US & Iran Trade Retaliatory Strikes, Primary Results In Four States, ICE Funding Bill

0:02The U.S.

0:03Ayesha Rascoe:attacked Iran, calling it a response to a helicopter that went down.

0:06Rachel Martin:Iran then struck U.S. bases in response to the U.S. response. What does this mean for talks to end the war?

0:13Ayesha Rascoe:I'm Michelle Martin, that's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News.

0:20Ayesha Rascoe:We have results from primaries in four states. Graham Plattner won the Democratic nomination to challenge Senator Susan Collins of Maine. In South Carolina, President Trump's preferred candidate for governor heads to a runoff.

0:32Rachel Martin:Also, Congress approved$70 billion for immigration enforcement. The bill funds immigration efforts through the rest of Trump's term. ICE was already the highest funded federal law enforcement agency and now has fewer restrictions than in the past. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

0:58This is Ira Glass. On This American Life, one that we like is a good mystery. Sometimes about really big things, but most times, the little mysteries are the best. Our lost and found is currently filled with pants. I don't know. I've never seen this happen.

1:13Ayesha Rascoe:This is true? This is true. Mysteries of every size, each week, This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts.

1:21Rachel Martin:The United States and Iran are redefining the word ceasefire, trading attacks with each other.

1:27Ayesha Rascoe:A U.S. helicopter went down on Monday near the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. blamed Iran. And late Tuesday, the U.S. struck Iranian air defenses and radar sites in what it called a proportional response. Iranian officials say they did not target the U.S. helicopter, suggesting it went down in an accident. So Iran responded to the U.S. response with missiles.

1:47Rachel Martin:NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez has been following all of this. Franco, good morning. Good morning, Steve. Okay, so it was a little murky exactly how this chopper went down. So what is the U.S. thinking that led them to respond with airstrikes? Yeah, I mean, I think it's a matter of U.S. credibility. It is murky, but Trump is calling it an attack. And the thinking is that not responding could have been seen by Iran as weakness. I mean, even though troops were okay, they were in that helicopter. Mona Yakubian, a former State Department official who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told me that Trump is basically in this no-win situation.

2:25And that's because he probably can't let this one go unanswered, but also because of the great lengths that he's already gone to de-escalate. And this is a dynamic that probably has been playing out for a little while in terms of the president threatening action and then at the last minute finding an off-ramp. But obviously responding also opened the door to further escalation, as we're now seeing. Yeah, where on the map is Iran's response coming? Well, our correspondents in the region report air raid sirens sounding across Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan as Iranian missiles targeted U.S. military bases overnight.

3:03The Iranian foreign minister also issued a strong statement saying no attack or threat will go unanswered. So there is some real risk here. I mean, we've already seen how volatile the situation in the Middle East is. I mean, you can easily see a situation where escalation kind of takes a life of its own, a response, a counter response, more retaliations, each time getting bigger and more dangerous.

3:29Rachel Martin:Well, wasn't it just yesterday morning that the president was saying they're a couple of days away from a deal? I mean, there was. And it's really questionable about how this is going to affect the negotiations. I mean, it certainly is not going to help if this can't be contained. But the incident also speaks to the challenges that Trump faces as he tries to almost will this war to an end with his own words. I was talking with Jenny Stromer-Galley, who studies political messaging at Syracuse University. She tells me it's clear that Trump wants the war to be over, but there are also so many other things out of his control.

4:04I think from a rhetorical perspective, Trump is still trying to manufacture reality that he wants to be true, but it comes up against the actual state of affairs that he doesn't have much control over at the end of the day.

4:21Rachel Martin:Franco, you're reminding me, this is not critical of Trump, it's just descriptive. He continuously, and for years, has said things are coming in just a couple of weeks, a couple of days. When he says peace is coming in just a couple of days, is he, however, selling a particular story to the public? I mean, yes. I mean, she says it's also, Stromer Galley, that is, also says it's about assuring Americans that it's going to work out just like he promised, and that he just needs a couple more days. I mean, the problem is gas prices do keep going up. Electricity is getting more expensive. And after weeks and weeks of hearing the same thing, it's really getting harder to continue to have faith in that message.

4:59Franco, thanks so much. Thank you.

5:01Rachel Martin:Let's introduce Franco Ordonez.

5:11Rachel Martin:Okay, we have results from multiple primary elections this morning.

5:14Ayesha Rascoe:Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina pick their general election contenders in several high-profile matchups. NPR's Sage Miller is following it all.

5:24Rachel Martin:Sage, good morning. Good morning. Let's begin with the Maine story. I mean the Maine primary. Who won? Okay, it's going to be a matchup between Democrat Graham Plattner and longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins. But, Steve, this outcome was predictable. Both candidates just didn't have a serious primary challenge. But I want to spend a minute discussing the importance of this race. Democrats have their eyes set on taking control of the Senate in November. In order to accomplish that lofty goal, they need to beat Susan Collins. And the thing with Collins is that she's just no stranger to a competitive race.

5:57But what could be a weak spot for Collins is that while she isn't a Trump loyalist, she is still a Republican. And in a time where Trump is unpopular nationally and in the state, her party affiliation could hurt her.

6:10Rachel Martin:I know the Democrats are excited about Graham Plattner, but of course he also has faced a stream of revelations about his past. NPR's Leila Faddle interviewed him in which he talked about some of the revelations, and then within a day or two there were more revelations. Is this not really affecting Democratic voters at all? So it may be, but we just don't really know the outcome of that yet. We'll find out more in the general. But Plattner really does believe that his platform and his personal transformation is enough for voters. But he has had a lot to answer to since launching his campaign in August.

