Top Items:
Washington Post:
White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion — Trillions of dollars could be on hold, according to an Office of Management and Budget memo. — The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government …
Discussion:
CBS News, Raw Story, Axios, Reuters, The Post Millennial, Heatmap News, Good Politics/Bad Politics, E&E News, Fortune, Chase 🌾 …, HuffPost, NOTUS, Althouse, Saywhat Politics and Mourning Dove
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Steve Vladeck / One First:
120. The Impoundment Crisis of 2025 — The Trump administration's Monday spending freeze is likely to provoke a crisis over the constitutionality of “impoundment”—one that the justices could well have to resolve *very* soon. — Welcome back to “One First,” a weekly newsletter that aims …
Discussion:
American Prospect
Politico:
Trump administration orders sweeping freeze of federal aid — In a two-page memo, the Office of Management and Budget ordered all federal agencies to temporarily suspend payments. — One week in, the Trump administration is broadening its assault on the functions of government …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Scripps News, NBC News, CBS News, E&E News and Justin's Political Corner
Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
All federal grants and loan disbursement paused by White House — The White House budget office has ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans, according to an internal memorandum sent Monday, potentially impacting trillions in government spending and halting public programs that affect millions of Americans.
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, Fox News, Daily Mail, Bloomberg, NBC News, The Guardian, Hollywood Life, Reason, Associated Press, IJR and Roll Call
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
White House Budget Office Orders Pause in All Federal Loans and Grants — The full extent of the order was not immediately clear, but the directive sent to government agencies on Monday threatened to paralyze a vast swath of federal programs. — The White House budget office has ordered a pause in grants …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Independent and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Democrats' playbook for Trump 2.0: Tune out the noise and focus on economic issues — As Trump floods the zone in his first week in office, Democrats are departing from their “resistance” strategy in his first term and zeroing in on issues that cost them the last election.
Discussion:
Eschaton
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Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
The Strategy Behind Trump's Policy Blitz — The staff was still setting up dinner on Mar-a-Lago's outdoor patio on a balmy early-January evening when Donald Trump sat down. He was surrounded by several top advisers who would soon join him in the West Wing and who wanted to get his input …
New York Times:
Read the Memo Pausing Federal Grants and Loans
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider and Semafor
Ali Walker / Politico:
Mette Frederiksen's diplomatic dash to save Greenland from Trump
Mette Frederiksen's diplomatic dash to save Greenland from Trump
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Times, Raw Story, Agence France-Presse, E&E News, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Metro.co.uk and Daily Mail
Politico:
Top USAID career staff placed on immediate leave — “This is like taking out all the generals,” said a former Trump administration official informed of the decision. — The Trump administration has ordered dozens of top career employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development …
Discussion:
Fox News, Associated Press, New York Times and NBC News
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Oliver Darcy / Status:
Acosta La Vista — The anchor signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network, Status has learned. … The anchor, I'm told, signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network …
Discussion:
Fox News, Mediaite, Deadline, TVLine, Variety, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, The Hollywood Reporter, IJR, Breitbart, RedState, The Post Millennial and HuffPost, more at Mediagazer »
NBC News:
Trump administration fires DOJ officials who worked on criminal investigations of the president — The DOJ employees had been involved in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation that led to Trump's classified documents and Jan. 6 cases. — WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice …
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Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Week One inside Trump's DOJ: ‘It feels like a non-violent war’
Discussion:
NPR, NBC News, New York Times, Reuters, Raw Story, RedState, Daily Mail, HuffPost, emptywheel, New York Post, Digby's Hullabaloo, Alternet.org, The Gateway Pundit and The Post Millennial
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
Google says it will change Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ in Maps after government updates … Google said Monday it will change the name of Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” after the government updates its “official government sources.” — The company also said it will start using Mount McKinley …
Discussion:
Fortune, Associated Press, Must Read Alaska, Benzinga, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, The Verge and USA Today, more at Techmeme »
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Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Trump Ousts Top Labor Board Leaders Who Backed Broader Worker Rights — Jennifer Abruzzo says she was fired by email late on Monday — Donald Trump is forcing out top leaders of the US labor board, ushering in a swift reboot of workplace law enforcement while testing the limits of presidential authority.
