The Conversation -- February 21, 2025

If you live in a blue state, you'll never get a letter again. ~~~

~~~ The Royal Mail. Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is preparing to dissolve the leadership of the U.S. Postal Service and absorb the independent mail agency into his administration, potentially throwing the 250-year-old mail provider and trillions of dollars of e-commerce transactions into turmoil. Trump is expected to issue an executive order as soon as this week to fire the members of the Postal Service's governing board and place the agency under the control of the Commerce Department and Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to six people familiar with the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals. The board is planning to fight Trump's order, three of those people told The Washington Post. In an emergency meeting Thursday, the board retained outside counsel and gave instructions to sue the White House if the president were to remove members of the board or attempt to alter the agency's independent status.... Trump's order to place the Commerce Department in charge of the Postal Service would probably violate federal law, according to postal experts.... After this story was published, a White House spokesperson said no such executive order was planned." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

~~~ According to the WashPo report linked above, "Americans consistently rank the Postal Service among their most-beloved government agencies, second only to the National Park Service." So let's see how things are going at the Trump/Musk Park Service: ~~~

~~~ Maxine Joselow & Andrea Sachs of the Washington Post (Feb. 19): "... Donald Trump's purge of federal employees is not only upending the lives of National Park Service workers, but also threatening to harm the visitor experience at national parks across the country. The problems are expected to escalate during the summer season, when more than 100 million Americans and international tourists typically visit the 63 national parks in the United States.... As part of a directive to fire most trial and probationary staff across the federal government, the Park Service on Friday terminated roughly 1,000 probationary employees...." Fer instance, Musk/Trump fired Yosemite's only locksmith three weeks before his probationary period was up. 'Yosemite, which is roughly the size of Rhode Island, has hundreds of locked buildings and gates. Sometimes visitors get locked inside vault toilets or restrooms." As the Brits say, so yeah. ~~~

~~~ The Petty Petit King. Heather Knight of the New York Times: This week Donald Trump "ordered the federal government to 'eliminate to the maximum extent' the functions of the Presidio Trust, one of [former Speaker Nancy] Pelosi's proudest San Francisco accomplishments as a Democratic stalwart in Congress. The trust oversees the Presidio, a former military outpost in the city's northwest corner that is known for its lush grounds, scenic hiking trails and eclectic collection of businesses in repurposed army buildings, all with stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Residents consider it a city treasure, and tourists flock there for the bayside beaches and parks.... The president issued an executive order late Wednesday titled 'Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy' that listed four 'unnecessary' entities, with the Presidio Trust at the top of the list. The groups have two weeks to show that they are using no federal money other than the funds required by statute to be spent."

Off with Their Heads. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Trump administration told Congress on Thursday that it believed ... [Donald] Trump had the constitutional power to summarily fire administrative law judges at will, despite a statute that protects such officials from being removed without a cause like misconduct. The move was the latest step in the administration's unfolding assault on the basic structure of the federal government and on Congress' power to insulate various types of executive branch officials in sensitive positions from political interference from the White House. The Trump administration disclosed its approach in a letter from Sarah M. Harris, the acting solicitor general.... Ms. Harris's letter to Congress also brought to wider attention that the Justice Department had said it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the law protecting administrative law judges in a little-noticed Feb. 11 filing in an appeals court case."

Apparently one type of climate-change denial is to deny and ignore the effects of climate change, even when they slap you upside the head AND rip your guts out: ~~~

     ~~~ Christopher Flavelle of the New York Times: "The Trump administration plans to all but eliminate the office that oversees America's recovery from the largest disasters, raising questions about how the United States will rebuild from hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities made worse by climate change. The Office of Community Planning and Development, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, pays to rebuild homes and other recovery efforts after the country's worst disasters.... The administration plans to cut the staff in that office by 84 percent, according to a document obtained by The New York Times. The number of workers would be cut to 150, from 936 when Mr. Trump took office last month." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "Academics and scientists who work with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said the Trump administration's orders have severely disrupted work -- delaying projects and casting the future of research funding and jobs into doubt as chaos in the agency reigns. An array of orders seeks to fundamentally reshape the NIH, the world's largest public funder of biomedical and behavioral research, in the Trump administration's image. The agency's work is the wellspring of scientific advancement in the US, and helped make the country a dominant force in health and science.... ' and Elon Musk are taking a sledgehammer to the greatest biomedical infrastructure in the world to extend tax cuts,' [President of the American Association of University Professors Todd] Wolfson said. NIH-funded basic or applied research has also contributed to 386 of the 387 drugs the Food and Drug Administration approved between 2000 and 2019, and more than 100 Nobel prizes have been awarded to scientists based on NIH-funded work. NIH grants often fund basic research conducted at universities and colleges across the country, touching every state and nearly every congressional district."

Corbin Hiar of Politico: "The National Science Foundation went beyond the staff cuts demanded by the Trump administration in a move that set off a frenzied backlash at the science funding agency. NSF fired about 10 percent of its staff at the end of Tuesday, removing 168 people who included most of the agency's probationary employees and all of its experts, a class of contract workers who are specialists in niche scientific fields. The agency didn't have to fire its experts but decided to in the interest of fairness, a top NSF official told staffers in an emotionally charged hybrid meeting Tuesday morning at its Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters.... To avoid having the stain of a firing on their resumes, staffers were told they could resign. But then they would not be eligible for unemployment payments. The announcement prompted outrage, confusion and concern from people at the meeting, resulting in a string of scathing all-staff emails from impacted workers."

Salvador Rizzo of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Thursday declined to issue a temporary restraining order pausing ... Donald Trump's moves to fire thousands of employees who are on probationary status or deemed nonessential, clearing a roadblock for the new administration as it attempts sweeping changes to downsize the federal government. U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, ruled against the National Treasury Employees Union and four other labor organizations that requested a temporary halt to the mass firings. More than half a million federal workers could lose their jobs through the Trump administration's firings and a separate program of deferred resignations, or buyouts, the unions said in legal filings.... Cooper ruled that the unions must file their legal challenge with the Federal Labor Relations Authority, a panel of presidential appointees that hears labor disputes. Any decision from that board may be challenged in federal appellate court, the judge said."

Trump Flouts Judges' Orders. Justin Jouvenal, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal judges have blocked ... Donald Trump's attempts to freeze trillions in federal grants and loans, halt billions in foreign assistance and dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development. But in each case, the administration has said it still has legal authority to do at least some of those things, prompting judges and those challenging Trump's actions to accuse him of failing to comply. Legal experts said the administration's aggressive maneuvers have approached the red line of openly flouting court orders, as Trump and his top aides and advisers assert vast presidential powers. The most dramatic example came Wednesday. Plaintiffs ... seeking to block the Trump administration's 90-day pause on foreign aid asked a judge to hold the administration in civil contempt for violating his temporary restraining order blocking the freeze. A day earlier, attorneys for the government said agencies could keep a hold on much of the funds despite Judge Amir Ali's order, based on statutes and regulations that exist separately from Trump's executive directive. The government said Ali's order was 'silent' on those other powers and vowed to continue suspension of aid unless the judge clarified his ruling." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Daniel Barnes & Nnamdi Egwuonwu of NBC News: "The Trump administration has not fully complied with a court order pausing the freezing of foreign assistance grants and contracts, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali last week ordered the administration to allow the disbursement of U.S. foreign assistance after hearing claims from federal contractors challenging an executive order signed by President Donald Trump pausing nearly all foreign assistance.... '... to the extent Defendants have continued the blanket suspension, they are ordered to immediately cease it.' The judge stopped short of holding the administration in contempt." ~~~

~~~ Stephanie Nolen of the New York Times: "Funds for vital health programs around the world remain frozen and their work has not been able to resume, despite a federal judge's order that temporarily halted the Trump administration's dismantling of the government's main foreign aid agency.... A State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday that the office of Secretary of State Marco Rubio had issued more than 180 waivers permitting lifesaving activities to resume, and that more were being approved each day. The department did not reply to a request to provide a list of the 180 projects. But even programs with waivers are still frozen, according to people in more than 40 U.S.A.I.D.-funded groups, because the payments system that U.S.A.I.D. used to disburse funds to the organizations has not operated for weeks." (Also linked yesterday.)

Adriana Licon of the AP: "Billionaire Elon Musk appeared at a conservative gathering [CPAC (or as Akhilleus would have it, (Congress of Pricks, Assholes, and Convicts)] outside Washington waving a chainsaw in the air, showing openness to auditing the Federal Reserve and accusing Democrats of 'treason.'... Before his appearance, he met with Argentine President Javier Milei, who has been frequently praised by Musk and popularized the power tool while campaigning in 2023 and proposing slashing public spending. After Musk appeared onstage..., he said Milei had a gift for him. The Argentine leader then walked onstage with the red chainsaw and passed it to Musk. The chainsaw was engraved with Milei's slogan, 'Viva la libertad, carajo,' which is Spanish for 'Long live liberty, damn it.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Daniel Hampton of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump's ally Steve Bannon took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference ... [and] told attendees ... the future of MAGA is Donald J. Trump!... We want Trump in '28!...'" See also Trump's remarks about a third term; story linked below. ~~~

     ~~~ AND Then. Ross Lincoln of the Wrap, republished by Yahoo! News: "If once is a mistake and twice is a coincidence, then on Thursday Republicans got this much closer to a pattern when, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), former Donald Trump adviser and convicted felon Steve Bannon made a gesture that is identical to a Nazi salute.... Of course the gesture was also identical to one made by billionaire Elon Musk, twice, at Donald Trump's inauguration." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, here's something I forgot, but Akhilleus reminds us at the top of today's Comments: ~~~

     ~~~ Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "... as the Conservative Political Action Conference got underway outside Washington on Thursday, the group's influential chairman, Matt Schlapp, was embroiled in another scandal involving allegations of sexual assault against him. The convention comes a week after new accusations emerged in an article by the journalist Yashar Ali that Mr. Schlapp, a confidant of Mr. Trump, had groped a man at a bar in Virginia a few days earlier during a gathering of conservatives. Several people have accused Mr. Schlapp of sexual assault in the past, allegations that he has denied and his allies have dismissed as an 'attempt at character assassination.' Mr. Schlapp has not been charged with any crimes related to the accusations. The details of the latest episode were also documented in a report by the Rappahannock County Sheriff's Office that was obtained by The New York Times. A previous accuser received a $480,000 settlement after dropping his lawsuit against Mr. Schlapp, 57, who opened Thursday's session with his usual conservative bombast." The Daily Beast story, republished by Yahoo! News, is here.

While Musk Cuts, DOGE Booms. Avi Asher-Schapiro, et al., of ProPublica: "While Elon Musk and his underlings demand budget cuts and layoffs across the federal government, funding for their agency -- the Department of Government Efficiency -- has soared to nearly $40 million.... Most of DOGE's money ... has come in the form of payments from other federal agencies made possible by a nearly century-old law called the Economy Act. To steer those funds to the new department, the Trump administration has treated DOGE as if it were a federal agency.... DOGE has also behaved as if it has agency-level authority. The use of the Economy Act would seem to subject DOGE to the same open-records laws that cover most federal agencies.... However, DOGE has refused to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests, saying it operates with executive privileges. Musk has also flip-flopped about whether DOGE's staff members are paid. Initially he said they were not, but earlier this week he said some of them were.... The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., told ProPublica she didn't believe DOGE had the legal authority for the actions it's taken. She called it a 'made-up federal department' that's wasting taxpayer dollars." ~~~

