Trump Cabinet, DHS Funding, CPAC, Trump and Iran

0:00Hey, were you at the meeting where I talked about the NCAA bracket from 1693? No. Oh. From 1693? This was on social media the other day. This showed the NCAA tournament bracket from 1693. And there's just two teams, Harvard and William and Mary, each on their little line. And then it goes forward to the one line where you would write the winner. That's pretty funny. The Senate reached a late night agreement to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security. A 42-day standoff ended without changing the rules for immigration enforcement. Airport security agents have a chance at a paycheck. How many are, Tinez?

0:36That is Steve Inskeep, and this is a first from NPR News. President Trump threatened to blow up power plants if Iran didn't obey by a deadline he set. Now, he's extended that deadline twice. I'm the opposite of this one. I don't care. U.S. stocks had their worst one-day plunge since the start of the war. Or how does the president find an exit? Also, it's time for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. In recent years, it was all about Trump. This time, the president will skip the event as some loyalists oppose the war in Iran. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

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3:36The Senate has voted to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security. If the House follows, it would end a 42-day standoff over immigration enforcement. The deal does not fund the parts of DHS that deal with immigration enforcement, and it does not include any reforms such as banning ICE officers from wearing masks. The partial government shutdown has forced tens of thousands of employees to work without pay or quit. That includes TSA agents creating long waits at some airports. I've seen some of them myself. NPR congressional reporter Sam Greenglass is here. Sam, good morning. Good morning, Steve.

4:10How did this unfold? So around 2 a.m. last night, the Senate agreed to fund almost all of the department through September. That includes money for TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and cybersecurity. But the agreement does not include any more money for ICE and Border Patrol. Democrats have continued to refuse to fund those agencies as they try to extract changes to immigration enforcement tactics after federal officers killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Okay, so if I understand you, the compromise is that Republicans don't give any ground in immigration, while Democrats at least don't have to give their votes directly to immigration enforcement.

4:48Is that it? Yeah, you know, yesterday's Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans had made their last offer, fund all of DHS, including ICE, except the division responsible for enforcement and removal operations. Still, all day I watched as senators involved in these talks were literally hustling back and forth between the Senate chamber and Thune's office, struggling to ink a deal. And meanwhile, the situation at the nation's airports was becoming more untenable. untenable. TSA officer absences topped 40 % at some major airports this week, and no one wanted to risk being blamed for what was happening.

5:25Then last night, President Trump said he was declaring a national emergency and ordering TSA agents to be paid anyway. It wasn't initially clear where that money would come from and now whether he'll sign that still. Not long after, Thune agreed to this vote that would fund DHS with no funding at all for ICE. Is this, in the end, a defeat for Democrats? I mean, changes to immigration tactics was the goal of this partial shutdown for Democrats, and they did not get that. And some Democrats do think they lose leverage as soon as DHS is funded, because even though the Senate did not approve funding for ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans in Congress already gave ICE$75 billion last summer.

6:09So that agency is pretty insulated from an ongoing funding lapse. Democrats can say, though, that they held firm in opposing this. What happens with the talks about immigration changes, though? Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said this morning that Democrats will keep pushing for reforms. The White House has previously expressed a willingness to adopt some of Democrats' demands, like requiring body cameras and limiting operations in places like schools and hospitals. Though the White House has continued to say that two of Democrats' non-negotiables are non-starters, banning officers from wearing masks and requiring judicial warrants to enter homes.

6:47And some Republicans are now indicating the window to negotiate may be over. Where does the president stand? Just a few days ago, Trump was insisting that DHS funding be tied to his voting law overhaul he's been pushing called the Save America Act. That is not how this played out. Top Republicans offered the president another way to address voting law, a party-line budget reconciliation vote. But that isn't a sure bet. And so even while the worst of this shutdown could be coming to an end today, Congress is heading on a two-week recess, leaving unresolved some thorny debates about immigration enforcement and voting.

7:22Sam, you seem pretty chipper for someone who covered a story that lasted into the early hours of the morning. Thank you very much. Sleep soon. Thanks, Steve. And your Sam Greenglass.

7:38President Trump set a deadline for Iran. Open the Strait of Hormuz, or the United States would bomb Iranian power plants. He has now extended that deadline twice. And so I gave them a 10-day period. They asked for seven. You're going to say, oh, Trump's a terrible negotiator. They asked for seven. And I said, I'm going to give you 10. That was Trump calling into the five on Fox News last night. The strait is still not open, but Trump is looking for an exit from the war he calls an excursion. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith has been covering the war and the president's overseeing of that war.

8:14Tam, good morning. Good morning. OK, so yesterday there's this cabinet meeting and other of these long televised cabinet meetings, and Trump faced some questions about what he's doing and how he's trying to get out of the war. What's he saying? Well, you might remember earlier this week, President Trump said that Iran had given him a present. Well, yesterday he revealed what it was. He said he had been looking for proof that the Iranians involved in indirect talks with the U.S. were actually well-placed and able to speak for the regime. So he said they offered to let some oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

8:49Eight big tankers are going loaded up with oil right through. And I said, well, I guess they were right. and they were real. And I think they were Pakistani flagged. And I said, well, I guess we're dealing with the right people. As a release valve for global oil markets, that many ships doesn't really make much of a dent. But Trump is running with it as a significant sign of progress. And I should note that Trump's announcement of yet another extension came after U.S. stocks ended their worst day since the war with Iran started a month ago now. Do you have any more clarity about whether and how the two sides are talking?

