BY MATT BERG
& CROOKED MEDIA

THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 20, 2025

“I wouldn't be against them taking it from a Pentagon to a Trigon. Cut a couple sides off of it.”

— MAGA Sen. Tommy Tuberville, showing off his knowledge of shapes while endorsing defense budget cuts.

CRY BABY BILLIONAIRES

Is talking shit about Elon Musk a crime now? Donald Trump’s hand-picked top prosecutor in Washington D.C. wants Democrats to know he’s listening — and doesn’t like what he’s hearing.

Does the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, also own the law in Washington D.C.? If you listen to the city’s top federal prosecutor, it’s starting to sound like he does. Yesterday, interim D.C. U.S. attorney Ed Martin (who defended Capitol rioters) rolled out “Operation Whirlwind” a spooky-sounding plan to take legal action when public officials are threatened. On the surface… not a bad idea, given the rise in threats against public officials. But look a little deeper, and you find this is just the latest bizarre public sign that Martin fancies himself as a Musk enforcer — the sword and the shield of the Nerd Reich.

The situation escalated after Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) made a metaphorical remark last week about stopping the gazillionaire’s romp through the federal government: “What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy,” he said at a hearing. In a letter to Garcia this week, Martin said that his remarks sounded “to some like a threat to Mr. Musk … we take threats against public officials very seriously.”

This is hardly the first time that Martin — who has never been a prosecutor before — has leapt to Musk’s aid. In early February, he released a letter that said he had worked directly with Musk’s DOGE team, and vowed: “We will protect DOGE and other workers no matter what.” In another letter, he wrote: “If people are discovered to have broken the law or even acted simply unethically, we will investigate them.” Which is a weird thing to say because… things that are unethical, but legal, are by definition not crimes!

He’s just taking his cue from the big boss, of course. And he’s not the only one.

Trump himself vowed to prosecute or punish his political opponents more than 100 times over the past three years. He also has a long track record of promoting violence against politicians. He circulated an image of former President Joe Biden hog-tied, expressed support for the public hanging of former Vice President Mike Pence, suggested that former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley deserved to be executed, to name a few. Thanks to the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling last year, Trump can say and do whatever he wants.

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan recently called for an investigation into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)... after she shared info about Americans’ Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. She “crossed a line,” Homan said, by “aiding and abetting” criminals. AOC’s response: “Go ahead. Let the people see you for what you are.”

Meanwhile, the Senate confirmed Kash Patel to run the FBI today — putting a hardcore Trump loyalist and Jan. 6 conspiracy theorist (who has an actual enemies list) in charge of the country’s top federal law enforcement agency. Patel has said he’ll “come after” anti-Trump “conspirators” in the government. After the 51-49 vote, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) lamented: “I cannot imagine a worse choice.”

Democrats are striking a defiant stance. Garcia fired back at Martin: “Members of Congress must have the right to forcefully oppose the Trump Administration. I will not be silenced.” Others dismissed the threats in even blunter terms.

“It’s all bullshit,” a Senate Democratic aide told What A Day. “These people are weaponizing every part of the government to go after their perceived enemies for their own political gain. If they think this will silence Democrats, they are mistaken.”

USAID WOES

The Trump administration’s evisceration of USAID has already had dire consequences around the world.

Since taking office, Trump has withdrawn much of the United States’s support for other countries, firing thousands of employees and shuttering programs that cleared minefields in Cambodia, funded health clinics in Syria, and helped victims of chemical warfare during the Vietnam War, among hundreds of other missions.

In Kenya, a stop-work order for a program that helps fund treatment to nearly 100,000 tuberculosis patients every year has had a devastating impact, Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, a former USAID worker based in the country, told What A Day.

Over 300 people are estimated to have died following the loss of U.S. funding in just the last three weeks, according to the local implementing partner, Knowles-Coursin said.

A State Department spokesperson pointed out that a humanitarian waiver has enabled funding for some life-saving assistance programs.

