Top Items:

A 25-Year-Old With Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System — The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department. It's also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.
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Federal Workers Sue to Disconnect DOGE Server — Two federal workers, citing reports that Elon Musk's associates are operating an illegally connected email server at OPM, seek a restraining order. — Federal employees are seeking a temporary restraining order as part of a class action lawsuit accusing …

Musk Cronies Dive Into Treasury Dept Payments Code Base — Overnight, Wired reported that, contrary to published reports that DOGE operatives at the Treasury Department are limited to “read only” access to department payment systems, this is not true. A 25-year-old DOGE operative named Marko Elez …

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 …

Bessent tells lawmakers Musk's DOGE does not control Treasury payments system — The remarks came during a two-hour gathering between the Treasury secretary and GOP members of the House Financial Services Committee. — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent privately reassured Republican lawmakers Monday …
Discussion:
FedScoop, Truthout, HuffPost, MarketWatch, Metro.co.uk, Townhall, The Verge, ABC News, Baltimore Sun, Bloomberg, Defense One and Marketplace

Day Five of the Trump-Musk Treasury Payments Crisis of 2025: Not “Read Only” access anymore — If you are a current or former career Bureau of the Fiscal Service Employee, especially if you're a legacy IT programmer with years of experience and especially if you are a COBOL programmer currently working …
Discussion:
Raw Story

What the Musk is Happening? — When writing posts for this newsletter, I like to have a clear focus and offer a tightly argued thesis, backed by data. This, however, won't be that kind of post. If I had to summarize the state of affairs right now, I would quote Charlie Brown: “Aaugh!”
Discussion:
Raw Story

“Hitler actually had some good ideas”: Musk's covert coup is guided by internet trolls
Discussion:
WTTG-TV and Digby's Hullabaloo
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government
The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Boston.com, FOX 11 Los Angeles, DNyuz, Twitchy, Al Jazeera, Deep Left Field, The Freedom Academy …, Raw Story, NPR, New Republic, USA Today, The UnPopulist, Americans for Financial Reform, NBC News, The Post Millennial, Daily Mail, New York Post, Techdirt, Associated Press, Advocate and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

About 20,000 federal workers took “buyout” so far, official says — About 20,000 federal workers have accepted the “buyout” offer put forward by the Trump administration last week, a senior administration official tells Axios. … - The offer is open through Thursday, meaning the total could rise …
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Elon Musk's Midnight Takeover
Discussion:
The Guardian, Pharyngula, The Gateway Pundit and New Republic
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
We Did This to Ourselves — Four years ago today, the House of Representatives voted to remove …
We Did This to Ourselves — Four years ago today, the House of Representatives voted to remove …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
RFK Jr. passes key HHS confirmation hurdle with Senate panel vote — President Donald Trump's pick to lead Health and Human Services faced tough questioning in hearings about vaccines, abortion and other major health-care issues.
Discussion:
STAT
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Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
RFK Jr. survives Senate committee vote for HHS nomination
RFK Jr. survives Senate committee vote for HHS nomination
Discussion:
Associated Press, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Media Matters for America, Bloomberg, CBS News, New York Times, RedState, New York Post, WTTG-TV and Blaze Media
Alex Gangitano / The Hill:
Trump says ‘something really wrong’ with autism rates ahead RFK Jr. vote
Trump says ‘something really wrong’ with autism rates ahead RFK Jr. vote
Discussion:
The Guardian, Raw Story, Mediaite and Blaze Media
NBC News:
Senate panel advances RFK Jr.'s nomination to be health secretary
Senate panel advances RFK Jr.'s nomination to be health secretary
Discussion:
Raw Story, Politico, New York Times, The Hill, New York Magazine, NOTUS, Roll Call, NPR, Washington Examiner, New Republic, Source New Mexico, USA Today, Healthcare Dive, DNyuz, New York Daily News, Scripps News, Mediaite, IJR, Daily Mail, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, WSVN-TV, The American Conservative, Reuters, Washington Monthly, ABC News, Fox News, The Independent, The National Pulse, The Daily Caller and Washington Post

FBI agents sue to block DOJ from compiling list of officials who worked on Jan. 6 or Trump cases — The agents are fearful that the Trump-led Justice Department will exact punishment against employees deemed disloyal. — FBI agents who worked on cases stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios, The Independent, Florida Politics, Washingtonian, NBC News, Orlando Sentinel, Vox, CNN, Daily Mail, New Republic and The Contrarian
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‘Accidental’ F.B.I. Chief Builds a Following as Agency's Defender — Brian Driscoll was accidentally catapulted into the acting director's chair on Jan. 20 and has defended the bureau from the potential of mass firings, inspiring memes and satirical clips. — Brian Driscoll …
Discussion:
The Post Millennial

