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2:10 PM 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:
Dell Cameron / Wired:
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 …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
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 …
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: American Prospect and Raw Story
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 …
Paul Krugman:
What the Musk is Happening?  —  When writing posts for this newsletter, I like to have a clear focus …
Discussion: Raw Story
Rolling Stone:   Inside Trump and Musk's Clumsy, ‘Exhausting’ Hunt for Leakers
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government
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 …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
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: Federal News Network and DNyuz
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
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
Discussion: The Independent
Politico:
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 …
RELATED:
Adam Goldman / New York Times:
‘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
Benjamin Wittes / Default:
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
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
RELATED:
Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
RFK Jr. survives Senate committee vote for HHS nomination
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:   Terrible Nominees, Terrified Americans: Senators Could Actually Make a Difference This Month
Washington Post:
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
RELATED:
Zoe Tillman / Bloomberg:
Doctors Sue Over Trump Health Agencies' Removal of Online Data
Discussion: Reuters
Jordan Valinsky / CNN:
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:
NBC News:
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 …
Bloomberg:
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
RELATED:
Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
Trump Claims Victory Over Canada, Mexico After Getting ... Basically Nothing
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs
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: Grabien, HuffPost and Associated Press
The Hill:
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.
RELATED:
New York Post:
RFK's hearings remove all doubt: He's not fit to lead a key federal health agency
Discussion: Raw Story and The Hill
Alex Gangitano / The Hill:
Trump says ‘something really wrong’ with autism rates ahead RFK Jr. vote
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 …
RELATED:
United States Department of State:
Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele
Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Alan Feuer / New York Times:
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.
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 …
Discussion: Florida Politics
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
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 …
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
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 …
Adam Wren / Politico:
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 …
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: New Republic
Michael Silver / New York Times:
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: Washington Examiner
Philippe Naughton / The Daily Beast:
MAGA Senator Goes on Weird Rant About Sex and Omelets  —  “I could eat an omelet at every meal,” the senator said when defending Elon Musk's USAID shutdown.  “I like omelets better than sex.”  —  PARTNER UPDATE  —  Combat Aging With This Fatty-Acid-Powered Supplement  —  AGING?  FAT CHANCE
 
 
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 More Items: 
Michael McElroy / Cardinal & Pine:
Army helicopter pilot killed in DC plane crash was one of the NC voters Jefferson Griffin is trying to disenfranchise
Discussion: Raw Story and NC Newsline
Cloud:
RELEASE: Cloud and Schmitt Introduce Bill to Codify into Law Trump's Agenda Ending DEI in Federal Government
Jenny Goldsberry / Washington Examiner:
Tom Homan to ‘seek prosecution’ against Phil Murphy if he is harboring illegal immigrant
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
“Hitler actually had some good ideas”: Musk's covert coup is guided by internet trolls
Discussion: WTTG-TV and Digby's Hullabaloo
 Earlier Items: 
Hugo Lowell / The Guardian:
Trump personally ordered firings of special counsel prosecutors
Discussion: Raw Story
The Hill:
Trump's impending massacre of the federal workforce will destroy his second term
Peter M. Shane / Washington Monthly:
To Save Democracy, Start Filing Cases
Christian Paz / Vox:
How Democratic Gen Z activists lost the Gen Z vote
Associated Press:
China counters with tariffs on US products. It will also investigate Google
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
A Coup Is In Progress In America
more at Techmeme »
NBC News:
USAID personnel told to stay away from headquarters after Elon Musk's shutdown comments
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta plans major investment in AI-powered humanoid robots, with an initial focus on household chores, and has formed a new team within Reality Labs

New York Times:
OpenAI's board rejects the $97.4B bid by Elon Musk and a consortium of investors, saying they reject “Musk's latest attempt to disrupt his competition”

Gillian Tan / Bloomberg:
Source: xAI is canvassing potential investors, including Sequoia Capital and a16z, for a roughly $10B funding round that would value the company at about $75B
 
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