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5:30 PM ET, May 13, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Politico:
GOP heavyweights join bipartisan bashing of Trump Qatar jet deal  —  Senate Majority Leader John Thune and GOP firebrand senators are among those voicing discomfort with the deal.  —  A number of Republican lawmakers are souring on President Donald Trump's plans to accept a luxury Boeing 747 aircraft …
RELATED:
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Why Qatar is bribing Trump  —  On Sunday, President Trump announced that the government of Qatar would be giving the “Defense Department” a luxury 747 aircraft to replace Air Force One.  Critics of the deal, Trump said, were “World Class Losers.”  —  ABC News and other media outlets added a crucial detail.
Axios:
Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer lead rare MAGA backlash to Trump's Qatari jet  —  Top MAGA influencers Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer and Mark Levin broke sharply with President Trump Monday over his decision to accept a $400 million private jet from the Qatari government.
New Republic:
Transcript: Jamie Raskin's Harsh Takedown of Trump's Qatar Plane Scam  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the May 13 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network.
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
The biggest news over the weekend was silence: the silence of Republicans. …
Discussion: People For and DNyuz
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:
Trump's Unquenchable, Unconstitutional Greed Is Deforming America
Discussion: New Republic and Slate
Alex Thompson / Axios:
Exclusive: Biden aides discussed wheelchair use if he were re-elected, new book says  —  This story is adapted from the forthcoming book “Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson.
RELATED:
Martha McHardy / Newsweek:
MAGA Attacks Church Over Donald Trump Rebuke: ‘Funds MUST Be Pulled’  —  A firestorm has erupted on the American right after the Episcopal Church said it is refusing a directive from the federal government to help resettle white South Africans who were granted refugee status.  —  Why It Matters
Benjamin Guggenheim / Politico:
Another NY Republican unleashes harsh criticism of top tax writer over contested deduction  —  Another blue-state Republican on Tuesday harshly criticized the House GOP's top tax writer over negotiations on expanding the state and local tax deduction, saying Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith …
RELATED:
Aris Folley / The Hill:
House Republicans propose major reforms to SNAP
Tobias Burns / The Hill:
Republican tax bill would add $3.7 trillion to the national deficit: JCT
Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Electrek
Politico:
‘The bill is dead’: New York Republican blasts House GOP's chief tax writer
New Yorker:
How Joe Biden Handed the Presidency to Donald Trump  —  At a fateful event last summer, Barack Obama, George Clooney, and others were stunned by Biden's weakness and confusion.  Why did he and his advisers decide to conceal his condition from the public and campaign for reëlection?
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
GOP proposal would boot three N.J. Democrats from House committees  —  Rep. Buddy Carter is proposing to strip three New Jersey lawmakers of their House committee assignments after they participated last week in a protest at a Newark migrant detention facility.
Discussion: The Hill
RELATED:
Mehdi Hasan / The Guardian:   Ice has become Trump's private militia. It must be abolished
Mike Sullivan / CBS News:
12-year-old boy left alone on sidewalk after ICE raid in Massachusetts  —  A 12-year-old boy was left behind on a street after an immigration raid in Waltham, Massachusetts.  —  United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were seen on camera leaving the boy by himself …
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Two more Fetterman aides leave embattled senator's office  —  The departures are the latest in a string of staff exits over the past year and a half.  —  Two more aides left John Fetterman's office in recent weeks, the latest in a stream of staff exits amid the Pennsylvania senator's shifting …
Discussion: Wall Street Journal and DNyuz
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Why are ICE agents such cowardly wusses?  —  Taking most of a week off, as I've just done, is impossible in the Trump 47 era.  Since I last attacked the keyboard, we got our first American pope, the mayor of Newark was arrested by federal agents, and Qatar is bribing the president with a $400 million plane, along with 57 other things.
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Republicans Slip Nonprofit Killer Bill Into Budget Plan  —  House Republicans' draft budget bill includes a clause to give Donald Trump the ability to revoke the tax-exempt status of any group the Treasury Department says is a supporter of terrorism.  —  The move appears to be a revival …
RELATED:
Elizabeth Elkind / Fox News:
House Democrat moves to force Trump impeachment vote
Discussion: Axios, The National Pulse and E&E News
Wall Street Journal:
Mild April Inflation Captures Early Stages of Tariff Effects  —  CPI was up 0.2% over the month, while annual inflation was 2.3%  —  Inflation was relatively mild in April, but economists said tariffs will end a recent lull and push up more prices in the coming months.
RELATED:
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Annual inflation rate hit 2.3% in April, less than expected and lowest since 2021
ABC News:
Small nodule found in Joe Biden's prostate during recent physical  —  The discovery “necessitated further evaluation,” officials said.  —  President Joe Biden speaks during a conference of the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) at the Sofitel Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, on April 15, 2025.
