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8:15 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
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 …
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
Discussion: New York Post
Washington Post:
Trump executive order vows substantial cuts to federal workforce
Discussion: CBS News and Politico
Oliver Darcy / Status:   Soon-Shiong's La-La Land
Hadas Gold / CNN:
The AP says it was blocked from the Oval Office over continuing to use “Gulf of Mexico”
Washington Post:
Trump signs executive order calling on agencies to work with Elon Musk-led group
Politico:
Paging Mr. Vance  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the power dynamics …
Discussion: Politico
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
RELATED:
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.
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, Mediaite and CBS News
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
RELATED:
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Trump burns down financial watchdog agency to spite Liz Warren
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 and Raw Story
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 …
RELATED:
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:   It's a Good Thing Democrats Didn't Pack the Courts
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.
RELATED:
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 …
New York Times:
Trump Softens Tone on Inflation After Pledging to Lower Prices  —  President Trump pledged to lower costs on “Day 1” as a candidate.  His administration now acknowledges it will take more time.  —  President Trump promised voters that, if elected, he would enact policies that would bring prices down on “Day 1” in office.
Axios:
Musk's double-edged sword on government shutdowns … - Musk is flipping the traditional equation, in which Democrats vote to fund the government and Republicans feel compelled to do so under duress.  — While not all Democrats are on board with holding the government hostage to their anti-DOGE demands …
RELATED:
Foreign Affairs:   The Path to American Authoritarianism
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 …
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
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 …
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:
ProPublica:
The Staffers Helping Elon Musk Dismantle and Downsize the U.S. Government, One Agency at a Time  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  The Trump administration is not even a month old …
Discussion: Deseret News
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.
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Cutting Cancer Research  —  Sometimes, it gets personal.  —  My daughter is finishing up a master's degree.  Her work is completely over my head, but it involves the intersection of nutrition, agriculture, and climate change. … In other words, she's doing important work, real work that could help make many lives better.
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 …
Seb Starcevic / Politico:
Danish MEP slams ‘absurd’ proposal to rename Greenland ‘Red, White and Blueland’  —  Member of Congress said the U.S. will “proudly welcome” Greenlanders to “join the freest nation to ever exist.”  —  A Danish MEP denounced a proposal by an American lawmaker to rename Greenland “Red …
Politico:
Trump to nominate Sean Cairncross as national cyber director  —  Cairncross is a former top official at the RNC and previously led a federal foreign aid agency during the first Trump administration.  —  President Donald Trump intends to nominate former administration official …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Will Selber / The Bulwark:
USAID Kept My Troops Safe in Afghanistan
Bloomberg:
Greek Lawmakers Elect Country's New President in Fourth Attempt
Discussion: Reuters and Al Jazeera
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Federal Agency Fires Staff, Calls It an Error, Fires Them Again
Discussion: Politico
Nick Miroff / Washington Post:
Top ICE officials reassigned amid strain to meet Trump deportation goals
Discussion: Shore News Network
Jason Kelley / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
EFF Sues DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management to Halt Ransacking of Federal Data
Discussion: Wired, The Verge, Politico and UPI
 Earlier Items: 
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Gaming Out Going Head to Head with the Trumpist Scourge
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
Aimee Picchi / CBS News:
Almost $500 million in food is at risk of spoilage after USAID pause, report says
Discussion: Frontpage Mag and The Guardian
Ellen Knickmeyer / Associated Press:
Trump administration owes US business millions in unpaid bills amid USAID shutdown, lawsuit says
Discussion: Reuters
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
President Elon Musk Suddenly Realizes He Might Not Know How to Govern
Discussion: Daily Kos
Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Judge orders HHS, CDC and FDA to restore deleted webpages with health information
 

 
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

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

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: SpaceX is planning a secondary share sale that would value the company at $800B, surpassing OpenAI to make it the most valuable US private company

 
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