program in a late-night executive order Wednesday …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump comes close to the red line of openly defying judges, experts say
Discussion: NBC News
Politico:
RFK Jr. prepares shake-up of vaccine advisers  —  The health secretary is planning to remove members of a panel that recommends vaccines if he sees conflicts of interest.  —  HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is preparing to remove members of the outside committees that advise …
Discussion: NPR and STAT
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
The End of the Postwar World  —  Trump's cruelty and lies about Ukraine send a dark message to America's other allies.  —  For eight decades, America's alliances with other democracies have been the bedrock of American foreign policy, trade policy, and cultural influence.
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.
New York Times:
Nearly One in 10 U.S. Adults Identifies as L.G.B.T.Q., Survey Finds  —  New data shows a rapid increase in recent years, driven by the young.  The Trump administration has recently been rolling back L.G.B.T.Q. initiatives.  —  Nearly one in 10 adults in the United States identifies as L.G.B.T.Q. …
Discussion: Gallup, NBC News, Axios, UPI, The Hill, Advocate and them.
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.
Wired:
Google Ad-Tech Users Can Target National Security ‘Decision Makers’ and People With Chronic Diseases  —  Google enables marketers to target people with serious illnesses and crushing debt—against its policies—as well as the makers of classified defense technology, a WIRED investigation has found.
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
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 …
Discussion: Deadline and The Root
CNN:
Hegseth could fire some senior generals and admirals soon, sources say  —  Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth could soon move to fire more than half a dozen generals and flag officers, according to two sources familiar with the matter, part of an effort to purge the department of senior leaders perceived …
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.
Tobias Burns / The Hill:
IRS lays off 6,700 employees, torpedoing Democratic enforcement boost  —  The IRS fired 6,700 employees on Thursday, a government official told NewsNation, the sister television network of The Hill.  —  The employees were designated as probationary, meaning they were working for the agency …
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Trump's rapid obliteration of the First Amendment is fit for a king  —  On Jan. 26, reporters for radio station KCBS showed up for work to do what American journalists have been doing mostly unfettered since the 1791 ratification of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Ali Bianco / Politico:
Musk, after spat with astronaut, calls for deorbiting the International Space Station
Norman Ornstein / The Contrarian:
Just Another Example of Trump's Reckless, Punitive, and Narcissistic actions
Default:
Ukraine: The Past, Present, and Future of Russian Disinformation
Salvador Rizzo / Washington Post:
Judge rejects unions' request to pause Trump administration firings
USA Today:
Trump vows to ‘make sure’ gold is at Fort Knox. Treasury Secretary says it's accounted for.
Axios:
Scoop: U.S. and Ukraine discuss “improved” minerals deal after Trump raged at Zelensky
Discussion: The Kyiv Independent
Amanda Chu / Financial Times:
Senior Republicans seeking to tear up IRA enjoy $130bn investment spree
Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
A Leading Anti-Trump Voice Returns to Democrats' Top Think Tank
Discussion: Semafor
 Earlier Items: 
Reuters:
Boeing CEO says Musk ‘helping in a big way’ on timing of Air Force One planes
Julio Ricardo Varela / MSNBC:
Tom Homan's obsession with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a political miscalculation
Discussion: Raw Story
Nandika Chatterjee / The Daily Beast:
Dolly Parton Calls Out Indiana Gov Over Plan to Dump Her Imagination Library
Discussion: Plain Dealer
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
To Russia, With Love, Donald
Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:
IRS plans to lay off 7,000 probationary workers beginning Thursday, AP source says
The White House:
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Ends Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Trump's vow to preserve Medicaid collides with House GOP plan for tax cuts
 

 
From Techmeme:

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
An Interpol-led law enforcement action in 26 countries disrupted infostealer operations, leading to takedowns of 20K+ malicious IPs and domains and 32 arrests

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Filing: Disney and NBCUniversal sue Midjourney in California, accusing it of direct and secondary copyright infringement; they say talks with Midjourney failed

Ryan Whitwam / Ars Technica:
Android 16 review: live updates and Advanced Protection are nice, but features like desktop mode and Material 3 Expressive design won't come until later in 2025

 
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