Top Items:


Trump fires chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and two other military officers — President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign led …
Discussion:
Politico, CBS News, NPR, Air & Space Forces Magazine, RTÉ, Breitbart, GovExec.com, Roll Call, RedState, Task & Purpose, Fox News, VoteVets, The Japan Times, Forbes and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:


Trump Fires Joint Chiefs Chairman Amid Flurry of Dismissals at Pentagon — The decision to fire Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., a four-star fighter pilot, upends a tradition in which the Joint Chiefs chairman traditionally remains in place as administrations change.


Trump administration fires top US general and Navy chief in unprecedented purge of military leadership — In an unprecedented purge of the military's senior leadership Friday night, President Donald Trump fired the top US general just moments before his defense secretary fired the chief …


Hegseth Fires Navy's Top Officer — Adm. Lisa Franchetti spent roughly half of her 40-year career at sea, commanding a destroyer, two carrier strike groups and the U.S. Sixth Fleet. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that he was firing Admiral Lisa Franchetti …
Discussion:
Breaking Defense, Twitchy, DefenseScoop, The Gateway Pundit and Fox News

Dan Caine, Trump's Joint Chiefs Pick, Had Unusual Path to Top Ranks
Discussion:
Reuters, The Independent, The Atlantic, Lawyers, Guns & Money and DefenseScoop

Trump Fires the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
Discussion:
Raw Story and Instapundit

Trump removes Brown, names new Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman
Discussion:
Raw Story, NBC News, ABC News, RedState, CBS News, Kevin Drum, Washington Times, Townhall, UPI and The Independent


Exclusive: US could cut Ukraine's access to Starlink internet services over minerals, say sources — U.S. negotiators pressing Kyiv for access to Ukraine's critical minerals have raised the possibility of cutting the country's access to Elon Musk's vital Starlink satellite internet system …
Discussion:
Notes From The Circus, Euromaidan Press, Associated Press, Mediaite and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:


'It's blackmail': Ukrainians react to Trump demand for $500bn share of minerals — Ukraine's lithium deposits are among biggest in Europe and the US is looking for ‘payback’ for previous military assistance — Luke Harding in Liodiane, pictures by Julia Kochetova


DOGE's Only Public Ledger Is Riddled With Mistakes — The figures from Elon Musk's team of outsiders represent billions in government cuts. They are also full of accounting errors, outdated data and other miscalculations. — Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency …
Discussion:
Kevin Drum and New Republic


New Social Security chief was being investigated when Musk team tapped him — Leland Dudek, a data analyst working in a small anti-fraud office, was suspected of sharing unauthorized access to information with representatives of Musk's U.S. DOGE Service. Now he's the acting Social Security commissioner.
Discussion:
HotAir
RELATED:

Anxiety Mounts Among Social Security Recipients as DOGE Troops Settle In
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Independent and Bloomberg


Kristi Noem Says $200 Million DHS Ad Campaign Thanking Trump Was His Idea — Trump's Homeland Security Secretary said he instructed her to make ads that “thank me for closing the border” — NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — The Department of Homeland Security has budgeted up to $200 million …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
RELATED:


AP sues 3 Trump administration officials, citing freedom of speech — The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials Friday over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the 10-day blocking of its journalists.


Stock Market Sees Biggest Declines of Trump's Presidency So Far — Fueling a 1.7 percent decline on Friday was an unexpected drop in the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, as Americans worried about stubborn inflation. — Stocks slumped on Friday, with the S&P 500 wiping …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Focus Taiwan, The Daily Hodl, Bloomberg, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, CBS News, San Diego Union-Tribune, Daily Kos and Reuters
RELATED:


Pentagon to fire 5,400 civilian employees in ‘initial’ purge — The dismissals will begin next week, officials said, and could expand to include tens of thousands of other workers throughout the Defense Department. — The Pentagon said Friday that it will fire about 5,400 civilian employees …
RELATED:

‘Precision is the priority’? Trump administration pauses some mass firings
Discussion:
Salt Lake Tribune, CBS News, Talking Points Memo and CNN


Judge largely blocks Trump's executive orders ending federal support for DEI programs — A federal judge on Friday largely blocked sweeping executive orders from President Donald Trump that seek to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Post, Chicago Sun Times, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Advocate, NBC News, Washington Examiner, The Indian Express, Times-Standard, JURIST and ABC News
RELATED:

‘Arbitrary and discriminatory’: Judge blocks Trump's effort to deter DEI programs
Discussion:
The Guardian, CNN, The Hill, Bloomberg and WNYW-TV


US Rep. Glenn Grothman faces hostile crowd at Oshkosh town hall meeting — Constituents ask congressman about Medicaid funding, power of Elon Musk — People booed and jeered at U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman as he walked into the Algoma Town Hall just outside Oshkosh Friday morning.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, ABC News, New Jersey Online and Raw Story


How Federal Employees Are Fighting Back Against Elon Musk … Karen Ortiz, an administrative law judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said her ability to send emails was shut off after she sent an agencywide message calling on the commission's acting chair to resign.Taurat Hossain for The New York Times


