--:-- Leila Fadel: President Trump is heading to the Middle East. It'll be the first state visit of his second term. Will he focus on peace in Gaza or other matters like the luxury jumbo jet the Qatari royal family is offering him?
--:-- Michel Martin: I'm Michelle Martin with Leila Fadel and this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- Leila Fadel: As President Trump makes his way to the Middle East, Hamas says it will release the last living American hostage held in Gaza, 21-year-old soldier Edan Alexander. Israel's government says they'll provide for Alexander's safe passage, but his release does not guarantee a ceasefire deal.
--:-- Michel Martin: And Republicans are looking to cut $1.5 trillion from the budget to pay for Trump's domestic agenda. What could that mean for Medicaid? Stay with us.
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--:-- Leila Fadel: We've got the news you need to start your day. This message comes from BetterHelp. It's only human to ask others for advice. Like turning to your barista, hairdresser, or a taxi driver for life advice. But when you're looking for help about relationships, anxiety, depression, or other clinical issues, they may not have all the right answers. Instead, get guidance from a licensed therapist online with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.
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--:-- Leila Fadel: President Trump leaves this morning for a four-day trip to the Middle East, the first big state visit of his administration. The trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates comes as the administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. But Trump is expected to focus less on the quest for peace and more on making business deals, deals that apparently include the Qatari's offer of a new plane for the president.
--:-- Franco Ordonez: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez will be traveling with the president, and he joins us now.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Good morning, Franco. Good morning, Layla. Okay, so what is Trump looking to get out of this trip?
--:-- Franco Ordonez: Well, I mean, the White House says this trip is about strengthening ties in the region and highlighting cooperation where, as the press secretary puts it, extremism has been replaced by commerce and cultural exchanges.
--:-- Layla: And Layla, there's expected to be a lot of commerce and culture exchange this trip because it's kind of the best they have to offer each other right now.
--:-- Franco Ordonez: I spoke with Stephen Cook at the Council on Foreign Relations who told me that the Gulf leaders know what Trump wants. The Saudis, the Emiratis, and the Qataris are going to fall all over themselves over who can outdo themselves to welcome the president. And then they will outdo themselves over the number of deals that they can announce as the president is there or as he is departing.
--:-- Layla: Okay, so Franco, I heard Cook there say a lot about these countries knowing what Trump wants, but what about what Gulf leaders want? I mean, Saudi Arabia has been calling for an independent Palestinian state. Will the war in Gaza be part of this discussion?
--:-- Franco Ordonez: I mean, it'll be part of the conversation and talks about updates on ceasefire efforts, but it's more likely to be behind closed doors because again, there's just been such little progress as of late.
--:-- Layla: Now, the Qataris, for example, have been involved in those talks, hosting negotiations in Doha between Hamas and Israel. And one reason Cook says that Gulf leaders shower Trump with such lavishness and big business deals is it insulates them. It insulates them from any extra pressure that the U.S. may want to impose on them to either take action on Gaza, for example, if they're reluctant to do so.
--:-- Franco Ordonez: I will say that it's worth noting that the president did confirm on social media last night that a deal has been struck with Hamas to release the last American hostage who's been held since October of 2023.
--:-- Layla: And we will have more on that hostage release in a moment. But this trip feels a little bit like a replay of the first one Trump took during his last administration, right?
--:-- Franco Ordonez: Yeah, it does feel a little bit like deja vu. I mean, on that last trip, the Saudis really rolled out the red carpet for Trump and announced billions of dollars in investments. On this trip, Trump will boast new investments, including a promise by the Saudis to invest $600 billion in the U.S. and pledges from UAE to spend $1.4 trillion.
--:-- Layla: And just this weekend, the White House acknowledged, as you noted, that they're in discussions with the Qataris about possibly accepting a luxury plane that could serve as a temporary Air Force One until the new one is finished. ABC was the first to report this. And if it happens, it would be one of the first or the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the U.S. government. And it's raising a lot of legal and ethical concerns. And Trump and the White House are really pushing back on those concerns, charging that this would be a transparent and in full compliance with any laws.
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--:-- Daniel Estrin: Hamas today is expected to release a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen. Edan Alexander is an Israeli soldier whom Hamas captured when it attacked Israel in October of 2023.
--:-- Leila Fadel: His release is the result of secret talks between the U.S. and Hamas. President Trump says it is a step taken in good faith to put an end to the war. Israel says it will keep fighting the war during any negotiations.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: NPR's Daniel Estrin joins us now from downtown Tel Aviv with the latest.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Hi, Daniel. Hey, Leila. Okay, so I hear a lot of noise around you. Where are you and what are you seeing?
--:-- Daniel Estrin: I'm in what's known as Hostage Square in downtown Tel Aviv. Israelis are beginning to gather here in front of a large television screen. They're holding signs with the faces of other Israeli hostages still in Gaza, and they are hoping to see imminently the release of Edan Alexander being released from Gaza.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Then he is expected to be taken to an Israeli hospital where other released hostages have been admitted in the past. So, Daniel, tell us more about Edan Alexander.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: He's 21 years old. He grew up in New Jersey and moved to Israel to serve in the Israeli military. He was captured by Hamas in the October 7th attack while he was guarding his army base. And today, his mother is flying in from the United States with President Trump's envoy, Adam Bowler, to hopefully greet her son upon his release.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Dana, what do you know about these secret talks with the U.S. that led to Alexander's release?
