Transcript

6.7.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of today's Washington Post. It is Saturday,
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June the seventh of twenty twenty five. Your reader is
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Alice Stainer, with a reminder that RADIOI is a service
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for those blinder that have other difficulties reading or holding
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printed material. And I'm going to start off on the
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front page of the Washington Post. And on the top
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left is a picture of workers erecting fencing around DuPont
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Circle Park after the National Park Service ordered it closed
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until Sunday evening. Fed's fence off DuPont Circle Park despite UTCRA,
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a center of LGT LGBTQ life is shut for Pride weekend.
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This is by Marissa jay Lang, Rachel Weiner, and Joe Helm.
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To the right of that at the top of the
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front page, Abrego Garcia is returned to US to face charges.
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Speaker 2: De Portie accused of human smuggling.
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Speaker 1: US argued m D Maryland resident couldn't be brought back
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by Maria Sashitt, Perry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck. Below that
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article is one entitled Trump musk quarrel reopens a GOP
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fault line. Physical hawks also disdained the price of signature
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tax bill complaining Complicating its Path by Liz Goodwin, Patrick Spitter,
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Jeff Stein, and Marianna Sotomayol. Below the fold and to
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the left, scramble is on after too many People fired
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by Doge, And this article is by Hannah Nadoman Adams Taylor,
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Merril Cornfeld, Rachel Siegel and Scott Dance.
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Speaker 2: Then there's a picture of.
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Speaker 1: Flora and Fauna returned to Syria in Difficult Memories. There's
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a flag underneath these poems, a damaged photo of bals
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Ela Sade sits oh I see here's the photo of
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him sits outside one of the oasted regime's torture prisons.
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Washington Post photographer Salwan Georgia visited Syria to see how
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it had changed since he was a young refugee there
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and to find his father's poem on a cell wall.
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Speaker 2: And then to the.
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Speaker 1: Right of that picture is city leaders ask if Norton
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remains d c's warrior. And there's a picture of Eleanor
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Holmes Norton, Democrat, who has said she will seek her
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nineteenth term as a d C delegate Congress. Some on
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Congress fear that a delegate at eighty seven has lost
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the fitness to fight for the district by Magan Flynn,
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Marianna Sodi Mayor, and Paul Kane. First article Republicans fume
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is Elon Musk complicates tax bill path. Allies of the
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two men expressed hoped they would make peace or at
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least ease the tensions by Liz Goodwin Patrick's Fittik, Jeff
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Stein and Marianna sodimeyor the implosion of billionaire Elon Musk's
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relationship with President Donald Trump has not just turned into
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a political headache for congressional Republicans, it has also frustrated
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their efforts to deliver on the president's agenda. The fight
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between the Republican party's two most important figures, triggered by
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Musk's open disdain for the price tag of Trump's signature legislation,
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reopened a fault line in the GEO between the party's
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physical hawks and those who have embraced Trump's populist promises
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not to touch Medicare or Social Security. I don't argue
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with him on how to build rockets, Hose speaker Mike Johnson,
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Republican of Losuiana, said Friday of Musk on CNBC, adding,
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and I wish he wouldn't argue with me on how
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to craft legislation and pass it. Neither Trump nor Musk
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publicly worked to de escalate tensions Friday, as many Republicans
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appeared a rally to the President's side, expressing loyalty him
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and hopeful a detantes that feud continues.
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Speaker 2: To consume the party.
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Speaker 1: In brief interviews, Trump and his representatives attempted to shift
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the focus to his signature tax and immigration bill. Still,
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Trump was not done criticizing Musk in one interview, calling
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him the man who has lost his man.
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Speaker 2: I'm not even thinking about. He's got a problem.
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Speaker 1: The poor guy's got a problem, Trump told CNN on
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Friday morning, adding that he would not be speaking to
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Musk for a while, I guess, but I wish him well.
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Republican lawmakers in the early months of Trump's second term
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expected Musk's us DOZE service to deliver spending cuts that
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would help offset their plans for a budget busting tax package.
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But with DOGE, which stands for Government Department of Government Efficiency,
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returning only a small fraction of the cuts initially contemplated
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by the billionaire Tesla founder, Republicans are left defending an
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overall agenda that appears on track to add as much
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as three tillion trillion to the national debt. Their frustrations
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are bubbing to the surface now that Musk and Trump
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have entered a full fledged feud. Musk's blasting of the
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bill and his exitcount as pork filled disaster will create
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a deck slavery for Americans has complicated GOP leader's already
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narrow path to passage by energizing those physical hawks who
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have largely been forced to fall inland behind the large
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spending increases. The Senate has set a self imposed deadline
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of passing the tax cuts bill by the fourth of July,
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which would then men need to again get through the
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House's thin raise a thin majority to make it Trump's desk,
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to make it to Trump's desk. A jubilant Republican Thomas Massey,
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Republican of Kentucky, a physical hawk who was one of
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just two Republicans to vote against the tax cuts bill
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last month, told reporters outside of the Capitol on Friday
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that the Musk Trump rift had made his day. I
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told my colleagues, if I get a hit on if
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I get hit on Independence Avenue, and they have to
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deliver eulogy say he was having his best day ever,
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Massey said, while holding a clock that displays the national
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nation's debt, currently topping thirty six.
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Speaker 2: Trillion dollars on its face.
