Transcript of White House Shutdown Cuts, Government Services Interrupted, Gaza City Evacuation

Hey, Steve. How's Kentucky?

Oh, it's lovely. It's lovely. We've had a nice time. Beautiful weather. We've driven around, talked to people, hung out with a governor, had some bourbon. Have you been doing all right without me?

It's been tough. Yeah, I know. Yeah, you got to come back.

The White House plans to punish Democrats during the shutdown by slashing funding to blue states and also implementing mass layoffs.

Will the threats force Democrats to succumb to the President's will?

I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadel, and this is up first from NPR News. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are already furloughed or working without pay.

In the short term, it doesn't have to mean anything, but anything beyond that, there is a ripple effect that can create quite a bit of challenge.

Which government programs are most effective?

And despite a peace plan on the table that Hamas is now weighing, Israel has issued what it calls a final warning to Gaza City residents, Leave now or be treated as militants. Those who remain include the elderly and people in hospitals. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. On the Throughline podcast from NPR, immigration enforcement might be more visible now, but this moment didn't begin with President Trump's second inauguration or even his first. A series from Thru-Line about how immigration became political and a cash cow. Listen to Throughline in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life. Powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Shortwave podcast from NPR.

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The White House seems to be using the government shutdown to punish and pressure its opponents. Last night, the President called on Republicans to use the shutdown to, quote, clear out dead wood. He's also spoken of doing, quote, irreversible damage in ways that are, quote, bad for his fellow Americans.

The White House budget director, Russ Vot, is making good on that promise. He announced the cancelation of $8 billion for energy projects in 16 states. All 16 are considered blue states. Vot also canceled $18 billion in infrastructure funding for New York City. It's the home of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, although the cuts affect Democrats and Republicans alike, and some New York Republicans are objecting.

To talk this through, White House correspondent, Franco Ordonias, joins us now here in the studio. Good morning. Good morning, Leila. Okay, so Russ Votes is not a household name for a lot of Americans, but he's perhaps the most influential person in Washington right now after the President. Just lay out what makes him so influential.

Yeah, I mean, he has the keys to the federal budget right now, and he's using that power to the fullest, or at least he's threatening to. Let's just remember that Vote was also an architect of the controversial Project 2025 blueprint, where he advocated for a more activist approach to cutting spending and overhauling the federal workforce. Now he's part of the administration. I mean, this summer, he told reporters at a Christian science monitor event that now with Republicans in full control of the government, it was time to rein in spending, even if it meant doing so without the support of Democrats.

The appropriations process has to be less bipartisan.

Last week, though, he sent out a memo to federal agencies telling them to prepare for large scale firings of federal workers if the government shut down. As you can imagine, that really drew the ire of Democrats. In response, House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffrey's called vote a, quote, malignant political hack.

Now, we heard what we said earlier, that the President really has been making threats, right? That he's going to cut things and programs that Democrats like, but also that maybe some good could come out of this shutdown. So is choosing to do this now about curbing spending or inflicting pain on the Democrats so they'll budge?

Yeah, it's unclear. I mean, look, Congress has the power of the purse, but the Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson, argues that its hands are tied because of the shutdown, and that that power essentially is shifted to the executive branch. Now, usually or tendedly, the government typically decides which employees are essential versus non-essential for a temporary shutdown. But in this case, the The White House may be using that idea, that concept for permanent cuts.

But does the White House have that authority?

Well, I'll tell you multiple federal worker unions say no, and they're suing. Bridget Dooling is a law professor at Ohio State University who worked at the OMB for over a decade. She says the shutdown does not give vote or the White House any extra powers, and thinking that it does is a misunderstanding of the differences between temporary lapses and appropriations, which is what a shutdown is, versus permanently laying off workers.

This is a bluff, and this is the administration trying to use some leverage to basically force Democrats back to the table to negotiate, to get the government back open.