~~~ Deputy Dogies. Nicole Sganga of CBS News: "Members of Elon Musk's private security detail have been deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service, granting them certain rights and protections of federal law enforcement agents, four sources familiar with the move confirmed to CBS News Thursday. The move comes after several people within Musk's orbit relayed a heightened concern about safety for the tech billionaire, including several death threats in recent weeks.... The U.S. Marshals Service routinely deputizes police.... However, the move to deputize private security officers, who are not sworn law enforcement officials, is considered unorthodox, raising eyebrows among officials familiar with the move."

The G7 -- in fact, the U.N. -- should condemn the U.S. for palling around with dictators. ~~~

~~~ Steven Erlanger, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States is opposing calling Russia the aggressor in the war with Ukraine in a Group of 7 statement being drafted to mark the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, four senior officials from countries involved said on Thursday. The American objections to the statement come after ... [Donald] Trump earlier this week blamed Ukraine for starting the war, which in fact began with Russia's attack on Ukraine. One senior official from a Group of 7 country said that Canada had circulated the first draft of the statement to the other six member countries. That version, the official said, used language that retained the pro-Ukraine tone the group of allies adopted after the full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. The U.S. side went through that first draft this week and removed all references that could be interpreted as being pro-Ukraine, the official said. The result, the official added, was a neutral draft statement that made no references to Russia as the aggressor in the conflict, nor to Ukraine as the victim of the invasion."

Hamed Aleaziz, et al., of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Thursday transferred all of the Venezuelan migrants it had brought to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, suddenly emptying a detention operation that it had just as abruptly started this month. Two passenger planes operated by Global X, a charter aircraft company, flew to the naval base on Thursday morning and shuttled most of the migrants to an airfield in Honduras. They were to then be put aboard a Venezuelan plane for repatriation. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, said 177 migrants had been transferred to Venezuelan custody, and one had been brought back to an immigration facility in the United States. In a declaration filed in court earlier on Thursday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official had said 178 Venezuelans were at the base. It was unclear whether the administration intended to send additional migrants to the base." ~~~

     ~~~ Morgan Lee & Regina Cano of the AP: "The government of President Nicolás Maduro said it had 'requested the repatriation of a group' of Venezuelans 'who were unjustly taken' to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.... Thursday's court filing by U.S. Justice Department attorneys provides the most thorough official accounting to date about who is being held at the isolated Guantanamo Bay military complex and why -- noting that detainees as of Wednesday were Venezuelans with final orders of deportation. More immigrant transfer flights arrived at Guantanamo Bay on Thursday in planes departing from Texas and Louisiana, said Thomas Cartwright of Witness at the Border.... Relatives of the new Guantanamo detainees and advocacy groups have accused the U.S. government of holding immigrants without access to counsel or any means of vindicating their rights, amid unsubstantiated or disputed accusations of criminal ties.... Attorney Lee Gelernt of the ACLU -- among the plaintiffs challenging detention practices at Guantanamo -- said Thursday's deportations were conducted with a troubling lack of transparency."

     ~~~ Marie: It's "unclear" because these people do not know what they're doing.

Not Surprisingly, Trump Is Unpopular in Los Angeles. Timothy Karoff of SFGate: "On Thursday morning, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stopped by LA's Union Station to give a news conference on California's high-speed rail project. Duffy tore into the project, arguing that it was wasteful and unaccountable, and he announced an upcoming 'compliance review' for the $4 billion in federal funds dedicated to the rail system.... But the most striking part of the conference may have been the LA crowd's vocal protests. Beneath the sound of Duffy's voice, video of the conference sounds like a hostile sports match, with near-constant waves of boos and chants. 'Build the rail! Build the rail!' protesters chanted at one point; at another, 'We pay taxes, we want trains!'" ~~~

~~~ Okay, Trump Is Unpopular in Many Places. Rachel Maddow does polls. No new president's polls have ever been as low as Trump's are one month into his presidency*:

~~~ Marie: So why is the Trump/Musk presidency doing all this unpopular stuff? Maddow has two theories, one of which I've posited, the second of which I have not. First, Maddow says that doing whatever he wants, the laws be damned, is Trump's way of ending our constitutional democracy. That's it. He doesn't have to obey established law because Trump is the law. Second, Maddow says that the reason Trump is doing so much stuff that doesn't poll well is that public opinion doesn't matter. You don't have to please the public if you're not going to hold any more elections. Maddow's theory makes sense to me. Politics is a whole different game if you never have to answer to voters. The game is less politics and more Mafia dynamic: you know, destroy your political opponents by various means and strike fear in your ostensible allies. Sound familiar? ~~~

~~~ Now This. Justine McDaniel of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Thursday again raised the prospect of serving for an unconstitutional third term, asking a crowd at a White House [Black History] event whether he should run again and receiving audience chants of 'Four more years!'... Trump basked in the attention, laughing and waving a hand at the audience.... The suggestion followed a stretch of days in which Trump referred to himself as a king and quoted a dictator in suggesting that he was immune from following laws -- all while his administration has continued pushing the bounds of presidential power. Trump's escalating rhetoric stoked further alarm among critics who say he is governing with an authoritarian playbook and fear he could attempt to seize power undemocratically, as he attempted to do after losing the 2020 election." The Hill's report is here.

Lena Sun & Fenit Nirappil of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration has directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to indefinitely postpone a public meeting of its vaccine advisory panel, a key forum for the nation's discussion of information about vaccine safety and effectiveness. The decision came Thursday from officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC's parent agency, led by anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who has long criticized the panel and the CDC.... News about the postponed meeting drew swift reaction. More than 50 medical experts and organizations sent a letter to Kennedy, [Sen. Bill] Cassidy [R-La.] and the CDC's acting director, Susan Monarez, to preserve the panel's meeting and agenda. The meeting holds 'tremendous weight and relevance,' said the letter, which included signatories from the American Medical Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease." During Kennedy's confirmation hearing, Cassidy said he had received assurances from Kennedy that he would not disrupt or replace the current vaccine approval systems." ~~~

