Up First from NPR - Trump After NATO, Abrego Garcia Latest, Senate Trump Agenda

Episode Date: June 26, 2025

President Trump ended the NATO summit in The Hague with a warmer view of the alliance. A federal judge has ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the government wrongly deported to El Salvador. And Senate Republicans have hit some roadblocks in the race to pass President Trump's signature policy bill by next week. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Gigi Douban, Kelsey Snell, Jason Breslow, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Good morning. I heard something. I heard, is that you? Hey. Hey, good morning. You're low though. One, two, three, one, two. I was feeling kind of low.

How did you, oh, you're talking about volume on the headphones. President Trump left a summit talking differently about NATO. These people really love their countries. It's not a ripoff. And we're here to help them protect their country. What changed for a president who once said it was a ripoff? Amir Martinez with Steve Inskepen. This is Up First from NPR News.

What happens next to Kilmar Abrego Garcia? The U.S. mistakenly deported him, then brought him back only to indict him. A judge ordered his release while awaiting federal trial and now the US may deport him again before trial. Also Senate Republicans have questions about the budget their leaders want to pass. This is a really good start moving us all in the right direction but all of us have some concerns with the bill. Some of those concerns involve ending clean energy subsidies. Stay with us, we've got the news you need to start your day.

This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. With WISE, you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and C's apply. This message comes from the award-winning podcast, Dateline Missing in America, back with a new season and new unsolved cases. Listen closely to each story, follow the clues, and you could help bring a missing person home. Search Dateline

Missing in America to follow now. It is so hot outside, why not chill out with a nice breezy book? Over on NPR's Book of the Day podcast, we're doing a whole week of summer reads, novels about romance and friendship and weddings and sex. You know, what summer is all about. So if you are packing for a vacation or just appreciating a nice air-conditioned library, find your next read by listening to NPR's Book of the Day podcast. President Trump is back in the Capitol after meeting with European leaders at a NATO summit. NATO leaders committed to more defense spending, something the president wanted, and the president

spoke with surprising warmth about an alliance he often disparaged. Trump also spoke with some heat about US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites. Let's work through all this with NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivram, who traveled with the president to the Hague. And back. Welcome back, Deepa. Hey there.

So how did Iran take so much attention? Yeah, I mean, right from the moment Trump announced these strikes on Iran, he's been saying that they, quote, obliterated the nuclear sites that held these enriched materials, right? But on the way to the Hague, news broke about this leaked intelligence assessment that undercut what Trump was saying that said that the damage was less than the president had described. So Trump was focused on that the whole time at NATO.

He said that the leaked report was inconclusive. But while we were on Air Force One coming back to Washington yesterday, the CIA released a really unusual statement. Director John Ratcliffe said there's, quote, a body of credible evidence that the damage caused is actually severe. And that more closely mirrors what Trump has been saying. Like I said, it's unusual for the CIA to make any kind of public statement, especially an assessment that's released this close to the event that happened. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is holding another press conference on the topic this morning.

So this is really something that's not going away. And senators are supposed to get a briefing on this later today as well. We should pause for a moment just to be real. This is an argument about which exact words to describe a strike in which we know some things were blown up, some other things may or may not have blown up, and we probably have to wait to find out for sure. But we're arguing over the exact words to use. What are NATO leaders saying about this?

Well, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was talking about the Iran strike even before the NATO summit started. I mean, he was praising Trump left and right about a lot of things. Trump posted on social media a private text message he got from Ruta, where Ruta is calling him Dear Donald. On stage yesterday at NATO, Ruta called Trump Daddy, which turned into a new cycle of its own. And yesterday, the White House released a video of Trump at NATO to

the tune of Usher's Hey Daddy. So there was a lot of love between those two. Okay. Didn't see that one coming. So a lot of compliments for the president. Did that help the NATO allies in dealing with the president? Yeah. I mean, there was definitely a reason behind all of this hype over Trump. NATO countries did agree to committing to increasing defense spending to 5% of their GDP, which is something Trump has wanted. And he called it a monumental win for the United States. You'll remember, as you mentioned, Trump has been complaining for years about the alliance not spending enough money.

