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The DOGE Brain Drain Has Begun
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The Bulwark is home to Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, Bill Kristol, JVL, Sam Stein, and more. We are the largest pro-democracy bundle on Substack for news and analysis on politics and culture—supported by a community built on good-faith.
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Overtime

The DOGE Brain Drain Has Begun

Plus: When DHS Sends Your Son to Gitmo

Jim Swift's avatar
Jim Swift
Feb 20, 2025
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The DOGE Brain Drain Has Begun
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Recently in The Bulwark:

  • BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: The Cruelty Isn’t the Point. It’s the Pleasure.

  • JVL: The World Will Go Nuclear šŸ”

Overtime is for everyone. If you’re a subscriber: thank you. If you’re not, there’s no better time to subscribe to Bulwark+ than today. If you like today’s issue, you can share this newsletter with someone you think would value it.


SAM STEIN: The DOGE Brain Drain Has Begun

Elon Musk speaks with President Donald J. Trump and reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

THREE DAYS AFTER the National Institutes of Health abruptly announced it would place a strict, low cap on the money it sends to universities and research institutions for the administrative costs of scientific research, the University of Iowa made an abrupt announcement of its own.

The school’s Office of the Vice President for Research declared that going forward, it would pause ā€œthe hiring of new Graduate Research Assistants unless they are already budgeted as a direct cost on a funded project.ā€

READ THE REST.

MARK HERTLING: We’re Negotiating with War Criminals

WE FIND OURSELVES IN WHAT President Zelensky of Ukraine has recently called a ā€œdisinformation bubbleā€ regarding the war in Ukraine, so perhaps it’s time for some cold, hard facts—what the military might call a ā€œBFO,ā€ a blinding flash of the obvious. Vladimir Putin started this war in Ukraine by launching an unprovoked invasion. Throughout the three years of this conflict, Russian forces have purposely committed documented war crimes. Yet the Kremlin—now aided by some in the United States—continues to spread propaganda to mask the truth. From the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure to mass executions in places like Bucha to the kidnapping of Ukrainian children, the evidence of war crimes is overwhelming. And we are negotiating with them.

READ THE REST.


šŸŽ„ PODCASTS AND VIDEOS šŸŽ§

  • Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Jared Moskowitz and Zeke Faux: Scams Galore [YouTube: Moskowitz, Faux]

  • The Next Level: America's Villain Era šŸ” [YouTube]

  • WTF 2.0: MAGA and the Catholic Church [YouTube]

  • Bulwark+ Live:

    • MAGA Takes Pleasure In Making People Feel Pain [YouTube]

    • Elon Musk’s DOGE Is Killing Science in America [YouTube]

    • Hannity Bombs Interview with Co-Presidents Trump and Elon [YouTube]

    • Chuck Todd: The AP-Trump Feud Is A Hill to Die on [YouTube]

Did you know? Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice.
Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
šŸ“£Bulwark+ members can now listen to ad-free podcasts on Spotify! Learn more here.
Our šŸŽ„YouTube offerings are the free-versions of shows, and they do have ads.
āœļøAlso: Did you know that every podcast has a transcript for B+ members? Yes! If you’re more a reader than a listener/viewer, open any podcast and the transcript button is beneath the player.

😶 Do you have a tip for us?

Send it to us! It’s encrypted. šŸ”


ADRIAN CARRASQUILLO: When DHS Sends Your Son to Gitmo

SO MUCH OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S mass deportation policy hinges on the word ā€œcriminals.ā€

Most Americans agree that real criminals in the country illegally are bad and should be deported.

Where the administration has outrun the public is in the matter of who is considered a criminal. When Trump’s term began, they said the focus was on ā€œpublic safety threats and national security threatsā€ā€”the most serious risks. But a week later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said all undocumented immigrants swept up in raids qualified because they ā€œillegally broke our nation’s laws, and therefore they are criminals, as far as this administration goes.ā€

READ THE REST.


🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Wednesday!

Free speech in America won’t survive… if this Supreme Court decision is overturned (Anthony L. Fisher, MSNBC).

ICE Prosecutor in Dallas… Runs White Supremacist X Account (Stephen Monacelli, Texas Observer)

Pence speaks… ā€œMr. President, Ukraine did not ā€œstartā€ this war.ā€

Quote of the Day:

"Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator, who would eat you for lunch,ā€
—Vice President Kamala Harris, calling it in her debate against Trump.

These Soldiers Risked Their Lives Serving in Afghanistan... Now They Plead With Trump to Let Their Sister Into the U.S. (ProPublica)

Government Welfare Is Evil… Unless the Money Goes to the Wealthiest Man in the World (McSweeney’s)

Pete Hegseth Shares Back-Taxes Self-Own… While Blasting ā€˜Biden IRS’ For Audit (Daily Beast)

Musk, Trump Establish New Era… of Kleptocracy in America (Garrett Graff).

What was it like on the plane that crashed in Toronto? A reddit user takes questions.

Trump Vowed to Clean Up Washington… Then His Team Hired a Man Who Pushed a Scam the IRS Called the ā€œWorst of the Worstā€ (ProPublica)

Schlapp groped bar customer… per sheriff's report (24Sight).

Trump: "We're gonna spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising how bad drugs are so that kids don't use them." One might argue the campaign is already in motion, albeit unintentionally.

Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.

—30—

Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.

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