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4:30 PM ET, February 28, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
Live updates: Trump cuts short talks with Ukraine's Zelenskyy after Oval Office blow up  —  Watch live as U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C.  —  President Donald Trump has cut short talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy …
RELATED:
Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing / Politico:
Russian state media briefly enters Oval Office during Zelenskyy meeting  —  The White House did not address how the unapproved reporter was able to gain access to the Oval Office.  —  The White House last week announced that “all journalists deserve a seat” in the Oval Office press pool.
Washington Post:
Trump cancels news conference with Zelensky after contentious Oval Office meeting  —  President Donald Trump on Friday canceled a planned news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a contentious meeting in the White House.  During the meeting, Trump …
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump, Zelensky and Vance Argue Over Ukraine War  —  “Do you disagree that you've had problems bringing people into your military?”  “We have problems.”  “And do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying …
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Democrats Are About to Eat Their Own  —  Expect a bizarre scene at the White House today, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is showing up to sign an agreement pledging some Ukrainian rare-mineral rights to the United States—theoretically in exchange for further U.S. opposition to Vladimir Putin engulfing his country.
Discussion: Off Message and The Hill
NPR:
Zelenskyy leaves the White House early after Trump meeting gets heated
BBC:
Trump tells Zelensky 'make a deal or we're out' in angry White House meeting
Eli Stokols / Politico:
Trump and Vance attack Zelenskyy in remarkable Oval Office exchange
Bloomberg:
Trump, Zelenskiy Fail to Reach Deal After White House Clash
CBS News:
Zelenskyy to visit Trump and finish negotiation over Ukraine's minerals
Aaron Parnas / MeidasTouch News:
Screaming Match Erupts As Donald Trump And JD Vance Berate President Zelensky
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Bezos' changes at ‘Washington Post’ lead to mass subscription cancellations — again  —  More than 75,000 digital subscribers to The Washington Post have cancelled since its owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced on Wednesday that he would radically overhaul the paper's opinion pages …
RELATED:
Martin Matishak / The Record:
Exclusive: Hegseth orders Cyber Command to stand down on Russia planning  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions, according to three people familiar with the matter.
more at Techmeme »
Meridith McGraw / Wall Street Journal:
Trump to Sign Executive Order Making English Official U.S. Language  —  The U.S. has never had a national language in its nearly 250-year history  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump is planning to sign an executive order that would for the first time make English the official language of the U.S., according to White House officials.
RELATED:
Michelle L. Price / Associated Press:
Trump to sign order Friday designating English as the official language of the US
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
U.S. Mint takes Jan. 6 coin honoring officers who protected the Capitol off its website  —  The coins are duplicates of Congressional Gold Medals issued to law enforcement officers who protected the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.  —  The U.S. Mint has removed from its website …
RELATED:
Politico:   DOJ demotes top prosecutors of Jan. 6 defendants, Trump allies
New York Times:
How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy  —  The operation was driven with a frenetic focus by the billionaire, who channeled his resentment of regulatory oversight into a drastic overhaul of government agencies.  —  On the last Friday of September 2023 …
RELATED:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Two Good Reads.  —  There are two good, big feature pieces out from the Times and the Journal …
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
CNN:
Exclusive: US intel shows Russia and China are attempting to recruit disgruntled federal employees, sources say  —  Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security …
Vaughn Hillyard / NBC News:
State Department terminates U.S. support of Ukraine energy grid restoration  —  The USAID initiative had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in helping Ukraine's energy grid recover from attacks from Russia.  —  WASHINGTON — The State Department this week terminated a U.S. Agency …
Isabella Cueto / STAT:
RFK Jr. moves to eliminate public comment on HHS decisions  —  In notice to Federal Register, health agency says public participation is not needed in many decisions  —  Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  —  Friday proposing to strip public participation from much of the business his department conducts.
Discussion: Reason and Law Dork
Rachel Treisman / NPR:
What to know about the Epstein files release, from redactions to ‘Rickrolling’  —  The Justice Department released a batch of files from its investigation into the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday, after considerable fanfare.
RELATED:
Seth Borenstein / Associated Press:
Hundreds of weather forecasters fired in latest wave of DOGE cuts  —  Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, lawmakers and weather experts said.  Federal workers who were not let …
William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:
Musk Makes Big Mistake While Trying to Smear CNN Legal Analyst Norm Eisen  —  CARELESS  —  The billionaire DOGE chief found a woman with the same last name as a lawyer he hates.  Cue the conspiracy.
