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10:35 PM ET, February 3, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Elon Musk's Blitz Shakes U.S. Government as He Sweeps Through Agencies  —  The billionaire is creating major upheaval as his team sweeps through agencies, in what has been an extraordinary flexing of power by a private individual.  —  The billionaire is creating major upheaval …
RELATED:
Alexander Ward / Wall Street Journal:
Democratic Senator Says He Will Stall Trump Nominees Until USAID Is Back  —  Schatz said he would hold up Trump's diplomatic confirmations  —  WASHINGTON—Sen. Brian Schatz (D., Hawaii) said he would place a “blanket hold” on all of President Trump's State Department nominees until …
Matt Shuham / HuffPost:
Elon Musk Suggests Getting Rid Of All Regulations In Midnight Call  —  “If it's not possible now, it'll never be possible,” Musk said of his proposal to simply ignore all federal regulation as a baseline.  —  LOADING  —  President Donald Trump's “government efficiency” …
Denise Cana / Slate:
I'm a Federal Worker.  Elon Musk's Government Data Heist Is the Entire Ballgame.  —  On Friday night, reports emerged that Elon Musk's aides had tussled with Office of Personnel Management and Treasury staffers while demanding access to troves of information about federal employees.
Discussion: Vox
Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
Elon Musk Is President  —  He did not receive a single vote.  He did not get confirmed.  He does not receive a government paycheck.  —  The world's richest man has declared war on the federal government and, in a matter of days, has moved to slash its size and reach, while gaining access to some of its most sensitive secrets.
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government  —  Elon Musk's bureaucratic coup is underway.  —  Elon Musk is not the president, but it does appear that he—a foreign-born, unelected billionaire who was not confirmed by Congress—is exercising profound influence …
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
CFPB halts work after Trump appoints Bessent as acting head  —  The consumer watchdog agency was formed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.  Elon Musk wants to “delete” it.  —  President Donald Trump on Monday appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the acting director …
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
CONSTITUTIONAL STANDOFF  —  *Special Alert from The Contrarian*  —  Public opposition to the most wholesale and jaw-dropping violation of Americans' privacy and President Trump's unilateral outsourcing of the executive branch's operation to a private individual, Elon Musk, has taken hold.
NBC News:
Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz puts a hold on Trump's State Department nominees
Discussion: The Hill
Associated Press:
Trump and Musk move to dismantle USAID, igniting battle with Democratic lawmakers
Politico:
DOGE's access to federal data is ‘an absolute nightmare,’ legal experts warn
Discussion: American Prospect
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Musk Says Trump Wants to Shut Down U.S. Foreign Aid Agency
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Warren Questions Bessent Over Musk Access to Treasury Payment System
Laurel Wamsley / NPR:
Treasury Secretary Bessent, tapped to run CFPB, orders staff to halt work
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Democrats flood the zone with acts of anti-Trump resistance
Discussion: NCJA
Grace Yarrow / Politico:
Trump's USDA pick sails through committee
Discussion: Fox News and Roll Call
Washington Post:
Trump preps order to dismantle Education Dept. as DOGE probes data  —  Closing the agency would require congressional approval, so the new administration hopes to diminish it in the meantime.  —  President Donald Trump is preparing an executive order aimed at eventually closing the Education Department and …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Advisers Weigh Plan to Dismantle Education Department  —  Administration officials are discussing executive order that could shut down key functions of the agency  —  Trump administration officials are weighing executive actions to dismantle the Education Department as part of the campaign …
Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo:   Trump II Punishes Fed Workers For Attending Trump I Diversity Training
Juan Perez Jr / Politico:
Trump administration finalizing plans to shutter Education Department
Discussion: NBC News
Arthur Jones II / ABC News:
‘Paid administrative hell’: Some Department of Education staff put on leave after Trump's DEI order
Discussion: Raw Story and Townhall
NBC News:
USAID personnel told to stay away from headquarters after Elon Musk's shutdown comments  —  Marocco held several national security positions during the first Trump administration, including at USAID, where he tried to consolidate power and slash funding.  —  WASHINGTON — Secretary …
RELATED:
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Elon Musk's DOGE Is Still Blocking HIV/AIDS Relief Exempted From Foreign Aid Cuts  —  The Trump Administration claims it is allowing “lifesaving” foreign aid to continue, but in reality, DOGE is preventing vital work on HIV and AIDS from saving lives.  —  One of President Donald Trump's …
John Paul Tasker / CBC News:
Trump to pause promised tariffs for 30 days after speaking with Trudeau  —  Trump, Trudeau spoke last hour for the second time today  —  Trump, Trudeau have 2nd phone call as tariff deadline nears  —  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump will hold off …
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump backs off tariff threat with Mexico, digs in on Canada
New York Times:
Live Updates: Mexico Reaches Deal With U.S. to Delay Trump Tariffs
New York Times:
Trump's Trade Move Could Increase Costs for Many Online Goods
Courtney Cohn / Democracy Docket:
DOJ Says Trump Administration Doesn't Have to Follow Court Order Halting Funding Freeze  —  The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argued Monday that a federal court order blocking President Donald Trump's federal funding freeze doesn't halt the administration's efforts.
Discussion: Roll Call and Law & Crime
RELATED:
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Elon Musk Installs Illegal Server to Seize All Federal Workers' Data  —  Elon Musk has taken control of government employees' private data by having his cronies illegally install a commercial server at the Office of Personnel Management.  —  Musk and his handpicked associates at the fake …
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
A Coup Is In Progress In America  —  A coup is underway in the United States, and we must stop pretending otherwise.  The signs are unmistakable and accelerating: in just the past 48 hours, Elon Musk's DOGE commission has seized control of Treasury payment systems and gained unauthorized access …
CNN:
Trump appoints speechwriter fired for attending conference with White nationalists to top State Department role  —  Darren Beattie, a former Donald Trump speechwriter who was fired in 2018 after CNN revealed he spoke at a conference attended by White nationalists, has been elevated to a top job …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Top ‘60 Minutes’ Producer Says He Will Not Apologize Over Trump Lawsuit  —  Bill Owens, the show's executive producer, addressed his staff as CBS's parent company, Paramount, pursues a legal settlement with the president.  —  The head of “60 Minutes” told the show's staff on Monday …
RELATED:
Al Weaver / The Hill:
GOP's Susan Collins to back Tulsi Gabbard confirmation  —  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced on Monday that she will support Tulsi Gabbard to become director of national intelligence (DNI), giving her a key boost in her confirmation push.  —  Collins was considered a crucial swing vote …
RELATED:
Connor O'Brien / Politico:
Collins, Lankford back Gabbard for top Intel job ahead of committee vote
Discussion: Bangor Daily News
Reuters:
Trump orders creation of US sovereign wealth fund, says it could buy TikTok  —  U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ordering the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments to create a sovereign wealth fund and said it may purchase TikTok.  —  “We're going to stand this thing up within the next 12 months.
Nandika Chatterjee / The Daily Beast:
Musk Says He's ‘Deleted’ Popular Free IRS Tax Filing Program  —  WHO ASKED FOR THIS?  —  The online tax filing option on the IRS website had a strong bipartisan 76% approval rating from registered voters.  —  Kanye West's Naked Grammys Stunt Could Cost Him $20M  —  THE NAKED TRUTH
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
Hakeem Jeffries wants funding freeze ‘choked off’ in spending deal  —  House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a key demand Monday as a March 14 government funding deadline approaches, saying President Donald Trump's recent federal spending freeze “must be choked off” …
RELATED:
Burgess Everett / Semafor:
‘Trump will screw up’: Schumer plots the Democratic comeback
 
