Top Items:

Inside Musk's Aggressive Incursion Into the Federal Government — 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 as his team sweeps through agencies …
Discussion:
Associated Press
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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 »

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” …
Discussion:
Fortune, The Daily Wire, The Information and USA Today

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 …
Discussion:
American Greatness, NBC News and USA Today

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 …
Discussion:
BBC, The Daily Beast, American Prospect, Reuters, NBC News, Raw Story, Denver Post, ABC News, Forbes, Mercury News, Wall Street Journal, Federal News Network, Steady, Associated Press, Politico, WUSA, New York Times, Common Dreams, Slate, Fox Business, RedState, The Independent, DNyuz, WTOP News, Daily Kos, The Daily Sceptic, Washington Examiner, NOTUS, The Daily Wire and Breitbart

Musk's superteam of former iPad babies — Read to the end for Plimbo … Many other government websites faced outages throughout the weekend as they scrambled to figure out exactly how to comply with the instructions being sent out by the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Elon Musk is serving as a ‘special government employee,’ White House says
Discussion:
Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, Drop Site News, NPR, Rolling Stone, Forbes, Mediaite and Associated Press
Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
Elon Musk Is President
Elon Musk Is President
Discussion:
The UnPopulist, Axios, Reuters, RedState, New York Magazine, Daily Mail, USA Today and E&E News
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Warren Questions Bessent Over Musk Access to Treasury Payment System
Warren Questions Bessent Over Musk Access to Treasury Payment System
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government
The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government
Discussion:
NPR, Americans for Financial Reform, New York Post, Advocate, Techdirt and The Post Millennial
Politico:
Unions sue to block Musk team's access to Treasury payments
Unions sue to block Musk team's access to Treasury payments
Discussion:
The Hill, Bloomberg, Axios, The Verge, KTLA, PoliticusUSA and The Post Millennial
Cybele Mayes-Osterman / USA Today:
‘Fork off’: Protesters gather outside OPM to condemn Elon Musk ‘stealing’ personal data
‘Fork off’: Protesters gather outside OPM to condemn Elon Musk ‘stealing’ personal data
Discussion:
New Republic, Daily Mail, Raw Story, Blaze Media and GovExec.com
Caleb Ecarma / Popular Information:
Musk associates given unfettered access to private data of government employees
Musk associates given unfettered access to private data of government employees
Discussion:
DCMediaGroup, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Column
Cathy Gellis / Techdirt:
Musk's Takeover Of The Government's Computer Systems Needs To Be Understood As A Cyberattack, Or Worse
Clara Jeffery / Mother Jones:
Nobody Voted for Elon Musk

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 …
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Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz puts a hold on Trump's State Department nominees — The move comes after Elon Musk said he and Trump would shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. — WASHINGTON — Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said Monday he's placing a “blanket hold” …

‘What is happening here is illegal’: Dem senator confronts security at USAID headquarters
Discussion:
Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CBS News, GovExec.com and MPR News
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
Hakeem Jeffries wants funding freeze ‘choked off’ in spending deal
Hakeem Jeffries wants funding freeze ‘choked off’ in spending deal
Discussion:
Democratic Leader … and Axios
Politico:
The trade war in Trump's mind
The trade war in Trump's mind
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Times, The Daily Wire, USA Today, 19FortyFive, Breitbart, Washington Examiner and DNyuz
Burgess Everett / Semafor:
‘Trump will screw up’: Schumer plots the Democratic comeback
‘Trump will screw up’: Schumer plots the Democratic comeback
Discussion:
Deep Learning State Machine and RedState