Discussion: Electrek and emptywheel
Jared Gans / The Hill:
Ex-Biden staffer: Campaign was ‘gaslighting’ public with ‘denial’ of age, ability concerns  —  A former staffer for the Biden White House argued that then-President Biden's campaign was “gaslighting” the public by denying concerns about his cognitive fitness for office.
RELATED:
Tara Palmeri / Puck:
A Biden Family Insider Tells All
ProPublica:
Speaker Mike Johnson Is Living in a D.C. House That Is the Center of a Pastor's Secretive Influence Campaign  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  In 2021, Steve Berger …
Pamela Herd / Can We Still Govern?:
Trump's Assault on Social Security  —  Social Security is our biggest and most successful safety net program.  The annual $1.6 trillion in benefits constitutes 21% of federal spending and 40% of older adults' income.  It lifts more people out of poverty than any other government program.
Melanie Zanona / NBC News:
House Democrats join legal fight against Trump's efforts to dismantle consumer protection agency  —  First to NBC News: A group of congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit against the administration's targeting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
RELATED:
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
National Dems sue over Trump executive order they say could weaponize FEC
Stephen Robinson / Public Notice:
MAGA's Orwellian notion of “free speech”  —  🗣️ 💬 📣 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.
RELATED:
Garry Kasparov / The Atlantic:   The Putinization of America  —  Trump's deference to the Russian dictator has become full-blown imitation.
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Here's the real threat to ‘personal liberties and free markets’  —  The rapidly spreading authoritarianism coming from this administration threatens all of our freedoms.  —  Over the last 48 hours, I've been receiving from readers and friends the sort of notes one gets upon losing a loved one …
Discussion: Thinking about
Washington Post:
Feds to start getting weekly emails asking what they did.  Bosses will see if it fits Trump goals.  —  The new strategy is in part meant to allow supervisors and agency heads to check whether employees' work fits into the Trump administration's goals and priorities, according to people familiar with it and records obtained by The Post.
Stephanie Kirchgaessner / The Guardian:
Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats  —  Recent incidents indicate US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cybersecurity threat, marking a radical departure: ‘Putin is on the inside now’  — Don't let a billionaire's algorithm control what you read.
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Republicans consider major budget change to obscure deficit impact of extending Trump's tax cuts  —  GOP leaders argue that extending Trump's expiring 2017 tax cuts shouldn't be treated as costing any money.  Democrats compare the tactic to nuking the 60-vote filibuster rule.
Will Selber / The Bulwark:
Transgender Service Members Aren't the Problem  —  A CASUAL OBSERVER OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION might conclude that the biggest problem facing our military is that some service members are transgender.  That seems to be the implication of the administration's rushed new policy to kick …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Ben Goggin / NBC News:
‘Trump Gaza’ AI video creators say they don't want to be the president's ‘propaganda machine’
Discussion: Blaze Media
Eric Martin / Bloomberg:
Bessent Calls on Canada to Match Mexico's Pitch on China Tariffs
Discussion: Axios and Washington Post
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
GOP-led committee launches probe to root out ‘political’ hires
Discussion: Baltimore Sun and GovExec.com
Ann Telnaes / Open Windows:
Bezos' offering  —  The owner of the Washington Post serves up the Free Press  —  Read:
Rebecca Carballo / Politico:
Education Department to staffers: Quit by Monday and get $25K in cash
Discussion: New York Times
NBC News:
Trump administration and Musk's DOGE plan to fire nearly all CFPB staff and wind down agency, employees say
 Earlier Items: 
Joe Kovac / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
USAID cancels large contracts of Georgia peanut butter supplier
Discussion: Raw Story
NBC News:
A top DOJ spokesperson says he is resigning due to a ‘hostile and toxic work environment’
ProPublica:
A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.”
Noah Shachtman / New York Times:
Dead Athletes. Empty Stands. Why Are We Paying Billions to Keep This Sport Alive?
Garrett M. Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
Patel, Ratcliffe Set Up U.S. for a National Catastrophe
New York Times:
The MAGA War on Speech
Discussion: HotAir and Instapundit
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta is considering deep budget cuts to its metaverse efforts in 2026, potentially as high as 30% and most likely including layoffs as early as January

A.J. Vicens / Reuters:
US and Canadian authorities warn that Chinese hackers are using the Brickstorm malware to install backdoor access within unnamed government and IT entities
 
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