Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
4:40 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 …
Discussion: Raw Story, NBC News and CyberScoop
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: PoliticusUSA, Fortune and EsstN
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.
Daniel W. Drezner / Drezner's World:   The Story That Perfectly Encapsulates Trump 2.0's Foreign Policy Carnage
Wall Street Journal:
The CIA Is About to Get a Trump Makeover
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 …
Discussion: Vox
RELATED:
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 …
Alex Shephard / New Republic:
This Is So Much Worse Than Last Time … There is practically no way to describe …
Discussion: Daily Kos and RedState
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:
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
New Democratic bill targets Elon Musk
Discussion: Fortune and TechCrunch
Dana Hull / Bloomberg:
White House Says Musk Will Police His Own Conflicts of Interest  —  The White House said Elon Musk, the billionaire leading President Donald Trump's government cost-cutting efforts, will determine if there are conflicts of interest between his work reviewing federal spending and his overlapping empire of six companies.
Discussion: Fox Business and Breitbart
RELATED:
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 …
Jake Lahut / Wired:
Elon Musk's Takeover Is Causing Rifts in Donald Trump's Inner Circle  —  “He's getting too big for his britches,” says one Trump world source.  —  Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, publicly at least, are on good terms.  —  Yet when it comes to the staff in and around the new administration, it's a different story.
NBC News:
Elon Musk gets quiet White House reminders his power isn't unchecked
Discussion: Mediaite, Bloomberg and HuffPost
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
The Guardian:
Trump officials attempt to walk back president's comments on Gaza; UN chief warns against ‘ethnic cleansing’ - live
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:
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
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Musk shocks lawmakers, setting himself on collision course
Discussion: Mashable and IJR
Wired:
This DOGE Engineer Has Access to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration  —  Sources tell WIRED that NOAA employees were ordered to give an engineer from Elon Musk's DOGE task force access to all of the agency's Google sites by the end of business Wednesday.
Discussion: E&E News and GovExec.com
RELATED:
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
Associated Press:
The House speaker defends Trump's Gaza plan, while other Republicans express doubts.  —  Amid global alarm, top administration officials sought to soften elements of President Trump's proposal to force Palestinians out of the territory and take it over.  Experts said the plan would violate international law.
RELATED:
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 …
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:
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.
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.
RELATED:
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.”
CBS News:
60 Minutes publishes transcripts, video requested by FCC  —  We are posting the same transcripts and videos of our interview with Vice President Kamala Harris that we provided to the FCC.  They show - consistent with 60 Minutes' repeated assurances to the public - that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful.
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 …
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 …
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 …
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Bondi's DOJ Day 1 directives: Fight weaponization of justice, eliminate cartels, lift death penalty ban  —  Bondi ends moratorium on federal executions, warns prosecutors about working against DOJ mission  —  EXCLUSIVE: Attorney General Pam Bondi will issue several major directives …
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 …
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 4:40 PM ET, February 5, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 See Also: 
memeorandum: site main
memeorandum River: reverse chronological memeorandum
memeorandum Mobile: for phones
memeorandum Leaderboard: memeorandum's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
memeorandum RSS feed
memeorandum on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Politico:
Trump to sign order that could bar trans women from US Olympic participation
Janus Rose / 404 Media:
You Can't Post Your Way Out of Fascism  —  Authoritarians and tech CEOs now share the same goal …
Aaron Wiener / Washington Post:
Trump ordered workers back to the office. They ask, where, exactly?
Discussion: The Independent
Michelle Singletary / Washington Post:
Federal workers shouldn't sign OPM's sham resignation agreement
Discussion: The Verge
Ben Fox / Politico:
‘Frankly Insane’: Trump's Plan to Ship Migrants to Guantanamo Could Quickly Collapse
Discussion: Military.com, IJR, Breitbart and UPI
Dave Troy / America 2.0:
America Under Attack, Week 2: What We're Monitoring
Raw Story:
GOP lawmaker wants to repeal Arizona's ban on machine guns and pipe bombs
Discussion: KLAS
 Earlier Items: 
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Elon Musk and the League of Shadows
Discussion: The Hill and Axios
Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:
The Dangerous A.I. Nonsense That Trump and Biden Fell For
Discussion: SpaceNews and The New European
Martin Wolf / Financial Times:
Predictability is the victim of Trump's tariff threats
Discussion: Fox News
Jessica Blake / Inside Higher Ed:
Higher Ed Fights Back Against Trump's DEI Order
Discussion: Texas Standard and The Guardian
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Judge cements block on Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship
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: Raw Story and Reuters
 

 
From Techmeme:

Ina Fried / Axios:
Sam Altman says “OpenAI is not for sale” and “OpenAI's mission is not for sale”, especially to “a competitor who is not able to beat us in the market”

Reuters:
Paris AI summit: US VP JD Vance warns the EU that excessive AI regulation could strangle the tech and rejects content moderation as “authoritarian censorship”

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Annual letter: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says TV has overtaken mobile as the “primary device for YouTube viewing in the US”, indicating YouTube is “the new TV”
 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page