6:43Most recently, the New York Times published a story where previous romantic partners called Plattner toxic and someone who does not respect women. But many politicians have survived scandals these days. While Plattner's past may have resulted in him dropping out at one point in time, that's just not the political landscape today, Steve.

7:01Rachel Martin:Okay, let's go to some of the other states that Michelle mentioned. South Carolina, the governor's race, the governor's primary is not decided. Oh, no. The race is not over because it's heading to a runoff. The candidates have dwindled down, though, to South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evitt and Attorney General Alan Wilson. Both of these potential nominees are Trump supporters, but Evitt is the only one endorsed by President Trump. While she didn't win the nomination outright, it does show Trump's support is still important in South Carolina. OK, now this one is interesting, too. Nevada is an increasingly blue state, but they have a red governor, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, and now he has a Democratic challenger.

7:37Yeah, he is going up against Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, and he's going to take on Lombardo in November, as you said. And since Nevada is a swing state, this is a really good testing ground for what kind of Democratic candidate can win in these tough, high-stake races. Notably, Ford beat out a more progressive Democrat in the primary. And the race has been labeled a toss-up, so Democrats feel like they have a shot at taking the office in November. And Lombardo faces a challenging re-election campaign. especially at a time when the Republican president, as I said, is increasingly unpopular nationally as well as in Nevada.

8:14Rachel Martin:OK, so one more race. California took days and days to count their ballots, but they finally have things set for the general election in the governor's race. What's going on? Yeah, so Democrat Javier Becerra clinched his spot in the general election on Friday. And last night, the Associated Press called the second place spot for Republican Steve Hilton. He's a British-born former Fox News commentator who has President Trump's backing. And now in a solid blue state like California, Becerra has a pretty simple path to victory as a Republican has not won statewide office in 20 years. Sage, thanks for the update.

8:47Rachel Martin:Thanks. Let's introduce Sage Miller.

8:55Rachel Martin:In Washington now, congressional Republicans approved$70 billion in funding for federal immigration enforcement last night.

9:03Ayesha Rascoe:The bill, now heading to President Trump's desk, will fully fund enforcement through the rest of his term. This money is in addition to tens of billions of dollars already approved last year.

9:13Rachel Martin:NPR Homeland Security correspondent Jimena Bastia was following this. Jimena, good morning. Good morning. What's in the bill? Republicans in Congress voted to send tens of billions of dollars to two agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. This includes$38 billion just for ICE, which is a bit over three times the previous annual budget Congress had approved. It also includes money to hire more Border Patrol agents and for border security technology. Congress was originally on track to fund these parts of DHS, along with many other parts of the federal government, through its normal appropriations process.

9:46But Senate Democrats pulled their support for that measure and for all of DHS funding after DHS agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January.

9:55Rachel Martin:Okay, so that's very interesting. They ended up having to take this other path to fund DHS then. How does this measure differ from the earlier attempt? Republicans passed this bill through a tool known as reconciliation. All you really need to know is that it's a way around the filibuster for the majority party in the Senate. But reconciliation is not a normal way to fund an agency. For starters, as an agency, you're supposed to get funding one fiscal year at a time. and ICE and Border Patrol get these dollars through 2029. And there's no provisions that say certain amounts need to be spent in a certain time frame.

10:27That means DHS could spend most of this as quickly or slowly as they want. Immigration advocates warn that in regular appropriations bills, there are often provisions that, for example, mandate DHS issue reports, whether to Congress or publicly, on how the money is spent, updates on the programs they fund, and even details like the demographics of who is being detained. and none of those requirements are in this measure.

10:50Rachel Martin:Because Republicans went around the filibuster, did Democrats get anything in the end? Not really. In April, Congress did pass a bill to fund all of DHS except ICE and Border Patrol, and that bill did include more money for body cameras, stipulate congressional oversight of detention centers, and de-escalation training for officers and agents. But Democrats had been hoping to codify a mandate for officers to wear the body cameras, and they didn't get that. And they also didn't get any provision on the warrants officers must use to enter homes or limits on face coverings. Also lost in this fight was funding for internal oversight offices at DHS that investigate detention center conditions, though the April bill that I mentioned earlier did include funding for the inspector general to take on some of that work.

11:37Rachel Martin:Okay, so really only a few details change here. What does that mean overall for immigration enforcement? I mean, it really is a historic investment in the president's immigration agenda. Officials at ICE have been waiting to see if this money is secure to spend it on technology like wearable headsets and contracts for data sets. And it's noted that this is on top of money provided last summer that had kept both agencies functioning through this time. That money had already made ICE the highest funded federal law enforcement agency. So now there's going to be more resources and flexibilities for the agencies to expand their efforts to increase the rate of immigration arrests and deportations.

12:15Rachel Martin:NPR Homeland Security correspondent Jimena Bastillo, thanks so much. Thank you.

12:23Rachel Martin:And that's Up First for this Wednesday, June 10th. I'm Steve Inske.

12:27Ayesha Rascoe:And I'm Michelle Martin. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Miguel Macias, Rebecca Metzler, Megan Pratz, Jason Breslow, Mohamed Elberdisi, and Taylor Haney. It was produced by Zia Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from David Greenberg. Our technical director is Carly Strange. And our supervising producer is Michael Lipkin. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

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