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Speaker 1: Other deficit hawks who ultimately packed the tax backed the
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tax cuts bill under pressure from Trump, said they hope
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Musk's campaign results in the Senate changing the bill to
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include more spending cuts before sending it back to the
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House for final passage. We in Congress will hopefully do
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something we've never done, which is actually be physically responsible,
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said Chip Roy, Republican of Texas. The Senate's going to
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have to improve the House bill. Even though Musk has
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validated and emboldened Congress's physical hawks, the group has folded
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several times before under Trump's arm twisting, and may well
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do so again. On the campaign trail, Musk said he
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would cut two trillion from the budget, before walking that
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back to a promise of one trillion after he arrived
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to the White House. By the time he left late
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last month, Doze, who claimed to have saved one hundred
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and seventy five billion, which is probably an overcount. That
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underperformance has left Republicans without the argument that Musk could
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slash enough spending to offset their tax cuts and other
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spending bills. There has been a talking point that tariffs
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and DOZE would provide enough deficit reduction to at least
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argue that tax cuts are paid for, and both of
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those hopes have been dashed, said Jessica Reddel, senior fellow
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at the Manhattan Institute, a center right think tank. She added,
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DOZE is saving very little money, which has exposed the
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total unaffordability with a tax bill. Republicans on the Hill
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are fuss that can't plausibly argue those will pay for
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the tax cuts. Musk's relentless assault on the legislation is
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frustrating Hill leaders who argue the tax cuts package will
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unleash economic growth that will largely offset its cost. The
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White House is eager to push it through to pay
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for its pricey immigration agenda as well, given the bill
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spends tens of billions on a border wall to facilitate
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Trump's mass deportation plan. Stephen Moore, a trumpelined economist, said,
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I have heard from a lot of Republican leaders in
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the past week, with most expectives saying he's undermining the
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very things he's trying to accomplish by his behavior and
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lashing out in vicious ways. They feel like it's a betrayal.
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There's a mixture of bewilderment and anger. Still. Thursday's clash
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escalated quickly and left Summer publicans feeling torn between the
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two men they have hailed as political revolutionaries in their
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own rights. Trump said in a social media post that Musk,
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the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, had gone crazy and
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threatened to council federal contracts for his companies, while Musk
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claimed he was the only reason Trump won the twenty
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twenty four election and suggested that Trump should be impeached.
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Speaker 2: It's been hard to watch today.
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Speaker 1: Pro Trump activist Charlie Kirk said Thursday night on Fox News.
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He added in a social media post, I hope Elon
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and Trump reconcile and do so privately. It would be
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good for the country and the world if they do.
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Musk spent Thursday night responding to user's commenting on the clash,
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including Bill Ackman, the Hedge von billionaire who is an
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ally of both men. Ackmann wrote that Trump and Musk
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should reconcile for the good of the country and that
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they are much stronger together than a part. You're not wrong,
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Musk replied. At the same time, Musk had not entirely
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de escalated. He made multiple posts using a slur for
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people with disabilities to refer to Steve k Bannon, the
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former Trumpet basil and vocal Musk critic who suggested to
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The New York Times that Trump should deport him. Musk
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break with Trump has also created an awkward situation for
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his fans in Congress who wish.
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Speaker 2: To continue the work of DOGE.
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Speaker 1: More than one hundred lawmakers eagerly dawned joined DOEGE caucuses
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and a separate committee subcommittee led by firebrand Republican Marjorie
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Taylor Green of Georgia early this year, as many in
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their base applauded Musk's attempt to slash spending. Doze is
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bigger than any one person, argued Representative Aaron Bean, Republican
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of Florida, who helped launch the host DOGE caucus.
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Speaker 2: We've got work to do.
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Speaker 1: Little has come legislatively from the GOP enthusiasm from DOZE
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so far, but Host Republicans are expected to consider codifying
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the first round of Doge spending cuts next week, which
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represent a vanishing small fraction of what Doge promised. The
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Recisions Package, which takes only a majority vote to pass
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in both chambers, cuts more than nine billion from the
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Foreign Aid Agency USAID, and public broadcasting. Already, some GOP
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lawmakers in both chambers have raised objections to the package
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cuts to PEPFAR pepfar, a global AIDS and HIV program,
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and to public radio, which they argue is crucial for
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rural areas, putting its passage in dobte as Trump and
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Musk spar some worry there will be even less appetite
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on the Hill to make difficult votes to make cuts.
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Will leadership put things on the table? Will they bring
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these DOSEE cuts to the floor knowing that some of
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the moderate members will whine? Representative Eric Burlison, Republican of Missouri, said,
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do you care more about your seed or saving the country?
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Administration officials began working Friday to portray the president as
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taking the high road. There are many lies the corporate
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media tells about President Trump. One of the most glaring
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is that he's impulsive or short tempered. Anyone who has
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seen him operate underpression knows that's ridiculous. Vice President j.
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D Vance wrote on X without directly referencing the conflict
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article on number two, Trump administration racist to fix a
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big mistake. DOGE fired too many people. Across the government,
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officials are re hiring federal workers who were forced out
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or encouraged to resign by Hannah Nattisson, Adam Taylor, Muriel Cornfield,
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Rachel Siegel, and Scott Dance. Early this spring, the Food
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and Drug Administration fired nearly fifty workers in the Office
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of Regulatory Policy, only to turn around and order them
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back to the office with one day's notice. After dismissing
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thousands of probationary employees for fabricated performance issues, the IRS
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reversed course and told them to show up to work
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in late May, and some staff at the US Agency
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for International Development dismantled in the first days of the
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Trump administration by lethal Elon Musk and his cost cutting
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team at the US Doze Service check their inboxes this
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month to find an unexpected offer. Would you consider returning
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to work for the State Department. Across the government, the
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Trump administration is scrambling to rehire many federal employees dismissed
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under Doziah's staff, slashing initiatives after wiping out entire offices,
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in some cases imperiling key services such as weather forecasting
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and the drug approval process. Since Musk left the White
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House last week, he and Trump have fallen out, bitterly
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snipping at each other in public over the cost of
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Trump's sweeping tax legislation and government subsidies for Musk's businesses.