The Situation: What's Going on at the FBI?
Discussion:
HotAir and The Daily Beast
Asha Rangappa / The Freedom Academy with Asha Rangappa:
A Battle for the Soul of the FBI
A Battle for the Soul of the FBI
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation

Waffle House is placing a surcharge on every egg it sells — New York CNN — The soaring price of eggs has forced Waffle House to add a temporary surcharge on customers' orders. — The Georgia-based chain is adding a 50-cent charge per egg because of the “nationwide rise in cost of eggs …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, CBS News, DNyuz, New York Daily News, Fortune, New York Post, Associated Press, Crooks and Liars, Eater, WAGA-TV, WCSC-TV and Breitbart

White House preparing executive order to abolish the Department of Education — The planned order follows years of campaign promises from President Donald Trump to abolish the federal Education Department. — The White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education …

Here are the words putting science in the crosshairs of Trump's orders — National Science Foundation staff have been combing through thousands of active science research projects, alongside a list of keywords, to determine if they include activities that violate Trump's executive orders. — “Women.”
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
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El Salvador offers to house violent US criminals and deportees of any nationality in unprecedented deal — El Salvador has agreed to house violent US criminals and receive deportees of any nationality, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday, in an unprecedented …
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United States Department of State:
Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele
Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Human Events, ABC News, DNyuz, Associated Press, Daily Mail, NCJA, The Daily Wire, IJR, Fortune, The Independent, UPI, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Axios and Semafor

U.S. Begins Migrant Flights to Guantanamo Bay — The Trump administration has said it would expand operations at the American naval base in Cuba to hold up to 30,000 immigrants — WASHINGTON—The first flights carrying detained migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay have headed …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Independent and New York Post

Republican Senators Say They're Fine Handing Their Power to Elon Musk — Musk's actions may be unconstitutional but “nobody should bellyache about that,” Sen. Thom Tillis said. — Copy — Tech billionaire Elon Musk is working to shut down government agencies and cancel congressionally approved funding …
Discussion:
Grabien, HuffPost and Associated Press

Trump Claims Victory Over Canada, Mexico After Getting ... Basically Nothing — The president made a show of temporarily postponing a regional trade war after Mexico and Canada promised him things they were already doing — Donald Trump has temporarily delayed the implementation of tariffs …
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Wall Street Journal:
Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs
Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs
Discussion:
Techdirt, New York Times, The Economist, Mediaite, Chicago Tribune, Drezner's World, American Thinker, Raw Story, New York Post, Fox News, Boston Herald, NPR, The Daily Signal, RedState, One America News Network, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Daily Wire, freebeacon.com, Politico, New Republic, The American Conservative, MeidasTouch News, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, NBC News, The Poke, Bloomberg and USA Today

State audit finds overall unnecessary spending under former UF President Ben Sasse — Sasse's expenditures included more than $300,000 in private jet flights — A preliminary report from the Florida Auditor General found UF failed to prevent former President Ben Sasse from leveraging …

Affirmative action for white men — Since taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump has targeted so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs, also known as DEI. According to a January 21 executive order, “critical and influential institutions of American society …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Forward and Mediaite

Trump Is Testing Our Constitutional System. It's Doing Fine. — The president's flurry of illegal actions have been stopped by the courts. That's how it is supposed to work. — The Trump administration is subjecting the US constitutional system to a stress test.
Discussion:
ABC News

China counters with tariffs on US products. It will also investigate Google — China countered President Donald Trump's across-the-board tariffs on Chinese products with tariffs on select U.S. imports Tuesday, as well as announcing an antitrust investigation into Google and other trade measures.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, Reuters, Wired, MeidasTouch News, The Guardian, Quartz, WTOP News, The Independent, Associated Press, Bloomberg, The Information, Mediaite, NPR, DNyuz, Asia Times, Business Insider, WHYY, Baltimore Sun and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
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E.P.A. Demotes Career Employees Overseeing Science, Enforcement and More — A spokeswoman for the agency said the change was “common practice.” Others said it injects partisanship into jobs that have always been neutral. — The Environmental Protection Agency plans to demote career employees …
Discussion:
New Republic

Sen. Todd Young will back Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence — Sen. Todd Young said Tuesday he will support Donald Trump's embattled nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, improving her chances of confirmation. Facing a wave of political pressure …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Fox News, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Blaze Media, The Daily Wire, Deadline, The Transom, The Hill, The Post Millennial and New York Times
Dylan Matthews / Vox:
The worst thing Trump has done so far — About two and a half months ago, I wrote a piece about what foreign aid might look like in the second Trump term. Reading that piece now feels bizarre. — I thought that Trump's second term would look much like his first: lots of proposals …
Discussion:
New York Times, Tangle, American Prospect, Associated Press, The Dispatch, Reuters, Semafor, Fox News and Townhall