Top Items:
Politico:
Trump puts new limits on Elon Musk — The president convened his secretaries, with Musk, to clarify power. — President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet in person on Thursday to deliver a message: You're in charge of your departments, not Elon Musk. — According to two administration officials …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NOTUS, RedState, Townhall, The National Pulse, Mediaite and Raw Story
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Washington Post:
DOGE targets child support database full of income data — Associates of Elon Musk's group provoked yet another clash with career civil servants over sensitive government records — Just now — Representatives of the U.S. DOGE Service have sought access to a powerful database of nearly …
Discussion:
UPI
CNN:
Republicans push Musk to let Congress vote on DOGE cuts — Republicans pushed Elon Musk on Wednesday in a pair of private meetings to move his efforts to slash federal spending and the federal workforce through Congress, as lawmakers vie for a seat at the table in the sweeping effort to overhaul government.
Discussion:
Politico, New Republic, Baltimore Sun, The Hill, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Washington Times, CBS News and Axios
Shawn Musgrave / The Intercept:
We Found Elon Musk's DOGE Email Address and We're Fighting to Reveal His Messages — The Freedom of Information Act is a vital tool to expose how the U.S. government operates, and it's especially critical when it comes to Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Discussion:
New Republic
Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump plans to revoke legal status of Ukrainians who fled to US, sources say — U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia, a senior Trump official and three sources familiar …
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New Republic:
Trump Press Sec Accidentally Blurts Out Real Goal of His Tariff Scam — In his speech to Congress, President Trump kept lying about his tariffs, falsely claiming that Canada is letting huge amounts of fentanyl into our country and suggesting the trade wars will only get worse.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Twitchy, WXIA-TV, Al Jazeera, IJR and Scripps News
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Washington Post:
Trump grants one-month tariff reprieve to some goods from Mexico, Canada — Financial markets slid on the news. — MEXICO CITY — President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed for one more month imposing tariffs on certain Mexican and Canadian products that comply with the North American free-trade treaty …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Contrarian, NBC News, CBC News, Bloomberg, CNBC, New York Times, New York Post, PoliticusUSA, Forbes, Daily Mail, Associated Press, CNN, Reuters, CBS News, Slate, TechCrunch, Al Jazeera, The Hill, Semafor and Global News
NPR:
Trump's latest tariff twist: a break for Mexico and Canada — Two days after putting 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, President Trump said on Thursday that he will largely lift them — the latest twist in his on-again, off-again approach to an issue that has sent markets into a tailspin.
Mariel Ferragamo / Council on Foreign Relations:
How Does Fentanyl Reach the United States?
How Does Fentanyl Reach the United States?
Discussion:
Associated Press and The American Conservative
Associated Press:
Trump's erratic trade policies are baffling businesses, threatening investment and economic growth
Trump's erratic trade policies are baffling businesses, threatening investment and economic growth
Discussion:
Associated Press, Bloomberg, Voice of America, Washington Examiner and WBUR
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
The world is beginning to tire of Trump's whiplash leadership
Chandelis Duster / NPR:
Did tariffs contribute to the Great Depression? Here's what to know
Did tariffs contribute to the Great Depression? Here's what to know
Discussion:
The Economist, Fox Business and Washington Post
Washington Post:
DOGE is driving Social Security cuts and will make mistakes, acting head says privately — The Social Security Administration's acting commissioner said members of Elon Musk's cost-cutting team are outsiders who are unfamiliar with the nuances of the agency's programs. — Just now
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David Gilbert / Wired:
Social Security Workers Aren't Allowed to Read This Story — New internet restrictions at the embattled SSA have cut off access to WIRED, along with other “general news” websites like The Washington Post and The New York Times. — Employees at the Social Security Administration (SSA) …
Discussion:
Business Insider and Nextgov/FCW
Allan Smith / NBC News:
Social Security Administration bars employees from reading the news at work
Social Security Administration bars employees from reading the news at work
Discussion:
WNYW-TV and The Guardian
Tim Alberta / The Atlantic:
The Advice Elissa Slotkin Didn't Take — Right around the time that Donald Trump was arriving at the U.S. Capitol to address a joint session of Congress—the longest such speech, it would turn out, in the history of the presidency—Elissa Slotkin, the newly elected Michigan senator tasked …
Discussion:
Politico, Eschaton, RedState and Deseret News
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Axios:
Scoop: Dems privately confront Trump speech disruptors
Discussion:
CNBC, The Washington Free Beacon, Forbes, Washington Post, Must Read Alaska and The Hill
Fox News:
Dems throw House into chaos after 10 moderates join GOP to punish Al Green
Dems throw House into chaos after 10 moderates join GOP to punish Al Green
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, NBC News, Washington Post, Politico, Townhall, Washington Times, The Daily Wire, Associated Press, CBS News, Daily Kos, FOX8 WGHP, PJ Media, Breitbart, UPI, Roll Call, RedState, Washington Examiner, The National Pulse, Raw Story, Daily Caller News Foundation, Twitchy, New York Post, The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, HuffPost and Mediaite
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Jeffries bashes GOP for ‘illegal immigrant’ smear again House Democrat: ‘Disgusting’
Jeffries bashes GOP for ‘illegal immigrant’ smear again House Democrat: ‘Disgusting’
Discussion:
NBC News, Politico, Washington Post, HuffPost, New Republic, New York Daily News and Mediaite
