Transcript

2.27.25 · Washington Post

0:00
Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Thursday,
0:03
February twenty seven, twenty twenty five. As a reminder, Radioizer
0:09
reading service intended for people who are blind or have
0:11
other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
0:16
Your reader today is Mark Webster. We'll begin by reading
0:21
from the headlines for about twenty eight minutes, take a break,
0:24
and then have a second session of twenty eight minutes.
0:28
The six headlines that I'm going to read are the following.
0:31
Moment of truth at hand for Kiev. That's on the
0:35
far right hand column. Backbone of climate policy could be repealed.
0:40
It's in the far left hand column. Musk Empire is
0:44
built upon billions and government funds, marked to die by
0:50
a formidable gang. Trump gives Musk his full support than
0:56
last US agencies told to submit proposals for leaving DC.
1:03
Here's the first Trump Zelensky goals differ ahead of high
1:07
stake summit. The Ukrainian president is seeking security guarantees as
1:12
Trump highlights deal deals to recoup US support for Ukraine
1:17
and in the war with Russia. Here's the article. President
1:22
Donald Trump and President Vladimir Zelensky offered different expectations Wednesday
1:27
for a high stake summit later this week, as the
1:30
Ukrainian leader underscored his need for American assurances about Kiev's
1:34
future security and the US president stressed the benefits of
1:38
a deal to reap Ukraine's vast mineral wealth. Trump said
1:44
he and Zelensky would use a hastily arranged meeting at
1:48
the White House on Friday to finalize a mineral compact
1:53
that his administration has pushed on Kiev. As Washington tries
1:56
to broker a swift end to the war with Russia
1:59
on terms that could be unfavorable to Ukraine, Trump voiced
2:05
his desire to end the fighting, which three years after
2:09
Russian President Vladimir Putin Vladimir putin full scale invasion has
2:14
killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of people on both sides. Quote.
2:18
My number one thing is to get that stopped. My
2:21
number two thing is I don't want to have to
2:23
pay any more money unquote, Trump told reporters, referencing the
2:27
billions of dollars the Biden administration granted to Ukraine during
2:31
the war. Now we're going to be getting all of
2:34
that money back, plus a lot more unquote. Friday's White
2:38
House encounter represents a crucial juncture for Ukraine, as the
2:43
Trump administration, marking a major shift in US policy, launches
2:48
a peace process with the Kremlin, and Trump embraces chief
2:51
aspects of Putin's justification for his twenty twenty two invasion.
2:57
The meeting provides the Ukrainian president a chance to gauge
3:01
Trump's willingness after attacking Zelensky on social media, to employ
3:06
the United States military might to deter future assaults by
3:10
Russia should a ceasefire deal be reached, a condition KIF
3:15
sees as crucial for its long term survival. But contrary
3:20
to what Zelensky said in describing his hopes for the discussions,
3:24
Trump suggested that the United States would not provide direct
3:27
military or security guarantees. Quote, I'm not going to make
3:32
security guarantees beyond very much unquote, he said, quote, We're
3:36
going to have Europe do that, because Europe is their
3:39
next door neighbor unquote. It was not immediately clear whether
3:43
Trump was indicating the United States would decline to provide
3:46
direct military support in the event of an eventual peace deal,
3:51
or whether he would allow America to act as a
3:54
military quote backstop unquote to the European nations that it
3:58
proposed putting peace case leaving forces in Ukraine after any
4:02
ceasefire is reached. The White House did not immediately respond
4:07
to request for clarification, but it appeared to stand in
4:10
contrast to what Zelensky told reporters in Kiev earlier in
4:13
the day. Quote if we understand that the USA is
4:18
one of the countries or one of the main countries
4:21
to give security guarantees, then that can be considered a success.
4:25
Close the quote, Zelensky said, before any steps, the government
4:29
in Kiev must understand quote where we are with the
4:33
United States unquote. His questions for Trump, he said, would include,
4:37
quote will America stop military aid or not close the quote.
4:42
Selinsky told reporters he would review the deal's draft text,
4:47
which now includes a line about measures to guarantee Ukraine
4:50
security from future Russian attacks. The Ukrainian leader also said
4:55
that he needs to hear from Trump that the United
4:58
States will continue to help and support Ukraine. Quote I
5:03
really need that for the sake of our people unquote.
5:05
He said. Washington has mounted immense pressure on Kiev to
5:10
sign a deal to share its mineral wealth initially suggesting
5:14
an arrangement in which profits would reimburse the United States
5:18
for PASS support it has provided Ukraine. Kiev firmly rejected
5:26
any such plan, saying that PASS support had not been
5:29
contingent on any kind of reimbursement and it created a false,
5:34
false debt for Ukraine. According to a draft posted by
5:40
Ukrainian media, the deal includes a line specifying that Washington
5:44
quote supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees necessary for
5:50
establishing lasting peace. The quote. The Washington Post could not
5:54
immediately verify the draft's authenticity. Speaking Wednesday, Zelensky rejected the
6:00
idea his country is in debt due to a foreign
6:03
military due to foreign military aid. Allowing the deal to
6:07
be framed around debts old would set a dangerous precedent
6:11
for other countries to try to set parameters that would
6:14
force Ukraine to pay back aid that had not been
6:17
considered as loans. It would have been a quote Pandora's
6:21
boxing quote said, quote I will not agree for even
6:26
ten cents of reimbursement and quote said. Zelenski also said
6:31
he plans to ask Trump whether, in the event the
6:33
United States cuts aid to Ukraine. Kiev will be allowed
6:36
to purchase weapons directly from the country and if it
6:40
will be allowed to use money from seeds Russian assets
6:43
to do so. Friday's meeting follows a turbulent two weeks
6:48
in which the Trump administration took several remarkable steps toward
6:52
the Kremlin and away from Kiev, including voting against a
6:56
Ukrainian resolution in the United Nations condemning Russia's invasion over
7:02
the past. Over the weekend, Zelensky warned that if Trump
7:06
were to meet with Putin before him, it would send
7:09
a dangerous signal to Americans and the world. Quote we
7:13
really rely on Trump and on the United States unquote,
7:16
he said Wednesday. Quote It's important not to lose America
7:20
as a main guaranteur or one of the guaranturs unquote
7:23
of Ukraine's security. Ukraine and its partners, including France, are
7:29
urgently trying to convince Washington that Russia has in the
7:33
past violated its promises. Putin's claims that he wants peace
7:37
or not viewed as serious in Kiev or most European capitals. Quote,
7:42
whatever happens, we do not believe Russians, Russians that they
7:47
want peace unquote. Zelensky said, quote, we believe in our
7:50
army unquote. Selensky said he will continue to push the
7:55
issue of NATO membership or equivalent guarantees. He needs to
7:59
unders he said, whether Washington will offer any such guarantees
8:03
or if Ukraine will need to look elsewhere. European nations
8:08
such as France and Britain have been opened as sending
8:10
troops to Ukraine as part of any final deal to
8:13
end the war and ensure the end of hostilities, which
8:16
Trump said recently Russia would be fine with. Those countries
8:21
are hoping, however, that the United States could back them
8:24
up by providing certain military capabilities they lack in sufficient quantity.