     ~~~ Adam Cancryn, et al., of Politico: "HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is preparing to remove members of the outside committees that advise the federal government on vaccine approvals and other key public health decisions, according to two people familiar with the planning. Kennedy plans to replace members who he perceives to have conflicts of interest, as part of a widespread effort to minimize what he's criticized as undue industry influence over the nation's health agencies, said one of the people, who were granted anonymity to speak freely. Kennedy has long argued that drugmakers have too much sway over the approval of their products. The effort is likely to target the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which plays a key role in setting vaccine policy. Kennedy and his top aides are also scrutinizing a host of other outside panels, including those that advise the Food and Drug Administration." MB: Why, it's as if Kennedy lied to Cassidy so Cassidy would vote to confirm him. And Cassidy did. ~~~

~~~ Helene Branswell of STAT News: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was ordered to shelve promotions it developed for a variety of vaccines, including a 'Wild to Mild' advertising campaign urging people to get vaccinated against flu, two sources familiar with the decision told STAT. The Department of Health and Human Services' assistant secretary for public affairs informed the CDC that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wanted advertisements that promote the idea of 'informed consent' in vaccine decision-making instead. Informed consent is the principle that people should be notified of all the risks, as well as benefits, of any medical intervention they receive or any drug they are prescribed. It is a cornerstone of health care delivery. Shifting the framing of advertising for vaccines that the CDC has long recommended -- like flu shots -- to put more focus on the possible risks of vaccines could undermine people's willingness to get vaccinated, or to have their children immunized."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Justice Department now says that ... Donald Trump's clemency for Jan. 6 rioters covers unrelated crimes that were discovered during FBI searches stemming from the attack on the Capitol. Federal prosecutors revealed the new legal position this week in court papers seeking to drop gun charges against two former Jan. 6 defendants. The guns in question were found at the two men's homes during the Jan. 6 investigation, but the alleged gun crimes themselves were not connected to the riot. Nonetheless, prosecutors moved to dismiss the gun cases by invoking Trump's Day 1 executive order granting mass clemency to Jan. 6 defendants.... The expansive reading of Trump's clemency order marks the latest push by the new administration to absolve Jan. 6 defendants, whom Trump and his supporters have described as political prisoners and victims of persecution." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So I guess if the FBI was searching my home for evidence related to January 6 and they found a few decomposed bodies in the basement, I would be absolved from murdering those people. Darn, the best get-out-of-jail card ever, and so few took advantage of it.

Tom Jackman & Elizabeth Dwokin of the Washington Post: "The first nationwide database tracking misconduct by federal police officers has been shut down by ... Donald Trump..., deleting a resource that experts said improved public safety by helping to prevent bad officers from jumping to new agencies and starting over with clean records. The database was first proposed by Trump in 2020 in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. But it wasn't created until two years later when an executive order from President Joe Biden launched the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database. Trump issued an order last month revoking Biden's orders, and the database. The national database encompassed nearly 150,000 federal officers and agents, from the FBI and IRS down to the Railroad Retirement Board. And though it launched only in December 2023, by the end of last year all 90 executive branch agencies with law enforcement officers had provided thousands of disciplinary records dating to 2017, a report issued by the Justice Department in December said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Makes perfect sense. In the new upside-down Trumpworld in which we live the only good cop is a bad cop.

Scott MacFarlane of CBS News: "Ed Martin, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, revealed he has opened inquiries into public statements of Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate, according to an internal memo to federal prosecutors in Washington. The inquiry will also review a public statement made by Rep. Robert Garcia, a second-term House Democrat from California, Garcia told CBS News. The U.S. attorney's memo, which was obtained by CBS News, alleges the public statements of Democratic legislators could constitute a threat to Supreme Court justices and the newly hired employees of the Trump administration's new Department of Government Efficiency...."

Are We Feeling Sorry for These Republicans Yet? No?? Meredith Hill of Politico: "A growing number of congressional Republicans are desperately trying to back-channel with White House officials as ... Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency ramps up its slash-and-burn firings of federal workers. GOP lawmakers unleashed a frantic flurry of calls and texts after federal agencies undertook the latest firings this past weekend, with Republicans particularly worried about cuts affecting public safety and health roles.... For the most part, Republican members are publicly cheering the administration's push to slash the federal government.... But privately, many are feeling helpless to counter the meat-ax approach that has been embraced so far...." ~~~

     ~~~ Syedah Asghar & Zoe Richards of NBC News: "Rep. Rich McCormick faced an angry crowd Thursday during a town hall in his Georgia district, where many constituents lashed out at the Republican lawmaker over his support for massive federal layoffs and budget cuts by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. In video of the event taken by Greg Bluestein, a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and an NBC News contributor, attendees clashed with McCormick, bashing both President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk who is helping lead DOGE's efforts to drastically reduce government spending."

"Vote-a-Rama." Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "The Senate was on track to pass Republicans' budget plan on a straight party-line vote sometime early Friday morning. But first, it was time for a well-worn parliamentary ritual: the hourslong marathon of votes on proposals that will never become law (and were never intended to) known as a 'vote-a-rama.' In a chamber where the average age is 65, the all-nighter brought senators to the floor for a binge of procedural motions and floor speeches delivered to a mostly empty chamber.... For Democrats, who do not have enough votes to block Republicans' budget, the vote-a-rama was a way to slow its roll, challenge G.O.P. priorities and, when possible, force Republicans into uncomfortable votes intended to create a damaging record to attack them on during next year's midterm elections. The rules of the Senate allow members to propose an unlimited number of budget amendments, meaning voting can continue until Democrats lose steam and allow the debate to come to a close." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Sahil Kapur, et al., of NBC News: "The Republican-controlled Senate on Friday morning adopted a $340 billion budget blueprint designed to boost funding for ... Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts, energy production and the military. The mostly partly-line vote came just before 5 a.m. ET following an all-night 'vote-a-rama,' in which senators cast votes on 33 amendments over the course of a 10-hour span. The final vote was 52-48, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as the lone Republican to join all 47 Democrats in voting against the budget resolution."

Mark Berman & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as the FBI's ninth director, installing a close ally of ... Donald Trump and a staunch critic of the bureau to lead the country's premier law enforcement agency. Patel was approved 51-49, a remarkably tight margin for a position that historically has seen nominees win overwhelming bipartisan support. Each of the last three FBI directors garnered the votes of at least 92 senators.... Republicans Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) voted against Patel." (Also linked yesterday.) The Guardian's report is here.

Ta Ta. Maegan Vazquez & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former Senate Republican leader, will not seek reelection next year, he announced in a Senate floor speech on Thursday. McConnell, who is celebrating his 83rd birthday Thursday, is the longest-serving Senate party leader in history." the AP report is here. MB: That's a shame, because nobody has done as much as Mitch has to prep the nation for an end to democracy than has Mitch. Sure he did it, for the most part (but not entirely!), with more grace and finesse than has King Blunderbuss, But absent Mitch, there might be no king.

~~~~~~~~~~

New York. Benjamin Oreskes, et al., of the New York Times: "Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York announced on Thursday that she would not exercise her authority to remove Mayor Eric Adams from office for now, but would seek to impose strict new guardrails on his administration of New York City. While Ms. Hochul's actions, if enacted by state and city legislators, would fall far short of the removal some have demanded, they would curtail Mr. Adams's independence as he battles accusations that he entered a corrupt agreement with the Trump administration to drop federal bribery charges against him.... The governor ... laid out a suite of new oversight measures designed to empower other state and city officials to keep careful watch over Mr. Adams's team at City Hall and potentially challenge Mr. Trump if the mayor would not." An AP story is here.

Wisconsin. Theodore Schleifer & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: Elon "Musk, the country's largest donor during the 2024 election, is returning to campaigns by funding a new effort to help elect Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. It is Mr. Musk's first public political spending after Election Day. America PAC spent $1 million on canvassing operations in the state, according to a new campaign finance filing that became public Thursday.... A nonprofit organization that has historically been backed by Mr. Musk, Building America's Future, this week began a $1.6 million-and-counting television campaign to bolster Judge Schimel, a former state attorney general who is now a judge in Waukesha County. But that group has other major donors and is not as directly tied to Mr. Musk as is America PAC, which is funded almost entirely by the billionaire. Wisconsin Supreme Court elections are officially nonpartisan, but Judge Schimel has been endorsed by the Republican Party of Wisconsin...."

The Conversation -- February 20, 2025

Trump Flouts Judges' Orders. Justin Jouvenal, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal judges have blocked ... Donald Trump's attempts to freeze trillions in federal grants and loans, halt billions in foreign assistance and dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development. But in each case, the administration has said it still has legal authority to do at least some of those things, prompting judges and those challenging Trump's actions to accuse him of failing to comply. Legal experts said the administration's aggressive maneuvers have approached the red line of openly flouting court orders, as Trump and his top aides and advisers assert vast presidential powers. The most dramatic example came Wednesday. Plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration's 90-day pause on foreign aid asked a judge to hold the administration in civil contempt for violating his temporary restraining order blocking the freeze. A day earlier, attorneys for the government said agencies could keep a hold on much of the funds despite Judge Amir Ali's order, based on statutes and regulations that exist separately from Trump's executive directive. The government said Ali's order was 'silent' on those other powers and vowed to continue suspension of aid unless the judge clarified his ruling. ~~~

~~~ Stephanie Nolen of the New York Times: "Funds for vital health programs around the world remain frozen and their work has not been able to resume, despite a federal judge's order that temporarily halted the Trump administration's dismantling of the government's main foreign aid agency.... A State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday that the office of Secretary of State Marco Rubio had issued more than 180 waivers permitting lifesaving activities to resume, and that more were being approved each day. The department did not reply to a request to provide a list of the 180 projects. But even programs with waivers are still frozen, according to people in more than 40 U.S.A.I.D.-funded groups, because the payments system that U.S.A.I.D. used to disburse funds to the organizations has not operated for weeks."

Mark Berman & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as the FBI's ninth director, installing a close ally of ... Donald Trump and a staunch critic of the bureau to lead the country's premier law enforcement agency. Patel was approved 51-49, a remarkably tight margin for a position that historically has seen nominees win overwhelming bipartisan support. Each of the last three FBI directors garnered the votes of at least 92 senators.... Republicans Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) voted against Patel."

Apparently one type of climate-change denial is to deny and ignore the effects of climate change, even when they slap you upside the head AND rip your guts out: ~~~

     ~~~ Christopher Flavelle of the New York Times: "The Trump administration plans to all but eliminate the office that oversees America's recovery from the largest disasters, raising questions about how the United States will rebuild from hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities made worse by climate change. The Office of Community Planning and Development, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, pays to rebuild homes and other recovery efforts after the country's worst disasters.... The administration plans to cut the staff in that office by 84 percent, according to a document obtained by The New York Times. The number of workers would be cut to 150, from 936 when Mr. Trump took office last month." ~~~

     ~~~ Plea to the Gods: Send a devastating hurricane to -- and only to -- El Castillo Real de Mar-a-Lardo, Playa del Palma, Florida. You will recognize it by its ostentation. P.S. Be sure to level that bachelor pad where Elon stays.

Marie: I think the following is an exact quote. I mean, not a translation. I think Vlad learned to say this in English the way Boris would say it to Natasha. Because it's so absolutely true. Vlad wants you to know, America! Thanks to RAS for the lead. ~~~

Marie: Sorry, BlueSky posts are very unstable in Squarespace, and I have to re-embed them every time I make another change to the page:

Vladimir Putin: "I moved on Trump like a bitch. When you're a tyrannical dictator, he'll let you do it. He'll let you do anything."

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— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot.bsky.social) February 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM

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He who saves his country violates no law. -- Rod Steiger, playing Napoleon in the film "Waterloo" ~~~

~~~ Naftali Bendavid of the Washington Post: "...Trump is barreling through the executive branch with the conviction that it is his to rule alone, no matter the laws Congress has enacted -- even if that means destroying agencies, intervening in the justice system or granting enormous authority to a wealthy donor. That is not how most presidents have seen a job that the Constitution arguably defines -- beyond its military and diplomatic duties -- as essentially doing what Congress tells him, saying he must 'take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.'... Trump is the first president who is essentially ignoring the existence of Congress, [said historian H.W.] Brands.... 'What makes this moment particularly dangerous for those who care about our constitutional system is that Donald Trump believes he has a mandate to act this way -- and so far, the American people haven't pushed back,' said Timothy Naftali, a historian at Columbia University.... If Trump's move to assert such expansive power is novel, so, too, is Congress's willingness to cede it."