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But even before that, the administration was working to undo
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some of Dozia's highest profile actions. Trump officials are trying
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to recover not only people who were fired, but also
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thousands of experienced senior staffers who are opting for a
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voluntary exit. As the administration rolls at a second resignation offer,
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thousands more staff are returning in fits and starts, as
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conflicting patchwork of court decisions overturned some of Trump's large
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scale firings, especially his Valentine's Day dismissal of all probationary workers,
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those with one or two years of government service and
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fewer job protections.
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Speaker 2: A federal judge.
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Speaker 1: In April ordered the president to reinstate probationary workers dismissed
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from twenty federal agencies, Although A few days later, the
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Supreme Court, in a different case, halted another George's order
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to reinstate a smaller group. Some fired federal employees, especially
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those at retirement age or who have since secured jobs
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in the private sector, approving reluct to return, so the
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administration is seeking workarounds and stop gaps, including asking remaining
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staff to serve in new roles. Work over time are
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volunteered at field vacancies, According to interviews with eighteen federal
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workers across eight agencies and messages obtained by The Washington Post.
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Speaker 2: A Post review.
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Speaker 1: Found recent messy re hirings at agencies including the Food
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and Drug Administration, the IRS, the State Department, and the
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Department of Housing in Urban Development. In some cases, the
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government is posting new online job listings very similar to
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post it recently vacated. A Post review of USA jobs
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found the ever shifting personnel changes are yet another strain
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on the workforce, already weary of Trump induced uncertainty, said
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current and former employees, most of whom spoke on the
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condition of anonymic for fear of retaliation. They wanted to
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show they were gutting the government, but there was no
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fault about what parts might be worth keeping. Now it
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feels like it was all just a game to them,
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said one FDA staff up who was fired and rehired.
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A White House official said in an interview that it
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is no secret Trump arrived in Washington determined to streamline
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the government. During that downsizing, the official acknowledged some people
18:32
were fired who shouldn't have been. The official spoke on
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the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss a complex issue
18:40
that spans many federal agencies. The official said, each agency
18:46
has made an appropriate determination as to who should be
18:50
on the payroll in that respective agency. If by chance,
18:55
mistakes were made and critical employees were dismissed, each individual
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victual agency is working diligently to bring these people back
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to work to continue the adequate functions of the federal government.
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In statements, some agencies also admitted to errors, while promising
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the government is working.
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Speaker 2: To fix them.
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Speaker 1: During this process, USDA has been transparent about many mistakes
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that were made, set an Agriculture Department spokesperson, the administration
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has already had to race to undo its own cuts.
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In February, Agriculture Department launched a campaign to rehire bird
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flu response workers after avian influenza sent egg prices soaring.
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That same month, the Trump administration fired nearly seventeen percent
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of the National Nuclear Security Administration's workforce, temporarily imperiling the
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safety and security of America's five thousand nuclear warheads, before
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hiring them back after an outcry. In recent weeks, other
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agencies have seen similar patterns. At the start of April,
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the FDA let go of thousands, including laboratory staff, librarians,
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and those who helped manage the budget. The dismissals hit
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particularly hard at the Office of Drug Policy, the Office
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of Regulatory Policy, and teams that worked on Freedom of
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Information Acts, request and patent extensions, according to interviews with
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eight current and fomat FDA employees. But three weeks later,
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fired employees began getting calls on their personal cell phones
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and soon a message to their personal emails.
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Speaker 2: They were all due back.
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Speaker 1: The notice of reduction in force issued to you is
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officially rescinded, and you will not be separated from employment,
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read in emails sent to deter her terminated staff in
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May and obtained by the Post and adding you are
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expected to return to duty the next business day. Following
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your receipt of this notice. One FDA worker said she
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coul applied only because she hadn't found other employment yet.
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Speaker 2: Being back seems like a funeral, she said. Morale is terrible.
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Speaker 1: Everyone is stressed and feels the absence of our colleagues.
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I'm looking for another job. At the IRS, managers received
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a notice on May nineteenth, a Monday, that all probationary
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workers would be coming back to the office on Friday.
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According to a copy obtained by the Post, the turnaround
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was so swift that some probationary staff probably wouldn't have
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had a desk or a laptop Initially, the announcement acknowledged
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if Cedar Simon is not available, your employees should begin
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teleworking until local management secures the CEEDAR signment for them.
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Asked about the FDAs back and forth, a Health and
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Human Services spokesperson wrote in this statement that any reassignment
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or restructuring is being done to strengthen outcomes. Our restructuring
22:13
is delivering lena and better government services to the American people.
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The ir AS did not respond to request for comment.
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At usaid dozens have been out of work since early
22:27
this year, when their agency became ground to zero for
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Trump and Musk's overhaul of government, But at the start
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of this month, some ex USAID officials began hearing from
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former colleagues about potential new jobs at the State Department,
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which has assumed responsibility for distributing foreign aid once USAID's task.
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The outreach soon morphed into formal offers, with an application
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deadline of May nineteenth. One former senior USAID officials said
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she decided to go for it. I was like, well,
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I definitely don't want to work for this administration, but
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yes I need a job, so put my name down.