8:30
Trump characterized the minerals deal as an indirect security guarantee
8:34
for Ukraine. Quote it's a great deal for Ukraine too,
8:37
because they get us over there and we're going to
8:40
be working over there unquote, he said, quote it's this
8:43
sort of automatic security because nobody's going to be messing
8:47
around with our people when we're there, and so we'll
8:50
be there in that way close to quote. Russia Foreign
8:54
Minister Sir j Lavov said Wednesday that Russia opposed deploying
8:59
any europe he enforces as part of a resolution to
9:02
the conflict. Quote no one has asked us about this, unquote,
9:06
he said. He added that the plan quote which is
9:11
being imposed by the Europeans, first of all, France and
9:15
the British unquote, is quote aimed at heating up the
9:18
conflict further unquote. Zelensky's refusal to sign any deal he
9:23
deems unfair, along with his refusal to succumb to Russian
9:27
and US pressure to hold elections and his quip that
9:31
Trump is living in a quote disinformation bubble unquote, dramatically
9:36
boosted his image at home, where many Ukrainians see him
9:39
as standing up for the nation, but his comments also
9:43
resulted in Trump publicly lashing out in return, calling Zelensky
9:48
a quote dictator without elections unquote. Speaking on Ukrainian television
9:53
on Wednesday, Prime Minister Dennis Chime Dennis Chamal said that
10:00
Krane would not quote sign or even look at any
10:03
Slavish or colonial agreements that did not consider the interest
10:06
of our country unquote. The deal was a quote preliminary
10:10
agreement unquote that was quote directly tied unquote to security
10:14
guarantees for Ukraine and once those who were agreed on it,
10:19
it would be signed, he said. Schamaal said that Ukraine's
10:25
government would meet on Wednesday to authorize ministers to sign
10:28
the agreement. The agreement creates a legal framework for an
10:32
investment fund which would help pay for Ukraine's reconstruction, which
10:36
Kiev and Washington would jointly manage. He said. Revenue would
10:41
come from future development of Ukraine's mineral resources, which projects
10:47
which projects license or undue development would not be affected.
10:51
He said Ukraine would contribute half of its future income
10:55
from the mineral resources to the fund, while the United
10:58
States would make quote relay contributions. Quote. The money that
11:03
this fund will invest and earn will be reinvested again
11:06
and again in the restoration and further development of our state.
11:10
Close the quote. Shamal said, that's the end of the article.
11:13
We'll go to our second article, backbone of climate policy
11:18
could be reaped. Here's the headline. EPA urged his White
11:21
House to strike down landmark climate finding. Trump officials are
11:25
weighing whether to repeal the quote endangerment finding unquote, which
11:29
says the greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health
11:32
and welfare. Here's the article. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee
11:41
Zelden has privately urged the White House to strike down
11:44
the scientific finding underpinning much of the federal government's push
11:49
to combat climate change. According to three people briefed on
11:53
the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because
11:56
they were not authorized to comment publicly, the nine quote
12:00
endangerment finding end quote cleared the way for regulating greenhouse
12:04
gases under the Clean Air Act by concluding that the
12:07
planet warming gases pose a threat to public health and welfare.
12:12
The Obama and Biden administrations used that determination to set
12:16
strict limits on emissions from cars and power plants. By
12:21
repealing the engagement finding, the Trump administration would be taking
12:25
one of its most consequential steps yet to derail federal
12:29
climate efforts. In recent days, the administration has also blocked
12:34
work that is central to international climate research and barred
12:37
federal scientists and diplomats from attending a major climate event
12:41
in China. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump told reporters during
12:46
his first meeting with his cabinet that Zelden is considering
12:50
cutting sixty five percent of the APA's workforce. Quote. I
12:54
spoke with Lee Zelden, and he thinks He's going to
12:57
be cutting sixty five or so percent of the people
13:00
from environmental that's capital E environmental, meaning the epaunquote, Trump said,
13:05
adding that many EPA staffers quote weren't doing their job.
13:10
They were just obstructionists unquote. Asked about Trump's remarks at
13:15
a White House official said the president was referring to
13:18
a sixty five percent cut in overall spending at the EPA,
13:22
rather than staffing levels. The official spoke on the condition
13:26
of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
13:30
Quote President Trump, Doge, and Administrator Zelden are committed to
13:35
eliminating sixty five percent of the EPA's wasteful spending unquote,
13:40
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers added in an email. During
13:44
Trump's first term, EPA officials weighed whether to reverse the
13:48
endangement finding, but opted not to do so. Conservatives have
13:52
argued that repealing the finding is critical to unraveling what
13:56
they see as burdens and limits on emission from various
14:00
sectors of the economy. Environmentalists, in contrast, say the finding
14:06
has justified stronger regulations that have yielded enormous benefits for
14:10
the planet and public health. On the first day of
14:14
his second term, Trump signed an executive order that tasked
14:17
the EPA with reviewing the quote legality and continuing applicability
14:23
of quote the endangerment finding. The order gave Zelden thirty
14:27
days to submit recommendations to Russell Vault, the head of
14:31
the White House Budget Office. EPA officials have not shared
14:35
their recommendations publicly. EPA spokeswoman Molly Vassilio declined to comment
14:42
on the matter Tuesday, saying in an email quote, EPA
14:46
is in compliance with this aspect of the President's executive
14:49
Order unquote. Mandy Gunasekara, who served as EPA Chief of
14:58
Staff at the end of Trump's first termament and wrote
15:00
the EPA chapter in the Conservative Blueprint Project twenty twenty five,
15:05
has been advising the administration on repealing the endangerment finding.
