Transcript

2.22.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Saturday,
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February twenty two, twenty twenty five. As a reminder, Radio
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I is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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read printed materials. Your reader today is Mark Webster. Today's
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front page headlines from the Washington Post are six. First,
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Musks tactics leave senior US officials unnerved. Second, companies reframed
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DEI to put focus on quote leveling unquote. Third, a
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shaky audition for key role in Gaza. Four US attorney
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talked about targeting foes of Trump. Five at town halls,
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Doge is all the rage, and six joint chief staff
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other leaders fired in Pentagon Purge. Here's the first one.
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Musk Blitzkrieg is unnerving. Many of Trump's senior advisors. Officials
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have been blat sided by Dog's actions, but the President's
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strong support of the group means other advisors have limited options.
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Top Treasury officials have complained about disruption. The Secretary of
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State has pushed back on staff cuts inside the Education
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and Health and Human Services departments. Political appointees have been informed,
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not consulted about canceled grants and contracts, sometimes learning about
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decisions from the media. Elon Musk's aggressive tactics to reshape
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the federal government have irritated and blindsided many senior officials
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in the Trump administration, including those tasks with running cabinet
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departments being squeezed by his US DOGE service, According to
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interviews with more than thirty current and formal officials, and
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many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to
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discuss internal matters. Amid these bubbling tensions, White House Chief
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of Staff Susie Wilds personally asked Musk last week to
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better coordinate on Dog's sweeping actions. The broad goals of
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Musk's team at DOGE, which stands for the Department of
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Government Efficiency, are shared not just by President Donald Trump,
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but also by most of his senior advisors, who also
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want to shrink the government through unilateral cuts. And yet
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agency heads whom Trump chose are finding themselves caught off
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guard by Dog's actions and forced to reverse, mitigate, or
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answer for some of its most disruptive moves while working
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to win Senate confirmation to be Health and Human Services Secretary.
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For instance, Robert F. Kennedy Junior had to reassure GOP
2:58
senators he would re EXAs and Doge driven cuts to
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the National Institute of Health. Lynda McMahon, Trump's nominee for
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Education Secretary, told senators that she too would investigate cuts
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at her department. Dog e s blitzkrieg across the federal
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government has sparked deep concerns among civil servants who have
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been targeted for layoffs and required to implement policies they
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see as unwise, if not illegal. But Trump's political appointees
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are quietly expressing unease with Musk as well. Quote. Basically
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every cabinet member is sick of him, but nobody feels
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like they're in a position to do anything about it.
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The quote, said one person who spoke on the condition
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of anonymity to describe private conversations with Seven with several
3:46
incoming secretaries or their staff. Quote. People are afraid to
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cross him, even as he's wrecking ha havoc on their agencies.
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Close the quote. Trump, though, has made clear that he
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he supports Musk, and none of the tensions with other
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appointees seems significant enough to block Doge's work. In a
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joint interview, aired on Fox News on Tuesday, Trump lavish
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praised on the billionaire and said Musk was insuring his
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orders were not watered down by federal workers. One of
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Trump's few known complaints about Musk came after an Oval
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office session last week. Twitch Musk brought his toddler, who
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interrupted and gestured painfully, playfully while the men spoke with reporters.
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Two people familiar with the matter said, quote, when you
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sign these executive orders, a lot of them don't get done. Unquote.
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Trump said on Fox he said Musk would make sure
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they are implemented as intended. Quote some guy that maybe
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didn't do it all of a sudden, he's signing unquote.
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The seventy eight year old president and fifty three year
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old magnate have been seen together constantly since Trump's victory
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in November. Musk has interviewed cabinet picks, taken questions from
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reporters alongside the president, and even joined Trump's calls with
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world leaders, and he's made powerful allies in Stephen Miller,
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Trump's deputy chief of staff, and his wife, Katie Miller,
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who has worked on behalf of DOGE. In court filings,
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the White House has stated that Musk has no quote
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actual or formal unquote authority to make decisions and is
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not a DOGE employee in practice. However, doge's ability to
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act even without prior approval from cabinet secretaries illustrated how
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much power Musk has accrued. Quote. If you are a
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generic cabinet secretary, you might be looking at DOGE as
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limiting your ability to manage your agency or feel your
5:48
look like a fool. If you say X and DGE
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does why you might find that annoying, and that's understandable,
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said Avik Roy, president of the Foundation for resar on
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Equal Opportunity, a think tank that promotes free markets. Quote,
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but Trump likes the fact that these cabinet heads don't
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have carte blanche to do whatever they want, and that
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must gives them another set of eyes at the agencies.
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That's what the president wants, and he's entitled to run
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the executive branch that way. Close the quote, but the
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extent of musk ability to execute sweeping changes without approval
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or input from department heads appears to be unprecedented and
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unsettling for the cabinet. Quote, why do you want to
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be a cabinet secretary. If you can't run your own
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agency and the President Elon Musk run your agency for you,
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that doesn't seem like a great job to me. It's
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very unusual. We've never seen anything like this. Close the quote.
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Said Doug holtz Eken, president of the American Action Forum,
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a right leaning think tank. Quote. These unquoted effort, uncoordinated efforts,
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have downsides. You have the secretaries and Doge at cross purposes,
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and that doesn't serve anyone well. Close the quote. A
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White House spokeman said there's no tension between Musk and
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other officials, and other Trump officials downplayed any disagreement. Quote.
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The entire Trump administration is aligned on delivering on President's
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Trump's agenda to streamline our bloated government and make it
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more efficiently, sir, the American people. Close the quote. Spokesman
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Cushed de Si said in a statement. Quote, DGE is
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working hand at hand with the White House and federal
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agencies to identify and slash waste, fraud, and abuse at
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lightning speed. Any unfounded rumors peddled by anonymous sources simply
7:42
do not have any clue what's happening, or are actively
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working against the President's agenda and the will of the
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American people close the quote. Almost as soon as Treasury
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Secretary Scott Descent took office, the dog Team thrust his
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department into the spotlight. David A. Lebric, the most senior
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career official Treasury, had clashed with Doge allies who demanded
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access to sensitive payment systems that dispersed more than five
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trillion dollars annually so they could unilatterally terminate fourn Aid payments.
