🎧 A lower court agreed that Slaughter couldn’t be fired, citing a 1935 Supreme Court decision called Humphrey’s Executor. The Trump administration argues that the precedent, which limits the president's constitutional power to remove the commissioner only for legally specified reasons, was incorrect, even back then, NPR’s Andrea Hsu told Up First. Slaughter told Hsu that the Constitution doesn’t say the president can do whatever they want while in office. Slaughter says that if the Supreme Court rules that the removal protections are unconstitutional, it could destabilize all independent agencies that Congress has created over the last 90 years.
A Democratic proposal to extend current Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years is scheduled for a Senate vote on Thursday. The enhanced health care subsidies are set to expire at the end of the month. The plan Democrats put forth isn't expected to get the 60 votes it needs to advance. 🎧 Senate Republicans are divided on extending subsidies. While some support it, others want income caps and reforms to limit eligibility, NPR’s Deirdre Walsh says. House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to release a health care bill this week and promises a vote this month, although he is not negotiating with any Democrats on it. Trump has not endorsed any legislation regarding ACA tax credits yet. Members of both parties believe that if the president doesn’t get involved in negotiating a deal soon, Americans will see major cost increases next month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with European leaders in London today as they vie for a role in the peace talks with the U.S. This comes as Trump continues to push Ukraine to accept a U.S.-backed plan to end Russia's war. Ukrainian officials have been calling for changes in the proposal, which they say favors Russia. 🎧 The goal of today’s meeting is for the leaders of Britain, France and Germany to demonstrate that Europe remains very supportive of Ukraine, Mujtaba Rahman, Europe managing director at Eurasia Group, tells NPR’s Lauren Frayer. Last week, the Trump administration released a revised national security strategy that claimed that immigration is leading to “civilizational erasure” in Europe. The document also suggested that the U.S. would support far-right parties in the region. The document was met with praise from the Kremlin, raising concerns in Europe that the Trump administration might be more aligned with Russia than with its European allies in general, Frayer says.
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