15:10
According to the three individuals briefed on the matter, Jonathan Brightbill,
15:16
who was a top deputy in the Justice Department's Environment
15:19
and Natural Resource of Division during Trump's first term, has
15:23
also provided legal advice, those people said. Bright Bill recently
15:28
served on the Trump transition team at the Justice Department
15:32
and is a partner of the law firm Winston and Strawn,
15:37
gudas Akhara, and Brightbill did not immediately respond to requests
15:42
for comment. The endangerment finding has sparked legal and political
15:49
battles in Washington for more than fifteen years. In two
15:53
thousand and seven, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling
15:57
that the EPA has the authority to regulate carbon, doctor, methane,
16:01
and other greenhouse gasses as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
16:06
In response, the EPA first issued the endangerment findings and
16:10
then established the first ever carbon limits for vehicles and
16:13
power plants. During Trump's first term, Skeptics of mainstream climate
16:19
science filed a petition asking the EPA to repeal the determination,
16:25
but agency lawyers rejected that petition. On Trump's last day
16:28
in office in twenty twenty one, allies of the fossil
16:33
fuel industry cheered the idea that the administration would revisit
16:37
the issue. Quote. They unfortunately didn't do this in the
16:41
first term, so I'm pleased to see that they're working
16:43
on this in the second term, quote, said Tom Pile,
16:47
president of the American Energy Alliance and advocacy group for
16:51
the oil and gas sector. Myron Ebel, who led the
16:56
EPA transition team during Trump's first term. Said Nixon, the
17:00
engagerment finding could make it easier to overturn Biden area
17:04
Biden era climate policies. Quote. If you want to go
17:08
back and redo one of these rules, you're going to
17:10
have to. You're going to have a very spirited court
17:13
battle if you ignore the endangerment finding. Unquote, said Ebel,
17:17
the chairman of the Conservative American Lands Council. Quote, So
17:21
I think they really need to do this unquote. Environmental
17:25
advocates said they will challenge the move in court. Quote.
17:28
If the Trump EPA proceeds down this path and Jenson's
17:33
the obvious finding that climate change is a threat to
17:36
our health and welfare, it will mean more polluted air
17:39
and more catastrophic extreme weather for Americans. Unquote, said David Doneger,
17:45
a senior strategist and attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Quote.
17:50
We will see them in court. Close the quote. Sean Donahue,
17:53
a lawyer who has represented environmental groups that support the
17:59
ngagement finding, said he thinks any repeal effort will be
18:02
struck down given the robust body of scientific evidence on
18:06
the dangers of planetary warming. Quote. You can have a
18:09
lot of good and reasonable disputes about exactly how we
18:13
should be addressing climate change. Unquote, he said in a
18:16
phone interview. Quote, but the proposition that greenhouse gas emissions
18:21
from human activities don't endanger public health and welfare is
18:25
not a position that could be supported by the science
18:28
or what EPA's own record suggests. Close the quote. That's
18:33
the end of the second article. The third article is
18:36
Musk's empire is built upon billions and government funds. Now,
18:40
because of time constraints, I might have to cut parts
18:43
of the remaining four articles. Here's the third article, the
18:47
headline Elon musk business empire is built on thirty eight
18:51
billion dollars in government funding. Government infusions at key moments
18:55
helped Tesla and SpaceX flourish, boosting Musks. Elon Musk and
19:02
his court and his cost cutting US dog Service team
19:06
have been on a mission to trim government largesse. Yet
19:10
Musk is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the taxpayer's coffers.
19:14
Over the years, Musk and his businesses have received at
19:18
least thirty eight billion dollars in government contracts, loans, subsidies,
19:23
and tax credits. Often at critical moments, a Washington Post
19:27
analysis has found, helping seed the growth that has made
19:31
him the world's richest person. The payments stretched back more
19:36
than twenty years. Shortly after becoming CEO of a cash
19:39
strapped Tesla in two thousand and eight, Musk fought hard
19:43
to secure a low interest loan from the Energy Department,
19:46
according to two people directly involved with the process, holding
19:51
daily briefings with company executives about the paperwork and spending
19:55
hours with a government loan office. When Tesla soon A
20:00
to realize it was missing a crucial Environmental Protection Agency
20:04
certification it needed to qualify for the loan, days before Christmas,
20:08
Musk went straight to the top, urging then EPA administrator
20:12
Lisa Jackson to intervene, according to one of the people spoke.
20:17
Both people spoke on the condition of an anonymity for
20:20
fear of retribution. Nearly two thirds of the thirty eight
20:23
billion dollars funds have been promised to Musk businesses in
20:27
the past five years. In twenty twenty four, loan federal
20:32
and local governments committed at least six point three billion
20:35
dollars to Musk companies, the highest total to date. Now
20:40
There's a bar chart here showing Musk companies have received
20:46
biggins from the government. It shows total contracts, loans, subsidies,
20:50
and tax credits by company on the left hand side.
20:55
Then on the bottom the x axis shows the years
20:58
from two thousand and three to to twenty twenty five.
21:02
It grows roughly from zero to nearly six and a
21:09
half billion. Back to the article, the toll amount is
21:13
probably larger. This analysis includes only publicly available contracts, omitting
21:19
classified defense and intelligence work for the federal government. SpaceX
21:24
has been developing spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office
21:28
the Pentagon Spy Satellite Division, according to the Reuters News agency.