 
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 More Items: 
The White House:
At USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs Deep
Discussion: Blaze Media
Andrea Margolis / Fox News:
Trump announces new picks including deputy director of the CIA, chief Pentagon spokesman
Discussion: Breitbart and Raw Story
Joan Westenberg / The Index:
Elon Musk Is an Existential Threat to Big Tech
afsa.org:
Statement by AFSA on Decision to Dismantle USAID
Discussion: Fox News
Politico:
Senate confirms Chris Wright as Trump's energy secretary
Clara Jeffery / Mother Jones:
Nobody Voted for Elon Musk
 Earlier Items: 
Cathy Gellis / Techdirt:
Musk's Takeover Of The Government's Computer Systems Needs To Be Understood As A Cyberattack, Or Worse
New York Times:
‘Gender Ideology’ Ban Is Already Harming Health, Experts Say
Discussion: Daily Mail and DNyuz
Rob Golum / Bloomberg:
Former President Joe Biden Signs With Talent Agency CAA
Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:
Musk's superteam of former iPad babies
Elizabeth Nolan Brown / Reason:
No, Elon: It Isn't Illegal To Boycott X
Megan Messerly / Politico:
US to again withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, stop UNRWA funding
Rochelle Raveendran / CBC News:
Ford ‘ripping up’ Ontario's $100M contract with Elon Musk's Starlink in wake of U.S. tariffs
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta plans major investment in AI-powered humanoid robots, with an initial focus on household chores, and has formed a new team within Reality Labs

Cade Metz / New York Times:
OpenAI's board rejects the $97.4B bid by Elon Musk and a consortium of investors, saying they reject “Musk's latest attempt to disrupt his competition”

Gillian Tan / Bloomberg:
Source: xAI is canvassing potential investors, including Sequoia Capital and a16z, for a roughly $10B funding round that would value the company at about $75B
 
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