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Lebrick thought that was illegal and resigned just a few
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days after being sworn in Vascent. Bessant began to hear
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from peers about how valuable Lebrick was. In a call,
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Federal Reserve Board chair Jerome H. Powell, former Treasurer official himself,
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extolled Lebric as a valuable public service, two people said,
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although that was not the primary purpose of the conversation,
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several other former senior Treasury officials made similar points in
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separate calls with Bessant's deputies around the same time. Two
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other people said the incident touched off broad alarm among
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the Treasury civil staff, whom secretaries depend on to manage
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their agencies, and even among Republicans who had served in
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the department. The controversy around Doge's access to the payment
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network threatened to undercut the Treasury Secretary's credibility as well.
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Bessett told later told congressional Republicans that Musk team did
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not control the payment systems, and department officials said in
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a public statement that Dog EA staffers had quote read
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only unquote access and affidavid filed in federal court from
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a senior career Treasury staffer said twenty five year old
9:30
Marco Ales had in fact been granted editing permissions that
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were later revoked. Top Treasury officials later expressed frustration to
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confidence that the matter weakened their standing with the department.
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Two people familiar with those comments said, quote the undermined
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him with the Treasury staff and made him look like
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he was not in control unquote, one former Trump administration
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official said on Bloomberg News on Thursday. Bessont compared Musk
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to star athlete Michael Jordan and Lionel Messi and praised
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Dog's work with Treasury, which Treasury has said publicly it
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is supporting. Quote he is focused and his energy level
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is unbelievable unquote. Besson said a Munk quote, he has
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gotten to where he has because everything is on the table.
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Close the quote. Besson is not the only Trump Cabinet
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secretary to have to manage fallout from musk aggressive approach.
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Other political appointees have been left in the dark about
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key initiatives in their own departments or forced to try
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to reverse Musk's maneuvers. During Secretary of State Marco Rubio's
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first official foreign trip, dog representatives in Washington presented a
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plan to eliminate almost all of usa ID, which Rubio
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was nominally running as acting administrator. The plan proposed cutting
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the ten thousand person agency to roughly two hundred and ninety,
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a staffing level so low that said it would be
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impossible to administer the tens of billions of dollars in
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foreign aid approved by Congress every year. Rubio and his aides,
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who during his trip to Central America vowed that foreign
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aid would continue, advocated for more USAID officials to keep
11:19
their jobs, resulting in six hundred workers being deemed essential,
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roughly double what the Dog team originally proposed, But the
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Trump administration's aid freeze still left chaos across the agency.
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The world's largest provider of food assistance. In public, Rubio
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forcefully defended Musk and blamed USAID officials for quote insubordination
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unquote in doge's effort to audit the agency. But in
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more private settings with US officials, Rubio has acknowledged that
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it's much easier to smash things and put them back together,
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a point underscored by nonprofit groups that have struggled through
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the freeze to protect programs the Trump administration says it
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still supports, said current and former US officials, Rubio has
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acknowledged that it's much easier to smash I just read that.
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A spokeswoman for the State Department did not respond to
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request for comment. Quote. The Secretary is trying to make
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foreign aid work better, but much of the current DOGE
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actions inside and outside of Foggy Bottom are focused on
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ending it. Quote, said Matthew Bartlett, a political appointee at
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the State Department during Trump's first term. In the first
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days after Trump's inauguration, the offices on the seventh floor
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of the Education Department were mostly empty, waiting for senior
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political officials who require Senate confirmation to arrive, but at
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least one political appointee had found an office and started
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to settle in, said one person with knowledge of the situation.
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Then the dog team that arrived at the agency January
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thirty one abruptly commandeered that office. DOGE staffers refused to
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interact with others, declining even to return pleasantries or acknowledged greetings,
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and got into at least one altercation with a political appointee.
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This person says. The DOGE team also took possession of
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the large, windowed corner office meant for the agency's under secretary,
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dragging extra desk and chairs in the set up. A
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war room also set up white noise machines to prevent
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others from hearing their conversations. The dog team has made
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almost all of the decisions about what grants and contracts
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to cancel and which employees to put on leave without
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working or considering input from political appointees on site. People
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familiar with the situation said, in many cases, political appointees
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are hearing about cuts at the same time as the
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public is via DOGEO or us post on x, the
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social media network. The billionaire owned. The political appointees quote
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had a plan in place for how they wanted the
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first couple of weeks or months to go, and this
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is just derailing it, unquote, one person said. The person's members,
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this person said, did not realize that they would have
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to quote fight this battle unquote. Doge's decisions included putting
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employees on leave because of alleged ties to diversity, equity
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and inclusion initiatives, even if they all even if all
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they did was participate in a DEI program that had
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been endorsed by the first Trump administration. Doge also canceled
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contracts for functions mandated by law and killed others in
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which the agency had already paid out most of the money.
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Many contracts will need to be rebid, a time consuming,
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an avoidable process, People familiar with the situation said McMahon,
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who is still waiting Senate confirmation, has heard these complaints
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from political staff and has been frustrated by the situation.
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According to someone close to her, quote she's frustrated because
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she's going to have to come in and clean up
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a big mess unquote. This person said he expected McMahon
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will tell Doge to operate differently, saying she would probably explain, quote,
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make recommendations, and then I will decide you can no
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longer come in and cut and strike and delete. Close
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the quote. Ask for comment and Education Departments books Woman
15:30
provided a statement from the agency's Chief of Staff, Rachel Oglesby,
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who said DOGE team members were a valuable part of
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the department's work. Quote we all serve at the pleasure
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of President Trump and are working to implement his agenda together.