21:33
The Wall Street Journal reported that contract was worth one
21:36
point eight billion dollars. Citing company documents, the POSTS found
21:40
nearly a dozen other local grants, reimbursements, and tax credits
21:44
where the specific amount of money is not public. An
21:48
additional fifty two ongoing contracts with seven government agencies, including NASA,
21:53
the Defense Department, and the General Services Administration, are on
21:57
track to potentially pay must come an additional eleven point
22:02
eight bigion dollars over the next few years. According to
22:05
the POSTS analysis, Government contracts to SpaceX from NASA and
22:11
the Defense Department make up the majority of funds. Tesla
22:15
has earned eleven point four bigion dollars in regulatory credits
22:18
from federal and state programs aimed at boosting the electric
22:21
car industry, and experts say its sales have been boastered
22:25
by federal seven thousand, five hundred dollars electric vehicle tax
22:29
credit for consumers. Muss has called for an end to
22:33
that consumer credit, arguing his competitors need the incentive more
22:37
than Tesla. DOGE, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency,
22:44
has sought to cut staff, slash budgets, or cut contracts
22:49
at all seven of the agencies where must companies have
22:52
ongoing contracts. That includes the General Services Administration, Defense Department,
22:58
and Transportation Department. Musk relationships with government agencies have at
23:03
times been mutually beneficial. His ventures have pioneered new markets
23:08
that have advanced US government goals, including space exploration and
23:13
the expansion of electric vehicles. And while many of the
23:16
government programs Musk has benefited from are open to others
23:20
in the electric vehicle industry, no other company has gone
23:23
on to achieve to achieve Tesla's market dominance. Quote. Not
23:29
every entrepreneur at this scale has been this dependent on
23:33
federal money. Certainly not Navidia, not Microsoft, nor Amazon, nor
23:38
Meta unquote, said Jeffrey Sodenfeld, professor at the Yale School
23:43
of Management, who noted that much of the funding has
23:47
come during Democratic administration. Quote with Doge, there does seem
23:52
to be a paradox there. He has been a big
23:54
beneficiary of national industrial policy, especially Democrat industrial policy, through
24:00
government funding closed the quote. Government funding also provided key
24:04
early infusions to Musk's ventures. NASA and the Defense Department
24:09
nurtured SpaceX in its earliest years with contracts that helped
24:14
it build infrastructure, while the agency tolerated the company's failure
24:18
to meet required milestones on time. According to congressional investigators,
24:24
the four hundred and sixty five million dollar Energy Department loan,
24:27
which arrived in twenty ten, helped fuel Tesla's meteoric rise.
24:34
With that money, the company engineered and assembled its luxury
24:37
electric sedan, the Model S, and bought a factory in Fremont, California.
24:42
According to the agency, Tesla went public six months later.
24:46
Quote Tesla would not have survived without the loan unquote.
24:50
Said former high level Tesla employee familiar with the company's finances,
24:55
who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
24:58
Quote it was a critical loan at a critical time. Quote.
25:02
Musk himself noted that the challenges facing the company at
25:06
the time, according to emails published by The Free Beacon,
25:10
imploring Jackson, then the EPA chief, to help, quote, Tesla
25:14
struggled for its life over the past year, and then
25:17
just when we thought things would be all right, this
25:20
issue came to light unquote, he wrote. Quote I am
25:23
at your disposal of twenty four to seven, Musk added,
25:26
including his cell phone number. Jackson declined to comment through
25:31
a representative at Apple, where she now works. SpaceX, Musk
25:36
and Tesla did not respond to request for comment. NASA
25:40
spokeswoman Cheryl Warner said the agency has invested more than
25:44
fifteen billion dollars in SpaceX for its work on numerous
25:47
space programs. Quote NASA is working with partners like SpaceX
25:53
to build an economy in low Earth orbit and take
25:55
our next giant leaps in exploration at the Moon and
25:58
Mars for the better of all unquote, Warner said in
26:02
an email. White House spokesman Harrison Field said that Musk's
26:06
business interests would not conflict with his work at DOGE.
26:10
Quote any contracts connected to Elon Musk very successful companies
26:15
will comply with every government ethics rule as it pertains
26:18
to potential conflicts of interest unquote, Field said in the email.
26:23
As much as Tesla executives valued the government support, Musk
26:28
paid off the twenty ten low interest loan within a
26:31
matter of years. In a twenty thirteen news release announcing
26:34
that he had done so, must thank the Energy Department
26:38
and Congress end quote particularly the American taxpayer from whom
26:43
these funds originate. Quote I hope we did you proud unquote,
26:47
he said. Since its two thousand and three Silicon Valley founding,
26:53
Tesla has benefited from billions and rebates and tax credits
26:57
from California. The state's governor, Gavin nuw Use and Democrat,
27:01
has claimed that quote there was no Tesla without California's
27:04
regulatory bodies and regulation unquote. Tesla has said it invested
27:08
more than five billion dollars in the state since twenty
27:12
sixteen and employed more than forty seven thousand people locally,
27:17
about a third of Tesla's thirty five billion dollars in
27:19
profit since twenty fourteen has come from selling federal and
27:23
state regulatory credits to other automakers. The credits are given
27:27
to automakers that meet certain standards, including selling a certain
27:31
percentage of zero emission vehicles. Tesla is the largest seller
27:35
of these credits to automakers that don't meet the standards
27:38
and want to avoid paying a fine. These credits played
27:41
a crucial role in the company's first profitable quarter in
27:44
twenty thirteen and its first full year of profitability in
27:48
twenty twenty, according to Securities and Exchange Commission and findings.
27:52
Without the credits, Tesla would have lost more than seven
27:55
hundred million dollars in twenty twenty. All right, we're going
27:58
to stop there for a break and continue on for
28:01
another twenty eight minute segment. Welcome back to the reading
28:05
of the Washington Post for today, Thursday, February twenty seven
28:09
to twenty twenty five. We've read three articles from the
28:12
front page of the Washington Post. We have three more
28:15
to go. I'm actually going to start with the fifth
28:18
and sixth articles because the fourth article is quite long.
28:22
For interest of time, I will have to cut them off.
28:24
Next article. Trump signals full support for Musk in first
28:28
cabinet meeting, amid questions about whether the Musk is empowered
28:32
to fire those who do not comply with his email directives,
28:37
Trump said he supports musk mass firings and claimed that
28:41
the cabinet does too. Quote. If they aren't, I'd want
28:45
them to speak up unquote, he said. Here's the article.
