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12:35 PM ET, May 19, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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.
Discussion: CBS News
RELATED:
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 …
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.
Discussion: Forbes
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.
The Hill:
Republicans advance Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill’ in unusual late-night vote
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Republicans want to break up House's Trump bill into bite-sized pieces
Discussion: Vox and Townhall
NBC News:
Key House committee advances Trump agenda bill after appeasing conservatives
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
IJR:
'That's Why I'm Proudly An Independent': Bernie Sanders Agrees Democrats Are ‘Threat To Democracy’
Discussion: Louder With Crowder
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:
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
Politico:   Playbook: Ukraine endgame?
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 …
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 and Newsweek
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.
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.
David Gilmour / Mediaite:
'He's Had This For Many Years': Doctor Shocks Joe Scarborough With Biden Cancer Analysis  —  Morning Joe hosts were left stunned as a cancer doctor suggested Joe Biden's advanced prostate cancer should have been caught earlier and floated the possibility that the former president either skipped …
RELATED:
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 …
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
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 …
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Bluesky Is Plotting a Total Takeover of the Social Internet  —  All the lefties fled to Bluesky following Elon Musk's Twitter takeover.  But CEO Jay Graber says the app is for everyone—and could revolutionize how people communicate online.  —  as i waited to meet with Jay Graber …
Ben Berkowitz / Axios:
The argument's over: Americans pay for tariffs  —  The Trump administration conceded this weekend what economists, CEOs and consumers already knew: Americans pay for tariffs.  —  Why it matters: Nearly a decade of Trump trade arguments held that foreign countries, not Americans, paid the ultimate cost of a trade war.
Discussion: Fortune, The Daily Caller and KDFX-TV
Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
Papers please: Trump employs proof of identity tactic to monitor Americans  —  The Trump administration has instated all sorts of requirements to monitor Americans, particularly immigrants in its first months.  —  The big picture: From an undocumented immigrant registry to proof-of-citizenship for voting …
Steven Beschloss / America, America:
Heeding the Warnings  —  Those of us committed to saving our democracy share the same task: To expand the awareness of people we know and meet about the dangers in our midst.  For all of us who've been paying attention to the dismantling of our democracy and the cruel, arrogant and reckless …
Discussion: The Moderate Voice
John Hendel / Politico:
A federal agency goes full Trumpist  —  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 a Trumpian playbook to transform a long-independent agency.
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 …
Daniel Waldenström / Foreign Affairs:
The Inequality Myth  —  Western Societies Are Growing More Equal, Not Less  —  Daniel Waldenstrom  —  Spend a few minutes browsing political commentary or scrolling social media and you will discover a seemingly settled truth: inequality in the West is soaring, the middle class is being hollowed out …
 
 
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 More Items: 
New York Post:
How Trump's family-linked crypto deals are threatening a ‘Hunter Biden-style’ scandal at the White House
Discussion: Wall Street Journal, CNBC and Raw Story
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
Wall Street Journal:
Will Anyone Take the Factory Jobs Trump Wants to Bring Back to America?
 Earlier Items: 
Victor Davis Hanson / American Greatness:
The FBI Washington Headquarters Won't Be Missed
Discussion: Breitbart
Ryan Lucas / NPR:
70% of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division lawyers are leaving because of Trump's reshaping
Discussion: Raw Story
George Packer / The Atlantic:
The Talented Mr. Vance  —  J. D. Vance could have brought the country's conflicting strands together.
USA Today:
Britain agrees trade and defense reset with European Union
Chris Geidner / Law Dork:
Matt Kacsmaryk shouldn't be a judge
Discussion: PinkNews