transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:02] President Trump is extending the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely.

Speaker 2:
[00:05] Iran called the extension meaningless and said the loser may not dictate terms. How is the world receiving Trump's constant shifts in direction?

Speaker 1:
[00:13] I'm Michelle Martin. That's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Virginia voters passed a ballot measure allowing the state to redraw its congressional map. It could give Democrats up to four extra House seats. How much does it improve the party's chances of capturing Congress this fall?

Speaker 2:
[00:32] Also, Kevin Warsh faced his Senate confirmation hearing to lead the Federal Reserve.

Speaker 3:
[00:36] Are you going to be the president's human sock puppet? Senator, absolutely not.

Speaker 2:
[00:42] How did Warsh make a case that he can be independent? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

Speaker 1:
[00:54] President Trump says the war with Iran is not about to resume.

Speaker 2:
[00:58] The president extended to cease fire until, he says, peace talks are over, one way or the other. The statement was Trump's latest of many shifts in direction. Hours earlier, on CNBC, he was talking of new strikes.

Speaker 4:
[01:11] I expect to be bombing, because I think that's a better attitude to go in with, but we're ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.

Speaker 1:
[01:19] NPR White House correspondent, Franco Arduñas, has been covering all these fits and starts, and he's with us now. Good morning, Franco.

Speaker 5:
[01:25] Good morning, Michelle.

Speaker 1:
[01:26] So, you know, another turnaround.

Speaker 5:
[01:28] Yeah, I mean, it's a very stunning turnaround as well, and just hours from when the ceasefire was set to expire. I mean, but as you noted, he's done this before, and despite his significant threats, he's also made very clear through his actions that he's very interested in ending this war. I mean, this time, Trump again said Pakistan, which is, of course, mediating the talks, asked him to hold off on more attacks. He also said the US military would stick around and that its naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue. Trump argued that the extension actually was warranted due to a, quote, seriously fractured Iranian government and that he was extending the ceasefire until talks were concluded, quote, one way or the other. So a very different tone from earlier in the day when he warned that he was not going to extend the ceasefire and the bombing would resume.

Speaker 1:
[02:19] It was the middle of the night in Iran when Trump made this announcement. Have we heard from Iran yet?

Speaker 5:
[02:25] Yeah, I mean, and they're staying on the offensive. An advisor took to social media where he said the extension means nothing. He said the losing side cannot dictate the terms. And he argued that the continuation of the blockade was basically the equivalent to more bombing. And he actually accused the US of announcing this extension as a ploy to buy more time for a surprise attack.

Speaker 1:
[02:48] President Trump has mentioned so many different objectives for this war. It was helping the protesters there. It was regime change, preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, preventing or diminishing their ballistic missile capability. Do you have a sense from your reporting of what the objective really is at this point?

Speaker 5:
[03:05] I mean, so much of this right now is about control of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical passageway that Iran has basically maintained a steel grip on over the last several weeks. I mean, the Trump administration has really tried everything to reopen the Strait, including its own blockade, preventing Iranian-tied ships from entering or leaving. Vice President Vance, of course, was scheduled to travel to Pakistan yesterday for peace talks. And those are now off because the Iranians refused to meet, calling that blockade an act of war. So Iran's nuclear capabilities are clearly an issue. But before the war, there was free passage through the Strait. And that's no longer the case. And it's a really big concern around the world.

Speaker 1:
[03:48] So, Franco, Trump's back and forth rhetoric, swinging from saying he's going to wipe out Iran's civilization to twice now not following through on these threats. Is this having an impact on the US position globally?

Speaker 5:
[04:00] I mean, I think it's about credibility and certainly the president's credibility. You're seeing that in the reaction from current Iranian leadership. I mean, they did not rush to a meeting yesterday, again, despite Trump's ongoing threats, where he warned again about more bombing, saying no more Mr. Nice Guy. I mean, I think the Iranians understand that amid the rhetoric is, again, Trump's strong desire to end this war. It really remains to be seen if all of Trump's vacillating between aggressive threats and forms of diplomacy is going to pay off in the long run.

