transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:02] Talks to extend the ceasefire between Iran and the US are still up in the air.

Speaker 2:
[00:07] Iran says it won't negotiate under threat, but President Trump says he's sending negotiators anyway. Will Iran send a delegation for talks?

Speaker 1:
[00:13] I'm Leila Fadel, that's Michel Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News.

Speaker 2:
[00:21] Another Trump administration official is out. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid an investigation of misconduct. Some outlets reported it included drinking on the job and an alleged affair with her bodyguard. She's the third cabinet member gone in less than two months.

Speaker 1:
[00:35] And President Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve faces his confirmation hearing today. But a key Republican senator is threatening to block Kevin Warsh's confirmation until the Justice Department drops its investigation of the current Fed chair. Stay with us, we'll give you the news you need to start your day.

Speaker 2:
[00:58] The ceasefire agreement between the US., Israel and Iran expires tomorrow. President Trump told CNBC this morning that he does not want to extend the ceasefire.

Speaker 3:
[01:07] Well, I don't want to do that. We don't have that much time because by the time both parties get there, as you know, they just got the okay to go forward, which I do think we're going to do anyway.

Speaker 1:
[01:16] That's as the status of further peace talks to extend that agreement remain unclear. And in Lebanon, a different temporary ceasefire agreement paused the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is in place. But people there are watching what happens between the US and Iran.

Speaker 2:
[01:32] For more on all that, we're joined by NPR's Kat Lonsdorf, who is in southern Lebanon. Kat, welcome. Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 4:
[01:38] Hey, good morning.

Speaker 2:
[01:39] So let's start with the possible peace talks between the US and Iran. Where do those stand right now?

Speaker 4:
[01:45] Yeah, President Trump has said that he is sending a delegation to Islamabad, Pakistan, where those talks are supposed to happen. But as of now, Iran has not confirmed that it will be participating. Yesterday, Trump said that a ceasefire extension between the US and Israel and Iran is, quote, highly unlikely, but also said that he's not under pressure to make a deal and that one with Iran will happen, quote, very quickly. Meanwhile, Iran's parliamentary speaker said Tehran is, quote, prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.

Speaker 2:
[02:14] And this is all happening as the Strait of Hormuz is still close to most commercial vessels.

Speaker 4:
[02:19] Yeah, basically, the US is blocking the transit of Iranian cargo ships and international waters around Iran, as Iran is blocking most ships from passing through the strait. Neither seems to be budging on those positions, even as they try to work out these potential peace talks. And this is all happening as a ceasefire is set to run out tomorrow, like you said, Michelle, and I'm here in Lebanon, where this is all being watched very closely.

Speaker 2:
[02:42] Right. A ceasefire in Lebanon has been a main demand from Iran in the past. There is one now, but how dependent is that on what happens between the US and Iran?

Speaker 4:
[02:52] Yeah, that ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah here in Lebanon is intertwined in many ways with what's happening between the US and Iran. It came about after Iran demanded one to be in place in order to continue any peace talks with the US. Hezbollah is backed by Iran and largely answers to the state. The sense here from many people though is that if talks fall apart between the US and Iran, that will almost certainly mean that this ceasefire falls apart too.

Speaker 2:
[03:18] Kat, as you told us, you're in the south of Lebanon where much of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has happened with the ceasefire in place. It's the first time anybody can travel relatively safely down south where you are in weeks. What are you seeing and hearing there?

Speaker 4:
[03:32] Yeah, I'm in Tire, which is a city on the Mediterranean. It's about 12 miles from Israel's northern border. Everywhere you go, there are signs of destruction from Israeli airstrikes or drone strikes, whole buildings crumpled to the ground. Just because there's a ceasefire, that doesn't mean that life can return to normal for a lot of people here. Israel is still occupying a huge swath of land further south from here, all along the border to keep Hezbollah from attacking Israel. Many of the more than 1 million people who were displaced in this war can't go home. I talked to 50-year-old Zainab Mahdi, who is still living in a school set up for displaced people. She's from one of the towns that Israel is now occupying. She can't go home. But even if she could, she said she's heard her house has been demolished and that most of the town is gone as well. I feel a lot of anger, a lot of sadness, but also fear, she told me. Fear because who knows how long it will be until we can go back? Will it be us or our children who are able to go? That seems to be one of the big questions here. Even if this ceasefire extends, how long will Israel stay occupying the land? Last time Israel occupied southern Lebanon, it did so for nearly two decades. Israel has said it's prepared to stay for months or even years.

