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12:10 PM ET, February 7, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
Treasury installs ally of Musk's DOGE as head of payment system  —  The move follows the ousting of a career official who rebuffed attempts to use the payment system to stop federal spending.  —  The Treasury Department will make an ally of billionaire Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service the head …
Discussion: New York Times
RELATED:
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.
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.
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
DOGE chief Elon Musk polls X users on whether staffer who quit over racist tweets should be rehired … Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk on Friday launched a poll on his social media platform X asking users whether a staffer on his DOGE team should be rehired after resigning …
Discussion: Fox News, Forbes, driftglass and Mediaite
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:
Annie Porter / Slate:
I Work in the Office Carrying Out the Government Purge.  Here's What I Want You to Know.  —  We're as freaked out and angry as everyone else.  —  I'm a career civil servant at the federal government's Office of Personnel Management, and I'm sorry.  Normally, the only time anyone hears …
Discussion: Washington Post, Steady and Raw Story
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.
NBC News:
FBI turns over names of agency staff who worked on Jan. 6 cases to Justice Department
Discussion: CNN, Raw Story and IJR
German Lopez / New York Times:
A Constitutional Crisis?  —  We're covering an imbalance of power in the government.  —  In the United States, Congress, the president and the courts are supposed to keep an eye on one another — to stop any one branch of government from becoming too powerful.
Discussion: Unfogged
RELATED:
Matthew Continetti / freebeacon.com:
Trump's Youth Revolution
Discussion: American Thinker
Gerald F. Seib / Wall Street Journal:   Will the Other Two Branches Dare to Push Back Against Trump?
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Trump's Power Grab Defies G.O.P. Orthodoxy on Local Control
Discussion: Washington Post
The Atlantic:
The Government's Computing Experts Say They Are Terrified … Elon musk's unceasing attempts to access the data and information systems of the federal government range so widely, and are so unprecedented and unpredictable, that government computing experts believe the effort has spun out of control.
RELATED:
Ella Nilsen / CNN:   Trump energy secretary allowed 23-year-old DOGE rep to access IT systems over objections from general counsel
Gordon Brown / The Guardian:
Be clear about what Trump and Musk's aid axe will do: people will face terror and starve, many will die  —  The decimation of USAid is already having a terrible effect in some of the poorest places on the planet.  It damages America: it will harm us all  —  An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or above could not have caused more carnage.
Discussion: New York Times
RELATED:
Samantha Power / New York Times:
I Ran U.S.A.I.D. Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere.  —  We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history.  Less than three weeks into Donald Trump's second term, he, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have halted the U.S. Agency …
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump's Angry USAID Rant Undercut by Surprise Rubio Video
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
New Time cover features Musk behind Resolute Desk  —  A new cover of Time magazine features billionaire Elon Musk behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office at the White House.  —  The photo illustration teased a cover story titled “Inside Elon Musk's War on Washington,” …
RELATED:
Ken Klippenstein:
Taking DOGE to Court Is a Doomed Strategy
Discussion: ABC News and The Register
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 …
Joey Garrison / USA Today:
Trump tries to fire chair of Federal Election Commission.  Why she's refusing to leave.  —  WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump has moved to fire Ellen Weintraub, the chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission, but she says her termination is invalid and is refusing to step down.
RELATED:
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Federal Election Commission Chair Says Trump Has Moved to Fire Her
New York Times:
Trump Administration to Lay Off Nearly All of U.S. Aid Agency's Staff  —  Officials for the agency were notified of the planned cuts on the same day they learned that about 800 awards and contracts administered through U.S.A.I.D. were being canceled, three people said.
RELATED:
Mona Charen / The Bulwark:
Trump and Musk Take a Hammer to America's Reputation
Discussion: Raw Story
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); …
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
Andrew Solender / Axios:
A fourth federal agency locks its doors to Democratic lawmakers … - The lawmakers were there to follow up on a letter they sent Carter demanding an “urgent meeting” on “plans to illegally dismantle or drastically reduce the Department.”  — “We then proceeded to enter the Department …
Discussion: New York Post
RELATED:
Public Notice:
The “cognitively irresponsible” presidency  —  “It's a giveaway that a leader is an authoritarian,” Jen Mercieca tells us.  —  ∙ Paid … 🗣️ 🎤 🤯  —  The volume of BS that Donald Trump blasts into the public sphere on a daily basis is flabbergasting.
Russell Contreras / Axios:
Exclusive: Jewish groups rebuke Trump on immigration, Musk moves … - The groups emphasize that legitimate policy debates and disagreements are fine — and note that there are disputes among the letter's signees — but say Trump's recent actions go far beyond that.
Discussion: Sun-Sentinel
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 …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Mentions of trans kids scrubbed from national child safety clearinghouse website  —  Reports say the government ordered NCMEC to remove LGBTQ+ references or lose funding.  —  Reports say the government ordered NCMEC to remove LGBTQ+ references or lose funding.
CNN:
‘Treated like criminals’: Shackling of Indians aboard 40-hour migrant flight sparks new outrage against Trump  —  New Delhi CNN —  US officials kept around 100 deported Indian migrants in shackles for their 40-hour flight home, including during bathroom breaks, in the latest incident …
Politico:
Trump continues federal purge, gutting cyber workers who combat disinformation  —  Roughly half a dozen employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who previously worked to counter election-related disinformation have been put on administrative leave.
Quinta Jurecic / Default:
Justice Dept. Releases Slate of Memos from Attorney General Bondi  —  Bondi signed 14 memos on topics ranging from internal personnel matters to potential investigations into current and former civil servants.  —  Meet The Authors … Following her swearing-in on Feb. 5 …
Discussion: emptywheel and The Daily Caller
Eric Berger / Ars Technica:
White House budget proposal could shatter the National Science Foundation … Sometime during the next several weeks, the directors of federal agencies will receive a draft version of President Trump's budget request for the coming fiscal year, which begins on October 1.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
Trump's Deportation Dragnet Widens and Puerto Ricans Are Getting Caught in It
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't rule out run for governor or U.S. Senate
Jennifer Pahlka / New York Times:
This Is How Democrats Can Counter Elon Musk
Patrick Marley / Washington Post:
In setback for GOP, top Wisconsin court lets elections director keep job
Discussion: WPR and WTOP News
Shoon Naing / Reuters:
Burmese refugee dies after discharge from shut US-funded clinic, says family
 Earlier Items: 
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Where's the Real Power Nexus? How Does the Opposition Get To It?
Discussion: Punchbowl News
Riley Rogerson / NOTUS:
‘The Clock Is Ticking’: Republicans Are Unexpectedly Careening Toward a Government Shutdown
Discussion: Raw Story
Jessica Riedl:
Yes, My Name has Changed...
The White House:
Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias
 

 
From Techmeme:

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

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
The EU fines X €120M for breaching online content rules, the first fine under the DSA, citing issues like its deceptive blue checkmarks, after a two-year probe

Echo Wang / Reuters:
Meta acquires Limitless, which makes a pendant-style AI wearable that records and transcribes real-world conversations; Limitless has raised more than $33M
 
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