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Close the quote, she said. Quote any report to the contrary.
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Any reports to the contrary are inaccurate, unnecessary, and unhelpful
15:57
to accomplishing our shared goals. Close the quote. DGE also
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descended at the Department of Health and Human Services, where
16:05
it embedded several agents in what it says is an
16:08
effort to root out waste and fraud in the agency's
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nearly two trillion dollar budget. Musk team has repeatedly surprised
16:16
political officials who weren't aware of Doge's plans or the
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extent of the group's plan cuts, and they have sometimes
16:24
learned of actions only from news reports. Some Trump appointees
16:28
were caught off guard by a Friday night announcement on
16:31
February seven, driven by DOGE, that the National Institutes of
16:36
Health would cut billions of dollars in payments to universities
16:40
and research organizations, said two people familiar with the matter.
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That move also promoted complaints from GOP leaders worried about
16:49
the impact on higher education and jobs in their states,
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leading Kennedy, who had not yet been confirmed as HHS Secretary,
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to assure GOP senators he would review the policy. The
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White House decline to comment on whether officials were briefed
17:07
on Doge's specific actions, such as NIH funding cuts. Many
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of these complaints have found their way to the White House,
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but Trump has made clear his support for Doge limiting
17:19
the options for constraining Musk's power. Last week, Wiles, the
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Chief of Staff, spoke privately with Musk near the East
17:27
Room of the White House, Two people familiar with the
17:29
exchange said, but Wiles did not reprimand Musk or give
17:33
him a list of demands. She just asked for improved
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coordination between Doge and White House staff. Several people familiar
17:41
with the conversation said some details of that talk were
17:44
previously reported by Reuters. A White House official said that
17:49
lines of communication between the two have already improved. Musk
17:53
traveled with Trump during a leg of his trip to Florida,
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last weekend, and on the plane, Musk ran things by
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Wiles and didn't go into Trump's office without letting her know.
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Quote to be crystal clearer, Doge is by definition disruptive,
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so it's normal and expected for Whiles to have some
18:11
back and forth with Musk as he goes along, unquote,
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said a senior administration official. The Democrats have long predicted
18:21
a split between Musk and Trump, arguing that a falling
18:25
out between such large personalities is inevitable. Even many of
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Trump's aides have wondered when or if the president will
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tire of sharing the spotlight with Musk, the richest person
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in the world. Quote. The conversation at mar A Lago
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in late December was already quote why is Doge getting
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all this attention and credit? Closed the quote, one person
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familiar with the dynamic said, but others emphasize the men's
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shared personal and ideological affinity. On Fox News, Trump referred
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to Musk as quote brilliant unquotquote and marveled at his
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quote tremendous imagination unquote. Musk was similarly complimentary of Trump.
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Quote not once have I seen him do something that
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was mean or cruel or or wrong, not once closed
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the quote. Non public polling has shown that americans negative
19:16
feelings toward Doge don't affect Trump's poll numbers, according to
19:21
White House Official. A Washington Post IPSOS poll found that
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forty three percent of American support what Trump has done
19:29
in his first month, while forty eight percent oppose it.
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But Musk polling is worse. Only thirty four percent approve
19:36
of how he's handling his job, while forty nine percent disapproved.
19:41
Allies say Trump believes Musk played a crucial role in
19:46
the twenty twenty four presidential election, especially turning out voters
19:50
and key states, and is doing necessary work to weaken
19:54
the federal civil service that has resisted Trump's agenda. While
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Doge has irritated Trump's age by generating nearly daily chaos
20:02
in the capital, the president sees that disruption as a strength,
20:05
not a weakness. Musk, meanwhile, has said Trump offers a
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generational opportunity to save the American government and pave the
20:13
way for his goal of getting to Mars. Quote. Trump
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understands that you can't take on the establishment with a scalpel.
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If you take on the system with a scalpel, the
20:24
system will break. You, unquote said Newt Gingrich, who served
20:27
as Speaker of the House in the nineteen nineties and
20:30
is a Trump ally. Quote Trump understands he needs a sledgehammer.
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Elon is that sledgehammer? Close the quote and that's the
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end of the first article. We'll go back to our
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list and we'll begin with the second article. Companies reframe
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DEID to put focus on leveling. Quote lifting unquote becomes
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quote leveling unquote. Companies reframe DEI mid Trump upheaval with
20:55
private sectors policies in the government's crosshairs, businesses are ditching
21:00
representation goals and focusing on inclusion. Here's the article. President
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Donald Trump's campaign to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion
21:11
policies is spurring many businesses to rapidly recalibrate how to
21:17
ensure equal opportunity within their ranks, trading programs framed around
21:21
race and identity for those rooted in business outcomes. Trump's
21:28
orders last month dismantling federal DEI policies and programs sparked
21:33
upheaval in layoffs across the federal workforce, while telegraphing similar
21:38
aims for the private sector. Companies have taken notice this week. Pepsi, KPMG,
21:45
and City Group joined the ranks of firms retiring workforce
21:48
representation goals. Accenture, Deloitte and Google took similar steps last week,
21:56
while Goldman Sachs announced it would ditch a requirement for
21:59
corporate board of directors to include women and people of color,
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citing quote legal developments unquote, seeds of enforcement are beginning
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to manifest, with comcasts becoming one of the administration's first targets.