We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The M.T.A. has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We'll see you in court. -- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, statement responding to delusional man who thinks he's king ~~~

As distributed by the White House. Really.~~~ He Who Causes Traffic Jams Is King. Benjamin Oreskes of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump ... liken[ed] himself to a king as he celebrated his administration's move to kill New York City's congestion pricing program. 'CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,' he wrote. 'LONG LIVE THE KING!' The White House then reinforced the message, recirculating it on Instagram and X with an illustration of Mr. Trump wearing a crown on a magazine cover resembling Time, but called Trump. Mr. Trump's expansive views of his power have been evident in his words and deeds. By killing congestion pricing, Mr. Trump suggested he was saving New York.... He vowed during the election to halt the program.... On Wednesday, the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy..., laid out Mr. Trump's objections to the program in a letter sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul and said that federal officials would contact the state to 'discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations.'" A Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Time to invoke the 25th Amendment. One irony here: every time King Donald travels in New York City, he causes massive traffic jams. Here's the underlying story: ~~~

~~~ Ana Ley, et al., of the New York Times: Donald "Trump intends to revoke federal approval of New York City's congestion pricing program, fulfilling a campaign promise to reverse the policy that tolls drivers who enter Manhattan's busiest streets to help finance repairs to mass transit. In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday, the president's transportation secretary outlined Mr. Trump's objections to the program, the first of its kind in the nation, and said that federal officials would contact the state to 'discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations.' The letter, from Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, cited the cost to working-class motorists, the use of revenue from the tolls for transit upgrades rather than roads and the reach of the program compared with the plan approved by federal legislation as reasons for the decision." ~~~

~~~ Alas, King Donald is not finished with running large cities: ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Schwartzman & Peter Hermann of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said Wednesday night that the federal government 'should take over the governance of D.C.,' claiming that leaders of the nation's capital are not doing enough to reduce crime, clean up graffiti and remove homeless encampments." MB: When you have a king, see, you can forget about self-governance. Besides, anything you can do, Trump can do better.

⭐Heather Cox Richardson on Substack: "The past week has solidified a sea change in American [ and global -- history.... Under Trump, the United States is abandoning the post'World War II world it helped to build and then guaranteed for the past 80 years.... The principle of national sovereignty is being tested in Ukraine. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine held about a third of the USSR's nuclear weapons but gave them up in exchange for payments and security assurances from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom that they would respect Ukraine's sovereignty within its existing borders.... 'We now have an alliance between a Russian president who wants to destroy Europe and an American president who also wants to destroy Europe,' a European diplomat said. 'The transatlantic alliance is over.'" MB: Read this. I can barely imagine a better summary of how we got here than this essay. If you don't have time today, read it tomorrow. ~~~

~~~ Andrew Kramer & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "The simmering feud between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and ... [Donald] Trump escalated on Wednesday when Mr. Zelensky said the American leader had been 'caught in a web of disinformation' from Russia and Mr. Trump mocked his counterpart as a 'dictator without elections' who had done a terrible job as president. The pointed exchange came one day after officials from the United States and Russia opened talks to end the fighting in Ukraine that excluded the Ukrainian government. Hours after that meeting in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Trump suggested that Ukraine had started the war, a comment that brought a strong rebuttal from Mr. Zelensky on Wednesday morning. 'I would like to have more truth with the Trump team,' Mr. Zelensky said in some of the most overt criticism yet of Mr. Trump and his view of the war in Ukraine.... In a post on his Truth Social account, Mr. Trump responded with a scathing attack on Mr. Zelensky. 'Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn't be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and "TRUMP," will never be able to settle,' Mr. Trump wrote. Like his assertions a day earlier, his comments were filled with falsehoods. The United States, for instance, has allocated $119 billion for aid to Ukraine..., not $350 billion." The AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "By vilifying Mr. Zelensky and shifting blame for the war from Moscow to Kyiv, Mr. Trump seems to be laying a predicate for withdrawing support for an ally under attack.... [Mr. Trump's attacks on Mr. Zelensky amounted to] a striking distortion of reality. Mr. Zelensky did not talk the United States into giving him money 'to go into a war.' He and his country were attacked [by Russia], and only then did the United States under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. respond with expansive financial assistance. And even then, it has been only about a third of what Mr. Trump claimed.... Mr. Trump went on...: 'He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden "like a fiddle."'... [Mr. Trump called Mr. Zelensky a 'dictator without elections' and said is poll ratings were at four percent.] While Ukraine has suspended elections during the war, Mr. Zelensky was in fact originally elected by a landslide in 2019 in a contest deemed free and fair by the international community -- unlike Mr. Putin, an actual dictator who has stayed in power for a quarter-century through elections widely deemed to be farces. And Mr. Zelensky enjoys a 57 percent approval rating, according to a new poll, higher than Mr. Trump's.

"The president's 'dictator' jab came just hours before he referred to himself online regarding a domestic issue as 'the king,' followed up by a White House official who posted an illustration of Mr. Trump in royal garb. The president's attack on Mr. Zelensky, while sparing any harsh words for Mr. Putin, provoked outrage among European leaders, Democrats in Washington and even a few Republicans who were willing to speak out." ~~~

