Happy Wednesday! Waffle House is renowned for its aversion to closing, including during extreme weather conditions. But even the beloved restaurant chain isn’t impervious to the effects of rising egg prices, announcing this week a 50 cent-per-egg surcharge.
Given the number of eggs your Morning Dispatchers consume on a weekly basis and the occasional necessity of patronizing 24-hour food establishments like Waffle House, we’re considering a poultry surcharge of our own.
(Editor’s Note: No, we’re not.)
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday in his first meeting with a foreign leader since he was sworn in last month. During a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump said the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza Strip and indicated plans to clear the enclave of its Palestinian population. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” Trump said. “Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
- President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday ending U.S. engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council and halting U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, an agency accused of employing terrorists and promoting extremism in the West Bank and Gaza. The order also called for a review of U.S. involvement in the U.N. more generally, stating that some of the international organization’s agencies had “drifted” from their mission and “instead act contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating [antisemitism].” The U.S. is currently the U.N.’s largest contributor, footing the bill for 22 percent of its regular operating budget.
- President Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Tuesday reinstating his “maximum pressure” sanctions regime against Iran. The measures, which target the country’s oil exports, revive a campaign from Trump’s first term aimed at crippling Iran’s economy and forcing it to abandon its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. The move followed a Monday report by the New York Times indicating that U.S. officials believe Iran is developing plans for a cruder, easier-to-produce bomb. Both Trump and Iran’s leaders have signaled their willingness to revive negotiations toward a deal that restricts Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
- A gunman opened fire at an adult education campus near the city of Orebro, Sweden, on Tuesday killing 10 people. Authorities have said the suspected shooter is among the dead and indicated that they don’t believe terror was the motive behind the attack, but have released few additional details. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the tragedy the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
- Authorities announced Tuesday they have recovered the remains of all 67 victims who died in last Wednesday’s midair collision of American Airlines Flight 5342 with an Army Blackhawk helicopter in Washington, D.C.—66 of the 67 bodies have been positively identified. The recovery operation, including the removal of the wreckage from the Potomac River, is expected to be finished by February 12. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board into the causes of the deadly crash is ongoing.
- The first flight transporting detained migrants to the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arrived on Tuesday with 10 people onboard. The detainees were suspected members of Tren de Aragua, a notorious Venezuelan gang. The flight followed President Trump’s order last week directing the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to begin constructing a migrant detention center at Guantanamo capable of holding up to 30,000 people. The base currently hosts a small migrant detention facility that can hold up to 120 people.
- FBI agents filed lawsuits on Tuesday seeking court orders to prevent the Justice Department from publicly releasing lists of bureau employees who worked on the January 6 investigation and the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after the end of his first term. “Plaintiffs reasonably fear that all or parts of this list might be published by allies of President Trump, thus placing themselves and their families in immediate danger of retribution by the now pardoned and at-large Jan 6 convicted felons,” the agents argued in one of the lawsuits. The FBI has reportedly provided the Justice Department with lists containing details about more than 5,000 employees involved in the cases.
- The Senate voted 54-46 Tuesday to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general, with Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joining Republicans in support of her bid. Also on Tuesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard—President Trump’s picks for health secretary and director of national intelligence—cleared their respective committee votes, sending their nominations to the full Senate for approval.
We can end smoking faster.

A Trumpist Takeover

In the wake of Elon Musk’s efforts to access classified Treasury Department information over the weekend, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York sounded alarm bells on what he described as the “hostile takeover” of Washington by an “unelected shadow government.”
For Musk—the South African-born tech CEO and newly appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE”—the top Senate Democrat’s warning served as proof of concept for his efforts to reshape the federal government. “Hysterical reactions like this is how you know that [DOGE] is doing work that really matters. This is the one shot the American people have to defeat BUREAUcracy, rule of the bureaucrats, and restore DEMOcracy, rule of the people,” he wrote on X Tuesday. “It’s now or never. Your support is crucial to the success of the revolution of the people.”
Less than three weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term, it seems that Musk’s revolutionary zeal has caught on. As the administration moves to kneecap federal agencies and purge personnel, White House officials have been reluctant to let procedure—or likely legal constraints—stand in their way. Meanwhile, a patchwork of federal employees, unions, and advocacy groups have begun …
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. You can read our 1,629-word item on Trump’s federal government overhaul in the members-only version of TMD.
Worth Your Time
- Writing for Foreign Policy, Matthew Kavanagh and Luis Gil Abinader argue that—despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s criticisms of USAID for not cooperating closely enough with his department—the agency’s independence is actually an asset when it comes to addressing crises like the Marburg virus outbreak in Tanzania. “A Jan. 27 report from the Africa CDC indicates that there have already been nine deaths from the Marburg outbreak—surpassing the total number of deaths from the last outbreak in Tanzania,” they wrote. “If the virus is not quickly contained, it could develop into a regional epidemic, as occurred in West Africa in 2014 when a small Ebola outbreak spread to more than 13,000 cases in a matter of months. Although they occurred primarily in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, infections spread as far afield as the United States and Spain. It took two years and the deployment of the United States military to contain it. But the Tanzanian government has little interest in talking to the U.S. State Department about its outbreaks. … China, not the United States, is the country’s largest trading partner, while India is the largest investor. Tanzania has worked hard to build a middle position between Washington and Beijing, and as such, U.S. diplomats are engaged across multiple strategic areas with the government of Tanzania—from military bases to trade to human rights and democracy. The independence of agencies such as USAID and the CDC allows them to engage differently.”
Presented Without Comment
Associated Press: Cats Won’t Be Banned in Scotland, the Government Confirms
Also Presented Without Comment
Bloomberg: Trump Taps ‘Sharpiegate’ Scientist to Lead U.S. Weather Agency
The Trump administration has tapped Neil Jacobs, a scientist cited for misconduct related to the “Sharpiegate” hurricane forecasting controversy, to lead the agency that oversees U.S. government weather predictions and climate research.
…
As acting administrator of NOAA in 2019, he reprimanded employees for contradicting President Donald Trump’s inaccurate claim that a hurricane would strike Alabama. The agency later said Jacobs’ actions violated its code of ethics.
In the Zeitgeist
The trailer for the new Fantastic Four movie dropped yesterday. The film, which will hit theaters on July 25, brings Marvel’s “First Family” back to its comic book origins and is set in a retro-futuristic 1960s universe.
Toeing the Company Line
- In the newsletters: Nick Catoggio broke down (🔒) how to think about what Elon Musk is up to in the federal government.
- On the podcasts: Jonah Goldberg is joined by Alex Tabarrok on The Remnant to discuss American capitalism, the merits of borders, crypto, and more.
- On the site: David Drucker explains why Trump is still fundraising, Brian Riedl argues Trump is on track to repeat Biden’s economic mistakes, and Jonah unpacks the stock market’s resistance to bullying from the Trump administration.
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