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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:
How Things Work, IJR, No More Mister Nice Blog, USA Today, Raw Story and Washington Examiner
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DOGE's Millions: As Musk and Trump Gut Government, Their Ax-Cutting Agency Gets Cash Infusion
Discussion:
Defense One, Twitchy, New Republic, E&E News, ClearanceJobs, Washington Times and Reuters

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

Did Anyone Not See This Coming? — DOGE is costing the country — and now Trump and Musk too

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


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.
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NBC News, Politico, USA Today, The Hill, New York Post, The Independent, Raw Story, Daily Mail, al.com and The Daily Wire
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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.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Al Jazeera, Chicago Sun Times, Digby's Hullabaloo and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Musk waves a chainsaw and charms conservatives talking up Trump's cost-cutting efforts
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New Republic, Althouse, New York Daily News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Daily Kos, New Jersey Online, Twitchy, RedState, The Daily Wire, El País, Metro.co.uk, New York Post, One America News Network, Reuters, UPI, TMZ.com, The Hill, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Associated Press, PBS NewsHour and Al Jazeera


Mr. President: Putin is THE dictator and 10 Ukraine-Russia war truths we ignore at our peril — This has been a dizzying and disorienting week in international diplomacy. One with wild implications for Ukraine, the future of America's standing in the world and President Trump's legacy.
Discussion:
Politico, New Republic, Euromaidan Press and New Jersey Online
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Zelensky's five moves that set off Trump
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American Greatness, The National Interest, Breitbart, Fox News, Daily Mail, The Kyiv Independent, The Daily Wire, Florida Politics, NBC News and RTÉ

“Recoup the costs” — The sadism of American policy to war-torn Ukraine
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and UPI

Trump's attempts to denigrate Zelenskyy have led to a surge in Ukrainian unity
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Al Jazeera, Raw Story, RTÉ, PolitiFact, The Kyiv Independent, Politico, HuffPost, BBC, Washington Examiner, UPI, Reuters, WHDH-TV, Daily Mail and The Hill


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.
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Rolling Stone, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Week, CNN, The Independent, Daily Mail, Raw Story, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money and prima donna …


Senate G.O.P. Passes Budget Resolution, and Punts on Tough Questions — Approval of the Republican budget plan left major questions about tax cuts and spending reduction for another day. — The budget plan that Republicans pushed through the Senate early Friday was a necessary …
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2/21/25 ☀️ AM: … There are two ways to look at this: This resolution is a bit …
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New York Times, Politico, Washington Times, Conservative Partnership …, CBS News, NBC News, Roll Call and The Hill

Ohio GOP Rep. Balderson says Trump's executive orders ‘getting out of control’


GOP congressman faces criticism and several boos at Georgia town hall
Discussion:
Alaska Public Media and Raw Story


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, RedState, New York Post and Bloomberg
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DOJ dropping immigration case against Musk's SpaceX
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Fox Business


Why Gen Z men love Trump's reign of destruction — Trump's appeal to the demographic might not have to do with his policies. — Many Americans are disturbed by President Donald Trump's trampling of the Constitution and nuking of the federal government. But one group seems to love what Trump is doing: young men.
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Trump adviser says he expects Zelenskiy to sign minerals agreement
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Bloomberg, The Hill, El País, Daily Mail, The Guardian, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, New York Post and Taipei Times

Trump again raises idea of running for an unconstitutional third term
Discussion:
CBS News, Kevin Drum, Raw Story, The Hill and Grabien


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:
Newsweek, Washington Examiner, New Republic, Raw Story, The Status Kuo, Digby's Hullabaloo 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


US consumer sentiment plunges over tariff and inflation fears — Inflation is picking up again and President Donald Trump said this week it's all his predecessor's fault. But no matter who Trump blames for inflation, America's economic mood is now souring — and Trump is getting the heat for it.
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Tax Foundation
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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 …


French far-right leader cancels US speech after Steve Bannon appears to make Nazi salute at CPAC - Europe live — Jordan Bardella cancels speech at US conference after former Trump aide appeared to make gesture at end of his speech at event on Thursday night
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Axios, Daily Mail, New Republic, PinkNews, The Forward and The Independent
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Inside DOGE's Dumbest Cut Yet — Andrew had meant to spend yesterday soaking in the sights and sounds at CPAC, but found himself tied up reporting our lead story below. So he missed Vice President JD Vance's culture-war ruminations, Steve Bannon's calls for a third Trump term in 2028 …


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:
UPI, Scripting News and CBS News


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


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.


Singer of Canadian anthem at 4 Nations Face-Off changes lyric to protest Trump's 51st state remarks — The anthem singer who performed the Canadian anthem prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game Thursday night changed a lyric in “O Canada” as a response to U.S. President Donald …
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The Hill, Breitbart, WAGA-TV, Mediaite, WHDH-TV, FOX8 WGHP, The Week, Associated Press, Daily Mail, Townhall, New York Post, Rolling Stone, KHOU-TV, CityNews Toronto and Deadline
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Chantal Kreviazuk changes O Canada lyrics at hockey game against U.S. to protest Trump
Discussion:
Axios, New York Post, Townhall, Fox News, Associated Press, New York Times, Mediaite, Washington Times, The Independent, Daily Mail and USA Today


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:
USA Today, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and HuffPost


Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread — Some private schools have shut down because of a rapidly escalating measles outbreak in West Texas. Local health departments are overstretched, pausing other important work as they race to limit the spread of this highly contagious virus.


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 …
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New Jersey Online, Raw Story, NewsNation, Twitchy, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Denver Post, Bloomberg, Forbes, FOX8 WGHP, Axios, Fox News, IJR, Business Insider and Politico


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 …


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.
Discussion:
CBS News, CNN, New York Times and Talking Points Memo