Now, the White House is pushing Democrats to negotiate, but I'll say that based on votes, past statements, and his writings, he seems less focused on working with Democrats and more focused on making the cuts.

What does the White House say?

Well, I mean, the vice President, JD Vance, he was at a press briefing yesterday. He blames Democrats for the shutdown, but says they have to do a little triage, and that means layoffs, which the White House says are imminent. But the White House never explained why layoffs were necessary and not temporary furloughs.

That's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thank you, Franco.

Thank you, Leila.

Across the country, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed or working without pay because of this shutdown.

Yeah, now I stopped by a couple of federal buildings while reporting here in Kentucky and found some people working as normal. The courts are open. Some projects have funding locked in, it turns out. But elsewhere across this country, some government offices are closed and facilities at national parks are not available.

A longer shutdown will bring more pain, as we are hearing from NPR's Greg Allen. Good morning, Greg.

Good morning, Leila.

What government services are affected by this shutdown?

Well, a lot of the most vital government services, things like Social Security payments, also Medicare and Medicaid, are supposed to be unaffected by the shutdown. However, staffing shortages are likely to lead to delays in some services as this drags on. In Boston, Jim is a federal employee who handles workers' comp claims. He didn't want to give his last name because he's not authorized to speak to the media. But like many other federal employees, he's still working and won't be paid until the shutdown is over.

I've been through it before, so I knew to set funds aside to be set up for this. I'm not surprised.

Air traffic controllers and active duty military personnel are also working without pay until this is all over.

Was there much of an impact yesterday, the first day of the shutdown?

Well, we had public radio reporters and producers out visiting government offices and national parks around the country. Many, but not all national parks and monuments were open, but still lots of rangers and other staff were told to stay home. At Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado yesterday, Michelle Shoter, who is visiting from Wisconsin, said she's worried about the impact of the park of too many tourists with too staff.

I feel really bad if it's a free for all, honestly, because I think things could get out of hand really quickly.

Just people being disrespectful to public lands or National Park. I worry, especially the longer this goes on.

Okay, so that's what's happening with federal workers. What about government programs that will be most effective?

Well, among the things most at risk are federal food assistance programs. Those are Snap, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the program for Women, Infants, and Children, WIC. There are staffing reductions and concerns that the programs could run out of money if the shutdown doesn't end soon. In Silver Spring, Maryland, yesterday, Carlos Hernández came in to renew his benefits through Snap, but the office was closed. He's 75, a US citizen from El Salvador, and says the benefits help a lot. He says, I'm retired, and what I get from the government is very little. It's not enough. Everything is so expensive. Mr. Hernández said he's confused about why the government shut down and worries what it means for his benefits.

Greg, you're in Florida, where people rely heavily on the government's federal flood insurance program. Are there any issues with that because of the shutdown?

Yes, definitely. The National Flood Insurance Program insures more than four and a half million homeowners nationwide. The largest number of them, some 40% are here in Florida. With the government's shutdown, no new policies can be written. It's something realtors are watching very closely, including Florida Association of Realtors President, Tim Weisheier.

In the short term, it doesn't have to mean anything. I mean short term, literal short term, within the next day or two or three.

But anything beyond that, there is a ripple effect that can create quite a bit of challenge for the marketplace.

For people looking to get a mortgage on a home in a flood risk zone, the freeze of the program means they can't get flood insurance now, and lenders require them to have flood insurance before going through the home purchase. So if the shutdown isn't resolved soon, real estate sales across the country will be put on hold or even canceled.

When Pierre's Greg Allen in Miami, Thank you, Greg.

You're welcome.

Israel has ordered all residents of Gaza's most populous city to leave in more mass displacement as Israel expands its ground operation there.

The Israeli defense minister said anybody remaining in Gaza City will be considered militants and supporters of terror. At the same time, the Israeli military says it has intercepted almost all of the vessels that are part of a convoy that had been trying to sail to Gaza and deliver food.

