Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingley. Congress has until late tonight to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A short-term DHS funding bill is hours away from expiring. The bill to fund the department through September failed in the Senate yesterday, falling eight votes shy of the 60

needed for passage. Democratic lawmakers are demanding changes to how federal officers enforce

immigration laws before they'll approve a long-term spending bill for DHS. The House and Senate

are scheduled to be off next week, and currently no direct talks or negotiations

are on the table. A federal judge has approved a request from Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of

Arizona to block the Pentagon from demoting him. The former NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy captain

filed the lawsuit accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegset of punishing him for

political speech. Here's NPR's Elena Moore. Senator Kelly, an outspoken Trump critic,

was one of several Democrats who participated in a video posted online last fall,

urging American service members to refuse illegal orders. It sparked intense backlash from President Trump

and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who later announced a review of Kelly's retirement grade,

which could lead to a demotion and decrease in the senator's retirement pay. But that's now on hold.

In granting Kelly's request, Judge Richard Leon argued that Hegseth had, quote,

trampled on the Senator's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional rights of millions of military retirees.

Elena Moore, NPR News.

President Trump had accused Kelly and the five others who appeared in that video of seditious behavior.

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are among media outlets

reporting President Trump has ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier to move from

the Caribbean to the Middle East. The president has been building up American naval assets in the region

to pressure Iran into giving up its nuclear program. A federal judge says President Trump's

$10 billion lawsuit against the BBC can move forward. NPR's Lauren Freire has more from London.

President Trump sued the British public broadcaster over the way it edited a speech he gave

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