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2:30 AM ET, February 12, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Lauren Easton / The Associated Press:
AP statement on Oval Office access  —  The Associated Press issued this statement on Tuesday from Executive Editor Julie Pace:  —  As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Live Updates: Musk Asserts Without Proof That He's Fixing a Bureaucracy Rife With Fraud  —  The billionaire, chosen by President Trump to lead a federal overhaul, insisted he was working transparently, but his team's secretive actions have delivered shocks across the government.
Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
Hegseth's visit to U.S. base in Germany met with student walkout  —  The civil disobedience by dozens of middle schoolers — and some adults — was aimed at the Trump administration's rollback of DEI initiatives.  —  February 11, 2025  —  Live updates: Trump signs executive order calling on agencies to work with Elon Musk-led group
ProPublica:
The Staffers Helping Elon Musk Dismantle and Downsize the U.S. Government, One Agency at a Time  —  Musk and his lieutenants are reshaping the government and its mission with the blessing of President Trump.  ProPublica has confirmed the names and roles of more than 30 staffers affiliated with the billionaire.
Washington Post:
Trump fires USAID inspector general one day after blistering report  —  Paul K. Martin, appointed by President Joe Biden, was dismissed a day after issuing a report assessing the Trump administration implemented its aid freeze and stop-work order.  —  February 11, 2025
New York Times:
Trump Orders Plans for ‘Large Scale’ Work Force Cuts and Expands Musk's Power  —  The latest executive order by the president made clear that the billionaire's cost-cutting team will have continuing oversight of the Civil Service.  —  President Trump signed an executive order …
Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
USAID IG fired day after report critical of impacts of Trump administration's dismantling of the agency  —  The inspector general of the US Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the Trump administration's efforts …
Washington Post:
Trump executive order vows substantial cuts to federal workforce
Discussion: CBS News
Ben Johansen / Politico:
Associated Press blocked from Oval Office after not using ‘Gulf of America’
Discussion: The Japan Times and The Verge
Washington Post:
Trump signs executive order calling on agencies to work with Elon Musk-led group
Hadas Gold / CNN:
The AP says it was blocked from the Oval Office over continuing to use “Gulf of Mexico”
Oliver Darcy / Status:   Soon-Shiong's La-La Land
Associated Press:
Musk appears at White House defending DOGE's work but acknowledging mistakes
Discussion: STAT and NBC News
Katherine Doyle / NBC News:
Jordan's King Abdullah II signals openness to Trump's plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza
Politico:
Paging Mr. Vance  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the power dynamics …
Discussion: Politico
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
FEMA official ignores judge's latest order, demands freeze on grant funding  —  Federal workers are being swept into the fight between Donald Trump and federal courts, with four FEMA aides fired Tuesday for being “deep state activists.”  —  WASHINGTON — A senior official …
RELATED:
Luis Ferré-Sadurní / New York Times:
Top FEMA Official Is Fired Over Payments for N.Y.C. Migrant Shelters  —  The Trump administration fired the Federal Emergency Management Agency's chief financial officer and three others after Elon Musk misleadingly claimed the agency had used disaster-relief funds for migrant services.
Axios:
Scoop: Dems “pissed” at liberal groups MoveOn, Indivisible … - “People are pissed,” a senior House Democrat who was at the meeting said of lawmakers' reaction to the calls.  — The Democrat said Jeffries himself is “very frustrated” at the groups, who are trying to stir up a more confrontational opposition to Trump.
Discussion: Breitbart and Mediaite
The White House:
Implementing The President's “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative  —  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.
RELATED:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Not Hyperbole Anymore: Musk Is In Charge of the US Government  —  These are wild times at TPM because they're wild times in the American government.  It's hard to keep up with everything happening from one moment to the next.  I had not had a chance to look at the new DOGE executive order President signed …
Discussion: Breitbart
Julia Métraux / Mother Jones:
Project 2025 Is Gutting Medical Funding That Helped Russell Vought's Own Kid  —  The National Institutes of Health, the federal government's leading medical research agency, came under attack by Project 2025 well before its architect, Russell Vought, was confirmed to Donald Trump's second-term cabinet …
Discussion: STAT, Time and Raw Story
Eugene Ludwig / Politico:
Voters Were Right About the Economy.  The Data Was Wrong.  —  Here's why unemployment is higher, wages are lower and growth less robust than government statistics suggest.  —  Before the presidential election, many Democrats were puzzled by the seeming disconnect between “economic reality” …
Discussion: HotAir
Politico:
Treasury officials: Musk ally ‘mistakenly’ had power to alter payments system  —  The incident prompted an internal forensic investigation that remains ongoing.  —  Treasury Department officials said Tuesday that the agency last week “mistakenly” and “briefly” gave a member of Elon Musk's team …
Discussion: Washington Post
RELATED:
NBC News:
Appeals court rejects Trump administration bid to reinstate funding freeze  —  The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Justice Department's request to pause a judge's order while it challenges the order in court.  —  A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's bid …
RELATED:
Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:
