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5:55 PM ET, February 3, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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:
Associated Press:
Democrats push back after Musk says Trump agrees to close USAID and workers are kept out  —  Democrats have delivered a strong rebuke against the Trump administration's attempts to gut an agency that provides crucial aid overseas to fund education and fight starvation and disease …
Lauren Kent / CNN:
USAID workers at Washington HQ told to stay home on Monday in unexpected, early-morning email  —  The main office of the US Agency for International Development in Washington was unexpectedly closed Monday and workers were emailed shortly after midnight that they should not come in …
NBC News:
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” …
Discussion: RedState, PoliticusUSA and Reuters
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Congressional Democrats denied entry to USAID building
Discussion: ABC News and Baltimore Sun
Politico:
Trump administration moves to further undercut USAID
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.
more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Caleb Ecarma / Popular Information:
Musk associates given unfettered access to private data of government employees  —  Several of Elon Musk's associates installed at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have received unprecedented access to federal human resources databases containing sensitive personal information for millions of federal employees.
Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story and The Column
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
The Twitter Files Playbook Comes For The US Government
Discussion: Advocate
John Zangas / DCMediaGroup:   Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach
Andrew Prokop / Vox:   What Trump and Musk are doing could change the American system forever
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:   Elon Musk Installs Illegal Server to Seize All Federal Workers' Data
New York Times:
Live Updates: Mexico Reaches Deal With U.S. to Delay Trump Tariffs  —  President Trump said he would pause tariffs on Mexico for a month, but levies on Canada and China were still set to take effect on Tuesday.  U.S. shares fell at the opening bell, following drops in Asian and European markets, amid fears of a trade war.
RELATED:
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 …
Reuters:
White House: Mexico is ‘serious’, Canada appears to have ‘misunderstood’ Trump's executive order  —  The White House said on Monday it has noticed that Mexico is “serious” about President Donald Trump's executive order on tariffs but Canada has “misunderstood” it.
Kevin Shalvey / ABC News:
Trump 2nd term live updates: Marco Rubio made acting administrator of USAID: Sources
Sam Sutton / Politico:
The oracle of Biden's inflation woes has a warning for Trump
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Trump backs down on Mexico tariffs after Mexican president pledges border troops
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.
RELATED:
Politico:
Judge signals plan to further block Trump spending freeze
Discussion: USA Today and Associated Press
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 …
Discussion: Forbes and CBS News
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 …
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The GOP's meek acquiescence to Trump's power grabs
Discussion: NOTUS and Wall Street Journal
Arthur Jones II / ABC News:
‘Paid administrative hell’: Some Department of Education staff put on leave after Trump's DEI order
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.
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Trump Signs Action Directing Creation of Sovereign Wealth Fund
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 …
RELATED:
Dell Cameron / Wired:
Pronouns Are Being Forcibly Removed From Government Email Signatures
Discussion: Advocate and PinkNews
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 …
RELATED:
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Warren Questions Bessent Over Musk Access to Treasury Payment System  —  In a letter to the Treasury secretary, the Democratic senator warned against meddling with a system that processes trillions of dollars of transactions.  —  Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent a letter …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
RFK Jr. vote poses key test for Bill Cassidy, endangered Louisiana senator  —  The fate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to run HHS may rest with a Republican wrestling with his training as a physician and his instincts as a politician.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to serve …
RELATED:
Daniel Payne / Politico:
Bill Cassidy's decision on RFK Jr. could jeopardize his Senate career
Discussion: Fox News
Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:
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).
Rochelle Raveendran / CBC News:
Ford ‘ripping up’ Ontario's $100M contract with Elon Musk's Starlink in wake of U.S. tariffs  —  Musk part of President Donald Trump's team that wants to destroy families, Ford says  —  Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is “ripping up” Ontario's nearly $100 million contract …
Reuters:
Trump plans to invoke obscure 18th century wartime law in bid for mass deportations  —  President Donald Trump is set to test the limits of his immigration crackdown by invoking a wartime law to deport immigrants alleged to be gang members without court hearings, a broad authority …
Discussion: The Independent and Reuters
US Department of Justice:
Russian and Uzbek Nationals Charged with Conspiracy to File False Voter Registration Applications  —  For Immediate Release  —  A Russian national and an Uzbek national, both residing in Florida, were arrested for their alleged participation in a scheme to submit false and fraudulent voter …
Burgess Everett / Semafor:
‘Trump will screw up’: Schumer plots the Democratic comeback  —  Chuck Schumer's advice for Democrats staring at a long two or more years out of power: Just wait.  —  “Trump will screw up,” he told Semafor in an interview.  —  The Senate minority leader and his 47-member caucus finally got …
 
 
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 More Items: 
New York Times:
‘Gender Ideology’ Ban Is Already Harming Health, Experts Say
Discussion: DNyuz
Executive Functions:
The Trump Executive Orders as “Radical Constitutionalism”
NOTUS:
Key State Department Programs ‘Wiped Out’ After Dozens of Contractors Fired
Nick Wadhams / Bloomberg:
Trump-Appointed DC Attorney Offers to Protect Musk's DOGE Staff
Discussion: USA Today and Reuters
Charlotte Graham-McLay / Associated Press:
RFK Jr. misled the US Senate on measles deaths, Samoa's health chief says
New York Times:
Why Are Investigators Focused on Night-Vision Goggles in the Deadly Midair Crash?
Kate Brumback / Associated Press:
Justice Department restores funding for programs that provide guidance in immigration courts
Discussion: WUSA and Associated Press
 Earlier Items: 
Associated Press:
Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow preparing to enter US Senate race in Michigan, AP sources say
Bryan Metzger / Business Insider:
Elon Musk is officially an employee of the US government — but he's not getting a paycheck
Elizabeth Nolan Brown / Reason:
No, Elon: It Isn't Illegal To Boycott X
Meredith Shiner / New Republic:
Primary Every Democrat
Discussion: Punchbowl News
Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump's meme coin made nearly $100 million in trading fees, as small traders lost money
Discussion: MSNBC and DNyuz, more at Techmeme »
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Nectar Gan / CNN:
Chinese nationalists and state media praise Trump's decision to dismantle VOA, RFA, and other US-funded media outlets that broadcast to authoritarian regimes

Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks plans to step down in spring 2025; President Biden had renominated Starks in 2023 for a new term that ends in 2027

Reuters:
Tencent Music reports Q4 revenue up 8.2% YoY to ~$1.03B, above ~$1.01B est., social entertainment services revenue down 13% to ~$225M, and net profit up 47.3%
 
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