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Our meeting is tomorrow night and as I was trying to write up what to discuss I realized it was just a list of things of what President Musk and FOTUS has been doing in the past 2 weeks.


So here is a list of things you should be aware of:


1) Trump's illegal Executive Orders being used to purge our government and nation of non-white cis male hires as well as implementing Project 2025.


Donald Trump has signed dozens of executive orders in his first weeks back in office, including ending birthright citizenship, pardons for January 6 rioters, and withdrawing from the Paris climate accord. He’s also signed actions eliminating DEI and “gender radicalism” from the US military.
Trump promised in his inaugural speech that these orders would amount to a “complete restoration of America”.



Trump's moves include offering buyouts to most government workers, dismissing or reassigning hundreds of officials, removing agency watchdogs, and issuing an order that could make it easier to fire hundreds of thousands of civil servants.



Late last year, as Donald Trump and his transition staff crafted executive orders, pardons, and a multi-front policy blitz designed to create “shock and awe” at the dawn of his second term in the White House, they were confident that the American people would ultimately let them get away with it — no matter the initial media or political backlash.
According to two advisers who spoke with the president-elect in advance of his inauguration, Trump was betting that a “flood the zone” approach could overwhelm a demoralized Democratic Party and oversaturate the media ecosystem. Trump and his officials were confident the general public would grow numb — and stay numb — to this opening onslaught.
Trump appears to be taking that mentality to heart. The first 10 days of the administration have been marked by an unprecedented barrage of barbaric policy moves and casual executive depravity. In many cases these actions have flown in the face of the law, decades of tradition, and even the Constitution. 



The mass purge of federal workers under Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plan is more than just an attack on the government bureaucracy — it’s a direct assault on the veterans who make up nearly 30 percent of the federal workforce. 
In a decision that will be remembered as a betrayal of the veteran community and the broader federal workforce, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued an email Tuesday similar in wording to the one Musk used to gut Twitter. The message, which arrived under the subject line, “Fork in the Road,” presented federal employees with a false choice: agree to resign now with temporary pay or risk termination later.
Musk made a similar offer to Twitter employees, along with promises about severance that were apparently never honored — a precedent that raises serious concerns about the integrity of this so-called “deferred resignation” plan. Musk’s fingerprints on this scheme introduce major legal questions, as he is neither a government advisor nor a federal employee. This raises the alarming possibility that the offer itself may not even be legally valid, opening a new legal and constitutional battle over the authority behind this directive.

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And let’s be clear: The math doesn’t add up. Trump and Musk claim their government purge will help save $2 trillion, but the entire civilian federal payroll is only $271 billion. Even if every federal worker were fired, they wouldn’t come close to those savings. What they will accomplish is chaos: longer VA wait times, weakened national security, a gutted social safety net, and a boat load of unemployed veterans with nothing but time and an axe to grind. 
This won’t deliver efficiency — it’s destruction for the sake of destruction and a display of sheer incompetence by Musk, who couldn’t even be bothered to come up with a new scheme to screw over veterans, and instead just dusted off his Twitter playbook. He assumes we’re as gullible as Trump’s die-hard supporters. We’re not. If he and Trump don’t back off, we’ll make sure they hear us — loud and clear. See the Bonus Army, when veterans marched on Washington during the Great Depression demanding the bonus payments they had been promised. 


Five years after the relocation, current and former employees at the two USDA agencies, the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), have said that the mass departure of experts in agriculture and agricultural economics marked a dramatic, tangible loss for the public — and should now be a bright red warning sign for the next four years of Trump’s second term in office, when the president will no doubt attempt similar moves at other agencies.
“Very little happened for the first two or three years after the relocation because there just wasn’t anybody there,” said Susan Offutt, who was administrator of ERS between 1996 and 2006 before serving as the chief economist of the Government Accountability Office for eight years.

Even today, after staffing levels at the agencies have rebounded, thanks in large part to COVID-19 remote work policies — which Trump has sought to reverse in an executive order — the loss of a generation of highly skilled agricultural economists, scientists and other experts has left a deep mark on the USDA.
“There’s still not much that would be [considered] policy-sensitive, or policy-relevant,” Offutt said. “The portfolio no longer includes as much policy analysis as it had previously.”
James MacDonald, a former branch chief at ERS who retired in September 2019 due to the move to Kansas City, came back to the agency two months later as a rehired annuitant — a retiree working on a part-time basis — and then as a part-time contractor. Widely recognized as an expert in the organization of the American agricultural sector, he’s also now a research professor at the University of Maryland.
“We’re doing fewer, big, informed, difficult reports,” MacDonald told HuffPost of ERS. “We do have a lot of publications, but I think many are kind of short, simple, easy things. Producing a serious research product is a real challenge, and I don’t think we’re nearly back to that level yet.”



Here are the executive orders Trump put forward between Jan. 20 and 27 (the full list of actions, including memos and proclamations, appears on the White House website):




President Donald Trump is doing exactly what he said he’d do.
He’s launching hard-power trade wars to please voters marginalized by the globalized economy. He’s acting on despair over fentanyl’s murderous toll. He’s launched a migrant crackdown amid anxiety over a porous southern border. And the president, with the help of Elon Musk, is starting to gut the government that his supporters blame for their problems.
“When a president is elected by the People and then does what he promised to do, that’s democracy,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X on Saturday night. “When a president is thwarted by unelected bureaucrats, that’s oligarchy. President Trump refuses to bend the knee to that oligarchy. Buckle up!”

Yet Trump’s frantic push to honor campaign promises by a plurality of voters may come with a price.
Abroad, it threatens to compromise traditional American leadership and obligations the country has long set for itself, which are vital to the functioning of the global economy. International agreements and undertakings made to allies are also in peril — like the North American trade deal Trump trampled with huge new tariffs on Canada and Mexico and the treaty under which the US handed over control of the Panama Canal.
And at home, a quickening purge of federal government workers and erratic spending decisions have already called into question assistance that’s critical to the well-being of millions of citizens, as well as the legality of ousting scores of federal workers to fulfill Trump’s political whims.

Trump came out of the starting gate fast with a “crowd-pleasing” crackdown on undocumented immigrants, the cancellation of federal diversity programmes and the wholesale dismissal of independent anti-corruption inspectors from a raft of federal agencies.
But the most far-reaching orders amounted to a power grab by the White House, with a purge of senior officials regarded as insufficiently deferential to Trump from the justice department to the national security council, a demand for the mass resignations of civil servants and an illegal attempt to snatch control of trillions of dollars in government spending from Congress.
The president has not had everything his own way. The White House was rapidly forced to back down over its spending freeze in the face of legal challenges. But that may prove no more than a bump in the road for Trump as he works to remake the entire federal government in his image following a blueprint laid out by rightwing strategists.
William Galston, former deputy assistant for domestic policy to President Bill Clinton, said Trump had unleashed a “deluge” of policies to overwhelm opponents, from pardoning about 1,600 rioters convicted of the January 6 insurrection to attempting to strike down the constitutional right of citizenship for anyone born in the US.



Federal agencies on Friday rushed to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at curtailing diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The executive orders prompted a flurry of memos and emails obtained by NBC News that modified the rules for staff at intelligence agencies, in the military and across civilian departments regarding employee resource groups and the celebration of cultural awareness events.
This week, the Defense Intelligence Agency ordered a pause of all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other "special observances" to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order, according to a memo obtained by NBC News.
The memo listed 11 observances that are now banned. It also said that all affinity groups and "employee networking groups" are immediately on pause.


The Defense Department’s intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal workplace.
The instructions were published Tuesday in a Defense Intelligence Agency memo obtained by The Associated Press and affect 11 annual events, including Black History Month, which begins Saturday, and National Hispanic Heritage Month.
The memo’s authenticity was confirmed by a U.S. official who said the pause was initiated by the DIA and appears not to be policy across the Defense Department. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.


Trump administration officials are taking major steps to cut down the size of the workforce and federal programs at the Office of Personnel Management.
During an internal meeting Friday morning, Trump administration officials directed OPM senior career staff to begin making plans to cut the agency’s workforce and programs by 70%. Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the meeting confirmed the details of the meeting to Federal News Network.
Sources who provided information to Federal News Network on the condition of anonymity said the political leadership at the agency also directed OPM leaders to stop work on anything that is not statutorily required.
Trump administration officials told agency office leaders and associate directors at OPM to prepare briefs over the weekend detailing all of their work and programs that are statutorily required. By Monday, all OPM offices are expected to give political leaders organizational staffing charts with plans for an initial 30% reduction for both federal employees and contractors.

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According to FedScope data, as of March 2024, OPM had 2,902 agency employees — 2,148 of which are career employees in the competitive service. Close to 1,300 employees are bargaining unit members with the American Federation of Government Employees.



Trump led efforts to dismantle more than 100 environmental protections during his first term and has promised to do so again, targeting what he falsely labels an electric vehicle “mandate” and “green new scam” approved by Democrats.
Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has vowed to overturn former President Joe Biden’s biggest climate accomplishments, including tailpipe regulations for vehicles and slashed pollution from power plants fired by coal and natural gas. Trump has already moved to oust career staff at EPA and other agencies, remove scientific advisers and close an office that helps minority communities that disproportionately struggle with polluted air and water.



Since inauguration day, President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have wreaked havoc on the federal government. They sent their destructive policial project into a hyperdrive over the weekend, causing shockwaves both at home and abroad. In a period of about 72 hours, the president announced a trade war with two of America’s most critical economic partners, while Musk and his cronies seized control of sensitive federal financial systems, and announced that the president has approved the dissolution of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 

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The global community’s panic over the international impact of Trump’s trade policy is compounding existing anxiety over the domestic chaos currently roiling the U.S. government. Where Trump spent the weekend picking fights with the U.S.’s biggest economic partners, Musk orchestrated a takeover of two of the the nation’s most influential monetary agencies. 

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Over the weekend, Musk and his team at DOGE — which is reportedly stuffed with young, inexperienced engineers — succeeded in gaining access to the Federal Reserve’s payment systems. The hugely impactful payment portal handles everything from Social Security and Medicare payments, to federal employees salaries, tax refunds, and payments to other government agencies. The system contains a trove of sensitive identity and financial information on American citizens, and access to it is thus tightly restricted. Musk and his team managed to bully their way into access by ousting longtime nonpartisan officials

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DOGE and Musk have made it clear that gaining access to the system will grant them the ability to unilaterally cut off any financial transactions. The first example of how such access might be weaponized came hours later, when the billionaire and his minions executed a potentially permanent shutdown of USAID, the American government’s largest distributor of civilian foreign aid. 
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk wrote on X early Monday morning. “Could [have] gone to some great parties. Did that instead.” 

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Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that “the immediate consequences of this are cataclysmic. Malnourished babies who depend on U.S. aid will die. Anti-terrorism programs will shut down and our most deadly enemies will get stronger. Diseases that threaten the U.S. will go unabated and reach our shores faster.” 
“China will fill the void,” he added on social media, “as developing countries will now ONLY be able to rely on China for help, they will cut more deals with Beijing to give them control of ports, critical mineral deposits, etc. U.S. power will shrink. U.S. jobs will be lost.”