Speaker 1:
[04:32] That is White House correspondent Franco Ordonez. Franco, thank you.

Speaker 5:
[04:35] Thank you, Michelle.

Speaker 2:
[04:44] Voters in Virginia delivered Democrats a significant win for this fall's elections.

Speaker 1:
[04:49] Voters narrowly approved a ballot measure. It allows lawmakers to draw a new congressional map. The map could give Democrats four more seats in Congress.

Speaker 2:
[04:57] NPR political correspondent Ashley Lopez is following all this. Ashley, good morning.

Speaker 6:
[05:01] Good morning.

Speaker 2:
[05:02] Okay, what does this ballot measure do?

Speaker 6:
[05:04] Yeah, so it basically allows lawmakers to circumvent the state's redistricting commission. Virginia is one of those states that takes the process of drawing political lines partly out of the hands of politicians. But because of this ongoing redistricting battle across the country, Democrats really wanted to skirt that commission so that they could drop some new seats that could favor their party in the fall, but they needed voters' permission first and they got it.

Speaker 2:
[05:26] Although I was following the results last night, it was pretty close.

Speaker 6:
[05:29] Yeah, good point. I mean, the Democratic side, the yes side won by just a few percentage points. If you compare this to Democratic governor Abigail Spanberger's win last year, this is a much closer result and more clearly resembles the purple state than it does a blue one.

Speaker 2:
[05:43] Okay. So how then does this affect the voting in November?

Speaker 6:
[05:47] Yeah. So what they're planning would be a pretty big change. The new proposed map could position Democrats to win 10 out of the state's 11 congressional seats. Right now, the maps are drawn to favor Democrats in about six of the 11 seats. So a four seat boost could play a pretty big role in Democrats' efforts to retake the US House this fall because Republicans currently only have an edge that's about a couple seats.

Speaker 2:
[06:08] I just want to note it's April. We're getting right into campaign season. Is this new map now in effect and candidates can run on it and voters can expect it?

Speaker 6:
[06:17] Yeah, but things are not set in stone. The Virginia Supreme Court has yet to rule on the challenges to this redistricting effort. So I mean, that could potentially stop any new districts from being used in this year's elections.

Speaker 2:
[06:28] OK, so it's not over yet. But let's just assume for purposes of this question that Virginia is settled. Red states have done something. Blue states have done something. Which party ended up with an advantage for November?

Speaker 6:
[06:40] I mean, believe it or not, with Virginia, this is all pretty much a wash or even like maybe a slight edge for Democrats right now. In short, California Democrats were able to offset potential gains that Republicans tried to make in Texas. And Virginia was basically offset by some new GOP favored seats in states like North Carolina and Missouri. And I mean, I think it's just worth reflecting on the fact that no party has walked away from this fight with a meaningful edge here. President Trump started this last year by asking Texas to get him some more seats in Congress. And I think the GOP underestimated that Democrats would respond in kind. And I want to stress how much time and resources have been spent on all this. Virginia's election alone brought in millions of dollars worth of ads, not to mention the cost of special elections and special sessions in the various states that redrew their maps.

Speaker 2:
[07:28] Have all the states finished all their moves now?

Speaker 6:
[07:31] Yeah, I mean, things could still change. For one, there's Florida, the state's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, called a special session at the end of the month in an effort to get his party some more seats in the state. And then, of course, there's this big case before the Supreme Court that could strike down the Voting Rights Act, which could set off some more redraws, particularly in the South. But because of filing deadlines, I will say the more time goes on, the less likely it is that states will change their maps. There just won't be enough time considering primaries have either started or already taken in place in some states. And this summer, most states will have had their primary elections.

Speaker 2:
[08:07] Ashley, thanks so much for the insights. Really appreciate it.

Speaker 6:
[08:09] Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 2:
[08:10] That's NPR's Ashley Lopez. All right, the president's choice to lead the Federal Reserve says he would like the agency to do a little less.

