Top Items:
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
Discussion:
Politico, New York Post, Associated Press, Reuters, NBC News, Axios and Raw Story
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
Discussion:
Alternet.org, 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
Discussion:
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
Zoe Tillman / Bloomberg:
Trump Removal of Whistleblower Agency Head Blocked by Judge — Judge held Trump's firing of Hampton Dellinger likely unlawful — Other independent agency officials are suing over removals — A federal judge in Washington blocked for now President Donald Trump from removing the head …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
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Associated Press:
White House says it's the judges — not Trump — causing a ‘constitutional crisis’ — In the weeks since Donald Trump returned to office, Democrats and legal scholars have warned that he's provoking a constitutional crisis by trying to expand his power and ignore laws that stand in his way.
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 …
Jaclyn Diaz / NPR:
What happens if Trump starts ignoring court rulings? We break it down
Discussion:
The Status Kuo, The Hill, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, The Guardian, New Republic, Alternet.org, USA Today, HuffPost and Politico
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
It's a Good Thing Democrats Didn't Pack the Courts
It's a Good Thing Democrats Didn't Pack the Courts
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
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 …
Discussion:
CNN, Forbes and Axios, more at Techmeme »
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Washington Post:
Trump closes down federal worker buyout offer after judge lifts hold — The administration moved to close the buyout program Wednesday evening after a federal judge in Massachusetts rejected a call from several labor groups that sued to block the initiative
Discussion:
Reuters, HotAir, Fox News, Raw Story and Washington Examiner
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 …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, Mock Paper Scissors, New Republic and Electrek
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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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NBC News:
White House says about 75K federal workers have accepted ‘deferred resignation’ offer — The offer's deadline closed on Wednesday after a federal judge ruled to end a temporary pause to the program put in place last week. — WASHINGTON — About 75,000 federal employees have accepted the White House's …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and New York Times
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Shelby Talcott / Semafor:
75,000 workers accept Trump's buyout program
Discussion:
Axios, Reuters and ZeroHedge News
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
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Independent, Marin Independent Journal, Mediaite and Breitbart
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 …
Discussion:
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
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
Elon Musk's DOGE takes aim at agency that had plans of regulating X
Discussion:
New York Times, Raw Story, Business Insider, The Hill, Washington Post, CNN and The Democracy Labs
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.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Daily Mail, CBS News, Axios, New York Times, USA Today, Fox News, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, The Independent, abc7NY and Twitchy
New York Times:
Some Migrants Sent by Trump to Guantánamo Are Being Held by Military Guards — The Times has obtained a list of 53 Venezuelan men the Trump administration has put in a wartime prison built to hold Al Qaeda suspects. — Dozens of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration …
Discussion:
NBC News, The Independent, Axios, USA Today, Mother Jones and El País
RELATED:
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:
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, NPR, Associated Press, Washington Post, Bloomberg, MeidasTouch News, Breitbart, Raw Story, Scripps News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Nextgov/FCW, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, LewRockwell, Deseret News, Jewish Insider, Fox News, NOTUS, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, CBS News, New Republic, Patterico's Pontifications and Babylon Bee
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.
Discussion:
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
Discussion:
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 …
Discussion:
New York Times, The City, CNN, Townhall, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Fox News, Breitbart, New York Post, New York Magazine, abc7NY, The Daily Wire, American Greatness, ABC News, Associated Press, Blaze Media, RedState, Scripps News, Washington Examiner, Exposing the role …, The National Pulse, The Gateway Pundit and Reuters
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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 …
Discussion:
The Independent, Alternet.org, Townhall and Raw Story
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
USA Today, Politico and San Diego Union-Tribune
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.
David Bauder / Associated Press:
White House says it has the right to punish AP reporters over Gulf naming dispute — The White House said Wednesday that news organizations that refuse to use President Donald Trump's new name for the Gulf of Mexico were telling “lies” and insisted it would continue to bar Associated Press journalists from presidential events.
Discussion:
sipconnect, The Guardian, TMZ.com, Breitbart, Mediaite, New York Magazine, New York Times, The Independent, Poynter, Reason, ZeroHedge News, Washington Examiner, New Jersey Online, Washington Post, Business Insider, Raw Story, The Daily Wire, Daily Kos, Deadline, Twitchy, Variety, Associated Press, IJR, HuffPost, The Moderate Voice, Patterico's Pontifications, CNN and Agender Android Among Humans, more at Mediagazer »
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 …
Discussion:
Wired, UPI, Forbes and Electronic Frontier Foundation
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
The City, New York Times, The Republic News, NPR, New York Post and Raw Story
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump and Musk Hunt for Corruption, Very Selectively — Spending that the White House does not like is being labeled fraudulent. At the same time, President Trump is rolling back anticorruption efforts and ethical standards for himself and allies like Elon Musk.
Discussion:
LewRockwell