Trump to shut down all 8,000 EV charging ports at federal govt buildings — The Trump administration is shutting down EV chargers at all federal government buildings and is also expected to sell off the General Services Administration's (GSA) newly bought EVs.
Discussion:
Gizmodo


Craving more energy, Maryland looks to nuclear power — Lawmakers are considering measures this legislative session that could encourage more nuclear energy in the state. (Angelique Gingras/Capital News Service) — ANNAPOLIS - In a legislative session dominated by energy issues …


Recording reveals new details on controversial DOGE employee — Less than three years before Elon Musk tapped him to take part in a sweeping overhaul of the US government, Edward Coristine, then 17, was the subject of a heated dispute between two executives at the Arizona-based cybersecurity firm where he was an intern.
Discussion:
New York Magazine


The University of Pittsburgh pauses its Ph.D. admissions process amid research funding uncertainty — Amid uncertainty about frozen research aid from the National Institutes of Health, the University of Pittsburgh has put its Ph.D. admissions on ice. The school confirmed Friday …


Another Town Hall(s) Goes Off the Rails - Oregon 2nd District Edition — In Oregon's 2nd district, Rep. Cliff Bentz (R) got a rude awakening in four town halls he held in this past week. At one point in his town hall in La Grande he chided the audience, saying a lot of representatives had refused to even hold town halls.


Judge extends block on DOGE's access to federal payment systems — The ruling found that DOGE access to the payment systems created a “realistic danger that confidential financial information will be disclosed.” — A federal judge on Friday extended an order keeping Elon Musk's DOGE team …
Discussion:
New York Times, Liberty Nation News, Associated Press, The Hill and Fox News


The Trump team ups the trolling to 11 — Provocative messages have become central to the Trump team's political efforts, inviting everyone to guess what's a joke and what's not. — A month ago, Elon Musk rang in President Donald Trump's second term with a straight-arm salute that divided a political nation.


Trump Administration Stalls Scientific Research Despite Court Ruling — Using an arcane law, officials have effectively delayed funding from the National Institutes of Health, leaving medical studies in jeopardy. — The Trump administration has blocked key parts of the federal government's apparatus …


Trump wants America to shine on AI. DOGE is blundering it. — One of the big challenges of reporting on the new administration is that it's hard to figure out who's really calling the shots. Take AI. In his comments to world leaders at the AI Action Summit in Paris last week …
Discussion:
The Hill


Trump's Own Pollster Just Hit Him with Very Bad News—and a Warning … As you watch President Donald Trump and Elon Musk recklessly attempt to destroy the federal government like a pair of toddlers picking legs off a spider, it seems as if Republicans have decided public opinion no longer constrains them in the least.


Supreme Court maintains pause on Trump bid to immediately fire watchdog agency head — The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, weighs in on a case involving the new Trump administration for the first time. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday for now prevented President Donald …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, UPI, Raw Story, NPR, Associated Press and The Indian Express


Back in their districts, GOP lawmakers get an earful on DOGE and Musk — Town halls from Wisconsin to Oregon grew testy this week as concerned voters showed up to vent — ROSWELL, Georgia — The crowd packed into City Hall and filled an overflow room with one question, above all …
Discussion:
New York Times, NBC News, Raw Story, City Journal, The Week and Politico


Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio arrested on assault charge outside U.S. Capitol — Tarrio was released from prison last month after President Donald Trump cut short his 22 year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Discussion:
WUSA, RedState, Associated Press, Politico, WNYW-TV, The Hill, Blaze Media, Mediaite, Washington Times, USA Today, Daily Kos, New York Times, The Independent, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Saywhat Politics and The Follow


Trump Issued Perhaps His Most Terrifying Executive Order on Tuesday — Over the past month, many have warned that President Donald Trump is trying to make himself king or dictator. Trump's defenders wave off such warnings as hysterical hyperbole. The past week has shown that they are very much not.


Rep. Cliff Bentz fields questions at emotional Union County town hall — LA GRANDE — Oregon's U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz tried to make it through his usual routine Wednesday, Feb. 19, at his town hall in La Grande. But the crowd was not having it. — Residents from Union County …


‘See You In Court’: Maine Gov. Goes Head-To-Head With Trump Over Trans Athlete Ban — Democrat Janet Mills had a heated exchange with Trump after he threatened to withhold federal funds to states that don't obey his executive order. — LOADING — Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) …
Discussion:
Advocate, Politico, USA Today, Townhall, New York Times, The Daily Caller, CBS News, WCSH, IJR, Fox News, The Daily Wire, The Hill, Raw Story, The Maine Wire, Rolling Stone, Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, American Thinker, The Atlantic, New Jersey Online, Twitchy, Hollywood Life, The Federalist, WAGA-TV, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, American Greatness, Scripps News, RedState, al.com, HotAir, New York Post, The Post Millennial, NPR, New Republic, The Independent, Blaze Media, ABC News, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, Deadline, The National Pulse, New York Times and Political Wire