Any new contract with federal unions signed toward the end of the Biden administration are null and void under a new memo from the White House. In President Donald Trump's order issued Friday night, he said any last-minute, lame-duck collective bargaining agreements try to bind a new president to his predecessor's policies and that is illegal.


Buried deep within Project 2025 — the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page blueprint for how the new conservative administration can slide the government into an authoritarian regime — is a cursory section suggesting reforms for a relatively new, little-known federal agency called the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). 

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“Project 2025’s recommendations — essentially because this one thing caused anger — is to just strip the agency of all of its support altogether,” he said. “And CISA’s functions go so far beyond its role in the information space in a way that would do real harm to election officials and leave them less prepared to tackle future challenges.”
In the DHS chapter of Project 2025, Cucinelli suggests gutting CISA almost entirely, moving its core responsibilities on critical infrastructure to the Department of Transportation. It’s a suggestion that Adav Noti, the executive director of the nonpartisan voting rights advocacy organization Campaign Legal Center, previously described to Democracy Docket as “absolutely bonkers.”
“It’s located at Homeland Security because the whole premise of the Department of Homeland Security is that it’s supposed to be the central resource for the protection of the nation,” Noti said. “And that the important functions shouldn’t be living out in siloed agencies.”

But what’s most concerning about Cucinelli’s suggested reforms to CISA is how it relates to the agency’s election security work. “CISA has rapidly expanded its scope into lanes where it does not belong, the most recent and most glaring example being censorship of so-called misinformation and disinformation,” he writes. “Of the utmost urgency is immediately ending CISA’s counter-mis/disinformation efforts.” He says that CISA’s only role in election security is to help states and localities “assess whether they have good cyber hygiene in their hardware and software in preparation for an election—but nothing more,” and suggests that the agency should be less involved with local election offices the closer it is to an election.
“The recommendation that says this role should actually reduce as it gets closer to election day, it’s just completely backwards,” Tisler said. “That’s the moment where the support is most needed.”


The order, temporarily blocked by a federal judge as it was set to go into effect, was circulated alongside a spreadsheet of about 2,600 programs now under review, spanning virtually every federal initiative that distributes money — even some, like Medicare, that officials said would not be affected.
Below is a list of all those programs, identified by the Office of Management and Budget for examination to ensure they do not “advance Marxist equity, transgenderism and Green New Deal social engineering policies.” Agencies were asked to answer questions about each budget line, including “Does this program promote gender ideology?”






2) Mass firings have taken place at many government agencies. This is still going on. Many of this is illegal...but does that matter? Courts take time and the damage is done.




Chinese hacks, rampant ransomware, and Donald Trump’s budget cuts all threaten US security. In an exit interview with WIRED, former CISA head Jen Easterly argues for her agency’s survival.



Mark Lee Grenblatt has worked as a federal inspector general for more than five years. He was also the chairman of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE). And until Friday, he was the IG for the Interior Department. He’s one of more than a dozen IGs the Trump administration let go on Friday. But that’s not the end of the story. He joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.


A group of attorneys have put the Justice Department “on notice,” warning that the continued firing of prosecutors or FBI agents could trigger swift legal action. In recent days, Trump appointees have begun terminating or threatening to terminate people who lawfully investigated Jan. 6 or President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home when he was under criminal indictment for allegedly illegally retaining classified documents.
Lawyers representing some of these now-former career officials said in a letter to deputy acting Attorney General Emil Bove that the firings that began last week may violate simple due process rights and that those targeted for termination are profoundly concerned that the Justice Department is now “planning to publicly disseminate the names of those employees they plan to or will actually be terminating, despite the risk of stigmatization.”



Trump has already fired or sidelined at least 17 inspectors general, more than a dozen federal prosecutors, national security employees, career diplomats and dozens of senior officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the civilian foreign aid agency that billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump ally who is not an elected official, claims he can close down permanently despite the lack of a clear legal path to do so.
Beyond that, the president is actively trying to root out and terminate federal workers who have any connections to diversity, equity and inclusion programs — to the point where people are being incentivized to rat each other out if they suspect a colleague may be hiding their work on these issues.
At the Department of Education, for example, at least 60 employees have already been put on leave and lost access to their emails because they previously attended one diversity training.
If that’s not stressful enough, the Trump administration has been pressuring millions of federal employees to agree to a so-called “buyout,” a vaguely written offer of months of pay in exchange for quitting their jobs.

Anxiety and confusion are clearly high across government agencies. But federal workers say something else is bubbling up, too: resistance.
HuffPost talked to more than a dozen civil servants across eight federal agencies about what they’re experiencing internally, what the mood is like and how people are responding to Trump’s efforts to force them all out. A clear theme that emerged is that while these employees are scared, they’re also mad. And they’re not going anywhere.
“Fuck that,” said one Environmental Protection Agency employee who, like everyone who spoke to HuffPost, spoke only on the condition of anonymity to protect their job.
People’s moods are changing “like every hour” because of the fear and uncertainty of what’s to come, the EPA staffer said. But some of Trump’s efforts to force people out are already backfiring, at least somewhat, like his mandate that all employees return to in-person work within 30 days — an effort to make people quit.
“Resistance Day!” this EPA employee said of the vibe at work one day last week, with everyone together again. “I was feeling so demoralized. But being in the office with everyone was so grounding. Ironically for the Trumpies, bringing us back to the office will make us stronger morale-wise.”
The Trump administration’s “buyout” offer also seems to be flopping, said some workers. On Jan. 28, the Office of Personnel Management sent an email to more than 2 million federal employees with the subject line, “Fork in the Road,” offering to pay people through Sept. 30 with full pay and benefits in exchange for them quitting their jobs via a new “deferred resignation” program. The email’s subject line is the same message that Musk sent to Twitter employees after he acquired the company.
Many federal workers have recognized this as a scam. That’s partly because Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who represents lots of federal workers in his state, has been publicly warning people not to take it. It’s also because hundreds of thousands of federal workers are part of a strong union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), that’s been helping them navigate Trump’s rapid-fire actions.
The organization issued a detailed FAQ breaking down all the reasons the so-called “buyout” is not actually a buyout and is wholly unreliable and possibly illegal. And the union has offered federal employees a place to get answers to their questions together; a recent AFGE meeting brought together roughly 1,600 people, according to one attendee.
“I don’t know anybody who is taking this offer,” one federal scientist said of the deferred resignation pitch. “The buyout that’s not even real?”
Ironically, the “Fork in the Road” email that went out was also being flagged as a scam by the security system built into federal employees’ inboxes.
“We have a very clear email button for reporting phishing,” said a second EPA employee. “The amount of people who have reported this as phishing is very high. It reads, ‘scam.’ Literally, that ‘Fork in the Road’ email.”
This EPA staffer marveled at the volume of attorneys who likely received that email and could see how nonsensical it was ― a sign that, for all their threats and intimidation, at least some of the Trump administration is a sloppy mess.
“Whoever wrote that email really underestimated who they were sending it to,” this person said. “I very much feel like the general consensus is we are scared, but we are digging in.”
Several federal employees and their supporters have taken to the social media platform Reddit to connect and share their plans for fighting what is happening.
“This non ‘buyout’ really seems to have backfired,” reads one thread last week by an anonymous federal employee that drew lots of engagement. “I’ll be honest, before that email went out, I was looking for any way to get out of this fresh hell. But now I am fired up to make these goons as frustrated as possible, [return to office] be damned.”
“Hold the line!” this person adds.
“I’ve been telling my coworkers to hold the line,” reads another thread by this federal employee, from a few days later. “So happy to see everyone here saying the same thing.”
To be sure, some federal workers are struggling with feeling helpless and demoralized. Some don’t know how they can fight back in their particular jobs and are worried that Trump is setting up the entirety of the government to fail by fueling mistrust and fear of retribution within its ranks.
“I am terrified,” said one Interior Department employee. “I want to speak up, for I know what is happening is wrong, yet I know if my protests reach the wrong ears I will be fired without hesitation and I have a family to provide for. Bosses are forced to enforce policies they deeply disagree with, but must or face further punishment for them and their teams.”
“I do not use this term lightly,” said this federal worker, “but it feels very fascist.”
That’s the sentiment shared by at least one State Department employee, who described messages from higher-ups instructing them to expose colleagues who they think may be working on DEI initiatives or otherwise “face adverse consequences.” This federal worker also discovered that at least one instructor of a routine departmental training was told they weren’t allowed to use the phrase “the Biden administration” or talk about the last four years at all.
“It is like 1984,” said this employee, referring to the dystopian novel by George Orwell about a fictional dictator who controls everything and constantly monitors people.
A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Defense Department employee, meanwhile, fumed about Trump’s “short-sighted and performative” decision to require all employees to return to in-person work.
“There are people I work with who do incredible work while working from home that will likely lose their job because of this. Some of them purchased a home and moved away based on this work agreement,” said this employee. “A 30-day grace period for such a significant change is a slap in the face to those who work hard.”
What’s especially ridiculous, this person said, is that federal office buildings outside of Washington, D.C., often don’t have enough desks, cubicles or shared work spaces to accommodate everyone returning to in-person work because these facilities have never been properly funded.
“Assuming all federal office buildings function like those in D.C. is insulting and infuriating,” said this Defense Department staffer.
Civil servants from across federal agencies, from NASA to the U.S. Navy to the National Park Service, also emphasized that a big reason they’re ready to fight Trump’s efforts to dismantle the government isn’t just because they need a job. They described their pride in working on something bigger than themselves and in taking an oath to the Constitution to serve their country.
“Not to be cheesy, but taking the oath of office really meant something to me,” said the previously mentioned federal scientist. “I feel like that obligates me to fight. I took an oath to the Constitution, to defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
“Elon’s emails are having the opposite effect on me than what was intended, like other [federal workers],” said an Education Department staffer. “Reinvested in my work.”
“It’s heartbreaking that we’re at the point where nothing is certain, where even the most basic rights are suddenly in question, and where so many people ― with good cause ― are simply too exhausted and overwhelmed to continue the fight,” said one Forest Service employee.
“There’s only one thing I am sure of ― that I will work towards the protection of nature in the [redacted] National Forest until my final breath,” said this employee.
Trump isn’t showing signs of relenting in his efforts to purge career civil servants. On Friday, perhaps identifying one of his biggest obstacles, he said he plans to nullify federal employee union contracts that agencies agreed to late in Biden’s term.
“Such last-minute, lame-duck [collective bargaining agreements], which purport to bind a new President to his predecessor’s policies, run counter to America’s system of democratic self-government,” Trump claimed, though he did not provide a clear legal justification for nullifying existing union contracts.
AFGE called the announcement yet another effort by Trump and Musk “to frighten and confuse” career federal employees.
“Federal employees should know that approved union contracts are enforceable by law, and the president does not have the authority to make unilateral changes to those agreements,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. “AFGE members will not be intimidated. If our contracts are violated, we will aggressively defend them.”


