New: Job-hunters are spending thousands to widen their networks, sharpen their resumes and get recruiters' attention. “They’re like a marketing company, and I’m the product,” said one, who is looking for a finance job and paid $10,000 for such services

New in @wsj: There’s long been a covenant between companies and new grads: Entry-level staff work hard for lower pay. Employers give training and a foothold in the job market A white-collar hiring slump weakened that contract. AI now may totally break it https://t.co/WwXEXPCZbG

Exclusive: The Justice Department told President Trump in May that his name is among many in the Epstein files

Exclusive: For Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday, friends created a book of bawdy letters. One was from Donald Trump.

New from me and @KThomasDC: Voluntary departures from the government have thinned the ranks so much that some agencies are saying more cuts aren’t necessary after all. Partly to blame: voluntary attrition following new scrutiny of government work. https://t.co/3daOjZShIY

As over 1,000 employees were fired from the State Department today, some accidentally received notices they were being laid off… only to later be emailed that those notices were sent by accident and their jobs are in fact safe

New from me: If you think free time is overrated, this is the job market for you. https://t.co/9IvfhFlwao

Joe Biden says both European and domestic political leaders are seeking out his advice during Trump’s second term https://t.co/uh9g4oTnvV via @WSJ

Five graduates from the Class of 2025 joined five 2020 grads in a group chat organized by @wsj. They commiserated over pushed-back start dates, debated the role of AI in job hunting and shared their thoughts on graduating into an uncertain hiring market. https://t.co/gFNz9b5ltg

All sorts of American businesses, universities, law firms and other institutions have tried to make deals with the Trump White House, fearful of how he’s using executive power and tariffs. Inside the oval for what has worked and what hasn’t:

An amazing @vbauerlein story from South Carolina:

The costs of federal staffing cuts are piling up: Canceled programs for veterans. Reduced services at parks. Fewer advocates for disabled schoolchildren. ⁦@WSJ⁩

NEW: Inside the talks featuring Trump, Elon Musk and Musk's allies about the idea for the "what did you do last week?" email Many cabinet officials had no warning. Deliberations ongoing within agencies on responding. w/ @KThomasDC @lindsayaellis https://t.co/3goiME5Znq

NEW: It was Elon Musk and his allies who came up with the idea of the “what did you do last week?” email. That idea was then brought to OPM for the agency to later send around to millions of federal employees. W/@pattersonscott +@lindsayaellis https://t.co/9sji4iQVTJ

Tax bit here: Chunks of the Internal Revenue Manual (procedural handbook for employees) have been removed from IRS website as officials remove DEI mentions--and, for now, some mentions of "equity" and "inclusion" that seem to have little to do with DEI. https://t.co/YcKCXH4T5t

Trump administration officials are pressing federal agencies to dig deeper to find diversity workers to push out of the government. @lindsayaellis and @KThomasDC with the exclusive. https://t.co/5UNb0tXnIb via @WSJ

NEW The Trump administration is taking aim at DEI programs at prestigious universities via their wealth of federal research grants. Some exclusive details in here from me:

New: An early casualty of Trump's #DEIA order was a training session on workplace communication for NASA. "It’s like my materials are a banned book," the contractor @heatherhansen said. More w/ @KThomasDC, @l_e_whyte, @NidhiSubs and @laurenweberwsj:

HR officials called recent hires to rescind their offers. Diversity council meetings were canceled. Managers fielded stressed calls over the future of remote work & gender-neutral bathrooms. w/@KThomasDC @lindsayaellis on Day 1 for federal workers:

Months ago, I started reading a newsletter about the dysfunctions of Pomona's English department. I wondered if things were as bad as the author made them seem and why he was doing something few would - writing about his colleagues, while he works there: https://t.co/frOny7nIf2