Trump Issues Travel Ban, Musk Criticizes Budget Bill, Iran Nuclear Talks Latest

0:01President Trump issued a new travel ban. The strength of the restrictions we're applying depends on the severity of the threat posed. As in his first term, the president targeted numerous countries. So what's the goal? I'm Leila Faudel, that's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Elon Musk attacked a Republican budget plan. At least one Republican senator agrees with his assessment that the U.S. is borrowing too much. Now he's stepped away from the administration. he's basically doing what I'm doing. He's telling people the truth. With few votes to lose, how do Republicans manage the dissent in their own ranks?

0:40And the U.S. and Iran talk about a nuclear deal. President Trump once canceled a nuclear agreement, favors a new one, and brought in a third player. Is there some way Russia could help? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

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2:17Get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50 % off and unlimited access to 25 language courses. Learn more at rosettastone.com slash NPR. When President Trump signed a travel ban eight years ago, it was one of his signature moves, and it caused nationwide convulsions. Yeah, Trump had explicitly promised to ban Muslims from the country, and he had to change the ban several times to get it past the courts. This time around, the president's new travel ban is just one of several controversial moves he made on a particular Wednesday in June. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez covered the first Trump term and is covering the second and is with us once again.

2:55Franco, good morning. Good morning, Steve. What did the president sign this time? Yeah, Trump signed an order that will completely stop the travel to the U.S. by the citizens of 12 countries. Now, they include Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Citizens from seven other countries will be subject to partial bans. They include Cuba, Sierra Leone, and Venezuela. All this goes into effect on Monday. What was the justification? Well, the justification for such a sweeping ban was that the White House, at least, says the action was needed to protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks and that these countries lacked the right vetting capabilities.

3:35In a video statement, Trump actually cited the firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado, as an example of why this was necessary. In the 21st century, we've seen one terror attack after another carried out by foreign visa overstayers from dangerous places all over the world. Now, Steve, I do want to note that that man charged with that attack is actually from Egypt, which is not among the countries listed in the travel ban. Okay. I am just remembering eight years ago, this happened very early in the administration. It happened rather abruptly. There was chaos at airports. There were immediate lawsuits.

4:11What has the response been this time? Yeah, I will say advocates were ready and they were waiting for this to come, you know, already taking action now that it's here. They acknowledge that while the Trump administration did make some exceptions, such as carving out an exception for Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the war in Afghanistan, there are still tens of thousands of Afghans, especially FAMI members, who will not be allowed to enter the U.S. under the new ban. I'm glad you're with us because you were around for this last time. How did the first round of travel bans work out?

4:45Yeah, you kind of mentioned it. I mean, it was very, very controversial because of the backstory of that first travel ban. You talked about the mayhem. I mean, during Trump's first campaign for the presidency, Trump called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. As you noted, there was all the chaos at the airports. And also, you know, our listeners will remember all the protests as well. The ban did face legal challenges and was blocked by the court, but Trump made all sorts of revisions. And eventually, the Supreme Court did approve the third iteration of the ban.

5:22President Biden rescinded it, though, on his first day in office. Now it's back. Oh, and a little bit more expansive, apparently, than the last time. This is not the only thing the president did yesterday. He escalated his fight with Harvard University. In what way? Yeah, he signed another proclamation to suspend visas for new international students at Harvard. The White House says it's a move to, quote, safeguard national security. Now, it's unclear, though, what force this order will actually have, because last week a federal judge ordered the administration not to make any changes to Harvard's student visa program.

5:56I do think it's safe, Steve, to say this proclamation will be appealed. And Pierce Franco Ordonez, thanks for the insights. Really appreciate it. Thank you, Steve. Now, the president issued one more proclamation that we're following. He ordered the attorney general and others to look into one of the theories that he has promoted on social media. Trump is questioning President Biden's use of an auto pen to sign some measures while in office. Trump alleges that Biden, quote, lacked the capacity to exercise his presidential authority, and so he wants to know who did. President Biden has responded to this saying, quote, I made the decisions during my presidency about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations.

6:34Any suggestion that I didn't, Biden says, is ridiculous and false.

6:47Senate Republicans started work this week on a multi-trillion dollar bill to enact the heart of President Trump's domestic agenda. They faced little turbulence from one of the president's most high-profile allies, Elon Musk. On Tuesday, Musk went on social media, X, the one he happens to own, and criticized the Republican bill as a, quote, disgusting abomination. and that is drawing new attention to the sheer size of the bill and what it could mean for the nation's debts. With me now is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Good morning, Claudia. Good morning, Leila. Okay, so we know Elon Musk spent big last year to help get the president elected.

7:25Then he was the face of the administration's cuts to federal workers and federal agencies before recently stepping back. So now we see him railing against Trump's signature domestic policy bill. What's happening here? What's his objection? Right. In one word, cost. Musk, as you mentioned, wanted to slash government spending, but he says the GOP bill does the exact opposite. He went as far as sharing a promotional image yesterday on a social media site, X, from the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill. And so he's really trying to get the word out there in the most dramatic ways that this can't happen.