Speaker 2:
[04:46] That is NPR's Kat Lahnstorf in southern Lebanon. Kat, thank you so much.

Speaker 4:
[04:50] Thank you.

Speaker 2:
[04:59] Labor Secretary Laurie Chavez de Riemer has resigned, becoming the third member of President Trump's cabinet out in just the last few weeks.

Speaker 1:
[05:06] White House Communications Director Stephen Chung announced on X that Chavez de Riemer was leaving, saying she had done a phenomenal job. She was being investigated for misconduct.

Speaker 2:
[05:16] And PR Labor correspondent Andrea Shue is with us now to tell us more about this morning, Andrea.

Speaker 5:
[05:20] Good morning.

Speaker 2:
[05:21] Do we know why Chavez de Riemer resigned?

Speaker 5:
[05:24] Well, the official line from Stephen Chung is that she's taking a job in the private sector, and that's something she confirmed in her own post on X yesterday. But we also know that she was being investigated by the Labor Department's inspector general over complaints of professional misconduct. And that investigation, Michelle, has been going on for months. Several of her senior staffers have already been forced out. And following President Trump's removal of Christine Noem, the Homeland Security secretary in early March, and then a month later, Attorney General Pam Bonny, there's been talk that the labor secretary might be the next to go.

Speaker 2:
[05:56] So what do we know about the allegations that were being investigated?

Speaker 5:
[06:00] Well, according to reporting from the New York Post and other media outlets, there were complaints that she was having an affair with a subordinate, her security detail. Also drinking on the job, taking staffers to a strip club, and using taxpayer-funded travel to spend time with friends and family in places like Las Vegas. Now, NPR has not independently verified the contents of the investigation, but we do know it was ongoing and a distraction for the administration.

Speaker 2:
[06:26] Now, we mentioned she's the third cabinet member to go. She's not as well known, I would say, as Christina O'Mara-Pam Bondi. How was she selected for this job? Do we have any sense of why she was picked for this role?

Speaker 5:
[06:37] Yeah. Well, she was a one-term congresswoman from Oregon, a moderate Republican, and she lost her seat in 2024. But then the Teamsters president, Sean O'Brien, pushed for her nomination as labor secretary. O'Brien liked her because she was one of the few Republicans who supported the PRO Act. That's a bill aimed at making it easier for workers to unionize. You might recall that Sean O'Brien was a prime-time speaker at the Republican Convention in the summer of 2024. While he didn't endorse Trump, his decision not to endorse any candidate for president was huge for Trump, and Chavez de Rima ended up at the Labor Department. Now, under her watch, I should say, the Trump administration has not made anything easier for labor unions. In fact, Trump has tried to strip collective bargaining rights from about a million federal workers and the administration has been rolling back various protections for other workers as well.

Speaker 2:
[07:27] Is there something noteworthy that we could point to that Chavez de Rima achieved in her year in office?

Speaker 5:
[07:33] Well, sources at the Labor Department says she was not actually in the office a whole lot. She went on what she called her America at Work listening tour, which did take her to all 50 states. She visited training centers, she talked about apprenticeships and the blue collar boom that the Trump administration has been touting. That has not materialized. In fact, manufacturing jobs are down since Trump took office last year. And overall, the labor market has been pretty much in a holding pattern amid a lot of economic uncertainty. Steven Chung said her deputy, Keith Sonderling, will step in as acting labor secretary. He's already been running a lot of the day-to-day operations at the Labor Department. He served in the department during Trump's first term and later at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. So in many ways, he is much more familiar with the inner workings of government than Chavez Dreamer was.

Speaker 2:
[08:21] That is NPR's Andrea Hsu. Andrea, thank you.

Speaker 5:
[08:24] You're welcome.