28:48
President Donald Trump, amid tensions between Elon Musk and several
28:52
senior officials in an administration, used the first cabinet meeting
28:55
of his second term to align himself with the billionaire
28:58
who is attempting to radically downsized the federal workforce. Trump
29:03
immediately seated the top of the meeting to Musk, who
29:07
provided a summary of his efforts so far. Relegated to
29:11
a far left corner of the room in a row
29:13
of chairs behind the cabinet table, Musk sported a black
29:18
MAGA hat and a black T shirt and blows emblazon
29:22
with the phrase quote tech support unquote, which he said
29:26
was quote a literal description unquote of the work of
29:29
the USDOGE Service, which stands for a Department of Government Efficiency,
29:34
though it is not a cabinet level agency, but Musk
29:38
went on to outline how much far reaching the work
29:41
of dog has been and how necessary it is to
29:44
the nation's economic health. Trump later offered full thwarded support
29:48
of that mission. Quote, we simply cannot sustain as a
29:53
country two trillion dollar deficits. Just the interest on the
29:58
national debt now exceeds the Defense d Department spending unquote,
30:01
muskead quote. If this continues, the country will become de
30:05
facto bankrupt unquote. Trump also announced that Ukraine President Vlodimar
30:13
Zelensky would visit Friday to finalize a framework that would
30:17
grant the United States partial access to Ukraine's mineral resources,
30:21
and he detailed plans to start an initiative to sell
30:24
quote gold cards unquote to wealthy individuals looking for a
30:28
path to US citizenship. Trump spoke extensively on a wide
30:36
range of foreign and domestic topics during the sixty five
30:41
minute meeting, where he asked several of the most senior
30:44
members of the administration to expound on questions from reporters.
30:49
The President fielded several questions on the effort to end
30:53
Russia's war against Ukraine. He casts the minerals deal as
30:58
a repayment for usaid to Kiev during the war, and
31:01
said the United States would not be making future security
31:04
guarantees as a part of that deal. Reiterating inaccurate claims
31:08
that the United States had granted more an aid to
31:11
Ukraine than Europe, Trump said he believed Russian President Vladimir
31:16
Putin will have to make concessions to end the war,
31:19
but did not detail what those concessions might be. When
31:23
pressed about the message it would send to other US
31:26
adversaries if Russia is allowed to keep Ukrainian territory claimed
31:31
by force, Trump said the United States would quote do
31:34
the best we can unquote. Musk praised Trump for assembling
31:39
quote the best cabinet ever unquote, and thanks secretaries for
31:42
their support for his work. Of his work, he acknowledged
31:46
that his team had made mistakes in the course of
31:49
their work so far, but said they were working to
31:51
remedy them. An example he provided was the funding freeze
31:55
at the US Agency for International Development for Ebola prevention,
32:00
which he said was restored with quote no interruption unquote.
32:04
Addressing his directive for federal employees to email a list
32:08
of what they have done in the past week, a
32:11
mandate that was rebuked by more than a dozen federal agencies.
32:15
Must claim that it was designed to be a quote
32:18
pulse check review unquote and has been quote misinterpreted as
32:22
performance review unquote. Quote if you have two neurons, you
32:27
could reply to this email unquote. Musk added, explaining that
32:31
the DOGE team would use the emails to discern the
32:34
number of federal employees on the payroll who might be
32:37
dead or quote fictional employees unquote. He said that an
32:41
additional email would be sent to federal employees. Quote we
32:45
are literally trying to figure out are these people alive,
32:48
are they dead? And can they write an email? Which
32:51
I think is a reasonable expectation close the quote, Musk said.
32:56
Amid questions of whether Musk is empowered to fire those
33:00
who do not comply with his email directive, Trump sought
33:03
the tamp down acrimony, voicing support for the effort and
33:07
claiming that quote everyone at the table is very much
33:10
behind unquote the effort to quote. If they aren't, I'd
33:14
want them to speak up unquote, the President said. While
33:18
Musk has been the public facing leader of the dog initiative,
33:22
the White House revealed Tuesday that Amy Glysson Gleeson is
33:26
serving as the acting administrator Extrader administrator of the cost
33:31
cutting effort. Trump framed the first month of his second
33:35
term as a success, and he reinforced his mission to
33:38
test the limits of presidential power and exert executive authority,
33:42
affirming to reporters that his cabinet was bound to follow
33:46
his orders with quote no exceptions unquote. He asked Commerce
33:50
Secretary Howard Liepnik to expound on the administration's recently announced
33:54
plan to issue five million dollars quote gold card unquote
33:58
visas to pay down at one trillion dollar of US debt.
34:03
Lutnik compared the proposal to the longstanding EB five visa program,
34:08
which allows a direct payment in exchange for residency. Trump
34:13
said that twenty five percent tariffs on most imports from
34:16
Canada and Mexico, which he had previously paused, were set
34:20
to go into effect April two, and he re upped
34:23
his criticism of Canada as overly dependent on the United States.
34:28
He again said he wanted Canada to be the fifty
34:30
first state, mocking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as quote Governor
34:34
Trudeau unquote. The President declined to comment on whether he
34:39
would allow China to take Taiwan by force under his watch,
34:42
before adding that he has a quote great relationship unquote
34:46
with Chinese leader Jijinping. Quote we want them to come
34:51
in and invest unquote. Trump said, quote, we want them
34:54
to invest in the US. The relationship will have with
34:57
China will be very good one, but they won't be
34:59
able to take advantage of his closed to quote. Wednesday's
35:03
meeting featured less of the superlative laden displays of fealty
35:07
that defined some of the more memorable cabinet meetings during
35:10
Trump's first term. The routine meetings often went viral for
35:14
the over the top displays of loyalty or prolonged, scattershot
35:17
grievance sessions. At a June twenty seventeen cabinet gathering, senior
35:22
members of Trump's administration went around the table to offer
35:26
excessive admiration and praise for their boss, with Trump declaring
35:29
himself the most productive president of history after Franklin D. Roosevelt.
