Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts

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🗓️ 21 May 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

The latest on the president's massive tax and immigration bill as it faces continued resistance from both moderate and hardline Republicans. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will travel to Washington next week as relations between the U.S. and South Africa are at their lowest since the end of apartheid. An NPR analysis finds that the ad hoc Department of Government Efficiency keeps finding new parts of the federal government to try to shrink.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	President Trump warns House Republicans to accept a proposal for tax and spending changes along with a lot of borrowing.
0:08.7	He predicts any Republican who resists would be knocked out, so why are some saying no?
0:13.3	I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Faddle, and this is up first from NPR News.
0:20.9	South Africa's president is coming to Washington.
0:23.8	He'll be meeting with President Trump,
0:25.4	whose administration has accused South Africa
0:27.8	of discriminating against its own white citizens.
0:30.8	How does all this look from Johannesburg?
0:32.6	And Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency
0:35.1	is trying to expand its reach.
0:37.5	Musk has taken a step back, but an NPR analysis found the unit has sought recently to intervene in dozens more entities, even some outside government.
0:46.4	Is that legal?
0:47.4	Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
1:06.0	President Trump met with House Republicans in the Capitol yesterday, urging them to get behind his massive tax and immigration bill or risk a tax increase.
1:10.9	I mean, what Republican could vote for that to happen? Because there wouldn't be a Republican much longer.
1:13.2	They would get, they would be knocked out so fast.
1:20.9	House Speaker Mike Johnson wants a vote as soon as today, but as always, he needs almost every Republican on his side in order to pass it.
1:25.0	And PR's Deirdre Walsh is at the Capitol and she joins me now.
1:25.9	Good morning, Deirdre.
1:26.6	Good morning, Wail.
1:29.0	So did Trump's pep rally with House Republicans build the support he needs for that bill? He did sway some who praised his sales job,
1:34.9	but the president failed to convince a significant block of Republican holdouts. There are moderates
	...

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