As the second administration of President Trump continues its crackdown on veteran federal workers deemed insufficiently loyal — or just not enthusiastic enough about enacting the Project 2025 agenda — his Justice Department is now purging federal prosecutors who made cases against Capitol rioters.
On Friday, Ed Martin, interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who has espoused conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen from Trump, announced the firings of approximately 30 attorneys formerly assigned to some 1,600 Capitol siege prosecutions. The terminated individuals received notice at around 5 p.m. ahead of the weekend. Meanwhile, the administration is reportedly acting to remove a number of FBI agents known to have been involved in investigations of Trump and the sacking of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.


Martin’s connections to those charged in connection to Jan. 6 and later pardoned by Trump are strong: he spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally on the night before the riot and wound up defending some participants in court. A staunch Trump loyalist, he has even referred to federal prosecutors as “[the] President’s lawyers” in a post on X. As he stepped into his new role this month, he helped facilitate various filings to dismiss pending charges against Jan. 6 defendants.




3) The FAA and ATC firings and federal hiring freezes are more than likely a cause of the horrible plane crash.



One person recounted a recent incident in which they say a “fist fight” nearly broke out between two air traffic controllers around a lunch break; one was extremely supportive of Trump’s policies of eradicating diversity programs in the federal government, and the other was somebody who thinks Trump is “wrecking the country.” Multiple sources say that there is a surge of anxiety and uncertainty in their control facilities, over how secure their jobs actually are — especially if there’s evidence that they violated some kind of implicit loyalty test to the new government.
Another one of the four sources says they recently deleted several of their own social-media posts, just in case someone at the Department of Transportation began monitoring or scouring for anti-Trump content made or written by staff. (This is not an idle concern, given that during the first Trump administration, the State Department conducted a weeks-long investigation — in which at least 10 Trump administration staffers were grilled by superiors — all because somebody at the United States’ Brussels mission had apparently “liked” a Chelsea Clinton tweet.)


“I think the president didn’t want to be asked tough questions like, why did you let Elon Musk force the FAA administrator to resign? When this crash happened, there was no FAA administrator because he had clashed with Elon Musk.”
Mike Whitaker, the former head of the FAA, left the role on Inauguration Day after a feud with Musk over safety issues at the billionaire’s SpaceX company. Following Wednesday’s accident, Trump named a new acting administrator of the FAA.
Meanwhile, Kaine ripped Trump for scrapping an aviation safety advisory committee within the Department of Homeland Security as one of his first actions as president. While the panel technically still exists, it no longer has any members probing safety issues at airlines and airports after the Trump administration issued a memo announcing they were removing the members of all advisory committees, according to The Associated Press.
Kaine also suggested the president’s decision to offer buyouts to all federal workers, including air traffic controllers while the FAA is already facing a shortage of them, was particularly ill-advised.
“I think the president was nervous that he was going to be asked questions about his own administration’s policies that were deemphasizing air safety, and so he decided to have everybody chased down a rabbit hole of his DEI allegations with no evidence,” Kaine told CNN’s Jake Tapper.


Issues with air traffic control staffing are under the spotlight following the fatal mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter in Washington D.C. on Wednesday that killed 67 people.
The air traffic control tower at Reagan Washington National Airport, where the American Airlines plane was headed, was not fully staffed, with one traffic controller handling the jobs of two people. An air traffic control source told CNN such an arrangement is not uncommon.
However, a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) internal report said staffing at the air traffic control tower at Reagan Washington National Airport was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."

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Issues with air traffic control staffing are under the spotlight following the fatal mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter in Washington D.C. on Wednesday that killed 67 people.
The air traffic control tower at Reagan Washington National Airport, where the American Airlines plane was headed, was not fully staffed, with one traffic controller handling the jobs of two people. An air traffic control source told CNN such an arrangement is not uncommon.
However, a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) internal report said staffing at the air traffic control tower at Reagan Washington National Airport was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."
Meanwhile, data shows that there is also a shortage of fully qualified air traffic control staff. Training new air traffic controllers can take years—over four at some locations and about 16 months at Reagan National, where this week's crash occurred, and a 2023 inspector general report noted that training pauses during the pandemic extended certification times, while many older controllers retired.
According to the latest data from the FAA, as of September 2023, only about 70 percent of staffing targets at airport towers and terminal approach facilities nationwide were met by fully certified controllers. When including controllers in training, the figure increased to approximately 79 percent.
Certain traffic control towers at major airports across the country—such as those in Philadelphia, Orlando, Austin, Albuquerque, and Milwaukee—had less than 60 percent of their staffing targets filled by certified controllers. Reagan Airport was slightly better, with about 63 percent of its staffing targets met.

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And such staffing issues are nothing new. According to the NASA database, air traffic controllers in the U.S. have been raising alarms about the effects of low staffing levels for years, submitting anonymous reports to NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System. In the past year alone, at least 10 reports from controllers highlighted concerns related to staffing shortages, work schedules, and fatigue.
Hundreds of incidents since 2015 are detailed on the NASA database in which pilots have said they were forced to take evasive action to avoid collision with another aircraft or helicopter when trying to land or depart from the country's busiest airports.
Reagan National, which processes over 25 million passengers annually, had more of these reports than any of the top 10 busiest airports, with at least 50 such incidents in the past decade. Las Vegas, with nearly 60 million travelers, had over 40 reports, while Miami, which handles twice as many passengers as DCA but filled only 60 percent of staffing targets with certified controllers in 2023, had about 36 reports. Reagan also saw a higher number of near-collisions between aircraft and helicopters, with 23 such incidents since 1988, while most major airports had fewer than five.
In 2023, following a series of close calls at airports, the FAA commissioned a safety review of the national airspace system. The resulting report found that inadequate staffing, outdated equipment, and technology were making safety unsustainable. It also noted that record-high overtime for controllers contributed to fatigue and absences. The report highlighted that, as of August 2023, there were about 1,000 fewer fully certified controllers compared to 2012, despite increased airspace complexity.


Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, where the crash happened, had at least two close calls last year. In April, a plane operated by Southwest Airlines nearly crossed the same runway that a JetBlue flight was using to take off. A month later, an American Airlines jet almost crashed with a small airplane.
Those near misses were among the 1,757 “runway incursions” documented by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2024. The term describes incidents involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, person or other vehicle on a runway, and can range from minor (with no immediate safety consequences) to serious (in which a collision was narrowly avoided).
The collision Wednesday was the first fatal disaster involving a U.S. commercial aircraft since 2009, when a propeller plane crashed into a house near Buffalo, New York, killing 45 passengers, four crew members and one person on the ground.




It is of course not clear yet exactly what happened. Full details will have to wait for an investigation, if the Trump administration is capable of conducting one. But given the damage Donald Trump and shadow president Elon Musk have already inflicted on the federal government in general and airline safety system in particular, it would be quite the coincidence if their actions had nothing to do with it.
Let’s review a few events from Trump’s first days in office. On January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Michael Whitaker, resigned. Since then, the agency has been run by acting administrator Chris Rocheleau.

This was unusual. With a few exceptions, like during President Reagan’s vindictive mass firing of unionized air traffic controllers, the FAA has been a relatively uncontroversial agency. Administrators commonly serve out their five-year terms even if the presidency changes hands—President Obama’s FAA chief served into 2018 under Trump. Indeed, ensuring agency stability was one reason Congress made the position longer than a presidential term.
But shadow president Elon Musk—who, let me emphasize, is a foreign-born billionaire who has not been elected or appointed to any post—had been demanding Whitaker be sacked for months, because the FAA had been attempting to regulate his company SpaceX. The agency had conducted investigations (when, for instance, a SpaceX rocket blew up near the ground), delayed launches, and imposed some fines—though the amounts were pitiful, just $633,009 when the company allegedly broke two promises about safety protocols and fuel use.

I think safety is in the public interest and that’s our primary focus,” Whitaker told members of Congress in a hearing about SpaceX last September. Fines are “the only tool we have to get compliance on safety matters.” Musk responded with sneering contempt on Twitter/X: “America is being smothered by legions of regulators, often inept & politically-driven.” Wouldn’t you know it, a few months later a SpaceX Starship module exploded and broke up in the atmosphere, spreading 100 metric tons of debris across the Caribbean, forcing the diversion of numerous flights, and reportedly causing some property damage in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Also on January 20, Trump imposed a hiring freeze across the entire federal government, and air traffic controllers (ATCs) are federal employees. The FAA has been struggling for years to make up for an ATC shortage caused by the pandemic; though it finally met its hiring goal in 2024, controllers are still reportedly stretched thin. As Reps. Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) pointed out in a joint press release, Trump’s move was both illegal, as the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 requires maximum staffing of ATCs, and dangerous. “Hiring air traffic controllers is the number one safety issue according to the entire aviation industry,” they wrote.
Some important context here is that the airspace over Reagan National Airport is some of the most congested in the world, in part because members of Congress, who are flying constantly, don’t like to use the much less convenient Dulles Airport. Allowing planes at DCA to land and take off safely every couple of minutes, all day, every day, requires a highly elaborate set of controls and procedures to prevent collisions.

Then on January 22, Trump fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration (who was first appointed by Trump himself, by the way), as well as every member of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, an institution created by Congress to improve airline safety after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. As aviation expert James Fallows points out, this committee was a major reason why American commercial flights have become so safe, and a model of responsible government. “It was collaborative; it combined public, private, military, civilian, academic, and other institutions to pool knowledge; it avoided blame; but it focused relentlessly on lessons learned,” he writes.
Then on January 28, the Office of Management and Budget, which is reportedly under the direct control of Musk cronies, sent out an email offering a “buyout” to every federal employee, in flagrant violation of federal employment regulations. Then, as my colleague David Dayen reported, a separate email was sent to recently hired federal workers (of which there are about 220,000) warning them they may be summarily fired, which is also illegal. The Prospect can confirm that first-year ATCs got that email on Thursday morning.

Working as an ATC even during normal times is a tremendous burden—literally a life-or-death responsibility over thousands and thousands of people every shift. “Air traffic controllers have one of the most stressful jobs there is,” Bill McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told me. “The idea that now you have this added layer of stress, worried about your future, your job, your career—that is not what we want, especially in a job that is so safety-critical.”
Finally, let’s consider the leadership question. The FAA has no official leadership. The Department of Transportation is now led by Sean Duffy, a former reality TV star and House backbencher with little relevant experience. The Pentagon is led by Pete Hegseth, a former weekend Fox News host with an alleged history of heavy drinking and sexual assault, and no relevant experience whatsoever. And as for the president, a jarringly disheveled Trump delivered a press conference on Thursday in which he ranted incoherently about Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and DEI somehow being to blame.
As Fallows argues, gutting the ASAC by itself would probably not cause a crash in a week, though it would have sooner or later. But doing so and driving out the head of the FAA for getting in the way of Elon Musk’s reckless rocket explosions, and abruptly introducing unprecedented instability and chaos among all ATCs, including threatening the jobs of many … that leading to a crash wouldn’t exactly come as a surprise. The government is a complex and delicate system. Letting Elon Musk thrash around inside it like some silage-drunk bull in a red-cape factory will cause untold damage.
All that said, initial evidence suggests that the American Airlines plane was in the right place as it was coming in for a landing, and the military helicopter wasn’t. However, a preliminary FAA report found that ATC staffing was “not normal” at the airport during the crash, with one controller doing jobs normally assigned to two. The details are still being investigated. It’s too early in the process for the crash to be definitively pinned on the policies of Trump and Musk. But if we want more airline disasters, Trump and Musk are on just the right collision course.


