Top Items:
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 …
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Nicholas Wu / Politico:
New Democratic bill targets Elon Musk — A veteran House Democrat is introducing new legislation to respond to billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk's overhaul of the federal government: Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) on Wednesday rolled out the Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy …
Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
Meditations in an Emergency — So much is happening, so quickly. The purpose of shock and awe is to bewilder and overwhelm. It is important not to look away, or get discouraged. Try to discern the what is a big and real threat. Here is my best effort to do so. — Subscribe now
New Republic:
Transcript: Jamie Raskin's Brutal Takedown of Elon Musk Hits the Mark
Discussion:
Nextgov/FCW, Washington Examiner, Forbes and Fortune
Punchbowl News:
DOGE-curious Dems dwindle after early Musk moves
DOGE-curious Dems dwindle after early Musk moves
Discussion:
HuffPost, Business Insider, Axios, DNyuz, ZeroHedge News, Twitchy, RedState, Eschaton, Truthout and New York Times
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Democrats Are Falling For Trump and Musk's Foreign Aid Trap
Democrats Are Falling For Trump and Musk's Foreign Aid Trap
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo, Fox News, Reuters, Democracy Now, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times, Raw Story, Bloomberg and The Bulwark
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:
DNyuz, purveyor of Tamora … and Chicago Tribune
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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 …
New York Times:
Trump Proposes U.S. Takeover of Gaza and Says All Palestinians Should Leave — The president met with the Israeli prime minister at the White House, meeting in person with another world leader for the first time since returning to power. — 1.9k — President Trump declared on Tuesday …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, USA Today, CIVIC TEXTS, Politico, HuffPost, The Intercept, Breitbart, Fox News, Foreign Policy, Mediaite, CNN, Raw Story, Associated Press, RedState, Washington Examiner, Reason, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Los Angeles Times, Asia Times, Reuters, Daily Mail, NPR, Today's Edition Newsletter, DNyuz, The Atlantic, Jewish Insider, The Forward, LUIGI MANGIONE FAN, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and WTOP News
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Associated Press:
Trump's suggestion that US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike
Discussion:
BBC, New York Times, The Guardian, The Hill, Townhall, CBS News, Hürriyet Daily News, MeidasTouch News, Algemeiner.com, Daily Kos, WTOP News, Fox News, The Daily Wire, Reuters, Axios, Washington Post, Metro.co.uk, Fortune, The Defense Post, Associated Press, israelhayom.com, Raw Story, DNyuz, Politico, OutsideTheBeltway, Slate, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Florida Politics and Bloomberg
Peter Baker / New York Times:
With Gaza Plan, an Unbound Trump Pushes an Improbable Idea
With Gaza Plan, an Unbound Trump Pushes an Improbable Idea
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Axios, Al Jazeera, Frontpage Mag, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Politico, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Digby's Hullabaloo, Reuters, CBS News, Fox News, DNyuz, The Daily Sceptic, The American Spectator, Semafor, Informed Comment, Daily Mail, Rolling Stone, freebeacon.com, RedState, Algemeiner.com, CNBC, Metro.co.uk, USA Today, Washington Post, Grabien and The Independent
Elizabeth Elkind / Fox News:
Johnson says Trump's Gaza takeover proposal could be ‘bold step’ in restoring peace
Johnson says Trump's Gaza takeover proposal could be ‘bold step’ in restoring peace
Discussion:
Reuters, CBS News, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Raw Story, The Independent, New York Post, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, Grabien, Al Jazeera, CNBC and WSVN-TV
Alex Nitzberg / Fox News:
Rand Paul recoils at Trump's Gaza takeover plans: ‘I thought we voted for America First’
Rand Paul recoils at Trump's Gaza takeover plans: ‘I thought we voted for America First’
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Washington Post, DNyuz and Raw Story
Politico:
Trump's plan to ‘take over’ Gaza Strip confuses GOP lawmakers
Trump's plan to ‘take over’ Gaza Strip confuses GOP lawmakers
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Guardian, New Republic, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jewish Insider, The Gateway Pundit, DNyuz, Mediaite, Politico and NOTUS
Wall Street Journal:
The CIA Is About to Get a Trump Makeover — Spy agency's workforce receives buyout-style offer — WASHINGTON—The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, in what officials said is a bid to bring the agency in line with President Trump's priorities, including targeting drug cartels.
