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Exclusive | DOGE Staffer Resigns Over Racist Posts — A staffer for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency whose access to U.S. Treasury payment systems was approved by a federal judge on Thursday has links to a deleted social-media account that advocated for racism and eugenics.
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The US Treasury Claimed DOGE Technologist Didn't Have ‘Write Access’ When He Actually Did — Sources tell WIRED that the ability of DOGE's Marko Elez to alter code controlling trillions in federal spending was rescinded days after US Treasury and White House officials said it didn't exist.
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driftglass, CNBC, Diplomatic,, Talking Points Memo, The Post Millennial, Daily Kos, New Republic, Beyer and CNN

DOGE follows longtime Musk pattern — and turns attention to Social Security Administration — The News — Elon Musk's DOGE shuttered USAID. It has searched Medicare payments and gained access to a sensitive Treasury Department payment system. Its initial Labor Department presence prompted a lawsuit.
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Ken Klippenstein, Axios, HuffPost, New York Times, ABC News, Reuters, DNyuz, Politico and NBC News, more at Techmeme »
The Atlantic:
The Government's Computing Experts Say They Are Terrified … Elon musk's unceasing attempts to access the data and information systems of the federal government range so widely, and are so unprecedented and unpredictable, that government computing experts believe the effort has spun out of control.
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Foreign Affairs, Musk Watch, Roll Call, Washington Examiner, MeidasTouch News and NewsNation
ProPublica:
Elon Musk's Demolition Crew — On President Donald Trump's authority alone, Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has been unleashed on federal agencies. Employees from Musk's companies and those of his allies, as well as young staffers he's recruited, are wresting authority from career workers and commandeering computer systems.
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KRDO, Just Security, The National Interest, Reuters, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, USA Today, Business Insider and NJTODAY.NET

I Ran U.S.A.I.D. Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere. — We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history. Less than three weeks into Donald Trump's second term, he, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have halted the U.S. Agency …
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The Guardian, Althouse, Washington Examiner and Politico
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Trump Administration to Lay Off Nearly All of U.S. Aid Agency's Staff
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HuffPost, Daily Mail, afsa.org, emptywheel, Axios, Mediaite, Semafor and Forbes
Ellen Knickmeyer / Associated Press:
Trump administration plans to slash all but a fraction of USAID jobs, officials say
Trump administration plans to slash all but a fraction of USAID jobs, officials say
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Reuters, CNN, NPR, IJR, Washington Examiner, WTOP News, NBC News, The Japan Times and The Independent
Washington Post:
Recall of USAID's global workforce causes havoc and distress
Recall of USAID's global workforce causes havoc and distress
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HuffPost and The Gateway Pundit

DOGE Emails Went Out to Federal Judges by Mistake — One of the people who received an email from allies of — was a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit aimed at blocking these messages. — “I, like probably every other judge in the country, also received the [Office of Personnel Management] …
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Axios, WUSA, ZeroHedge News, CBS News and Computerworld

Conservative film critic who called child trafficking movie a ‘call to action’ arrested for child molestation — In 2023, Aaron Craig Gleason wrote a review for the conservative publication the Federalist about The Sound of Freedom, an indie hit and a favorite among right-wing circles.

Trump Tax Priorities Total $5 to $11 Trillion — In a closed-door meeting with House Leadership today President Trump reportedly outlined his tax priorities. According to press reports, they included extending the expiring pieces of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA); …
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Fortune, Econbrowser, Axios and Breitbart
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Jarrell Dillard / Bloomberg:
Trump's Threatened Tariffs Fall Far Short of Paying for Tax Cuts
Trump's Threatened Tariffs Fall Far Short of Paying for Tax Cuts
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DNyuz

Do Democrats Have a Plan? — Senator Brian Schatz on how the Party should be responding to Donald Trump's breakneck assault on the government. — Three weeks into office, President Trump has issued a slew of controversial executive orders, fired officials across government agencies …
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The Hill, Columbia Journalism Review, Semafor, Mediaite and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »
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A Constitutional Crisis? — We're covering an imbalance of power in the government.
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Unfogged

FCC Investigates SF Radio Station for ICE Reporting, Sparking Press Freedom Fears — The Federal Communications Commission is investigating San Francisco-based KCBS for its coverage of immigration enforcement actions in San José last month, sparking concerns from press freedom advocates …
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The San Francisco Standard, DNyuz, New York Post, Techdirt and Newsbusters

