Top Items:
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell:
McConnell Comments on Gabbard Nomination — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement today on the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence:
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New York Times:
Live Updates: Federal Resignation Program Moves Ahead After Judge Signs Off — Where Things Stand — Trimming federal work force: A federal judge said the Trump administration's deferred resignation program for federal workers could move forward, allowing the White House to advance …
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CNN, Forbes and Axios, more at Techmeme »
NBC News:
Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as top U.S. intelligence official
Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as top U.S. intelligence official
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New York Times:
Republicans Love Trump's Spending Cuts. Just Not in Their States. — Even as they praise the president's unilateral actions to slash federal spending, G.O.P. lawmakers have quietly moved to seek carve outs or exemptions for their own constituents. — Republicans in Congress have responded …
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Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Defying Johnson, Graham and Senate G.O.P. Push Their Own Budget Plan
Defying Johnson, Graham and Senate G.O.P. Push Their Own Budget Plan
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Politico, Reuters, New York Post, Associated Press, NBC News, Axios, Raw Story and Washington Examiner
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House budget resolution in limbo as conservatives push deeper spending cuts and work requirements
House budget resolution in limbo as conservatives push deeper spending cuts and work requirements
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New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA and Washington Examiner
Ben Leonard / Politico:
Energy and Commerce Committee's Medicaid problem just got tougher
Energy and Commerce Committee's Medicaid problem just got tougher
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Center For Children … and The Hill
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
Republicans Face Their First Big Test on Reconciliation — And the White House Has Doubts About Success
Republicans Face Their First Big Test on Reconciliation — And the White House Has Doubts About Success
Discussion:
New Republic, Reuters and Talking Points Memo
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
This obscure law is one reason Trump's agenda keeps losing in court — Lawsuits challenging Trump policies raise big constitutional questions, but they also rely on a law that requires the government to follow the correct procedures when changing course. — WASHINGTON — Lawyers challenging …
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Townhall, The Independent, Alternet.org and Raw Story
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Associated Press:
White House says judges balking at Trump's actions are provoking a ‘constitutional crisis’ — The White House said Wednesday that court rulings going against the Trump administration are coming from “judicial activists” on the bench whose decisions amount to a “constitutional crisis.”
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
It's a Good Thing Democrats Didn't Pack the Courts
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The Gateway Pundit
Jaclyn Diaz / NPR:
What happens if Trump starts ignoring court rulings? We break it down
What happens if Trump starts ignoring court rulings? We break it down
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The Hill, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Semafor, Daily Kos, The Guardian, New Republic, Alternet.org, HuffPost and Politico
Ryan Grim / Drop Site News:
“Armored Tesla” forecast to win $400 million State Department contract after Trump's election, government document shows — The State Department's procurement forecast, revised as of late December 2024, lists Tesla as the recipient of the largest expected contract, with Marco Rubio's department planning …
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Raw Story, Mediaite, Mock Paper Scissors, New Republic and Electrek
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Washington Post:
New Kennedy Center board elects Trump as chair. Rutter departs as president. — President Trump's refashioned board of trustees voted him chairman in a meeting Wednesday afternoon. President Deborah Rutter told staff she was leaving the institution. — The Kennedy Center board …
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Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Trump Humiliated in the ‘Most Powerless Image Ever’ of a U.S. President: O'Donnell — Trump has always craved is the attention of the “truly rich,” and how he finally has it, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell said.
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HuffPost, The Independent, Marin Independent Journal, Mediaite and Breitbart
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Elon Musk's X to pay about $10 million to settle Trump lawsuit over account suspension … Social media company X has agreed to pay about $10 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump, who has put X's billionaire owner Elon Musk in charge of a major government cost- and staff-cutting effort.
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Wall Street Journal:
Musk's X Agrees to Pay About $10 Million to Settle Trump Lawsuit — Musk's platform becomes second social-media company to settle with Trump after Jan. 6, 2021 riot triggered bans — WASHINGTON—Elon Musk's X has agreed to pay about $10 million to settle a lawsuit that Donald Trump brought …
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The Guardian, Forbes, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, TechCrunch, Deadline, Reuters, Mediaite, The Borowitz Report and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »
Abby Vesoulis / Mother Jones:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Two-Word Plan to Save the CFPB From Elon Musk — “Banks hated this agency from the first time I ever talked about it.” — Following the 2008 global financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was established by Congress to reign …
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Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Elon Musk's DOGE takes aim at agency that had plans of regulating X
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Raw Story, The Hill, Business Insider, Washington Post, CNN and The Democracy Labs
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Hegseth's rough start: Pentagon chief faces protest at U.S. base abroad — The question isn't why the defense secretary faced pushback at U.S. European Command headquarters; the question is whether he'll see more protests soon. — Though it still seems hard to believe, a couple of weeks ago …
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New York Times, RedState, Axios, The War Zone, NBC News, Fox News and Bloomberg
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John Vandiver / Stars & Stripes:
Middle school students hold walkout during Hegseth visit to US base in Germany
Middle school students hold walkout during Hegseth visit to US base in Germany
Discussion:
Defense One and The Gateway Pundit
Reuters:
US sues New York state officials over immigration enforcement, attorney general says — The U.S. Justice Department has sued New York State officials over alleged failures to enforce federal immigration law, Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters on Wednesday.