~~~ David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "Tuesday was a dark day for the United States.... Donald Trump and his administration embraced Russia as a peace partner without demanding that it pay any price for its illegal invasion of Ukraine. And then, in a statement that turned morality upside down, the president blamed Ukraine for causing the war.... The tragic loss of life in Ukraine will mean nothing -- and a true resolution of the conflict will be impossible -- if we can't distinguish between the attacker and the victim." Ignatius seems to think Marco is doing a good job, or at least would be if Trump could keep his mouth shut & stop making everything about Trump. MB: Fat chance. ~~~

~~~ Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "In appealing to ... [Donald] Trump, the Kremlin has zeroed in on his desire to make a profit.... Remarkably, the Trump administration appears to be engaging with Russia's message without demanding payment up front. After Ukraine suggested the possibility of natural resource deals to Mr. Trump, his treasury secretary pushed to have the country sign away half its mineral wealth. And Mr. Trump continues to portray American allies as freeloaders, threatening more tariffs and demanding they pay more for their own defense. With Russia, by contrast, the administration seems to be signaling that the one thing Mr. Putin has to do to pave the way for a full reset in Moscow's relationship with Washington is end the war in Ukraine. Many Europeans and Ukrainians fear Mr. Trump will seek a peace deal on Russia's terms, especially after the American president suggested on Tuesday that Ukraine was to blame for the Russian invasion.&" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ King's Courtiers Bow & Scrape. Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "As ... [Donald] Trump makes an abrupt pivot toward Russia, upending generations of American foreign policy, he is also defying members of his own party in Congress, many of whom have spent their careers arguing for a hawkish stance against Moscow and strong backing for allies in Europe facing its most immediate threats. But the response from Republicans on Capitol Hill has been muted, in some cases to the point of silence. There has been little G.O.P. pushback on Mr. Trump's efforts to draw closer to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia or blame Ukraine as he seeks to bring a quick end to the war that began when Russia invaded the country.... There has been no concerted effort to challenge him from G.O.P. leaders or senators who play pivotal roles in overseeing military and foreign policy in Congress. 'Right now, you have got to give him some space,' Senator John Thune, the South Dakota Republican and majority leader, said at a news conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday after a closed-door Senate lunch with Vice President JD Vance."

Members of Dictators' Club Stick Together. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: Donald "Trump's media company sued a Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday, accusing him of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media. The unusual move was made all the more extraordinary by its timing: Just hours earlier, the Brazilian justice had received an indictment that would force him to decide whether to order the arrest of Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president and an ally of Mr. Trump. The justice is overseeing multiple criminal investigations into Mr. Bolsonaro.... The lawsuit appeared to represent an astonishing effort by Mr. Trump to pressure a foreign judge as he weighed the fate of a fellow right-wing leader who, like him, was indicted on charges that he tried to overturn his election loss. Mr. Bolsonaro had explicitly called on Mr. Trump to take action against Justice Moraes in an interview with The New York Times last month." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Do you think when Trump meets, say, Putin or Bolsonaro, they do the secret handshake? Have they made pinkie blood oaths?

"An Explosion of Lies." Paul Krugman: "... [an] explosion of lies [has emanated] from Musk and Trump these days, ranging from the claim that Social Security is sending checks to tens of millions of dead people to the claim that Ukraine started a war that, as I hope everyone remembers, began with a Russian attempt to seize Kyiv. Why the frantic lying? I suspect that it's because Musk, Trump and their Congressional allies are flailing.... Beginning late last week Trump officials, clearly operating on instructions from DOGE, laid off large numbers of 'probationary' federal workers -- that is, workers who have been hired relatively recently or, in some cases, have experienced a change in job status (often a promotion!) and as a result have fewer job protections than the rest of the federal work force. As I wrote the other day, this was mainly austerity theater.... [They have tried] try to cover up the mess they made with desperate lies -- and the lies themselves provide even more evidence that they have no idea what they're doing."

Qasim Nauman of the New York Times: Donald "Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at eliminating federal benefits for undocumented migrants in the United States, describing the benefits as an improper use of taxpayer resources.... Undocumented immigrants are largely not eligible for federal benefits, with only some exceptions allowed for emergency situations, and many immigrant families are hesitant to enroll in programs they are eligible for, according to the National Immigration Law Center.... The White House said Wednesday, without providing details, that undocumented migrants have qualified for various federal welfare programs, and accused the Biden administration of spending billions on supporting people who have entered the country illegally." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When reporters write "without evidence" or some version thereof, as Nauman has here, they have a responsibility to add "so there's no reason to believe it's true" or some version of that, so readers understand the person making the allegation is blowing smoke. If the person comes back "with evidence," great. But "without evidence" leaves the naive reader thinking the accuser just forgot or was too busy or something to lay out a spreadsheet full of proof of wrongdoing.

Trump Pretends He Might Send You a Check or Something. Kate Kelly of the New York Times: Donald "Trump said on Wednesday evening that the newly established Department of Government Efficiency might return a portion of the savings accrued through job cuts and other budget curbs to American taxpayers. The idea of giving back 20 percent of the money saved as a result of initiatives recommended by the new department, known as DOGE, is 'under consideration,' said Mr. Trump. The potential initiative, he said, was 'a new concept' under which his administration would give '20 percent of the DOGE savings to American citizens' and '20 percent goes to paying down debt.' (He didn't mention what would be done with the other 60 percent of the money.)"

Perhaps concerned that there is not enough gold in Fort Knox to gild all his king stuff, Donald Trump -- following a conspiracy theory promoted by Elon Musk -- questioned whether or not someone had stolen/stollen the gold from Fort Knox. This, although Trump's own Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said earlier Wednesday, "We do an audit every year.... All the gold is present and accounted for."

From the Amazing Pot ... Kettle File. All federal workers must once again show up to work. Show up to work in person like the rest of us. It doesn't work when you don't show up. You can't work at home. They're not working. They're playing tennis, they're playing golf or they have other jobs. But they're not working or they're certainly not working hard. You could never build a company or a country with that. So, we have a very strong policy and if they don't show up to work they get fired. -- Donald Trump, Wednesday, after spending the workday playing golf

Tyler Pager of the New York Times: Donald "Trump said Wednesday he would have had a 'very nasty life' if he lost the presidential election, a surprisingly public acknowledgment that his legal challenges could have consumed his life and brought jail time. 'If I lost, it would have been very bad,' Mr. Trump said at an investment summit in Miami Beach. 'It was dangerous, actually very dangerous.'... During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump faced dozens of criminal charges across four different cases.... When Mr. Trump won in November, the Justice Department abandoned the two federal cases against him, and a judge in Manhattan issued an unconditional discharge in his hush money case."

The King Rules at Many Castles (Where Courtiers Pay for Admission). Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "As of noon on Thursday, Trump will have been president for 31 full days. He will have spent all or part of 16 of those days at four Trump Organization properties. He will have played golf on 10 of those days. He will have spent 19 nights at the White House and 12 nights at properties owned by his private business. He will have spent precisely zero Friday or Saturday nights at the executive mansion. He will have played golf every weekend day except for this past Sunday, when he opted to take the presidential limousine for a spin at Daytona International Speedway instead."

Trump to Courts: Catch Me if You Can. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Trump administration is systematically exploiting loopholes to effectively keep much of the president's blanket spending freezes in place, accounts by officials and court filings show, despite restraining orders from judges who have told agencies to disregard the directives. The administration's strategy is to have political appointees embedded in various agencies invoke other legal authorities to pause spending, while posturing as if those officials had undertaken the efforts independent of ... [Donald] Trump's original directives. In short, critics say, administration officials are paying lip service to complying with the letter of the court orders while violating their spirit. The tactic shows how aggressively and nimbly the Trump administration is working to keep funds jammed up, and the complexity judges face if they want to compel the administration to unblock the money."

Charlie Warzel, et al., of the Atlantic: "DOGE has achieved 'God mode.' That's according to an employee in senior leadership at USAID, who told us that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency now has full, unrestricted access to the agency's digital infrastructure.... The employee's account, along with the accounts of several others across federal agencies, offers the clearest portrait yet of just how deep DOGE has burrowed into the systems of the federal government -- and the sensitive information of countless Americans.... The federal government does not typically grant such wide-ranging access to a single entity, let alone one that is effectively under the control of an unelected, erratic, and politically extreme actor such as Musk.... The risk of harm, abuse, or political revenge is clear. But simple, brazen corruption is also a concern among the federal workers we spoke with." Thanks to laura h. for this gift link.

Andrew Duehren & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The Internal Revenue Service will begin laying off roughly 6,000 employees on Thursday as part of the Trump administration's push to downsize the federal work force, three people familiar with the agency's plans said. The terminations will target relatively recent hires at the I.R.S., which the Biden administration had attempted to revitalize with a surge of funding and new staff.... The I.R.S. employs roughly 100,000 accountants, lawyers and other staff across the country. The layoffs come in the middle of tax filing season."

As Usual, Everything Is Going Very SmoothlyTM Trump. Hannah Natanson, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration's sweeping offer [titled 'Fork in the Road,'] of deferred resignations -- which the government says will allow workers to get paid until September -- was to many a guarantee of short-term financial security amid the tumult of massive cuts in the federal workforce. But, across agencies, some probationary employees were mistakenly fired after taking or attempting to take the 'fork' offer, according to interviews with dozens of federal workers and records obtained by The Post. And now, administration officials and agency leads are scrambling to fix their blunders and get back in touch with employees who have lost access to government emails and work devices."

Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered senior leaders at the Pentagon and throughout the U.S. military to develop plans for cutting 8 percent from the defense budget in each of the next five years..., a striking proposal certain to face internal resistance and strident bipartisan opposition in Congress. Hegseth ordered the proposed cuts to be drawn up by Monday, according to [his] memo, which is dated Tuesday and includes a list of 17 categories that the Trump administration wants exempted. Among them: operations at the southern U.S. border, modernization of nuclear weapons and missile defense, and acquisition of submarines, one-way attack drones and other munitions.... The budget directive follows a separate order from the Trump administration seeking lists of thousands of probationary Defense Department employees expected to be fired this week. That effort is being overseen by billionaire Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service.... The Pentagon also oversees about 1.3 million active-duty service members and nearly 800,000 others who are in the National Guard and reserves, but the Trump administration has exempted service members from its sweeping budget cuts for now.'"

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration had adopted a set of official government 'sex-based definitions' to give the public and federal agencies precise terms with which to describe categories including 'male,' 'female,' 'woman' and 'man.' The definitions are listed in a one-page 'guidance' that is aimed, in part, at keeping transgender women and girls out of female sports, discouraging gender-affirming care for young people and fulfilling ... [Donald] Trump's pledge that the federal government will recognize only two sexes: male and female. 'This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,' Mr. Kennedy said in a statement. 'The prior administration's policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.'" ~~~

     ~~~ OR, as Fenit Nirappil & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post put it in a more explanatory lede: "The federal health department escalated the Trump administration's campaign against transgender protections Wednesday, releasing public guidance that asserts a person's sex is 'unchangeable' and launching a website that promotes orders aimed at transgender people." ~~~

~~~⭐Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "It should have always been self-evident that Kennedy is not pro-prevention, since he built his career as a vaccine denialist. Yet much of the press seems to have been snookered. So it's especially noteworthy that Kennedy kicked off his new role with a broad attack on drugs people use to prevent depression, diabetes, and other such conditions. On Thursday..., Donald Trump signed an executive order that echoes Kennedy's lie that he wants to 'make America healthy again.' HHS is ordered to 'assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.' Kennedy has long had it out for these drugs, and repeatedly argues that the only prevention most people need is better willpower. Kennedy's 'solution' looks very much like punishing them for perceived personal failures by putting people into labor camps, which he euphemistically calls "wellness farms." As Mother Jones reported in July, people would be relegated to these 'farms,' where they would be denied their prescription medications." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So if you or anyone you care about has ever had an illness, is at risk of getting an illness or just might get an illness that can be prevented or alleviated with medication, you should be really scared.

Olly Olly Out Free! Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "A senior Justice Department official suggested Wednesday that ... [Donald] Trump's administration is justified in putting aside allegations of corruption against a public official if the official cooperates with the president's political agenda. The Justice Department official, Emil Bove III, raised the idea during a hearing on Wednesday at which a judge asked him to explain his rationale for abandoning a corruption case against New York City's mayor, Eric Adams.... Mr. Bove renewed his assertion that the prosecution should be dismissed because it was hindering Mr. Adams's cooperation with Mr. Trump's immigration crackdown. The judge, Dale E. Ho, asked whether that logic could apply to other officials with critical public safety and national security responsibilities in New York. 'Like the police commissioner, for example?' the judge asked. 'Yes, absolutely,' Mr. Bove said.... His answer underscored how the Justice Department has begun to shift into an enforcement arm of Mr. Trump's agenda. Even the suggestion that the president can decide who should be immune from prosecution based on political or policy considerations would seem to set an extraordinary precedent."

Corey Kilgannon of the New York Times: "In a rare sign of pushback against ... [Donald] Trump, a coalition of congressional Republicans from the New York area rebuked the president for cuts to a federal program that administers aid to emergency workers and others suffering from toxins related to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In a letter to Mr. Trump, seven Republicans urged Mr. Trump 'as a native New Yorker who lived in New York City as it recovered from the 9/11 terrorist attacks' to reverse the cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program and rehire staff members who were fired several days ago. They echoed the immediate outcry from Democratic lawmakers and advocates when the cuts were made beginning late last week, as part of Elon Musk's so-called department of government efficiency..., which is cutting spending and eliminating jobs across a wide swath of federal agencies. On Monday, New York's Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, issued a letter demanding the cuts be restored. The initial reaction from Republicans was more muted, but by Wednesday, as it became clearer that the blowback to the firings was widespread, the Republican resistance grew more vocal, especially from districts in and around New York City, where the memory of 9/11 still resonates powerfully." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Notice these chickenshits only objected after they put their fingers to the wind, and the wind blew off the digits. So call your representative. Call your senator. Gripe!

Eric Tucker of the AP: "The Senate was set to vote Thursday on whether to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, a decision that could place him atop the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency despite concerns from Democrats over his qualifications and the prospect that he would do ... Donald Trump's bidding. Patel cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last week by a 12-10, party-line vote and is set for consideration by the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday afternoon."

Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal appeals court panel has denied the Trump administration's emergency bid to overturn an order blocking ... Donald Trump's effort to restrict birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants and short-term U.S. visitors, teeing up another potential race to the Supreme Court. The 3-0 ruling Wednesday from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals maintains for now a Seattle-based federal District Court judge's order blocking Trumps policy nationwide. That judge, Reagan appointee John Coughenour, upbraided Trump for seeking to upend more than a century of settled case law on birthright citizenship."

