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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.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CBS News, BatBoyBlog and Agence France-Presse, more at Techmeme »
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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 …
Discussion:
Politico, Semafor, Mediaite, emptywheel, Today's Edition Newsletter, Chicago Tribune, DNyuz, Forbes, Mashable and The Daily Wire

DOGE's access to federal data is ‘an absolute nightmare,’ legal experts warn — The latest moves at Treasury have already triggered a lawsuit, with a fight over the dissolution of USAID looming. — Elon Musk's headlong rush to take control of crucial federal agencies and functions …
Discussion:
American Prospect

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:
HuffPost, MarketWatch, Metro.co.uk, ABC News, Marketplace, Baltimore Sun, Bloomberg, The Independent, The Lens and Fortune

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:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Fortune, The Daily Wire, The Information, Axios, Politico and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »

Elon Musk is a ‘special government employee.’ What does that mean? — The SGE designation, which has come under scrutiny under Democrats as well, exempts short-term federal employees from certain disclosure rules. — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed that Elon Musk …

Democrats flood the zone with acts of anti-Trump resistance … - “That's not a thing. … - House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) unveiled a 10-part plan for countering Trump that includes using the federal funding process to thwart his efforts to “defund programs important to everyday Americans.”

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

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 and American Prospect
Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
Elon Musk Is President
Elon Musk Is President
Discussion:
Civil Discourse …, The UnPopulist, Reuters, Letters from an American, Axios, RedState, Daily Mail, New York Magazine, Digby's Hullabaloo and E&E News
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
CONSTITUTIONAL STANDOFF — Public opposition to the most wholesale and jaw-dropping violation …
CONSTITUTIONAL STANDOFF — Public opposition to the most wholesale and jaw-dropping violation …
Peter Baker / New York Times:
How Trump Is Reshaping U.S. Government, Just 2 Weeks Into His Presidency
How Trump Is Reshaping U.S. Government, Just 2 Weeks Into His Presidency
Makena Kelly / Wired:
Elon Musk Ally Tells Staff ‘AI-First’ Is the Future of Key Government Agency
Elon Musk Ally Tells Staff ‘AI-First’ Is the Future of Key Government Agency
Discussion:
DNyuz, more at Techmeme »
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Elon Musk Installs Illegal Server to Seize All Federal Workers' Data
Elon Musk Installs Illegal Server to Seize All Federal Workers' Data
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, American Greatness, NBC News, GovExec.com and Business Insider
Politico:
Unions sue to block Musk team's access to Treasury payments
Unions sue to block Musk team's access to Treasury payments
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, UPI, Townhall, The Verge, PoliticusUSA, Tumblr, The Post Millennial, MeidasTouch News, Talking Points Memo and Wall Street Journal
Joan Westenberg / The Index:
Elon Musk Is an Existential Threat to Big Tech
Joan E Greve / The Guardian:
Progressive Democrats accuse Trump and Musk of ‘a plutocratic coup’
Progressive Democrats accuse Trump and Musk of ‘a plutocratic coup’
Discussion:
Reuters, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo
Miles Klee / Rolling Stone:
Musk, Trump Prosecutor Targeting People Who Divulge Identities of DOGE Staff
Musk, Trump Prosecutor Targeting People Who Divulge Identities of DOGE Staff
Discussion:
DNyuz, Axios, New Republic, USA Today, New York Post, Associated Press and Daily Mail

