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Treasury Sought to Freeze Foreign Aid Payments, Emails Show — Trump administration appointees and allies of Elon Musk wanted to use the Treasury's sensitive payment system to block payments. — In the days after President Trump took office, as Elon Musk's team began pressing for access …
Discussion:
New Republic, The Register, Raw Story and Techdirt
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Musk's DOGE granted access to US Medicare and Medicaid systems — Representatives of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have been working at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services where they were granted access to agency systems and technology, CMS said on Wednesday.
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Breitbart, UPI, Wall Street Journal, WXIA-TV, ZeroHedge News, USA Today, i shall wear …, Fox News, Bloomberg, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, masslive.com, The Post Millennial and Daily Mail

Trump administration agrees to restrict DOGE access to Treasury Department payment systems — The agreement came in response to a lawsuit accusing Treasury of committing an “unlawful action” by giving private info to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Politico, The Guardian, UPI, Ars Technica, The Hill, New York Times, Mediaite, The Independent, Raw Story, New Republic, NewsNation, WUSA, Federal News Network, Fox Business, Fox News and CNN
CNN:
Musk associates sought to use critical Treasury payment system to shut down USAID spending, emails show
Musk associates sought to use critical Treasury payment system to shut down USAID spending, emails show
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Fox Business and Forbes
Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo:
America's Unions Sue DOGE, Launch the ‘Department of People Who Work for a Living’
America's Unions Sue DOGE, Launch the ‘Department of People Who Work for a Living’
Discussion:
America's Unions, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Business Insider, E&E News, Axios, New York Times and Sludge

Pro-Trump Arab American group changes its name after the president's Gaza ‘Riviera’ comments — A group that played a key role in Donald Trump's voter outreach to the Arab American community alongside his allies is rebranding itself after the president said that the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza Strip.
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Trump goes full colonialist — So much for the “non-interventionist mindset.” … 🌍 🪖 🗺️ — Though he campaigned on keeping the United States out of foreign conflicts, Donald Trump has started his second term with a blizzard of bizarre, violent, and potentially disastrous expansionist threats.
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Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Revolver News, The Gateway Pundit, Houston Public Media, Raw Story, Asia Times, Al Jazeera, NOTUS, Truthout, Associated Press, The Floridian, CBS News, Agence France-Presse, DCReport.org, American Greatness, The National Interest, American Thinker, freebeacon.com, ABC News, The Daily Wire, Reuters, Patterico's Pontifications, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, MPR News, The Japan Times, Daily Kos, The Intercept, The Daily Signal, Twitchy, Digby's Hullabaloo, USA Today, DNyuz and New York Post

Trump defends Gaza proposal, says territory would be ‘turned over’ to U.S. by Israel — “No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed,” the president added. — President Donald Trump doubled down on controversial plans for the Gaza Strip on Thursday, saying the Palestinian enclave would be …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Politico, One America News Network, Raw Story, Bloomberg, New York Post, Reuters and The Independent

Trump's Gaza Plan Has Many Pitfalls, Hamas Among the Biggest — President Trump's proposal to “own” Gaza and transfer its population elsewhere has stirred condemnation and sarcasm, but it is an opening bid and could disrupt a tired diplomatic paradigm. — President Trump took the world aback …
Discussion:
ABC News, CNN, The Guardian, DNyuz, Mediaite, BBC, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Associated Press, RNS, Algemeiner.com, Fox News, Raw Story, israelhayom.com, Daily Mail and NBC News

Rubio acting director of the National Archives — In addition to being the Secretary of State and the acting director of USAID, Marco Rubio is also the acting archivist of the United States, according to a high-level official. — Per the official, Rubio has been the acting archivist since shortly …
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National Archives Workers Unsure If Marco Rubio Has Secretly Been Their Boss for Weeks — Wednesday night, ABC News reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “has been the acting archivist” at the National Archives and Records Administration “since shortly after President Trump's inauguration.”
Discussion:
Fox News

Gutting USAID threatens billions of dollars for U.S. farms, businesses — U.S. businesses that sold goods and services to USAID are in limbo, including American farms dealing in rice, wheat and soybeans purchased as food aid.
Discussion:
Blaze Media
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Michael Crowley / New York Times:
Transcript Shows Rubio Asking U.S.A.I.D. Worker for ‘Trust’ and ‘Patience’
Transcript Shows Rubio Asking U.S.A.I.D. Worker for ‘Trust’ and ‘Patience’
Discussion:
CNN, CBS News, Associated Press, New York Post, San Diego Union-Tribune and The Independent

Trump's tax cuts are ‘stuck in the mud’ as Republicans split over spending … President Donald Trump's agenda is hitting speed bumps on Capitol Hill, as Republican infighting over spending levels threatens to halt a massive package of tax cuts, energy policy, healthcare and border security funds.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Fox News, Wall Street Journal and The Hill
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Democrats To Take Over Senate Floor All Night To Oppose White House Budget Office Nominee
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Fox News, The Hill, Forbes, The Guardian, Digby's Hullabaloo, CNN, Washington Examiner and Raw Story
Politico:
Capitol agenda: Shutdown anxieties, reconciliation problems, Vought all-nighter
Capitol agenda: Shutdown anxieties, reconciliation problems, Vought all-nighter
Discussion:
CBS News, Punchbowl News and Fox News
Punchbowl News:
2/6/25 ☀️ AM: — Trump, Johnson to huddle with House Republicans as frustration grows
2/6/25 ☀️ AM: — Trump, Johnson to huddle with House Republicans as frustration grows
Discussion:
New York Times, Axios, Raw Story, Bloomberg and E&E News
Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:
Democrats hold Senate floor overnight to protest Trump's OMB nominee
Democrats hold Senate floor overnight to protest Trump's OMB nominee
Discussion:
Fox News, The Guardian and Raw Story