He's a Better Man Than You, Elon Musk. Marc Elias answers Elon Musk's insult. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: As laura h. pointed out in yesterday's Comments, Tom Nichols of the Atlantic is pretty convinced of the "incompetence" angle, vis-a-vis Don & Elon. Nichols watch Sean Hannity interview Dumb & Dumber Tuesday night and concluded, "This low-key fandango was probably good enough for MAGA fan-servicing purposes, but seems unlikely to reassure the millions of Americans doubtful that the president and the plutocrat know what they're doing. The president seems only dimly aware of the details of Musk's adventures, but he's certain that a smart guy like Musk is furthering his agenda -- whatever it is. Musk, who answers to no one, is full of fervor to kill off government agencies he does not understand, because unelected rich men firing probationary federal employees is apparently how true Jeffersonian democracy is restored to an ailing America.... At some point..., Trump ... could end up throwing Musk off the ship of state, as he has done to so many other of his loyal subordinates. But no matter how it ends, Trump will still be president, and Musk will still be rich. The rest of us, unfortunately, will be living with the damage done." Nichols provides some stunning examples of what nitwits Team President* are. The link is a gift link from laura. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: However, as laura also noted yesterday, if you look at Charlie Warzel and others' article linked above, it would appear that the danger Musk poses is both deliberate and accidental. As for some of the accidental destruction and errors, Paul Krugman points out that the Musk/Trump default response is to lie about them.

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Mississippi. Judge Unaware of First Amendment. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "A Mississippi judge on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order requested by the city of Clarksdale requiring a local newspaper to remove a critical editorial from its website, a move that alarmed press advocates. By Wednesday, the newspaper, The Clarksdale Press Register, had removed the editorial from its website. But Wyatt Emmerich, the president of Emmerich Newspapers, which owns The Press Register, said he planned to challenge the judge's order at a hearing next week.... Mr. Emmerich said in an interview ... that the judge had targeted 'an editorial that is pretty plain vanilla, criticizing the City Council for not sending out the appropriate notices.' The Press Register, which dates to 1865 and serves about 7,750 readers, published the editorial on its website on Feb. 8 under the headline, 'Secrecy, deception erode public trust.'"

Missouri. Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "Abortion clinics in the staunchly Republican state of Missouri this week resumed procedures for the first time in years, despite a continued push by conservative state leaders to block a constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights that voters approved in November. It was a remarkable moment after an extended fight. Missouri was the first state to enact an abortion ban after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Then in 2024, it became the first state with a near-total ban to approve a citizen-sponsored abortion rights amendment. On the day after voters approved the constitutional amendment, abortion rights groups sued to overturn the ban as well as a host of other restrictions on abortion that preceded the ban. Planned Parenthood, the only provider of abortions outside of hospitals in the state, resumed abortion procedures after a judge on Friday granted a temporary injunction that blocked state licensing requirements imposed on clinics. The clinics had said that the requirements made it impossible to operate. Planned Parenthood still will not provide abortion pills until the state approves a required plan for reporting any complications faced by women who use them. And Republican legislators are still pressing for a raft of bills that would restrict or reverse the amendment passed in November." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's one of the "raft of bills": ~~~

     ~~~ Robyn Pennacchia of Wonkette: "House Bill 807, the 'Save MO Babies Act,' was introduced by Republican state Rep. Phil Amato, who says [his bill would create a registry of pregnant people 'at risk of seeking an abortion,' which] he imagines ... would also work as an 'EHarmony for babies' that would set up those prospective adoptive parents with those who might have an abortion.... So -- if the government deems you 'at risk' of seeking an abortion, people who might want to adopt your kid will be made aware of that so they can, I don't know, pressure you to give birth so they can adopt your child? You are probably wondering what it is that the state would actually do with this information. Well, one thing we know for sure is that they'd share it with law enforcement, because that is specifically mentioned in the bill."

The Conversation -- February 19, 2025

Andrew Kramer & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "The simmering feud between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and ... [Donald] Trump escalated on Wednesday when Mr. Zelensky said the American leader had been 'caught in a web of disinformation' from Russia and Mr. Trump mocked his counterpart as a 'dictator without elections' who had done a terrible job as president. The pointed exchange came one day after officials from the United States and Russia opened talks to end the fighting in Ukraine that excluded the Ukrainian government. Hours after that meeting in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Trump suggested that Ukraine had started the war, a comment that brought a strong rebuttal from Mr. Zelensky on Wednesday morning. 'I would like to have more truth with the Trump team,' Mr. Zelensky said in some of the most overt criticism yet of Mr. Trump and his view of the war in Ukraine.... In a post on his Truth Social account, Mr. Trump responded with a scathing attack on Mr. Zelensky. 'Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn't be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and 'TRUMP,' will never be able to settle,' Mr. Trump wrote. Like his assertions a day earlier, his comments were filled with falsehoods. The United States, for instance, has allocated $119 billion for aid to Ukraine..., not $350 billion." The AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "In appealing to ... [Donald] Trump, the Kremlin has zeroed in on his desire to make a profit.... Remarkably, the Trump administration appears to be engaging with Russia's message without demanding payment up front. After Ukraine suggested the possibility of natural resource deals to Mr. Trump, his treasury secretary pushed to have the country sign away half its mineral wealth. And Mr. Trump continues to portray American allies as freeloaders, threatening more tariffs and demanding they pay more for their own defense. With Russia, by contrast, the administration seems to be signaling that the one thing Mr. Putin has to do to pave the way for a full reset in Moscow's relationship with Washington is end the war in Ukraine. Many Europeans and Ukrainians fear Mr. Trump will seek a peace deal on Russia's terms, especially after the American president suggested on Tuesday that Ukraine was to blame for the Russian invasion."

Members of Dictators' Club Stick Together. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: Donald "Trump's media company sued a Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday, accusing him of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media. The unusual move was made all the more extraordinary by its timing: Just hours earlier, the Brazilian justice had received an indictment that would force him to decide whether to order the arrest of Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president and an ally of Mr. Trump. The justice is overseeing multiple criminal investigations into Mr. Bolsonaro.... The lawsuit appeared to represent an astonishing effort by Mr. Trump to pressure a foreign judge as he weighed the fate of a fellow right-wing leader who, like him, was indicted on charges that he tried to overturn his election loss. Mr. Bolsonaro had explicitly called on Mr. Trump to take action against Justice Moraes in an interview with The New York Times last month." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Do you think when Trump meets, say, Putin or Bolsonaro, they do the secret handshake? Have they made pinkie blood oaths?

Jonah Bromwich & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Wednesday is expected to scrutinize the Trump administration's extraordinary attempt to abandon corruption charges against New York City's mayor, a decision that shook the legal community and led to calls for the mayor's resignation. The judge, Dale E. Ho, ordered the Washington prosecutors who sought a dismissal of the case last week to appear in a Manhattan courtroom to address the Justice Department's effort to shut down the case, just months before the mayor, Eric Adams, was scheduled to go to trial. Last week, the acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove III, directed prosecutors to seek an end to Mayor Adams's prosecution. Mr. Bove said explicitly that his directive was based not on the case's legal merits. The case, he said, was detracting from the mayor's ability to aid ... [Donald] Trump's program of mass deportation. At least seven prosecutors resigned rather than obey, including Danielle R. Sassoon..., interim head of the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan."

He's a Better Man Than You, Elon Musk. Marc Elias answers Elon Musk's insult. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Marie: As laura h. points out in today's Comments, Tom Nichols of the Atlantic is pretty convinced of the "incompetence" angle, vis-a-vis Don & Elon. Nichols watched Sean Hannity interview Dumb & Dumber Tuesday night and concluded, "This low-key fandango was probably good enough for MAGA fan-servicing purposes, but seems unlikely to reassure the millions of Americans doubtful that the president and the plutocrat know what they're doing. The president seems only dimly aware of the details of Musk's adventures, but he's certain that a smart guy like Musk is furthering his agenda -- whatever it is. Musk, who answers to no one, is full of fervor to kill off government agencies he does not understand, because unelected rich men firing probationary federal employees is apparently how true Jeffersonian democracy is restored to an ailing America.... At some point..., Trump ... could end up throwing Musk off the ship of state, as he has done to so many other of his loyal subordinates. But no matter how it ends, Trump will still be president, and Musk will still be rich. The rest of us, unfortunately, will be living with the damage done." Nichols provides some stunning examples of what nitwits Team President* are. The link is a gift link from laura. ~~~

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~~~ Marie: The kindliest, most upbeat thing you can say about Trump and his enablers is that they are incompetent. That's the tack Edelberg & Harris take in their analysis of the fiscal crisis Trump is threatening (linked below). But I think they're much worse than bumblers. They're vandals and saboteurs. They mean to sack the country and destroy it.