Speaker 2:
[08:33] President Trump has described his pick to lead the Federal Reserve as straight out of Central Casting, but there could be some plot to us today when Kevin Warsh goes before a Senate committee for his confirmation hearing.

Speaker 1:
[08:43] Warsh has the resume of a Fed Chairman. He's served on the Central Bank's governing board. He's worked on Wall Street, but his elevation could still be held up by events that have nothing to do with the nominee himself.

Speaker 2:
[08:55] NPR's Scott Horsley is with us now to tell us more about this morning, Scott.

Speaker 6:
[08:58] Good morning, Michelle.

Speaker 2:
[08:59] So what are the potential roadblocks for Kevin Warsh?

Speaker 6:
[09:02] Central Casting may not have banked on Senator Tom Tillis. The Republican from North Carolina is a key member of the Banking Committee, and he has promised to block Warsh's nomination until the Justice Department drops its investigation that it's been running of the current Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell. Tillis, Powell and a federal judge have all said that investigation is really just part of a pressure campaign by the White House to get Powell to lower interest rates or step aside, and it may backfire, even though Powell's term as Fed Chairman is scheduled to run out next month, he could wind up staying longer.

Speaker 7:
[09:37] I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality.

Speaker 6:
[09:44] It's possible the administration will find a way to end the investigation so Warsh can take over from Powell, but so far, the White House and the Justice Department have shown no signs of moving in that direction.

Speaker 2:
[09:54] Yes, well, lowering interest rates is obviously a priority of this president. He's made it very clear he wants a Fed chairman who's going to do that. Is Warsh likely to go along with that?

Speaker 6:
[10:04] You know, it's interesting. The last time Warsh was on the Fed's governing board, he earned a reputation as an inflation hawk. That is someone who's wary about cutting interest rates and perhaps letting prices get out of control. But more recently, he has changed his tune and argued the Fed has room to cut rates without rekindling inflation because he says artificial intelligence is going to make workers so much more productive in the future. Now, perhaps that reflects a real turn around in Warsh's thinking. But to Democrats on the committee, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, that flip-flop is a sign that Warsh will bend whichever way the wind is blowing from the White House.

Speaker 8:
[10:41] Warsh has really gone out of his way to demonstrate that he will be the sock puppet in chief.

Speaker 6:
[10:49] Warren told NPR that committee Democrats are united in their opposition to Warsh, and that's why a lone GOP no vote from Thom Tillis has the power to block this nomination unless and until the administration gives way on the Powell program.

Speaker 2:
[11:02] If Warsh ultimately does get confirmed, will he have the power to cut interest rates?

Speaker 6:
[11:07] Not all by himself. You know, interest rates are set by a 12-person committee, and while the chair runs those meetings, he only gets one vote. A number of committee members have voiced concern about cutting interest rates while inflation is as high as it is, and those concerns have gotten louder now that the war in Iran has poured costly gasoline on the fire. Members of the rate-setting committee are very protective of the Fed's independence, and Austin Goolsbee, who heads the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, says that's a lesson that comes from painful experience.

Speaker 9:
[11:36] Just look around the world in countries and at times when the central bank is not independent, the administration presses, cut the rates, cut the rates. If inflation comes roaring back, that'll be the next person's problem.

Speaker 6:
[11:52] So, we're sure to get a lot of questions about Fed independence today.

Speaker 2:
[11:55] Scott, before we let you go, how is he likely to answer those questions?

Speaker 6:
[11:59] Well, Worse has said the central bank should be independent when it comes to setting interest rates. But just as politicians should be hands off in directing monetary policy, Worse says the Fed should stay in its lane and steer clear of taking a stand on political policies like climate change.

Speaker 2:
[12:13] That's NPR's Scott Horsley. Scott, thank you.

Speaker 6:
[12:16] You're welcome.

Speaker 1:
[12:21] And that's Up First for Tuesday, April 21st. I'm Leila Fadel.

Speaker 2:
[12:24] And I'm Michelle Martin. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Ruth Sherlock, Emily Cot, Rafael Nam, Mohammed El-Bardisi and HJ. Mai. It was produced by Ziad Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines and her technical director is Carleigh Strange. Our supervising senior producer is Vince Pearson. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.