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Washington Examiner, CBS News, Axios, New York Times, USA Today, Fox News, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, The Independent, abc7NY and Twitchy
New York Times:
Behind Kennedy's Vow to ‘Follow the Science’ on Vaccines — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited a disputed study from a close network of fellow vaccine skeptics during his confirmation hearings. His critics say it is part of a pattern that raises concerns about whose research he would elevate as health secretary.
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Breitbart
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Daniel Payne / Politico:
Why the health care industry is letting RFK Jr. cruise to confirmation
Why the health care industry is letting RFK Jr. cruise to confirmation
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New York Times
New York Daily News:
Trump revokes $80 million from NYC after threat to claw back FEMA cash used to care for migrants — The Trump administration has revoked more than $80 million in funds from New York City bank accounts after Elon Musk earlier this week threatened to claw back FEMA money used to house migrants in …
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New York Times, The City, CNN, Raw Story, Townhall, Politico, Breitbart, Fox News, New York Post, New York Magazine, abc7NY, American Greatness, The Daily Wire, ABC News, HotAir, Associated Press, RedState, Blaze Media, Scripps News, Washington Examiner, Exposing the role …, The National Pulse, The Gateway Pundit and Reuters
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New York Times:
Family of Venezuelan Migrant Sent to Guantánamo: ‘My Brother Is Not a Criminal.’ … Luis Alberto Castillo, a father of one from Venezuela, entered the United States on Jan. 19, one day before Donald Trump became president for a second term — swept into office on a promise to treat undocumented migrants with a heavy hand.
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Digby's Hullabaloo, Center for Victims of Torture and CBS News
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Camilo Montoya-Galvez / CBS News:
U.S. sending nonviolent, “low-risk” migrants to Guantanamo, despite vow to detain “the worst” there
U.S. sending nonviolent, “low-risk” migrants to Guantanamo, despite vow to detain “the worst” there
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The Republic News, USA Today, Reuters, Mother Jones and MeidasTouch News
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Eric Adams Discussed Possible Republican Primary Run With G.O.P. Leader — The mayor discussed options to run for re-election in the Republican contest as recently as Monday. Asked for comment, he said he was running as a Democrat. — Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has quietly explored running …
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USA Today, Politico and San Diego Union-Tribune
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
BREAKING: NIH admits funding freeze is illegal, will resume issuing grants — On Monday afternoon, Popular Information broke the news that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had frozen virtually all grant funding in violation of two federal court orders.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, New York Times, Washington Examiner and American Greatness
Dan Froomkin / Heads Up News:
What you can do to fight the Trump agenda — “What can I do?” — That's the question a lot of you are asking. — I've spent the last week exploring that question. And the overarching answer, based on my research, is that you should reach out and make connections with others …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Donald Trump is Now the Mayor of New York — The Trump DOJ's decision to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams may not be the most serious act of prosecutorial corruption in decades but it's almost certainly the most brazen. The stated reasons for dropping the charges were absurd …
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The City, New York Times, The Republic News, NPR, New York Post and Raw Story
Courtney Cohn / Democracy Docket:
Chair of Board That Protects Rights of Federal Workers Sues Trump for Illegally Firing Her — Cathy Harris, the chair of a board protecting government workers from unfair employment practices, sued President Donald Trump's administration Wednesday for illegally firing her.
Discussion:
Federal News Network, GovExec.com and Government Accountability …
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
“Largest data breach in US history”: Three more lawsuits try to stop DOGE … The US DOGE Service's access to the private data of ordinary Americans and federal employees is being challenged in several lawsuits filed this week. — Three new complaints seek court orders that would stop …
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Wired, UPI, Forbes and Electronic Frontier Foundation
Leah Feiger / Wired:
The GSA Plans to Sell Hundreds of Its Federal Government Buildings — The General Services Administration, staffed at its upper levels by Elon Musk associates, plans to sell 500-plus buildings—some of which house government agencies and the offices of US senators.
Matt Cohen / Democracy Docket:
City of Baltimore Sues to Stop Dismantling of Nation's Financial Watchdog Agency — Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit on behalf of the city of Baltimore, Maryland and the economic justice organization Economic Action Maryland Fund on Wednesday to block President Donald Trump's efforts …
The Boston Globe:
Judge clears way for Trump's plan to downsize federal workforce. Follow live updates. — A federal judge in Boston cleared the way for President Trump's plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program. — US District Judge George O'Toole Jr. found a group …
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
House Republican circulates petition to deport Omar — Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) is circulating a petition for his supporters to sign to deport a fellow member of Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). — Gil had previously called on Omar to be deported, arguing she is more loyal …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, New York Post and Axios



