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11:40 AM ET, February 21, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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:
William Kristol / The Bulwark:   Inside DOGE's Dumbest Cut Yet
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: Axios, RedState, New York Post 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 …
Miranda Nazzaro / The Hill:
DOJ dropping immigration case against Musk's SpaceX
Discussion: Fox Business
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.
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:
Timothy Snyder / Thinking about:
“Recoup the costs”  —  The sadism of American policy to war-torn Ukraine
Discussion: Wall Street Journal and UPI
Douglas Murray / New York Post:
Mr. President: Putin is THE dictator and 10 Ukraine-Russia war truths we ignore at our peril
Hanna Arhirova / Associated Press:
Trump's attempts to denigrate Zelenskyy have led to a surge in Ukrainian unity
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  —  Billionaire Elon Musk appeared at a conservative gathering outside Washington on Thursday waving a chainsaw in the air, showing openness to auditing the Federal Reserve and accusing Democrats of “treason.”
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:
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Senate G.O.P. Passes Budget Resolution, and Punts on Tough Questions
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:   February 20, 2025  —  On Monday, James Marriott of The Times, published in London …
Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:
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.
RELATED:
Reuters:
Trump adviser says he expects Zelenskiy to sign minerals agreement
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 …
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 …
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.
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: The Hill, Raw Story and Mediaite
RELATED:
Shania Shelton / CNN:
GOP congressman faces criticism and several boos at Georgia town hall
Discussion: Alaska Public Media
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: Mediaite, Reuters and NPR
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: UPI, Scripting News and CBS News
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 …
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: The Daily Signal and Gothamist
Associated Press:
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 …
RELATED:
Rhianna Schmunk / CBC News:
Chantal Kreviazuk changes O Canada lyrics at hockey game against U.S. to protest Trump
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.
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 …
Ian Duncan / Washington Post:
DOGE employee cuts fall heavily on agency that regulates Musk's Tesla  —  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is losing about 10 percent of its workforce through firings and buyout offers, according to people briefed on the cuts.  —  A small government team regulating the sort …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Violet Jira / NOTUS:
Rep. Cory Mills Is Under Investigation for Alleged Assault, Police Say
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
A Problem From Hell  —  Crooks who think justice might catch up to them WILL become desperate.
Washington Post:
Va. lawmakers reject gift of last Founding Father home in private hands
CNN:
Pentagon hits pause on plan to carry out mass firings of civilian employees, officials say
Reuters:
Exclusive: Russia could concede $300 billion in frozen assets as part of Ukraine war settlement, sources say
Discussion: The Kyiv Independent
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
Why Are Delaware Democrats Trying to Give Elon Musk $55 Billion?
 Earlier Items: 
Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:
Here Are the Digital Clues to What Musk Is Really Up To
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
Jack Dolan / Los Angeles Times:
Trump administration backtracks on eliminating thousands of national parks employees
Discussion: Salt Lake Tribune
Washington Post:
Justice Department deletes database tracking federal police misconduct
Discussion: Axios
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Andrew Trunsky / New York Times:
A profile of Natalie Winters, a Steve Bannon protégée, War Room reporter, and Piers Morgan Uncensored contributor, who now has a White House press pass

Harshita Mary Varghese / Reuters:
Warner Bros. Discovery says John Malone is not seeking re-election to the board of directors and will instead take on the role of chairman emeritus

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Twelve-year-old French policy title Contexte, which had €10.7M in 2024 revenue, plans to launch an EU-focused English-language edition to rival Politico in May

 
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