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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— Sources tell WIRED that the ability of DOGE's Marko Elez to alter code controlling trillions in federal spending was rescinded days after US Treasury and White House officials said it didn't exist.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, 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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Axios, HuffPost, New York Times, ABC News, Reuters, DNyuz, Politico, NBC News and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
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, 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, MeidasTouch News, Washington Examiner and NewsNation


Trump Administration to Lay Off Nearly All of U.S. Aid Agency's Staff — Officials for the agency were notified of the planned cuts on the same day they learned that about 800 awards and contracts administered through U.S.A.I.D. were being canceled, three people said.
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HuffPost, Daily Mail, emptywheel, afsa.org, Axios, Mediaite, Semafor and Forbes
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I Ran U.S.A.I.D. Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere.
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The Guardian, Althouse, Washington Examiner and Politico
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, Washington Examiner, WTOP News, NBC News 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.

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, Associated Press, Mediaite and New York Magazine
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A Constitutional Crisis? — We're covering an imbalance of power in the government.
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Unfogged

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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Politico, Fox News, The Independent, Raw Story, Forbes, Associated Press, DNyuz and E&E News
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Senate confirms Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead powerful White House budget office
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NBC News, USA Today, The Independent, RedState, Townhall, Forbes, FedScoop, The Daily Wire, Senate Democratic Leadership, The Federalist, DNyuz, IJR, NOTUS, New York Post, Washington Examiner, The 19th, New York Times, Tennessee Star, Bangor Daily News, The Post Millennial, He/Him, US/Canadian …, PJ Media, Truthout, New Republic, Fox News, HuffPost, The Guardian and Raw Story
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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Daily Kos

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

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

Trump's Power Grab Defies G.O.P. Orthodoxy on Local Control — New York City traffic. California water rules. Middle school sports. Few local policies are outside the reach of Donald J. Trump's federal government.
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Washington Post
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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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USA Today, 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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Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Blaze Media, New York Post, Business Insider, Forbes and Daily Mail

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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Associated Press, Vox, Instapundit, Fortune, The Daily Wire, New York Post, CBS News, RedState, Fox News, The Post Millennial, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and KRDO, more at Mediagazer »
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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.

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.
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Mercury News

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

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.
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

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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Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera, Americans United, PinkNews, The Daily Wire, Twitchy, Breitbart, WTTG-TV and Scripps 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, Raw Story, Salon, Today's Edition Newsletter, Associated Press, CyberScoop and The Bulwark