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AP statement on Oval Office access — The Associated Press issued this statement on Tuesday from Executive Editor Julie Pace: — As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism.
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Live Updates: Musk Asserts Without Proof That He's Fixing a Bureaucracy Rife With Fraud — The billionaire, chosen by President Trump to lead a federal overhaul, insisted he was working transparently, but his team's secretive actions have delivered shocks across the government.


Hegseth's visit to U.S. base in Germany met with student walkout — The civil disobedience by dozens of middle schoolers — and some adults — was aimed at the Trump administration's rollback of DEI initiatives. — February 11, 2025 — Live updates: Trump signs executive order calling on agencies to work with Elon Musk-led group
Discussion:
The Daily Signal


The Staffers Helping Elon Musk Dismantle and Downsize the U.S. Government, One Agency at a Time — Musk and his lieutenants are reshaping the government and its mission with the blessing of President Trump. ProPublica has confirmed the names and roles of more than 30 staffers affiliated with the billionaire.


Trump moves to ‘significantly’ reduce federal workforce
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Wired, GovExec.com, Politico, Reuters and New Republic

Associated Press blocked from Oval Office after not using ‘Gulf of America’
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Verge and One America News Network

Jordan's King Abdullah II signals openness to Trump's plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, freebeacon.com, Jewish Insider, Breitbart, Chicago Tribune, ZeroHedge News, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, The Japan Times, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Responsible Statecraft, New York Post, Fox News, NPR, The Daily Wire, UPI, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Raw Story, Metro.co.uk, HotAir, One America News Network, Washington Post, Scripps News, The Hill and CBS News

White House Bars Reporter From Event Over A.P.'s Use of ‘Gulf of Mexico’
Discussion:
Associated Press and Raw Story

Trump signs executive order to continue downsizing federal workforce
Discussion:
Fortune

WATCH: ‘We Have To F— Trump,’ Congresswoman Says As Democrats Struggle To Form Focused Message
Discussion:
Raw Story, RedState, Twitchy and The Gateway Pundit


FEMA official ignores judge's latest order, demands freeze on grant funding — Federal workers are being swept into the fight between Donald Trump and federal courts, with four FEMA aides fired Tuesday for being “deep state activists.” — WASHINGTON — A senior official …
Discussion:
New Republic, Mediaite and Alternet.org
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Top FEMA Official Is Fired Over Payments for N.Y.C. Migrant Shelters — The Trump administration fired the Federal Emergency Management Agency's chief financial officer and three others after Elon Musk misleadingly claimed the agency had used disaster-relief funds for migrant services.


Trump maintains funding freeze at NIH, defying court order — The Trump administration is still prohibiting National Institutes of Health (NIH) staff from issuing virtually all grant funding, an NIH official tells Popular Information. The ongoing funding freeze is also reflected …

Has Trump's agenda stalled?
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Independent and CBS News

Trump's clash with the courts escalates
Discussion:
USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Vox, Reuters, PoliticusUSA, NBC News, Forbes and Plain Dealer


Judge orders HHS, CDC and FDA to restore deleted webpages with health information — Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration to restore webpages and data …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Post, Law Dork, Politico, The Post Millennial, HotAir, WXIA-TV, Twitchy, USA Today, American Greatness, RedState, Roll Call, Gizmodo, 404 Media, WUSA, Louder With Crowder, The Guardian, ZeroHedge News and Common Dreams
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Judge orders Trump admin. to restore CDC and FDA webpages by midnight
Discussion:
Scripps News and Forbes


Musk Team Announces Millions in Cuts to Education Dept. Amid Legal Pushback — Elon Musk's cost-cutting team said that it had “terminated” 89 of the department's contracts, apparently targeting its research arm. — Elon Musk's cost-cutting effort announced a variety of cuts …
Discussion:
Townhall, USA Today and Alternet.org, more at Techmeme »
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Musk's ‘Doge’ guts nearly $1bn in US education department's research office
Discussion:
The Lever, Chalkbeat, ProPublica, WAVY.com, New York Post, NPR and The College Fix


DOGE teen ran image-sharing site linked to URLs referencing pedophilia and the KKK — Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old member of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), launched an image-sharing website in 2021 that featured custom “shitposting” web addresses that redirected to content hosted on his site.


Senator Accuses F.B.I. Nominee of Covertly Directing Dismissals — A top Democrat demanded an investigation and suggested that the nominee, Kash Patel, may have lied under oath, citing what he described as multiple sources. — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
NBC News, Raw Story, New Republic, Roll Call, USA Today, Forbes, Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA, Reuters, CBS News, CNBC, Mediaite and Daily Kos


Appeals court rejects Trump administration bid to reinstate funding freeze — The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Justice Department's request to pause a judge's order while it challenges the order in court. — A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's bid …
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Appeals court won't halt judge's order requiring Trump administration to unfreeze all federal cash
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA and The Nation


Voters Were Right About the Economy. The Data Was Wrong. — Here's why unemployment is higher, wages are lower and growth less robust than government statistics suggest. — Before the presidential election, many Democrats were puzzled by the seeming disconnect between “economic reality” …
Discussion:
HotAir


Apple Is Renaming Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps App — Change to occur for US users and then roll out globally later — Move follows Google; Microsoft and MapQuest haven't made shift — Apple Inc. is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on its Maps app …


