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4:00 PM ET, May 20, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
STAT:
STAT+: FDA will limit Covid vaccines to people over 65 or at high risk of serious illness, leaders say  —  The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will limit access to Covid-19 vaccines going forward to people 65 years of age and older and others who are at high risk …
RELATED:
New York Times:
F.D.A. Poised to Restrict Access to Covid Vaccines  —  Agency leaders said there was evidence to justify approval only for older people and those with medical conditions.  Many others may not be able to get the shots.  —  The Food and Drug Administration will permit Covid vaccines for adults …
Discussion: CBS News and ZeroHedge News
Stef W. Kight / Axios:
Scoop: Johnson privately cautions Senate GOP on Trump's budget bill  —  House Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned the Senate in a closed door lunch on Tuesday not to make big changes to the reconciliation bill, Axios has learned.  —  Why it matters: If Johnson can get his conference in line …
RELATED:
NOTUS:
'He's Not a Detail Guy': Trump Pitches Very Different Reconciliation Bill to House GOP  —  “Don't fuck around with Medicaid,” Trump told House Republicans, according to a source in the room.  — Copy  —  President Donald Trump arrived on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning with a clear mission …
Benjamin Guggenheim / Politico:
Trump appears to be losing patience with blue-state Republicans on SALT  —  President Donald Trump took a surprising swipe Tuesday at efforts to increase a key tax deduction — underscoring that the main beneficiaries would be Democratic “governors from New York, Illinois and California.”
Politico:
Massie unmoved on Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill’ after president's personal pitch  —  President Donald Trump called Rep. Thomas Massie a “grandstander” during his visit to the Capitol Tuesday morning to whip support for his “big, beautiful bill,” after previously calling for other Republicans …
Edward Luce / Financial Times:   Trumpism's growing split: Bannon vs plutocrats
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Rubio to Van Hollen: We deported gang members, ‘including the one you had a margarita with’
The Hill:
Live updates: Trump fails to win over SALT Republicans
Jeremy Herb / CNN:
‘What are we doing here?’:  Democrats were shocked at Biden's decline but stayed quiet, according to new book  —  In the final two years of his presidency, Joe Biden had private moments where he could not recall the names of top aides, had an increasingly limited private schedule …
RELATED:
James Kirchick / Politico:
All the President's Enablers  —  Three books on Joe Biden's presidency jointly paint …
Wall Street Journal:
Joe Biden Had Unrivaled Medical Care. How Did His Cancer Go Undetected?
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist  —  Update: We have published a follow-up to this article with more details about how this happened.  —  The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper's “Best of Summer” section published over the weekend contains a guide …
April Rubin / Axios:
Noem botches habeas corpus questions at Senate hearing  —  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem botched questions about habeas corpus at a Senate hearing Tuesday, falsely asserting the check on the government's power to detain people actually gives President Trump a “constitutional right” to conduct deportations.
Discussion: NextDraft, USA Today and Reason
RELATED:
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Kristi Noem flunks an important test on the basic meaning of habeas corpus
Axios:
Trump's deference to Putin stunned European leaders on call  —  Ukrainian President Zelensky and five other European leaders joined a conference call with President Trump immediately after his call with Vladimir Putin on Monday hoping to hear that Putin had agreed to a ceasefire …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Backs Off His Demand That Russia Declare a Cease-Fire in Ukraine
Julius Washington / Congressman Hakeem Jeffries:
JOINT DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP STATEMENT ON REP. LaMONICA McIVER  —  Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Vice Chair Ted Lieu and Assistant Leader Joe Neguse released the following statement:  —  The criminal charge …
RELATED:
CNN:
DOJ charges congresswoman with assault in incident at ICE facility, drops case against Newark mayor
Politico:
Feds charge New Jersey congressmember with assault
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
Donald Trump and the power of the big (fake) number  —  🔌 🤖 💭 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  PN is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already …
RELATED:
Will Saletan / The Bulwark:   The Gulf of Anti-America  —  ON FRIDAY, AS HE RETURNED to the United States from a four …
Paul Campos / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Very confused old man given test ride by dealership, thinks car is actually a gift  —  Pretty funny if not like a clown investigation here (gift link) from Maggie's farm.  —  TL;DR: Trump's announcement that Qatar was giving him a very special 747 that's been tricked out like a luxury jet …
Discussion: New York Times and Politico
RELATED:
Politico:
Virginia Republicans worry about their gubernatorial candidate who invoked slavery when criticizing DEI  —  Winsome Earle-Sears has had a sluggish start to her campaign.  Republicans are urging her to turn it around — or face a bloodbath this fall.  —  Virginia Republicans are bracing for November with a growing sense of doom.
