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Republicans Love Trump's Spending Cuts. Just Not in Their States. — Even as they praise the president's unilateral actions to slash federal spending, G.O.P. lawmakers have quietly moved to seek carve outs or exemptions for their own constituents. — Republicans in Congress have responded …
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Defying Johnson, Graham and Senate G.O.P. Push Their Own Budget Plan
Discussion:
Politico, New York Post, Associated Press, Reuters, Axios, NBC News and Raw Story
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
House Republican circulates petition to deport Omar
House Republican circulates petition to deport Omar
Discussion:
New York Post, The Gateway Pundit and Axios
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House budget resolution in limbo as conservatives push deeper spending cuts and work requirements
House budget resolution in limbo as conservatives push deeper spending cuts and work requirements
Discussion:
Alternet.org, New York Times, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA and Washington Examiner
Ben Leonard / Politico:
Energy and Commerce Committee's Medicaid problem just got tougher
Energy and Commerce Committee's Medicaid problem just got tougher
Discussion:
The Hill and Center For Children …
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
Republicans Face Their First Big Test on Reconciliation — And the White House Has Doubts About Success
Republicans Face Their First Big Test on Reconciliation — And the White House Has Doubts About Success
Discussion:
New Republic, Reuters and Talking Points Memo

Live Updates: Federal Resignation Program Moves Ahead After Judge Signs Off — Where Things Stand — Trimming federal work force: A federal judge said the Trump administration's deferred resignation program for federal workers could move forward, allowing the White House to advance …
Discussion:
CNN, Forbes and Axios, more at Techmeme »
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Trump closes down federal worker buyout offer after judge lifts hold — The administration moved to close the buyout program Wednesday evening after a federal judge in Massachusetts rejected a call from several labor groups that sued to block the initiative
Discussion:
HotAir, Fox News, Raw Story and Washington Examiner
NBC News:
Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as top U.S. intelligence official
Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as top U.S. intelligence official
Discussion:
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White House says it's the judges — not Trump — causing a ‘constitutional crisis’ — In the weeks since Donald Trump returned to office, Democrats and legal scholars have warned that he's provoking a constitutional crisis by trying to expand his power and ignore laws that stand in his way.
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Trump Removal of Whistleblower Agency Head Blocked by Judge — Judge held Trump's firing of Hampton Dellinger likely unlawful — Other independent agency officials are suing over removals — A federal judge in Washington blocked for now President Donald Trump from removing the head …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit

“Armored Tesla” forecast to win $400 million State Department contract after Trump's election, government document shows — The State Department's procurement forecast, revised as of late December 2024, lists Tesla as the recipient of the largest expected contract, with Marco Rubio's department planning …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, Mock Paper Scissors, New Republic and Electrek
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White House says about 75K federal workers have accepted ‘deferred resignation’ offer — The offer's deadline closed on Wednesday after a federal judge ruled to end a temporary pause to the program put in place last week. — WASHINGTON — About 75,000 federal employees have accepted the White House's …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and New York Times
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75,000 workers accept Trump's buyout program
Discussion:
Reuters, Axios and ZeroHedge News
NBC News:
Judge rules Trump's sweeping plan to persuade federal workers to resign can move forward
Judge rules Trump's sweeping plan to persuade federal workers to resign can move forward
Discussion:
The National Pulse

New Kennedy Center board elects Trump as chair. Rutter departs as president. — President Trump's refashioned board of trustees voted him chairman in a meeting Wednesday afternoon. President Deborah Rutter told staff she was leaving the institution. — The Kennedy Center board …
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Trump Humiliated in the ‘Most Powerless Image Ever’ of a U.S. President: O'Donnell
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Independent, Marin Independent Journal, Mediaite and Breitbart

Elon Musk's X to pay about $10 million to settle Trump lawsuit over account suspension … Social media company X has agreed to pay about $10 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump, who has put X's billionaire owner Elon Musk in charge of a major government cost- and staff-cutting effort.
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Hegseth's rough start: Pentagon chief faces protest at U.S. base abroad — The question isn't why the defense secretary faced pushback at U.S. European Command headquarters; the question is whether he'll see more protests soon. — Though it still seems hard to believe, a couple of weeks ago …
Discussion:
New York Times, RedState, Axios, The War Zone, NBC News, Fox News and Bloomberg
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John Vandiver / Stars & Stripes:
Middle school students hold walkout during Hegseth visit to US base in Germany
Middle school students hold walkout during Hegseth visit to US base in Germany
Discussion:
Defense One and The Gateway Pundit

