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2:15 PM ET, April 21, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Tom Bowman / NPR:
Exclusive: The White House is looking to replace Pete Hegseth as defense secretary  —  The White House has begun the process of looking for a new secretary of defense, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.  —  This comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to find himself mired in controversy.
RELATED:
Rachael Bade / Politico:
‘An amateur person’: GOP Rep. Bacon says Hegseth should go  —  The Nebraska lawmaker is the first House Republican to recommend the president fire the secretary of Defense.  —  Rep. Don Bacon, a prominent Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, became the first sitting GOP lawmaker Monday …
Discussion: MeidasTouch News
John Ullyot / Politico:
Former Top Pentagon Spokesperson Details ‘Month From Hell’ Inside the Agency  —  The total chaos at the Department of Defense is becoming a major distraction for the Trump administration, writes John Ullyot.  —  It's been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon.
New York Times:
Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat  —  The defense secretary sent sensitive information about strikes in Yemen to an encrypted group chat that included his wife and brother, people familiar with the matter said.  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information …
Politico:
White House backs Hegseth, Leavitt says ‘entire Pentagon’ is resisting him  —  Hegseth “is doing phenomenal leading the Pentagon,” Leavitt said during a Monday “Fox & Friends” appearance.  —  President Donald Trump “stands strongly behind Pete Hegseth,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday morning …
Politico:
Trump offers private reassurance to embattled Hegseth
Discussion: The Guardian and Washington Post
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Stop Waiting for a Formal Declaration of “Crisis”
Discussion: NPR, The Hill and HuffPost
CNN:
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's bag, including $3,000 in cash, is stolen from DC restaurant  —  Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem fell victim to a thief while eating dinner at a downtown Washington, DC, restaurant Sunday night, two sources familiar with the incident …
RELATED:
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:   Noem's purse containing DHS access badge, $3K in cash stolen at DC restaurant
Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming, humble style, dies at 88  —  Pope Francis, history's first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, died Monday.
RELATED:
Jason Horowitz / New York Times:
Latest Updates: Pope Francis Dies at 88
Devin Watkins / vaticannews.va:
Pope Francis has died on Easter Monday aged 88
Tom Sykes / The Daily Beast:
Pope Francis' Last Act Was to Give JD Vance a Lesson About Migrants
Washington Post:
Who will be next pope after Francis? Key contenders ahead of conclave.
Chris Megerian / Associated Press:
One day before Pope Francis' death, US Vice President Vance received an audience on Easter Sunday
Molly Olmstead / Slate:
Pope Francis Changed a Lot About the Church. One Thing Cannot Be Reversed.
Caroline Kitchener / New York Times:
Trump Aides Solicit Ideas to Raise Birthrate, From Baby Bonuses to Fertility Planning … “We need to channel the MAHA spirit and really dive deep into infertility,” said Emma Waters, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, referring to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again campaign.Rebecca Kiger for The New York Times
Discussion: Vanity Fair and Raw Story
RELATED:
Caroline Kitchener / New York Times:
Baby Bonuses, Fertility Planning: Trump Aides Assess Ideas to Boost Birthrate … “We need to channel the MAHA spirit and really dive deep into infertility,” said Emma Waters, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, referring to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again campaign.Rebecca Kiger for The New York Times
Discussion: National Review and Raw Story
Bloomberg:
Walmart, Target Executives to Meet Trump as Tariff Angst Spreads … President Donald Trump is set to meet with major retailers at the White House, as business executives seek relief from sweeping tariffs that have destabilized global supply chains and rattled US consumers.
Discussion: CNBC
RELATED:
Spencer Kimball / CNBC:
Gold surges to a record above $3,400 as Trump threatens Fed independence
Larry David / New York Times:
My Dinner With Adolf  —  Imagine my surprise when in the spring of 1939 a letter arrived at my house inviting me to dinner at the Old Chancellery with the world's most reviled man, Adolf Hitler.  I had been a vocal critic of his on the radio from the beginning, pretty much predicting everything …
Discussion: The Wrap
Split Ticket:
How Democrats Won Wisconsin In 2025: Turnout.  —  Democrats swelled with confidence after their victory in the State Supreme Court race in Trump-won Wisconsin.  It seemed that public opinion swung sharply against Donald Trump and the GOP despite Elon Musk's eight-figure investment in the state.