RELATED:
Jared Gans / The Hill:
DNC moves toward nullifying election of David Hogg, Malcolm Kenyatta as vice chairs  —  The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has taken a first step toward possibly requiring a new election for two of its vice chairs, including David Hogg, who has stirred controversy with his call …
Kseniia Petrova / New York Times:
The Science I Would Be Doing if I Weren't in ICE Detention  —  When I moved to America from Russia to join a biology lab at Harvard Medical School in 2023, it felt as if I found my dream job.  America was a paradise for science.  Everything was flourishing.  There was freedom of discourse; conferences, seminars.
Discussion: USA Today
Andy Craig / The UnPopulist:
Trump's Effort to become the Supreme Leader Has Roots in a Nazi Philosopher  —  His lawless view of his sovereign powers was articulated by Carl Schmitt  —  In a legal filing defending Donald Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act (of “Alien and Sedition Acts” notoriety) …
George Saunders / New York Times:
Shame on the White House  —  If the White House wants to fire the librarian of Congress, it can.  But it was interesting to have recently had the experience of meeting this dynamic, dedicated person, and feeling so proud that she was our librarian of Congress, then reading the White House's sloppy …
Discussion: Slow Boring and Raw Story
Alondra Nelson / Time:
Why I'm Resigning from Positions at the National Science Foundation and Library of Congress  —  Today, I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.  —  Even as the White House threatens the foundational tenets of constitutional democracy …
Discussion: Raw Story and E&E News
Leigh Kimmins / The Daily Beast:
Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Thinks Trump's Hilarious ‘Fat’ Businessman Story Was All About Him  —  PLOT THICKENS  —  The Tesla CEO has previously admitted taking weight-loss drugs.  —  Elon Musk is President Trump's “seriously overweight” friend who takes “the fat shot,” according to the Tesla CEO's own artificial intelligence bot.
Discussion: The Atlantic, Raw Story and Page Six
Kyle Whitmire / al.com:
Why does Alabama's GOP chairman have a Tennessee driver's license?  —  This is an opinion column.  —  Stories involving Alabama Republican Party chairman John Wahl tend to wind up in strange places.  —  Like, how did a butterfly farmer — real thing — become one of Alabama's most powerful political figures?
Discussion: Raw Story
Jason Karaian / New York Times:
Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Other C.E.O.s Join Trump at U.S.-Saudi Lunch  —  Many of the executives — including representatives of four of the 10 biggest U.S. companies by market value — are seeking business from Saudi investors and a chance to lobby top Trump officials.
CNN:
Mexican mayoral candidate gunned down during live broadcast of campaign rally  —  What began as a festive campaign march quickly turned into a scene of terror in the Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night when a mayoral candidate was gunned down alongside three other people.
Politico:
Medicaid cut protestors disrupt GOP megabill markup, 25 arrested  —  No sooner had the House Energy and Commerce Committee kicked off its markup of the GOP's “big, beautiful bill” than protesters descended upon the proceedings.  U.S. Capitol Police was forced to quickly arrest 25 people …
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
DOJ ‘weaponization’ group will shame individuals it can't charge with crimes, new head says  —  As Jeanine Pirro prepares to become U.S. attorney in D.C., Trump loyalist Ed Martin is taking over the Justice Department's effort to investigate Trump's investigators.
Discussion: The Hill and Breitbart
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Exclusive: Dems press Trump to divest from stablecoin  —  Senate Democrats are asking President Trump to divest from his cryptocurrency empire as he embarks on his Middle East trip this week, Axios has learned.  —  Why it matters: Democrats have raised corruption concerns over the Trump family's crypto dealings.
The Hill:
First judge approves Trump invoking Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans  —  A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Trump can invoke the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to remove Tren de Aragua members but determined the administration has provided insufficient notice before carrying out the deportations.
Warren Cornwall / Science:
Trump's ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate  —  Many worry about retribution.  But for others, speaking out is worth the risk  —  Play Pause  —  Skip backwardsGo ten seconds backward Skip forwardsGo ten seconds forward  —  Progress  —  1.0x  —  Mute Unmute
Il Foglio:
How should U.S. media respond to Trump's attacks on the free press?  —  The president has made clear his dislike of the traditional independent media, which endeavors to cover him fairly but which he repeatedly accuses of bias against him.  So as the campaign against the media escalates …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Dave Levinthal / NOTUS:
One of Congress' Wealthiest Members Made Stock Trades Worth Millions After Trump Announced Tariffs
Eric Katz / GovExec.com:
NDAs for VA employees working on staff reduction plans prompts House Dems probe
Taylor Penley / Fox News:
Colorado Capitol female staffers fear retaliation after filing bathroom complaint against transgender aide
Discussion: RedState
 Earlier Items: 
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
FBI ordered to prioritize immigration, as DOJ scales back white collar cases
Discussion: New York Times and Mediaite
Andrew Chung / Reuters:
In birthright citizenship case, US Supreme Court gets two controversies in one
President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures Historic $600 Billion Investment Commitment in Saudi Arabia
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Guess Which Other World Leader Said ‘Yes’ to Free Qatari Jet?
Discussion: New Republic and EURASIAN TIMES
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Miller threatens to suspend habeas unless Trump can defy judges
Discussion: Techdirt, Reason and New Yorker