--:-- Dana: Well, Hamas is saying that these talks took place in recent days. And we spoke with a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity. He not authorized to speak publicly about this. He says that the U did make promises in exchange for Alexander's release. He hinted that that could be the release of some Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and ensuring some aid get into Gaza after a 10-week Israeli blockade.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Now, Hamas and President Trump also are publicly saying they hope this leads to talks toward ending the war in Gaza. And the Hamas official told us, we gave the Americans what they asked for. They need to get the other side, meaning Israel, to give things to.
--:-- Dana: So what do we know about what Israel is saying? Because they would be key to any ceasefire.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Well, Israel, its government claims, it is not expected to give anything in return for this hostage release. And it says it will keep fighting the war, even during any ceasefire talks.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: Today, hospital officials in Gaza said 16 people, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli strike. And, Leila, in Israel, many people today are angry, actually, that Trump is the one achieving results here, while their own leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not.
--:-- Leila Fadel: There are still 20 more living hostages in Gaza, at least. The remains of a dozen more. Lots of discussion in Israel today about Trump sidestepping Israel's leadership, whether that's with the U.S. nuclear talks with Iran, Trump's truce with the Houthis in Yemen, which doesn't guarantee the Houthis stop attack Israel. And now this U.S. deal with Hamas while Israel is fighting Hamas.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: NPR's Daniel Estrin reporting from Tel Aviv. Thank you.
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--:-- Elena Moore: House Republicans have a goal. Get President Trump's massive domestic agenda to the Senate by Memorial Day.
--:-- Leila Fadel: GOP leaders have been mired in internal divisions over how to actually turn that agenda into law, but they hope to finalize their plans this week.
--:-- Elena Moore: NPR's Elena Moore has been covering these talks and joins us now with the latest.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Hi, Elena. Hey, Layla. Okay, so Republicans have been drafting portions of the bill based on a framework they passed last month. Get us up to speed on where things stand.
--:-- Elena Moore: Yeah, well, GOP members have to come up with $1.5 trillion in proposed savings or cuts to offset the cost of things like making Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent. That's about a quarter of annual federal spending.
--:-- Leila Fadel: And some conservative Republicans say one way of getting there is restructuring some programs like Medicaid, the federal insurance program available for low-income Americans and folks with disabilities.
--:-- Elena Moore: And the committee that oversees Medicaid is scheduled to mark up their portion of the bill on Tuesday. They've been asked to find $880 billion in cuts.
--:-- Leila Fadel: But moderate Republicans who face competitive re-election races next year are very much against massive changes to the program.
--:-- Elena Moore: And given the GOP's razor-thin majority in the House right now, the party needs those votes to get this massive spending bill passed.
--:-- Leila Fadel: So this whole week, Layla, is just about finding a compromise.
--:-- Elena Moore: Okay, Elena, then what might a compromise look like?
--:-- Elena Moore: Well, I mean, some of the general ideas do have virtually full party support. Here's how House Speaker Mike Johnson defended changes to Medicaid last week.
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--:-- Leila Fadel: The U.S. and China have agreed to temporarily reduce the tariffs they imposed on each other. Both countries say they'll limit tariffs for 90 days to give themselves time to negotiate.
--:-- Leila Fadel: China plans to drop tariffs on U.S. imports from 125 percent to 10 percent, and those 145 percent tariffs the U.S. imposed on Chinese imports will fall to 30 percent.
--:-- Leila Fadel: The high tariffs led trade between the two countries to fall sharply last month. Follow that story and many more on NPR.org.
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--:-- Leila Fadel: And that's Up First for Monday, May 12th. I'm Leila Fadel. And Donna Michelle Martin.
--:-- Michel Martin: Just a reminder that Public Radio relies on your financial support to sustain Up First, the NPR network, and the work of reporters at stations around the country and the world. You can make a contribution at donate.npr.org slash upfirst.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Today's episode of Up First was edited by Ryland Barton, Krishnadev Calamur, Carrie Kahn, Kelsey Snell, Ally Schweitzer, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ana Perez, Nia Dumas, and Chris Thomas. We get engineering support from David Greenberg, and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
--:-- Michel Martin: Join us again tomorrow.
--:-- Leila Fadel: This message comes from Lisa. Lisa mattresses are meticulously designed and assembled in the USA for exceptional quality. And each mattress is designed with specific sleep positions and feel preferences in mind. Plus, they back it all up with free shipping, easy returns, and a 100-night sleep trial. Visit Lisa.com for 25% off mattresses, plus get an extra $50 off with promo code NPR. That's L-E-E-S-A dot com promo code NPR.
--:-- Michel Martin: or visit thehartford.com.
--:-- Leila Fadel: Support for NPR and the following message come from IXL Learning. IXL Learning uses advanced algorithms to give the right help to each kid no matter the age or personality. Get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when you sign up today at IXL.com slash NPR.