With us is NPR's Emily Fang in Tel Aviv, who has been following all of this. Good morning, Emily.

Good morning, Leila.

Okay, let's start with Gaza. What is the Israeli military saying about what it's doing around Gaza City?

They say they've encircled Gaza City. This week, they now control movement north and south into the city. And by their own estimation, there are still hundreds of thousands of civilians who remain there. Some of them are the elderly or they're in hospitals. And so it's unclear if these people, if they stay, if they would be considered militants. We reached out to the defense ministry, but we haven't heard back during the Yom Kippur holidays. Our producer in Gaza Anas Baba says, A lot of people have chosen to remain in Gaza City because there is nowhere safer to go. Much of the strip is destroyed or it's already occupied by the Israeli military. And the shelling in Gaza City has gotten so intense that this week, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders both said that they're shutting down their operations there to protect their staff. A United Nations Agency Director says on average, about 100 Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli operations every day.

Or all this is happening while a 20-point peace proposal from President Trump is still on the table. What is the latest on that.

Parties are waiting for a response from Hamas. Just to summarize, this proposal would first end the war, return all hostages held by Hamas, and then it would hand control of Gaza, initially to a board of international experts headed by President Trump. But this proposal is running into challenges already. There are far-right ministers in Israel who are furious that this plan would let Palestinians stay in Gaza and not forcibly displace them, which is what they're calling for. These ministers could topple Netanyahu's government if they want to. Then Qatar, the country, is helping mediate all these ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. Qatar's Prime Minister said in Al-Jazeera this week that it still needed clarification on certain points and more, quote, discussion and negotiation. He is likely referring to more details, a specific timetable on exactly when Israeli forces would retreat from Gaza under this American plan, and for example, what the US means by decommissioning Hamas's weapons. There is basically no trust between the parties here, especially after Israel tried to kill Hamas negotiators in Qatar in September, which Netanyahu apologized for this week.

Now, before I let you go, Emily, tell us what is happening with the flotilla of boats that have aid and were headed to Gaza. Are they still sailing?

Israel's Navy and these convoy organizers say Israel's boarded and detained about 40 boats so far. This is a fast evolving situation. I am tracking it minute by minute. Just minutes ago, the flotilla organizers, their tracker showed there was still one remaining French flagged vessel that's still sailing on to famine-stricken Gaza as we speak. The organizers say it is just kilometers away from shore. Israel says they're going to deport all the activists it detains. They've repeatedly said they consider this flotilla a Hamas-linked provocation, but this is still a PR fiasco for Israel. These activists have livestreamed their journey throughout September, and it's become this viral David and Goliath drama that anyone with a smartphone can follow.

That's NPR's Emily Fange in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Emily.

Thanks, Leila.

We have one more a response to the federal government shutdown this morning.

It comes from Andy Besheer, the Democratic governor of Kentucky, which is where I'm reporting this morning. Besheer is aware of the President's threat to begin firing federal workers if this shutdown goes on.

If he fires a bunch of people, it's not because Democrats wouldn't reach a deal.

It's because the President decides and actually fires people.

People aren't a negotiating tool.

They are not a prop, and that's how he's treating these families.

Now, Leila, I was talking with Besheer about a longer term issue, the collapse of the Democratic Party in red states, like the one where Besheer has managed to win two terms as governor. He's now thinking about helping to win other red states if he can and even run for President. So we went to see him for an NPR video interview.

You can find the video on YouTube and at the NPR app, and the conversation will also drop in this podcast feed. And that's a first for Thursday, October second. I'm Leila Fulton.

And I'm Steve Inskeep. There's an easy way to stay connected to news and podcasts from the NPR Network, the NPR app. You can hear community coverage from your station, stories from around the world, and podcast suggestions based on what you like. Download the NPR app in your app store.

Today's episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Russell Lewis, Miguel Masias, Mohamed El-Bradisi, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziyad Batch, Nia Dumas, and Lindsay Toddi. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.

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