35:35
During an October twenty nineteen cabinet session, after then Housing
35:38
and Urban Development Secretary of Ben Carson opened with a prayer,
35:43
Trump held forth with reporters for seventy one minutes to
35:46
lash out at critics of his foreign policy decisions and predecessors,
35:50
at times segueing into unrelated self praise for his real
35:54
estate prowess and ability to fill arenas. That's the end
35:59
of that article. Will now go to the six art
36:01
of the article and come back to the fourth one.
36:04
US agencies told to submit proposals for leaving DC. Federal
36:09
agencies given deadline for plans to move offices out of
36:12
DC area. A Trump administration memo directed agency heads to
36:16
submit by April fourteen plans to move offices and bureaus
36:20
to quote less costly parts of the country unquote. Here's
36:24
the article. The Trump administration is giving federal agencies until
36:29
mid April to suggest relocations of bureaus and offices out
36:33
of the DC region, a move that would have would
36:36
have widespread impacts on the local economy. In a guidance
36:41
issued Wednesday to the heads of all executive departments and agencies,
36:45
the directors of the Office of Management and Budget and
36:48
the Offices of Personnel Management laid out steps for a
36:51
compliance with President Donald Trump's order to eliminate quote waste,
36:56
bloat and in celerity unquote. In the government that is
37:00
a directive to submit quote any proposed relocations of agency
37:04
bureaus and offices from Washington, d C. And for the
37:08
National Capital Region to less costly parts of the country
37:11
unquote by April fourteen. The move comes amid a broader
37:16
push by the administration to quote to cut its real
37:20
estate footprint and drastically reduce the size of the federal
37:23
government workforce. Spurred by Elon musk Us DOGE Service, Several
37:28
agencies have announced plans to slash some teams by as
37:32
much as ninety percent. Also on Wednesday, Trump issued an
37:37
executive order giving agencies seven days to submit an inventory
37:42
of their real property and thirty days to identify all
37:45
leases that can be terminated within sixty days. The order
37:50
stated the General Services Administration, the government's real estate arm,
37:55
must come up with a plan to dispose all property
37:58
deemed quote no longer needed. Un DC leaders, including Mayor
38:03
Muriel E. Bowser, Democrat, have expressed optimism that repurposed federal
38:08
buildings could boost the vibrancy and residential life of areas
38:12
near downtown and the National Mall that suffered from a
38:16
transition to remote working during the pandemic, but any large
38:22
scale effort to move government offices out of the Capital
38:26
Region could negatively affect the local economy. About forefifths of
38:31
the federal workforce live outside the DC area, but government
38:35
workers are disproportionately critical to the Capital Region's economy. About
38:40
three hundred and seventy three thousand federal employees live in
38:43
the district Maryland and Virginia, making up roughly fifteen percent
38:48
of the region's workforce. In the district, the federal government
38:53
accounts for twenty four point five percent of jobs and
38:56
twenty seven point five percent of wages. According to sport
39:00
last week from DC's Office of Revenue Analysis, federal jobs
39:04
make up three point three percent of Virginia's workforce and
39:08
four point six percent of Maryland's. Speaking at his first
39:12
cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump singled out the Education Department as
39:16
an agency that can significantly reduce its presence in the region.
39:21
He has previously suggested eliminating the department. Quote you go
39:25
around Washington and see all these buildings with the Department
39:29
of Education unquote, Trump said, quote, we want to move
39:33
education back to the states where it belongs. I should
39:36
have education Indiana should run their own education close quote.
39:41
In response to a request for comment Wednesday, Bowser's office,
39:45
which has been reluctant to criticize Trump, shared a statement
39:49
from the DC Office of the City Administrator. Quote, we
39:52
are currently reviewing all executive actions, orders, and federal agency
39:57
memos to be to better understand potential impacts unquote, the
40:01
statement said. Diana Park's, chair of the National Federal Development Association,
40:07
which represents landlords who leased to the federal government, said
40:11
a widespread cancellation of government leases would deliver a major
40:16
hit to commercial real estate in the region. Quote. It
40:19
would be devastating to most commercial landholders in the DC
40:24
market unquotes, he said, adding quote for all of it
40:27
to hit the market in a short time, it's just
40:29
supply and demand issue that will drive down the value
40:33
of that real estate considerably unquote. In his first term,
40:36
Trump made smaller moves to relocate federal offices out of DC.
40:41
For example, he moved the Bureau of Land Management headquarters
40:45
to Grand Junction, Colorado, but the move caused major issues
40:48
at the agency. More than eighty seven percent of effective
40:51
employees resigned or retired rather than moved. West A Washington
40:55
post analysis found an expert and former employees said the
41:00
agency of expertise and disrupted its operations. During his twenty
41:05
twenty four presidential campaign, Trump said he would move up
41:09
to one hundred thousand federal jobs quote out of Washington
41:13
to places filled with patriots who love America unquote, drawing
41:18
concern from regional leaders. Last month, Trump's appointee to lead
41:22
the Public Building Service, which oversees federal real estate, said
41:27
he was eyeing fifty percent reduction in government office space,
41:30
with a quote disproportionate amount unquote of the cuts coming
41:34
in the DC area. The whirlwind of activity in the
41:37
early weeks of the Trump administration has made it challenging
41:41
to assess the effects on the local economy. Any relocations
41:45
may not happen quickly. It can take years for the
41:49
government to dispose of building its own buildings it owns,
41:53
and not all federal leases can be quickly canceled. Recent
41:57
data from the GSA shows that fewer than half of
42:00
government leases can currently be terminated, said Marcy Owen's Test,
42:05
a former GSA official who now leads the Federal Lessore
42:09
Advisory Group at the commercial real estate firm CBRE. The
42:14
others are still in a least period during which cancelation
42:17
would be a breach of contract. Terry Klower, director of
42:23
the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, said
42:27
cuts to the DC area of federal workforce might force
42:30
the region to diversify its economy beyond the dependence on
42:34
the government. Quote. A smaller federal government means that to
42:39
be successful economically, this region needs to be more competitive
42:43
in a normal commercial sense unquote, he said. Wednesday's guidance
42:48
on relocations out of the region comes as part of
42:52
a broader directive to streamline the government. It includes a
42:56
March thirteen deadline for agencies to quote focus on initial
43:01
agency cuts and reductions unquote, including by listing any offices
43:05
that should be quote eliminated or consolidated unquote by April fourteenth.