The National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency tasked with investigating civil aviation accidents in the U.S., including the Jan. 29 disaster involving an American Airlines passenger plane and U.S. Military Blackhawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., that resulted in the deaths of 67 people, will no longer send out email updates to members of the media.
In a Feb. 1 social media post, the NTSB announced that all future media updates on the accident, and others, would be posted on X, the former Twitter platform owned by Elon Musk, whom President Trump appointed to run the unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency.”


The National Transportation Safety Board will only update the press about the plane crashes in Washington, DC and Philadelphia on X — not over email, as reported earlier by The Desk. The agency announced on Saturday that it will use its @NTSB_Newsroom account to share ”news conferences or other investigative information.“
The NTSB later said, “Reporters should email mediarelations@ntsb.gov for all other inquiries,” claiming that it was meant to “better manage the volume of” emails about the two incidents n. “The NTSB media relations team has always used Twitter/X to inform the media and public on the time and location of media briefings. We cannot respond to every email asking for the details of media briefings,” the NTSB said, without explaining the process behind the decision or why an agency would rely solely on one privately owned social media platform.



The move marks a departure from the NTSB’s previous practice of fielding media requests through email.
As the shift to reliance on a single, privately owned social media platform on Sunday raised questions about transparency the agency defended the move, stating that it was meant to “better manage the volume of” inquiries.




The San Carlos Airport, a hub for Silicon Valley business travel that lies along the approach to San Francisco International Airport, may no longer have air traffic controllers guiding planes in and out of the airport starting Saturday. 


4) Portions of corporate America, Academia, and even medical research publications are 'complying' with the removal of 'DEI' from everything. But a large part are doubling down. It started with Costco but now the list is getting longer.



With the news that Meta is paying Donald Trump millions to settle a spurious lawsuit, followed by the news that Paramount is planning to do the same, it’s time to acknowledge that Trump’s litigation strategy is a great success.
Not only is Trump strong-arming media companies into cowed deference, afraid to cross him — he’s also lining his pockets.
It seems almost quaint to focus on this while Trump’s pet billionaire, Elon Musk, runs around ripping the wires out of the United States government and tearing things down to the studs. Even in the face of that existential danger, however, this new frontier of litigation-as-bribery-scheme, run by the most powerful man in the world, is alarming.




The Social Security Administration sent out an “emergency message” on Friday that will stop allowing people to change their sex in the records of the federal agency.
In an internal message, which was first reported by Law Dork, the agency notes that these changes come “in accordance with the recent President Actions under Executive Order, ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.’”


The professional society for microbiologists began stripping content about Black, female, and LGBTQ+ scientists from its website in the last few days, angering its members and highlighting the reach of President Trump’s directives to federal agencies to halt activities that promote diversity and inclusion. 
In the place of many web pages that featured the contributions of scientists from underrepresented groups, the 37,000-member American Society for Microbiology has posted a notice saying the content is under review as “we evaluate the new Executive Orders.” 
The move prompted a backlash from researchers who are upset that the ASM, to which they pay dues, is not supporting them amid what they see as an unprecedented attack on science from the Trump administration. A flurry of executive orders and follow-up directives have frozen grant funding, sought to eliminate DEI jobs, and caused many federal agencies to scrub websites of pages containing information on diversity and gender. The removal of webpages at ASM comes at a time when many scientists are frustrated that their societies and universities have taken a wait-and-see attitude and are not doing more to publicly support them.  
Members are incensed that a private nonprofit institution such as the ASM, which receives some federal money but is funded largely by the journals it publishes and income from meeting registration fees, is hewing to the orders so quickly — one microbiologist termed it “anticipatory obedience” on social media, while another called it “truly sickening cowardice.”



A disabled college student is speaking out after conservative figures online bullied and mass reported him when he posted about his gender transition.
Micah Leroy, who ran the account known as “Disabled Trans Boy” on Instagram, became the subject of a right-wing hate campaign after he posted a video celebrating his double mastectomy, also know as top surgery. The 19-year-old has cerebral palsy, a group of neurological disorders that affect body movement and muscle coordination, which is the most common lifelong physical disability according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

~


Leroy is a student at the University of Minnesota focusing on disability studies, LGBTQ+ studies and political science. He said that he hopes to one day hold public office, whether in the state legislature or in Congress.
Leroy uses a wheelchair as well as an Eyegaze communication device, though he prefers to communicate with his voice, with the help of his personal care assistants. Leroy, who came out as transgender at the age of 14, emphasized to the outlet that he was the one who sought out and scheduled his medical appointments and took all the steps to legally change his name and gender.

~


Leroy's video about his transition went viral, resulting in negative attention from conservative figures such as failed college athlete Riley Gaines, who lied and said Leroy is “non-verbal” while implying doctors performed the surgery without his consent. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the life-saving procedure performed on a legal adult "criminal."
Conservatives mass-reported the video, causing it to be removed by Meta, which suspended Leroy's Facebook and permanently removed his Instagram account for supposedly breaking the platforms' “Community Standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity.”
Leroy, who repeated that "I am the one who is posting and I’m over 18,” said that Meta still rejected his appeals, while allowing the abusive comments and messages he received to remain. Still, he said that he hasn't been deterred from speaking out.
“Even with all the hate this has stirred up, I do believe that any publicity is good publicity in furthering my goals,” Leroy continued. “This experience has only made me want to speak out more about disabled and trans issues as the negative responses I got have shown a side of the world that is intolerant and discriminatory based on what they perceive others can and cannot do.”



In the face of over 1,000 anti-LGBTQ+ laws proposed by state legislatures across the U.S. in the past two years, and 126 passed into law, 44.3 percent of LGBTQ+ adults and 63.5 percent of transgender adults now report that the legislation has harmed their or their loved ones' mental health, according to the Human Rights Campaign's 2024 Climate Survey. Over 12 percent of LGBTQ+ adults experienced increased harassment, violence, and/or discrimination in the past year, as well as 22.9 percent of trans adults.

~


Those numbers are likely to increase, as "in addition to losing customers, companies that abandon DEI practices are at risk of being unable to recruit and retain top talent," Goldberg says. One in 20 (5 percent) of LGBTQ+ adults are trying to change their job because of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, including over one in 10 (11.1 percent) trans adults. 2.8 percent of LGBTQ+ adults and 5.4 percent of trans adults have already changed their jobs.

~


"I think states stand to lose economically by continuing to support these laws. They risk losing the tourism and business travel dollars, such as those from the 30 percent of LGBTQ+ adults, in the last year alone, who have avoided, canceled, and/or refused to travel to states with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation," she says. "They risk losing the taxable income from LGBTQ+ adults, and families of LGBTQ+ youth, who are looking to move to a new state where they and their children can live openly and freely ... and companies headquartered in these states risk losing customers."
While Goldberg's advice to companies and legislators is to seriously consider the harm their policies do, her advice to LGBTQ+ people is to "find your joy, to fiercely protect it, and to not let this administration or these laws take it away."
"These attacks are scary and horrible, yes, but our community has been through many of these attacks before, be it the Lavender Scare of the 1950s, the moralizing crusades of Anita Bryant in the1970s, or the AIDS crisis of the 1980s," Goldberg says. "And each time we got through it, and only emerged stronger. We have always existed, we will always exist, and no law or administration can take that away."



The second annual THRIVE Small Business Summit & Matchmaker event was scheduled to be held Thursday at the Federal Reserve Bank of Houston. But bank officials informed the chamber Monday night that the event could not be held there because of Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, a number of executive orders have been implemented by the new presidential administration that pertain to the work of federal agencies,” reads an email from the bank to Tammi Wallace, cofounder, president, and CEO of the chamber, and shared by Wallace. “In particular, any initiative related to DEI has been curtailed. Our operating understanding was that the Thrive event was permissible because of its business and economic development focus. Unfortunately, this evening, we learned that we could not host the event and remain in compliance with the executive order. We deeply regret having to make this change.”
The Hilton Garden Inn/Home 2 Suites Medical Center, near Houston’s major hospitals, agreed Tuesday afternoon that it would host the event, only 30 hours away. It had hosted the first such summit, held last year.



Right-wingers have been railing against DEI for a while now, and one of the loudest is Robby Starbuck, a failed filmmaker and failed congressional candidate. He objects to companies sponsoring Pride events, supporting transgender employees, taking action against climate change, and more. Oh, and he thinks toxic chemicals turn people queer and that the COVID-19 vaccine is what killed Matthew Perry.
But the anti-DEI movement is bigger than just Starbuck. “Business experts have told CNN that Starbuck’s activism alone does not fully explain these decisions, and some companies’ commitments to diversity and inclusion were thin to start,” the news channel reports.


In a nearly unanimous decision, Costco shareholders voted in support of Costco’s current diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives after the National Center for Public Policy Research submitted a proxy proposal to audit the company’s “litigation, reputational and financial risks.” As the Trump administration levels against DEI, Costco is swimming against a tide causing numerous large retail corporations to dial back DEI initiatives, including Amazon, Walmart, McDonald’s, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply and most recently Target.



According to preliminary results shared by Costco executives at its annual meeting Thursday, more than 98% of shares voted against the proposal.
The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank based in Washington, had submitted the proposal, arguing that Costco’s DEI initiatives hold “litigation, reputational and financial risks to the company, and therefore financial risks to shareholders.”
The think tank has made a similar proposal to Apple, and like some American companies that already scaled back or retreated from their diversity policies, cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision in July 2023 that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions.
But Costco’s board of directors voted unanimously to ask shareholders to reject the motion. The board said it believes “our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary. The report requested by this proposal would not provide meaningful additional information.”



As executive orders continue to dominate the federal government’s position on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), one pressing issue has been how DEI activities would proceed and progress across the private sector.
Will there be no correlation between public and private sector activities? Some public influence on the public sector? Or will hard-line directives from the top dictate what private-sector companies can or can’t do in the DEI space?

~


Over the last month, Costco has emerged from the war on DEI as somewhat of a hero. They chose early and definitively to keep their DEI efforts alive. Fans of their actions rejoiced. And yesterday, 19 states AGs collectively sent them a letter warning them to stop their efforts.



With its recent rejection of a shareholder proposal that challenged its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Costco didn’t actually break new ground. Even as anti-DEI campaigns have surged, most companies have held on to their diversity policies because they foster good decision-making and are conducive to their business goals.
However, the statement from Costco’s board of directors, urging shareholders to reject the proposal and combating some of its specifics, was notable in its forcefulness, experts say.
It was especially striking given high-profile moves last year by major companies, including retailers like Tractor Supply and Walmart, to retreat from their DEI programs, according to Dave Marcotte, senior vice president at Kantar Retail.
“Overall this provides a media narrative of conservatives winning over progressives which was a big theme for 2024. Costco has run directly contrary to that narrative,” he said by email. “And its formal response to an investor tactic (‘DEI raises stockholder risk’), is a statement that [not only] refutes the premise but also states that these investors are not doing so in the interest of Costco but a larger political agenda. As the 5th largest retailer in the world, this is a loud statement.”



