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12:05 PM ET, May 19, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:
The Stark Math on the GOP Tax Plan: It Doesn't Cut the Deficit  —  As House Republicans wrangle over tax-and-spending bill, budget analysts across the political spectrum warn that the proposal worsens the U.S. fiscal picture  —  WASHINGTON—House Republicans' last-minute grappling …
Discussion: USA Today and Issues & Insights
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
Attack of the Sadistic Zombies  —  The GOP budget is incredibly cruel — and that's the point  —  Republicans in Congress, taking their marching orders from Donald Trump, are on track to enact a hugely regressive budget — big tax giveaways to the wealthy combined with cruel cuts in programs that serve lower-income Americans.
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
The ugly truth about Trump's “big, beautiful bill”  —  On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump pledged to improve the economic conditions of the working class.  “My plan will massively cut taxes for workers,” Trump declared at a campaign stop in Raleigh, North Carolina, on November 5, 2024, the day before the election.
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
In overnight vote, Republicans move closer to pushing Trump agenda bill through House  —  GOP officials are scrambling to advance massive tax breaks and dramatic Medicaid cuts, and it's worth appreciating why they're in such a rush.  —  Republican leaders on Capitol Hill imposed an exceedingly difficult timeline on themselves.
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Tonight, late on a Sunday night, the House Budget Committee passed what Republicans are calling their “Big, Beautiful Bill” to enact Trump's agenda although it had failed on Friday when far-right Republicans voted against it, complaining it did not make deep enough cuts to social programs.
The Hill:
Republicans advance Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill’ in unusual late-night vote
NBC News:
Key House committee advances Trump agenda bill after appeasing conservatives
Discussion: The Daily Wire
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Republicans want to break up House's Trump bill into bite-sized pieces
Discussion: Townhall
Andrew Prokop / Vox:
The ugly truth about Trump's big, beautiful bill
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Head of CBS News to Depart Amid Tensions With Trump  —  Wendy McMahon, the president of CBS News and Stations, had allied herself with Bill Owens, the “60 Minutes” executive producer who recently resigned.  —  CBS News faced another shock wave on Monday after its president, Wendy McMahon …
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Voters want Dems to stand up to Trump, not self-flagellate  —  A note from Aaron: Today's newsletter was all edited and ready for publication yesterday afternoon when the sad news broke that Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
RELATED:
Charlotte Alter / Time:
Inside the Democrats' Reboot  —  Like a lot of Democrats these days, Chris Murphy has been doing some soul searching.  For years, the Connecticut Senator, who took office shortly after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, was one of the nation's most outspoken advocates for tighter gun laws.
Discussion: Fox News
Politico:
Why has Elon Musk disappeared from the spotlight?  —  The tech CEO isn't exactly gone yet, but Republicans have stopped bringing him up.  —  Elon Musk and Donald Trump were the main characters on the internet and across Washington day after day.  Then the world's richest man started to fade away.
Discussion: The Independent, The.Ink and Raw Story
RELATED:
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
A Word About Joe Biden
New York Times:
Markets Rattled on Concerns About U.S. Debt  —  Stocks fell, the dollar slipped and bond yields jumped after a rating downgrade highlighted worries about the cost of President Trump's policies and the health of the economy.  —  Turbulent trading hit financial markets on Monday …
RELATED:
RELATED:
Financial Times:
UK and EU agree post-Brexit reset at showpiece summit
Elizabeth Crisp / The Hill:
Trump says he'll call for ‘major investigation’ into performers at Harris events  —  “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?  WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS?  ISN'T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION?
RELATED:
J.D. Wolf / MeidasTouch News:
Trump Wants to Investigate “Unpatriotic Entertainers” Beyoncé, Others
Discussion: Raw Story
Andrew Higgins / New York Times:
Nicusor Dan Beats George Simion in Romana's Presidential Election  —  Nicusor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, defeated George Simion, a nationalist aligned with President Trump who had been seen as the front-runner.  —  In a setback for Europe's surging nationalist forces, Nicusor Dan …
RELATED:
Troy Matthews / MeidasTouch News:
Donald Trump Jr. Mocks Biden Cancer Diagnosis in Heartless Post  —  Is the Trump family physically incapable of showing basic decency?  —  Donald Trump Jr. mocked the cancer diagnosis of former President Joe Biden in a post on X Sunday evening, then pinned the post to the top of his feed.
RELATED:
Betsy Klein / CNN:
Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
‘Sesame Street’ Saved, Inks New Streaming Deal With Netflix  —  Episodes will also continue to air on PBS, debuting the same day as they launch on Netflix. … The streaming giant has inked a deal with Sesame Workshop for new episodes of the long-running children's show …
Kyle Chan / New York Times:
In the Future, China Will Be Dominant.  The U.S. Will Be Irrelevant.  —  阅读.体中文.閱讀.體中文.  —  For years, theorists have posited the onset of a “Chinese century”: a world in which China finally harnesses its vast economic …
Discussion: Semafor
Prem Thakker / Zeteo:
New Video of Mahmoud Khalil's Arrest Shows Trump Admin is Lying in Court  —  The new footage of ICE's warrantless arrest shows the Palestinian student fully cooperated with federal agents and was not a flight risk, as the government continues to falsely claim.
Discussion: Daily Kos
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
What you — yes, you — should know about interacting with ICE  —  A legal expert explains the rights immigrants — and U.S. citizens — have when facing immigration officials.  —  The Trump administration is aware that Americans broadly support the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes.
New York Times:
Bove, Top Justice Dept. Official, Is Considered for Circuit Court Nomination  —  Emil Bove III has emerged as a top contender to fill a vacancy on the appeals court covering Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, people familiar with the matter said.  —  President Trump is considering …
NOTUS:
John Cornyn's Primary Problems Are Starting to Scare Republicans  —  Cornyn is down substantially to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas Senate primary polls.  But Republicans are concerned that Paxton could lose the Senate seat — or, at least, make Republicans spend a lot more money.
Jeffrey Toobin / New York Times:
Trump Has His Law Firms Right Where He Wants Them  —  Nine major corporate law firms have groveled before President Trump by agreeing to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in free legal services to the executive branch.  The immediate result of these capitulations is clear …
John Hendel / Politico:
Brendan Carr stages a Trumpian show at the FCC  —  For years, he was a low-key conservative policy player.  Now he's using an entire agency to wage Trump's battles.  —  Four months into his tenure as head of America's top communications regulator, Brendan Carr appears to be running …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
Papers please: Trump employs proof of identity tactic to monitor Americans
Charlotte Kramon / Associated Press:
Trump order targets barcodes on ballots. They've long been a source of misinformation
Moira Donegan / The Guardian:
Republicans are raiding childcare funding - to push women out of the workforce
Steven Beschloss / America, America:
Heeding the Warnings  —  Those of us committed to saving our democracy share the same task …
Wall Street Journal:
Will Anyone Take the Factory Jobs Trump Wants to Bring Back to America?
Harry Farley / BBC:
UK-EU deal a ‘win-win’, Starmer says, as Badenoch brands it a ‘sell-out’
Discussion: UPI and Semafor
Daniel Waldenström / Foreign Affairs:
The Inequality Myth  —  Western Societies Are Growing More Equal, Not Less  —  Daniel Waldenstrom
 Earlier Items: 
Bloomberg:
Iran Nuke Deal Should End Threat, Not Postpone It
Peter Smith / Associated Press:
Critics say Trump's religion agenda will benefit conservative Christians the most
Chris Geidner / Law Dork:
Matt Kacsmaryk shouldn't be a judge
Discussion: PinkNews
 

 
From Techmeme:

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Netflix agrees to acquire WBD's studios and streaming business in an $82.7B cash-and-stock deal, including debt, to close after WBD splits in two in Q3 2026

Liv McMahon / BBC:
Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr denounce the EU's €120M X fine

New York Times:
The New York Times sues Perplexity, claiming the AI startup violated its copyrights and kept using its content despite repeated demands over the past 18 months

 
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