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Speaker 2: Why not? I have nothing to lose, she said. Overall,
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a few.
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Speaker 1: USAID workers are expected to return. According to document shared
23:23
with the Post, less than two hundred total positions were advertised,
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a tiny fraction of the roughly ten thousand people employed
23:31
by USAID before it was torn apart. Though the Trump
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administration has cut more than eighty percent of USAID programs,
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this State Department has taken over the remainder, controlling billions
23:44
in foreign assistance. A State Department spokesperson who declined to
23:49
be named, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the
23:53
hiring of a small number of positions in connection with
23:57
the department assuming responsibility for limited forma USAID programming.
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Speaker 2: I'm not risking it again.
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Speaker 1: As other agencies grapple with fallout from dismissals and departures,
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managers are leaning on remaining employees to fill the gaps,
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and in some cases hiring new workers to replace those
24:20
who have left. I will say there is a picture
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of meteorologists Joe de Lazio preparing to release a weather
24:29
balloon for the National Weather Service in Gaylord, Michigan, in
24:33
April of twenty twenty five. Some National Weather Service officers
24:37
have had trouble launching enough weather balloons after cuts by
24:41
the US Doge Service. He is holding a large white
24:46
balloon with a yellow bag at the bottom and lines
24:51
attached to that yellow bag, and he's just standing in
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front of a closed, huge garage door type of thing.
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At the National Weather Service. Waves of doze led early
25:03
retirements and probationary firings left some local forecasting offices without
25:09
enough staff to maintain twenty four to seven operations, while
25:13
others lost the ability to launch as many weather balloons,
25:17
a key forecasting tool. In one Kentucky office, the agency
25:22
had to stagger shifts ahead of a tornado outbreak to
25:26
ensure enough meteorologists were working to cover the overnight threat.
25:31
Last month, as meteorologists and Democrats in Congress warned that
25:35
staffing cuts could leave the Weather Service unable to fulfill
25:39
its mission of saving lives and protecting property from extreme weather,
25:44
the agency sought to make up for the cuts by
25:46
reassigning staff from across the National Oaksanic and Atmospheric Administration.
25:54
Speaker 2: Weather Service Director Ken.
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Speaker 1: Graham meanwhile assured employees throughout the spring that the agency
26:00
was close to securing a public safety exemption to the
26:04
government wide hiring freeze. It finally arrived Monday, Graham told
26:10
whether Service staff in an email obtained by the Post
26:12
that began big News Fantastic news, the agency will soon
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post job listings for one hundred and twenty six meteorologist, hydrologist,
26:23
physical sciences and electronics technician roles, which Graham described as
26:31
a targeted number of critical positions that would further stabilize
26:37
frontline operations. Together, these hiring authorities and staffing flexibilities will
26:43
allow us to continue meeting our foundational mission, including issuing
26:48
timely and accurate forecasts and warnings, he added. The agency
26:55
confirmed the hiring in a statement and said it was
26:57
part of a series of steps to address staff losses
27:02
at the Department of Housing an urban development. Some offices
27:05
so many people take Trump's early resignation offer that officials
27:11
are now seeking to redeploy staff to cover the absences.
27:15
Community Planning and Development, a hub department that responds to
27:19
wildfires and hurricanes and administers billions of dollars in the grants,
27:24
is especially strained that department's Office of Field Operations has
27:29
thirteen field offices with two or fewer employees left. According
27:34
to an internal presentation from May twenty seventh obtained by
27:38
the Post, more than thirty field offices have broader staff
27:42
in concerns that the presentation showed department staff sent a
27:48
voluntary reassignment offer to employees within Community Planning and Development,
27:54
where forty percent of employees had already resigned. Headcount dropped
27:58
from nine hundred and thirty six employees at the start
28:01
of Trump's turn to five hundred and sixty by May.
28:05
According to Estaffer, who attended the presentation, officials learn that
28:11
certain regions and field offices have lost sterious staffing capabilities.
28:18
According to a May twenty third message to staff obtained
28:21
by the Post, which noted the reassignment office are meant
28:25
to immediately cover skill gaps and critical functions. Staffers would
28:32
be required to work in person, but will not have
28:34
moving costs covered. According to the employee, in some cases,
28:40
supervisors are left with no staff, or staff are left
28:44
with no supervisors, or officers are left with nobody to
28:47
keep programs delivered. The emails of staff read. A HUD
28:52
spokesperson wrote in a statement that given roughly twenty three
28:56
hundred employees are taking the opportunity to find a new path,
29:01
it only makes sense that the department would have a
29:05
plan in place to ensure that mission critical functions and
29:08
the highest quality service to rule tribal and urban communities
29:13
remain uninterrupted. Within the FDA, the Center for Drug Evaluation
29:20
and Research is struggling to recover from the loss of
29:22
too many timekeepers, personnel who handle pay leave and travel logistics.
29:29
Email show a plaintive message sent to the center's staff
29:33
in early May known to the department is still working
29:37
on a long term solution for our timekeeping needs. It
29:41
asks for volunteers if folks are willing to be trained
29:45
as a timekeeper. I have prior timekeeping experience does not
29:50
need to be recent, the missive said, Please respond back
29:55
to this email to let us know if you were interested.
