Up First from NPR
Syria's Relationship With Israel, Birthright Citizenship, Trump's Big Bill
Thu, 15 May 2025
President Trump did not make normalizing relations with Israel a condition for dropping sanctions against Syria, raising questions about how the two neighbors must navigate an unclear future. The Supreme Court hears historic arguments in a case challenging the constitutional provision guaranteeing birthright citizenship. House Republicans are still negotiating the details of a wide-ranging legislative package they hope to advance by the end of 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 Krishnadev Calamur, Carrie Kahn, Kelsey Snell, Ally Schweitzer and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ana Perez, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis, and our technical director is Carleigh Strange. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is President Trump's stance on Syria and its new leadership?
On his trip through the Middle East, President Trump takes a friendly approach to the new ruler of Syria.
What does that mean for Syria's neighbor Israel, the U.S. ally still bombing targets around Syria's capital?
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees citizenship to people born in the United States. Both the Supreme Court and Congress have affirmed that. So why is the issue back at the high court?
And House Speaker Mike Johnson is struggling to unite his conference around President Trump's, quote, big, beautiful bill.
There's red states and blue state folks, right? We got more red state folks in our conference and And they have concerns about it. We have blue state people who have realities they've got to deal with at home.
Can they find a compromise before Memorial Day? Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.
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Chapter 2: How will Syria's relationship with Israel change under new leadership?
I'm Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. At a time of sound bites and short attention spans, our show is all about the deep dive. We do long-form interviews with people behind the best in film, books, TV, music, and journalism. Here our guests open up about their process and their lives in ways you've never heard before. Listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.
Conductor Robert Frahn says a good melody captures our attention.
And then it moves you through time. Music is architecture in time. If you engage in the moment with what you're listening to, you do lose a sense of the time around you.
How we experience time. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR.
When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR.
President Trump is in the Gulf state of Qatar on the third day of his trip to the Middle East.
He received a standing ovation from a crowd in Saudi Arabia when he vowed to lift U.S. sanctions against Syria. And he had compliments for that country's new leader, which he shared with reporters on Air Force One.
How did you find the Syrian president? Great. I think very good. Young, attractive guy, tough guy.
Syrians celebrated the lifting of sanctions on the streets of Damascus, although all of this is causing some confusion in Syria's neighbor Israel, which was Syria's enemy for decades. What does all this mean for a close U.S. ally?
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Chapter 3: What is the current status of the conflict and humanitarian situation in Gaza?
The summer break, he says, is good for the justices. They get time to recharge, let tempers cool, and come back from vacation refreshed for a new term in the fall. But in layman's terms, this could really screw up their summer.
And everyone understands that. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg. Nina, thank you. My pleasure. President Trump has talked for months about what he calls one big, beautiful bill to accomplish much of his domestic policy agenda, including immigration and tax policy.
That bill is advancing through the House this week, and it turns out its beauty is in the eye of the beholder. House Speaker Mike Johnson wants the bill passed by Memorial Day, but is still contending with tensions within his own party.
Joining us now to talk through this is NPR's Barbara Sprunt. So, Barbara, a big bill, two weeks to go to finish it. Where are they in that process?
Yeah, so three committees voted yesterday to finalize their portions of this big bill. That includes things like extending the 2017 tax cuts, no taxes on tips and overtime, cuts to Medicaid, and cuts to the food assistance program called SNAP. Now, the Budget Committee is meeting tomorrow to take all the individual bills approved by these various committees and put them into one big package.
And that is what House leadership wants to vote on next week.
Okay, so that's what they want. I'm wondering, though, if they can get it because, you know, we've talked before about the Speaker struggling with a narrow majority. So what divisions is he dealing with now?
Yeah, that's right. Well, there's two main groups here. One, members of the Freedom Caucus have pushed back on the current state of bills saying they just won't result in significant enough deficit reduction, which they see as their mandate here. And that proposals to add work requirements to Medicaid, the joint federal state health care program for those with
disabilities and the elderly and low income wouldn't kick in soon enough. It's worth noting that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the changes in this House bill mean at least 8.6 million people enrolled in Medicaid could lose coverage, and some moderate members worry that those cuts could become a major issue in the midterms next year.
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Chapter 4: Why is the Supreme Court reconsidering birthright citizenship?
He said he's confident they'll be able to work out a compromise that everyone can live with, even if everyone isn't fully happy. And he's planning on meeting with members concerned about SALT this morning.
OK, let's just say, Barbara, for a second that they overcome all of this and the House of Representatives passes that big bill next week. What happens then? What happens after that?
Then comes the Senate, where some Republicans are already throwing cold water on the House's efforts here. Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson told our colleague Deirdre Walsh yesterday that the House bill is, quote, a sad joke. Several senators on the GOP side have said they can't support it in its current form. And this makes some House members concerned.
Chapter 5: What are the legal challenges surrounding the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship clause?
Chapter 6: What are the obstacles House Republicans face in passing President Trump's legislative package?
And House Speaker Mike Johnson is struggling to unite his conference around President Trump's, quote, big, beautiful bill.
There's red states and blue state folks, right? We got more red state folks in our conference and And they have concerns about it. We have blue state people who have realities they've got to deal with at home.
Can they find a compromise before Memorial Day? Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.
I'm Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. At a time of sound bites and short attention spans, our show is all about the deep dive. We do long-form interviews with people behind the best in film, books, TV, music, and journalism. Here our guests open up about their process and their lives in ways you've never heard before. Listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.
Conductor Robert Frahn says a good melody captures our attention.
And then it moves you through time. Music is architecture in time. If you engage in the moment with what you're listening to, you do lose a sense of the time around you.
How we experience time. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR.
When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR.
President Trump is in the Gulf state of Qatar on the third day of his trip to the Middle East.
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Chapter 7: Who are the hosts and contributors featured in this episode?
He received a standing ovation from a crowd in Saudi Arabia when he vowed to lift U.S. sanctions against Syria. And he had compliments for that country's new leader, which he shared with reporters on Air Force One.
How did you find the Syrian president? Great. I think very good. Young, attractive guy, tough guy.
Syrians celebrated the lifting of sanctions on the streets of Damascus, although all of this is causing some confusion in Syria's neighbor Israel, which was Syria's enemy for decades. What does all this mean for a close U.S. ally?
Let's ask NPR's Hadil Alshalchi. She joins us now from Tel Aviv. So, Hadil, President Trump says sanctions on Syria will be lifted. He also said that Syria's new leader is ready to normalize ties with Israel. Is that what he really wants?
I mean, it really appears so. Syrian President Ahmad al-Shar has been saying he wants no trouble with Israel for months now. And yesterday he said in a speech that Syria will be a land of peace. You know, the Syrian government has been making these overtures ever since they took power in December.
You know, two weeks after the fall of the Assad regime, I spoke to the Damascus governor, Meher Marwan, who said on behalf of his leader, Syria wanted cordial relations with Israel. This is what he told me. Marwan said, we want peace and we cannot be an opponent to Israel or an opponent to anyone else. He also told me that he wanted the United States to facilitate those relations.
And then yesterday, on the heels of Trump's comments, Shara's spokesperson, Ali Rifai, spoke to Israeli media and he backed this up. He said, we want peace in the region and that includes Israel.
All right. Is that what we're hearing from Israel?
So there's no official comment yet, but we do know that Israel was kind of stunned at the news that Trump wants to lift sanctions. You know, Israeli media had reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Trump not to lift them. Israel's line all along has been that shut on his people are terrorists, that Israel must defend itself from them. And they say that's why they need to expand.
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