Overnight, A New World Order. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... Mr. Trump is in the middle of executing one of the most jaw-dropping pivots in American foreign policy in generations, a 180-degree turn that will force friends and foes to recalibrate in fundamental ways.... As far as Mr. Trump is concerned, Russia is not responsible for the war that has devastated its neighbor. Instead, he suggests that Ukraine is to blame for Russia's invasion of it. To listen to Mr. Trump talk with reporters on Tuesday about the conflict was to hear a version of reality that would be unrecognizable on the ground in Ukraine and certainly would never have been heard from any other American president of either party.... Mr. Trump uttered not one word of reproach for Mr. Putin or for Russia, which first invaded Ukraine in 2014, waged a low-intensity war against it through all four years of Mr. Trump's first term and then invaded it in 2022 aiming to take over the whole country.... He makes clear that the United States is done isolating Mr. Putin for his unprovoked aggression against a weaker neighbor and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people." ~~~

~~~ Apparently, Trump is bored with the Big Lie, and is now going with a Bigger Lie: ~~~

~~~ Zoe Richards of NBC News: "... Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that Ukraine was responsible for Russia's invasion of the country three years ago, arguing Kyiv could have made a deal to avoid the conflict. 'You should have never started it,' Trump said of Ukraine while criticizing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had expressed concern that his country was not included in talks between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia. 'I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well. But today I heard, "Oh, well, we weren't invited." Well, you've been there for three years,' Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. 'You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Eli Stokols of Politico: "... Donald Trump mocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a poor negotiator and "grossly incompetent" Tuesday, as tensions continued to rise over the administration's direct talks with Russia about ending the war it launched nearly three years ago. The comments come amid criticism from European allies and many American intelligence experts that Ukraine and European nations invested in Ukraine's defense had been excluded from negotiations that began early Tuesday between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "This massive reversal of U.S. policy to back Ukraine against the Russian invasion, justified with propaganda talking points pushed by the Kremlin, triggered immediate outrage from policymakers and national security experts alike.... 'Truly, it's time for everyone to admit it, Trump is legitimately a Russian asset,' wrote former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).... 'Listening to Trump you'd think Ukraine was bombing its own cities and invading its own country,' wrote New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser." ~~~

~~~ Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Shortly after the United States' opening meeting with Russian officials on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine lashed out at the Trump administration's negotiating tactics in his harshest terms yet for excluding Ukrainians from talks on their own country's fate.... Mr. Zelensky protested his exclusion from the discussions by canceling his own planned trip to the Saudi capital.... 'I don't know who will stay, who will leave, or who is planning to go where. To be honest, I don't care,' he said. 'I don't want coincidences, and that's why I will not go to Saudi Arabia.'... The pointed remarks represented a shift from Mr. Zelensky, who has tried to walk a fine line in the face of Trump administration pronouncements, avoiding direct criticism."

Natalie Allison, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday challenging the independence of the nation's major trade, communications and financial regulators, setting up a potential Supreme Court fight that could give him significantly more power over those agencies' decisions, budgets and leadership. The executive order, which Trump signed at ... Mar-a-Lago..., is the latest in a series of executive actions he has taken since returning to office that advance a broad and controversial theory of executive power. The White House has already insisted Trump has unilateral authority to drastically cut the federal workforce, spending and programs, and essentially dismantle entire agencies without congressional approval. Tuesday's order adds the suggestion that Trump's power extends to direct control over agencies ... that -- according to laws passed by Congress and signed by Trump's predecessors -- are supposed to enjoy some measure of independence." Politico's story is here.

David Bauder of the AP: "... Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will continue to restrict The Associated Press' access to his events and news conferences until the news outlet goes along with his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico in its reports. He acknowledged that the move was a presidential retaliation against the news agency's editorial policy. 'We're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America,' Trump said, speaking to reporters ... at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate.... It was the first time the president himself had commented on the issue since the White House began not allowing AP to cover several of his events last week.... 'The Associated Press just refuses to go with what the law is,' Trump said, an apparent reference to his executive order renaming the Gulf. No law prevents the AP from choosing the style it deems fit.... While Trump characterized AP as standing alone against the name change, outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post are also using Gulf of Mexico.... He also said ... that AP '... [are] doing us no favors. And I guess I'm doing them no favors. That's the way life works.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No, this is not the way life works, at least not in a democracy that depends upon a free press to function. It is not the press's job to do "favors" for the government officials it covers. The press has a responsibility for accuracy, not acquiescence. Notice, too, the attempt to control other peoples' words; Bauder reports, "White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich told Axios that the administration is concerned about AP 'weaponizing language through their Stylebook to push a partisan world view.'" Of course it is not the AP that is weaponizing language but the authoritarian Trump. This may sound like a petty, even a funny, controversy. But at heart, it tramples on the First Amendment and on the functioning of our system of government even as it bolsters Trump's totalitarian tendencies.

Wendy Edelberg & Ben Harris in a New York Times op-ed: "The true risk [of a fiscal crisis in not the debt; it] is our political leaders doing something wildly irresponsible that unnerves financial markets.... [Donald] Trump has brought budgetary chaos with extraordinary speed.... With DOGE itching to meddle in Treasury payment systems, the president may soon have the means to withhold payments at his personal whim. 'We're even looking at Treasuries,' he told reporters ominously when discussing his plans to commandeer the payment system. 'It could be that a lot of those things don't count.'... The $28 trillion market for Treasuries -- by far the most important financial market in the world -- depends first and foremost on trust.... Imagine if Mr. Trump threatens to withhold debt payments...." Thanks to laura h. for the link.

Marie: It almost defies the laws of probability that so few White House reporters play Stump Trump, even though that is, in theory, their job. But wouldn't it be fun to see a reporter ask Trump a question framed around Calvin's assumption here? And then the reporter would follow up if Trump blows her off with "What a stupid question!" And then we could watch Trump's head explode. So then the staff, in deference to squeamish sensibilities, would have to replace Trump's missing head with whatever cover-up they might find nearby: like a pointy white hood. Thanks to RAS for the link.

DOGE Should Cut Trump's Golf Outings. S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump has already spent $10.7 million of taxpayer money to play golf since retaking the White House last month, an expense that appears to have escaped the attention of his 'Department of Government Efficiency' waste, fraud and abuse hunters. The golf-related expenses -- which are likely to recur most weekends while Trump is in office -- have somehow flown below the radar of Elon Musk and his 'high-IQ' team, as Trump calls them, of programmers who are ransacking their way through the federal budget and labeling items they do not like or appear not to understand as 'fraud.' Even as they point out five- and six-figure contracts and grants as wasteful, they have ignored each of Trump's seven-figure golf trips to date."

Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: "A federal judge refused Tuesday to immediately block billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing government data systems or participating in worker layoffs. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that there are legitimate questions about Musk's authority, but said there isn't evidence of the kind of grave legal harm that would justify a temporary restraining order. The decision came in a lawsuit filed by 14 Democratic states challenging DOGE's authority to access sensitive government data. The attorneys general argued that Musk is wielding the kind of power that the Constitution says can only be held by those who are elected or confirmed by the Senate. The Trump administration, for its part, has maintained that layoffs are coming from agency heads, and asserted that despite his public cheering of the effort Musk isn't directly running DOGE's day-to-day operations himself.... [Chutkan wrote that the states'] questions about Musk's apparent 'unchecked authority' and lack of Congressional oversight for DOGE are legitimate and they may be able to successfully argue them later." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to on-air MSNBC reporting, Judge Chutkan did not believe an affidavit submitted to her by the government claiming that Elon Musk was merely a presidential advisor & was not in charge of DOGE. Both Trump & Musk have made statements affirming that Musk runs DOGE. Chutkan rejected the claim that Musk had no authority and told the Trump lawyers to remember that they had a duty to be truthful. But if not Musk, then who? ~~~

     ~~~ Who's the Boss? Joe DePaolo of Mediaite: Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has no idea. Neither does Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Even DOGE employees don't know & have been unable to get a straight answer.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge has temporarily blocked the CIA and the Office of Director of National Intelligence from firing 11 people whose jobs were eliminated to comply with ... Donald Trump's executive order seeking to end federal diversity programs. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga issued an order Tuesday pausing the firings after a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, in response to a lawsuit filed by intelligence officers who said the dismissals violated their constitutional rights and federal law. Trenga, an appointee of President George W. Bush, issued an administrative stay directing the agencies to keep the employees on administrative leave while barring any effort to cut off their pay or fire them."

So much for FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Musk fired the people responsible for handling the requests. It is, of course, against the law to deny FOIA requests without cause. (And, no, "cause" is not "we fired the staff.") ~~~

~~~ Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Members of the 'privacy team' in an office that oversees the hiring of federal workers were fired, which limits how much access the public is granted to government records. CNN learned about the firings in the Office of Personnel Management after filing a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act related to security clearances for Elon Musk and anyone else involved with the Department of Government Efficiency. 'Good luck with that, they just fired the whole privacy team,' responded an agency email address to the network's FOIA request. The agency's privacy team ensures data privacy practices meet legal requirements and protect the public's trust, according to the office's website, and complying with records requests is a legal duty that carries penalties enforceable in court. 'The move to block outside access to government records related to DOGE personnel also runs counter to Musk's claims that his team is attempting to be as transparent as possible,' CNN noted."

File Under "Whoops! Did Not Know What We Were Doing." ~~~

     (a) Kelsey Ables of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that it is moving to correct the accidental firing of several people working on the federal government's response to an outbreak of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu.... The USDA firings come as bird flu is wreaking havoc on the agriculture sector and as egg prices soar to a record high." The NBC News story is here.

     (b) DOGE Confuses "Million" and "Billion," Lies About It. Aatish Bhatia, et al., of the New York Times: "The Department of Government Efficiency ... published on Monday a list of government contracts it has canceled, together amounting to about $16 billion in savings itemized on a new 'wall of receipts' on its website. Almost half of those line-item savings could be attributed to a single $8 billion contract for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. But ... a closer scrutiny of a federal database shows that a recent version of the contract was for $8 million, not $8 billion. A larger total savings number published on the site, $55 billion, lacked specific documentation.... Even the $8 million is an upper bound on the amount saved by canceling the contract." DOGE later removed a screenshot showing the contract was worth only $8 million, not $8 billion, but it still reported that it had saved $8 billion.

     (c) Lena Sun & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration reversed a plan to shut down the government website that ships free coronavirus tests to households late Tuesday, after The Washington Post reported that the administration was preparing to end the program and was evaluating the costs of destroying or disposing of tens of millions of tests. The Post reported on Tuesday afternoon that the administration was evaluating the costs of destroying tests that would otherwise be provided free to Americans.... A half-hour before the planned shutdown, Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon sent a statement to The Post confirming that COVIDtests.gov would shut down at 8 p.m. Tuesday. But he said the tests would not be destroyed and 'will remain in inventory until they meet their expiration date.'... Then, 12 minutes before the site's planned shutdown, Nixon sent a new statement saying COVIDtests.gov would not be pulled offline at this time.... Internal documents show that officials at HHS had been considering two options: either disposing of or continuing to ship more than 160 million tests, valued at more than half a billion dollars. Only a small fraction of the tests are expired...."

