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3:15 PM ET, February 4, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Wired:
A 25-Year-Old With Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System  —  The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department.  It's also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.
RELATED:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Musk Cronies Dive Into Treasury Dept Payments Code Base  —  Overnight, Wired reported that, contrary to published reports that DOGE operatives at the Treasury Department are limited to “read only” access to department payment systems, this is not true.  A 25-year-old DOGE operative named Marko Elez …
Dell Cameron / Wired:
Federal Workers Sue to Disconnect DOGE Server  —  Two federal workers, citing reports that Elon Musk's associates are operating an illegally connected email server at OPM, seek a restraining order.  —  Federal employees are seeking a temporary restraining order as part of a class action lawsuit accusing …
Discussion: Raw Story
Politico:
Bessent tells lawmakers Musk's DOGE does not control Treasury payments system  —  The remarks came during a two-hour gathering between the Treasury secretary and GOP members of the House Financial Services Committee.  —  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent privately reassured Republican lawmakers Monday …
Notes on the Crises:
Day Five of the Trump-Musk Treasury Payments Crisis of 2025: Not “Read Only” access anymore
Discussion: American Prospect and Raw Story
New York Times:
Elon Musk's Blitz Shakes U.S. Government as He Sweeps Through Agencies
Rolling Stone:   Inside Trump and Musk's Clumsy, ‘Exhausting’ Hunt for Leakers
RELATED:
Politico:
FBI agents sue to block DOJ from compiling list of officials who worked on Jan. 6 or Trump cases  —  The agents are fearful that the Trump-led Justice Department will exact punishment against employees deemed disloyal.  —  FBI agents who worked on cases stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol …
Adam Goldman / New York Times:
‘Accidental’ F.B.I. Chief Builds a Following as Agency's Defender  —  Brian Driscoll was accidentally catapulted into the acting director's chair on Jan. 20 and has defended the bureau from the potential of mass firings, inspiring memes and satirical clips.  —  Brian Driscoll …
Discussion: The Post Millennial
NBC News:
FBI agents file lawsuits alleging Justice Department ‘retribution’ over their work on Jan. 6 cases
Discussion: Washington Post
Benjamin Wittes / Default:
The Situation: What's Going on at the FBI?
Discussion: Fox News, HotAir and The Daily Beast
Marc Caputo / Axios:
About 20,000 federal workers took “buyout” so far, official says  —  About 20,000 federal workers have accepted the “buyout” offer put forward by the Trump administration last week, a senior administration official tells Axios. … - The offer is open through Thursday, meaning the total could rise …
RELATED:
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
We Did This to Ourselves  —  Four years ago today, the House of Representatives voted to remove …
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
NBC News:
White House preparing executive order to abolish the Department of Education  —  The planned order follows years of campaign promises from President Donald Trump to abolish the federal Education Department.  —  The White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education …
RELATED:
CNN:
Trump administration drafting executive order to initiate Department of Education's elimination  —  The Trump administration has begun drafting an executive order that would kick off the process of eliminating the Department of Education, the latest move by President Donald Trump to swiftly carry …
Noah Feldman / Bloomberg:
Trump Is Testing Our Constitutional System. It's Doing Fine.
Discussion: ABC News
Washington Post:
RFK Jr. passes key HHS confirmation hurdle with Senate panel vote  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., once seen as a longshot to serve as America's top health official, is now set to head to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now one step closer to running …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Committee Votes to Advance Tulsi Gabbard's Bid for Intelligence Post
Adam Wren / Politico:
Sen. Todd Young will back Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence
Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Proud Boys Lose Control of Their Name to a Black Church They Vandalized  —  A judge awarded the trademarked name and symbols to a Washington church to help satisfy a $2.8 million judgment against the far-right group.  —  The Proud Boys no longer have control over their own name.
RELATED:
Aimee Picchi / CBS News:
Proud Boys lose their trademark ownership to a Black church they vandalized, court rules
Discussion: The Hill
Jordan Valinsky / CNN:
Waffle House is placing a surcharge on every egg it sells  —  New York CNN —  The soaring price of eggs has forced Waffle House to add a temporary surcharge on customers' orders.  —  The Georgia-based chain is adding a 50-cent charge per egg because of the “nationwide rise in cost of eggs …
Discussion: CBS News, Eater, Crooks and Liars and DNyuz
RELATED:
Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Ocasio-Cortez: Musk ‘one of the most unintelligent billionaires I have ever met’  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed tech billionaire and “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) head Elon Musk as “one of the most unintelligent billionaires that I have ever met.”
RELATED:
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:   Terrible Nominees, Terrified Americans: Senators Could Actually Make a Difference This Month
Washington Post:
