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3:35 PM ET, February 5, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
C.I.A. Sends White House an Unclassified Email With Names of Some Employees  —  The list of partial names was provided in an effort to comply with an executive order to trim the federal work force.  —  The C.I.A. sent the White House an unclassified email listing all employees hired …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
The CIA Is About to Get a Trump Makeover
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: C.I.A. Provides List of Recent Hires as White House Eyes Deep Cuts
Discussion: Bloomberg
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
DOGE Employees Ordered to Stop Using Slack While Agency Transitions to a Records System Not Subject to FOIA  —  Employees working for the agency now known as DOGE have been ordered to stop using Slack while government lawyers attempt to transition the agency to one that is not subject …
RELATED:
Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
Meditations in an Emergency  —  So much is happening, so quickly.  The purpose of shock and awe is to bewilder and overwhelm.  It is important not to look away, or get discouraged.  Try to discern the what is a big and real threat.  Here is my best effort to do so.  —  Subscribe now
Discussion: Punchbowl News
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
New Democratic bill targets Elon Musk
Discussion: Fortune and TechCrunch
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
There Is No Going Back  —  Even if anyone had elected Elon Musk to anything, the past week would still be one of the most serious examples of executive branch malfeasance in American history.  —  Musk has seized hold of critical levers of power and authority within the federal government …
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Musk shocks lawmakers, setting himself on collision course
Discussion: Mashable and IJR
Default:
Elon Musk Weaponizes the Government
David Corn / Mother Jones:
Trump White House Moves to Allow for a Musk Takeover of Government IT  —  The Office of Personnel Management is trying to make it easier to put ideologues and cronies in key tech roles.  —  It's a rather wonky position in the US government: chief information officer.  Most federal agencies and departments have one.
RELATED:
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
King Musk's Government Purge Hits a Snag  —  Before Elon Musk can exercise authoritarian power, he must purge the federal bureaucracy.  But federal workers aren't playing ball.  —  Protesters gather outside the United States Office of Personal Management (OPM) headquarters, February 4, 2025, in Washington.
Discussion: EsstN and Daily Mail
Associated Press:
Trump's suggestion that US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike  —  President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents was swiftly rejected and denounced on Wednesday by American allies and adversaries alike.
RELATED:
NPR:
Trump says the U.S. will ‘take over’ Gaza and relocate its people.  What does it mean?  —  TEL AVIV, Israel — President Trump floated two bombshell ideas Tuesday about Gaza that has Palestinians, Israelis and the wider Middle East scrambling.  —  The first: that the U.S. would take over the territory.
New York Times:
Trump Proposes U.S. Takeover of Gaza and Says All Palestinians Should Leave
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
‘Riviera’ in Gaza and Aid Agency Assault Capture Trump's Vision of U.S. Power
Wall Street Journal:
DOGE Aides Search Medicare Agency Payment Systems for Fraud  —  Elon Musk's allies have been on site at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services offices this week  —  Representatives of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have been working at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services …
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump Brazenly Defies Laws in Escalating Executive Power Grab  —  In the radical opening weeks of his second term, President Trump has appeared to feel little constraint by any need to show respect for the rule of law.  —  In his first term, President Trump seemed to relish ripping through …
RELATED:
Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:
Why Washington is getting nervous about a shutdown
Discussion: Raw Story
Reuters:
Top Trump prosecutor in DC dropped federal case against Capitol rioter he represented  —  As President Donald Trump moved last month to free the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol, his newly appointed top prosecutor in Washington put his name on a request that a judge drop charges …
RELATED:
Roger Parloff / Default:   Trump's Petty Purge of 15 Young Jan. 6 Prosecutors
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Why Elon Will Be Trump's Undoing  —  Yes, yes, “the wheels of justice grind slowly” and all that.  But when do the courts get involved?  —  Happy Wednesday.  —  Never Musk  —  by William Kristol  —  It's grim out there.  Limiting the damage done by Donald Trump and the Trumpists …
RELATED:
Alex Shephard / New Republic:
This Is So Much Worse Than Last Time … There is practically no way to describe …
Discussion: RedState
Associated Press:
FBI agents who ‘simply followed orders’ in Jan. 6 probes won't be fired, a Justice official says  —  FBI agents “who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” while investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol are not at risk of being fired …
RELATED:
CNN:   Pam Bondi expected to move quickly to assert control of Justice Department
Emma Dumain / Politico:
Senate's top appropriator says Elon Musk has gone too far  —  The Senate's top appropriator thinks Elon Musk has gone too far.  Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, is raising alarms about the influence that billionaire Elon Musk is wielding inside the Trump administration and across federal agencies.
