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4:20 AM ET, February 7, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Katherine Long / Wall Street Journal:
Exclusive |  DOGE Staffer Resigns Over Racist Posts  —  A staffer for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency whose access to U.S. Treasury payment systems was approved by a federal judge on Thursday has links to a deleted social-media account that advocated for racism and eugenics.
RELATED:
ProPublica:
Elon Musk's Demolition Crew  —  On President Donald Trump's authority alone, Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has been unleashed on federal agencies.  Employees from Musk's companies and those of his allies, as well as young staffers he's recruited, are wresting authority from career workers and commandeering computer systems.
Shelby Talcott / Semafor:
DOGE follows longtime Musk pattern — and turns attention to Social Security Administration  —  The News  —  Elon Musk's DOGE shuttered USAID.  It has searched Medicare payments and gained access to a sensitive Treasury Department payment system.  Its initial Labor Department presence prompted a lawsuit.
Discussion: Reuters, Politico, DNyuz and NBC News
Wired:
Elon Musk's DOGE Is Working on a Custom Chatbot Called GSAi
more at Techmeme »
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Senate Confirms Russell Vought as Office of Management and Budget Director  —  Mr. Vought, an architect of Project 2025 who served in the first Trump administration, will be at the center of President Trump's plans to upend the federal bureaucracy.  —  The Senate voted along party lines …
RELATED:
Stephen Groves / Associated Press:
Senate confirms Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead powerful White House budget office  —  The Senate confirmed Russell Vought as White House budget director on Thursday night, putting an official who has planned the zealous expansion of President Donald Trump's power …
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Senate confirms Russell Vought to lead White House budget office  —  The fiscal conservative returns to the post he held in Trump's first administration.  —  The Senate on Thursday confirmed Russell Vought as the next director of the powerful White House budget office …
Newsweek:
DOGE Emails Went Out to Federal Judges by Mistake  —  One of the people who received an email from allies of  —  was a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit aimed at blocking these messages.  —  “I, like probably every other judge in the country, also received the [Office of Personnel Management] …
RELATED:
Patrick Reis / Vox:
A setback for Elon Musk's plan to gut the federal workforce
Andrew Prokop / Vox:
All the ways Elon Musk is breaking the law, explained by a law professor
Discussion: Reuters
Roy Canivel / The Daily Dot:
Conservative film critic who called child trafficking movie a ‘call to action’ arrested for child molestation  —  In 2023, Aaron Craig Gleason wrote a review for the conservative publication the Federalist about The Sound of Freedom, an indie hit and a favorite among right-wing circles.
Discussion: Mediaite and Raw Story
Axios:
Scoop: Trump orders key government agency to cancel all media contracts … - The discovery, made through a U.S. government spending database that has long been publicly available, triggered erroneous theories on X about the Biden administration “funding” anti-Trump media.
RELATED:
Politico:
Note to Our Readers  —  POLITICO has been the subject of debate on X this week.  Some of it has been misinformed, and some of it has been flat-out false.  Let's set the record straight.  —  POLITICO has been the subject of debate on X this week.  Some of it has been misinformed, and some of it has been flat-out false.
Christian Paz / Vox:
What a wild conspiracy theory about Politico tells us about how Trump governs
Reuters:
Trump administration to keep only 294 USAID staff out of over 10,000 globally, sources say  —  President Donald Trump's administration plans to keep fewer than 300 staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development out of the agency's worldwide total of more than 10,000, four sources told Reuters on Thursday.
RELATED:
Samantha Power / New York Times:
I Ran U.S.A.I.D. Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere.
Bill Allison / Bloomberg:
Trump Fires Head of Federal Election Panel, But She Won't Leave  — Commissioner Ellen Weintraub says procedures weren't followed  — Weintraub, a frequent Trump antagonist, joined the FEC in 2002  —  The chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission posted a letter from President Donald …
RELATED:
Shawn McCreesh / New York Times:
Trump Pauses Online Tirade to Preach Unity
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
Trump Tax Priorities Total $5 to $11 Trillion  —  In a closed-door meeting with House Leadership today President Trump reportedly outlined his tax priorities.  According to press reports, they included extending the expiring pieces of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA); …
Jessica Riedl:
Yes, My Name has Changed...  ...but my focus on center-right economic policy will continue  —  Hi everyone, well, this is awkward.  I have always been comfortable presenting my economic research in meetings, speeches, national TV interviews, and Congressional testimony.
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Sotomayor hits presidential immunity decision in first public comments since new Trump admin  —  Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday doubled down on her opposition to the presidential immunity decision last summer and expressed concern about public confidence in the high court.
Robert Downen / The Texas Tribune:
Houston man pardoned by Trump arrested on child sex charge  —  Andrew Taake received a six-year sentence for assaulting officers on Jan. 6.  He was arrested Thursday on an outstanding charge of soliciting a minor.  —  A Houston man who was recently pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role …
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Do Democrats Have a Plan?  —  Senator Brian Schatz on how the Party should be responding to Donald Trump's breakneck assault on the government.  —  Three weeks into office, President Trump has issued a slew of controversial executive orders, fired officials across government agencies …
Zach Montague / New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Judge Delays Program Offering Federal Workers Incentives to Quit  —  Where Things Stand  — Judge delays resignation plan: A federal judge in Massachusetts has stopped, at least temporarily, the Trump administration's effort to get federal employees …
Ella Nilsen / CNN:
Trump energy secretary allowed 23-year-old DOGE rep to access IT systems over objections from general counsel  —  A representative from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was granted access to the Energy Department's IT system on Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright …
The White House:
Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias  —  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 and Policy.  It is the policy of the United States, and the purpose of this order …
RELATED:
Andrew Roth / Michigan Advance:
Michigan legislator says she underwent sterilization to avoid pregnancy during Trump presidency  —  Hundreds gather at the Michigan Capitol to protest Trump's politics  —  Hundreds of people gather on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on Feb. 5, 2025 …
RELATED:
Matt Dixon / NBC News:
Casey DeSantis considers running for Florida governor amid push from top donors  —  The wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has long been rumored as a potential 2026 candidate, but the prospect is inching closer to reality.  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican donors at a gathering last week …
Discussion: al.com and Boston Herald
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump's Gaza Takeover Plan May Sound Death Knell for the Two-State Solution  —  Already unlikely, the prospects for creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel could vanish altogether if the United States takes over Gaza and displaces the population, as President Trump proposes.
Juliet Macur / New York Times:
N.C.A.A., Following Trump's Order, Excludes Transgender Athletes From Women's Sports  —  The decision, effective immediately, came a day after President Trump signed an order barring transgender girls and women from playing in women's sports at federally funded educational institutions.
Stephanie Nolen / New York Times:
Dozens of Clinical Trials Have Been Frozen in Response to Trump's USAID Order  —  The stop-work order on U.S.A.I.D.-funded research has left thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies, with no access to monitoring or care.  —  Asanda Zondi received a startling phone call …
Juan Carlos Lara / KQED:
FCC Investigates SF Radio Station for ICE Reporting, Sparking Press Freedom Fears  —  The Federal Communications Commission is investigating San Francisco-based KCBS for its coverage of immigration enforcement actions in San José last month, sparking concerns from press freedom advocates …
New York Times:
C.D.C. Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People  —  The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday, confirmed transmission in two households.  Scientists called on the agency to release the full report.  —  Cats that became infected with bird flu might …
Discussion: Forbes, Mercury News and DNyuz
 
