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9:45 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:
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, more at Techmeme »
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” …
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 …
Associated Press:
Trump and Musk move to dismantle USAID, igniting battle with Democratic lawmakers  —  The Trump administration and billionaire ally Elon Musk moved to eradicate the agency that provides crucial aid that funds education and fights starvation, epidemic and poverty overseas …
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 …
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.
Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:   Musk's superteam of former iPad babies
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:   CONSTITUTIONAL STANDOFF  —  *Special Alert from The Contrarian*  —  Public opposition …
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
Politico:
DOGE's access to federal data is ‘an absolute nightmare,’ legal experts warn
Discussion: American Prospect
Laurel Wamsley / NPR:
Treasury Secretary Bessent, tapped to run CFPB, orders staff to halt work
Joan Westenberg / The Index:   Elon Musk Is an Existential Threat to Big Tech
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 …
RELATED:
NBC News:   Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz puts a hold on Trump's State Department nominees
Grace Yarrow / Politico:
Trump's USDA pick sails through committee
Discussion: Fox News and Roll Call
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
Hakeem Jeffries wants funding freeze ‘choked off’ in spending deal
Burgess Everett / Semafor:
‘Trump will screw up’: Schumer plots the Democratic comeback
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 …
RELATED:
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 …
Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo:
Trump II Punishes Fed Workers For Attending Trump I Diversity Training
Discussion: ABC News
Juan Perez Jr / Politico:   Trump administration finalizing plans to shutter Education Department
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:
New York Times:
Live Updates: Mexico Reaches Deal With U.S. to Delay Trump Tariffs
Politico:
Trump backs off tariff threat with Mexico, digs in on Canada
New York Times:
Trump's Trade Move Could Increase Costs for Many Online Goods
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:
Lauren Kent / CNN:
USAID workers at Washington HQ told to stay home on Monday in unexpected, early-morning email
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:
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
afsa.org:
Statement by AFSA on Decision to Dismantle USAID  —  Washington, D.C. - The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) strongly objects to the administration's decision to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  This will undermine U.S. national security …
Discussion: Fox News and NPR
Lisa Friedman / New York Times:
E.P.A. Tells More Than 1,000 They Could Be Fired ‘Immediately’  —  A spokeswoman for Lee Zeldin, the new head of the agency, said the goal was to create an “effective and efficient” federal work force.  —  The Trump administration has warned more than 1,100 Environmental Protection Agency employees …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Wall Street Journal:
The 24-Hour Blitz That Flipped One Senator's Vote from No to Yes on Hegseth
Politico:
Senate confirms Chris Wright as Trump's energy secretary
Cathy Gellis / Techdirt:
Musk's Takeover Of The Government's Computer Systems Needs To Be Understood As A Cyberattack, Or Worse
US Department of Justice:
Russian and Uzbek Nationals Charged with Conspiracy to File False Voter Registration Applications
 Earlier Items: 
Executive Functions:
The Trump Executive Orders as “Radical Constitutionalism”
Rob Golum / Bloomberg:
Former President Joe Biden Signs With Talent Agency CAA
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
Reuters:
Trump plans to invoke obscure 18th century wartime law in bid for mass deportations
Discussion: Townhall
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Sara Fischer / Axios:
The White House says it will bar AP from events in the Oval Office and on Air Force One over AP's refusal to use “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico”

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
James and Kathryn Murdoch detail the succession battle that has pitted James and Lachlan Murdoch against each other, leaving the family empire's future unclear

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube TV says it has “reached a short term extension” to keep Paramount's content, including CBS and Nickelodeon, “as we work toward a deal”
 
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