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:
Reuters, MeidasTouch News, Associated Press, Bloomberg, The Guardian, CNN, Mediaite, The Information, masslive.com, Business Insider, WTOP News, NPR, DNyuz, Asia Times, Semafor, Baltimore Sun and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
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Rupert Murdoch Is Pictured With Trump At Oval Office Signing
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Independent, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and DNyuz
New York Times:
What Does Trump Really Want From Canada and Mexico?
What Does Trump Really Want From Canada and Mexico?
Discussion:
HuffPost, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CBC News, The Daily Wire, Canadian Press, Ace of Spades HQ, Semafor, The Daily Caller, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, New York Daily News, Bloomberg, Global News, Kyodo News+, DNyuz, The National Pulse, 6abc, PoliticusUSA, New York Post, American Enterprise Institute, freebeacon.com, Washington Examiner, Blaze Media, Raw Story, Texas Standard, Associated Press, USA Today, Boston Herald, Scripps News, Axios and The Dialogue Dilemma
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs
Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs
Discussion:
The Economist, Drezner's World, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Raw Story, Fox News, Boston Herald, NPR, The Daily Signal, RedState, One America News Network, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Daily Wire, Politico, New Republic, MeidasTouch News, The American Conservative, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, NBC News, The Poke, USA Today, Bloomberg and New York Times
The Hill:
Morning Report — Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico, Canada as China retaliates
Morning Report — Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico, Canada as China retaliates
Discussion:
Magnolia Tribune and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
Jack Blanchard / Politico:
Playbook: China bites back
Playbook: China bites back
Discussion:
Financial Times, Deadline, DNyuz and The Independent
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:
Reuters, The Daily Caller, The Dispatch, Fox News, Associated Press, Townhall and DNyuz
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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 Advisers Weigh Plan to Dismantle Education Department
Discussion:
Politico, Reuters, Semafor, ABC News, MPR News, New York Post, USA Today, RedState, The Guardian, Jewish Insider, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Scripps News, Raw Story and Townhall
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Hints at Curbs on Musk's Powers After Billionaire Shakes Up Washington
Trump Hints at Curbs on Musk's Powers After Billionaire Shakes Up Washington
Discussion:
Tennessee Star, Bloomberg and Reuters
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The Familiar Arrogance of Musk's Young Apparatchiks
The Familiar Arrogance of Musk's Young Apparatchiks
Discussion:
Raw Story

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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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:
BBC, DNyuz, Inside Climate News, The Daily Caller, Mercury News, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, The Root and Daily Mail
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‘Scared and betrayed’ — workers are reeling from chaos at federal agencies
Discussion:
NPR, New York Times, HuffPost and Raw Story
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Elon Musk's DOGE Is Still Blocking HIV/AIDS Relief Exempted From Foreign Aid Cuts
Elon Musk's DOGE Is Still Blocking HIV/AIDS Relief Exempted From Foreign Aid Cuts
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Daily Kos, C-SPAN.org, Global Dispatches and Washington Examiner

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 …

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 and Executive Functions
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 …

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:
HuffPost, CNN, Fox News, The Independent, IJR, RedState and DNyuz, more at Mediagazer »

Jan. 6 conspiracy theory promoter named to a top State Department job — Darren Beattie, who's claimed the FBI was responsible for the 2021 attack on the Capitol, has been named acting undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. — A conservative author who has spread conspiracy theories …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Deep Left Field, The Forward, Mediaite, Digby's Hullabaloo, Revolver News and ABC News
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The Situation: What's Going on at the FBI? — Don't look now but the FBI is resisting the political witch-hunt loosed upon it. — Meet The Authors … The Situation on Friday was too fluid to write responsibly on the ongoing purge at the FBI. — Things have clarified enough today …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Townhall, DNyuz, Politico and CBS News
Christian Paz / Vox:
How Democratic Gen Z activists lost the Gen Z vote — This story was originally published in The Highlight, Vox's member-exclusive magazine. To get early access to member-exclusive stories every month, join the Vox Membership program today. — Six months ago, young Democrats were preparing for a very different conversation.

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 …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Associated Press, United States Department …, Blaze Media, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Post, DNyuz, USA Today, Forbes, WAGA-TV, UPI, Breitbart, Bloomberg, Scripps News and WTOP News

To Save Democracy, Start Filing Cases — The Trump-Musk ransacking of the federal government must stop. The courts offer one important way to apply the brake, says an administrative law scholar. — If you were a state senator in 1975 seeking constitutional advice, any competent lawyer …