Jack Goldsmith / Executive Functions:
Solicitor General John Sauer's Predicament  —  His incompatible duties to the president and the Supreme Court are coming to a head. … Yesterday Justice Alito published a fiery statement explaining his dissent from the Supreme Court's early Saturday morning order directing the U.S. government …
RELATED:
Anil Oza / STAT:
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests  —  New rules appear to be next step in Trump assault on campus diversity programs and antisemitism  —  The National Institutes of Health appears to be preparing to prohibit the awarding …
Washington Post:
The ‘5 things’ emails are going by the wayside as Musk readies his exit  —  After the DOGE leader demanded federal workers list accomplishments, agencies applied an inconsistent patchwork of policies.  —  When Elon Musk and President Donald Trump commanded all federal workers …
Discussion: Raw Story and The Independent
Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:
House Dems travel to El Salvador to secure Maryland man's return  —  More Democrats are making the trip abroad to raise awareness for what they call a “constitutional crisis” surrounding Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation.  —  Four more Democratic lawmakers have landed in El Salvador …
Luke Kawa / Sherwood News:
The “sell America” trade has reached levels not seen since the 1980s  —  Traders are dumping US assets like mullets are back in style and “Endless Love” is topping the Billboard Hot 100.  —  Rising recession risks thanks to onerous tariffs have catalyzed a global downgrade of US stocks …
Michelle Kaske / Bloomberg:
Trump Gives New York ‘One Last Chance’ to End Congestion Pricing  —  The Trump administration is threatening to stop future federal approvals for transportation projects in Manhattan and may withhold funding if New York City's congestion pricing program continues.
The Free Press:
Is Donald Trump Breaking the Law?  Seven Experts Weigh In.  —  Trump critics say we are in a constitutional crisis.  The White House says that's hysterical.  What do our top legal minds say?  —  The first 90 days of President Trump's second term have been marked by a series of aggressive legal maneuvers.
Discussion: Alternet.org and Reason
Anthony Clark / The Last Campaign:
Trump's Surgeon General Pick Distorted Key Parts of Her Résumé  —  Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, an urgent-care physician and former Fox News medical contributor 1 who is President Donald Trump's nominee for surgeon general of the United States, has over at least the last 15 years falsely represented …
Dustin Gardiner / Politico:
'There's a reckoning to be had': San Francisco Dems move to push the national party to the center.  —  Local party leaders are advancing an ideology they call “new pragmatism.”  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Democrats in San Francisco — who for decades pushed their party down an increasingly progressive path …
Discussion: Washington Examiner
 
 
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 More Items: 
Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Trump-connected lobbying firm Ballard Partners rakes in $14M in first quarter
Daniel Strauss / New York Magazine:
A Democrat Who Knows How to Win on Fighting Trump
Discussion: Raw Story
Erik Larson / Bloomberg:
Supreme Court Mulls LGBTQ Schoolbooks Amid Religious Rights Push
Discussion: Fox News and SCOTUSblog
Politico:
No Show Cuo  —  Andrew Cuomo is planning to do something this week he rarely does …
Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
Polls aren't going to save us from Trump
Discussion: New York Times and City Journal
Svante Myrick / The Hill:
At the first whiff of power, these Republicans betrayed the rule of law
 Earlier Items: 
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
RFK Jr. is wrong about autism
Mark Hertling / The Bulwark:
If Ukraine-Russia Negotiations Fail, Victory Remains an Option
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Ashley Mowreader / Inside Higher Ed:
What We've Learned So Far From Tracking Student Visa Data
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Irate at Harvard, Plans to Pull Additional $1 Billion in Funding