Up First from NPR
Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
Fri, 14 Mar 2025
Congress faces a shutdown deadline today as Senate Democrats weigh whether to back a Republican spending bill or risk being blamed for closing the government. President Trump makes a rare visit to the Justice Department, delivering a speech on law and order while his administration purges career prosecutors. And, federal judges order thousands of fired government workers to be reinstated, but legal battles could delay their return.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 Kelsey Snell, Anna Yukhananov, Ben Swayse, Alice Woelfle and Mohamad ElBardicy.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis, our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Our Executive Producer is Jay ShaylorLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What are the stakes of the Congressional budget vote?
The Senate Democratic leader now backs a Republican bill to fund the government. A shutdown would give Donald Trump and Elon Musk carte blanche to destroy vital government services.
We hear his case for a bill he hates. I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. Past presidents kept some distance from the Justice Department to avoid the appearance of political interference. Today, President Trump delivers a speech there on what he says is law and order. What are his orders to federal agents and prosecutors?
Two federal judges say the Trump administration may have broken the law when they dismiss thousands of federal employees. But will they permanently get their jobs back?
You have a huge loss of institutional knowledge. It's just decimated the government. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
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Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air. I just talked to comic Bill Burr. He's known for his anger-fueled humor, which he connects to his upbringing. Let's talk a little bit about your childhood.
Oh, Jesus. People are driving to work here. You know, let's try to give them something uplifting.
He was hilarious and introspective in the interview, and it was a wild ride. You can hear a special extended version of this interview on the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.
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Chapter 2: Why is President Trump visiting the Justice Department?
A shutdown would give Donald Trump and Elon Musk carte blanche to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now.
Okay, so you say it looks like there won't be a shutdown. So do you expect most or all Democrats to follow suit and back the bill now?
No, most will vote against it, but we expect enough will join Republicans to get it through. Schumer declined to say how many, but his support does give undecided Democrats the cover to vote yes. Republicans control the White House, the House, and the Senate, but they have a 53-seat majority in the Senate, and you need 60 to get around a filibuster.
They are going to need about eight Democrats to join them later today because one of their own, Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, is planning to vote no. Okay, so just walk us through why the Democrats have been and still are so divided on what to do here. Right. It has been a, you know, intense discussions.
The Democratic base is really angry about how President Trump and Elon Musk have been slashing the federal government. They want Democrats on Capitol Hill to use this one moment where they actually have some leverage in the minority to fight back. But since Schumer said last night he will vote for this bill, we're already seeing some major blowback from other Democrats.
All three top House Democratic leaders put out a statement last night saying they remain strongly opposed to the bill. And New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not mince her words talking to NPR's Barbara Sprunt last night.
I think there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal. And this is not just about progressive Democrats. This is across the board, the entire party.
She also said moderates in the House Democrats who won in Trump districts voted no on this. And she said today House Democrats are still going to urge Democrats to block this bill. OK, so what are Republicans saying about when we should expect this vote? You know, it's Congress, so they always wait until the last minute. So we expect the vote on this bill later this afternoon.
That obviously gives Congress just hours before the deadline. Republicans were gearing up for a message war if Democrats block the bill to label this a Schumer shutdown.
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Chapter 3: What legal challenges face the reinstatement of federal workers?
And that last idea there is a central theme for Trump, his allies on the Hill, and for his new Justice Department leadership, Trump, of course, argues that he was unfairly targeted by federal prosecutors during the Biden administration. He has promised vengeance.
The new Justice Department leadership talks a lot about ending the purported weaponization and politicization of the Justice Department in recent years. But at the same time, they have taken punitive action against nonpolitical career prosecutors and officials who worked on investigations or issues that Trump doesn't like.
Yeah, I mean, there's been quite the purge. Just recap some of the punitive actions we've seen.
Well, for one, the new department leadership has fired prosecutors who worked on the special counsel investigations into Trump, saying that those folks couldn't be trusted to implement the president's agenda. They have fired prosecutors who worked on the January 6th Capitol riot cases. They've demoted senior career prosecutors who worked cases involving Trump allies.
The Justice Department frames this as ending weaponization, but critics say that these actions appear to be retaliation against folks who work cases the president didn't like. Now, at the same time, the department has cut breaks for Trump allies. Critics point to the Justice Department's decision to dismiss corruption charges against the New York City mayor. Eric Adams.
Adams has pledged to cooperate with Trump's immigration enforcement. More than a half dozen veteran Justice Department prosecutors resigned in protest. That includes the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan who said there was no good faith basis to drop the Adams case.
So with all of the things that have happened in the past few weeks, what sort of reception do you expect Trump to receive today?
It's a good question. You know, it's no secret, as we've said, that Trump has been extremely critical of the Justice Department over the years. So it's going to be interesting to see what he has to say, how he says it as he lays out his vision for the department in the very building that he has been so critical of.
And Pierre's Ryan Lucas. Thank you, Ryan.
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