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In a February eleventh letter, Federal Communications Commissioned Chair Brendan
22:17
Carr notified the media giant that he expects to aid
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quote broader efforts to root out invidious forms of DEI
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discrimination across all of the sectors the FCC regulates closed
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the quote. Missouri's Attorney General sued Starbucks in federal court
22:35
the same day, alleging the coffee chains DEI practices discriminated
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based on race and six sex, turning its workforce quote
22:43
more female and less white unquote. Companies are scrambling to
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strike a balance that keeps them out of the crosshairs
22:51
or of an administration that is openly antagonistic toward DEI
22:56
without negating its benefits, but the lack of clarity over
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what constitutes quote illegal DEI unquote in the eyes of
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the Trump administration has rattled executives and growing recognition that
23:10
methods used for decades to attract and retain diverse talent
23:14
are no longer viable. According to Tracy Diamond, an employment
23:19
attorney at Troutman pepper Lock in Princeton, as they reorient,
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businesses are discarding workforce representation goals and identity based employee
23:30
resource groups, rebranding and toning down DEI references in public
23:35
facing documents. They're framing their policies around quote leveling unquote
23:39
the playing field for all employees quote whether they're in
23:43
the majority or minority unquote, Diamond said, rather than quote
23:47
lifting unquote people on the basis of race, gender, or
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other considerations. The Post reached out to more than twenty
23:54
companies that have recently signaled commitment to DIE efforts, including
23:58
those that encourage share holders to reject anti DEA proposals
24:02
during proxy season, such as Apple, Costco, JP, Morgan Chase,
24:07
and Golden Sacks Goldman Sachs. None was willing to comment.
24:13
Johnny C. Taylor, Junior Chief executive of Human Resources Association SCHRM.
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SHRM says he's been flooded with calls for panic executives
24:24
since the January twenty eth inauguration. Companies were quote preparing
24:28
for changes under Trump, he said, but not preparing enough.
24:32
Close the quote. The CEO has been telling executives and
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SHRM's roughly three hundred and forty thousand members that dea
24:41
quote cannot be a game where you only focus on
24:43
inclusion for underrepresentative groups. Close the quote. Quote there's a
24:49
way to do this legally, but many of you aren't.
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Right now unquote. Taylor keeps telling them quote, and you
24:55
have to own that. Close the quote. After the twenty
24:58
twenty murder of George Floyd raised larger conversations about systemic racism,
25:04
dozens of large companies proclaimed their intent to be part
25:07
of the solution. They pledged millions and adopted practices meant
25:11
to create more diverse workforce, including recruiting and mentorship programs
25:16
for historically marginalized groups, anti bias training, and employee resource groups.
25:24
But the pressure to be loud about diversity efforts led
25:27
to many companies quote performing inclusion without making things more
25:31
fair unquote. According to Joel Emerson, CEO of Paradigm, a
25:36
culture and inclusion platform, the environment encouraged companies to set
25:41
up separate DEI operations that could be publicly touted, she said,
25:45
rather than focus on more sustainable work, such as efforts
25:48
to make their recruiting and hiring processes more equitable for
25:52
people of all backgrounds. Now, as companies adjust under Trump, quote,
25:58
I'm seeing companies lean into things that are good for
26:01
their employees, but make clear other businesses that make clear
26:06
business sense unquote, Emerson said. For example, she said she's
26:10
seeing far less demand for quote one time high visibility
26:15
training initiatives unquote, such as anti biased trainings for the
26:19
whole workforce, and heighten interest in topics like how to
26:23
minimize bias in recruiting and hiring processes. Still, in this climate,
26:31
Emerson said, it will be tougher for employers to broadcast
26:34
their commitment to this work. Quote. Companies have this selfish
26:39
motivation to figure out how to achieve those outcomes. They're
26:43
going to focus on how to make that happen instead
26:45
of on quote how do we try to prove to
26:48
people that were inclusive unquote. Many companies began reassuring the
26:54
legality of their DEI programs after the Supreme Court struck
26:58
down affirmative action in universe diversity admissions in twenty twenty three,
27:02
which sparked dozens of lawsuits alleging that certain programs violated
27:07
federal civil rights laws. In the flurry of post inauguration
27:11
policy adjustments, many brands focus their messaging on inclusions importance
27:17
to their business operations, even as they retired some programs. Quote.
27:22
Whether it's a recruiting restaurant team members directly from the
27:26
communities in which we operate, or creating more opportunities for
27:30
entrepreneurs and growing a robust and innovative supply chain, our
27:35
system leverage inclusion, leverages inclusion to operate successfully and grow
27:41
our businesses closed to quote. McDonald said in a January
27:44
letter to employees announcing it would end its supplier and
27:48
leadership diversity goals. All right, now, this ends the first
27:53
half of our program. I'll pick this article up in
27:56
our second half. Welcome back to the reading of the
28:03
Washington Post for today, Saturday, February twenty First, we have
28:14
just finished a twenty eight minute section segment, and we're
28:18
coming back to the article on DEI that we were reading.
28:26
In an email to the Post, the fast food chain
28:30
McDonald's said it would continue reporting demographic information about its board,
28:35
employees and suppliers in its annual Purpose and Impact Report,
28:40
and that its quote leaders will continue to be held
28:43
accountable for fostering and inclusive environment within their teams unquote.
28:49
MENA Vice Presidents of People Janelle Gell, said the social
28:54
media company remains committed to building quote the best teams
28:58
with the most talented people unquotquote while quote sourcing people
29:02
from a range of candidate pools but never making hiring
29:06
decisions based on protected characteristics e g. Race, gender, etc. Unquote.
29:12
And a January memo shared with The Washington Post announcing
29:16
the end of some of its de policies in place
29:19
of quote equity and inclusion programs unquote. The memo continued
29:24
meta plans to build quote programs that focus on how
29:28
to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all,
29:32
no matter your background close unquote. As companies adapt, there's
29:36
a real risk that they'll go quote too far in
29:39
the other direction unquote. According to Jason Solomon, director of
29:43
the National Institute of Working Workers' rights. Many DEI policies
29:47
trace back to compliance with anti discrimination laws, Solomon noted,
29:52
and firms that abandon them will be more vulnerable to
29:55
lawsuits from women and people of color who feel they've
29:58
been underpaid or passed for opportunities. That can challenge the companies. Quote.
