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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 …
Discussion:
Defense One, Twitchy, New Republic, ClearanceJobs, E&E News, Washington Times and Reuters
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The private GOP panic over the slash-and-burn DOGE firings — White House aides are inundated with congressional calls as Republicans fret. — A growing number of congressional Republicans are desperately trying to back-channel with White House officials as President Donald Trump's Department …
Discussion:
USA Today, Raw Story and Washington Examiner

Trump's Firing Frenzy Is Hitting the GOP Where It Hurts
Discussion:
ClearanceJobs and Scripps News

Playbook: DOGE bites Republicans
Discussion:
IJR, Daily Caller News Foundation, Washington Examiner, Fox News, The Hill and Washington Post


Trump expected to take control of USPS, fire postal board, officials say — The move threatens to upend trillions of dollars in ecommerce business and the 250-year-old Postal Service.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Independent, Daily Mail, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Mediaite and Lawyers, Guns & Money


Justice Dept. to Drop Discrimination Case Against Elon Musk's SpaceX — The Justice Department had sued SpaceX in 2023, accusing the company of violating federal law by refusing to hire refugees and people granted asylum in the United States. — The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
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U.S. says it will drop immigration case against SpaceX — The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday said it would drop a case accusing Elon Musk's space technology company SpaceX of refusing to hire certain immigrants. — The Justice Department last month signaled it could back away from the case …


Trump again raises idea of running for an unconstitutional third term — The suggestion followed a stretch of days in which Trump referred to himself as a king and quoted a dictator in suggesting that he was immune from following laws — President Donald Trump on Thursday again raised …
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Paramount Is Starting to Fight Back Against Trump in ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit — The CBS News owner's legal strategy has revolved around arguments challenging the President's insistence that it should stay in federal court in Texas, in addition to raising the specter of discovery and arbitration.
Discussion:
Deadline, HuffPost and Law & Crime
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Georgia Republican faces town hall backlash over DOGE's ‘chainsaw approach’ to government cuts
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Raw Story and The Fucking News

‘Stand up for us!’ Republican shouted down as he defends DOGE cuts at town hall
Discussion:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CBS News and Musk Watch


Acting U.S. attorney opens inquiries into Democrats alleging possible threats to DOGE, Supreme Court justices — Ed Martin, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, revealed he has opened inquiries into public statements of Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate …
Discussion:
The Hill, Raw Story, Politico, New York Post, RedState, Advocate, New Republic, Gizmodo, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo and Esquire
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Senate confirms Kash Patel, fierce critic of FBI, to head the bureau
Discussion:
CNN, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Associated Press, The Federalist, Daily Kos, Nextgov/FCW, Blaze Media, RTÉ, Hollywood Life, The Hill, FOX8 WGHP, UPI, U.S. Senator Susan Collins … and CBS News

Kash Patel, Confirmed
Discussion:
New York Times, Talking Points Memo and CBS News


Hundreds of Philly IRS workers laid off on Thursday, union says — Around 400 Philadelphia IRS workers are expected to be laid off on Thursday, Feb. 20, union leader Alex Jay Berman confirmed — Hundreds of Philadelphia IRS employees were laid off on Thursday as part of the Trump administration's efforts …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Raw Story, NewsNation, Twitchy, Denver Post, Axios, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Forbes, FOX8 WGHP, Fox News, Business Insider, IJR, Associated Press, Politico, New York Times and GovExec.com


Trump's Putinization of America — It's not just in foreign policy that the President is turning Russia's way. — No matter how many times Donald Trump openly parrots the Kremlin line, it's never not going to sound wrong coming from the President of the United States.
Discussion:
Plain Dealer
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Zelensky's five moves that set off Trump
Discussion:
American Greatness, Breitbart, Fox News, Daily Mail, The Kyiv Independent, The Daily Wire, Florida Politics, RTÉ, NBC News and Diplomatic,

Mr. President: Putin is THE dictator and 9 other Ukraine-Russia war truths we ignore at our peril
Discussion:
Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire and Bloomberg


He Took Musk's Resignation Offer. He Was Fired Anyway. — A TOP-RANKING REGIONAL FEMA OFFICIAL who took Elon Musk's resignation deal was fired thirteen days later by the Trump administration, raising questions about the integrity of the program that the White House put together to off-ramp tens of thousands of federal employees.