Lindsay Wise / Wall Street Journal:
Tillis Assured Hegseth's Former Sister-in-Law Her Testimony Could Convince GOP Senators to Vote No — North Carolina senator provided pivotal 50th ‘yes’ vote to confirm Hegseth as defense secretary — WASHINGTON—A key witness in the contentious Senate confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Townhall, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Eric Martin / Bloomberg:
Trump's Victory Over Colombia Now Looks Less Clear Cut — Colombia sends own planes to bring people home after showdown — Trump runs the risk of overuse of tariff, sanctions threats — A deportation arrangement with Colombia that the White House on Sunday night presented …
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Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Trump signs 4 new executive orders, transforming military — President Trump signed a bevy of new executive orders Monday evening that have the potential to significantly transform the Defense Department (DOD). — The new orders prevent transgender people from openly serving in the military …
Discussion:
BBC, NOTUS, CBS News, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Axios, Al Jazeera, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, CNBC, Scripps News, New York Post, USA Today, Townhall, MeidasTouch News, The Guardian, IJR, Florida Politics and Fox News
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Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
Trump Administration Halts H.I.V. Drug Distribution in Poor Countries — PEPFAR's computer systems also are being taken offline, a sign that the program may not return, as Republican critics had hoped. — The Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Advocate, Mediaite, Brown Babe and them.
Melissa Nann Burke / The Detroit News:
Michigan's Gary Peters won't seek reelection to U.S. Senate. Here's why — Washington ― Gary Peters, Michigan's senior senator and a former congressman, said he won't seek reelection next year and will retire from the U.S. Senate when his second term ends in January 2027.
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Hill, Politico, Associated Press and Talking Points Memo
The White House:
Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, and to ensure the readiness and effectiveness of our Armed Forces, it is hereby ordered:
Discussion:
New York Times, Law Dork, Advocate, RedState, NPR, Raw Story, PinkNews, Transgender World, The Independent and Must Read Alaska
Andrew Ackerman / Washington Post:
Banking regulator rescinds more than 200 job offers for examiners it needs — A federal hiring freeze has made the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. even more short-handed. — A government-wide hiring freeze has led the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to yank job offers to more than 200 new examiners …
Michael Levenson / New York Times:
Man Pardoned in Jan. 6 Riot Is Fatally Shot by Sheriff's Deputy During Traffic Stop — The police said that Matthew W. Huttle, 42, of Hobart, Ind., who was sentenced to six months for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2021, resisted arrest after he was stopped in Indiana on Sunday.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Hill, The Guardian, Digby's Hullabaloo, FOX 32 Chicago, Associated Press, ABC7, USA Today, Daily Mail, Chicago Tribune and The Indianapolis Star
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Johnson Joins the Trump Entourage, Shrinking the Role of House Speaker — In positioning himself as a junior partner to the president and doing his bidding on matters large and small, the Louisiana Republican is diminishing a job that involves leading a coequal branch of government.
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
The MAGA terror has begun — Their leader is glorifying political violence and weaponizing the threat of it. — ⛓️💥 ✍️ ⚖️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent media is more important right now than ever.
Ron Dicker / HuffPost:
Border Czar Tom Homan Responds To Selena Gomez Crying Over Deportations: ‘No Apologies’ — Trump's immigration enforcement pick had blunt words for the “Only Murders in the Building” star. — LOADING — Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, was not moved Monday by viral video …
Discussion:
Fox News, Billboard, Daily Mail, New Republic, New York Post, PinkNews, Townhall, ABC News, Daily Kos, Cosmopolitan, The Hill, RedState, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Page Six
Financial Times:
Scott Bessent pushes gradual 2.5% universal US tariffs plan — Trump's Treasury secretary wants levies to rise month by month in order to give businesses time to adjust — Donald Trump's Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is pushing for new universal tariffs on US imports to start at 2.5 per cent …
Russell Contreras / Axios:
Coalition of Jewish groups say they're leaving X over Musk's behavior … - It also came after Musk told members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party “there's too much focus on past guilt,” seemingly referring to the burden Germany carries for the Holocaust.
Discussion:
Union for Reform Judaism, Gizmodo, Raw Story and VINnews
The Hill:
By killing remote work, DOGE will only bleed taxpayers dry — Republicans in Congress, bolstered by a 41-page report from the House Oversight Committee, have unleashed a wave of criticism against federal telework policies. Their claims, aired at a Jan. 15 congressional hearing titled …
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Pence group uses Trump criticism of RFK Jr. in new ad opposing his HHS nomination — An advocacy group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence is escalating its fight against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., this time with an ad that uses President Trump's past criticisms of Kennedy to argue …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Federalist, NPR, RedState, American Greatness and Associated Press
Brandi Buchman / HuffPost:
Trump Pardoned A Jan. 6 Rioter. Now He's ‘At Large’ For A Crime. — The alleged victim is under 17 years old, prosecutors said. — LOADING — Andrew Taake's legal troubles might not be over — even though the Texas man was just pardoned by President Donald Trump after being convicted …
Discussion:
Houston Public Media, The Guardian, Mediaite, New York Daily News, Raw Story and Daily Mail