30:06
They can challenge companies and say, you all are giving
30:09
clear signals all over the place that you don't really
30:12
care about being fair to people who traditionally have been
30:14
discriminated against unquote, Solomon said. Luke Hartig, who counsels Fortune
30:19
five hundred companies and other large employers as president of
30:24
Gravity Research, said Trump's DEI actions are already having a
30:29
chilling effect. He's been helping companies develop game plans in
30:34
the event they're targeted by anti DEI activists such as
30:38
Robbie Starbuck or by the Justice Department, which issued a
30:42
February memo warning that its Civil Rights Division will quote investigate, eliminate,
30:48
and penalize illegal DEI anda preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and
30:54
activities in the private sector and in the educational institutions
30:59
that receive funds close the quote. Quote there is a
31:03
sense of oh gosh, the Trump administration or his allies
31:06
could target us next, and we need to be prepared
31:08
for that. Close the quote, Heartig told the Post supplier
31:13
diversity programs or policies with quote set asides for diverse
31:17
applicants unquote, are now magnets for risk. Haartig has told
31:21
his clients anything that could be considered quote exclusionary to
31:25
white men unquote is also a major liability. He added.
31:29
As companies conduct quote self audits unquote to vet their
31:33
policies for legal and RePOP and reputational risk, they're struggling
31:38
to find the right public quote public posture unquote to
31:43
take on dei. Heartache said many are hung up on
31:47
how to communicate it to employees that they still prioritize diversity,
31:51
equity and inclusion at a time when voicing support makes
31:55
them vulnerable. For example, he noted more firms got perfect
32:00
scores on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate and Quality Index
32:05
this year, but unlike in the past, they're not eager
32:08
to tout their success amint high profile withdrawals from the
32:12
HRC by firms such as Walmart and Pepsi, reticence is
32:17
extending beyond dei, Hartig said, resulting in a quote default
32:21
mode of not being inclined to speak unquote, especially on
32:25
issues that are unrelated to the company's core business. Risk
32:30
is most acute for consumer facing companies, he said, given
32:34
the potential cost of buyouts and other consumer actions that
32:38
have dented brands like bud Light and Target. Quote If
32:42
companies are talking about DEI publicly in a way, they're
32:46
tying it back to business value unquote, Heartig said, quote,
32:50
one thing we are very little. One thing we see
32:53
very little of compared to five years ago, is very
32:56
little reference to DEI being part of addressing systemic racism
33:00
and historic connequities unquote. The overhaul of corporate diversity politics
33:07
is unfoting as more companies face investor challenges to their policies.
33:11
Quote I've been at shareholder meetings where I was the
33:15
only one at the meeting unquote, said Ethan Peck, deputy
33:18
director of the National Center for Public Policy Research's Free
33:22
Enterprise Project, who has filed scores of shareholder proposals asking
33:26
companies such as Berkshire, Hathaway and Apple to reconsider or
33:31
eliminate their DEI programs. Quote now we're not alone out
33:35
there anymore. Unquote. More than two dozen firms removed anti
33:39
DEI shareholder proposals this proxy season, including Airbnb, Coca Cola,
33:45
and General Motors, and earlier this month, Todd Russ, Oklahoma Treasurer,
33:50
announced that his state would follow suit with shareholder proposals
33:54
calling for quote political neutrality unquote, targeting Amazon, alphabet in Netflix,
34:01
which Oklahoma invests in through its two billion dollar tobacco
34:05
settlement Envirownment endowment trust, Corporate America's wanting, Corporate America's waning
34:11
confidence in DEI as notable. Peck said in twenty twenty
34:16
two his group group's negotiations with companies felt quote hostile unquote,
34:21
and DEI leaders and executives would accuse him of being
34:25
racist for questioning their policies. By twenty twenty three, the
34:29
tone was quote still hostile, but not as hostile unquote,
34:33
said DEI teams, and DEI teams were no longer at
34:36
the table. By twenty twenty four, most companies were saying, quote,
34:40
we don't really have the programs you're accusing us of having, unquote.
34:44
Peck told to Post, they're not even really mentioningda unquote.
34:48
But when Vanguard, one of the world's largest asset managers
34:57
released its twenty twenty five US proxy voting guidelines earlier
35:01
this month. For example, it excluded guidance from the previous
35:05
year that it called for boards to quote represent diversity
35:10
of personal characteristics inclusive of at least diversity in gender, race,
35:14
and ethnicity. Peck's proposals are still garnering extremely low support,
35:21
despite a climate that has shifted in his favor. In January,
35:24
for example, ninety eight percent of Costco shareholders shot down
35:28
his proposal asking the retailer to evaluate the business risk
35:32
of its diversity policies. In a detailed letter to shareholders
35:36
before the company's annual meeting, Costco's board said its DEI
35:40
efforts quote enhanced our capacity to attract and retain employees unquote,
35:45
and dismissed ncppr's proposal as quote policy bias unquote. None
35:52
of his None of this trouble's Peck. He pointed to Boeing,
35:55
whose shareholders roundly rejected one of his proposals last year,
35:59
only for the company to dismantle its DEI department months later. Quote,
36:04
the anti DEI voice is now mainstream unquote. He said,
36:09
that's the end of that article will now go to
36:10
the third article. Because of the length of that second article,
36:16
we're going to cut the remaining four articles so we
36:19
can try to get them all in third article. A
36:22
shaky audition for Gaza. With Gaza rule at stake, Palestinian
36:27
forces struggled to make their case. A major military campaign
36:31
by Palestinian authority security forces against militant's in West Bank
36:35
revealed serious challenges to efforts at opposing order. Here's the article.