29:58
In other agencies, managers are having to fix problems from
30:02
Trump or doze driven restructuring. At the Social Security Administration's
30:07
call center in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, IT workers were told
30:11
by managers in mid April that they needed to request
30:14
a transfer or face possible firing, said Barry Sue Bryant,
30:19
president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local twenty
30:24
eight oh nine. Nearly all of the forty plus workers
30:28
in that office did so, sending their laptops in spare
30:31
equipment to the agency's Baltimore head quarters and awaiting a
30:35
new assignment. While the union attempted to explain to leadership
30:39
how escentral these employees were, Bryant said, we are critically
30:45
understaffed in all our departments. Having systems and employees down
30:49
is not contributing to the goals of this agency, Bryant
30:54
wrote in an email to leadership. But management would soon
30:58
find out on their own. A specialized skinner that can
31:02
quickly input forms and scan bar codes broke down and
31:06
was unusable for a day. A customer service representative who
31:10
was supposed to answer the eight hundred number couldn't take
31:13
calls for three days while her computer was in disrepair.
31:17
It really sent everyone for a loop, Bryant said. After
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about the it workers, Social Security provided an emailed statement
31:28
from an unnamed official who made decline to identify. This
31:32
statement did not address the reassignments, but criticized the fake
31:37
news media, specifically the Washington Post, for pushing a false
31:43
narrative about Social Security. The truth is that the president
31:48
that Travesident Trump is protecting and strengthening Social Security, just
31:52
like he promised. Federal workers caught in similar situations described
31:57
being on an unsettling roller coaster. One USDA's safety inspector
32:03
remembered answering a call from their manager one weekend to
32:07
learn that they were fired for four months, even though
32:11
they had received positive reviews, according to personnel documents reviewed.
32:15
Speaker 2: By the Post.
32:16
Speaker 1: But by Monday, the day before the employee was supposed
32:19
to return in their badge, the manager called back to
32:23
say the termination was rescinded. In April, when the Trump
32:27
administration offered early retirement, the employee leaped at it and
32:32
was soon placed on administrative leef. A few days later,
32:35
when my colleagues reached out, the government was now looking
32:39
to fill the person's job again.
32:41
Speaker 2: Did they want to back did they want back in?
32:45
Speaker 1: I was like, yep, nope, I'm not risking it again.
32:50
The employee said, I'm going to try to take the
32:53
money and try to find something else. I'm not going
32:59
to read DuPont Circle or Syria. I'm going to go
33:02
into the front page, second page section and continue with
33:08
interesting things like Supreme Court lets Doze access social Security
33:13
data of millions of Americans. The orders were another example
33:17
of the Supreme Court granting a Trump administration's emergency request
33:22
to lift or scale back lower court rulings blocking his initiatives.
33:28
By Anne Merrima and Justin Juvenal. A divided Supreme Court
33:33
on Friday sided with the Trump administration for now in
33:37
two cases involving the US Doeze Service, whose efforts to
33:41
slash government agencies and obtain data ab Americans have been
33:46
mostly shredded from public view. The justices cleared the way
33:51
in the first case for Doeze representatives to access the
33:55
sensitive Social Security Administration data of millions Americans while litigation
34:01
on the matter continues. In the second case, the High
34:05
Court shielded DOZE, which stands for the Department of Government Efficiency,
34:10
from having to immediately disclose records to a government watchdog
34:14
group seeking information about the service. The court's three liberal
34:19
justices disagreed with the conservative majorities to action in both cases,
34:24
with Justice Ktanji Brown Jackson warning of grave privacy risks
34:30
for millions of Americans. Taken together, the orders were another
34:35
example of the Supreme Court granting most of the Trump
34:38
administration's emergency request to lift or scale back lower court
34:43
rulings blocking his initiatives while legal challenges play out. The
34:50
justices have allowed the administration to bar transgendered troops from
34:54
the military, fire independent agency leaders without cause called teacher grants,
35:01
and remove protections for as many as three hundred and
35:04
fifty thousand Venezuelans while legal challenges to all those efforts
35:10
make their way through lower courts. The Court has also
35:14
cleared the way for Trump to revoke legal status for
35:16
more than five hundred and thirty thousand migrants. The exceptions
35:21
have come in cases involving the due process rights of
35:25
migrants targeted for past track deportation. In such cases, the
35:31
justices have required the government to provide notice an opportunity
35:35
for the immigrants to challenge their removals. Jackson used her
35:41
lengthy dissent in the Social Security case on Friday to
35:45
criticize her colleagues in the majority for jettis in careful
35:50
judicial decision making, and more broadly, for allowing the administration's
35:55
initiatives to take effect even though lower.
35:57
Speaker 2: Courts have not yet ruled on the leg of those measures.
36:02
Speaker 1: She suggested the court has different rules for the Trump administration,
36:07
largely granting its emergency request when the only emergency is
36:11
that the government cannot be bothered to wait. That sentiment
36:15
has traditionally been insufficient to justify the kind of extraordinary
36:20
intervention the government seeks, wrote Jackson, who was joined by
36:25
Justice Sonia Soda Mayor. But once again this court dons
36:31
its emergency, responded, gear rushes to the scene and uses
36:36
its equitable power to fan the flames rather than extinguish them.