As some companies roll back their policies based on a new executive order, others are doubling down. A group of local leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, staged a “Buy-Cott” Saturday afternoon at Costco in Union to support the company for maintaining its DEI policies. The group spoke outside Costco and then went inside to shop. “We're going to show them that our money is our power,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. “We're going to spend it with people who love us, who respect us, who uplift us.” Costco is keeping its DEI initiatives, even after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that ended DEI in federal programs. The order also encourages the private sector to follow suit, calling DEI “illegal discrimination” that violates American civil rights laws. Those at the rally disagreed. “We are not going to allow him to turn back the clock on our rights,” Sharpton said. “DEI came out of Affirmative Action, which was a Republican Party platform.” “DEI is not a handout,” said Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp. “It’s like a rising tide that lifts all boats.”



As President Trump issues directives to scuttle every federal government initiative that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion, tech giants and other businesses across the Pacific Northwest are charting their own DEI courses.
Costco and Microsoft are being recognized nationally for retaining a public commitment to workforce diversity, with Costco shareholders on Thursday defeating an anti-DEI proposal by a 98% vote.
At the same time, Amazon in December shared with employees that it was “winding down” some of its efforts in diversity and inclusion, but still viewed the work as “important.” Boeing has pulled back even further, reportedly dismantling its DEI team.
Efforts to support more equity in the workforce are under attack by Republicans and activists who characterize it as “reverse discrimination” that is unfair — particularly to white men — and puts race and gender ahead of merit when making employment decisions.

The murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked DEI initiatives across corporations, but the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action in higher education and the increasing anti-diversity rhetoric from conservative leaders have caused some employers to reverse course.
Companies such as Meta, Target, Walmart, and others that have rolled back their diversity programs said they did so because DEI has become so politically charged. They also cited changes in how the courts are legally viewing DEI, and they say they can support widespread inclusion in their workforce through different programs.
In its memo to employees, Meta — which no longer has a team focused on DEI — said that it would stop using the “diverse slate approach” for hiring.



For years, key individuals and groups have worked relentlessly to advance a point of view that argues programs meant to improve racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ representation inside companies are in fact their own form of prejudice against white employees and men.
These crusaders have used lawsuits, shareholder proposals, and media campaigns to make their voices heard and attract followers, with some gaining widespread online recognition and others toiling inside obscure advocacy groups.
Here’s a quick guide to who’s who in the push against corporate DEI. Our list does not include activists who work solely with schools and colleges, or the many state attorneys general who have publicly warned private companies about their DEI initiatives.




Canada offers refugee protection (asylum) to individuals in Canada who have a well-founded fear of persecution or who may face a

  • danger of torture

  • risk to their life

  • risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment









5) ICE raids are targeting the easy to catch ones. They are going to the courthouses and taking Immigrants who are appearing for court for their immigration claims. They are also detaining Native Americans and Veterans because they do not looks like Americans. As well as attacking those who are upset by these raids such as the White House going after Selena Gomez.



The bill, which President Donald Trump signed last week, requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take custody of all migrants charged with any of a series of crimes ranging from shoplifting to murder. That mandate veers sharply from the agency’s practice over the last 15 years, in which ICE issued detainers at its discretion — typically for people with criminal convictions or a history of immigration violations.
Critics of the bill view it as a draconian effort to sweep more people into immigrant detention while brushing aside due process. But the law’s greatest significance likely lies in its mandates — and the unusual mechanism designed to enforce them.
Under the Laken Riley Act, ICE no longer has the ability to set its own detention priorities. The agency will likely exhaust its available detention bed space shortly after implementing the new law.
ICE commanded detention capacity for 41,500 people last year. An agency memo estimated that the Laken Riley Act’s provisions would more than double the agency’s detention requirements overnight, demanding an additional 60,000 beds at a cost of $3 billion.



More than that, requiring proof of citizenship has a chilling effect on voter registration. As a practical matter, adding this step can deter people from registering altogether if it means visiting a safety deposit box, sifting through important files at home, or asking family members to mail documents. Replacing faded or missing documents can take more effort and time, and the cost of acquiring new documents for the purpose of voting could be considered a poll tax



U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a New Jersey seafood store on Thursday, according to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
The store owner told Nexstar’s WPIX that a U.S. military veteran was among the people detained.
Store owner Luis Janota said 10 or 12 ICE agents entered the retail area after receiving complaints and were looking for documentation. They did not ask for anyone specific, he said.
“I was confused; they took three people who did not have any documentation on them,” Janota said. “I asked them [the agents] what documentation they were looking for, and they said it was a license or a passport. I thought, ‘Who walks around with a passport?'”
Janota said three people were taken into custody, and some received a court date to appear before a judge.
“One of the guys was a military veteran, and the way he looked to me was because he was Hispanic,” Janota said. “He is Puerto Rican and the manager of our warehouse. It looked to me like they were specifically going after certain kinds of people — not every kind, because they did not ask me for documentation for my American workers, Portuguese workers, or white workers.”




Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said his citizens have had "traumatizing" experiences with ICE agents, and U.S. Congressional Democrats called on Trump to stop the agency targeting Native Americans as it carried out immigration raids.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said its agents may encounter U.S. citizens during operations and request identification from them.
"ICE's dangerous behavior of harassing American citizens, seemingly only due to the way they look, is unconstitutional and un-American," nine Democrats led by New Mexico Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez said in a Wednesday letter to Trump.
The lawmakers cited a Jan. 22 incident reported, opens new tab by the Mescalero Apache tribe in which an ICE agent stopped a tribal member at a convenience store in Ruidoso, New Mexico and asked to see proof of U.S. citizenship.
Nygren, head of the United States' largest Native American reservation, is among indigenous leaders urging members to proactively carry state-issued identification cards and their Certificate of Indian Blood, an official U.S. document certifying a person has Native American ancestry.
Native Americans were granted U.S. citizenship in 1924.



Tribes across the country are scrambling to provide information, IDs and legal protection to their members amid increasing reports that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are stopping Native Americans and forcing them to prove their citizenship status.  
The incidents, which one tribal leader called "sometimes traumatizing," come as the Trump administration has ratcheted up U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations throughout the country.   
The Navajo Nation reported ICE stops of Navajo citizens living off the reservation in cities such as Phoenix. The Navajo Division for Children and Family Services (DCFS) has received calls from Navajo citizens as far away as New York City and Seattle, requesting tribal identification cards.
“We have received so many calls for tribal IDs. Right now, with the number of inquiries coming in, it will take until April to fulfill the requests,” Holly James, a DCFS spokesperson told Native News Online.



Arizona State Sen. Theresa Hatathlie informed the Navajo Nation council about a tribal member who was detained despite showing Certificate of Indian Blood ICE agents failed to recognize it as valid proof of citizenship, according to a Navajo Nation press release as reported by the Arizona Republic.
Stockbridge-Munsee tribal officials are urging tribal members to carry their tribal, state and/or federal IDs with them wherever they go and to remain respectful if they are stopped by ICE agents.


Days after Selena Gomez posted a tearful video reacting to the brutal mass deportations happening across the country — then swiftly removed it — the White House released a video using her emotions against her. On Thursday, the Trump administration shared interviews with three women whose children were allegedly killed by undocumented people as they reacted to Gomez’s post.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers appeared beside her. They told workers to drop everything they were doing. The agents started separating the Spanish-speaking workers from the rest, Salinas and another employee recalled. They demanded to see identification.


Salinas’s heart raced as he showed an agent his Ecuadorian ID. Next thing he knew, his hands were behind his back. Handcuffs were tightened around them.

“I never imagined it would happen because we thought that in these times they were going after criminals or people who have some kind of prior, no?” said Salinas, 28, who came to the United States by illegally crossing the border near El Paso in 2021, and who says he has never committed a crime beyond his entry to the United States. “So I did not expect it, much less in my place of work.”


~


The Department of Homeland Security estimates there are about 11 million immigrants living in the United States without legal status, and 1.4 million have received deportation orders after failing to qualify for legal status, although many are from countries that do not cooperate with accepting deportations. There are more than 650,000 noncitizens who have criminal histories, ICE told Congress last year.

In the days since Trump took office, ICE officers have fanned out across communities making targeted arrests but also picking up undocumented immigrants they encounter. These “collateral arrests” were discouraged by the Biden administration, but under Trump, ICE officers have been urged to take a more aggressive approach.


On Jan. 23, there were 593 immigrants arrested across the country, including Salinas and his two co-workers at the Ocean Seafood Depot. Five days later, the daily number was 1,016.

White House officials have released photos of migrants loaded onto military planes and flown to other countries, giving the impression that those being arrested are immediately deported. Many of those shown in the photos are migrants who have recently tried to illegally cross the border. Those arrested elsewhere in the country are probably being held in detention centers that ICE officials say are growing more crowded — or they are released on bail with a day to appear in court.

Two days after Salinas’s arrest, the Trump administration ordered every regional ICE office to arrest at least 75 immigrants per day so that it could detain 1,200 to 1,500 people each day nationwide. A top Trump aide has described those numbers as a floor, not a ceiling.

Some fear the new quotas will further incentivize the agency to cast a wider net and to pick up individuals like Salinas, who have no known criminal records but who illegally entered the country.



More than 200 Colombians were marched in handcuffs into military aircraft in two high-profile deportation flights that nearly triggered a trade war during President Donald Trump’s first week in office.
But despite the administration’s insistence that Trump’s “mass deportation” agenda would target violent offenders, none appeared to be on board.
One flight from San Diego, California, brought 62 men, 16 children, and 32 women — including two pregnant women, according to Colombia’s foreign minister Luis Gilberto Murillo.

Locals ratted out immigrants to ICE


6) Mass deletions are taking place at the CDC and other government health websites under Musk's orders. This includes VITAL medical data. US Doctors are now using Canada's health websites.




Amid a deluge of executive actions, the Trump administration has directed federal health agencies to pause external communications, such as regular scientific reports, updates to websites and health advisories, according to sources within the agencies.
The initial orders were delivered Tuesday to staff at agencies inside the US Department of Health and Human Services, including to officials at the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story.



In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dorothy Fink told agency staff leaders Tuesday that an “immediate pause” had been ordered on — among other things — regulations, guidance, announcements, press releases, social media posts and website posts until such communications had been approved by a political appointee.
The pause also applies to anything intended to be published in the Federal Register, where the executive branch communicates rules and regulations, and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientific publication.
The pause is in effect through Feb. 1, the memo said. Agencies subject to the HHS directive include the CDC, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration — entities that fight epidemics, protect the nation’s food supply and search for cures to diseases.