Discussion:
New Republic, New York Times, HuffPost, CNN, The Daily Caller, ZeroHedge News, American Prospect, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Wire, OutsideTheBeltway, Fox News, Raw Story, Blaze Media, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Mail, WBOY.com, Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Post Millennial, Townhall and Grabien
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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 …
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 …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
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 …
Discussion:
Bangor Daily News and The Kyiv Independent
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Martin Wolf / Financial Times:
Predictability is the victim of Trump's tariff threats — An inconsistent US is an unreliable partner — it's that simple — Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on Canada's and Mexico's exports, along with the 10 per cent tariff on China's, change the world.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Fox News, The Independent and 19FortyFive
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Trump Is Turning Out To Be a Very Pro-China President
Trump Is Turning Out To Be a Very Pro-China President
Discussion:
NJTODAY.NET and BBC
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Judge cements block on Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship — GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge Wednesday furthered a block of President Trump's executive order preventing the children of migrants without legal status from receiving birthright citizenship.
Discussion:
Baltimore Sun and Washington Post
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Devan Cole / CNN:
Federal judge blocks Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship
Federal judge blocks Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship
Discussion:
Axios, Reuters, Fox News, Scripps News, New York Times, Associated Press, DNyuz, Megyn Kelly and WTTG-TV
Beege Welborn / HotAir:
Too Funny to Check: USAID Checkbook Snaps Shut, Politico Paychecks Shut Down? UPDATE — For pure, unadulterated, old-fashioned entertainment, it is an indisputable truth that: … (Apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein) — For flat-out comedy value, the meltdown DOGE is causing is a tantrum for the ages.
Discussion:
ZeroHedge News, Ace of Spades HQ, RedState, The Gateway Pundit and American Greatness
RELATED:
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
Doge staffers enter Noaa headquarters and incite reports of cuts and threats — Members reportedly sought access to IT systems at agency that Project 2025 has called ‘harmful to US prosperity’ — Staffers with Elon Musk's “department of government efficiency” (Doge) reportedly entered …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Axios, Orlando Sentinel, E&E News, Associated Press and The Hill, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Discussion:
The Root and Pharyngula
NBC News:
Elon Musk gets quiet White House reminders his power isn't unchecked — Trump's aides have signaled behind the scenes that Musk still reports to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. — Tech billionaire and newly minted “special government employee” Elon Musk has received quiet White House reminders …
Discussion:
HuffPost
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New York Times:
U.S. Postal Service Reverses Decision to Halt Parcel Service From China — The Postal Service will continue to accept parcels from Hong Kong and China despite a new executive order that will require greater inspection of packages. — The United States Postal Service on Wednesday …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Fortune, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Wired, WXIA-TV, Al Jazeera, Quartz, Politico, Raw Story, The Independent, DNyuz, The Verge, WNYW-TV, UPI, KSDK-TV, The Information, CBS News, Semafor and BIG by Matt Stoller, more at Techmeme »
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Musk shocks lawmakers, setting himself on collision course — Billionaire businessman Elon Musk is on a collision course with lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are starting to challenge his authority. — Senate Republicans acknowledge they need to cut government spending …
Discussion:
IJR
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Punchbowl News:
2/5/25 ☀️ AM: … Yet it's fair to say, at this moment, things aren't going well. — Speaker Mike Johnson and the House Republican committee chairs initially proposed between $500 billion to $700 billion in spending cuts as part of a massive reconciliation package.
Discussion:
Politico and masslive.com
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Associated Press:
Protests against Trump and Project 2025 are planned in cities across the US — A movement to oppose the early actions of President Donald Trump's administration is taking off online, with plans to protest across the U.S. on Wednesday. — The movement has organized under the hashtags #buildtheresistance …
Peter Hermann / Washington Post:
Black D.C. church vandalized by Proud Boys awarded control of group's name — The ruling effectively prohibits Proud Boys chapters from legally using their own name or typical symbols without the permission of the Metropolitan AME Church. — A historic Black church in D.C. that was vandalized …
Discussion:
WUSA, Law & Crime, Raw Story, The Independent and CBS News
Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:
Head Start childcare programs are still unable to access federal money after Trump's funding freeze — Programs serving 20,000 children have faced funding delays since Trump's administration announced (and then announced rescinding) a temporary freeze on federal aid last week.
Discussion:
NHSA, Associated Press, HuffPost, Democrats, New Republic and WPR
Jessica Blake / Inside Higher Ed:
Higher Ed Fights Back Against Trump's DEI Order — The American Association of University Professors and others argue in a new lawsuit that the executive orders violate the Constitution. — College professors and university diversity officers are teaming up with nonprofits and local governments …
Discussion:
USA Today
Ivana Saric / Axios:
America's adversaries cheer Trump admin's USAID teardown … - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised Elon Musk — Trump's righthand man who has led the charge against USAID — for “trying to plug USAID's Deep Throat.” — Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin praised …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Times, CNN, The Atlantic, The Hill, Raw Story, New Republic and The Guardian
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 …
Discussion:
USA Today, WNYW-TV, Instapundit, Bloomberg and Breitbart
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 …