36:42
Justice Elena Kagan noted that she too would have denied
36:46
the administration's request. The Trump administration has asked the justices
36:51
to intervene after a federal judge in Maryland said those
36:54
who representatives appeared to have violated privacy laws by viewing
36:59
the personal data some of the more than seventy median
37:03
Americans who received Social Security benefits. In siding with the
37:08
administration Friday, the majority said it had considered factors such
37:12
as the public interest and the government's likelihood of success
37:17
on the underlying legal questions. We conclude that under the circumstances,
37:23
SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA Dose
37:28
Team access to agency records in question in order for
37:32
those members to do their work according to the unsigned
37:36
to order, those created by President Donald Trump and initially
37:41
overseen by Elon Musk, is collecting the sensitive data of
37:45
US citizens and residents from across the government, the Washington
37:49
Post has reported, as part of the Trump's administration's effort
37:53
to find and deport undocumented immigrants, as well as eliminate
37:58
alleged mismanagement and fraud in government payments. DOZE has faced
38:04
several lawsuits over its attempts to access agency records, as
38:08
well as over Musk's influence in the government as a
38:11
temporary employee of the White House who was not confirmed
38:15
or vetted by Congress. Two labor unions and an advocacy
38:20
group went to court to try to block doz's access
38:23
to data at the Social Security Administration, saying such access
38:28
created a major privacy and security risk for their members
38:32
and raised concerns among retirese affect their benefits. The Federal
38:38
Privacy Act says only employees who need the information to
38:42
carry out their job responsibilities should have access to social
38:46
security records. US District Judge Ellen Lifton Hollande temporarily blocked
38:53
DOZE and its affiliates from working with social security data. Hollande,
38:59
a nominee of President Barack Obama, said those essentially engaged
39:04
in a fishing expedition at SSA in search of a
39:08
fraud epidemic based on little more than suspicion. The order
39:15
did not prevent the Social Security Administration from giving DOSE
39:19
access to redacted or animized data or anonymized data data,
39:27
and those team members can obtain narrow access to non
39:32
anonymized data under specific conditions set by the court. The
39:37
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declined to
39:40
block Hollander's order, and the Trump administration appealed. Solicitor General
39:46
d John Sower, who represents the administration at the High
39:50
Court had told the justices that the Doeze team has
39:54
an urgent, legitimate business need to subject the government's records
39:59
to much needed scrutiny as part of the president's efforts
40:03
to streamline government and modernize our dated systems. Lawyers from
40:07
the advacy group Democracy Forward told the Justices that Hollander's
40:12
order blocking access to birth dates, drivers license numbers, and
40:16
health and wage information is narrow and temporary, and called
40:21
Trump's actions a sudden and striking departure from generations of
40:26
precedents spanning more than a dozen presidential administrations. The coalition,
40:33
led by Democracy Forward said it was disappointed by the decision.
40:38
This is a sad day for a democracy and a
40:41
scary day for millions of people, adding that the group
40:45
will continue to use every legal tool at their disposal
40:50
to keep unelected bureaucrats from misusing the public's most sensitive
40:54
data as its case moves forward, It's said in a statement.
41:00
In the second case, Trump officials had made an emergency
41:03
appealed to the Justices asking them to put on hold
41:07
a lower court order requiring Dog's administrators to give a
41:11
deposition and turnover materials to determine if DOZE is subject
41:16
to the Freedom of Information Act. Citizens for Responsibility in
41:21
Ethics in Washington filed a Freedom of Information Act request
41:25
in January, saying DOZE was operating with little transparency as
41:30
in gutted agencies initiated mass layoffs and cut programs. DOZE
41:37
rebuffed the request for records, so CREWE bowed a lawsuit
41:42
to obtain material, including emails and organizational chart, ethics pledges,
41:48
and financial disclosures that would provide visibility into how DOZE
41:53
is carrying out its work. Trump officials said DOZE is
41:57
a presidential advisory board, not a government agency, so it
42:01
is exempt for complying with the public records law. But
42:05
a federal judge found in March that DOZE was most
42:09
likely subject to disclose your laws and object to DOZE,
42:15
and ordered DOZE to hand over records, saying it operated
42:18
with unusual secrecy. In their emergency order on Friday, the
42:24
justices said a lower court order giving crew access to
42:27
some records was not appropriately tailored. The separation of powers
42:34
concerns to council judicial deference and restraint in the context
42:39
of discovery regarding internal Executive Branch communications, the majority wrote.
42:45
In the unsigned order, the justices remanded the case to
42:50
a lower court to narrow the scope of the order
42:53
requiring Dose to turn over documents. The majority said internal
42:59
executive branch recommendations by those should be exempted. Continuing on
43:05
page A one or A two, Republicans worry Medicaid cuts
43:11
would hurt their communities polled fines, while Democrats and Independents
43:17
are far more likely to have concerns. The Republican concerns
43:21
illustrate the perils as the Senate weighs Medicaid cuts. By
43:27
Sabrina Molley and Paige Winfield Cunningham, more than four in
43:33
ten Republicans worried significant cuts to Medicaid would hurt health
43:38
care providers in their communities and lead to people losing insurance,
43:43
according to a KFF polled released Friday. The findings illustrate
43:49
the political perils of upending the public health insurance program.
43:54
As Senate Republicans feud over Medicaid cuts as they face
43:59
pressure to slave spending to finance President Donald trump sweeping
44:03
tax and immigration legislation, they risk alienating their own supporters
44:08
who depend on the program. While most Medicaid enrollees identified
44:13
as Democrats or independents, Twenty seven percent said they are Republican,
44:19
including nineteen percent who identified as supporters of Trump's Make
44:23
America Great Again movement. About three and four GOP Medicaid
44:28
recipients were worried federal cuts to the program would hurt
44:32
their ability to receive and pay for health care for
44:35
themselves and their families. The poll found. Those concerns are
44:39
not limited to people enrolled in the program. Nearly a
44:43
third of all Republicans and twenty percent twenty six percent
44:47
of MACA Republicans had the same worries about their own
44:51
access to health care if Medicaid is cut, The surveys showed.
