Leila Fadel

President Trump goes to Delaware to receive the bodies of American soldiers.

Michelle Martin

He is struggling to answer questions about the war with Iran.

Senator Gary Peters

Do you know something that I don't know?

Michelle Martin

Well, they continue to attack our allies in Germany.

Senator Gary Peters

You don't know what the dialogue is behind the scenes.

Leila Fadel

I'm Leila Fadel with Michelle Martin and this is up first from NPR News. Both Democrats and Republicans wanted answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about a war Congress never voted to authorize.

Senator Gary Peters

This is a regime hell bent on nuclear ambitions. And guys, President Trump is. Straight answers. We need straight answers.

Leila Fadel

Hegseth went to Capitol Hill asking for billions more for the war.

Michelle Martin

And Arizona Republicans picked candidates who denied the 2020 election results in their primary yesterday. Why do Democrats think they have a better chance of beating MAGA Republicans in the midterms? Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your.

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Michelle Martin

to Dover Air Force Base today to attend the dignified transfer of the remains of US Service members killed by Iranian strikes.

Senator Gary Peters

I'll be going to Dover for something that I feel is it's a great honor for me to do it.

Leila Fadel

Honoring those killed in action is one of the most solemn responsibilities for a president. But for Trump, the rising number of CA casualties has added significance. It highlights the mounting questions about the Iran war.

Michelle Martin

NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez is with us now to tell us more about this morning. Franco.

Franco Ordonez

Good morning, Michelle.

Michelle Martin

You know, the American public has always been ambivalent about this war, but the criticism has generally been framed in economic terms. I'm wondering if the losses of these troops might change that.

Franco Ordonez

Yeah, I Mean, if the casualties continue to rise, it could change a lot. It could change. I mean, the public does not like seeing US Citizens killed in a war, especially a war that they don't necessarily understand or maybe don't think is necessary right now. I was talking with Justin Logan, who directs Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, and he told me that the challenge of, you know, reduced munitions, for example, is kind of this abstract idea to most Americans. But what's not abstract at all is Americans coming back in flag draped coffins.

Senator Gary Peters

I think the President knows he's playing with fire here. The public doesn't like this conflict, but they're not that exercised about it as yet. He knows that the one way to get them exercised about it is to have large amounts of Americans coming home in flag draped coffins, you know.

Franco Ordonez

And Logan noted that the death of one of those service members, a young woman from Texas who's 19, seems to be striking a chord with people in the sense that there are young people dying in this war where the goals are unclear. And he said that the more Americans who die, the more questions are going to be asked about what the aims of the war, in fact are.

Michelle Martin

Reporters asked Trump about his long term plan in Iran yesterday, noting that Iran doesn't seem to be showing any indication that it wants to stop fighting. How did he respond?

Franco Ordonez

I mean, Michelle, he got a little testy arguing with reporters that they don't actually know what's really happening. And again, insisting that Iran is anxious to stop the fighting.

Senator Gary Peters

What do you know something that I don't know?

Michelle Martin

Well, they continue to attack our allies.

Senator Gary Peters

You don't know what the dialogue is behind the scenes, that they want to meet desperately to try and end it because they're getting decimated.

Franco Ordonez

And yet Trump also said that Iran is not ready to meet in a, quote, meaningful way and therefore he has no interest in doing so. It really just shows a very bleak assessment of where the negotiations stand right now. Iron even after 11 days of continuous

Michelle Martin

strikes, this war has already stretched months longer than Trump predicted and told Americans that it would. Are there other ways it's becoming a political problem for the White House?

Franco Ordonez

Well, I think there's just real uncertainty of when this is actually going to end. You know, the Defense Secretary was also on Capitol Hill as well yesterday, asking for billions more to cover the costs of the war. All that is likely to have political impacts, especially as the midterms approach. Now, Trump ran for office criticizing past wars in the Middle east. And now the US Is at war in the Middle East. Trump wants to sell Americans on this narrative that things are going great in the US that the stock market is hitting record highs, that inflation is dropping. But having Americans serving overseas killed by Iranian strikes runs counter to that.

Michelle Martin

That is White House correspondent Franco Ardonez. Franco, thank you.

Franco Ordonez

Thank you, Michelle.

Michelle Martin

As Franco mentioned, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with senators yesterday in a hearing that turned contentious at times. He was asking for billions, in addition, funding for the Pentagon.

Leila Fadel

And he has a new price tag for the war with Iran, $37.5 billion. And meanwhile, the US attacks on Iran and counterattacks from Iran have intensified, and that has frustrated some lawmakers who are now being asked to approve funds for a war that Congress never voted to authorize.

Michelle Martin

Joining us now to talk about this is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Casales. Claudia, good morning to you.

Claudia Grisales

Good morning, Michelle.

Michelle Martin

So Hegseth sat for several hours with lawmakers yesterday. Just bring us up to date on what he was asking for.

Claudia Grisales

Well, it's part of a Trump administration request for $67 billion in emergency funding as the war picks up speed again. That would replenish equipment and munitions that have been used and get projects and equipment deliveries moving faster. Hexad said without additional funding, the department could see shortfalls in service member pay. And he warned there could also be an effect on troop readiness training right

Senator Gary Peters

now and training in the future that would have to be curtailed if we do not get our budget needs met and met urgently.

Claudia Grisales

And this comes on top of a record defense budget request of $1.5 trillion that the Trump administration proposed earlier this year. Hexeath said this funding was long overdue.

Michelle Martin

And what did the lawmakers have to say about that? What was their response?

