The White House renews threats to send a military force to Chicago. Meanwhile, there does not seem to be progress at the end of the closure of the federal government.
Ayesha Rascoe, host:
And now we will turn to the correspondent of the White House NPR, Deepa Shivaram. Hello, Deepa.
Deepa Shivaram, Byline: Hey, Ayesha, Hello.
Rascoe: So Chicago is only one of the cities that President Trump wants to send the soldiers, but it is the one he returns again and again in his comments. Even before the events of this weekend, tell me a little about Trump’s interest in Chicago.
Shivaram: Yes, I mean, it was somehow a slow accumulation to this point because the president teased that he wanted to send members of the National Guard to Chicago for some time, months and months and months. And about a month ago, he began to degenerate this rhetoric and said that the administration was, quotes, “entering Chicago”, but he never specified when it would happen exactly. And then earlier this week, he once again mentioned the idea and said that it would happen soon, and he also insulted the State Democratic Governor, JB Pritzker, calling him incompetent and stupid.
And so it brings us to this weekend. And like you and Michael Parliez, Pritzker said that the Trump administration had mainly gave it an ultimatum. Either he calls members of the National Guard, or Trump will replace it and will do it himself. And of course, all of this follows Trump’s sending to the National Guard to other cities – right? – Like and DC. And more recently, he tried to send troops to Portland, Oregon, although yesterday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s decision to send the National Guard to Portland, and I will note that this judge was appointed by Trump in 2019.
Rascoe: has there been any progress on negotiations to end the closure of the federal government?
Shivaram: Yes, well, the answer – the short answer, Ayesha, is no. There does not really seem to be an end in sight here. I mean, the Senate failed to advance funding proposals on Friday. The members of the Senate should return to the hill tomorrow to try again, but the room will remain outside the session, by the president of the room, Mike Johnson. He said he would recall the Chamber in session once the Senate could reach an agreement on government financing, but as I said, there is really not much agreement between the two parties.
Rascoe: Well, on another set of negotiations, there seems to be a movement in the talks between Israel and Hamas, right?
Shivaram: Yes, there have been some updates on negotiations there. And, you know, just to make up for and put this in context, Friday, the president posted on social networks – his platform, Truth Social – and he essentially gave Hamas this deadline of 6 p.m. this evening – it’s Sunday evening – to accept the ceasefire agreement that the White House had established last week. And this agreement was a 20 -point plan that had requirements for Hamas to disclose all hostages, so that Israel ends its war in Gaza and help in Gaza, and there were also a number of other points. And Israel accepted this agreement, but Hamas said they had persistent questions. But after Trump established this deadline on Sunday, Hamas responded a few hours later and accepted the proposal.
But that does not mean that the whole agreement is all said and done. There are still negotiations. And yesterday, for example, Trump posted that Israel had accepted the withdrawal lines that the White House had written in his plan, but the United States is still waiting to know if they also accept this and other elements of the plan. So, certainly some progress and certain movements, but nothing is finalized.
Rascoe: And during this time, the president visits Norfolk, in Virginia. What brought him there?
Shivaram: Yes, Trump heads there to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the navy. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth will also be there with the president and the first lady, Melania Trump. It is planned to be this major celebration event, although I note that this happens when the government is closed, which means that members of the active service are not paid. I am therefore quite curious to know if the president mentions this in his remarks while this judgment is heading around week 2.
Rascoe: It’s Deeppa Shivaram de NPR. Deepa, thank you very much.
Shivaram: Thank you very much.
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