8:02And it's emboldened fiscal conservatives like Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. He was on our All Things Considered yesterday, arguing that Musk is well-respected and defended his efforts to tank the bill. People recognize him as a very smart individual who did a fabulous job with Doge, exposing waste, fraud, and abuse. And now he's stepped away from the administration. He's basically doing what I'm doing. He's telling people the truth. And by his truth, he's one of the senators who early on, even before Musk spoke out, said he wasn't going to support this bill. And he's not alone. There are others, and Senate Republicans have a razor-thin margin, and they can only afford to lose three votes.

8:42And how are Republican leaders responding to Musk's criticisms? They say the criticisms are flat wrong, and that the GOP plan would instead grow the economy and cut spending. A key figure in all of this is Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who, along with other Republican and members of the Senate Finance Committee were at the White House meeting with President Trump yesterday about the bill. He was asked to respond to Musk's remarks. What he stated was that he thought it was something that would add to the deficit, and we believe the opposite. And Thune added there's no turning back at this point.

9:18There's too much at stake as this legislation carries the bulk of Trump's domestic agenda. Okay, Claudia, they say that, but the bill would grow the deficit, right? Right. That's the projection. Yesterday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office scored the current version of the bill that passed the House last month. They found it would add$2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. And they said the biggest driver of that is extending a tax cut program passed during Trump's first term. It also includes dramatic cuts to Medicaid as part of a Republican effort to pay for this legislation.

9:55But the CBO says even as they force 11 million Americans to lose their health insurance, it falls way short of paying for the bill's price tag. And we're seeing some Republicans push back against that CBO analysis. What's going on there? Republicans are saying that the CBO has been wrong before. They also say their numbers fail to account for economic growth they expect to come from the bill. They also say the agency has become politically driven. This is a nonpartisan office, so a reminder of the kind of politicization that even a nonpartisan office can face these days. And their findings also mirror other studies by other nonpartisan groups that show similarly how this bill would balloon the deficit.

10:40So all a signal that Republicans are determined to make this happen regardless. NPR's Claudia Grisalis. Thank you, Claudia. Thank you.

10:53President Trump has accused Iran of, quote, slow walking talks to reach a deal over a nuclear program. The U.S. wants to arrive at terms that prevent Iran from ever building a nuclear weapon. Iran denies that it wants one. But Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says the U.S. proposal was against his country's own interests. So where does that leave Trump's idea of a quick deal? NPR international correspondent Jackie Northam is with us. Jackie, good morning. Good morning, Steve. So what is the sticking point here between the two countries? Well, the key sticking point is whether Iran should be allowed to enrich some uranium for civilian purposes, you know, and that's to run like power plants and for medical use.

11:35And there have been reports in recent days that the U.S. proposed a compromise whereby Iran could enrich low-grade uranium but give up its stockpiles of higher enriched uranium, which could be used to make a nuclear weapon. This proposal has not been made public, so NPR has not been able to independently verify it. But, you know, shortly after those reports came out, Trump posted on social media that there would be no enrichment in any deal with Iran. So it's really unclear where the U.S. is on this. Unclear where the U.S. stands. Where does Iran stand? Well, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, yesterday dismissed any notion that Iran would stop all enrichment, saying it goes 100 % against Iran's sovereignty.

12:19And, you know, he's repeatedly said the country has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. The foreign minister, Abbas Arachi, said the U.S. proposal had many ambiguities and unanswered questions. You know, experts I've spoke to say Iran may well be stalling on striking a deal. You know, it's in a very weak position. Its economy is wrecked by years of sanctions. And now it's possibly facing an Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities. Oh, interesting. And amid all of this, President Trump gets on the phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, and I gather they discussed Iran. What leverage would Russia have here?

12:56Right. Trump said after that call with Putin that the Russian leader had agreed to participate in the nuclear discussions with Iran to help bring out the talks to, quote, a rapid conclusion. Moscow does have some sway with Tehran. They have some arms deals and fought together in Syria. And they are certainly united in their anti-Western stance. But the two sides aren't tight allies. And this issue of maintaining its right to enrich uranium for civilian use is paramount to Iran. So it's unlikely Moscow could change that. Let me come back to something that you mentioned briefly. You said possibly facing an Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities.

13:34Of course, Israel isn't going to announce that. It'll either happen or it won't happen. But what really, what are the odds? How likely is it that Israel would take that dramatic step? Well, a couple months ago, Trump confirmed reports. they told the Israelis not to attack and that he wants to have a deal with Iran rather than any sort of military activities. But, you know, Israel has made it clear they see a nuclear-capable Iran as an existential threat. And a UN watchdog has warned that, you know, since Trump pulled out of an accord to limit Iran's nuclear program in its first term, Iran has greatly increased its stockpile of enriched uranium and now has enough to theoretically make one bomb.

14:14Wow. Okay. And a good reminder that the president pulled out of a nuclear agreement, the very same president who now wants into a nuclear agreement. Jackie, thanks. Exactly. Thanks very much, Steve. NPR International Affairs correspondent, Jackie Northam.

14:31And that's Up First for this Thursday, June 5th. I'm Steve Inske. And I'm Leila Faudil. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR. We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day are Consider This colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you. Learn about a big story of the day in less than 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Today's Up First was edited by Krishnadev Kallamer, Jason Breslow, James Heider, Lisa Thompson, and Arzu Resvani. It was produced by Ziad Bach, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas.

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