Part of our “News That Matters“ Series, “Weekend Update” is a weekly feature that offers brief overviews of important news that might have been overlooked in the course of a busy weekend. Here’s what you may have missed in the period February 8 through February 10, 2025.
@BARTLEBY
FLOODING THE ZONE, OR ‘ALL PEDAL, NO BRAKE’
[Editor’s Note: @Bartleby is this publication’s attempt to fill the void left by the great William Safire’s “On Language” columns in the Sunday New York Times Magazine which ended their run around the time of his death in 2009. If there any comments, please note my policy as relates thereto: “I would prefer not to make any change.”]
The political strategy known as “flooding the zone” has existed since 2018, and the former Trump administration strategist and convicted felon Stephen K. Bannon boasted of the ability to overwhelm any media opposition (and by virtue of that, any Democrats) through a determined effort to “flood the zone” with initiatives (he used a far coarser term at the time).
What Bannon was describing, in part, was the phenomenon of Information Overload, something FBT and The Travelist Editorial Director described as “drinking from a fire hose” when he was the chief analyst at Basex, a think tank focused on Information Overload.
If flooding the zone was practiced to great effect by Trump 45, it has been honed into a fine art by Trump 47. In his first term, Trump shattered political normalcy via outrageous early morning tweets; now he accomplishes the same with a constant stream of new initiatives, some of questionable legality.
Each time Democrats, independents, and some Republicans think they can come up for air, the flood seems to resume. Were initiatives such as cutting the cost of government not in some cases illegal, as several members of the federal judiciary have already ruled, they might even be applauded by both sides, but many of them go beyond the scope of presidential power.
In firing inspector generals, Trump defied a 2022 law that required congressional notice of the terminations along with a rationale for doing so.
On birthright citizenship, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, ruled that “Citizenship by birth is an unequivocal constitutional right. The president cannot change, limit, or qualify this constitutional right via executive order.” Trump’s freeze on federal funding was put on hold by two federal judges. The Trump administration ultimately rescinded the freeze after lawsuits were filed, although some groups contend they have yet to receive promised funds.
@DEADLINE
TRUMP’S TARIFFS – PART DEUX
President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he plans to announce announce 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports Monday.
In addition, he told reporters on Air Force One that he would announce massive reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday, matching other countries’ tariffs on U.SA. goods dollar-for-dollar.
“Very simply, it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said.
During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, but later granted several trading partners duty-free exemptions.
THE PENNY SAVER
President Trump counts pennies and upon taking office last month, he saw he didn’t like in the U.S. Mint. As many know, it costs more to mint a penny than its actual value. How much more, the curious among you might ask? Minting each penny costs 3.69 cents. In 2024, the Mint issued over three million pennies at a loss of over $85.3 million.
On Sunday night, Trump said he had ordered the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, to stop producing new pennies, noting that this would help reduce unnecessary government spending.
“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” he said in a post on social media, adding that pennies “literally cost us more than 2 cents.”
There is, however, one stumbling block to this: It is not clear whether the president has the authority to order a halt to penny production. Congress, not the Treasury or the Federal Reserve, authorizes the manufacture of the nation’s coins, according to the U.S. Mint.
@BRIEFLY NOTED
Trump’s Plans for the Kennedy Center
President Trump announced his intention to appoint himself chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, saying he will terminate members of the board of trustees “who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.” In a statement, the Kennedy Center pointed out that the chairman of the board is appointed by the center’s board members.
An Estimated 13,000 People Have Died from Influenza This Winter
If you have noticed far more people with coughing runny noses recently, it’s not you: A second wave of influenza is the United States, according to the latest national flu data. “Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated and continues to increase across the country,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The CDC estimates that there have been 24 million cases of the flu this season. As of last week, 13,000 people have died from the flu.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