Claudia Grisales

Well, senators from both sides of the aisle said there's still a long list of unanswered questions. They asked Kegseth about Iran's nucle program, about its missile capabilities, and about the future of the Strait of Hormuz. So in essence reflecting the level of uncertainty and skepticism among some members worried about the direction of the war, at times, there was some real frustration on display, even from Republicans. One moment came after Louisiana GOP Senator John Kennedy asked Hegseth if Iran still has access to nuclear capabilities.

Senator Gary Peters

This is a regime hell bent on nuclear ambitions. And President Trump is. Straight answers. We need straight answers.

Michelle Martin

And what about the Democrats? What did we hear from them?

Claudia Grisales

Well, Hagseth really faced an intense grilling from Democrats. One of the most heated exchanges came at the end of the hearing with Michigan Senator Gary Peters.

Senator Gary Peters

But if There's a lack of a winning strategy. They're in harm's way. Their leaders have failed them. And that's what's happening. We have political leadership. You, you don't have a strategy. You don't have a long term plan to actually win this war. Win the war. The men and women are going to be able to do it, but they need to have leadership.

Claudia Grisales

And that really captured the fury that Democrats have with this ongoing war. They say it's exacted immense losses for the country. That includes the 18 service members killed since the start of the war and the nearly 500 injured.

Michelle Martin

And what is the political reality of all this for President Trump and his party?

Franco Ordonez

Right.

Claudia Grisales

As the war drags on and closer to the elections, it's creating bigger headaches for Republicans. And Democrats are capitalizing on that. Take the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Patty Murray. One key argument she made is that gasoline prices have started to climb higher after the latest uptick in fighting. That's sure to be a message that we're going to be hearing from Democrats as they hammer it on the campaign trail and try to win back control of Congress.

Michelle Martin

That is NPR's Claudia Grisales. Claudia, thank you.

Claudia Grisales

Thank you so much.

Michelle Martin

Arizona Republicans picked staunch allies of President Trump in their primary races on Tuesday.

Leila Fadel

The candidates for governor and secretary of state Both denied the 2020 election results.

Michelle Martin

Ben Giles is here to tell us more. He's political editor at member station KJZZ in Phoenix. Good morning, Ben.

Ben Giles

Good morning.

Michelle Martin

So what do we know so far?

Ben Giles

Well, so far we know that far right candidates are sweeping statewide primaries. For example, Congressman Andy Biggs is now the GOP nominee for governor here. And state lawmaker Alexander Collodin won the GOP race for secretary of state. They both cruised to victory in the primary, largely thanks to endorsements for Biggs from President Trump and for Culloden, with the backing of Turning Point, the political machine founded here in Arizona by the late Charlie Kirk. But the thing is, Trump's endorsement and Turning Points backing isn't as meaningful in the general election when these MAGA candidates have to appeal to a broader portion of the electorate, particularly Arizona's influential bloc of independent voters. So this outcome has some Republicans in Arizona worried that Democrats could again win key races in this swing state, which

Michelle Martin

is interesting because this is a state that Trump won handily just two years ago. So say more about what it is about these GOP candidates that have some Republicans so concerned.

Ben Giles

I think the key thing is they're not President Trump. What we saw in Arizona Both in 2022, the last midterm and 2024 is that Trump himself is something of an outlier in Arizona. For example, when Trump won the popular vote for president here two years ago, Democrat Ruben Gallego also easily won the U.S. senate race, outperforming the Republican in that race. And in the last midterm election, Democrats like our current governor, Katie Hobbs attacked a slate of Trump backed candidates as too extreme and too beholden the president to represent Arizonans. Democrats are going to paint Republicans like Biggs and like Culloden, the GOP nominee for Secretary of state, as so pro Trump that they won't act in the best interest of Arizona voters, whether that's harping on Republicans for inflation that the president and his allies have failed to tame, or pointing out that, like Trump, both of these candidates are election deniers who've spread unfounded rhetoric about elections in swing states like Arizona.

Michelle Martin

So Republican voters are picking these Trump backed candidates who could very well lose statewide races in Arizona. It's interesting. Were there no alternatives?

Ben Giles

There were in primaries for both the governor's office and secretary of state. There were GOP candidates considered, I don't want to say more moderate, but more traditionally conservative in a state like Arizona. But neither primary was that close. The Associated Press, they called both races about an hour after polls closed when the first batch of results were dropped here on election night. And that's a reflection of the enormous, enormous influence not just of Trump, but of Turning Point, which backed both Biggs and Cullinan. That organization now has a lot of influence in Arizona, at least among GOP voters in the primary. Primary voters here seem to be signaling that they prefer these far right candidates to best represent their interests, despite the fact that those far right candidates keep losing when Democrats and independents also have a say in November. So this November will be yet another test of not just Trump, but Turning Point's ability to get their preferred candidates across the finish line. And so far, Michelle, that's not something they've been able to accomplish in key statewide races.

Michelle Martin

That's Ben Giles of KJZZ in Phoenix. Ben, thank you.

Ben Giles

Thank you.

Michelle Martin

And that's up first for Wednesday, July 22nd. I'm Michelle Martin.

Leila Fadel

And I'm Layla Falden. Today's episode of up first was edited by Rebecca Metzler, Jason Breslow, Miguel Macias, Mohamed Albertisi and Adriana Gallardo. It was produced by Ziad Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hyness, our technical director is Stacy Abbott and our supervising producer is Michael Lipkin. Join us again tomorrow.

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