Discussion: Bangor Daily News
Mike Brock / Techdirt:
The 24-Hour Reality Check: Musk's Impossible Power Grab And America's Crisis  —  There are twenty-four hours in a day.  This isn't a matter of political opinion or technological disruption—it's as immutable as the fact that two plus two equals four.  No amount of genius, innovation …
April Rubin / Axios:
Trump-voting states have more to lose if Education Department dismantled … - States that voted for Trump last November, on average, use more federal funding in their education apportions than states that voted for former Vice President Harris.  — “That dependence is, in large part …
RELATED:
Beege Welborn / HotAir:
Too Funny to Check: USAID Checkbook Snaps Shut, Politico Paychecks Shut Down? UPDATE
CBS News:
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper's security detail revoked  —  The security detail for former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, which was provided by the Defense Department, was revoked Tuesday night, a U.S. official and a Defense Department official told CBS News.
Discussion: Forbes
RELATED:
Andrew Solender / Axios:
House Democrat plans articles of impeachment against Trump … - “Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States,” Green said.  — Green continued: “I rise to announce that the movement to impeach the president has begun.
RELATED:
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Judge cements block on Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship  —  GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge Wednesday furthered a block of President Trump's executive order preventing the children of migrants without legal status from receiving birthright citizenship.
RELATED:
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
Doge staffers enter Noaa headquarters and incite reports of cuts and threats  —  Members reportedly sought access to IT systems at agency that Project 2025 has called ‘harmful to US prosperity’  —  Staffers with Elon Musk's “department of government efficiency” (Doge) reportedly entered …
Morgan Lee / Associated Press:
Thousands protest Trump administration policies in cities across the US  —  A movement to protest the early actions of President Donald Trump's administration took off Wednesday, as thousands of demonstrators gathered outside a federal courthouse in Philadelphia and at state capitols in Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Indiana.
Discussion: Denver Post, WAGA-TV, WNYW-TV, WTOP News and WUSA
Sam Ogozalek / Politico:
Musk's cost-cutters to ‘plug in’ to air traffic control system, Trump's transportation chief says  —  Sean Duffy said that he'd spoken with Musk, calling him a “pretty remarkable guy” who has “access to the best technological people, the best engineers in the world.”
NBC News:
Federal health workers terrified after ‘DEI’ website publishes list of ‘targets’  —  The site calls out workers who have been involved with DEI initiatives.  A majority are Black.  —  Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos …
Discussion: WXIA-TV, The Root, Pharyngula and Untitled
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
Watch The Credit-Ratings Agencies  —  If the illegal commandeering of the federal budget doesn't make the U.S. less creditworthy, then Wall Street is cowed and misleading investors.  —  ∙ Paid  —  In August 2011, after Republicans brought the country to the brink of default on the national debt …
Washington Examiner:
McConnell suffers fall after Senate vote  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) fell as he exited the Senate chamber on Wednesday, though he did not immediately appear injured and walked away under his own power.  —  McConnell, who stepped down as Senate GOP leader in January …
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Elon Musk and the League of Shadows  —  America gets government by vigilante.  —  ∙ Paid  —  1. Vigilante Shit  —  What is Elon Musk's role within the federal government?  —  He is not an elected official.  He is not an appointed bureaucrat.  He is not even a formal employee.
Discussion: The Hill, Axios and Washington Post
Brooke Migdon / The Hill:
Democratic attorneys general pledge to protect gender-affirming care following Trump order  —  More than a dozen Democratic state attorneys general on Wednesday affirmed their support for gender-affirming health care for transgender youth after an executive order issued late last week …
Discussion: Truthout
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell slips and falls outside Senate Chamber  —  Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) slipped and fell on the stairs leaving the Senate Chamber on Wednesday afternoon, prompting concerned aides to rush to help the 82-year-old lawmaker.  —  McConnell appeared to slip …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Bondi's DOJ Day 1 directives: Fight weaponization of justice, eliminate cartels, lift death penalty ban
Ben Fox / Politico:
‘Frankly Insane’: Trump's Plan to Ship Migrants to Guantanamo Could Quickly Collapse
Discussion: Military.com, Breitbart, IJR and UPI
Politico:
Senate panel will advance budget next week, Graham says
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Fox News adds Lara Trump as new host
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
Medical costs, access top health concerns: Survey
Dave Troy / America 2.0:
America Under Attack, Week 2: What We're Monitoring
 Earlier Items: 
Raw Story:
GOP lawmaker wants to repeal Arizona's ban on machine guns and pipe bombs
Politico:
Former DOD official who called Obama a ‘terrorist leader’ tapped as Pentagon personnel chief
Discussion: Blaze Media
Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:
The Dangerous A.I. Nonsense That Trump and Biden Fell For
Discussion: SpaceNews and The New European
Jessica Blake / Inside Higher Ed:
Higher Ed Fights Back Against Trump's DEI Order
Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Google removes pledge to not use AI for weapons from website
Tyler McBrien / New York Times:
Musk? Trump? Who Exactly Is Running the Federal Government?
Discussion: Reuters, Raw Story and Liberal Currents