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 …
Discussion:
Reuters, Bloomberg Law, New Republic, The Independent and NBC News, more at Techmeme »
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Ford ‘ripping up’ Ontario's $100M contract with Elon Musk's Starlink in wake of U.S. tariffs
John Paul Tasker / CBC News:
Trump to pause promised tariffs for 30 days after speaking with Trudeau
Trump to pause promised tariffs for 30 days after speaking with Trudeau
Discussion:
CNBC, Politico, Reuters, USA Today, Global News, Detroit Free Press, New York Post, Breitbart, DNyuz and Daily Mail
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Musk Says Trump Wants to Shut Down U.S. Foreign Aid Agency
Trump Administration Live Updates: Musk Says Trump Wants to Shut Down U.S. Foreign Aid Agency
New York Times:
Live Updates: Mexico Reaches Deal With U.S. to Delay Trump Tariffs
Live Updates: Mexico Reaches Deal With U.S. to Delay Trump Tariffs
Discussion:
Vox, Reuters, NPR, CNBC, New York Post, New York Daily News, PBS NewsHour, Global News, Associated Press, HotAir, KFMB, Slate, The Contrarian, American Enterprise Institute, The Guardian, Jacobin and freebeacon.com
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
CONSTITUTIONAL STANDOFF — *Special Alert from The Contrarian* — Public opposition …
Laurel Wamsley / NPR:
Treasury Secretary Bessent, tapped to run CFPB, orders staff to halt work
Treasury Secretary Bessent, tapped to run CFPB, orders staff to halt work
Discussion:
Scripps News, Consumer Financial …, CNBC, Politico, consumerbankers.com, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, RedState, UPI and Fox Business
Politico:
Trump backs off tariff threat with Mexico, digs in on Canada
Trump backs off tariff threat with Mexico, digs in on Canada
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Post, CNN, NBC News, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Raw Story, Business Insider, NPR, Breitbart, DNyuz, CNBC, ABC News, Politico, 6abc, The Gateway Pundit, Global News, Associated Press, West Virginia Watch, WAGA-TV, American Enterprise Institute, The Daily Signal, The Independent, Tennessee Star, Blaze Media, Los Angeles Times, PoliticusUSA, Texas Standard, The National Pulse, UPI, American Greatness, Al Jazeera, Boston Herald, New Republic, Scripps News and CBS News
Sam Sutton / Politico:
The oracle of Biden's inflation woes has a warning for Trump
The oracle of Biden's inflation woes has a warning for Trump
Discussion:
Business Insider, Fox News, Fortune and Raw Story

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 …
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, Politico, New York Post, RedState, The Guardian, USA Today, Townhall, Raw Story, Jewish Insider and Scripps News
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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 …

Trump II Punishes Fed Workers For Attending Trump I Diversity Training
Discussion:
ABC News

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
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Judge signals plan to further block Trump spending freeze
Discussion:
Axios, Bloomberg, Reuters, E&E News, RedState, Ohio Capital Journal, WTTG-TV, WUSA, USA Today and Associated Press
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Judge Further Blocks White House Spending Freeze
Judge Further Blocks White House Spending Freeze
Discussion:
Raw Story, Civil Discourse … and DNyuz

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 …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, The Root, The Independent and The Gateway Pundit
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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 …
Discussion:
Fox News and DNyuz, more at Mediagazer »
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Brian Stelter / CNN:
The FCC's battle with CBS over its Harris interview is raising red flags
The FCC's battle with CBS over its Harris interview is raising red flags
Discussion:
New York Post, Daily Mail, Washington Examiner and Newsbusters
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 …

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 …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Associated Press, The Independent and Mediaite
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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 …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Fox News, RedState, Raw Story, Townhall, Politico, New York Post, Blaze Media, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, CBS News, New York Times, DNyuz and The Daily Caller
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Connor O'Brien / Politico:
Collins, Lankford back Gabbard for top Intel job ahead of committee vote
Collins, Lankford back Gabbard for top Intel job ahead of committee vote
Discussion:
Bangor Daily News

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.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, TechCrunch, NBC News, Fox News, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal, UPI, IJR, CBS News, New Republic, Hollywood Life and The Daily Wire, more at Techmeme »

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

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 …
Discussion:
Wired, The Daily Signal, Washington Examiner, New Republic, New York Post and The Daily Wire