I write Popular Information, an independent newsletter dedicated to accountability journalism. | judd@popular.info | Signal/Text: 202-599-7124 | DMs open
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Feb 20 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
1. On Monday, Congressman Nick Begich (R-AK) told a constituent laid off from a job with the federal gov't that there was nothing he could do to stop budget cuts imposed by DOGE and Elon Musk
Begich said he was "not in a position to approve or deny the cuts"
2. It was a remarkable statement from the freshman Congressman, sworn into office in January. The Constitution vests the "power of the purse" with Congress — not an unelected billionaire appointed to a position in the executive branch.
1. The Senate confirmed RFK Jr at the same time as a massive measles outbreak was sweeping through areas of Texas with low vaccination rates.
RFK Jr visited Texas yesterday. Not to address the burgeoning crisis but to continue to push anti-vaccine messaging.
2. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 58 cases have been confirmed throughout five counties. Another 200 to 300 are likely infected but not tested.
1. Meta removed a Facebook ads criticizing Elon Musk's efforts to seize Americans' private information through DOGE.
A notice from Meta said the ads violated its rules on "Unacceptable Business Practices." 2. The ads, however, did not seem to violate that rule which prohibit advertisers from misleading "people into purchasing or sharing sensitive information," exaggerating "health-related benefits," and touting deceptive financial benefits.
1. OSHA has ordered the digital and physical destruction of 18 publications on workplace safety practices, according to an email obtained by Popular Information.
The email says the publications have been removed from the web and tells staff that physical copies should be "disposed of or recycled"2. Popular Information has obtained archived versions of most deleted publications. Almost all are not associated with DEIA topics but appear to have been targeted because they include a DEIA-related keyword used in a completely different context.
1. Donald Trump promised that, as president, he would drastically lower Americans' energy bills.
But hundreds of Alabama residents are receiving a $100 surcharge on their energy bills as a direct result of Trump's actions in the White House. 2. The surcharge occurred because one of Trump's executive orders froze a grant that assists low-income residents with their energy bills.
In an email, an Alabama official confirmed that the letter from Huntsville Utilities was genuine and the $100 increase was the direct result of Trump's EO.
On Monday, Popular Information broke the news that the NIH had frozen virtually all grant funding in violation of 2 federal court orders
On Wednesday, NIH leadership distributed a memo, acknowledging that its funding freeze was illegal and directing staff to resume issuing grants.2. The new policy to comply with the temporary restraining orders (TROs) was issued today, February 12. The first TRO, however, was issued on January 31. The NIH memo reveals that the agency has been in violation of these orders for almost two weeks.
1. Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old member of DOGE launched an image-sharing website in 2021 that featured custom “shitposting” URLs that redirected to content hosted on his site. URLs that redirected to Coristine’s site referenced the sale of child sexual abuse material, racial slurs, and rape.2. An analysis of URL traffic to tesla.sexy between April 2021 and September 2021 shows that numerous noxious URLs redirected to Coristine’s site, including, “child-porn.store,” “nigga.rentals,” and “raping-women.club"
The Trump administration is maintaining a funding freeze at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in defiance of two federal court orders.
The ongoing freeze was confirmed by an NIH official and internal correspondence reviewed by Popular Information.
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2. By ignoring court orders, the Trump administration has created a Constitutional crisis. The research funded by the NIH is extremely important but this issue also speaks to the state of democracy in America.
Today, the NSA is planning a "Big Delete" of websites and internal network content that contain any of 27 banned words, including "privilege," "bias," and "inclusion," a NSA source tells Popular Information.
The massive purge is creating chaos, taking down "mission-related" work2. A memo distributed by NSA leadership to its staff says that on February 10, all NSA websites and internal network pages that contain banned words will be deleted.
1. Musk is launching a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment services on X.
Meanwhile, Musk's associates have just been granted access to confidential information about X's competitors, an official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told Musk Watch.
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2. On Saturday, OMB director Russell Vought assumed the role of acting director of the CFPB and instructed bureau staff to give DOGE access to all “non-classified” systems.
The info that the CFPB collects on digital payment apps is not classified.