Discussion: The Texas Tribune and Raw Story
Washington Post:
White House officials wanted to put federal workers ‘in trauma.’ It's working.  —  Federal workers describe struggling with panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts.  “Why doesn't anyone care?”  —  For this story, Post reporters interviewed more than 30 current and former federal employees.
Discussion: Raw Story
Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:
DOGE sought access to Government Publishing Office  —  Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative sought last week to gain access to the government's central publishing operation, a congressional offshoot that provides public access to federal documents.
Paul Krugman:
How Trump Will Make the Tariff Shock Worse  —  In the fall of 1979, as I was just beginning my teaching career at MIT, I went to an economics conference in Vermont.  I made the trip in a state of high anxiety — not because I was worried about my presentation, but because I was driving.
RELATED:
Sidney Blumenthal / The Guardian:   Trump can complain all he wants - but he can't stop his own economic mess
Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:
Democrats Throw Money at a Problem: Countering G.O.P. Clout Online  —  At private gatherings, strategists and donors are swapping ideas to help the party capture the digital mojo that helped President Trump win.  Yes, there's a price tag.  —  Six months after the Democratic Party's crushing 2024 defeat …
Discussion: RedState
Politico:
Trump to announce $25B funding for Golden Dome project  —  The price tag matches the amount in the president's “big, beautiful bill” that lawmakers have yet to approve.  —  President Donald Trump will announce $25 billion for his “Golden Dome” defense project Tuesday afternoon …
Discussion: Bloomberg
Brian O'Neill / The Contrarian:
Romania.  Poland.  Portugal.  —  Earlier this month, I wrote a piece for The Contrarian about the results of national elections results in Canada, Australia, and Germany.  My message was cautious optimism.  Liberal democracy had eked out a few wins.  Not breakthroughs, but breathers.
Dan Primack / Axios:
Tesla, SpaceX reputations crater in new Axios Harris Poll 100  —  Tesla Motors and SpaceX saw their brand reputations crater in the past year, according to new Axios Harris Poll 100 survey results.  —  Why it matters: Elon Musk's polarizing political activism appears to have come at the expense …
Discussion: Fox Business
NBC News:
Elon Musk says he's going to do ‘a lot less’ political spending  —  Musk, who was the biggest donor in the 2024 political cycle, said he feels like he has “done enough” with political contributions.  —  Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a major benefactor to President Donald Trump …
Richard Luscombe / The Guardian:
Ron DeSantis's fall from grace: 'He's completely crashed to the ground'  —  Florida governor stands isolated from Trump and is feuding with Republicans at home - is he drifting to irrelevance?  —  These are challenging days for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, the man who would have been king.
Discussion: Raw Story
Washington Post:
Trump proposal to repatriate Ukrainians, Haitians would use foreign aid funds  —  Documents reviewed by The Post call for leveraging U.S. foreign assistance accounts to return migrants to conflict-afflicted nations, even as the administration has sought to cut such spending.
Bloomberg:
Trump U-Turns on New York Wind Farm in Pipeline Deal With Hochul  —  The Trump administration is allowing construction to resume on a $5 billion wind farm off Long Island after reaching a deal with New York Governor Kathy Hochul that could allow new natural gas pipelines to be built in the state.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Cate Cauguiran / ABC7:
DOJ investigating Chicago hiring practices amid backlash over Mayor Johnson's viral comments
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Supreme Court sides with Maine Republican censured for transgender athlete post
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Democrats Unveil DOGE BROS Act To Punish People For Meddling In Private Data
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
The Joe Biden cancer story that matters most
Discussion: ABC News
Jonah E. Bromwich / New York Times:
Why Mahmoud Khalil Remains in Detention as Other Protesters Are Freed
A. Anantha Lakshmi / Financial Times:
Trump Organization to discuss new Vietnam tower as trade talks continue
 Earlier Items: 
Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:
The President Will Destroy You Now  —  One thing stands out amid all the chaos …
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
What It's Like to Interview for a Job at DOGE
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Words & Phrases We Can Do Without
Discussion: UPI
Alison Durkee / Forbes:
Supreme Court Won't Take Up Case Because Too Many Justices Recused Themselves
Discussion: Washington Post