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2:00 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: Raw Story, Bloomberg and New York Times
RELATED:
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Vance tells Musk that DOGE staffer who resigned after posting racist tweets should be rehired … Vice President JD Vance on Friday called for the rehiring of a DOGE staffer who resigned from a sensitive Trump administration post over the exposure of tweets advocating for racism and eugenics.
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.
Isaac Schorr / Mediaite:
Elon Musk Demands Firing of ‘Disgusting and Cruel’ WSJ Reporter Who Uncovered DOGE Employee's Racist Tweets  —  Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), suggested that The Wall Street Journal reporter responsible for uncovering …
Discussion: The Hill, Deadline, Forbes, Fortune and Raw Story
RELATED:
Time:
Inside Elon Musk's War on Washington  —  The standoff at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue was not much of a spectacle. … The agency's staff refused.  No guns were drawn.  No punches thrown.  Nobody involved the police.  But in these early days of the Trump Administration …
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:   New Time cover features Musk behind Resolute Desk
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
RELATED:
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] …
Scott Pilutik / Slate:
Why Elon Musk's Buyout Offer “Reads Like a Scam”  —  Elon Musk's “Fork in the Road” email offering 2.3 million federal civil servants a “deferred resignation” through September set off a number of legal questions this country has never been forced to consider, and they're finally making their way to federal court.
RELATED:
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump's Angry USAID Rant Undercut by Surprise Rubio Video
Mona Charen / The Bulwark:
Trump and Musk Take a Hammer to America's Reputation
Discussion: Raw Story
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 …
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
GOP Lawmakers Are Already Annoyed by Trump's Chaotic Governing Style  —  “Hard to defend controversial executive orders when there's no heads-up nor rationale,” one GOP lawmaker told NOTUS.  — Copy  —  After a turbulent few weeks to begin his presidency, Republicans in Congress …
RELATED:
German Lopez / New York Times:
A Constitutional Crisis?  —  We're covering an imbalance of power in the government.
Discussion: Unfogged
Gerald F. Seib / Wall Street Journal:   Will the Other Two Branches Dare to Push Back Against Trump?
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
RELATED:
David Smith / The Guardian:
‘In a real sense, US democracy has died’: how Trump is emulating Hungary's Orbán
Discussion: WTOP News
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
Joseph Menn / Washington Post:
U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users' encrypted accounts  —  Secret order requires blanket access to protected cloud backups around the world, which if implemented would undermine Apple's privacy pledge to its users.  —  Security officials in the United Kingdom have demanded that Apple create …
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
How to Win the USAID Fight  —  First up: Sarah and I argued about everything on the Secret pod today.  The show is here.  —  Second: An update on yesterday's story about the confusion surrounding Trump's (maybe?) firing the head of the National Archives.  There had been conflicting reports …
Discussion: DNyuz
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
‘Constitutional emergency’: senior US Democrat demands inquiry into Musk's government blitz  —  Exclusive: Bobby Scott sounds alarm over ‘void of oversight’ as Doge accesses sensitive data within US agencies  —  Elon Musk's blitz through the US federal government has triggered a …
Discussion: Nextgov/FCW and Democracy Docket
Rolling Stone:
Dem Overseeing ‘Digital Assets’ to Hold Luxury Retreat With Crypto Kingpin  —  Ruben Gallego, Arizona's new senator, is set to hold a fundraising weekend with Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen and blogger Matt Yglesias  —  Freshman Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego was recently named …
Discussion: Gizmodo and New York Times
CBS News:
Trump considering allowing sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel  —  President Trump is considering allowing Japan's Nippon Steel to complete its $14.1 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, according to multiple sources.  —  Approval of the transaction isn't definite, and Mr. Trump has not made a final decision, sources say.
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.
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); …
Politico:
Trump considering Blagojevich for ambassador to Serbia  —  The former governor of Illinois, whose corruption conviction sentence Trump commuted, chaired a group called Serbians for Trump in the 2024 election.  —  President Donald Trump is considering nominating former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich …
Discussion: Raw Story
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
What Elon Musk Wants  —  This is an edited transcript of an episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.”  You can listen to the conversation by following or subscribing to the show on the NYT Audio App, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
Discussion: HotAir, CNN and Grabien
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: Raw Story and Mediaite
Peter Zimonjic / CBC News:
Trudeau tells business leaders at economic summit Trump's 51st state threat ‘is a real thing’  —  PM meeting business leaders, unions to discuss fortifying Canada's trade in face of Trump's tariff threat  —  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told business leaders at the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit …
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 …
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 …
Lauren Villagran / USA Today:
ACLU demands access to Guantanamo immigrant detention center  —  The ACLU on Friday demanded attorneys be granted access to immigrants shipped to Guantanamo, saying the law forbids the government from using the prison as “a legal black hole.”  —  The Trump administration has transferred …
Discussion: Reuters, CBS News and KRDO
Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
Trump's Deportation Dragnet Widens and Puerto Ricans Are Getting Caught in It  —  WHEN THE NEW ADMINISTRATION set up shop, White House border czar Tom Homan acknowledged that collateral arrests would be part of the coming immigration raids.  Yes, the administration was going to focus …
Matthew Continetti / freebeacon.com:
Trump's Youth Revolution  —  Column: How America's oldest president became a Gen Z icon  —  News alert: Washington Post journalists are panicked that some DOGE employees previously worked at Elon Musk's private-sector companies and “are in their early 20s.”  —  The horror.
Discussion: American Thinker
Reuters:
Exclusive: Zelenskiy says 'Let's do a deal', offering Trump mineral partnership, seeking security  —  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pored over a once-classified map of vast deposits of rare earths and other critical minerals during an interview with Reuters on Friday …
Discussion: Al Jazeera
Scott Bauer / Associated Press:
Wisconsin Supreme Court says swing state's embattled elections chief can remain in post  —  A unanimous Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that the swing state's nonpartisan top elections official, who has been targeted for removal by Republican lawmakers over the 2020 presidential election …
 
 
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 More Items: 
The White House:
Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China
Caleb Brennan / Heartland Signal:
Controversial Christian nationalist legislation introduced in North Dakota House
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Transportation Department suspends $5 billion EV charger program
Discussion: Politico
Brian Barrett / Wired:
The US Government Is Not a Startup
Discussion: Townhall and Washington Post
Lexi Lonas Cochran / The Hill:
Members of Congress denied access to Department of Education
Amy Maxmen / KFF Health News:
Measles Outbreak Mounts Among Children in One of Texas' Least Vaccinated Counties
Discussion: WAGA-TV and WXIA-TV
Andrea Long Chu / New York Magazine:
Goodbye, Pamela Paul
 Earlier Items: 
Joey Garrison / USA Today:
Trump tries to fire chair of Federal Election Commission. Why she's refusing to leave.
Politico:
Trump continues federal purge, gutting cyber workers who combat disinformation
Quinta Jurecic / Default:
Justice Dept. Releases Slate of Memos from Attorney General Bondi
Discussion: emptywheel and The Daily Caller
Eric Berger / Ars Technica:
White House budget proposal could shatter the National Science Foundation
Discussion: NPR and Indiana Capital Chronicle
 

 
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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