1. Yesterday, the Trump admin released a contract laying out more details of the "deferred resignation" offer they are using to encourage federal employees to resign.
The deal is MUCH WORSE than it seemed
Anyone who signs this contract agrees to resign and gets NOTHING guaranteed in return
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2. The most important part of the contract is Section 13.
It states that, by signing the contract, the employee agrees NEVER TO ENFORCE THE CONTRACT IN COURT OR ANY OTHER FORUM.
A central premise of the Trump admin is there is pervasive discrimination against hard-working white men, who are being replaced by less-qualified women & minorities
So Trump has implemented an affirmative action program for white men
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2. "Eliminate DEI" is just code to avoid talking explicitly about white power
But Darren Beattie, hired for a senior State Dept role, made the point explicitly last October
"Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work"
Several Musk associates installed at OPM — including two recent high school graduates — have received unprecedented access to federal human resources databases containing sensitive personal information for millions of federal employees.
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2. According to two members of OPM staff with direct knowledge, the Musk team running OPM can now extract information from databases that store medical histories, personally identifiable information, workplace evaluations, and other private data
1. Anyone who has read reports in the Associated Press, the New York Times, CBS News, CNN, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, NBC News, or Axios would be under the impression that the Trump administration has offered 2 million federal workers a "buyout" offer.
IT IS NOT TRUE 2. The media is parroting the false narrative of the White House, which claimed fed workers who "don’t want to work in the office & contribute to making America great again are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of 8 months"
1. Trump's policy toward China has changed dramatically since taking office.
During the campaign, he promised tariffs of 60% or more.
Now Trump is down to 10% tariffs on China — or none at all
How do you explain the sudden shift?
Two words: Elon Musk
2. Tesla, which accounts for the bulk of Musk’s estimated $440B net worth, operates its largest factory in Shanghai, which produces one million cars per year. 50%+ of all Teslas produced in the last four quarters were made in the Shanghai factory
1. On Saturday, Trump announced the he favored the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.
"You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing," Trump said.
What is motivating this ugly proposal?
Follow.
The.
Money.
2. Trump discussed his vision for Gaza on his first day in office, suggesting Gaza could be an ideal for luxury redevelopment. "Gaza is interesting. It's a phenomenal location. On the sea, the best weather, you know, everything's good," Trump said.
Trump just repealed an executive order that established basic non-discrimination requirements for federal contractors that was signed by Lyndon Johnson and has been in place for 60 years
It survived Nixon, Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II. And even Trump’s first term.
And now it is gone
2. FACTS:
Executive Order 11246 does not require quotas
It does not require "reverse discrimination"
It requires government contractors to have a plan to reach out to women and other protected groups and collect data about their workforce
1. Donald Trump took the oath of office yesterday — the first person to be sworn in as president while hawking an eponymous meme coin
It is brazen corruption $TRUMP is effectively a "For Sale" sign on the White House, facilitating anonymous bribes in any amount
Follow this 🧵 for details
2. While meme coins are nominally tied to digital "artwork," they function primarily as a speculative asset.
On Sunday, the price of one $TRUMP coin soared to over $75, putting the value of the 200 million $TRUMP coins in circulation at nearly $15 billion.
Right now, $TRUMP is trading at $37.66.
Jan 20 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
1. Elon Musk posted on X that he would provide a “free” month of internet access to those impacted by the deadly wildfires
But Musk left out a costly detail: To claim the free month, residents first would have to spend a minimum of $349 on a Starlink hardware kit
2. Musk also promised to "position Cybertrucks with Starlinks and free WiFi in a grid pattern in the areas that most need it in the greater LA/Malibu area." The post immediately earned Tesla and its newest luxury vehicle a wave of press attention.
Jan 13 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
1. "You deserve leadership in Washington that does not answer to the lobbyists… or to the corrupt special interest but answers only to you," Trump said during his 2024 campaign
After he won, TRUMP IMMEDIATELY NAMED A CORPORATE LOBBYIST AS HIS CHIEF OF STAFF
2. Wiles joined Ballard Partners in 2011. After helping Trump in 2016, Wiles decided to help Ballard "set up a Washington office rather than join the new administration."
Ballard raked in $70M in fees during the first Trump presidency