Trump's Speech In Davos, DOJ Subpoenas For Minnesota, SCOTUS Federal Reserve Case

0:00So, Layla, since our star turn in Hollywood. Yes, yes. I've been thinking about, like, your intro line for when they do the real hosts of NPR. What is it? At work, I read leads. In life, I take the lead and everyone else follows. Oh, my God, I love it. Huh? I love it! I feel like NPR hosts on reality TV would be very boring. Oh, it would be riveting. European leaders and Canada were united in their message to the U.S. at Davos. Stay away from Greenland. So what will President Trump say today in his speech at the World Economic Forum after vowing there's no going back on his threats to dominate the territory?

0:41I'm Leila Faldil, that's A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. The Justice Department issued subpoenas to several of Minnesota's top elected leaders. The DOJ alleges that these officials, including the governor and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, are interfering with immigration enforcement. But those local leaders say this is retribution for pushing back on violent federal tactics that are scaring and endangering Minnesotans. And the Supreme Court hears arguments over the president's power to fire a sitting governor of the Federal Reserve. What could it mean for the independence of the central banks?

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2:09This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts. There is a lot of fear these days that AI could be a bubble. So, Nick, is it? I don't know. Right. It is hard to tell. But there are some clues that economists say might kind of sort of help us predict bubbles. On the Planet Money podcast, the dark art of bubble detection. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. President Trump has been speaking about affordability for weeks and planned to focus on that in his speech today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. But the summit is being overshadowed by the president's desire for Greenland and his threats of tariffs on eight European countries if he doesn't get his way.

2:55So when Trump takes the stage in Davos, world leaders will be listening closely for signs of where this confrontation with allies goes next. NPR's Danielle Kurtzlaven has been following it all. We've known, Danielle, that Donald Trump sometimes weaves around in speeches. So what's on the agenda today? Well, he said he's been planning to talk about the economy and specifically, as he put it, how well the United States is doing. And the White House had said that Trump would specifically address housing policy today. But it's nevertheless true that, like you say, everyone just wants to hear about Greenland at this point because Trump has been upending relations with many key allies over Greenland.

3:34that in the process he's been threatening tariffs, complaining about not getting the Nobel Peace Prize, criticizing NATO, and posting screenshots of his texts with world leaders. Now yesterday at a White House press briefing, Trump did strike a less combative tone on Greenland. I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy and where we're going to be very happy. But we need it for security purposes. But of course, this is Trump. We have no idea if that means any change in his attitude. But at any rate, he also mentioned he has a slew of meetings set up in Davos about Greenland.

4:10He spoke for more than 90 minutes yesterday. I mean, what ground did he cover there? Well, he covered all the ground. He really rambled in those 90 minutes. Now, it was the one year anniversary of Trump taking office again. And so he came out with this thick sheaf of papers and he said it was a book of his accomplishments over the past year. But really, he just kept veering into this extended riff, parts of which we've heard many times before. He focused heavily on Minnesota. He criticized Minnesotans who are protesting ISIS presence in the wake of the deadly shooting. And he also, once again, railed against the state's Somali population, making this claim without evidence.

4:50The Somalians vote as one group, even if they're not citizens. and they vote as one group and, you know, you get 600 ,000 votes against you. They all ought to get the hell out of here. They're bad for our country. Now, he did also hype the U.S. economy, including making exaggerated claims about inflation and the impact of his tariffs. But he didn't really follow up on all of those plans he's proposed in recent weeks to help people with affordability. And there was stuff to talk about there. Just last night, the White House released an executive order aimed at preventing large institutional investors from buying homes.

5:26So policies were in the works. He just didn't really bring them up. All right. So trying to put all of this together, everything we just mentioned, his press conference, the trip to Davos. I mean, what does all of this mean? Politically or practically, what's his aim? Well, on foreign policy, he clearly enjoys being on the world stage and setting the agenda there. And crucially, without some of the guardrails he had in his first term, he's just doing what he wants on foreign policy. So he's pursuing that belligerent policy that's alienating allies. It's not popular domestically. But then when you take that with his aggressive tactics in Minnesota, it's all continually drawing attention, including his own, away from things like the domestic economy that he ostensibly wants to focus on.

6:09That's NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

6:19The Justice Department has issued subpoenas to multiple public officials in Minnesota in an investigation alleging they are impeding the work of immigration agents. Yeah, and this is happening as the Trump administration is cracking down and saying it's targeting undocumented immigrants. At times, it's also targeted U.S. citizens in Minnesota. And doctors there now say immigrants are avoiding vital medical care. NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran is in Minneapolis. So, Sergio, DOJ subpoenas served to Minnesota Democrats. What's that about? Yes, the grand jury subpoenas went out to several local and state leaders.

6:55They include Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, State Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry, and St. Paul Mayor Collie Herr. The Department of Justice accuses those officials of conspiring to impede the Feds on immigration enforcement. Now, you'll remember a comment Mayor Fry made after the deadly shooting of Rene Macklin-Good by an ICE agent two weeks ago. Fry called on ICE agents to get out of Minneapolis. And Governor Walz encouraged residents to protest peacefully and to record the operations carried out by immigration authorities. He wants the public to help create a database with evidence for future prosecutions.