This week, as officials at World Health Organizations convene meetings discussing everything from Marburg virus in Tanzania to mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are some empty seats in the room — and fewer attendees at virtual meetings.
Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are missing.
On Monday, public health officials at CDC were told to immediately stop communicating with the World Health Organization in a memo that was sent to division directors, their deputies and others by John Nkengasong, the deputy director for global health at CDC.
The order comes on the heels of President Trump's inauguration day announcement that he was starting the process of withdrawing from the WHO, a U.N. agency that the U.S. helped found in 1948. In Trump's executive order, he recalled all U.S. personnel who work at WHO. The order explained that the U.S. is leaving because of WHO's "mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic," unequal payments from member states and an "inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states."
According to the official process for the U.S. to terminate membership, the country must give a one-year notice. However, this ban on communication takes effect immediately and does not allow for a transition period.


The Associated Press viewed a copy of Nkengasong’s memo, which said the stop-work policy applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual.” It also says CDC staff are not allowed to visit WHO offices.
President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from WHO, but that did not take immediate effect. Leaving WHO requires the approval of Congress and that the U.S. meets its financial obligations for the current fiscal year. The U.S. also must provide a one-year notice.
His administration also told federal health agencies to stop most communications with the public through at least the end of the month.


The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered government scientists to withdraw or pause the publication of all papers set to appear in medical or scientific journals so the Trump administration can review the material for “forbidden terms” such as “gender,” “LGBT” or “pregnant person,” according to a shocking new report.
Inside Medicine, a Substack published by Dr. Jeremy Faust, obtained an email the CDC’s chief science officer sent to researchers instructing them to stop the advancement of manuscripts that are currently being revised or those that have already been accepted for publication. Researchers were told to remove any mention or reference to a list of terms.
That list includes “gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female,” Inside Medicine, citing the email, reported.
Reuters later confirmed the reports.
The order applies to any paper authored or co-authored by a CDC scientist. Reuters added that if any scientists are co-authors on a paper with outside researchers, they must remove their names from the manuscripts.

~


The CDC has already moved to comply with orders from the Trump administration. The agency removed or edited references to trans people and gender identify from its website on Friday after a deadline to do so was imposed by the Office of Personnel Management. The office recently ordered an end to all agency programs “that use taxpayer money to promote or reflect gender ideology” following an executive order signed by Trump on the day of his inauguration.
Inside Medicine noted that many scientific manuscripts could be affected by the order as terms like “gender” are often used to describe simple demographic information. Faust added that there was just one political appointee serving in the entirety of the CDC, acting Director Susan Monarez.



Although gender-affirming care for minors remains legal in many states and federally, Virginia Commonwealth University Health has suspended gender-affirming care treatments for patients under 19, citing President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting transgender Americans’ access to health care.
“VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU have suspended gender-affirming medication and gender-affirming surgical procedures for those under 19 years old in response to a White House executive order and clear guidance from the state provided to VCU,” a hospital spokesperson told The Advocate in an email. “We are committed to ensuring that we’re always delivering care in accordance with the law. Appointments will be maintained to discuss specific care options for patients in compliance with the most recent guidance.”
The Richmond-based medical center joins other hospitals—including Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and Denver Health in Colorado—that have halted care following Trump’s latest anti-trans policy.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is removing content related to HIV after Donald Trump issued executive orders targeting the transgender community.
The order prohibiting federal agenciesfrom making any mention of "gender ideology" has given staffers little time to implement changes with its deadline of Friday afternoon, resulting in the agency taking down HIV-related pages regardless of if they mentioned gender or not.
Charles Ezell, the acting director of the U.S. office of personnel management titled “Defending Women,” sent an email to CDC employees Tuesday, obtained by NBC News, that directly ordered them not to make any references to “gender ideology” and to only recognize two sexes, male and female, against medical fact.
“The process is underway,” an anonymous agency staffer told the outlet. “There’s just so much gender content in HIV that we have to take everything down in order to meet the deadline.”
Trump's so-called "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" order defines sex as strictly male or female based on a person's assigned sex at birth. This is in opposition to all major medical associations in the United States, which maintain that sex is not binary and that transgender and nonbinary identities are real.


On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention purged from its website thousands of pages that included terms such as “transgender,” “L.G.B.T.” and “pregnant person,” to comply with an executive order barring any material that promoted “gender ideology.”
By Monday, some of the pages had reappeared, in part in response to intense media coverage, backlash from the scientific community and concern for the public’s health, according to a senior official with knowledge of the matter.
The purge had also swept up vaccine information statements, which must be given to patients before they can be immunized; guidelines for contraception; and several pages on how race and racism affect health outcomes. Also removed was a database containing 20 years of H.I.V. data that doctors rely on to determine whether a pregnant woman lives in an area of high H.I.V. prevalence and should be tested for the virus in her third trimester.
Some of these resources were also reinstated, but the return was not entirely smooth. Charts and tables in the H.I.V. database could be reached through a Google search, for instance, but the C.D.C.’s own portal remained broken.





Several government websites have been taken down, including the USAID.gov, ForeignAssistance.gov, NeglectedDiseases.gov, and ChildrenInAdversity.gov. A WIRED analysis of more than 1,000 federal .gov websites found that at least seven sites linked to a USAID server went offline in a two-hour span on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, Reuters reported that word of sites being taken offline was the result of confusion around new guidelines on language allowed to appear on federal sites. Agencies had been instructed to “take down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology” by 5 pm EST, Friday, January 31.


On Friday, however, many pages that did not seem related to "gender" or "diversity" had also been taken down, such as AtlasPlus, an interactive tool from CDC with surveillance data on HIV, viral hepatitis, STDs and TB. Also gone missing: a page with basic information about HIV testing. The CDC's Social Vulnerability Index, a tool that assesses community resilience in the event of natural disaster was also taken down.
"The removal of HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies is deeply concerning and creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks," the Infectious Disease Society of America said in a statement. "Access to this information is crucial for infectious diseases and HIV health care professionals who care for people with HIV and members of the LGBTQ community and is critical to efforts to end the HIV epidemic."



Several US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites and datasets related to HIV, LGBTQ people, youth health behaviors and more have been removed or replaced, as well as treatment guidelines for certain infections. Many pages include a note that say “CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders.”
Some sites from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights and National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health have been removed or emptied.

~


A senior health official told CNN that staff were told that consequences for noncompliance could be severe. Removal of the language will take time, the official added, so the sites and information were taken down in order to comply.
“In the process, large swaths of data and science will be unavailable for an undetermined period,” the senior health official said. “Regardless of your comfort with the idea of trans people, you should be terrified that the government is purging truth and science to fit an ideology, because what’s next?”

~


As of Friday afternoon, several CDC pages related to HIV were down, including the CDC’s HIV index page, testing page, datasets, national surveillance reports and causes pages. Treatment guidelines for sexually transmitted infections were also taken down.
Many of the CDC’s sites related to LGBTQ youth were also removed, including pages that mentioned LGBT children’s risk of suicide, those focused on creating safe schools for LGBTQ youth and a page focused on health disparities among LGBTQ youth.
The site for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System — a long-running survey that tracks health behaviors among high school students in the United States — said “The page you’re looking for was not found.”
A page about food safety during pregnancy called “Safer Food Choices for Pregnant People” was also removed.

~


Also down was AtlasPlus, an interactive tool that lets users analyze CDC data on HIV, STDs, TB and viral hepatitis, and the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index, data that helps researchers and public policy leaders identify communities that are vulnerable to the effects of disasters and public health emergencies.
Last week, the Trump administration directed federal health agencies, including the CDC, to pause external communications through February 1. Asked about the changes on Friday, a CDC spokesperson referred questions to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
“All changes to the HHS website and HHS division websites are in accordance with President Trump’s January 20 Executive Orders, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government and Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing. The Office of Personnel Management has provided initial guidance on both Executive Orders and HHS and divisions are acting accordingly to execute,” an HHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Health-care leaders raised alarm about the missing information, which they said is crucial to providers around the country.




For much of living memory, the United States has been a global leader of scientific research and innovation. From the polio vaccine, to decoding the first human chromosome, to the first heart bypass surgery, American research has originated a seemingly endless list of health care advances that are taken for granted.
But when the Trump administration issued a memorandum Monday that paused all federal grants and loans—with the aim of ensuring that funding recipients are complying with the president’s raft of recent executive orders—US academia ground to a halt. Since then, the freeze has been partially rescinded for some sectors, but it largely remains in place for universities and research institutions across the country, with no certainty of what comes next.

~


While always an imperfect arrangement, science in the US is largely funded by a complex system of grant applications, reviews by peers in the field (both of which have had to be halted as part of the communications pause), and the competitive distribution of NIH funds, says Gerald Keusch, emeritus professor of medicine at Boston University and former associate director of international research for the NIH. According to its website, the NIH disburses nearly $48 billion in grants per year.
When it comes to medical research, America truly is first, and if it abdicates that position, the void left behind has global ramifications. “In Canada, we have always looked to NIH as an exemplar of what we should be trying to do,” says Austin, speaking to me independently of any roles and affiliations. “Now, that’s collapsed.”

~


WIRED heard over and over, from scientists too fearful for their teams and their jobs to speak on the record, that it won’t take long for the impact to reach the general population. With a loss of research funding comes the closure of hospitals and universities. And gains in medical advancement will likely falter too.
Conditions being studied with NIH funding are not only rare diseases affecting 1 or 2 percent of the population. They’re problems such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s—issues that affect your grandmother, your friends, and so many people who will one day fall out of perfect health. It’s thanks to this research system, and the scientists working within it, that doctors know how to save someone from a heart attack, regulate diabetes, lower cholesterol, and reduce the risk of stroke. It’s how the world knows that smoking isn’t a good idea. “All of that is knowledge that scientists funded by the NIH have generated, and if you throw this big of a wrench in it, it’s going to disrupt absolutely everything,” says the genetics professor.

~


“When the wheels of government stop, it’s not like they turn on a dime and they just start up again,” says Julie Scofield, a former executive director of NASTAD, a US-based health nonprofit. She adds that she has colleagues in Washington, DC, who have had funding returned to their fields, and yet remain unable to access payment through the management system.
Austin says that already the international scientific community is holding hastily arranged online support groups. Topics covered range from the banal—what the most recent communication from the White House implies—to how best to protect trainees and the many students on international visas. But mostly they’re there to provide support.
Scientists, perhaps more than any other profession, are trained to “learn and validate conclusions drawn from observation and experimentation,” says Keutsch. That applies to the current situation. And what they observe during this pause of chaos does not portend well for the future of the United States as a pinnacle of scientific excellence.
“If people want the United States to head toward being a second-class nation, this is exactly what to do. If the goal is, in fact, to make America great, this is not a way to do it,” says the genetics professor. “This is not a rational, thoughtful, effective thing to do. It will merely destroy.”


The removed data is “critically important” for health agencies to figure out how to best protect different communities and removing it “just makes that job harder,” said Nuzzo, a professor of epidemiology and the director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island.
“There’s never been this level of sort of dismantling and tampering with data that we’ve seen, and it is deeply concerning,” Nuzzo added. “It’s only going to sow distrust in the federal government.”
Some outside groups have managed to download and save the data, but it’s unknown whether those sets will now be updated, Nuzzo said.
And with health agencies now not communicating with state and local health officials, Nuzzo warned how potentially deadly outbreaks risk not being properly assessed and monitored.
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “can’t even talk to our health officials, they cannot fulfill their statutory obligation to protect America’s health,” Nuzzo said.