 
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 More Items: 
Jacob Soboroff / NBC News:
Trump's freeze stalls federal firefighter hiring
Andrew Solender / Axios:
House Democrat leaves DOGE Caucus over Musk's tactics
Discussion: Politico and NewsNation
NBC News:
Health clinics face cuts, closures as Trump's funding fight ripples outside of Washington
Discussion: Democrats and The 19th
Aarian Marshall / Wired:
Feds Halt the National Electric Vehicle Charging Program
Bradley Hope / Whale Hunting:
Breaking: Christmas Comes Early for Kleptocrats - DOJ Shutters Anti-Corruption Units
Discussion: Rolling Stone and The Hill
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
House Dems unveil bill to shield taxpayer records from Musk
 Earlier Items: 
Caroline O'Donovan / Washington Post:
Whole Foods says Trump's actions make union win moot
Discussion: WHYY
Sam Stein / The Bulwark:
Trump and Musk Are Strangling the Government
Discussion: Daily Maverick
Andrew Goudsward / Reuters:
Trump administration disbands task force targeting Russian oligarchs
Niraj Chokshi / New York Times:
Airline Pilots in the DC Plane Crash Acted as Expected, Experts Say
Discussion: Washington Examiner and DNyuz
Wall Street Journal:
White House Preparing Order to Cut Thousands of Federal Health Workers
Discussion: Raw Story and Baltimore Sun
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

New York Times:
The New York Times sues Perplexity, claiming the AI startup violated its copyrights and kept using its content despite repeated demands over the past 18 months

Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Sources: Forbes has cut ties with dozens of contributing writers; one exec said Forbes needs to ensure the contributor model is “financially sound”
 
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