7:30Leaders with the Trump administration said yesterday that Walls and Frye are using heated rhetoric and accusations to distract from the facts. I mean, DOJ subpoenas are serious stuff. So what are Minnesota officials saying? You know, they have suggested they are unfazed by these subpoenas. They say it's an intimidation tactic by the Trump administration, one where they're weaponizing the Justice Department. Mayor Frey said, quote, we should not have to live in a country where people feared that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with, end quote.

8:03And so part of the reason state officials have pushed back is because of what they say is ICE's illegal actions in their state. Yeah, you know, U.S. citizens have been detained, and ICE agents have intimidated people who follow them to alert neighbors of their presence. Federal agents have used pepper spray on protesters, and they're pulling people from their cars. However, Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol chief in charge of the operations, justified the behavior of his agents in a press conference yesterday. What we do is legal, ethical, and moral. Everything we do every day is legal, ethical, moral, well-grounded in law.

8:37Last week, a federal judge ruled that ICE agents cannot arrest, pepper spray, or retaliate against peaceful protesters and observers. Now, you've been there for the last two weeks. I mean, tell us how these operations affect the day-to-day lives of people there. It's incredible. I mean, it feels like there are agents everywhere, and you can see them in residential neighborhoods, the bus stops, parking lots. And two things are notable here. One, some businesses are losing money big time. I talked to Ricardo Hernandez. He owns 11 Mexican restaurants in the region. Todos estamos a un 60 % de bajos.

9:11He says he's lost 60 % in revenue since the beginning of the year. And just so you have an idea, during the height of the COVID pandemic, Hernandez's sales went down by just 10%. Hernandez says if this continues, businesses will have to shut down for good. Medical care has also been affected. Dozens of Minnesota doctors in a news conference yesterday said patients afraid of being picked up by ICE are staying home. They say pregnant women are missing prenatal visits. They worry about ICE and patient privacy. and one doctor said a mom was afraid to seek care for her baby who was having trouble breathing for fear she'd be detained.

9:48Wow. All right. That's NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran in Minneapolis. Thanks a lot. You're welcome.

10:01The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments today in a case that has Wall Street and the financial markets in a near panic. At issue is President Trump's efforts to break with 112 years of law and precedent by firing Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board appointed by President Biden. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg has more on this. So, Nina, let's just set the stage for this case being argued right after a huge blow up between President Trump and Jerome Powell, the Fed Reserve Board chairman, who was actually appointed Fed chair in 2018 by Trump himself. Well, Trump has been pressuring Powell for months, trying to get him to lower interest rates more quickly.

10:39This is, after all, an election year, and that would be very helpful to the president and his party. But Powell has proceeded with caution. And then a week and a half ago, the Trump administration hit the Fed with grand jury subpoenas that threatened Powell with criminal indictment for his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. testimony that dealt with cost overruns at two Federal Reserve buildings being renovated for the first time since the 1930s. And the normally reticent Powell finally blew. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.

11:24Indeed, Congress established the Federal Reserve Board 112 years ago after a series of financial panics in the late 1800s. In an effort to stabilize the economy, the legislative branch sought to shield monetary policy from political manipulation by establishing limited terms for Fed governors and barring them from being fired, except for bad behavior. Yeah, that video statement by Jerome Powell was quite the thing, because normally we don't really hear from the Fed chair, but we're hearing a lot from him. Okay, so what is the legal question at the Supreme Court today? The issue is at least superficially quite narrow.

12:02Trump's lawyers will tell the Supreme Court that he's not asking for a free pass to fire Cook. He's firing her for cause. Namely, the administration claims that she committed mortgage fraud in obtaining loans on two different properties because she listed two homes as her primary residences, but at different times. The charges against her were lodged initially by Bill Pulte, a Trump ally who, as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, referred Cook's alleged misdeeds to the Justice Department for potential prosecution. Cook, for her part, denies any wrongdoing whatsoever. Her lawyers point to recent reporting that four of Trump's cabinet members, plus his deputy attorney general, and even Pulte's own relatives have recently made applications for multiple mortgages similar to Cook's without any suggestion of wrongdoing.

12:58OK, so what is Trump arguing? The Trump administration argues that once the president has determined that he has cause to fire a Fed board member, that decision is not reviewable by any court. And that's a big caveat that essentially would hand the president, this president and future presidents, unrestricted power to fire members of the Fed and replace them with their personal picks. That's NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg. Nina, thanks. Thank you.

13:33And that's Up First for Wednesday, January 21st. I'm Amy Martinez. And I'm Leila Faldil. The news you hear on Up First is possible because of support from listeners like you. When you give to your local NPR station, you help keep journalists on the ground here at home and around the world. You can make a donation at donate.npr.org slash upfirst. And for more news and conversations, listen to our radio show, Morning Edition. You can find it on your local NPR station or at npr.org. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Rebecca Metzler, Gigi Duban, Chris Nadev-Kalamour, Mohamed Elbardisi, and Alice Wolfley.

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