“To set the record straight, this emergency humanitarian waiver includes life-saving aspects of PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, including HIV treatment and care as well as prevention of mother-to-child transmission,” the spokesperson said — without addressing the tuberculosis program directly.

And even some aid programs that received waivers to proceed were interrupted in the interim, causing severe disruption, Knowles-Coursin said.

The leader of a local Kenya-based program that provides treatment for people who are HIV-positive and does have a waiver in place still can’t pay its salaries, Knowles-Coursin said. “The payment system for USAID is still down,” he said. “They have a three-month supply of anti-retrovirals… but they’re not sure what to do after that.”

In the meantime, as they waited for the waiver that allowed them to restart their work, staffers faced a gruesome moral quandary: Do I disobey orders to keep people alive?

The Trump administration is facing legal challenges for the funding cuts, including a lawsuit from aid groups. They accused Trump’s USAID of breaking the law by not resuming funding following a judge’s order.

“This is an existential moment for Americans,” Knowles-Coursin said. “We’re deciding who we want to be in the world … Do we not care when a disaster strikes and millions of peoples’ lives are at risk?”

Our pals over at Pod Save The World touched on this topic in yesterday’s podcast. Give it a listen.

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WHAT ELSE?

Is Trump’s honeymoon over, exactly one month into his presidency? Polls suggest it might be, as his already-slim approval numbers dip. Apparently 57 percent of Americans now say the president has exceeded his authority. Overall, 43 percent of people support his actions while 48 percent oppose.

Some stats about what Trump’s been up to during his first month: He has spent 16 days at four Trump Organization properties, played golf ten times, spent 19 nights at the White House… and a dozen nights at his business’s properties. Gotta respect that level of commitment to not working.

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) decided against removing New York City Mayor Eric Adams from his position, despite allegedly partaking in a quid pro quo with the Trump administration to stay out of prison. Instead, she unveiled bills that would increase oversight of the mayor’s office. Hochul passing over an opportunity for an electoral slam dunk? New Yorkers will not be surprised.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that he won’t seek re-election next year, which for someone his age shouldn’t be surprising. But this is the Senate we’re talking about! We won’t miss him, but I do give him credit — dude is retiring at the young age of 83. He’s still got plenty of more years in him! Isn’t that right, 91-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)?

The Energy Department’s Grid Deployment Office has lost about 30 percent of its workforce, an agency official told What A Day. Twenty-one employees were fired by DOGE, 18 staff members took the deferred resignation, and three left on their own accord. Earlier this month, Trump’s energy secretary pledged to strengthen the grid. These cuts will surely help!

Trump’s Food and Drug Administration told some scientists to stop using the words “woman,” “disabled” and “elderly” in external communications, Reuters reports. The White House claims it was an error.

The U.S. won’t co-sponer a symbolic United Nations resolution that explicitly supports Ukraine’s war efforts against Russia, according to Reuters. Washington is reportedly opposed to using the term “Russian aggression” in the resolution.

Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including a mother and her young sons. It’s the seventh hostage-for-prisoner exchange in the current cease-fire deal, and more are expected to be conducted in the coming days.

THERE'S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM

With US-Russia negotiations kicking off—without Ukraine at the table—and Europe bracing for the fallout of Trump’s foreign policy shift, there’s a lot at stake on the world stage. This week on Pod Save The World, they’re breaking it all down, from Vance and Musk meddling in the German election to Austria’s far-right flopping, the latest on Israel/Gaza/Iran, and more. For the full global picture, tune in to Pod Save The World—new episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube!

American companies are starting to build a new type of battery for electric vehicles that could lower the prices of the cars, pose less of a fire risk and last way longer than current batteries do. Trump’s tariffs could get in the way of progress, but this is still a good sign!

Archaeologists discovered an ancient Egyptian pharoah’s tomb, the first such find since King Tutankhamun’s was found in 1922. It’s believed to be the burial place of King Thutmose II, who ruled for about five years — some 3,500 years ago. I’m so tired of the news, can someone please bury me and wake me up in three millennia?

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