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12:15 AM ET, May 13, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Politico:
Trump's free plane is not so free  —  The Boeing aircraft that Qatar may give the president would require a pricy and complicated overhaul to serve as Air Force One.  —  President Donald Trump insists he's getting a “free, very expensive airplane” from Qatar's royal family.
RELATED:
Slate:
Donald Trump's Corruption Reaches New Heights  —  On Sunday, ABC News reported that President Donald Trump plans to accept a $400 million “flying palace” from the royal family of Qatar.  The deal, it appears, is that the super-luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet will become the new Air Force …
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump's Plan to Accept Luxury Jet From Qatar Strains Bounds of Propriety  —  The second Trump administration is blowing through limits on the mixing of public office and personal benefits.  —  During President Trump's first term, the idea that special interests and governments were buying meals …
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Garrett M. Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
Corruption and a Security Catastrophe in Plane Sight  —  Of course a foreign government would love to give the US president a plane....  I will admit that as a presidential historian and national security nerd one of my first thoughts last November after Donald Trump won office was, “Ugh” …
Discussion: DNyuz and Washington Times
Washington Post:
Trump's gifted Qatari 747 would be a security problem, officials say  —  The luxury jet was moved five weeks ago to San Antonio International Airport, suggesting that preparations for improvements to the plane might already be underway.  —  President Donald Trump on Monday praised Qatar …
Dean Obeidallah / The Dean's Report:
Trump is the most corrupt President in U.S. history.  Period.  —  There must be corrupt dictators in other countries jealous of Donald Trump.  After all, in just three months, Trump has turned the American presidency into a corrupt enterprise that has made himself—and his family—literally billions of dollars.
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Trump, Pressed on Qatari Jet, Says Only ‘Stupid’ People Reject Gifts
Politico:
Hill leaders question Trump's attempted Library of Congress takeover  —  Top congressional leaders are pushing back against President Donald Trump's attempt to replace to Library of Congress leaders, with the dispute over presidential powers over the institution leaving its future in question Monday.
RELATED:
Axios:
Trump naming his former defense attorney as acting Librarian of Congress  —  President Trump will name deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to be the acting Librarian of Congress, a Justice Department official confirmed to Axios.  —  Why it matters: Blanche, who represented Trump in his hush money trial …
Neda Ulaby / NPR:
The President has named a new Acting Librarian of Congress. It's his former defense lawyer.
Discussion: New York Times and Reason
Jack Jenkins / RNS:
Episcopal Church refuses to resettle white Afrikaners, ends partnership with US government  —  (RNS) — In a striking move that ends a nearly four-decades-old relationship between the federal government and the Episcopal Church, the denomination announced on Monday (May 12) …
RELATED:
The Episcopal Church:
Letter from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on Episcopal Migration Ministries  —  Office of Public Affairs  —  English  —  Dear People of God in The Episcopal Church:  —  I am writing today with some significant news about Episcopal Migration Ministries, the organization that leads The Episcopal Church's refugee resettlement ministry.
Axios:
Despite China trade deal, Trump maintains 120% tariff on cheap goods  —  Small packages from China are still subject to tariffs of 120%, a White House official confirmed Monday — a major blow for U.S. consumers seeking cheap goods from e-commerce retailers like Shein and Temu.