Here are the words putting science in the crosshairs of Trump's orders  —  National Science Foundation staff have been combing through thousands of active science research projects, alongside a list of keywords, to determine if they include activities that violate Trump's executive orders.  —  “Women.”
Discussion: The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Zoe Tillman / Bloomberg:
Doctors Sue Over Trump Health Agencies' Removal of Online Data
Discussion: Reuters
Anna Merlan / Mother Jones:
Elon Musk's Midnight Takeover  —  The world's richest man and his allies are “avoiding office hours at all costs” as they take a wrecking ball to the US government.  —  Much like a gremlin fed after midnight, Elon Musk is staying up late and causing mayhem.
RELATED:
David Ingram / NBC News:
Elon Musk and DOGE are hacking the government
Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
Trump Claims Victory Over Canada, Mexico After Getting ... Basically Nothing  —  The president made a show of temporarily postponing a regional trade war after Mexico and Canada promised him things they were already doing  —  Donald Trump has temporarily delayed the implementation of tariffs …
RELATED:
Ari Hawkins / Politico:
Key House Republican: We ‘need to come to terms’ with Trump's tariffs
Discussion: Raw Story and Reuters
Associated Press:
China counters with tariffs on US products. It will also investigate Google
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Scoop: Senate Dems plot USAID revenge on Trump … - Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Axios on Tuesday that he's willing to place holds on Trump nominees on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  — Blumenthal said the caucus is proceeding as if there is a blanket hold on Trump nominations.
Discussion: NPR, PBS NewsHour and Associated Press
NOTUS:
Republican Senators Say They're Fine Handing Their Power to Elon Musk  —  Musk's actions may be unconstitutional but “nobody should bellyache about that,” Sen. Thom Tillis said.  — Copy  —  Tech billionaire Elon Musk is working to shut down government agencies and cancel congressionally approved funding …
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Begins Migrant Flights to Guantanamo Bay  —  The Trump administration has said it would expand operations at the American naval base in Cuba to hold up to 30,000 immigrants  —  WASHINGTON—The first flights carrying detained migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay have headed …
Garrett Shanley / The Independent Florida Alligator:
State audit finds overall unnecessary spending under former UF President Ben Sasse  —  Sasse's expenditures included more than $300,000 in private jet flights  —  A preliminary report from the Florida Auditor General found UF failed to prevent former President Ben Sasse from leveraging …
Discussion: Florida Politics
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government  —  Thomas Shedd, a Musk-associate and now head of the General Services Administration's Technology Transformation Services (TTS), told government tech workers in a meeting this week that the administration plans …
Richelle Wilson / WPR:
Half of Wisconsin Head Start programs can't access needed funds after federal freeze  —  One Head Start center in Waukesha closed last week, leaving more than 250 families without child care  —  One week after the Trump administration ordered a pause on federal grants and loans …
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
The Hill:
Cassidy says he secured key vaccine commitments from RFK Jr.  —  Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he secured significant concessions from the Trump administration on vaccine safety that led to his vote Tuesday morning to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Discussion: NBC News and Fox News
RELATED:
New York Post:
RFK's hearings remove all doubt: He's not fit to lead a key federal health agency
Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story
CNN:
Trump expected to attend Super Bowl, White House official says  —  President Donald Trump is expected to attend Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, a White House official told CNN.  —  The guest list is still being prepared, the official said, though House Speaker Mike Johnson …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Andrew Freedman / Axios:
Scoop: Trump nominates Neil Jacobs to head NOAA
Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg and The Independent
Politico:
Trump moves to put nearly all USAID Washington staff on leave
Discussion: Associated Press
Ajit Niranjan / The Guardian:
Temperatures at north pole 20C above average and beyond ice melting point
Michael McElroy / Cardinal & Pine:
Army helicopter pilot killed in DC plane crash was one of the NC voters Jefferson Griffin is trying to disenfranchise
 Earlier Items: 
Philippe Naughton / The Daily Beast:
MAGA Senator Goes on Weird Rant About Sex and Omelets
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
“Hitler actually had some good ideas”: Musk's covert coup is guided by internet trolls
Discussion: WTTG-TV and Digby's Hullabaloo
Lisa Friedman / New York Times:
E.P.A. Demotes Career Employees Overseeing Science, Enforcement and More
CNN:
El Salvador offers to house violent US criminals and deportees of any nationality in unprecedented deal
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Affirmative action for white men
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Netflix agrees to acquire WBD's studios and streaming business in an $82.7B cash-and-stock deal, set to close after WBD splits into two companies in Q3 2026

Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
The Chicago Tribune sues Perplexity for copyright infringement, alleging Perplexity's platforms lift Tribune content verbatim and divert traffic from the paper

Will Sommer / @willsommer:
The Blaze retracts its article accusing a former Capitol Police officer of being the January 6 pipe bomber after the FBI arrested a different person
 
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