Elon Musk's private security detail gets deputized by US Marshals Service — The US Marshals Service has deputized members of Elon Musk's private security detail, giving them certain rights and protections of federal law enforcement agents, three law enforcement officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
Discussion:
Scripting News and CBS News


Ohio GOP Rep. Balderson says Trump's executive orders ‘getting out of control’ — Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson described President Donald Trump's flurry of executive orders as “getting out of control” at a Westerville Area Chamber business luncheon Thursday, saying that only Congress can do certain things.
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Trump takes aim at Pelosi's hometown legacy
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Times, KRON4, The San Francisco Standard and Bloomberg


Steve Bannon Mimics Elon Musk's VERY Controversial Salute — Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon whipped up Friday's Conservative Political Action Conference crowd by talking about the possibility of the President Donald Trump staying in office for a third term in 2028 …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Independent and HuffPost


Justice Department broadens Trump's Jan. 6 clemency as it moves to drop gun cases — In court papers, DOJ revealed a newly expansive interpretation of the president's Jan. 6 pardons. — The Justice Department now says that President Donald Trump's clemency for Jan. 6 rioters covers unrelated crimes …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, Blaze Media, Raw Story, MPR News, The Independent, CBS News and Mediaite


Trump Claims Power to Fire Administrative Law Judges at Will — The Justice Department said a law protecting the officials from arbitrary removal is an unconstitutional intrusion on presidential authority. — The Trump administration told Congress on Thursday that it believed President …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
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I cannot describe how strange Elon Musk's CPAC appearance was — So here's a literal transcript, instead. … Elon Musk spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, giving a strange and often inarticulate on-stage interview to Newsmax presenter Rob Schmitt.


Justice Department deletes database tracking federal police misconduct — Trump executive order ends National Law Enforcement Accountability Database, which Trump proposed creating in 2020 — The first nationwide database tracking misconduct by federal police officers has been shut …
Discussion:
Axios


Coinbase Says S.E.C. Will Drop Crypto Lawsuit — The end of a court fight with the largest U.S. crypto company would be a big win for an industry that financially backed President Trump. — The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said on Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission …
Discussion:
CoinDesk, more at Techmeme »


HHS orders CDC to halt some vaccine ads, saying RFK Jr. wants message focused on ‘informed consent’ — Experts fear effort to recalibrate tone could dampen vaccine uptake — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was ordered to shelve promotions it developed for a variety of vaccines …
Discussion:
Politico, Fortune, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, LewRockwell, NPR and UPI


Military families rocked by Trump's federal government cuts — The Trump administration's swift, sweeping cuts to the federal workforce is set to derail the livelihoods of potentially thousands of military families. — The turmoil within the military community caused by the recent firings …
Discussion:
Daily Press


Trump Suddenly Slips in 3 Brutal New Polls—and Musk Looks Even Worse — Three new national polls—from CNN, Gallup, and The Washington Post—show that President Donald Trump's job approval is decidedly underwater. Importantly, the polls also show majorities rejecting Trump's authoritarian governance.
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, Digby's Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and Washington Post


AOC shows how to fight back and stand strong — 🗣️ 🫶 🪧 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.
Discussion:
Gothamist and The Daily Signal


Chantal Kreviazuk changes O Canada lyrics at hockey game against U.S. to protest Trump — Singer changed words ahead of Thursday night's 4 Nations Face-Off game between Canada and the U.S. — Chantal Kreviazuk, the Canadian Grammy-award winning singer, changed the lyrics to O Canada …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, Axios, New York Post, Townhall, Daily Mail, Fox News, Mediaite, Deadline, New York Times, Washington Times, The Independent, Rolling Stone and USA Today


‘Cowardliness at the top’: Science agency staff revolt over cuts — At an emotional meeting, foundation officials announced layoffs for about 10 percent of their workforce and warned of more firings to come. — The National Science Foundation went beyond the staff cuts demanded …
Discussion:
HotAir, The Register and American Enterprise Institute


Trump administration backtracks on eliminating thousands of national parks employees — Following a loud public outcry about job cuts at the National Parks Service — and a relentless media campaign from outdoors enthusiasts across the country — it looks like the Trump administration has blinked.
Discussion:
Salt Lake Tribune


Chris Kluwe isn't backing down after arrest for MAGA protest. 'Somebody's got to step up' — HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe wore a T-shirt, shorts and flip flops when he showed up to talk about his arrest Tuesday night during the Huntington Beach City Council meeting.