So they really tailored the summit to him this year, keeping it short and focused, even on the plane ride over to the Netherlands. Trump was non-committal about Article Five of NATO. That's the mutual defense agreement between allies, right? But after getting this win yesterday at the summit and getting all the love from NATO leaders who praised him and praised the United States, Trump really shifted his tone on the

alliance. I left here saying that these people really love their countries. It's not a ripoff. And we're here to help them protect their country. That is a big shift from the way the president has spoken for the past decade about NATO. Yeah, it really is. Although the caveat here is that Trump is someone who tends to change his mind a lot. And there are still some lingering questions from allies about how reliable the US is.

For example, Trump was pretty fed up with Spain at the summit because Spain has said they won't be acting on the increase in defense spending that all the allies agreed to. And Trump said Spain was terrible and unfair, and he would essentially punish Spain for that decision by making them pay more in tariffs. So there's still ways that Trump is complicating these relationships with allies. And Piers-Dipa Shivram, thanks for the coverage. Really appreciate it. Thank you. A judge has ordered Kilmar Abrego-Garcia released from jail pending his criminal trial. Abrego-Garcia, you'll recall, is the Salvadoran native the government illegally deported to

a mega prison in El Salvador. The government claimed it could not bring him back, then did bring him back, then indicted him, which is why he's awaiting trial. The judge is now discussing the exact conditions under which he would be released. Mariana Buckeyeau of WPLN Nashville is covering this case. Good morning. Morning. Okay. So the judge has ruled fundamentally that Abrego Garcia should be released awaiting

trial. Has he been released? He has not been released. Federal Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville delayed his release at least a few days to clear up some of those conditions, but everyone in this case is aware that immigration officials are standing by to detain a Borrego Garcia once he's out of jail. Yesterday at his hearing I counted at least six Homeland Security vehicles parked outside the courthouse, At his hearing, I counted at least six Homeland Security vehicles parked outside the courthouse, several agents milling about the street. So the judge has stressed that a lot of her conditions for his release really only come into play if he's able to leave ICE custody before the trial.

Oh, okay. So how likely is that that he could ever be released from ICE custody? Not very. The prosecution has pointed out that ICE could deport Abrego Garcia before he has a chance to stand trial. You know, that was part of the prosecution's argument for keeping him in jail, that the threat of that possible deportation could make him more likely to flee. All of this has caused outrage from protesters and the defense who say this could be another case in which Abrego Garcia doesn't get due process.

Like you said, the government wrongly deported Abrego Garcia three months ago to that infamous prison in El Salvador. Despite a court order against his deportation to his home country, the US Supreme Court demanded his return to the US and he was eventually brought back earlier this month to face human smuggling charges. Prosecutors allege he's transported people without legal status throughout the US. The defense says they're suspicious of the timing of the investigation, given how Abrego Garcia's case has galvanized critics of Trump's immigration policy. Can I just ask why go through all of these proceedings about exactly how Abrego Garcia

would be released if he's just going to be taken into custody again? Well, that is a question at the heart of this case, you know, especially given the prosecution saying that he may eventually be deported. During yesterday's hearing, the judge asked federal prosecutors, which is the Department of Justice, to work with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that Abrego Garcia can make his court dates. Really, what she seems to be asking is that if they can work with DHS to keep him here long enough for him to stand trial. And prosecutors responded saying,

essentially, it's out of their hands. They can't tell DHS what to do. Ultimately, whether he remains free once he's released isn't up to the judge. It's up to ICE. Pete So, what happens now? Lauren Some time tomorrow or this weekend, the judge is expected to give the official order to release him. I spoke with a U.S. Marshal who said there's not going to be another hearing. Once that order comes down, he'll quietly be transferred to ICE custody away from the public eye. As for the conditions, Judge Holmes did outline some standard things like limiting his travel to Maryland,