In yet another purge of vital health data, the Trump administration has scrubbed information about HIPAA protections for reproductive rights from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website. They’ve also erased guidance on pharmacies’ obligation not to discriminate against patients seeking reproductive health care.1
This comes as the White House continues its deletions and “modifications” of CDC documents related to sexual and reproductive health, intimate partner violence, LGBTQ issues, and more.



The Public Health Agency of Canada is part of the federal health portfolio. Our activities focus on protecting against threats to public health, preventing and reducing diseases and injury, and promoting health, well-being and equity.



7) Musk took over OPM, OMB, and other agencies.


It’s hard to know just how destructive this will be in the long run, but for now, this is arguably the most troubling development in a day of extremely troubling developments. Elon Musk appears to be trying to do to the federal government what he did at Twitter/X: massively disrupt its functioning and drive out experienced employees not on board with his transformations and his personality cult.



Musk, the world's richest man and an advisor to President Trump, is leading a team called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Despite the name, DOGE is part of the White House and not a Cabinet agency. In recent days it has gained access to the Treasury Department's payment systems, which are responsible for processing trillions of dollars of spending every year.
The Associated Press reported DOGE representatives have also gained access to classified information at the U.S. Agency for International Development, a decades-old foreign aid agency Musk says he plans to shut down. And now, Musk's cut-slashing unit is reported to be eyeing a way to gain access to the systems of the Small Business Administration, which gives loans and support to small firms, according to PBS News Hour.

~


As DOGE officials move quickly to get their hands on the inner workings of the federal government, Musk has been posting through it on X, the social media platform he owns, suggesting routine payments of the Treasury are violating the law and asserting that USAID is "a criminal organization" without providing evidence to support these claims. Musk did not return requests for comment.

~


As Musk bores into vast parts of the federal government, his employment status has caused confusion, which the White House clarified on Monday. According to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Musk is spearheading DOGE as "a special government employee." That's a temporary appointment that allows a person to work for no more than 130 days a year to perform "limited" services.

~


Federal ethics experts say since Musk operates six companies that cross multiple industries, including the rocket company SpaceX and the electric carmaker Tesla, it may be difficult for him to avoid running afoul of strict conflict-of-interest laws.

~


Multiple reports indicated DOGE representatives sought access to a "secure compartmented information facility," or SCIF, at USAID, which is a room containing sensitive documents that only someone with a high-level security clearance is permitted to enter.



People working for, or with, Elon Musk are reportedly taking over the inner workings of multiple government agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, the Treasury Department, and the General Services Administration.
The Washington Post reported Friday that the highest-ranking career official at Treasury is leaving the department after “a clash” with people working for Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over “access to sensitive payment systems,” citing three unnamed sources.
The DOGE officials have been asking for access to the system — which controls the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to programs like Social Security and Medicare — since after the election in November. The Trump administration has been looking for ways to stop the flow of federal money appropriated by Congress, including hastily ordering a confusing spending freeze, which experts say violates the Constitution.
Reuters also reported Friday that Musk aides have “locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees,” citing two unnamed agency officials. Leaked documents obtained by Wired show Musk’s staff have taken over the General Services Administration, a government agency that manages federal offices and technology.

Across the government, tech workers are being grilled and subjected to code reviews by Musk aides, Wired reported Thursday. Musk and his team also appear to have been involved in a recent government-wide email offering employees the chance to resign.
Musk’s disruption of the federal government so far tracks closely to the chaotic days following his takeover of Twitter, as detailed by books like “Character Limit” and other reporting from the time.
It represents an unprecedented power grab within the U.S. government, and one that directly contradicts the original stated purpose of DOGE. When Donald Trump first announced it in November after he won the election, the idea was to set up DOGE as an entity outside the federal government that would make recommendations on where to cut spending.
That’s not what happened.
After his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order that renamed the U.S. Digital Service to the “U.S. DOGE service,” meaning Musk is now working inside the government. He reportedly has an office in the West Wing of the White House, but is also apparently sleeping at the DOGE office, according to Wired.



Musk has several longtime associates installed at the agency, which could prove to be critical in his efforts to exert influence in Washington as he pushes ahead in his plans to cut costs, people and regulations under the Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump recently installed in a White House tech team. Musk’s own official role isn’t yet clear.
Longtime Musk ally Steven Davis has been involved in conversations with both GSA and the Office of Management and Budget, a source familiar told Nextgov/FCW. Davis has worked with Musk for over 20 years, cutting costs at SpaceX and Twitter in addition to working at Boring Co., according to the Los Angeles Times. Davis has also been linked to the DOGE.
A “Steven Davis” is now listed in GSA’s internal directory as working in the office of the administrator, although Nextgov/FCW couldn’t independently confirm that the Davis in question is Musk’s longtime associate. GSA did not respond to requests for comment.
Nicole Hollander — who worked as X’s real estate director and is also Davis’ partner — is working at GSA, according to a source familiar. She is also listed as working in the administrator’s office in the internal directory.
A veteran of Tesla, Thomas Shedd, is leading the agency’s tech shop, the Technology Transformation Services. 
Trump has yet to name a nominee for the top position at GSA. A Salesforce alum, Stephen Ehikian, is currently running the agency as its deputy administrator.

A “Luke Farritor” is also listed in the internal employee directory as working in the GSA administrator’s office. A former SpaceX intern of the same name has been reported as winning a Musk-backed challenge to translate ancient scrolls, although Nextgov/FCW couldn’t independently confirm that this is the Farritor in question.
“The only way to stay ahead of the upheaval is to put Air Tags in the pockets of former Tesla and SpaceX employees roaming D.C., but if you’re not already with them then you’re just in the way,” said one former GSA employee of Musk’s reach into the agency.
The number of Musk allies in government has also caught the attention of Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.
“The American people don’t want an unelected, unaccountable billionaire causing chaos and messing with their lives and livelihoods. That is oligarchy, not democracy,” he told Nextgov/FCW in a statement. 



The defense industry is in a state bordering between confusion and panic, following what could be a pause awarding new Army contracts as the service reviews its plans under the Trump administration.
The fear among industry now is that this move is just the first in what would amount to a Pentagon-wide halt on new awards, for an indefinite period of time.
Word of some sort of freeze on Army contracts began circulating late Friday, and by Monday evening was moving quickly through industry, the Hill and the Pentagon — but with a lack of certainty from anyone about what, exactly, was going on. That includes inside the Army, where as of Tuesday morning when different officials appeared to have different interpretations of what the guidance meant.


As the Lebanese Armed Forces try to keep up their end of the ceasefire deal, a large pot of funds meant to enhance their equipment is tied up in Washington.
At the end of the Biden administration, there were public reports the State Department planned to shift $95 million in Foreign Military Funding (FMF) from Egypt to Lebanon. The office of Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Fla., who chairs the House appropriations subcommittee in charge of foreign aid, confirmed to Breaking Defense that the Biden team successfully shifted that money. But the funds are now held up as part of a broader State Department freeze on foreign aid ordered by Trump administration Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
FMF is money the US government gives to other nations in order to build up their national security capabilities. FMF is required to be spent only on US-made goods, meaning the money from Washington flows out to foreign capitals and then back into the US defense industry.


In a Monday morning meeting, Thomas Shedd, the recently appointed Technology Transformation Services director and Elon Musk ally, told General Services Administration workers that the agency’s new administrator is pursuing an “AI-first strategy,” sources tell WIRED.
Throughout the meeting, Shedd shared his vision for a GSA that operates like a “startup software company,” automating different internal tasks and centralizing data from across the federal government.





8) Musk and his gang of young adults have taken over Treasury and is copying everything to a private server for Musk to look over. ALL OF OUR INFORMATION IS IN THEIR HANDS. So start putting freezes on your credit.




The United States federal government has been infiltrated by a group of young, unvetted technology engineers handpicked by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and aligned with gay billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel — and they now control access to some of the most sensitive U.S. government data.
What started as a bureaucratic executive order from President Donald Trump to “modernize” government technology has turned into a full-scale takeover of federal agencies, allowing Musk’s recruits to bypass traditional hiring and security clearance processes, the Associated Press reports. These private-sector operatives, some barely out of college, now have direct access to U.S. Treasury payment systems, classified intelligence at the U.S. Agency for International Development, and personnel files at the Office of Personnel Management, Wired reports.
According to the publication, Musk has placed his own people inside the government under the guise of efficiency. These private-sector operatives, all between the ages of 19 and 24, have been put into powerful government positions despite their lack of experience. However, critics warn that this is a corporate coup—a deliberate effort to replace public accountability with private control.

~


The takeover was made possible by Trump’s January 20 executive order, which renamed the U.S. Digital Service as the U.S. DOGE Service and embedded its teams inside nearly every central federal agency. While the White House framed it as a modernization effort, the order allowed Musk’s operatives to move in without congressional oversight.
The order required every agency to create a DOGE team, typically composed of an engineer, a human resources specialist, and an attorney, all of whom answer directly to the White House. According to Wired, this structure allowed Musk to install his hires in key agencies, bypassing security clearance and traditional government hiring procedures.
Among these operatives is Edward Coristine, 19, a freshman at Northeastern University who only recently graduated high school, Wired reports. Despite his lack of experience, Coristine has already been attending high-level meetings at the General Services Administration, where longtime federal employees were required to justify their work to him.










Those of us within the ranks of the federal workforce looked on in horror at all of this. Those outside the federal government might not understand the gravity of this situation. Think of OPM and the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service as the valet sheds of the federal government. They’re not flashy or big, but they hold all the keys. OPM maintains the private information of federal civil servants—bank codes, addresses, insurance information, retirement accounts, employment records. The Treasury’s system processes every payment to everyone from grandmothers waiting for their Social Security check to cancer researchers working to crack the cure. Now there’s a ham-fisted goon in an ill-fitting valet attendant’s coat rummaging in broad daylight through all of the keys—all of that private information, previously given in trust, handled with care, and regulated by law.

9) Trump announced Tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China.



President Donald Trump on Saturday signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, drawing swift retaliation and an undeniable sense of betrayal from the country’s North American neighbors as a trade war erupted among the longtime allies.
The Republican president posted on social media that the tariffs were necessary “to protect Americans,” pressing the three nations to do more to curb the manufacture and export of illicit fentanyl and for Canada and Mexico to reduce illegal immigration into the U.S.
The tariffs, if sustained, could cause inflation to significantly worsen, threatening the trust that many voters placed in Trump to lower the prices of groceries, gasoline, housing, autos and other goods as he promised. They also risked throwing the global economy and Trump’s political mandate into turmoil just two weeks into his second term.
Trump declared an economic emergency in order to place duties of 10% on all imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada. Energy imported from Canada, including oil, natural gas and electricity, would be taxed at a 10% rate. Trump’s order includes a mechanism to escalate the rates charged by the U.S. against retaliation by the other countries, raising the specter of an even more severe economic disruption.
“The actions taken today by the White House split us apart instead of bringing us together,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a somber tone as he announced that his country would put matching 25% tariffs on up to $155 billion in U.S. imports, including alcohol and fruit.