Wall Street Journal:
Draft of Trump Executive Order Aims to Eliminate Education Department — Secretary Linda McMahon would be directed to ‘take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure’ — President Trump is expected to issue an executive order as soon as Thursday aimed at abolishing the Education Department …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, CBS News, USA Today, Reuters, NPR, The Lever, WNYW-TV, One America News Network, The Daily Wire, Daily Kos, Hollywood Life, Forbes, Baltimore Sun, Rolling Stone, Missouri Scout, The Independent, Jewish Insider, Scripps News, MeidasTouch News, OutsideTheBeltway, The Daily Caller, Gizmodo, masslive.com, Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Hill, The Week, UPI, Fox News, Daily Mail, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and Townhall
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Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
Gavin Newsom breaks with Democrats on trans athletes in sports — The Democratic California governor made the stunning remarks in his debut podcast with conservative guest Charlie Kirk. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a pioneer for LGBTQ+ rights who decades ago upset leaders in his own party …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Washington Free Beacon, NOTUS, Bloomberg, Mother Jones, The Hill, HotAir, New Republic, New York Post, Washington Times, Associated Press, Raw Story, Daily Caller News Foundation, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Axios, New Jersey Online, Townhall, California Globe, The Post Millennial, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Independent, Mediaite, NewsNation, Washington Blade, Instapundit and Fox News
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Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Treasury Secretary Bessent says the American dream is not about ‘access to cheap goods’ … Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday offered a full-throated defense of the White House's position on tariffs, insisting that trade policy has to be about more than just getting low-priced items from other countries.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, U.S. Bureau … and Fox Business
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Alicia Wallace / CNN:
US employers cut more jobs last month than any February since 2009 — The Trump administration's massive federal cuts and swelling feelings of economic uncertainty helped fuel a recession-level spike in layoffs last month, new data showed Thursday. — US-based employers last month announced plans …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, UPI, FOX8 WGHP, CBS News and Forbes
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Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Layoff announcements soar to the highest since 2020 as DOGE slashes federal staff
Layoff announcements soar to the highest since 2020 as DOGE slashes federal staff
Discussion:
Challenger …, New Republic, Reuters, Fortune and Raw Story
Matt K. Lewis / The Hill:
Trump may have already planted the seeds of his political collapse — Over the last six weeks, President Trump has been spending political capital like a drunk at a casino who insists he's got “a system.” If history is any predictor, his second term trajectory may already be set — right off a cliff, pedal to the floor.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Newsweek
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Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
White House mum on price-relief measures as inflation stings Trump's ratings
White House mum on price-relief measures as inflation stings Trump's ratings
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
Washington Post:
Inside the Trump White House's relentless strategy to dominate the news — The Trump administration has transformed its traditional press shop into a rapid-response influencer operation, and “they're all offense, all the time.” — When actress Selena Gomez posted an Instagram video …
Discussion:
The Hill and Daily Mail, more at Mediagazer »
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Small World … The White House is, at least according to Bloomberg, well on its way to creating a sovereign wealth fund, despite having no authority to create one and no legal source of money to fund it. But now they've hired a guy to run it, Michael Grimes. And small world, he's Elon's banker.
Discussion:
Bloomberg
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
‘People Are Going Silent’: Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves … More than six weeks into the second Trump administration, there is a chill spreading over political debate in Washington and beyond.By Kenny Holston/The New York Times — The silence grows louder every day.
NBC News:
Trump considering major NATO policy shift — The president has discussed possibly favoring members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their GDP on defense, sources told NBC News. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is considering a major change to the U.S.' participation …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, RedState, The Hill, Foreign Policy, The Independent, Raw Story, Asia Times and Atlantic Council
NBC News:
As Trump pivots to Russia, allies weigh sharing less intel with U.S. — Members of the so-called Five Eyes spy alliance, as well as Israeli and Saudi officials, fear the identities of foreign assets could inadvertently be shared with Moscow. — Some U.S. allies are considering scaling …
Politico:
Trump's US destroying world order, says Ukraine's UK ambassador — LONDON — Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom on Thursday accused the United States under Donald Trump of “destroying” the world order, as he attacked U.S. handling of the war in Ukraine.
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, Reuters, The Week and Bloomberg
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Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
FEMA's top lawyer placed on leave after less than one week in role — The Handbasket is 100% subscriber-funded. If you want to support independent media during these dark times for democracy, become a paid subscriber today. — Video — Joshua Stanton had served as Acting Chief Counsel …
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Daily News and Associated Press