where his family lives, and here in Tennessee, where his trial is being held. She also mandated anger management counseling based on the government's case citing protective orders his wife filed. His wife has since said things have improved. She withdrew those orders and now she says she just wants him home. Mariana Buckeyeo of WPLN in Nashville. Thanks so much. Mariana Buckeyeo Thanks. Marc Thiessen Senate Republicans are racing against the clock to pass President Trump's signature domestic policy bill. Marc Thiessen Their self-imposed July 4th deadline is just over

a week away and they're struggling to resolve some sticking points in this tax and spending bill. The debate has made their schedule a little bit uncertain. MPR political reporter Alaina Moore is following all of this. So the president wants this bill passed as soon as possible. What's stalling that? Well, so the bill contains a lot of Trump's agenda, like those tax cuts and more money for border security and defense, and senators are united in delivering on all those things. They're

divided on how to pay for it. You know, one big issue is over the future of Medicaid, the federal program that provides health coverage for low-income and disabled Americans in partnership with states. And you know, in particular there's a proposal on the table that would require states to decrease the amount that they can tax Medicaid providers. And that would in turn affect the formula that calculates how much federal spending a state gets as part of this joint program. And so that could end up saving the government cash, but some senators are not happy with

this idea and worry it will particularly hurt rural hospitals. You know, talks to get those senators on board are ongoing. And remember, Republicans can only afford to lose three votes in the Senate. And Medicaid is just one of several disagreements. Yeah, exactly. You know, there's also a debate about whether to scrap a bunch of clean energy tax credits that were implemented during former President Joe Biden's administration. You know, fiscal hawks in the Senate want these to go, but others are pushing back and say that

immediately taking away some of these investments could cause Americans to lose jobs and face higher prices. And you know, A, outside of just policy issues, the Senate is also dealing with procedural issues that come with the budget tool they're using in order to pass this bill on a simple majority vote, which allows them to potentially get the bill through without Democrats. And you know, that process is slowing things down too.

Okay, policy issues, procedural issues, lots of issues it sounds like. Let's just say for a second that the Senate is able to pass this bill, then what happens? Well then it would go back to the House of Representatives and they have to vote on it too. The House narrowly passed its own version of the bill last month and big picture,

these two bills are just not expected to be super different but when we pull back the curtain, there may be aspects that anger some House Republicans. And that could be a problem for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has very tight margins in the House. You know, Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen has been trying to work with some House members who have concerns, but he's hoping Republicans can ultimately solve their differences given they agree on the main parts of this bill.

This is a really good start moving us all in the right direction. But all of us have some concerns with the bill, but that's what happens when you're negotiating any bill in here and you get 535 opinions. All right, so how are they going to get past all this before the end of next week? Well, the president may play a key role in that. He's hosting a big event this afternoon with what the White House calls everyday Americans, like a door dash driver who wants to see no tax on tips and he'll be putting more pressure on Republicans to just get this done.

That's NPR political reporter Elena Moore. Thanks. Thanks, A. And that's a first for this Thursday, June 26th. I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm A. Martinez. How about giving Consider This from NPR a try? We hear it up first, give you the three big stories of the day.

Our Consider This colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single new story and what it means to you in under 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get those podcasts. Today's Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Gigi Duvon, Kelsey Snell, Jason Breslow, Janaya Williams and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, who is so supportive. And our technical director is Carly Strange, who's very direct.

Join us tomorrow. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. With WISE, you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and C's apply. But I thought, wow, this guy goes to work

and he does Donald Duck. I'm Jesse Thorne on Bullseye, the one and only Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. On his life's greatest aspiration, doing silly cartoon voices in the moment that he realized his dream. I did a terrible Donald Duck, but it made me think, that's what I want to do. I want to do cartoon voices.

That's on Bullseye for MaximumFun.org and NPR.