Speaker 1:
[08:23] Kevin Warsh testified before a Senate committee Tuesday. He said the Fed could do a better job of curbing inflation and unemployment if it was more narrowly focused. One big question is who decides what the Fed does? Warsh was nominated by a president who wants greater control over an independent agency.

Speaker 2:
[08:40] NPR's Scott Horsley remains independent and joins us now. Scott, good morning.

Speaker 7:
[08:44] Good morning, Steve.

Speaker 2:
[08:45] What was the hearing like?

Speaker 7:
[08:47] It was quite polarized. A committee of Republicans mostly backed the nominee. Democrats were uniformly opposed. One question that came up again and again was whether Warsh would take marching orders from the president who's been demanding lower interest rates. Here's GOP Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana.

Speaker 3:
[09:03] Are you going to be the president's human sock puppet? Senator, absolutely not. Are you going to be anybody's human sock puppet? No, I'm honored the president nominated me for the position and I'll be an independent actor if confirmed as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Speaker 7:
[09:19] Warsh says it's not unusual that Trump wants lower interest rates. He says most presidents do. And Warsh says just because Trump is more outspoken than most other presidents, that's not a threat to the Fed's independence.

Speaker 2:
[09:30] Although we should mention Trump did more than speak, he's done a lot of things to try to get more control over the Fed. So, are Democrats persuaded that this nominee would be independent?

Speaker 7:
[09:39] Well, that was exactly the point that Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren made. She says Trump hasn't just expressed an opinion. He's gone to great lengths to bend the Central Bank to his will.

Speaker 8:
[09:50] The president has repeatedly and illegally attempted to take over the Fed. His bogus attacks on Governor Lisa Cook and Chair Powell were designed to threaten all the members of the Fed.

Speaker 7:
[10:05] Now, so far those efforts by the president have been blocked in the courts, but Trump's pressure campaign has raised alarms. The Fed is supposed to be insulated from that kind of pressure so that it can do what's best in the long run for the economy, not just what's good until the next election.

Speaker 2:
[10:21] Aside from his independence, this is a chance to find out what it is that Warsh would want to do with this agency. How, if at all, does he want to change it?

Speaker 7:
[10:28] Yeah, he thinks there is room for lower interest rates, but also a lower profile for the Fed. He suggests that policyholders at the Central Bank might hold fewer news conferences and give fewer speeches. And he wants to improve the data that they use to measure things like inflation. And he wants the Fed to scale back its investment in government debt.

Speaker 2:
[10:47] Well, since you said investment, what is Warsh saying about his own personal investments?

Speaker 7:
[10:52] Not a whole lot. He is worth more than $100 million, and that doesn't count his wife, who's heir to the Estee Lauder fortune. But Warsh's financial disclosure form is pretty opaque about how and where that money is invested. Senator Warren grilled Warsh about whether he has financial ties to the Trump family or to China or even to Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaker 3:
[11:10] Senator, I have worked tirelessly with the ethics officials at the Office of Government Ethics.

Speaker 8:
[11:15] Yes, and you have not revealed $100 million in assets.

Speaker 3:
[11:18] And have agreed, Senator, to sell all of my financial assets.

Speaker 7:
[11:23] Warsh ducked that question with a promise to sell those undisclosed assets before he starts work at the Fed.

Speaker 2:
[11:28] How soon would he start work?

Speaker 7:
[11:30] Well, possibly as early as next month, but there's a big hurdle to clear first. Republican Thom Tillis insists he will not allow a vote on this nomination until the Justice Department drops that investigation of the Federal Reserve, which critics, including Tillis, say is just another way for the administration to put pressure on the Fed.

Speaker 2:
[11:47] And, Peter, Scott Horsley, thanks so much.

Speaker 7:
[11:49] You're welcome.

Speaker 2:
[11:54] And that's Up First for Wednesday, April 22nd. I'm Steve Inskeep.

Speaker 1:
[11:58] And I'm Michelle Martin. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Rebecca Metzler, Ben Swayze, Rafael Naam, Mohamed El-Bardisi and Lindsay Tadi. It was produced by Zain Batch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Misha Hines. Our technical director is Carly Strange. And our supervising producer is Michael Lipkin. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.