36:40
The Palestinian authority recently took a high stakes gamble in
36:45
this rest of city, launching a major military operation aimed
36:48
at clipping the wings of militant groups that had grown
36:52
in influence and audacity. If the operation succeeded, Palestinian security
36:57
forces would demonstrate they could maintain order not only in
37:01
the parts of the West Bank they nominally control, but also,
37:05
if given the chance, perhaps in Gaza as well. The
37:08
role of the Palestinian authority in governing Gaza is very
37:11
much a live question, as foreign powers in Arab states
37:14
now debate the future of the war torn enclave. But
37:21
the six week campaign in jenin Jennin, which lost momentum
37:27
after Israeli forces intervened last month ultimately came up badly
37:31
short and exposed some of the challenges the authority would
37:34
face in securing Gaza. While the security forces arrested dozens
37:40
of Iranian backed fighters, high profile militants remained at large.
37:44
The clashes highlighted how poorly equipped the Palestinian authority security
37:49
forces are compared with the groups they are seeking to subdue.
37:55
The campaign also underlined questions about how far Palestinians would
37:58
go to fight fellow policians, and whether the authority could
38:02
maintain its popular legitimacy if it did so. Moreover, the
38:06
events in Janine revealed how Israel's actions, which include its
38:10
own withering attacks on targets in the city, undermined the
38:14
ability of the Palestinian Authority to exert its control. The
38:19
battle between the Palestinian security forces and an umbrella group
38:23
of fighters in Janine led by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, left
38:27
fifteen dead, including at least six civilians, and dozens injured.
38:31
A spokesman for the authority's forces said the question raised
38:35
about the Palestinian Authority's ability to rule come as a
38:40
government come as governments in the region are racing. By
38:44
the end of this month to present a counterproposal to
38:46
President Donald Trump's proposal to displace all of the Gaza
38:50
Gaza strips two point two million inhabitants. While Israeli Prime
38:55
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there must be no role
38:58
for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, an alternative Arab plan
39:03
expected in the coming weeks is certain to give the
39:06
authority a central role, despite profound concerns about its capabilities.
39:11
The Janin operation quote demonstrated the limits of the PA
39:15
security forces. Unquote, said Gaith Alomari, a senior fellow at
39:19
the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Quote. If you
39:23
cannot succeed decisively in an operation like Janine, how can
39:27
you hope to tackle the infinitely more complex situation in Gaza?
39:31
Close the quote. The Janine campaign was the biggest test
39:34
so far of the Palestinian Authority forces, which are responsible
39:38
for security control in the West Bank's major Palestinian population
39:42
centers under the terms of the peace deal reached with
39:45
Israel in the nineteen nineties. The forces included about thirty
39:49
five thousand members and coordinate security and share intelligence with Israel,
39:54
which continues to occupy the West Bank. The US government
39:59
has given Palestinian security forces about one point one billion
40:03
dollars since two thousand and seven, State Department officials said
40:07
last year, and has supervised their training in Jordan. The
40:11
Trump administration has stopped all funding to the Palestinian Authority
40:15
security forces as part of the global freeze on foreign assistance,
40:18
according to US and Palestinian officials. At a news conference
40:23
last month and in an interview last week, Brigadier General
40:26
Anwar Rahab, spokesman for the security forces, outlined what he
40:31
said were the accomplishments of the Janine operation. Hundreds of
40:34
militants and the accomplices arrested, illicit funds, explosives and weapons sees,
40:39
improvised bombs that had been planted in neighborhoods meant. The
40:42
militants said to target Israeli soldiers all diffused, but Janine residents.
40:48
Israel officials said analysts have panned the operation. After laying
40:56
siege for about six weeks to the Janine refugee camp,
40:59
which is adjacent to the city, Palestinian security forces remained
41:03
unable to penetrate its maze of narrow valleys. When Washington
41:07
Post journalists visited the camp, on two occasions in mid January,
41:12
armed militants strolled the streets while scouts with walkie talkies
41:16
stood watch on rooftops, unbothered by sporadic bursts of gunfire
41:20
from gunfire from security forces on the mountain above. The
41:24
operation was taxing for the residents of the camp, but
41:27
compared with raids by the Israeli troops. For the militants,
41:31
it was a quote break or a break a vacation
41:35
end quote, said Jihad, a senior member of the Janine Battalion,
41:39
the umbrella group of militants. Like some others interviewed for
41:43
this story, Jihad gave only first name out of fear
41:48
of retribution. The Janine Battalion is better armed than the
41:51
security forces, according to Tahani Mustafa Crisis Group's analysts for
41:57
the Palestinian territories, many have sixteen rifles, spoke them in
42:01
from Jordan or bought from weapons traffickers in Israel. Jihad
42:05
said the authorities forces, in contrast, carry o Khalishnikov rifles.
42:11
Israel has barred the Palestinian security forces from importing better weapons, ammunition,
42:16
and light armored vehicles. In early January, the militants demonstrated
42:21
their continued capabilities by shooting dead three Israelis driving through Funduk,
42:26
a village outside the city. The Janine battalion claim responsibility.
42:31
Then Jihad said the gunmen slipped undetected back into the
42:34
camp to take refuge. The attack was quote first message
42:39
to the PA because they are besieging us. But that
42:41
won't end our resistance against the occupation, he said. Now
42:46
this article is quite lengthy. I'm going to have to
42:48
stop it there just to get the other three in
42:50
by reference. The fourth article again, which will cut short
42:55
because of time constraints, is in podcasts, DCUs attorney discussed
43:00
investigating Trump foes conservative legal activists. Ed Martin has had
43:06
conversations last year about potential targets for prosecution. Now he
43:10
and the Justice Department have power to bring cases. Here's
43:14
the article. In the two years before he became DC's
43:17
top federal prosecutor, interim US Attorney, Ed Martin publicly discussed
43:22
investigating high profile Justice Department officials who played a role
43:26
in bringing charges against President Donald Trump and his allies.