Treasury officials: Musk ally ‘mistakenly’ had power to alter payments system — The incident prompted an internal forensic investigation that remains ongoing. — Treasury Department officials said Tuesday that the agency last week “mistakenly” and “briefly” gave a member of Elon Musk's team …


Russia Releases U.S. Prisoner After Talks With Trump Envoy — The Kremlin freed Marc Fogel, a teacher held for more than three years on drug charges, in a deal negotiated by Steve Witkoff, President Trump's Middle East envoy. — President Trump on Tuesday secured the release …
Discussion:
CBS News, Politico, Townhall, Raw Story, ZeroHedge News, Axios, Forbes, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, EADaily, The Independent, Daily Mail, freebeacon.com, Fox News, The Hill, USA Today and Semafor
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Defense Secretary Hegseth booed and heckled by military families protesting against DEI push — Last week, Hegseth wrote a memo in which he banned transgender people from joining the military and restricted the use of some learning materials in Defense Department schools.
Discussion:
The Hill, Defense One and The Independent


President Elon Musk Suddenly Realizes He Might Not Know How to Govern — A weekend interaction between Vanity Fair's Molly Jong-Fast and Elon Musk unexpectedly showcased just how little the world's richest man understands about the effects of his slashing spree at the top of the federal government.
Discussion:
Daily Kos


Implementing The President's “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: — Section 1. Purpose.
Discussion:
New York Times, Federal News Network, Defense One, Scripps News, UPI, FedScoop and E&E News


Elon Musk's Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up … Elon Musk controls six companies, including Tesla. Mr. Musk's companies secured $13 billion in federal contracts over the past five years.Carly Zavala for The New York Times — President Trump has been in office less than a month …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Information, Wired, The Guardian, Drezner's World and Fox Business, more at Techmeme »


Pope rebukes Trump administration over migrant deportations, and appears to take direct aim at Vance — Pope Francis issued a major rebuke Tuesday to the Trump administration's mass deportation of migrants, warning that the forceful removal of people purely because of their illegal status deprives …
Discussion:
New York Times, CBS News, Alternet.org, Blaze Media, Washington Post, El País, MeidasTouch News, Forbes, Raw Story, The Guardian, USA Today, Reuters, Baltimore Sun and Washington Examiner


Donald Trump Is Delusional — AMONG THE REALITY-BASED COMMUNITY—those of us who acknowledge Donald Trump's prodigious history of false statements—there's a longstanding debate. Some think Trump knows better and is simply lying. Others think he's sincerely delusional.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and HuffPost

USAID IG fired day after report critical of impacts of Trump administration's dismantling of the agency — The inspector general of the US Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the Trump administration's efforts …
Discussion:
Raw Story, NBC News, Washington Post, Politico, Federal News Network, Forbes, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and The Guardian


Trudeau warns Vance about impact of U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs — Justin Trudeau brought up the impact of tariffs in U.S. vice-president's home state — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance that punishing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum will hurt …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Canada's National Observer
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This Trump policy didn't work in his first term. He's trying again.
Discussion:
Statista Daily Data, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, ZeroHedge News, Reason, Canadian Press, CBS News and American Prospect


Trump DOJ Accused of Deleting Evidence In Jan. 6 Court Cases — Videos are mysteriously missing from an online portal that is legally required to house evidence related to Jan. 6 cases, according to a new lawsuit. — LOADING — Federal courts and judges have repeatedly ordered …

LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS TO THE BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA — I am writing today to address a few words to you in these delicate moments that you are living as Pastors of the People of God who walk together in the United States of America.
Discussion:
Breitbart, America Magazine, UPI, NPR, USA Today, The Hill, First Things, Deseret News, The National Pulse, The Independent, New York Magazine, Axios, Politico, HuffPost and Scripps News


Carter introduces bill renaming Greenland — WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) released the following statement today after introducing a bill authorizing President Trump to acquire Greenland and renaming it Red, White, and Blueland: — “America is back and will soon …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, Fox News, USA Today, Daily Kos, Metro.co.uk, The Daily Wire, Raw Story, WAGA-TV, The Independent, Global News, New Jersey Online, New Republic, al.com, Axios, Daily Mail, Washington Examiner and WXIA-TV


Statement from the American Bar Association — Lawyers have a professional obligation not to be complicit in undermining democracy. … The ABA Supports the Rule of Law — It has been three weeks since Inauguration Day. Most Americans recognize that newly elected leaders bring change.
Discussion:
Mock Paper Scissors, JURIST, Progressive Eruptions and The Nation


Almost $500 million in food is at risk of spoilage after USAID pause, report says — Almost $500 million in food aid is at risk of spoilage as it sits in ports, ships and warehouses after funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, was paused by the Trump administration …


Project 2025 Is Gutting Medical Funding That Helped Russell Vought's Own Kid — Its architect's daughter has cystic fibrosis—and benefits from a “miracle drug” backed by an agency he's attacking. — The National Institutes of Health, the federal government's leading medical research agency …
Discussion:
STAT


Trump administration owes US business millions in unpaid bills amid USAID shutdown, lawsuit says — The White House fired the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday, a U.S. official said. It comes a day after the watchdog's office warned …
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune and Reuters


Why the Attack On This Agency Is Trump/Muskism In a Nutshell — Thank you for reading The Cross Section, and if you find my work valuable and would like it to continue, consider becoming a paid subscriber. This site has no paywall, so I depend on the generosity of readers to sustain the work I present here.
Discussion:
Slate, The Boston Globe, Democrats, Semafor, The Republic News and Los Angeles Times