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11:35 AM ET, May 17, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
How DOGE's grand plan to remake Social Security is backfiring  —  The agency is abandoning an initiative aimed at preventing fraud, the latest example of a failed effort by Elon Musk's disruptive cost-cutting team.  —  The U.S. DOGE Service arrived at the Social Security Administration …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump's actions are pushing thousands of experts to flee government  —  The U.S. DOGE Service's push for early retirement and deferred resignation is leading to a federal brain drain, longtime staffers fear.  —  At the National Institutes of Health, six directors — from institutes focused …
NPR:
How DOGE has tried to embed beyond the executive branch
Matt Wirz / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Loses Last Triple-A Credit Rating  —  Moody's downgrades the U.S. government, citing large fiscal deficits and rising interest costs  —  The U.S. lost its last triple-A credit rating.  —  Moody's Ratings downgraded the U.S. government on Friday, citing large fiscal deficits and rising interest costs.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Moody's Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating Below Triple-A
Discussion: Bloomberg
Carl Hulse / New York Times:   Republican Revolt Reflects a Core Party Divide Over Spending and Debt
Financial Times:   Moody's strips US of top-notch triple-A credit rating
Steve Vladeck / One First:
151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin  —  A very quick breakdown of Friday afternoon's quietly significant ruling slapping down the lower courts in the Northern District of Texas Alien Enemies Act litigation—and what it means going forward.
RELATED:
Amy Howe / SCOTUSblog:
Supreme Court again bars Trump from removing Venezuelan nationals
CNN:
Supreme Court blocks Trump from restarting Alien Enemies Act deportations
Margaret Sullivan / The Guardian:
Yes, the media's Biden coverage was flawed.  But its reporting on Trump was far worse  —  A new book has fueled controversy over press handling of the ex-president's decline.  But that distracts from a bigger problem  —  With a new book out about Joe Biden's failed re-election campaign, a media reckoning is in full swing.
RELATED:
The Hill:
These are the top sticking points stalling the Trump agenda megabill  —  House Republicans are working to give their “big beautiful bill” a face lift as they try to appease warring factions of the party in hopes of sending President Trump's legislative agenda to the Senate before Memorial Day.
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Politico
RELATED:
NBC News:
Conservatives block Trump agenda bill from advancing in major setback for GOP leaders
Axios:
Exclusive: Prosecutor's audio shows Biden's memory lapses  —  Amid long, uncomfortable pauses, Joe Biden struggled to recall when his son died, when he left office as vice president, what year Donald Trump was elected or why he had classified documents he shouldn't have had …
RELATED:
New York Times:
After Cuts, a Kentucky Weather Office Scrambles for Staffing as Severe Storms Bear Down  —  The office in Jackson, Ky., is one of several left without an overnight forecaster after hundreds of jobs were recently cut from the National Weather Service.  —  A National Weather Service office …
Jon Passantino / Status:
The Khashoggi Compromise  —  Jeff Bezos once mourned Jamal Khashoggi in public—now the Amazon billionaire is making billion-dollar deals with his executioner, which reveals more about his values than any vigil ever could. … Earlier this week, Amazon announced a $5 billion “strategic partnership” …
Jason Linkins / New Republic:
Let's Start Talking About Jail Time for Trump and His MAGA Enablers … What's in the water in the state of Maryland?  Whatever it is, it's certainly more invigorating than the sewage that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his grandchildren have been swimming in.  A few weeks ago …
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump's Embrace of White South Africans Takes Dark, Unnerving New Turn  —  When President Donald Trump welcomed dozens of white South Africans into the United States this week after granting them refugee status, reporters reasonably asked him to square this with his suspension of refugee resettlement from …
New York Times:
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang  —  The move followed a disclosure that intelligence agencies disagree with a key factual claim Trump made to invoke a wartime deportation law.  —  A top adviser to the director of national intelligence ordered …
Lauren Fichten / CBS News:
Combat sport clubs used to boost recruitment for white nationalist hate group, report says  —  Combat sport clubs have been used to boost recruitment for a white nationalist hate group, according to a report released by the legal advocacy organization Southern Poverty Law Center.
Sean Murphy / Associated Press:
New standards for Oklahoma high school students promote misinformation about the 2020 election  —  Oklahoma high school students studying U.S. history learn about the Industrial Revolution, women's suffrage and America's expanding role in international affairs.
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Tesla limits investors' ability to sue over breach of fiduciary duties … In a regulatory filing out Friday, Elon Musk-led automaker Tesla announced a change to its corporate bylaws that will limit shareholders ability to sue the company if investors believe the company's board or executives committed any breach of fiduciary duties.
Discussion: Reuters
NBC News:
Trump administration working on plan to move 1 million Palestinians to Libya  —  Details are murky and no final agreement has been reached, but the plan is under serious enough consideration that the administration has discussed it with Libyan leadership.  —  The Trump administration …
Nicholas Nehamas / New York Times:
Trump's Push to Defund Harvard Prompts Clash Over Veteran Suicide Research  —  The proposed termination of medical research funded by the V.A. is part of the Trump administration's broader pressure campaign against the university.  —  The Trump administration's move to cancel a slew …
Tom Balmforth / Reuters:
Russia demanded Kyiv pull back troops before ceasefire, Ukrainian source says  —  Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters.
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Trump admin permits sale of device that allows standard firearms to fire like machine guns  —  Gun control groups condemned the move as “a dangerous backroom deal spearheaded by Trump's general counsel” that “effectively legalized machine guns.”  —  The Trump Administration has decided …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
ICE is actively hiring for construction-related jobs
Justin Lahart / Wall Street Journal:
MIT Says It No Longer Stands Behind Student's AI Research Paper
Reuters:
Exclusive: Hungarian official sought information on perceived Orban opponents in USAID meeting
Discussion: Xinhua and Breitbart
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Trump administration acknowledges another error in a high-profile deportation
Discussion: Mediaite
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
Senate Democrats Poised to Enable Trump's Crypto Corruption
Discussion: NOTUS
Rachel Frazin / Associated Press:
FEMA ‘not ready’ for hurricane season: document
 Earlier Items: 
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Appeals court lifts block on Trump executive order targeting federal worker unions
Michael S. Rosenwald / New York Times:
Ed Smylie, Who Saved the Apollo 13 Crew With Duct Tape, Dies at 95
Jonathan Chait / The Atlantic:
The New MAGA World Order
NBC News:
Trump attorneys draw judge's ire by saying ‘state secrets’ keep them from sharing details on Abrego Garcia's return
CNN:
Former FBI Director James Comey is being interviewed by the US Secret Service
Mike Allen / Axios:
Happy Friday afternoon! Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 559 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Carolyn DiPaolo for copy editing.
Discussion: Reuters
Josh Meyer / USA Today:
FBI moving 1,500 personnel from D.C., closing storied headquarters building: Patel