Transcript
NPR Host (0:00)
Military commanders, intelligence officials, diplomatic power players. They know things you may not about where the world is headed. And we will pull back the curtain on what they're thinking. On sources and methods, NPR's new national security podcast, our team will help you understand America's shifting role in the world. Listen to Sources and Methods from npr.
Ryland Barton (0:24)
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. Federal workers across the country could be furloughed at midnight. That's at if Congress fails to reach a deal to keep the government open. Still, that doesn't mean the government would cease to function entirely. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports.
Andrea Hsu (0:40)
In a shutdown, some government functions that are not funded by Congress do continue. Social Security checks still go out. Your mail will still be delivered. Other functions considered necessary to protect life or property would also continue, but the Trump administration has not made explicitly clear what those would be. Max Steyer, the CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, says the administration has already demonstrated and even threatened to.
Max Steyer (1:07)
Pursue an agenda that is personal to the president as opposed to in the public's interest.
Andrea Hsu (1:12)
Steyer warns government shutdowns make the government slower and less efficient. He says they interrupt modernization efforts and training programs and lead to a loss of talent. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.
Ryland Barton (1:23)
President Trump's federal intervention in Memphis has begun. That's according to a tweet from U.S. attorney General Pam Bondi. As NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports, the operation is set to include more than a dozen federal agencies and the National Guard.
Kat Lonsdorf (1:37)
Trump has said the Memphis task force is to fight crime in the city, which has some of the highest rates of violent crime in the country. Those numbers have been declining, but they're still high. Many residents in Memphis welcome the federal intervention, like 42 year old Ronnie Davis in the northern neighborhood of Frazier.
Ronnie Davis (1:52)
We need all the government agencies that we can get down here because the problem is coming overwhelming.
Kat Lonsdorf (1:56)
Davis says gun violence in particular has become so common in his neighborhood he's almost numb to it. But others have protested, worried it will expand federal power in the city. Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee supports the operation and has offered the National Guard to help. Kat Lansdorf, NPR News. Memphis.