43:30
In scores of his personal podcasts from August twenty twenty
43:33
three to January, Martin amplified Trump's claims not supported by
43:38
available evidence, that charges against him were made to damage
43:42
him politically, and that prosecutors may have violated federal criminal
43:45
conspiracy laws, department policies, or legal ethics rules. The conversations
43:51
on Martin's Quote pro America Report Unquote podcast and related
43:55
radio show often revolved around Trump's desires for a quote
43:59
rep tribution against current or former Department prosecutors. After one
44:06
month in office, Martin appears to be following through taking
44:09
actions that have alarmed lawyers inside and outside his office,
44:13
who say he's leveraging the power of the Justice Department
44:17
against political opponents and intimidating career prosecutors seen as insufficiently
44:23
loyal to Trump. He fired prosecutors who investigated Trump as
44:27
part of special counsel Jack Smith's team, and those who
44:31
worked on January sixth, twenty twenty one capital ride cases.
44:35
He ordered the head of the criminal division in his
44:37
office to freeze the assets of a twenty billion dollar
44:41
Biden climate change program without sufficient evidence of a crime,
44:46
she claimed in her resignation letter, And he's attempting to
44:50
probe two Democratic lawmakers over critical remarks they directed at
44:54
conservative Supreme Court Justice and billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk.
45:01
A US Attorney's Office spokesman for Martin declined to comment
45:04
about his remarks, and Justice Department spokesman did not respond
45:08
to requests for comments for this article. I'm going to apologize.
45:12
I'm going to cut that off right here in order
45:14
to get the other two in the second one at
45:18
town halls, Dge is all the rage back in their
45:21
district's GOP lawmakers get an earfull on Doge and Musk.
45:26
Town halls from Wisconsin Oregon grew testing this week as
45:30
concerned voters showed up to vent. Here's the article. The
45:35
crowd packed into city Hall at Roswell, Georgia and filled
45:40
an overflow room with one question above all for their
45:42
Republican congressman, what did he think of Elon musk slash
45:47
and burn mission to shriek the federal government. Their Atlanta
45:51
suburb in a solid red district was hardly a hub
45:55
of the liberal resistance, but hundreds had shown up to
45:58
confront Representative Richard mclach m in person. Now, each argument
46:02
from the lawmaker brought a new round of shouts, groans,
46:06
and booze. Quote, if you're going to just yell at me.
46:09
That's not going to be an effective town hall. Unquote,
46:11
McCormick said, five minutes into defending Musk US doge service. Quote,
46:17
but we're pissed unquote. A woman shouted town halls this
46:21
week for Congressional Republicans from Georgia to Wisconsin to Oregon
46:26
grew testing his voters showed up to vent outraged at
46:29
the firing of workers and the Department of Government efficiencies
46:33
access to sensitive data. Protesters showed up around the country
46:37
at lawmakers' offices. The backlash extends far beyond federal workers
46:43
in the Beltway, reaching purple districts that will decide control
46:47
of Congress in twenty twenty six and swing states like
46:50
Georgia that helped return Trump to the White House. Layoffs
46:54
just hit the Atlanta based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
46:58
funding freezes of haul to clean energy projects championed by
47:02
President Joe Biden. The crowd at McCormick's town hall Thursday
47:06
night was decidedly liberal, but New Washington Post IPSOL polling
47:10
suggests some of Trump and Musk movers or moves are
47:15
unpopular beyond the Democratic base. About six and ten Americans
47:19
surveyed were opposed to shutting down the US Agency for
47:22
International Development, which must bragged about feeding quote into the
47:26
wood Chapper unquote. Republicans have overwhelmingly backed Dog's mission and
47:33
even moved to replicate it at the state level, including
47:36
in Georgia, but they are also struggling to justify the
47:40
scope of some cuts and scrambling to get exceptions for
47:43
their constituents, in some cases lobbying the Trump administration to
47:48
restore federal funds to their states. And a Foy teared
47:51
up as she waited with her mother to watch McCormick's
47:54
town hall from overflow. The thirty three year old Army
47:58
reservists said the Bureau of Land Management had abruptly rescinded
48:01
a job offer wrangling wild horses. She spoke to someone
48:05
in McCormick's office, she said, and was here to follow up.
48:10
The Bureau of Land Management did not immediately respond to
48:13
requests for comment, and Kelly, a White House spokesman, said
48:17
in a statement that Trump administration quote is already uncovering waste, fraud,
48:20
and abuse across federal agencies unquote around the country. Other
48:26
Republican House members faced sharp questions. After heading home for recess,
48:32
Liberal groups encouraged their members to show up to town
48:35
halls in deep red territory. In rural Legron, Oregon, attendees
48:40
of Representative Cliff Bence's town hall erupted in booze and shouted, quote,
48:45
tax elon unquote, according to local news outlet The Observer.
48:49
In Ohio, Representative Troy Baltersen acknowledged some limits to Musk
48:54
authority at a luncheon. According to the Columbus Dispatch, quote
48:58
Congress has to decide whether the Departments of Education goes
49:01
away unquote, Baldison said, quote, not the President, not Elon Musk.
49:05
Congress decides unquote. But Republican lawmakers have mostly defended and
49:11
declined to publicly criticize DOGE while endorsing its stated goals
49:17
of rooting out waste in the federal government, and plenty
49:20
of their base voters are eager for more cuts. Asked
49:24
what they liked about Trump's first month in office, Republican
49:28
voters elsewhere in McCormick's conservative districts sometimes brought up DOGE. Unprompted,
49:34
they rattled off all the things they heard their tax
49:37
dollars were funding occasionally echoing the White House's false claim
49:41
that the government spent millions on condoms and GOSM. Well, unfortunately,
49:45
because of time constraints, I'm going to have to curteil
49:49
this article, which is very lengthy. I'm going to go
49:51
back to just to try to mention the last one.