43:11
Agencies are also directed to propose a quote future state
43:15
organizational chart unquote, and to submit any reductions to their
43:19
quote real estate footprint. Apart from the relocations. That's the
43:24
end of that article, and I was able to read
43:25
the entire article. Will now go to the fourth and
43:29
what will be our last article, which is the longest
43:31
article in this group, marked to die by South America's
43:36
most dangerous gang. The Posts spent parts of four months
43:40
following the Brazilian state attorney who has gone after the
43:44
country's increasingly powerful narcos and could pay with his life.
43:49
Here's the article. In the back of an armored vehicle,
43:53
sitting behind two men with assault rifles, Lincoln Gakia stared
43:58
out the window restive standstill. Traffic press pressed in from
44:03
every direction. His security detail had already won. There was
44:06
a high risk of assassination that day, and he felt
44:09
fully exposed. But Gakia, a prosecutor in sau Apolo State,
44:16
believed the risk was worth it. He had a speech
44:18
planned that August morning at a local law school, and
44:21
he almost never missed an opportunity to make his case
44:24
to the public. Time was running out. Quote Let's see
44:29
if we can jump this traffic unquote, Gakiah told his guards,
44:33
and his convoy of three armored vehicles sped off, signs blazing.
44:37
Since his death was ordered six years ago, the Primero
44:41
Commando dot Coptile considered South America's most powerful drug trafficking gang.
44:48
Gakia that's Ga k I way at Ya, has lived
44:52
behind a state security shield that rivals that of a
44:55
Brazilian president, armored cars, blast resistant doors, a row tating
45:00
cast of eighty two military police officers, but his shield
45:04
against the PCC will probably disappear. Brazil has no legislation
45:09
that guarantees protection to law enforcement officials upon retirement, even
45:13
those under threat, and Ghakaya, aged fifty eight, could soon
45:18
be left to face some of the world's most dangerous
45:20
criminals alone. Ghakaya said he has three options, death, exile,
45:27
or persuasion, so he was pursuing the third, making public
45:31
presentations and conducting media interviews all over the country advocating
45:36
for security to be provided to former officials who are
45:39
in the crosshairs of organized crime. The Washington Posts followed
45:43
the bookish prosecutor for parts of four months as he
45:46
traveled across Sao Paulo State, reckoning with his uncertain fate
45:51
and the consequences of his professional choices, a strained family life,
45:55
friendships lost, so much sacrificed, and for what. With his
45:59
country stand behind him now, the danger he faces has
46:03
become even more acute in recent years, as the PCC's
46:07
senior leaders have striven to show they can kill whomever
46:10
they want, whenever they want. In twenty twenty two, the
46:14
group assassinated a Paraguayan prosecutor while he was on his
46:18
honeymoon in Columbia. In twenty twenty three, its plot to
46:22
kidnap and execute a prominent Brazilian senator was thwarted just
46:26
in time. In October, prosecutors said four police officers had
46:31
been killed by a PCC's subgroup along the Suo Apollo coastline.
46:35
Then in November, a high profile witness who'd entered into
46:38
a plea deal with authorities to satisfy against the group,
46:42
was riddled with bullets at Brazil's busiest airport. The public
46:46
violence as a testament to the PCC's growing clout. With
46:50
more than forty thousand members, the international cartel brings in
46:54
roughly one billion dollars in annual revenue, according to the
46:58
Brazilian government. It has amassed and arsenal of military grade
47:02
weaponry and controls some of the continent's most lucrative drug routes.
47:07
It is now infiltrating Brazilian business and politics, seizing chunks
47:11
of the real estate and transportation industries, and sponsoring political
47:16
candidates across the country. Gakaia's aggressive investigations into the gang
47:22
have turned him into its greatest adversary. Court records show
47:26
the PCC has monitored his movements and dispatched detailed orders
47:30
to carry out his execution. Whether Brazil can protect him
47:34
represents a crucial stress test for the government and its
47:38
capacity to uphold the rule of law. His Motikate arrived
47:41
at the Saoul Polo School of Judges. Big men with
47:45
assault rifles spilled out of his convoy, while others stepped
47:48
out of the building, making a quick co coon around
47:51
the far shorter man. As he entered, Gakaia took his
47:55
place on the podium. More than three hundred people had
47:59
tuned into watch his presentation on what he called quote
48:03
Brazil's first mafia unquote. After an hour of tracing the
48:07
PCC's rise from prison gang to transnational force, Gakia or
48:12
Gakaya took what was now a familiar detour. The gang,
48:16
he said, had already killed one judge in sal Apollo.
48:19
Its aim, he said, was to eliminate officials who threatened
48:23
its power. Brazil, he said, needed to do more to
48:26
protect them. Upon retirement. Quote this is my ask, he said,
48:31
this is my lament unquote. There was a pause. The
48:35
few people in the room were quiet. Gakaya looked tired, resigned.
48:39
Quote sometimes I feel like Don Quixote unquote, he finally said.
48:44
Quote I think I'm in my own imaginary battles, with
48:47
my own windmills. I unfortunately fill a loan on this mission.
48:51
Close the quote. Gakaya understands the trajectory of his life
48:57
and career as a long highway toward an unp destination.
49:01
There were exit rams along the way. He ignored them all.
49:06
The first came in two thousand and five. Gakiyah was
49:09
then an anonymous state attorney in westerns Apollo, home to
49:13
Brazil's largest concentration of prisons. He learned that one inmate,
49:18
a local PCC leader, had been managing local street crime
49:21
while incarcerated. Quote I could have done nothing, unquote, said Gakia,
49:26
who never moved away from the region. Quote A lot
49:29
of people wouldn't have done anything unquote. But Gakia ordered
49:32
him into isolation for a year. It resulted in the
49:35
first order to have him killed. The experience, he said,
49:39
was terrifying. Gakia was out buying diapers shortly after the
49:43
birth of his second son. His phone rang a colleague
49:46
at the public minister told him he needed to get home.