Pam Bondi Instructs Trump DOJ to Criminally Investigate Companies That Do DEI — On Wednesday evening, newly installed Attorney General Pam Bondi sent staff in several divisions of the Department of Justice more than a dozen memos within a 15-minute span, laying out the agency's new policies …

Trump administration evicts former Coast Guard leader from her house with 3 hours notice — Trump fired Linda Fagan, the first female Coast Guard commandant, on his second day in office. A Trump official told her she had three hours to leave her house on Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, Daily Mail and Lawyers, Guns & Money

DOGE Teen Owns ‘Tesla.Sexy LLC’ and Worked at Startup That Has Hired Convicted Hackers — Experts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive US government systems.

Democrats' phones bombarded with calls to “fight harder” … - Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Axios: “What I think we need to do more is: Put the onus on Republicans, so that the calls that we're getting are directed toward Republicans.” — “There has definitely been some tension …
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The anti-Trump opposition might finally be waking up
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Bangor Daily News, NBC News, NPR, DNyuz, No More Mister Nice Blog and Townhall

Musk's DOGE agents access sensitive personnel data, alarming security officials — The highly restricted data includes personally identifiable information for millions of federal employees maintained by the Office of Personnel Management.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Reuters, Forbes, ZeroHedge News and NBC News

Musk aims to hobble federal workers ahead of ‘buyout’ deadline — Countless staffers in the government are now grappling with what to do. — Elon Musk has declared war on the bureaucracy. And as a Thursday deadline nears for federal employees to take a “buyout,” he is looking to demoralize and wear down his enemy.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, FedSmith.com, Washingtonian, DNyuz and Washington Examiner
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It is Elon Musk who is now running the United States. Not Donald Trump
Discussion:
Bangor Daily News
John Herrman / New York Magazine:
The DOGE Rampage Is Also a Bailout for Elon Musk
The DOGE Rampage Is Also a Bailout for Elon Musk
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Forbes and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

US immigration is gaming Google to create a mirage of mass deportations — Thousands of press releases about decade-old enforcement actions topped search results, all updated with a timestamp from after Trump's inauguration — News of mass immigration arrests has swept across the US over the past couple of weeks.
Discussion:
Eschaton

When Anti-Press Ascendancy Meets FCC Public Interest Regulation — Let's start with an understatement: President Donald Trump isn't happy with the way most American journalists are doing their jobs. During a December press conference, he proclaimed “we have to straighten out the press.
Discussion:
DNyuz, Mediaite and Washington Examiner
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Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump announces task force to ‘eradicate anti-Christian bias’ — President Trump announced plans Thursday to establish a task force and a presidential commission to protect Christians from religious discrimination. — Trump addressed the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. …
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JD Vance accidentally directed us to a crucial moral question — Just ignore the godawful reading of Christianity he used to get there. … Theology isn't usually part of the job description for America's vice president, but that's not stopping JD Vance from giving it a try just a couple of weeks into his new position.
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Associated Press and Anglican Ink © 2025

U.S. Blindsides Panama, Saying American Government Ships Will Get Free Canal Passage — No formal deal has been agreed to as President Trump threatens takeover — The U.S. and Panama issued dueling statements Wednesday over access to the Panama Canal, with the State Department saying …
Discussion:
Reuters, WTOP News, Raw Story and The Post Millennial
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The Senate's Dilemma: Kash Patel and the Purging of the FBI — In the days since Kash Patel's nomination hearing for F.B.I. director, a crisis of historic proportions has engulfed the Justice Department and the Bureau. The idea of Patel leading the F.B.I. through this period …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Post, Raw Story, Blaze Media, Townhall and MSNBC

Trump and Musk Are Pushing an Absurd Lie About Government and the Media — No, the Biden administration was not paying Politico or other outlets to spread their agenda — Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Fox News, Republican lawmakers, and countless prominent right-wing commentators across social media …
Discussion:
New York Times, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit
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Washington Post:
Republican ire at USAID finds an unusual target: Politico
Republican ire at USAID finds an unusual target: Politico
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, CNN, Reason, The Post Millennial, ZeroHedge News, The Independent, Townhall, Raw Story, Shore News Network, The Daily Caller, HotAir, Blaze Media, New York Post, Axios, New Republic, DNyuz, Crooks and Liars, Mediaite, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, RedState and Ace of Spades HQ, more at Mediagazer »

Trump's Attacks on DEI Get Approval From Some in the Left Wing — Many Democrats and activists are rallying to defend diversity programs, but others say they distract from deeper efforts to address inequality. — A few days after President Trump issued an order urging the private sector to end …

Democratic polling finds Elon Musk is unpopular — House Democrats have a plan to help them win back the working class: turn the world's richest person into their boogeyman. They've set their sights on holding Elon Musk to account, by attempting to subpoena him and introducing legislation …

Tesla's sales plummet across Europe — Registrations in Germany fall 59% amid consumer backlash against Elon Musk's political activism — Sales of Tesla's electric vehicles have fallen sharply across many of its key European markets amid a consumer backlash against Elon Musk's interventions in the region's politics.
Discussion:
Bloomberg
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Melissa Eddy / New York Times:
Tesla's European Sales Drop in January After Musk Disrupts Politics There
Tesla's European Sales Drop in January After Musk Disrupts Politics There
Discussion:
Ars Technica, The Register, Electrek, Washington Examiner and Reuters