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10:55 AM ET, February 21, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Jacob Bogage / 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.
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: Axios and 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 …
New Republic:
Bad News for Trump as Brutal New Polls Show Him and Elon Musk Sinking  —  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.
RELATED:
Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:   Why Gen Z men love Trump's reign of destruction
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
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:
NBC News:
Georgia Republican faces town hall backlash over DOGE's ‘chainsaw approach’ to government cuts  —  Rep. Rich McCormick, who represents a safe GOP district, came under harsh criticism that focused on the Trump administration's moves to slash federal jobs and budgets.
RELATED:
Joan Walsh / The Nation:
Trump's Firing Frenzy Is Hitting the GOP Where It Hurts
Discussion: ClearanceJobs and Scripps News
Punchbowl News:
2/21/25 ☀️ AM: … There are two ways to look at this: This resolution is a bit out of step with the Trump administration.  Trump publicly said Wednesday that he likes the much broader House GOP resolution better and hopes Hill Republicans rally around that.
RELATED:
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Senate G.O.P. Passes Budget Resolution, and Punts on Tough Questions
Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
Democrats channel their outrage over DOGE, Ukraine and more in marathon Senate session
Rolling Stone:
Trump and Elon's ‘Pointless Bloodbath’ at the FAA Is Even Worse Than You Think  —  The Trump administration fired several FAA lawyers tasked with helping keep reckless and drunk pilots out of the skies — and officials are baffled  —  Late last week, just as Presidents' Day weekend was starting …
RELATED:
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 …
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.
RELATED:
Adriana Gomez Licon / Associated Press:
Musk waves a chainsaw and charms conservatives talking up Trump's cost-cutting efforts
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Kash Patel, Confirmed  —  The Senate bent the knee again, confirming Kash Patel for a 10-year term as director of the FBI.  The 51-49 vote was mostly along party lines, with Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining the Democrats this afternoon.
RELATED:
Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:
Acting U.S. attorney opens inquiries into Democrats alleging possible threats to DOGE, Supreme Court justices
Ryan Lucas / NPR:
Senate confirms Kash Patel, fierce critic of FBI, to head the bureau
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:
Larry Diamond / The UnPopulist:   Trump's America Is in a Free Fall—Not a Slippery Slope—to Tyranny
New York Times:   Is That Legal? A Guide to Trump's Big Moves So Far.
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
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 …
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 …
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
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
New York Times:
What 11 Black Voters Think About Trump's Actions in His First Month  —  Many Black Americans were frustrated by the Trump administration's targeting of D.E.I. programs.  But others embraced the speed at which he moved.  —  The first few weeks of President Trump's frenetic second term …
Discussion: USA Today
RELATED:
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 …
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 …
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 …
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
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
Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:
Here Are the Digital Clues to What Musk Is Really Up To  —  Watching Elon Musk and his band of young acolytes slash their way through the federal government, many observers have struggled to understand how such a small group could do so much damage in so little time.
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, CNN and Mediaite
 
 
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 More Items: 
CNN:
Pentagon hits pause on plan to carry out mass firings of civilian employees, officials say
Neil Vigdor / New York Times:
New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct Swirls Around CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp
Discussion: Newsmax
Reuters:
Exclusive: Russia could concede $300 billion in frozen assets as part of Ukraine war settlement, sources say
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
Why Are Delaware Democrats Trying to Give Elon Musk $55 Billion?
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
Why the Texas measles outbreak was ‘inevitable’
Discussion: NPR, New York Daily News and El País
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: 
Josh Peter / USA Today:
Chris Kluwe isn't backing down after arrest for MAGA protest. 'Somebody's got to step up'
Corbin Hiar / Politico:
‘Cowardliness at the top’: Science agency staff revolt over cuts
ProPublica:
Education Department “Lifting the Pause” on Some Civil Rights Probes, but Not for Race or Gender Cases
Discussion: Associated Press
Jack Dolan / Los Angeles Times:
Trump administration backtracks on eliminating thousands of national parks employees
Discussion: Salt Lake Tribune
New York Times:
Trump Administration Abruptly Clears Out Migrants It Sent to Guantánamo
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Andrew Goudsward / Reuters:
A US judge orders the White House to lift access restrictions imposed on the AP while the AP's lawsuit moves forward

Josh Xiao / Bloomberg:
Two influential Chinese bloggers say China is considering a ban on Hollywood movies as part of a set of measures to retaliate against Trump's tariffs

Joshua Rothman / New Yorker:
How AI could hollow out the media business, which employed under 50K US journalists in 2023, while enhancing some news reporting, including by processing data

 
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