49:49
Men were coming to kill him. Gakia rushed to his
49:52
house and waited for the threat to pass. Not knowing
49:55
what else to do, he secured judicial authorization and started
50:00
tapping the phone conversations of regional PCC leaders to get
50:05
ahead of any potential hit. The recordings sucked into him
50:09
into an unexplored underworld filled with strange codes and customs.
50:14
He said he was fascinated. Quote. I haven't stopped listening
50:17
since unquote, he said, not even when the PCC leader
50:21
who'd ordered him killed was expelled from the gang, expunging
50:24
Gakaya's death warrant, He again chose to continue. In two
50:28
thousand and eight, when he was offered a different posting,
50:31
Gakaya had planned on taking it to the relief of
50:34
his wife and mother, but then he was offered a
50:36
position focusing exclusively on organized crime. Quote. I didn't tell
50:40
my family, unquote, he said, quote, and I accepted unquote.
50:44
Most of the gang's senior leaders, including PCC's boss Marcos
50:48
Williams Erbas Camacho known as Marcola, were by then incarcerated
50:53
at facilities where Gakaya held administrative power. By investigating their activities,
50:59
he became one of the country's foremost experts on a
51:02
transnational gang run from behind bars. He issued a landmark
51:06
criminal complaint against the PCC in twenty thirteen. He counseled
51:11
governments and prisons on the gang's rising power. He pushed
51:15
for harsher punishment of its central command over the admonishments
51:19
of peers and superiors. In twenty eighteen, intelligence suggested that
51:24
the gang was planning an imminent, large scale attack to
51:28
break Marcola out of prison, involving armored vehicles, explosive devices,
51:33
rocket launchers, grenades, and quote dozens unquote of semi automatic
51:37
assault rifles. According to court records, the prison's employees were
51:42
to be executed. Seeing the complexity and ambition of the plan,
51:46
Khakaya said he decided it was time to break up
51:48
the gang's senior command, who had been incarcerated together for
51:52
more than a decade, but he hesitated. Quote I knew
51:55
the decision wouldin my life unquote, he said, Without telling
51:59
his family, Kikaias signed the order transferring the gang's twenty
52:02
two most senior leaders to solitary confinement and federal prisons.
52:06
Scattered across Brazil's interior. Marcola was sent to the remote
52:11
Amazon state run of Rondonia, separated for the first time
52:16
from everyone he knew within in weeks. The crime's boss's response,
52:20
written in a prison dispatch to the gang colon Lincoln
52:24
Gakaia was a dead man. Once a month, the Kakaia
52:28
family allows itself a social outing. They often go to
52:32
the same place, a red sauce joint at the local
52:35
shopping mall, where the manager reserves them a table in
52:37
a secluded section and where they can pretend for an
52:40
hour or two that their life is still normal. Driving
52:44
to that monthly encounter, cutting through western South Apollo's Bucolic countryside,
52:49
Gakaia thought of his wife and children. He said he
52:52
believed in personal responsibility and felt no pity for himself.
52:56
The choice to go after the PCC, whether out of
52:59
ambition or sense of mission, had been his alone, but
53:03
he knew his loved ones had suffered in equal measure.
53:06
One day, shortly after learning he'd been marked to die,
53:09
he'd ask his wife and his children, then adolescens, to
53:12
his office. He turned on his computer, called up Marcola's
53:17
order decreeing his death, and showed it to them, He said,
53:20
he tried to explain what it meant. Quote, our life
53:23
is about to change unquote, he recalled, telling them his
53:27
younger son started to weep, not understanding, his wife, Carol
53:31
went to console him, then turned to Gakhia. There was
53:34
fury in her eyes. He remembered. The look from Carol,
53:37
normally so calm and understanding, took him aback. Then she
53:40
said something he can't forget. Quote, look what you've done
53:44
to our family, Lincoln unquote. Now, all these years later,
53:48
after they'd lost touch with friends, after Carol had withdrawn
53:52
into reclusion, after they discovered drones monitoring their house, After
53:56
Gakia said he'd been told not to pick its kids
53:59
up from school because his security detail made other children uncomfortable,
54:03
Kakaya pulled into the shopping mall parking lot. Alone with
54:07
his thoughts. He stepped out of the armored vehicle, the
54:11
guns surrounding him as he strode toward the mall. Interests
54:14
onlookers hurried out of the way. Quote who's that unquote,
54:17
one person said, Quote the prosecutor unquote. Another answered, he
54:22
found his family already seated. The guards loomed nearby, hands
54:27
on their assault rifles. The Gakias tried to ignore them,
54:30
but it was impossible. Quote. Things are better because you're safe, unquote,
54:35
Carol said, quote, but they're worse because we can't leave
54:38
the house. We can't travel wherever we go all of
54:41
the police follow quote. I can't leave the state unquote,
54:45
he said. He again explained, quote because the police can't
54:49
accompany us outside the Saalpollow state unquote. Quote. There are
54:53
so many things we can't do now that we used
54:56
to unquote. She said, quote, and I'm trying to get
54:59
used to all of this because it's your profession. It's
55:02
the profession you chose, and I'm your wife, and I'll
55:05
go with you wherever you go. But there's this whole unquote.
55:09
Carol began to weep. Kakaya watched her wordless, look what
55:13
you've done to our family. Lincoln. Their food arrived as
55:17
people carried on around them, enjoying another afternoon out. The
55:20
Gakaiyas quickly ate their meals, then asked for the check
55:23
and followed their police escort home. Kakaya stood outside his
55:30
office door one December morning, waiting as a security guard
55:34
performed the daily sweep for bombs or a hidden assassin
55:39
absently watching a large monitor showing security footage from dozens
55:43
of cameras. He seemed preoccupied and tired. Two years. That
55:48
was how long Kakaya had until he planned to retire.
55:53
That was how much time he had to figure out
55:55
how to insulate his family from a gang that he
55:57
feared had grown even more brazen. We'll have to cut
56:03
it off. Then. This concludes the reading of The Washington
56:06
Post for today, Thursday, February twenty seven, twenty twenty five.
56:10
Your reader today has been Mark Webster. If you have
56:13
any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program, please feel
56:18
free to call us at eighty five nine four two
56:21
two six three nine zero. Thank you for listening, and
56:25
please and now please stay tuned for continued programming on
56:29
Radio I