Trump's promises to bring down the cost of living were a big reason he was elected, but since taking office he has now twice said that's not his top priority.

Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries.
Trump originally said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods shipped from Canada and Mexico. So, a product worth $4 would face an additional $1 charge applied to it.
There will be a 10% charge on goods imported from China, set to take effect on 4 February at 00:01 EDT (05:01 GMT), he said.


President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, and claimed that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States.
The trade penalties that Trump signed Saturday at his Florida resort caused a mix of panic, anger and uncertainty, and threatened to rupture a decades-old partnership on trade in North America while further straining relations with China.
Trump on Sunday night returned from Florida and threatened to impose steeper tariffs elsewhere, telling reporters that the import taxes will “definitely happen” with the European Union and possibly with the United Kingdom as well.
He brushed aside retaliatory measures from Canada, saying, “If they want to play the game, I don’t mind. We can play the game all they want.” Trump said he plans to speak with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts on Monday.


Mexico is by far Texas’ largest trading partner, followed by Canada with China coming closely behind. Free-trade advocates warn that tariffs on goods will be passed onto consumers — meaning higher prices for Texans. Any positive benefits such as bringing manufacturing back to the country may not appear for years.

“There would undeniably, indisputably be a negative economic impact if tariffs were to be enacted,” said Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business, a group that supports many of Trump’s other domestic policies.


Texas prides itself in having one of the fastest growing economies in the country and one of the largest economies on earth, due largely to its looser regulatory environment and free exchange with other high value markets. Texas is the largest exporting state in the U.S. — a point of pride for Gov. Greg Abbott and that Abbott said aligns with Trump’s values for making the U.S. an exporting powerhouse. The state exports over $88.6 billion in goods to Mexico alone, and a further $23.4 billion to Canada.




Part 2

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The following are fb posts from March 2017



Wednesday March 1, 2017


A look at how claims made by President Trump in his speech to Congress stack up with the facts.



Thursday March 2, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Did Attorney General Jeff Sessions misspeak, lie — or commit perjury?



Donald Trump Jr. Was Likely Paid at Least $50,000 for Event Held by Hosts Allied With Russia on Syria - WSJ http://ow.ly/uhjg309xy97



Friday March 3, 2017




Sunday March 5, 2017




Monday March 6, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Ben Carson just referred to slaves as 'immigrants'



Tuesday March 7, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Trump hits Obama again, this time falsely with claims about Gitmo detainees



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Fact check: Examining Trump’s wiretap claim






The GOP's Obamacare replacement bill: Dead on arrival? http://ow.ly/SqEa309GvWW



Wednesday March 8, 2017


Legislative Process 101 - House of Representatives Committee Action — Indivisible Guide http://ow.ly/MqyE309IfEP



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Sens. Graham and Whitehouse demand proof of Trump's claim that Obama wiretapped him



Thursday March 9, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

House panel OKs health bill, industry groups say ‘no’



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Q&A: The facts on the Republican health care bill



Trump’s First 100 Days: POTUS launches ‘full-court press’ on health plan - The Washington Post http://ow.ly/iUWf309KjFX



Hawaii issues first challenge to Trump's new travel ban - Reuters http://ow.ly/3wvL309KjX4



Friday March 10, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Sessions seeks resignations of 46 U.S. attorneys



Saturday March 11, 2017


Federal judges find Texas gerrymandered maps on racial lines http://ow.ly/Jh3Y309OhG1



Tuesday March 14, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Obamacare repeal will increase the number of uninsured by 24 million by 2026, CBO says



Wednesday March 15, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Federal judge blocks Trump's second travel ban nationwide



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Why does Russia outsource its hacking?



Thursday March 16, 2017




Don't forget about our meeting on Thursday March 23rd. Dr. James Gleason will be our speaker, he will talk about the powers of the president and the problems President Trump is facing with Congress.



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Senate Intelligence Committee finds ‘no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance’



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Michael Flynn received more than $33,000 from Russian TV



Check out this article from USA TODAY:



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

The 62 agencies and programs Trump wants to eliminate



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Trump budget cuts immigration aid and local police are stunned



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

U.S. Coast Guard objects to Trump's funding cut



Friday March 17, 2017


Trump's relationship with the truth is becoming a national embarrassment - CNN http://ow.ly/EQW530a1q2O



Trump Offers No Apology for Claim on British Spying - The New York Times http://ow.ly/ZyJT30a1qiX



Justice appeals ruling over Trump travel ban - USA TODAY http://ow.ly/sDoR30a1qv5



Monday March 20, 2017


White House installs political aides at Cabinet agencies to be Trump’s eyes and ears - The Washington Post http://ow.ly/dVy030a4unJ



Trump's wiretapping accusation comes to a head at Comey hearing - CNN http://ow.ly/M8dS30a4LQi



FBI director to testify on Russian interference in the presidential election - The Washington Post http://ow.ly/bMwi30a4Qji



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

What role did Russia play in the election? The FBI is on it



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Analysis: FBI bombshell creates 'a big gray cloud' over Trump's White House



Tuesday March 21, 2017



To find out how your lawmaker is voting check out these two sites. http://congress.org/ will let you sign up to be notified each time one of your lawmaker’s votes. It is easy to sign up, you just need to put in your email address and zip code. http://votesmart.org/ will let you search by name or by zip code and you can click on the folder for “votes” to see everything voted on by that member.



Wednesday March 22, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Paul Manafort’s plan to ‘greatly benefit Putin government’



Thursday March 23, 2017


GOP health care bill in limbo after White House meeting http://ow.ly/QuK730acdIV



Don't forget about our meeting tonight!



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Ryan postpones House vote on Obamacare repeal as talks continue


We had a great meeting tonight, thanks to everyone who came out!



Friday March 24, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Decision day: House marches forward with Obamacare repeal vote



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Fact check: Still no evidence, Mr. President



Partisan split at House intel committee over canceled open hearing http://ow.ly/B7L430aejDY



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Democrats introduce the 'MAR-A-LAGO Act'





Tuesday March 28, 2017





Thursday March 30, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

China’s Xi to hold first meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in April



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Trump's travel ban could cost $18B in U.S. tourism, analysis shows



Friday March 31, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Flynn lawyer: Client wants assurances against 'witch-hunt' prosecution


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Cracking down on trade: New Trump orders will target trade deficit


-- end of March 2017 posts



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The following are posts from February 2017:



Wednesday February 1, 2017



No ‘G’day, mate’: On call with Australian PM, Trump badgers and brags - The Washington Post http://ow.ly/koFA308AX35



Thursday February 2, 2017




Friday February 3, 2017


Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Federal judge in Seattle blocks Trump's travel ban nationwide



Trump adviser cites non-existent 'massacre' defending ban http://ow.ly/FVEl308FICq



Will Trump give Conway leniency he won't give media? http://ow.ly/z0Wz308FIGL



Check out this article from USA TODAY:

Trump to dismantle Dodd-Frank Wall Street rules through executive orders



Trump’s pick for Army secretary withdraws from consideration - The Washington Post http://ow.ly/HfLf308FIT1


Various articles about the Trump Admin during the past couple weeks since Trump was sworn in:


Forty percent of registered voters support impeaching President Trump, according to a poll released Thursday from the left-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP).
Nearly half of voters, 48 percent, are opposed to impeaching Trump, and 12 percent remain unsure, according to the poll.
Pollsters also found that a majority of voters, 52 percent, would prefer former President Obama in his old role rather than Trump; 43 percent prefer Trump, and 5 percent are uncertain.



Two top Republicans long expected to lead the Senate’s role in repealing the Affordable Care Act said publicly this week that they are open to repairing former president Barack Obama’s landmark health-care law ahead of a wholesale repeal, which has been a GOP target for eight years.
Coming one week after a closed-door strategy session in which Republicans expressed frank concerns about the political ramifications of repealing the law and the practical difficulties of doing so, statements this week by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) brought into public view the political and policy challenges the GOP is facing.
Alexander, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said at a hearing Wednesday: “I think of it as a collapsing bridge. . . . You send in a rescue team and you go to work to repair it so that nobody else is hurt by it and you start to build a new bridge, and only when that new bridge is complete, people can drive safely across it, do you close the old bridge. When it’s complete, we can close the old bridge, but in the meantime, we repair it. No one is talking about repealing anything until there is a concrete practical alternative to offer Americans in its place.”
And Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee — another panel with a crucial role in the effort to repeal the ACA — said Thursday that he “could stand either” repealing or repairing the law. “I’m saying I’m open to anything. Anything that will improve the system, I’m for,” he said.

A federal judge in Detroit has ordered the administration to stop enforcement of President Trump’s executive order barring citizens from certain Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the U.S, CBS Detroit reported Friday.  

A federal judge in Boston is hearing arguments on a request to extend a temporary injunction against President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
A seven-day restraining order was granted Sunday in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two professors who were detained at Boston’s airport as they returned home from an academic conference.

A lot of politics is about the basics, and in Congress that means answering the phone. By that measure, life on Capitol Hill in the Trump era is a struggle.
Whether constituents are calling to request congressional flags, get help with a local issue — or, more likely, to register their support or displeasure with the latest move by President Donald Trump — these days they are more likely to get a busy signal or voice mail than a live human.
It’s especially true for Republican senators responsible for ensuring confirmation of Trump’s Cabinet, including divisive picks like billionaire Betsy DeVos to lead the Education Department.
Dropped calls mean angry voters, so lawmakers across the Capitol, from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to the most junior senator working out of a temporary basement office, are scrambling to handle the surge.

The Trump administration has revoked more than 100,000 visas under its temporary ban on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, according to The Washington Post. 
A government attorney revealed the number during a hearing in a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Yemenis who arrived at Dulles International Airport but were sent back to Ethiopia due to Trump’s executive order. 
The attorney did not provide a specific number of visa holders sent back to their home countries from the airport, located in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to the Post.


The Saturday Night Massacre was the term used by political commentators[1] to refer to U.S. President Richard Nixon’s dismissal of independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, and as a result the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus on October 20, 1973, during the Watergate scandal.

Last Week:










White House Staff start leaking: https://twitter.com/RoguePOTUSStaff



And Jared Kushner had already been handed the administration’s first crisis—a multi-headed hydra of Sean Spicer’s press conference; Conway’s reference to “alternative facts”; Trump’s ill-advised C.I.A speech; his untruths about the size of his rally (and, later, why he lost the popular vote).The tide of bad press seemed to swell on Saturday, another person with ties to the First Family told me, when Kushner was absent observing Shabbat. “He wasn’t rolling calls on Saturday when this happened,” this person told me. “To me, that’s not a coincidence.”

Friday; Jan 27:



Bannon appointed to National Security Council in permanent position while the DNI and JCS was demoted. The Dept of Energy (in charge of the NUKES) Director (Perry?) was removed all together.

Bannon is who wrote the EOs, was in on the Putin call (with Flynn) and is now basically running things. Trump is his puppet: http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-steve-bannon-national-security-council-2017-1


GOP warns Trump to not drop the sanctions: http://time.com/4652478/donald-trump-russia-putin-republicans/


Saturday; Jan 28: