Megabill Wrangling, State Of Democracy Poll, USAID Ends

NPR

Published July 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM EDT

Republican leaders must find a fragile balance in the reconciliation bill between making deep cuts and protecting programs for the vulnerable. Also, an overwhelming majority of Americans say democracy is under serious threat, and USAID officially ends today.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Jason Breslow, Dana Farrington, Rebecca Davis, Janaya Williams and Lisa Thomson. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Claire Murashima and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zo van Ginhoven. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.

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