44:56
While Democrats and Independents were far more likely to express concerns,
45:01
the level of worrey among Republicans reflects Medicaid's appeal across
45:05
party lines. Medicaid is really a popular program, and a
45:11
large majority of Americans do not want to see decreases
45:14
in spending, said Liz Hammil, director of Public opinion and
45:19
survey research at KFF, a health policy research organization. These
45:26
findings reflect that many people, whether or not they rely
45:30
on Medicaid, see it as vital to their communities. Medicaid
45:35
is the nation's largest public health insurer, serving poor families,
45:40
people with disabilities, and nursing home residents, among others. It
45:45
covers about one in five Americans, many of them in
45:48
states and districts represented by GOP lawmakers. It also provides
45:53
a crucial line of revenue for health care providers, such
45:57
as rural hospitals. Half of rural hospitals, including thirty seven
46:03
percent of rural Republicans, were worried that cuts would affect
46:07
it there access to care. The poll found they were
46:12
even more worried about health care and their communities. Almost
46:16
every Democrat and half of Republicans in rural areas worried
46:20
Medicare cuts would negatively impact their local hospitals, nursing homes,
46:25
and other providers. Edwin Park, a health policy researcher at
46:31
Georgetown University's McCourt's School of Public Policy, said those fundings
46:37
about rural concerns are not surprising. Park said, We've done
46:43
research showing that both children and non narrowly adults in
46:47
rural communities disproportionately rely on Medicaid, and these are areas
46:53
that tend to vote Republican and supported President Trump. The
46:59
poll was conducted May five through May twenty six and
47:01
included twenty five hundred and thirty nine US adults and
47:05
had a margin of area plus or minus three percentage points.
47:09
The margin was slightly higher for findings about Republicans. Senate
47:15
Republicans wrestled this week over how deeply to cut MEDICAIDD.
47:19
They strived to pass their own version of a bill
47:22
to extend Trump's tax cuts and reduce other spending. By
47:26
Independence Day, the version passed by the bill achieved nearly
47:31
eight hundred billion dollars in savings, were primarily requiring childless
47:37
adults with low incomes to prove they are working, limiting
47:41
a tax used by states to receive increased federal Medicaid funds,
47:46
and counseling new regulations proposed by the Biden of administration
47:51
to streamline enrollment. About seven point eight million fewer people
47:56
would be insured within a decade because of Medicaid changes
48:00
in the House's legislation, according to projections from the Non
48:05
Pottersan Congressional Budget Office.
48:08
Speaker 2: The Senate aims.
48:09
Speaker 1: To revise the House legislation, but Republicans are engaged in
48:13
hot debate over whether to contract or expand.
48:18
Speaker 2: The Medicaid cuts.
48:20
Speaker 1: Senate Republicans, who hold a slim majority, can afford to
48:23
lose only three of their members if all Democrats oppose
48:27
the bill as expected, they are already likely to lose
48:31
the vote of Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, who
48:35
has raised concerns about the cost of a bill the
48:37
CBO estimates would add three trillion dollars to the national debt.
48:46
Most Republicans and Senators are on board with adding work
48:50
requirements to Medicaid and measure that polling has found most
48:53
Americans favor. That includes senators who have expressed the most
48:58
concerned about Medicaid cuts, such as Senator Josh Hawley Kind
49:05
of mur Missouri and Susan Collins Republican names. But there
49:12
is growing concern around a provision in the House bill
49:15
aimed at limiting taxes States imposed on hospitals and other
49:19
Medicaid provisors. As a backdoor way of increasing federal Medicaid payments,
49:26
States passed the tax back to providers in the form
49:30
of high Medicaid payments, which are then partly matched by
49:34
the federal government. I'm concerned about the impact on rural
49:39
hospitals and how it all would work with a provider tax.
49:43
It would hurt rural hospitals in my state, Collins told
49:47
the Post this week, and Hally said Harley said that
49:51
it would hurt rural hospitals in my state. Senator Jim Justice,
49:56
Republican of West Virginia, whose state has one of the
50:00
highest Medicaid populations in the country, worried this week about
50:04
letting provider taxes get undermined, according to punch Bowl News,
50:10
and in an April floor speech, Senator Jerry Moran, Republican
50:15
of Kansas said he's focused on making sure the hospitals
50:20
have the capability and the revenues necessary to provide the
50:23
services the community needs. Medicaid is a component of that.
50:29
Other Republican senators this week defended cuts to Medicaid, arguing
50:34
that the program would still be available to those most
50:37
in need.
50:38
Speaker 2: Senator Jony Ernst.
50:40
Speaker 1: Republican of Iowa, sparked an uproar last week after she
50:44
flippantly replied, well, we're all going to die to a
50:48
town hall attendee who showed that people would die if
50:51
they lose Medicaid coverage. Their final article, Kilmar Abrego Garcia
50:58
returned to the United States charged with human smuggling. The
51:03
wrongly deported Maryland man was indicted after the government resisted
51:08
court orders to return him to the United States by
51:13
Maria Sochetti, Perry Stein, and Jeremy Roebuck. The wrongly deported
51:19
Salvadorian man whose removal to a notorious gang prison ignited
51:23
a standoff between the Trump administration and federal courts, has
51:27
been returned to the United States and charged with human smuggling.
51:32
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday the charges against Kilmar
51:37
of Rego Garcia, one of three men deported by the
51:40
Trump administration whom courts have ordered return to the US,
51:44
mean he will face prosecution in US courts if convicted.