Senate Confirms Russell Vought as Office of Management and Budget Director — Mr. Vought, an architect of Project 2025 who served in the first Trump administration, will be at the center of President Trump's plans to upend the federal bureaucracy. — The Senate voted along party lines …
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Senate confirms Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead powerful White House budget office
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Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Senate confirms Russell Vought to lead White House budget office
Senate confirms Russell Vought to lead White House budget office
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New York Times and Daily Kos

Will the Other Two Branches Dare to Push Back Against Trump? — The president's blizzard of executive orders is a bold challenge to the powers of Congress and the courts. The Constitution expects them to check and balance. — The noise coming out of the White House right now is loud—earsplitting, really.
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Trump's Power Grab Defies G.O.P. Orthodoxy on Local Control
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Washington Post
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
GOP Lawmakers Are Already Annoyed by Trump's Chaotic Governing Style
GOP Lawmakers Are Already Annoyed by Trump's Chaotic Governing Style
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Raw Story, Washington Post, ABC News, CBS News and Associated Press

Trump Fires Head of Federal Election Panel, But She Won't Leave — Commissioner Ellen Weintraub says procedures weren't followed — Weintraub, a frequent Trump antagonist, joined the FEC in 2002 — The chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission posted a letter from President Donald …
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Scripps News, Reuters, Axios, The Post Millennial, Daily Mail, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and The Guardian
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Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Federal Election Commission Chair Says Trump Has Moved to Fire Her
Federal Election Commission Chair Says Trump Has Moved to Fire Her
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USA Today, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Blaze Media, Political Wire, New York Post, Business Insider, Forbes and Daily Mail

Be clear about what Trump and Musk's aid axe will do: people will face terror and starve, many will die — The decimation of USAid is already having a terrible effect in some of the poorest places on the planet. It damages America: it will harm us all — An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or above could not have caused more carnage.

Houston man pardoned by Trump arrested on child sex charge — Andrew Taake received a six-year sentence for assaulting officers on Jan. 6. He was arrested Thursday on an outstanding charge of soliciting a minor. — A Houston man who was recently pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role …
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Raw Story, Houston Public Media, The Hill, New York Post and Mediaite

Yes, My Name has Changed... ...but my focus on center-right economic policy will continue — Hi everyone, well, this is awkward. I have always been comfortable presenting my economic research in meetings, speeches, national TV interviews, and Congressional testimony.

The “cognitively irresponsible” presidency — “It's a giveaway that a leader is an authoritarian,” Jen Mercieca tells us. — ∙ Paid … 🗣️ 🎤 🤯 — The volume of BS that Donald Trump blasts into the public sphere on a daily basis is flabbergasting.

C.D.C. Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People — The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday, confirmed transmission in two households. Scientists called on the agency to release the full report. — Cats that became infected with bird flu might …
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Inside Medicine, Forbes, NPR and Mercury News

Scoop: Trump orders key government agency to cancel all media contracts … - The discovery, made through a U.S. government spending database that has long been publicly available, triggered erroneous theories on X about the Biden administration “funding” anti-Trump media.
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Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: — Section 1. Purpose and Policy. It is the policy of the United States, and the purpose of this order …
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Townhall, Blaze Media, Mother Jones, Americans United, The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera, PinkNews, The Daily Wire, Twitchy, Breitbart, WTTG-TV and Scripps News

White House budget proposal could shatter the National Science Foundation … Sometime during the next several weeks, the directors of federal agencies will receive a draft version of President Trump's budget request for the coming fiscal year, which begins on October 1.
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Indiana Capital Chronicle
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Sotomayor hits presidential immunity decision in first public comments since new Trump admin — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday doubled down on her opposition to the presidential immunity decision last summer and expressed concern about public confidence in the high court.
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Associated Press, Patterico's Pontifications and WTOP News

Bondi ends FBI effort to combat foreign influence in U.S. politics — The order also curbs prosecutions of Americans who improperly lobby for foreign nations. President Trump says Republicans were unfairly targeted in the past. — In a little noticed directive on her first day in office …
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CNN, Salon, Raw Story, Today's Edition Newsletter, Associated Press, CyberScoop and The Bulwark

Justice Dept. Releases Slate of Memos from Attorney General Bondi — Bondi signed 14 memos on topics ranging from internal personnel matters to potential investigations into current and former civil servants. — Meet The Authors … Following her swearing-in on Feb. 5 …
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The Daily Caller

EU chiefs chastise Trump for sanctioning the ICC — In a first jab at the White House, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa said the U.S. president's move to target the International Criminal Court undermines global justice. — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen …
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The White House, CBS News, Townhall, Breitbart, Jewish Insider, Axios and Jewish Telegraphic Agency