No "Whoops!" here. Musk just has no idea what he's proposing. ~~~

     ~~~ Musk Spitballs a $400 Billion Rebate. Sophia Cai of Politico: "Elon Musk said he will bring to ... Donald Trump a proposal to send Americans rebate checks representing a portion of the money they save by slashing the federal government.... The plan calls for returning 20 percent of the savings generated by the Department of Government Efficiency back to taxpayers in the form of direct payments.... Budget experts warn that such a rebate program would require congressional approval, and lawmakers may prefer to use that money in other ways."

Forget About Food Safety. Christina Jewett of the New York Times: "Jim Jones, the director of the Food and Drug Administration's food division, resigned on Monday, citing what he called 'indiscriminate' layoffs that would make it 'fruitless for him to continue.' In his resignation letter, Mr. Jones estimated that 89 people of the 2,000 in his division were fired over the weekend, many of them freshly hired to do more in-depth work on chemical safety to protect the nation's food supply.... Mr. Jones also singled out Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly appointed secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, for criticizing the F.D.A. as being too beholden to the industries it oversees and for vowing to to dismiss the agency's nutrition staff. 'The secretary's comments impugning the integrity of the food staff, asserting they are corrupt based on falsities, is a disservice to everyone,' Mr. Jones wrote in the letter.... The food division's staff members were among about 700 people fired from the F.D.A. over the weekend. People who were let go by email said their supervisors were not aware of the cuts and had no say in them."

Kate Selig of the New York Times: "The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston was abruptly closed to visitors on Tuesday, and the federal agency that operates the site did not provide any explanation for the sudden disruption. Members of the Kennedy family said that Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency had fired members of the library's staff, forcing the temporary closure. Kennedy's grandson, Jack Schlossberg, wrote in a social media post that an official with the National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees presidential libraries, had instructed the Kennedy Library to fire probationary staff members. 'This is a direct attack on our past to rewrite a new future -- yet another example of stealing history from the American people,' Mr. Schlossberg wrote in a statement. 'It has nothing to do with government efficiency.'"

Well, you silly old folks. Too bad you're about to be scammed. We of the FBI were going to warn you so maybe you could keep your life savings, but no can do. Meeting cancelled. The president* sez faggedaboudit. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: When you think about it, the fewer of these types of community outreach presentations there are, the better, as far as Trump is concerned. I mean, how is going to scam people if the FBI keeps warning people off his grifts? (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Besides, we're all just wasted space, in the eyes of the very few People Who Matter. ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Waldman on Substack: "... Trump 2.0 is yet another attack by the super-rich against everyone else.... They believe that there is a small number of people who matter, and a great mass of people who deserve nothing.... Absolutely nothing in what Musk has done to date shows even the slightest interest in 'efficiency.'... [As Musk and his minions see it,] most of humanity is simply not human. We are ... bits of programming to be moved around at Elon's whim. Only he and the people who aspire to be like him are actors, decision-makers, molding the world to conform to their bold interplanetary vision.... Fire thousands of federal workers, cut off vital services -- who cares? Those people don't matter." Mitt Romney called47% of Americans "moochers,"; his running mate Paul Ryan said 60% of Americans were "takers"; Elon and Donald apparently believe 99% of us are expendible. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Marie: I guess it isn't bad enough that in fear of diversity initiatives, the Muskrats are firing federal employees whose jobs it is to protect civil rights (see Natanson/Dehghanpoor story linked yesterday). Now a Trump official is suggesting it is illegal for members of Congress to even inform constituents of their civil rights: ~~~

~~~ Ailia Zehra of the Hill: Donald "'s 'border czar' Tom Homan said Monday he asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) whether Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) efforts to educate people about their rights while facing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is impeding the agency's operations. Speaking on Fox News, Homan said he finds it disturbing that 'any member of Congress wants to educate people how they evade law enforcement.'... When the Fox News host asked him if he thought Ocasio-Cortez was breaking the law, Homan said he would leave that question to the DOJ." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm no lawyer. But it seems to me that what Ocasio-Cortez is doing is similar to what a cop does when s/he -- as is required by U.S. law (and the Constitution) -- reads an arrestee his or her Miranda rights. Both AOC and the cop may prevent a person who in fact is guilty of a crime from incriminating himself. Here's the thing: that's an integral part of the American system of justice. Read yer Bill o' Rights, Tom.

Carol Leonnig & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The head of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney's office in D.C. resigned Tuesday morning after declining to comply with an urgent Trump administration demand to freeze the assets of a multibillion-dollar Biden administration environmental grant initiative and launch a criminal investigation, according to two sources familiar with the matter and the official's resignation letter. Veteran prosecutor Denise Cheung's resignation came in response to a Justice Department effort to assist ... Donald Trump's new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who said last week that he would try to rescind $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean energy projects, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss it publicly. Cheung wrote in her resignation letter that while she and the FBI were ready to ask a bank to freeze the assets immediately, she refused a last-minute order from interim U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. to open what she called an unfounded investigation sought by the office of acting Deputy Attorney General Emil S. Bove, according to a resignation letter obtained by The Washington Post." Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jeremy Barr & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The State Department has ordered the cancellation of all news subscriptions deemed 'non-mission critical,' according to internal email guidance viewed by The Washington Post. The move aligns with the Trump administration's crackdown on media companies that count the U.S. government as paying customers. A Feb. 11 memo sent to embassies and consulates in Europe described the mandate as part of an effort to reduce spending.... Embassy security teams rely on news coverage to prepare for diplomatic travel in conflict zones.... A Feb. 14 memo directed procurement teams at embassies and consulates to prioritize the termination of contracts with six news organizations in particular: the Economist, the New York Times, Politico, Bloomberg News, the Associated Press and Reuters. State Department personnel were told that they could submit a request to maintain a news subscription but that it 'must be done within 1 sentence.'"

Amanda Seitz of the AP: "To earn the vote he needed to become the nation's top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a special promise to a U.S. senator [Bill Cassidy (R-La.)]: He would not change the nation's current vaccination schedule. But on Tuesday, speaking for the first time to thousands of U.S. Health and Human Services agency employees, he vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases. 'Nothing is going to be off limits,' Kennedy said, adding that pesticides, food additives, microplastics, antidepressants and the electromagnetic waves emitted by cellphones and microwaves also would be studied."

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The Senate on Tuesday voted 51 to 45 to confirm Howard Lutnick to be ... [Donald] Trump's commerce secretary, putting in place one of the administration's top economic officials who will help oversee an agenda around tariffs and protectionism. Mr. Lutnick, who was the chief executive of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, became a central economic adviser to Mr. Trump over the past year and led his transition team. He has defended tariffs as a tool to protect U.S. industries from international competition, promoted lower corporate taxes and called for an expansion of energy production."

Please, Sir, May I Have More? Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "Even as many Republicans praise the ultimate goal of streamlining the federal government, some GOP senators spanning the ideological spectrum from Katie Boyd Britt (Alabama) to Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have lobbied the Trump administration to reconsider its cuts or pauses to federal grants that support biomedical research and labs, or for programs supporting Native American tribes."

Dan Froomkin, who has a new site called Heads Up News, has "put together an eclectic list of somewhat more concrete things you can do to resist the Trump agenda." Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: I have been looking for sensible suggestions like Froomkin's. Most Oh-What-Can-We-Do suggestions run to fairly dumb or very narrow. Dan has some good ideas. For you and me.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Evan Hurst, in a Tuesday morning round-up at Wonkette seemed a tad unimpressed with Peter Baker's thesis about how "Making [Canada] a state ... would almost surely cost Republicans control of the House, trim their majority in the Senate and make it harder for them to win the White House in future elections." Hurst writes, "Much of the internet is currently about how the New York Times's Peter Baker is a bad journalist and doesn't understand journalism and thinks this is all a fucking game and is no better than a Nazi collaborator the way he normalizes Donald Trump. But sure, Peter, WHAT IF WE JUST SEIZED CANADA? Is there a BOTH SIDES to consider here? Fuck you." MB: In fairness to Baker, he does preface his "analysis" with a disclaimer: "Few in Washington take the prospect all that seriously, of course." As for me, I would not mind being part of Canada. In fact, had I been living in Canada all my life, I would be able to speak French, albeit with a bad Canadian accent (or as some French would argue, Canadian dialect). (Also linked yesterday.)

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Brazil. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: "Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former president, was charged on Tuesday with overseeing a vast scheme to hold on to power after losing the 2022 election, including one plot to annul the vote, disband courts and empower the military, and another to assassinate the nation's president-elect. The accusations, laid out in a 272-page indictment, suggest that Brazil came strikingly close to plunging back into, in effect, a military dictatorship nearly four decades into its modern democracy. Attorney General Paulo Gonet Branco indicted Mr. Bolsonaro and 33 other people, including a former spy chief, defense minister and national security adviser, accusing them of a series of crimes against Brazil's democracy. The charges essentially adopted recommendations from Brazil's federal police made in November." The AP's report is here; thanks to RAS for the link.

The Netherlands. Marie: I was think yesterday it wouldn't be so bad if Canada bought the U.S. Now RAS finds this Dutch fellow who makes me think it might be a better idea to sell off the country a piece at a time: ~~~

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Outer Space. Robin Andrews of the New York Times: "Astronomers on Tuesday said that the asteroid designated 2024 YR4 had become the most likely sizable space rock ever forecast to impact planet Earth. The object, first detected in December, is 130 to 300 feet long and expected to make a very close pass of the planet in 2032. Its odds of impacting Earth on Dec. 22 of that year currently stand at 3.1 percent.... Although 2024 YR4 would not come close to decimating a country, it could scar or demolish a city with a direct hit. And there is a very slim chance that it might." MB: The U.S. astronomers tracking YR4 work for the Asteroid Threat Assessment Project, part of NASA. Trump and Musk will probably fire them. Because they're redundant, or poor performers, or corrupt, or 150 years old, or have salaries in the $8 billion range. Whatever.