Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
10:30 AM ET, February 4, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Wired:
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.
RELATED:
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 …
Politico:
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 …
Notes on the Crises:
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
Paul Krugman:
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
Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion: CNN and USA Today
Politico:
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 …
The Verge:
‘Scared and betrayed’ — workers are reeling from chaos at federal agencies … As the third week of Donald Trump's presidency begins, workers across federal agencies are scrambling to find their footing among the chaos.  —  From the US Agency for International Development and the Department of Agriculture …
Discussion: NPR, New York Times, HuffPost and Raw Story
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government
Makena Kelly / Wired:
Elon Musk Ally Tells Staff ‘AI-First’ Is the Future of Key Government Agency
Discussion: DNyuz, more at Techmeme »
Peter Baker / New York Times:
How Trump Is Reshaping U.S. Government, Just 2 Weeks Into His Presidency
Discussion: HuffPost and Axios
Marc Caputo / Axios:
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 …
Discussion: MeidasTouch News
RELATED:
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 …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Advisers Weigh Plan to Dismantle Education Department
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The Familiar Arrogance of Musk's Young Apparatchiks
Discussion: Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs  —  The President pauses after minor concessions from Canada and Mexico.  —  President Trump never admits a mistake, but he often changes his mind.  That's the best way to read his decision Monday to pause his 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada after minor concessions from each country.
RELATED:
New York Times:
What Does Trump Really Want From Canada and Mexico?
The Hill:
Morning Report — Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico, Canada as China retaliates
Associated Press:
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.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
China strikes back at Trump's tariffs with levies on U.S. imports
NOTUS:
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: The Independent, Grabien and HuffPost
RELATED:
Bernard Condon / Associated Press:
Investors are betting Musk and Tesla will make a fortune under Trump even as threats mount
Discussion: Forbes
Noah Feldman / Bloomberg:
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
RELATED:
Garrett Shanley / The Independent Florida Alligator:
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 …
Benjamin Wittes / Default:
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 …
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 …
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 …
CNN:
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 …
Lisa Friedman / New York Times:
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: The Daily Wire and New Republic
Politico:
Trump's plan to kill offshore wind is paying off  —  The end of a project in New Jersey “plays right into the hands of Donald Trump.”  —  Blue states spent the last four years one-upping each other with bigger and bigger plans to build offshore wind farms that could power the nation into the future
Peter M. Shane / Washington Monthly:
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 …
Andrew Solender / Axios:
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.”
Discussion: The Guardian, NBC News, Daily Kos and NCJA
The Hill:
Trump's impending massacre of the federal workforce will destroy his second term  —  The Trump administration has initiated what may become the most devastating dismantling of the federal workforce in modern history — not with mass firings, but with a carefully designed invitation to resign.
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.
Matthew Haughey / A Whole Lotta Nothing:
A guide to using Signal for government workers  —  Editor's note: A friend of mine works in the federal government and wrote a guide for their fellow federal workers on how to use Signal.  There are lots of good reasons for switching to Signal for messaging, and this does a great job of laying it all out.
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 10:30 AM ET, February 4, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 See Also: 
memeorandum: site main
memeorandum River: reverse chronological memeorandum
memeorandum Mobile: for phones
memeorandum Leaderboard: memeorandum's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
memeorandum RSS feed
memeorandum on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:
Terrible Nominees, Terrified Americans: Senators Could Actually Make a Difference This Month
Hugo Lowell / The Guardian:
Trump personally ordered firings of special counsel prosecutors
Discussion: Raw Story
Victoria Taft / PJ Media:
USAID Pays the Terrorists Who Kill Us
Discussion: RedState and Exposing the role …
Bloomberg:
Kash Patel's $800,000 Trump Media Award Raises New Conflict Questions
New York Post:
RFK's hearings remove all doubt: He's not fit to lead a key federal health agency
Discussion: The Hill
Erin Doherty / Axios:
Trump's obsession: He can't quit bashing Biden
Discussion: Bangor Daily News and Reuters
 Earlier Items: 
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Affirmative action for white men
Discussion: Mediaite
Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
Unmasked: Elon's Secret DOGE Goon Squad—Every One Under 26
Discussion: Daily Mail, Raw Story and Twitchy
Elena Moore / NPR:
Federal judge issues restraining order blocking federal spending freeze
Brad Plumer / New York Times:
Chris Wright Is Confirmed to Be Secretary of Energy
The White House:
At USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs Deep
Discussion: CBS News and Blaze Media
Joan Westenberg / The Index:
Elon Musk Is an Existential Threat to Big Tech
NBC News:
Jan. 6 conspiracy theory promoter named to a top State Department job
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Paris AI summit takeaways: Europe has regulation regrets, AI doomsayers have lost ground, and policymakers can't seem to grasp how soon powerful AI could arrive

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Google Calendar removes Pride month, Black History Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and other events, saying it wasn't “scalable or sustainable” to keep them

Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Google brings NotebookLM Plus, its AI research assistant tier with higher usage limits, to Google One AI Premium subscribers, and debuts a 50% student discount

 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page