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9:50 AM ET, February 21, 2025

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 Top Items: 
RELATED:
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
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 …
Rolling Stone:   Trump and Elon's ‘Pointless Bloodbath’ at the FAA Is Even Worse Than You Think
Joan Walsh / The Nation:
Trump's Firing Frenzy Is Hitting the GOP Where It Hurts
Discussion: ClearanceJobs and Scripps News
Qasim Nauman / New York Times:
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
RELATED:
CNBC:
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 …
Justine McDaniel / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion: CBS News, Raw Story, The Hill and Grabien
RELATED:
Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:   Why Gen Z men love Trump's reign of destruction
Larry Diamond / The UnPopulist:   Trump's America Is in a Free Fall—Not a Slippery Slope—to Tyranny
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
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
RELATED:
Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:
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 …
RELATED:
Ryan Lucas / NPR:
Senate confirms Kash Patel, fierce critic of FBI, to head the bureau
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
Senate confirms Kash Patel as FBI director
NBC10 Philadelphia:
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 …
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
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
RELATED:
Sam Stein / The Bulwark:
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.
Discussion: Reuters and NPR
CNN:
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
Samantha Hendrickson / The Columbus Dispatch:
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.
Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite
RELATED:
William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:
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 …
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
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 …
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
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
RELATED:
New York Times:   Is That Legal? A Guide to Trump's Big Moves So Far.
Sarah Jeong / The Verge:
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.
Washington Post:
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
New York Times:
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 …
Helen Branswell / STAT:
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 …
Brianna Keilar / CNN:
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
New Republic:
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.
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
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
Rhianna Schmunk / CBC News:
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 …
Corbin Hiar / Politico:
‘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 …
Jack Dolan / Los Angeles Times:
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
Josh Peter / USA Today:
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.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Abrahm Lustgarten / ProPublica:
Trump Order Shifts the Financial Burden of Climate Change Onto Individuals
Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:
Here Are the Digital Clues to What Musk Is Really Up To
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
Why the Texas measles outbreak was ‘inevitable’
Discussion: NPR, New York Daily News and El País
Zack Sharf / Variety:
Stephen King Returns to X and Calls President Trump a ‘Traitorous, Putin-Loving Dips—! Goes Double for Elon’
Discussion: Fox News and Twitchy
New York Times:
Musk and His Millions Enter Wisconsin Supreme Court Race
Discussion: CNN and Washington Examiner
Danny Nguyen / Politico:
Neera Tanden is returning to the Center for American Progress. She thinks Democrats have work to do.
Discussion: New York Times and Semafor
 Earlier Items: 
Politico:
Judge warns Trump administration not to dodge court order unfreezing foreign aid
Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story
ProPublica:
Education Department “Lifting the Pause” on Some Civil Rights Probes, but Not for Race or Gender Cases
Discussion: Associated Press
Francis Fukuyama / Persuasion:
The Ultimate Betrayal  —  America just switched sides in the Ukraine war.
Discussion: The Hill
Axios:
Scoop: U.S. to pull delegation from UN climate science meeting
Discussion: Reuters
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Half of Trump's first month in office saw him visiting Trump properties
Discussion: HuffPost and Daily Kos
NBC News:
Judge rules against union bid to block mass federal layoffs by Trump