RELATED:
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Markets Celebrate Total Trump Surrender on Signature Policy
David Frum / The Atlantic:   The Ultimate Bait and Switch of Trump's Tariffs
Wall Street Journal:
The Great Trump Tariff Rollback
Discussion: Politico, New York Post and Townhall
Associated Press:
US and China reach a deal to slash sky-high tariffs for now, with a 90-day pause
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
RFK Jr. Swims in Washington Creek That Flows With Sewage and Bacteria  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, shared photos of himself and his grandchildren swimming in waters that handle sewer overflow.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, posted photos on Sunday …
Discussion: ABC News
RELATED:
Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Republicans Try to Cram Ban on AI Regulation Into Budget Reconciliation Bill  —  Republicans try to use the Budget Reconciliation bill to stop states from regulating AI entirely for 10 years.  —  Late last night, House Republicans introduced new language to the Budget Reconciliation bill …
Discussion: The Hill
President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients  —  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.  The United States has less than five percent …
New York Times:
Air Traffic Staffing Shortage Forces Delays at Newark Airport  —  The shortage on Monday forced the F.A.A. to delay flights to the busy airport for up to nearly seven hours, the latest problem to plague the airport.  —  As few as three air traffic controllers were scheduled to work …
New York Times:
Why Trump Suddenly Declared Victory Over the Houthi Militia … President Trump has never bought into long-running military entanglements in the Middle East.Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times  —  When he approved a campaign to reopen shipping in the Red Sea by bombing the Houthi militant group …
Taylor Lorenz / User Mag:
Hasan Piker detained at the border and questioned for hours over politics  —  “They straight up tried to get something out of me that I think they could use to basically detain me permanently” … Hasan Piker, the biggest progressive political streamer in America, was detained by Customs …
RELATED:
Ryan Grenoble / HuffPost:
Hasan Piker Detained By CBP While Reentering The U.S. From France
Discussion: USA Today and The Guardian
RELATED:
Department of Homeland Security:
DHS Terminating Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan
Discussion: CBS News, UPI and Axios
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Rule of law is ‘endangered,’ chief justice says  —  Speaking at Georgetown Law, Chief Justice John Roberts denounced “ad hominem” criticism of the justices.  —  Chief Justice John Roberts described the rule of law as “endangered” and warned against “trashing the justices,” …
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, CNN and Bloomberg
Jay Nordlinger / National Review:
WFB & Co.  —  I can't remember when I first encountered Bill Buckley — in print, I mean, not in the flesh.  Actually, I may have first encountered him on the air — on his show, Firing Line.  Early '80s, probably.  —  That show had reach.  I think of a conversation I had with our Dorothy McCartney.
New York Times:
Elon Musk's Boring Company Is in Talks With Government Over Amtrak Project  —  The Federal Railroad Administration has brought in the tunneling company to see if it could help with a multibillion-dollar rail project.  —  The Federal Railroad Administration, the nation's railroad agency …
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
D.N.C. Takes Step to Void Election of Hogg and Kenyatta as Vice Chairs  —  David Hogg has faced sharp criticism for his plan to fund challenges to incumbent Democrats, but the D.N.C. vote on Monday began with an earlier complaint about the procedures used in an internal party election.
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Baja California governor says US tourist visa withdrawn  —  The governor of the Mexican state of Baja California said she and her husband were informed that their U.S. tourist visas have been withdrawn.  —  In a post on the social platform X, Marina del Pilar Ávila said she was informed …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Politico:
House GOP lays down marker to triple cap on state, local tax deduction, add income limit
NBC News:
Trump's drug pricing move shows his second-term reluctance to try bipartisanship: From the Politics Desk
Discussion: Des Moines Register
John L. Dorman / Business Insider:
Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill’ includes $1,000 ‘MAGA accounts’ for kids
Discussion: Semafor and Raw Story
 Earlier Items: 
Moriah Balingit / Associated Press:
House Republicans propose $5 billion for private school vouchers
Department of Homeland Security:
Department of Homeland Security Investigates State of California for Providing Federal Benefits to Illegal Aliens
Eric Katz / GovExec.com:
Trump administration tells court publicly releasing its mass layoff plans would hurt recruiting and retention
Discussion: HuffPost and E&E News
Molly Taft / Wired:
The EPA Will Likely Gut Team That Studies Health Risks From Chemicals
Taragallegos / Governor of California:
Governor Newsom releases state model for cities and counties to immediately address encampments with urgency and dignity
Courtney Kube / NBC News:
Pentagon spent at least $21 million on flights to Guantanamo, which currently holds 32 migrants
Discussion: Daily Kos, CBS News and DNyuz
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Hamas to release Israeli-American hostage as gesture to Trump