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Two-Word Plan to Save the CFPB From Elon Musk — “Banks hated this agency from the first time I ever talked about it.” — Following the 2008 global financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was established by Congress to reign …
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Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Elon Musk's DOGE takes aim at agency that had plans of regulating X
Elon Musk's DOGE takes aim at agency that had plans of regulating X
Discussion:
New York Times, Raw Story, Business Insider, The Hill, Washington Post, CNN and The Democracy Labs

Some Migrants Sent by Trump to Guantánamo Are Being Held by Military Guards — The Times has obtained a list of 53 Venezuelan men the Trump administration has put in a wartime prison built to hold Al Qaeda suspects. — Dozens of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration …
Discussion:
NBC News, NPR, The Independent, Axios, USA Today and Mother Jones
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US sues New York state officials over immigration enforcement, attorney general says — The U.S. Justice Department has sued New York State officials over alleged failures to enforce federal immigration law, Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Daily Mail, CBS News, Axios, New York Times, USA Today, Fox News, New York Daily News, The Independent, abc7NY, Twitchy and Bloomberg
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell:
McConnell Comments on Gabbard Nomination — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement today on the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence:
Discussion:
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New York Got $80 Million for Migrants. The White House Took It Back. — The New York City comptroller's office, which first noticed the missing money, said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had unilaterally taken the funds from the city's accounts.
Discussion:
New York Daily News, The City, Daily Mail, Politico, The Independent, Above the Law, Forbes, Twitchy and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
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Associated Press:
FEMA yanks back $80 million that New York City meant to cover hotel costs for migrants
FEMA yanks back $80 million that New York City meant to cover hotel costs for migrants
Discussion:
New York Post, Raw Story, Fox News, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, abc7NY, Shore News Network, New York Magazine, The Republic News, The Daily Signal, Twitchy, CNN, The Daily Wire, The Post Millennial, HotAir, ABC News, RedState, Scripps News, Exposing the role …, Reuters and New York Times

Measles Outbreak Hits Town in Texas — As of Tuesday, 22 children and two adults had been infected, all of whom were unvaccinated, local officials said. — A worsening measles outbreak has taken root in Texas, sickening two dozen and hospitalizing nine on the western edge of the state …
Discussion:
ABC News, CBS News, Ars Technica and UPI

What you can do to fight the Trump agenda — “What can I do?” — That's the question a lot of you are asking. — I've spent the last week exploring that question. And the overarching answer, based on my research, is that you should reach out and make connections with others …

BREAKING: NIH admits funding freeze is illegal, will resume issuing grants — On Monday afternoon, Popular Information broke the news that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had frozen virtually all grant funding in violation of two federal court orders.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, New York Times, Washington Examiner and American Greatness

Why the health care industry is letting RFK Jr. cruise to confirmation — From drugmakers to doctors, few health care groups are asking senators to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from becoming HHS secretary. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s expected Senate confirmation on Thursday to lead …
Discussion:
New York Times
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Eric Adams Discussed Possible Republican Primary Run With G.O.P. Leader — The mayor discussed options to run for re-election in the Republican contest as recently as Monday. Asked for comment, he said he was running as a Democrat. — Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has quietly explored running …
Discussion:
USA Today, Politico and San Diego Union-Tribune

This obscure law is one reason Trump's agenda keeps losing in court — Lawsuits challenging Trump policies raise big constitutional questions, but they also rely on a law that requires the government to follow the correct procedures when changing course. — WASHINGTON — Lawyers challenging …
Discussion:
The Independent, Alternet.org, Townhall and Raw Story

White House says it has the right to punish AP reporters over Gulf naming dispute — The White House said Wednesday that news organizations that refuse to use President Donald Trump's new name for the Gulf of Mexico were telling “lies” and insisted it would continue to bar Associated Press journalists from presidential events.
Discussion:
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“Largest data breach in US history”: Three more lawsuits try to stop DOGE … The US DOGE Service's access to the private data of ordinary Americans and federal employees is being challenged in several lawsuits filed this week. — Three new complaints seek court orders that would stop …
Discussion:
Wired, UPI, Forbes and Electronic Frontier Foundation

The GSA Plans to Sell Hundreds of Its Federal Government Buildings — The General Services Administration, staffed at its upper levels by Elon Musk associates, plans to sell 500-plus buildings—some of which house government agencies and the offices of US senators.

Bernie Sanders launches high-profile offensive against ‘the oligarchy’ — “He likes spreading his message, and likes being adored,” a former aide said. — Bernie Sanders, the two-time presidential candidate, is barnstorming Iowa and Nebraska to rally voters against what he calls …

Judge clears way for Trump's plan to downsize federal workforce. Follow live updates. — A federal judge in Boston cleared the way for President Trump's plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program. — US District Judge George O'Toole Jr. found a group …
Discussion:
Associated Press