Appeals court rejects Trump administration push to reinstate spending freezes on grants and loans
Discussion: PoliticusUSA and The Nation
Wall Street Journal:
American Detainee Marc Fogel Arrives in U.S. Following Release From Russian Custody  —  Arrested in 2021, the schoolteacher was serving a 14-year prison sentence  —  American Marc Fogel arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday night after his release from Russia, where he was arrested in 2021 on marijuana charges …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Russia Releases U.S. Prisoner After Talks With Trump Envoy
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple Is Renaming Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps App  — Change to occur for US users and then roll out globally later  — Move follows Google; Microsoft and MapQuest haven't made shift  —  Apple Inc. is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on its Maps app …
Julianne McShane / Mother Jones:
Please Don't Use Nancy Mace's So-Called Victim Hotline, Advocates Say  —  On the House floor Monday night—in a speech that was jarring, graphic, and nearly an hour long—Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) made disturbing allegations of sexual abuse against four men from her home state, one of whom is her ex-fiancé.
Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Judge orders HHS, CDC and FDA to restore deleted webpages with health information  —  Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration to restore webpages and data …
Wired:
Dozens of CFPB Workers Fired in After-Hours Blitz  —  Some affected employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were notified with an email that addressed them as [EmployeeFirstName][EmployeeLastName], [Job Title], [Division].  —  Dozens of Consumer Finance Protection Bureau employees …
Discussion: Slate and Yahoo Finance
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
President Elon Musk Suddenly Realizes He Might Not Know How to Govern  —  A weekend interaction between Vanity Fair's Molly Jong-Fast and Elon Musk unexpectedly showcased just how little the world's richest man understands about the effects of his slashing spree at the top of the federal government.
Discussion: Daily Kos
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Federal Agency Fires Staff, Calls It an Error, Fires Them Again  — Small Business Administration workers receive series of emails  — Firings align with Musk's effort to reduce federal workforce  —  President Donald Trump's Small Business Administration told probationary staff members …
Discussion: Politico
Caleb Ecarma / Musk Watch:
DOGE teen ran image-sharing site linked to URLs referencing pedophilia and the KKK  —  Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old member of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), launched an image-sharing website in 2021 that featured custom “shitposting” web addresses that redirected to content hosted on his site.
Discussion: Raw Story and Forbes
Brandi Buchman / HuffPost:
Trump DOJ Accused of Deleting Evidence In Jan. 6 Court Cases  —  Videos are mysteriously missing from an online portal that is legally required to house evidence related to Jan. 6 cases, according to a new lawsuit.  —  LOADING  —  Federal courts and judges have repeatedly ordered …
more at Mediagazer »
Aimee Picchi / CBS News:
Almost $500 million in food is at risk of spoilage after USAID pause, report says  —  Almost $500 million in food aid is at risk of spoilage as it sits in ports, ships and warehouses after funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, was paused by the Trump administration …
Ellen Knickmeyer / Associated Press:
Trump administration owes US business millions in unpaid bills amid USAID shutdown, lawsuit says  —  The White House fired the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday, a U.S. official said.  It comes a day after the watchdog's office warned …
Discussion: Reuters
Foreign Affairs:
The Path to American Authoritarianism  —  What Comes After Democratic Breakdown  —  Donald Trump's first election to the presidency in 2016 triggered an energetic defense of democracy from the American establishment.  But his return to office has been met with striking indifference.
Will Saletan / The Bulwark:
Donald Trump Is Delusional  —  AMONG THE REALITY-BASED COMMUNITY—those of us who acknowledge Donald Trump's prodigious history of false statements—there's a longstanding debate.  Some think Trump knows better and is simply lying.  Others think he's sincerely delusional.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Politico:
Trump to nominate Sean Cairncross as national cyber director
Discussion: Axios and CyberScoop
Gustaf Kilander / The Independent:
Trump State Department official has repeatedly called for mass sterilization of ‘low-IQ trash’
Discussion: Daily Kos
Jason Kelley / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
EFF Sues DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management to Halt Ransacking of Federal Data
Discussion: The Verge, Wired and Politico
 Earlier Items: 
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Exclusive: Disney making changes to its DEI efforts
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Gaming Out Going Head to Head with the Trumpist Scourge
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
House Committee on the Judiciary:
Reining in the Administrative State: Regulatory and Administrative Law Reform
Discussion: RedState
Congressman Buddy Carter:
Carter introduces bill renaming Greenland
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Senator Accuses F.B.I. Nominee of Covertly Directing Dismissals
 

 
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

Oliver Darcy / Status:
Sources: David Ellison's interference in WBD's failed summer talks to extend HBO Max's South Park licensing deal left David Zaslav distrustful of Ellison

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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