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 …
Discussion:
Raw Story

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 …
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo and The Independent

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:
Raw Story, FedScoop, Truthout, MarketWatch, HuffPost, Townhall, The Verge, ABC News, USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Bloomberg and Marketplace, more at Mediagazer »

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:
American Prospect and Raw Story

What the Musk is Happening? — When writing posts for this newsletter, I like to have a clear focus …
Discussion:
Blue Virginia and Raw Story
New York Times:
Elon Musk's Blitz Shakes U.S. Government as He Sweeps Through Agencies
Elon Musk's Blitz Shakes U.S. Government as He Sweeps Through Agencies
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Atlantic, emptywheel, No More Mister Nice Blog, ABC News, Fortune, Breitbart, The Independent, Rolling Stone, Althouse, Politico, The Guardian, Today's Edition Newsletter, Mediaite, Semafor, Al Jazeera, HuffPost, Reuters, Chicago Tribune, The UnPopulist, DNyuz, The Daily Wire, Forbes and Mashable, more at Techmeme »
David Ingram / NBC News:
Elon Musk and DOGE are hacking the government
Elon Musk and DOGE are hacking the government
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, Baltimore Sun, The Guardian, Breitbart, FOX 11 Los Angeles, DNyuz, Twitchy, Metro.co.uk, The Atlantic, NPR, The Nation, USA Today, Daily Mail, Defense One, Advocate and Business Insider

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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Federal layoffs ‘likely’ if too few employees choose to quit, memo says — Workers have until Thursday to decide whether to take an offer to resign now and be paid through the end of September. — The assistant commissioner of a division of the General Services Administration told staff early …
Discussion:
RedState, Federal News Network and DNyuz

Elon Musk's Midnight Takeover
Discussion:
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
Gregory Korte / Bloomberg:
Musk ‘Buyout’ Offer Accepted by More Than 20,000 Federal Workers
Musk ‘Buyout’ Offer Accepted by More Than 20,000 Federal Workers
Discussion:
The Independent

‘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
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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:
New York Times, Bloomberg, MeidasTouch News, NOTUS, Townhall, CBS News, Raw Story, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Gateway Pundit, WUSA, The Independent, Washingtonian, NBC News, Vox, CNN, Daily Mail and The Contrarian

FBI turns over names of 5,000 employees who worked on January 6 cases to Trump Justice Department, as agents sue — FBI officials have complied with demands to provide the Justice Department with a list of thousands of employees who worked on investigations related to the January 6, 2021 …
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Post, Axios, Florida Politics, Metro.co.uk, Orlando Sentinel, New Republic and Daily Mail
Benjamin Wittes / Default:
The Situation: What's Going on at the FBI?
The Situation: What's Going on at the FBI?
Discussion:
Fox News, HotAir and The Daily Beast

RFK Jr. passes key HHS confirmation hurdle with Senate panel vote — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., once seen as a longshot to serve as America's top health official, is now set to head to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now one step closer to running …
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RFK Jr. survives Senate committee vote for HHS nomination
Discussion:
The Hill, Fox News, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, NOTUS, New York Times, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Washington Examiner, IJR, WSVN-TV, Healthcare Dive, USA Today, The Independent, New York Post, The American Conservative, The Gateway Pundit, The National Pulse, The Daily Caller, Blaze Media and CBS News
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:
Terrible Nominees, Terrified Americans: Senators Could Actually Make a Difference This Month
Julia Conley / Common Dreams:
‘Stop Playing Nice,’ Says AOC as Senate Dems Help Approve Yet Another Trump Nominee
‘Stop Playing Nice,’ Says AOC as Senate Dems Help Approve Yet Another Trump Nominee
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, HuffPost and The Hill

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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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:
CBS News, Crooks and Liars, Eater and DNyuz
RELATED:
Nandika Chatterjee / The Daily Beast:
Waffle House Slaps Surcharge on Every Egg It Serves
Waffle House Slaps Surcharge on Every Egg It Serves
Discussion:
DNyuz, New York Daily News, New York Post, Associated Press, Fortune, WAGA-TV, WCSC-TV, Breitbart and KSDK-TV

Proud Boys Lose Control of Their Name to a Black Church They Vandalized — A judge awarded the trademarked name and symbols to a Washington church to help satisfy a $2.8 million judgment against the far-right group. — The Proud Boys no longer have control over their own name.
Discussion:
The Guardian, New Republic, The Independent and Washingtonian
RELATED:
Aimee Picchi / CBS News:
Proud Boys lose their trademark ownership to a Black church they vandalized, court rules
Proud Boys lose their trademark ownership to a Black church they vandalized, court rules
Discussion:
The Hill

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 …

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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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, HuffPost and Associated Press

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

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 …
Discussion:
Florida Politics

Cassidy says he secured key vaccine commitments from RFK Jr. — Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he secured significant concessions from the Trump administration on vaccine safety that led to his vote Tuesday morning to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Discussion:
NBC News
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NFL to remove ‘End Racism’ messaging in end zone ahead of Super Bowl: Sources — NEW ORLEANS — At his annual news conference Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed strong support for the league's policies designed to promote diversity at the club-employment level and indicated that those endeavors will continue.
Discussion:
Fox News and Washington Examiner

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

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

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:
United States Department …, New York Times, Associated Press, The Guardian, One America News Network, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, MeidasTouch News, DNyuz, New York Post, Reason, IJR, Blaze Media, NCJA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Forbes, UPI, USA Today, Breitbart, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Bloomberg, Scripps News and WTOP News

EU Sees a Path to Negotiate With Trump to Avoid a Tariff Fight — Trump said this week that EU duties ‘will definitely happen’ — EU trade ministers discussed the situation on Tuesday

Scoop: Senate Dems plot USAID revenge on Trump … - Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Axios on Tuesday that he's willing to place holds on Trump nominees on the Senate Judiciary Committee. — Blumenthal said the caucus is proceeding as if there is a blanket hold on Trump nominations.
Discussion:
NPR, PBS NewsHour and Associated Press

Trump expected to attend Super Bowl, White House official says — President Donald Trump is expected to attend Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, a White House official told CNN. — The guest list is still being prepared, the official said, though House Speaker Mike Johnson …
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Magazine, CBS News, Bloomberg, Axios, Fox News, Breitbart, The Daily Wire, WUSA, The Post Millennial, TMZ.com, IJR and Chicago Tribune

‘Beyond betrayal.’ Venezuelans in Florida are angry at Trump immigration policy — MIAMI — Venezuelan migrants in South Florida say they feel betrayed by a Trump administration decision to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of people who fled dictatorships and sought refuge in the U.S.
Discussion:
Federal Register, NBC News, The Daily Wire, Raw Story, Breitbart, Associated Press, Orlando Sentinel, Axios and Bloomberg

Temperatures at north pole 20C above average and beyond ice melting point — Scientists say unusually mild temperatures linked to low-pressure system over Iceland directing strong flow of warm air towards north pole — Temperatures at the north pole soared more than 20C above average on Sunday …

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:
Axios, Washington Examiner, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Wire, Blaze Media, Deadline, The Transom, The Post Millennial, The Hill and New York Times