The federal government has shut down for the first time since 2019, with President Trump threatening mass layoffs and facing criticism for using government resources to blame Democrats. More than two million federal workers are bracing for uncertainty as the shutdown drags on, with some agencies warning employees they may not be brought back once it ends. And President Trump told top military commanders he wants to use troops against “enemies within” and plans to deploy National Guard forces to Democratic-led cities.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Kelsey Snell, Emily Kopp, Krishnadev Calamur, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Lindsay Totty

We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy