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6:30 PM ET, February 27, 2025

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 Top Items: 
Liz Goodwin / Washington Post:
Behind the scenes, GOP senators challenge legality of Trump's aid cuts  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally who lauded the USAID cuts, quietly joined Democrats in expressing alarm.  —  Just now  —  A handful of Republican senators have joined their Democratic colleagues in expressing alarm …
Discussion: Reuters, Wired, Daily Kos and The Guardian
RELATED:
Leigh Ann Caldwell / Puck:
Trump's Screaming Call & G.O.P. Moderate Misery  —  The House has cleared a budget hurdle... barely.  But the chamber's Republican lawmakers may yet be thwarted by their own internal dynamics—not to mention the Senate.  —  Representative Victoria Spartz, among the more chaotic …
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Trump and GOP leaders discuss using tariffs to pay for agenda  —  GOP leaders and President Donald Trump are strategizing over how to incorporate revenue from new tariffs in their massive party-line domestic policy bill, with the goal of arguing the multitrillion-dollar legislation doesn't add to the national debt.
Luke Broadwater / New York Times:
Trump's Third-Term Talk Faces Pushback From a Democratic Congressman
Robert Tait / The Guardian:
Republicans terrified of crossing Trump due to physical threats, Democrat says
Discussion: The Hill
Associated Press:
Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were dead for some time, warrant shows  —  Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog were found dead in different rooms of their Santa Fe home, and they had apparently been dead for some time, according to investigators.
RELATED:
Robert Berkvist / New York Times:
Gene Hackman, Hollywood's Consummate Everyman, Dies at 95  —  The winner of two Oscars, he was hailed for his nuanced performances in films like “The French Connection,” “Unforgiven” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”  —  Gene Hackman, who never fit the mold of a Hollywood movie star …
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
RFK Jr. Takes a Sledgehammer to Two Major Vaccine Developments  —  Multiple vaccine projects have been paused by the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  —  Kennedy paused a multimillion-dollar project to create a new Covid-19 vaccine in pill form on Tuesday …
RELATED:
Chris Isidore / CNN:
Elon Musk says upgrade of FAA's air traffic control system is failing and SpaceX needs to take over Verizon's contract  —  New York CNN —  Elon Musk said Thursday that Verizon's efforts to provide a critically needed upgrade to the FAA's air traffic control system is failing.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
FAA targeting Verizon contract in favor of Musk's Starlink, sources say
Emily Davies / Washington Post:
She hoped Trump's victory would change her life, but not like this  —  Ryleigh Cooper is normally more focused on motherhood than politics.  Then came DOGE.  —  BALDWIN, Mich. — Ryleigh Cooper exhaled as she slid onto the couch after nine hours of work for the U.S. Forest Service …
New York Times:
Who Is in DOGE?  Tracking Its Staffers and Allies in the Federal Government  —  The New York Times identified 45 people within the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a group formed by Elon Musk that in a short few weeks has radically upended federal agencies.  Few members have formal Washington experience.
RELATED:
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:   MAGA Loses It as DOGE Staffer Identities Revealed
Wall Street Journal:
Inside Kash Patel's Whirlwind Start at the FBI  —  The new FBI director ordered officials to undertake a $100 million restructuring with no clear way to fund it—and took on a second job  —  WASHINGTON—FBI officials from regional field offices gathered on a video call this week to hear …
Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story and Reuters
RELATED:
Politico:
How Medicaid cuts would affect Florida  —  Good morning and welcome to Thursday.  —  A government health care program in Florida that covers 4.2 million vulnerable people is facing the prospect of an overhaul under the House's plans for implementing President DONALD TRUMP's agenda.
Discussion: Florida Politics and Blaze Media
RELATED:
Politico:
Judge orders Trump administration officials to give sworn testimony on DOGE  —  The Justice Department fought the effort to put staffers involved in the controversial cost-slashing effort under oath.  —  A federal judge has ordered Trump administration officials involved in Elon Musk's …
Frank Andrews / CBS News:
Andrew Tate and brother Tristan, who face human trafficking charges in Romania, arrive in the U.S.  —  London — Self-proclaimed misogynist social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan arrived in the U.S. Thursday despite facing rape and human trafficking charges that are still pending in Romania.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Andrew Tate, who faces rape and trafficking charges in Romania, has left for the US
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
NOAA begins firing hundreds of staffers  —  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began the process of firing hundreds of probationary workers Thursday, the latest mass job cuts within federal agencies, three sources with knowledge of internal operations told The Hill.
Discussion: The Guardian, Axios and E&E News
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
How the Bezos-Trump alliance began … - It wasn't until late October — three months later — that Bezos spiked the Post editorial page's planned endorsement of Kamala Harris for president, and his outreach to Trump came into focus. … - The move was praised by Trump allies such as Elon Musk …
Reuters:
Mexico to extradite to U.S. convicted drug kingpin Caro Quintero, other suspected cartel members  —  Mexico on Thursday began to hand over to U.S. authorities major figures in the country's criminal underworld, part of a surprise extradition of nearly 30 jailed convicts or others accused of ties to violent drug cartels.
RELATED:
Marcia Brown / Politico:
Trump administration struggles to rehire fired bird flu employees  —  USDA supervisors are being asked to justify rehires and some employees still haven't gotten their laptops back.  —  The Trump administration touted a nearly $1 billion plan Wednesday to combat the spread of avian flu …
Marie J. French / Politico:
Dems are icing out Tesla lobbyists over Elon Musk's Trump ties  —  Tesla's campaigns to sell its electric vehicles directly to consumers, bypassing traditional dealerships, face more challenges in Democratic statehouses as Musk's national clout grows.  —  ALBANY, New York …
Discussion: Raw Story
RELATED:
Politico:
23 Dem AGs think they've cracked the code to fighting Trump
Discussion: The Daily Wire, Raw Story and E&E News
Jay Willis / Balls and Strikes:
Elon Musk's Attacks On Judges Are Getting More Racist and More Dangerous  —  In recent weeks, federal judges across the country have blocked several of President Donald Trump's more ambitious attempts to treat following the law as optional.  Elon Musk, who is leading the administration's efforts …
Discussion: The Daily Wire and Washington Post
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Here's what on the Jeffrey Epstein list that the Trump DOJ is set to release later today  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is preparing to release notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's personal address book Thursday, The Post has learned.  —  A source who has reviewed the files …
Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
Trump Education Department Opens Snitch Line Against Diversity  —  The snitch portal was launched in association with the extremist group Moms for Liberty … Tiffany Justice, of Moms for Liberty, touted the launch of the portal, highlighting it as an opportunity for parents to push back against …
Marco Margaritoff / HuffPost:
CNN Fact-Checker Floored By Trump Cabinet Meeting: ‘There Was Just So Much’  —  Daniel Dale picked apart the president's statements during the first meeting of his new administration's department heads.  —  President Donald Trump's first Cabinet meeting Wednesday of his new administration …
Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, Washington Post and USA Today
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Reality Counts  —  President in Name Only (PINO) Donald Trump and acting president Elon Musk might be able to bamboozle some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot bamboozle all of the people all of the time (to paraphrase Lincoln).
Discussion: Bloomberg
RELATED:
Scott Neuman / NPR:
Pentagon directs removal of trans service members from military  —  The Pentagon has directed that service members and recruits with gender dysphoria be separated from the U.S. military in accordance with an executive order issued a month ago by President Trump.
Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
Elon Musk Claims Ebola Containment Efforts Were Restored.  USAID Officials Say Otherwise.  —  The contracts financed Ebola screening at airports and protective gear for health workers, among other measures.  Work had been held up for weeks, contrary to Elon Musk's claim on Wednesday.
Katherine J. Wu / The Atlantic:
Inside the Collapse at the NIH  —  Administration officials pressured the NIH to avoid clear advice from the agency's own lawyers to restart grant funding now.  —  For decades, the National Institutes of Health has had one core function: support health research in the United States.
Discussion: NPR
Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
The Era of Purges  —  Here is what happened.  An intelligence employee at the National Security Agency leaked chats of fellow officers to a political activist.  The chats included inappropriate messages, mostly around medical issues, plus mockery of political commenters.
Discussion: Erin In The Morning and Townhall
Connor Stringer / Telegraph:
White House official threatens to redraw Canadian border  —  Peter Navarro is pushing negotiators to discuss reworking country's boundaries, The Telegraph can reveal  —  A top White House official has threatened to redraw the Canadian border amid Donald Trump's ambition to turn the country in America's “51st state”.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Dana Kennedy / New York Post:
Would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks may have had accomplice, data shows, as investigators say FBI suppressing info
Annie Nova / CNBC:
Trump administration removes student loan repayment applications from Education Dept. website
Discussion: The Guardian
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Sounds Warmer Tone on Ukraine but Stops Short of Security Guarantees
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
Justice Dept. hires for court battles as Trump slashes other agencies
Jael Holzman / Heatmap News:
Nature Conservancy Allegedly Told to Say ‘Gulf of America’ or Lose Federal Funding
Discussion: E&E News and Lawyers, Guns & Money
 Earlier Items: 
Bloomberg Law:
OPM Tells CFPB to Reinstate Fired Veterans, Military Spouses
Discussion: ABC News
Jenna Gloeb / Alpha News:
CAUGHT ON TAPE: Walz says country stolen ‘by fascists and Nazis’ at nurses event
Discussion: RedState, IJR and Townhall
Bloomberg:
HHS Lays Off Lawyers Executing the Medicare Drug Price Cuts
Daniel Wu / Washington Post:
Neo-Nazis targeted a majority-Black town. Locals launched an armed watch.
Discussion: Raw Story and The Root
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
How many Trump voters regret their votes?
Discussion: The Daily Beast and HotAir
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Agence France-Presse:
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty head Stephen Capus says the US government turned off satellite services that transmit its Russian-language program into Russia

Ethan Shanfeld / Variety:
Director Carl Rinsch pleads not guilty to fraud and money laundering after allegedly taking $11M from Netflix for an unfinished series; trial is set for Sept. 8

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: Vanity Fair Editor Radhika Jones tells staff that she will step down this spring after seven years of leading the Condé Nast-owned magazine

 
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