9:30Not really. Iran has downplayed talks. Pakistan, which is serving as an intermediary, has acknowledged that indirect talks are happening. Trump's Mideast envoy Steve Whitcoff said during that cabinet meeting I was in yesterday that the U.S. has a 15-point action list that forms a framework for a peace deal. Iran has its own set of demands, and we don't have a lot of specifics, but they don't appear to be close. Whitcoff said Iran is looking for an off-ramp. Trump insisted that he isn't desperate. I'm the opposite of desperate. I don't care. In fact, we have other targets we want to hit before we leave.

10:14We're hitting them on a daily basis. I can't talk about specifics. The president did, though, previously talk about demanding unconditional surrender for Iran. What is he saying now? Yeah. So in that Fox News interview yesterday, Trump was asked directly, what does winning this war look like? And he said the U.S. has already won the war militarily. And then he went on a five-minute weave that included insults for two top Democratic politicians, complaints about the 2020 election being stolen, a discussion of how much he dislikes Fox News polls, how great the operation in Venezuela was, more about polls, and then ended by saying that he is protecting the country from lunatics with a nuclear weapon.

11:03Earlier during that cabinet meeting, he also spent three minutes and 27 seconds talking about how Sharpie pins are better and cheaper than the fancy ballpoints used by other presidents. All of this while America is at war and average prices for a gallon of regular gas are bumping up against$4. And Pierce Tamer Keith, thanks so much. You're welcome.

11:33Dallas, Texas, is hosting this week's Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. In recent years, it's been more like TPAC, a fan club for President Trump. The organization has promoted Trumpist ideas and right-wing thought in the U.S. and around the world. So what's happening this year? NPR political reporter Elena Moore has been on the scene. Elena, good morning. Good morning, Steve. Glad you're in Dallas. Love it there. What's it like to be at the conference, though? Well, like many conservative conferences, supporters are walking around sporting different MAGA merch. You know, I saw the red hats, saw some sequined jackets and lots of fan art and signs.

12:08Sequined jackets. OK, go on. But frankly, you know, what stood out is who's not here. President Trump is typically the main attraction. But this year he's skipping CPAC. And when he spoke at the event last year, he was newly sworn in and had this pledge about his second term. It's my hope that my greatest legacy will be as a peacemaker, not a conqueror. I don't want to be a conqueror. So this year, the conversation feels pretty different. We're now at nearly a month since the U.S. began strikes against Iran, and it's been dividing Trump's historically loyal base. Yeah, there are some, not all, but some major figures in that base.

12:47people who've spoken at CPEC in the past who've turned against the war. So how's it sitting with people who are attending? Yeah, well, this is not a crowd of swing voters. We should say that most attendees are diehard supporters of the president. Jeff Hadley is one of them. He drove down from Raleigh, North Carolina to be here. He told me that Iran has been a threat for decades, and he argues only Trump had the guts to address it. Take a listen. He's the one that's going to do it. And I think a lot of people feel more confident in him doing it than a lifelong politician that wants to follow the rules of their party.

13:21And Steve, that's pretty consistent with GOP voters elsewhere right now. A new Pew Research Center poll finds that nearly eight in 10 Republicans approve of Trump's handling of the war. But in that same poll, if you look at parts of the coalition that helped Trump win in 2024, like young voters and independents, there is less support for this war. If Trump said he was a peacemaker the last time he showed up at CPAC, what are people who are attending this year thinking? Yeah, I mean, there is a spectrum. Obviously, there are outspoken critics inside the party. I'm thinking of people like Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly.

13:55But here at CPAC, even for those with reservations, there's a willingness to give Trump some time. Andrew Belcher feels that way. He's a student at Miami University in Ohio, And he told me he believes Trump is more prepared than past presidents to handle this moment. But I think he understands the political risk of if this were to fail, this is the nail in the coffin for the rest of his presidency and will be his reputation for the rest of time. I think the American people do not want another failed and long term regime change war. Does this meeting give you any insight as to future leaders, post Trump leaders of the party?

14:32I mean, talking to supporters, they mention some of the same big names we frequently cover when we think about rising stars in this party. Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. But Steve, I think CPAC is frankly a reminder that Trump is in many ways what is holding this GOP together. And when he's not there, it's unclear who fills that role. And parapolitical reporter Elena Moore is there among the sequined jackets. Elena, thanks so much. Thanks, Steve. And before we go, we've got something big to tell you about. Later today, on Up First, we share the very first episode of NPR's newest podcast, Newsmakers.

15:08This show brings you the biggest interviews from NPR. Our first guest is Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who's a rising star in the Democratic Party and who's not running for president right now, but who has thought a lot about the job. He'd like to take away some of the power that he says Trump abused. Wes Moore is also a veteran of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, the same unit the president just ordered to the Middle East. We'll have our conversation right here in the Up First feed this afternoon. And you can also watch Newsmakers and subscribe on NPR's YouTube channel or on Spotify at npr.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

15:46And that's Up First for this Friday, March 27th. I'm Steve Inske. And I'm A. Martinez. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Rebecca Metzler, Kelsey Snell, Jason Breslow, Alice Wolfley, and Taylor Haney. was produced by Zia Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zoe Van Genhoven. Our technical director is Carly Strange. And our executive producer is Jay Shaler. Join us again on Monday. Can you believe that all of those people you just named put up with us? And they can't make us sound any better than we already do. There you go. Wait, what are you talking about?

16:23That's uncharacteristically immodest for you, sir. What are you talking about?

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