51:49
Bundy said the government would again seek to deport him
51:52
to El Salvadore after he completes his sentence. The Supreme
51:57
Court ordered Trump officials weeks ago to facilitate a Brego
52:01
Garcia's return from El Salvador, where Justice Department lawyeres admitted
52:06
he'd been sent in violation of an immigration judge's order
52:09
forbidding it. Trump, his cabinet members, and their representatives in
52:14
court had insisted they could not bring him back because
52:18
Abrego Garcia was in Salvadoran custody. His return Friday, based
52:25
on a criminal investigation that stems from a twenty twenty
52:28
two traffic stop, offers the Trump administration a way out
52:32
of that increasingly tense legal standoff, in which lower courts
52:37
have accused the administration of floating judicial orders. It also
52:42
allows the Trump administration a new opportunity to portray Obrego Garcia,
52:47
twenty nine, who worked as a contractor in Maryland, as
52:51
a violent gang member who should not be allowed to
52:54
remain in the United States. Abrego Garcia has no prior
52:59
criminal history in either the US or El Salvador, his
53:02
lawyers have said in court records. For several months in
53:06
twenty nineteen, during the time period officials say he was smuggling,
53:10
he was being held in immigration detention, successfully flighting efforts
53:14
to deport him. Our government represented El Salvadov with an
53:20
arrest warrant. Our government presented El Savado with an arrest warrant,
53:25
and they agreed to return him to our country. We're
53:28
grateful to President Berkeley for agreeing to return him. Bonding
53:34
TOE reporters at a news conference to announce the charges.
53:39
Simon Sandival Messenbergh, one of Abrego Garcia's lawyers, called the
53:44
government's actions an abuse of power, not justice. The government
53:50
disappeared Kalma to a foreign present in violation of a
53:55
court order. Now, after months of delay in secrecy, they're
53:59
bringing him back not to correct the error, but to
54:02
prosecute him, sundeveloped, Mushenberg said in a statement, adding this
54:08
shows that they were playing games with the court all along.
54:12
Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you're punished,
54:16
not after. The decision to indict prompted the resignation of
54:21
a supervisor in the US Attorney's office in Tennessee that
54:25
brought the charges. According to two people familiar with the matter,
54:29
who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were
54:32
not authorized to discuss it, Ben Schrader, who had worked
54:36
as a federal prosecutor in Nashville for nearly fifteen years,
54:40
stepped down two weeks ago as the indictment was returned.
54:43
Speaker 2: Under seal.
54:45
Speaker 1: Reached on his cellf on Friday, Strada declined to comment.
54:50
It has been an incredible privilege to serve as a
54:53
prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where the only job
54:57
description I've ever known is to do the right thing
55:00
in the right way, for the right reasons, Schrader wrote
55:05
in a LinkedIn post announcing his departure. He did not
55:09
directly reference the Abrago Garcia case. The twenty twenty two
55:14
stop in Tennessee that appears to have led to a
55:17
Brego Garcia's indictment initially ended with a warning from local
55:21
authorities to a newly aspired license. Bond did not say
55:25
when federal officials launched their investigation into the incident, or
55:29
what investigatory steps occurred between the traffic stop and a
55:33
Brago Garcia's deportation to prompt the convening of the grand jury.
55:40
What has changed is that Donald Trump is now the
55:42
President of the United States and the voters are now secured,
55:46
Bondy said.
55:48
Speaker 2: In court papers.
55:49
Speaker 1: Prosecutors said, if convicted, Abrego Garcia could face up to
55:53
ten years in prison for each person he smuggled, a
55:57
sentence they said would go well beyond the remainder of
56:01
the defendant's life. Of Rego Garcia, who made a brief
56:05
appearance in federal court in Tennessee, on Friday, was among
56:08
more than two hundred migrants deported by the Trump administration
56:12
to the notorious terrorism confinement center in Al Salvador in March.
56:19
His removal violated a standing immigration court order forbidding US
56:23
officials from sending him to Al Salvador because it was
56:27
more likely than not that gang members there would persecute him.
56:32
Multiple federal judges, lawyers, and members of Congress have said
56:36
that by keeping him in Al Salvador, the Trump administration
56:40
was disregarding court orders, constitutional rights, and federal laws intended
56:45
to safeguard immigrants from persecution. Homeland Security Secretary Christie L.
56:51
Nom said at a Senate hearing in early May that
56:55
there is no scenario where Brego Garcia will be in
56:59
the United States again.
57:01
Speaker 2: He was brought back two days after.
57:03
Speaker 1: Trump officials permitted a Guatemalan man officers deported to Mexico
57:10
in February to re enter the country to seek protection.
57:15
A judge had ordered that man's return as well. A
57:19
different judge told the government to bring back a third man,
57:22
who has been identified as Christian, is from Venezuela and
57:26
was deported to the Saldorvian Megaprism on the same day
57:30
as Abrego Garcia. Christian remains in the prison. According to
57:35
a court filing Friday by Melissa Harper, a top US
57:39
immigration official, Sandibal Missenburg sept Friday that the ordinary manner
57:46
of doing things would have been for the government to
57:49
return Abrego Garcia's case to the immigration courts, to the
57:53
same judge who granted him humanitarian protection in twenty nineteen.
57:58
I do not have time to read the rest of
57:59
the article, but I thank you for listening today's reading
58:04
of the Washington Post for Saturday, the seventh of January
58:08
of January of June of twenty twenty five. Please keep
58:14
on listening to continue programming on radio.
58:17
Speaker 2: I stay dry and have a good weekend.