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12:00 PM ET, February 23, 2025

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 Top Items: 
Edward Helmore / The Guardian:
Kash Patel tells FBI staff to ignore Elon Musk request to list their achievements  —  Agency reportedly seeking guidance from DoJ as Musk's demand sparks confusion across key government agencies  —  The new FBI director, Kash Patel, has told his agency employees to hold off on responding …
RELATED:
Ben Berkowitz / Axios:   Agencies, unions tell fed workers: Don't answer Musk's threat email
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:   New Doge/Musk Email Goes Seriously Sideways
CNN:
Federal employees told to justify jobs in email or Musk says they face dismissal
Brian Barrett / Wired:
DOGE Email Throws Federal Agencies Into Chaos and Confusion
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
Elon Musk Threatens FBI Agents and Air Traffic Controllers With Forced Resignation if They Don't Respond to an Email
Politico:
Musk says all federal employees need to explain their work immediately — or be let go
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Joy Reid's MSNBC Show Canceled in Major Shake-Up  —  Ms. Reid's 7 p.m. program will be replaced by a panel show co-hosted by Symone Sanders Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele.  —  Joy Reid's evening news show on MSNBC is being canceled, part of a far-reaching programming overhaul orchestrated …
NBC News:
FBI Director Kash Patel to be named ATF chief  —  Patel is set to lead an agency that's been a frequent target of Republicans, including an effort to abolish it altogether.  —  President Donald Trump's newly-confirmed FBI director, Kash Patel, is expected to take on another top law enforcement role …
RELATED:
ABC News:
Trump expected to name Kash Patel as acting ATF director: Sources  —  An official said Patel will likely be sworn into the position early next week.  —  FBI Director nominee Kash Patel gestures as he walks on stage to speak during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2025.
Robert Jimison / New York Times:
Republicans Face Angry Voters at Town Halls, Hinting at Broader Backlash  —  After a monthlong honeymoon for the G.O.P. at the start of President Trump's term, lawmakers are confronting a groundswell of fear and disaffection in districts around the country.  —  Some came with complaints …
Discussion: The Guardian, emptywheel and HuffPost
RELATED:
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Congress ignores looming shutdown to focus on tax cuts, agency layoffs
Discussion: New York Magazine
Gregory Thomas / San Francisco Chronicle:
Photos: ‘Distress flag’ towers over Yosemite to protest cuts as crowds view firefall  —  A group of frustrated Yosemite National Park staffers hoping to draw attention to the federal government's sweeping workforce cuts hung an upside-down American flag Saturday thousands of feet off the ground on the side of El Capitan.
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Condoms for Gaza?  Ukraine started the war with Russia?  The president's manipulations of the truth lay the groundwork for radical change.  —  The United States sent $50 million in condoms to Hamas.  Diversity programs caused a plane crash.  China controls the Panama Canal.  Ukraine started the war with Russia.
Greg Jaffe / New York Times:
In Pursuit of a ‘Warrior Ethos,’ Hegseth Targets Military's Top Lawyers  —  The defense secretary has repeatedly derided the military lawyers for war crime prosecutions and battlefield rules of engagement.  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to fire the top lawyers for the Army …
Discussion: OutsideTheBeltway
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Chris Murphy Emerges as a Clear Voice for Democrats Countering Trump  —  The second-term senator from Connecticut is eschewing caution and throwing out the traditional political playbook as he seeks a broader audience for his critiques of the president and his agenda.
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Trump uses merch to monetize agenda … But this fundraising effort is the latest reminder that for Trump, the campaign never ends.  — The black “Make America Great Again” caps that Musk frequently wears have become the Trump team's second-best selling item ever — behind only the red and white MAGA hat …
New York Times:
The Death of Competition in American Elections  —  A vast majority of 2024 races for Congress and state legislatures were decided by low-turnout or meaningless primaries.  The trend is making politics more polarized and eroding public trust.  —  President Trump's return to Washington …
Reuters:
Trump officials launch ICE effort to deport unaccompanied migrant children  —  The Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without their parents, expanding the president's mass deportation effort …
Amanda Friedman / Politico:
Witkoff declines to blame Russia for starting war in Ukraine  —  The Trump-appointed special envoy called Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO “a threat to the Russians.”  —  Special envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russia should not necessarily be blamed for sparking the war in Ukraine …
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
GOP rep calls US-Ukraine resource deal ‘victim extortion’  —  Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) said on Sunday that forcing Ukraine to agree to a resource deal with the U.S., in exchange for the possibility of support against Russia, is akin to “victim extortion.”
New York Times:
U.S.A.I.D. Appointees Fire Hundreds Working on Urgent Humanitarian Aid  —  The firings added to doubts about whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency's acting head, supports lifesaving humanitarian assistance, as he has said he does.  —  Trump administration appointees running …
Discussion: Axios and Business Insider
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Leavitt says media has been ‘blinded’ by ‘anti-Trump bias’  —  White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday said journalists at mainstream media outlets bring “preconceived narrative and bias” against President Trump to the briefing room.  —  In an interview on the premiere episode …
Discussion: Fox News
Julia Conley / Common Dreams:
Thousands in Midwestern GOP Districts Attend Sanders' First Stops on Tour to Fight Oligarchy  —  After addressing more than 3,400 Nebraska residents in Omaha Friday evening, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday made his second stop on his National Tour to Fight Oligarchy—telling Iowa City …
Travis M. Andrews / Washington Post:
As sales drop, artists weigh canceling Kennedy Center shows in protest  —  Ticket sales dropped roughly 50 percent week-over-week after Trump announced his takeover, sources said.  Meanwhile, performers are mulling their options.  —  W. Kamau Bell was scheduled to perform at the Kennedy Center …
RELATED:
Julia Reinstein / ABC News:
Trump is ‘surrendering to the Russians,’ Democratic Sen. Jack Reed says  —  “This is not a statesman or a diplomat.  This is just someone who admires Putin.”  —  Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a press conference in Kyiv, on Feb. 19, 2025.  —  In an interview Sunday on ABC News' …
Discussion: New York Times
Betsy Klein / CNN:
Melania Trump returns to Washington after four-week absence  —  After a four-week absence from Washington, first lady Melania Trump returned to the White House on Saturday for an annual dinner and reception with the nation's governors.  —  “She worked very hard on making sure that everything was beautiful.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Fox News:
Trans star of hit HBO series says renewed passport now says male after Trump order
Discussion: Associated Press and PinkNews
Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:
In auto-centric Michigan, Trump's proposed tariffs polarize a community
Discussion: Axios
Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
DOGE cuts at health agencies prompt ‘brain drain’ fears
Henry J. Gomez / NBC News:
DOGE for Ohio? Vivek Ramaswamy enters governor's race pushing cuts and merit pay
Associated Press:
States threaten fines and jail time for local officials who resist Trump's immigration crackdown
MSNBC:
I'm a former U.S. intelligence officer. Trump's Ukraine betrayal will have terrible consequences.
Jared Gans / The Hill:
Hochul ratchets up fight with Trump amid competitive reelection bid
Discussion: Politico
 Earlier Items: 
Katie Livingstone / Agence France-Presse:
‘Trump Recruited as Moscow Asset,’ Says Ex-KGB Spy Chief
Washington Post:
With Pentagon purge, Trump thrusts military into uncharted territory
Washington Post:
U.S. pressures Kyiv to replace U.N. resolution condemning Russia
Discussion: CBS News and Washington Examiner
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
CDC Shutters PRAMS Program on Maternal and Infant Health