49:57
Joint Chiefs Chair others lead fired in Pentagon shakeup. Trump
50:03
ouse Joint chief Chairman, other leaders in major Pentagon shakeup.
50:08
The Navy's top admiral and a senior Air Force general
50:12
also were dismissed as Defense Secretary of Pete Hegseth moved
50:16
to the line of the military with Trump's agenda. Here's
50:21
the article. The Trump administration abruptly dismissed the chairman of
50:27
the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior officers on
50:30
Friday night, as the Pentagon moves to bring the military's
50:34
leadership in line with its quote America First, unquote agenda.
50:39
In a post on social media, President Donald Trump said
50:42
he would replace Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Junior,
50:48
and would take the unusual step of tapping a little
50:53
known retired free star officer, Lieutenant General Dan Raisin Kane,
50:59
raising his nickname as the next chairman. Defense Secretary of
51:04
Pete Hegseth, in a statement distributed shortly after Trump's post,
51:09
said he would dismiss five other senior officials, including Admiral
51:13
Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve as chief of
51:17
Naval Operations, and General James Slithe, the top Air Force officer. Quote.
51:23
Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership
51:27
that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring,
51:31
fighting and winning warste Hexath said. Hexath informed Brown, who
51:37
was in Texas on Friday for a visit to the
51:39
southwest border, that he was being removed before Trump's announcement,
51:43
said US, said a US Defense official speaking on the
51:47
condition of anonymity to discuss the leadership shake up. The
51:51
vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Christopher Grady, is
51:55
expected to serve as interim chairman until Caine can be confirmed. Brown,
52:00
a veteran pilot and battlefield commander who Trump nominated during
52:04
his first term in office to become the Air Force's
52:07
first African American Chief of Staff, was roughly sixteen months
52:12
into what was expected to be a four year term.
52:15
He was elevated to the military's top position by President
52:19
Joe Biden in twenty twenty three, making him the second
52:22
black man to hold the chairman's job. General Colin Power
52:25
was the first. The dismissals comes as Trump's campaign to
52:30
whittle down the federal workforce triggers court challenges and chaos
52:35
for government workers, and his shifts on foreign policy, including
52:39
an embrace of Russia's narrative about the war in Ukraine,
52:43
stoke confusion and anxiety among US allies. The firings appeared
52:48
to represent the most significant move yet in the administration's
52:51
emerging campaign to purge the Pentagon of what Hagseth has
52:55
decried as quote woke unquote policies and personnel, and despite
53:00
the military's role as a non partisan institution spanning administrations
53:04
to both parties, to reshape its highest ranks. In the
53:08
weeks after the arrival of the Pentagon at the Pentagon
53:11
following a controversial confirmation process, Hexath has moved quickly to
53:16
dismantle diversity initiatives, which has called which he has called
53:20
quote racist unquote end quote illegal unquote. At a Pentagon
53:25
town hall this month, Hexas said diversity initiatives have quote
53:29
served a purpose of dividing the force as opposed to
53:33
uniting unquote the military. Quote. The single dumbest phrase in
53:37
military history is quote, our diversity is our strength unquote,
53:41
he said, before being tapped at by Trump. Hexath attacked
53:48
senior officers by name, including Brown, whom he said was
53:52
overly focused on diversity issues. He also criticized Franchetti, suggesting
53:57
she was selected for the leadership posts because of her
54:01
The administration had previously fired another uniform leader, Admiral Coastguard
54:07
Linda Fagan, for alleged leadership failures. The Coastguard falls under
54:11
the Department of Homeland Security. In his post on truth
54:14
Social Trump called Brown quote a fine gentleman and an
54:18
outstanding leader. Quote. I wish a great future for him
54:21
and his family unquote, the president said. Senator Roger Wicker,
54:25
Republican of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Conservatives Committee,
54:29
thanked Brown for his service. Quote I am confidence Secretary
54:32
Hexcess and President Trump will select a qualified and capable
54:36
successor for the critical position of Chairman of the Joint
54:40
Chiefs of Staff unquote, he said in a statement. But
54:43
the top Democrats decried the move. Senator Jack Reid of
54:47
Rhode Island, the committee's ranking democrat, said the dismissals appeared
54:51
to mark an attempt to quote purge talented officers for
54:55
politically charged reasons, which would undermine the professionalism of our
54:59
milk terry and send the chilling message through the ranks. Unquote.
55:05
Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the House Armed Services Committee's
55:09
top democrat, labeled the move of Friday night massacre that
55:13
would weaken national security. Quote all of this continues to
55:16
play into the hands of Vladimir Putin and others working
55:20
to exploit the weakness. Trump continues to broadcast and undermine
55:24
the military, our government, our national security interest, and democracy worldwide, quote,
55:29
Smith said, referring to the Russian president. Trump extolled Cain,
55:33
a pilot who served in various special operation roles and
55:37
at the CIA, as quote a national security expert, successful entrepreneur,
55:42
and a war fighter with significant Inner agency and special
55:46
operations experience. Closed the vote, cain selection bucks numerous norms.
55:51
As a three star general, he would vault numerous higher
55:54
ranking officers, including every current member of the Joint Chiefs
55:57
of Staff, and unlike all of them, he has not
56:01
commanded large formations of US troops. He did not respond
56:05
to requests for comment by email and social media. Unfortunately,
56:09
I have to cut it off right there. This concludes
56:12
the readings of the Washington Post for today, Saturday, February
56:18
twenty second. Your reader for today has been Mark Webster.
56:22
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
56:27
please feel free to call us at eight five nine
56:30
four two two six three nine. Oh. Thank you for listening,
56:34
and now please stay tuned for continued programming on RADIOI