Top Items:
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.
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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
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.
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
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Signal
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 …
Discussion:
Shore News Network and E&E News
Washington Post:
Trump signs executive order calling on agencies to work with Elon Musk-led group
Discussion:
CBS News, Fox News, New York Times, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, DefenseScoop, USA Today, The Republic News, One America News Network and NPR
Associated Press:
Trump signs executive order to continue downsizing federal workforce
Trump signs executive order to continue downsizing federal workforce
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Fortune
Shelby Talcott / Semafor:
Trump moves to ‘significantly’ reduce federal workforce
Trump moves to ‘significantly’ reduce federal workforce
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Breitbart, Reuters, GovExec.com, Politico, New Republic and The National Pulse
Katherine Doyle / NBC News:
Jordan's King Abdullah II signals openness to Trump's plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza
Jordan's King Abdullah II signals openness to Trump's plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza
Discussion:
New York Times, LewRockwell, Deseret News, Chicago Tribune, Jewish Insider, freebeacon.com, CNN, Breitbart, Al Jazeera, Responsible Statecraft, New York Post, ZeroHedge News, Fox News, The Daily Wire, Los Angeles Times, UPI, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Raw Story, Forbes, Metro.co.uk, One America News Network, Washington Post, HotAir, NPR, New York Daily News, Associated Press, Scripps News, The Japan Times, The Hill and CBS News
Meghan Blonder / freebeacon.com:
WATCH: ‘We Have To F— Trump,’ Congresswoman Says As Democrats Struggle To Form Focused Message
WATCH: ‘We Have To F— Trump,’ Congresswoman Says As Democrats Struggle To Form Focused Message
Discussion:
Raw Story, RedState, Twitchy and The Gateway Pundit
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.
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Katie Robertson / New York Times:
White House Bars Reporter From Event Over A.P.'s Use of ‘Gulf of Mexico’
Discussion:
Associated Press and Raw Story
Ben Johansen / Politico:
Associated Press blocked from Oval Office after not using ‘Gulf of America’
Associated Press blocked from Oval Office after not using ‘Gulf of America’
Discussion:
USA Today, The Japan Times, One America News Network and Bloomberg
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 …
Discussion:
Mediaite, New Republic and Alternet.org
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.
Patrick Reis / Vox:
Has Trump's agenda stalled?
Has Trump's agenda stalled?
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Independent and CBS News
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Trump's clash with the courts escalates
Trump's clash with the courts escalates
Discussion:
Law Dork, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, Reuters, Vox, Forbes, Plain Dealer and PoliticusUSA
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.
Discussion:
New York Times, Federal News Network, Townhall, Defense One, UPI, FedScoop and Scripps News
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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:
The Independent
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.
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
Fox News, Politico, NBC News, Federal News Network, Forbes, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
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
New York Times:
Musk Team Announces Millions in Cuts to Education Dept. Amid Legal Pushback — Elon Musk's cost-cutting team said that it had “terminated” 89 of the department's contracts, apparently targeting its research arm. — Elon Musk's cost-cutting effort announced a variety of cuts …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Townhall, Alternet.org and USA Today, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Erum Salam / The Guardian:
Musk's ‘Doge’ guts nearly $1bn in US education department's research office
Musk's ‘Doge’ guts nearly $1bn in US education department's research office
Discussion:
Chalkbeat, The Lever, NPR, WAVY.com, New York Post, The College Fix and ProPublica
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
Reuters, Politico, New York Post, JURIST, New Republic, MPR News and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:
Appeals court won't halt judge's order requiring Trump administration to unfreeze all federal cash
Appeals court won't halt judge's order requiring Trump administration to unfreeze all federal cash
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA and The Nation
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.
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 …
Discussion:
Wired, 9to5Mac, The Verge, The Keyword, Deadline, Washington Post, Metro.co.uk, Staten Island Advance, Variety, MacRumors, Sun-Sentinel, Hollywood Life, TechCrunch, New York Post, al.com, USA Today, CBS News, The Register, Florida Politics, Shore News Network and The Independent, more at Techmeme »
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Senator Accuses F.B.I. Nominee of Covertly Directing Dismissals — A top Democrat demanded an investigation and suggested that the nominee, Kash Patel, may have lied under oath, citing what he described as multiple sources. — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
Raw Story, NBC News, Roll Call, Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA, USA Today, Reuters, CBS News, New Republic, CNBC, Forbes, Mediaite and Daily Kos
New York Times:
Elon Musk's Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up … Elon Musk controls six companies, including Tesla. Mr. Musk's companies secured $13 billion in federal contracts over the past five years.Carly Zavala for The New York Times — President Trump has been in office less than a month …
Discussion:
Wired, Robert Reich, The Information, The Guardian, The Hill, Mediaite, Drezner's World and Fox Business, more at Techmeme »
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
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.
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.
Discussion:
HuffPost and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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 …
Courtney Kube / NBC News:
Defense Secretary Hegseth booed and heckled by military families protesting against DEI push — Last week, Hegseth wrote a memo in which he banned transgender people from joining the military and restricted the use of some learning materials in Defense Department schools.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent and Defense One
Congressman Buddy Carter:
Carter introduces bill renaming Greenland — WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) released the following statement today after introducing a bill authorizing President Trump to acquire Greenland and renaming it Red, White, and Blueland: — “America is back and will soon …
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 …
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.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Gaming Out Going Head to Head with the Trumpist Scourge — I want to take a moment to address a few questions I've gotten about a potential standoff between congressional Democrats and President Trump over the DOGE wilding gangs he's allowing to run free through the executive branch.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo
vatican.va:
LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS TO THE BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA — I am writing today to address a few words to you in these delicate moments that you are living as Pastors of the People of God who walk together in the United States of America.
Discussion:
America Magazine, UPI, Breitbart, NPR, The Hill, First Things, Deseret News, The National Pulse, USA Today, New York Magazine, Politico, The Independent and Axios


