Trump says the US should take over Gaza, does not rule out using US troops | The Excerpt
On Wednesday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN White House Correspondent Francesca Chambers recaps President Donald Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Trump's eyebrow-raising comments about the future of Gaza. At least 20,000 federal workers have taken President Trump's buyout offer as a Thursday deadline nears. Paste BN Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn explains why some disabled federal workers fear for their jobs after recent remarks from President Trump. Almost all USAID workers worldwide have been placed on leave. You might have a spoon's worth of microplastics - in your brain. For more on microplastics, check out our special deep dive episode.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Wednesday, February 5th, 2025. This is the Excerpt. Today, a deeper look at Trump and Netanyahu's meeting and what Trump said about the future of Gaza. Plus an update on federal employees accepting Trump's buyout offer and disabled federal workers feel the White House is targeting them.
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President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday at the White House, and in a news conference following their talk, Trump said the US should take over Gaza. I spoke with Paste BN White House Correspondent Francesca Chambers for more.
Francesca, thank you so much for carving out some time for me on this.
Francesca Chambers:
Yeah, thanks Taylor.
Taylor Wilson:
So President Trump had some strong words, Francesca, about the future of Gaza. Let's take a listen.
President Trump:
The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.
Taylor Wilson:
So Francesca, how surprising were these remarks? What does he actually mean by them if we read between the lines, and I guess just what was the reaction like in the room when he said this?
Francesca Chambers:
Well, Taylor, they came under immediate criticism from Democratic lawmakers, and even some experts that I spoke to in the region said that they had never heard of a proposal like this before. And even one Republican who I spoke to, Taylor, said it was the last thing that they expected from Donald Trump because he represents in many ways a desire to get the United States less involved in places like the Middle East. In terms of what he means by it wasn't entirely clear because he said that the US would take it over. He also talked about the United States owning Gaza, and it also wasn't clear if this was something that he had run by Arab leaders. He indicated that he's been in conversation with both Egypt and Jordan about relocating Palestinians to those areas but whether or not he had talked with them about the United States managing Gaza afterwards, that was very unclear.
Taylor Wilson:
Okay. So were there any other aspects of either the ceasefire or Gaza's future that the pair discussed or that stood out to you from the news conference, Francesca?
Francesca Chambers:
What was expected to be on the schedule, Taylor, was a discussion about the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is still in its first phase, and it would need to be negotiated to get into the second phase, where you would see the release of additional hostages as well as the third phase that would include the reconstruction of Gaza. Now, that last phase called for a three to five-year reconstruction, but senior officials in the Trump administration had said earlier in the day that they expected it to take much longer, that it would be 10 to 15 years, and that Trump was looking for solutions that would allow the more than 2 million Palestinians who currently live there to live as normal lives as possible. This wasn't the first time that we heard Trump talk about relocating the Palestinians who are currently in Gaza. He said in January that it was a demolition site, and he proposed just cleaning that whole thing out. He said then that the territory's residents could be relocated temporarily or long-term, but yesterday was the first time that we heard additional details on how he envisions that going.
Taylor Wilson:
Francesca, we've heard ideas about this two-state solution for really generations and in comes Trump with new ideas about this proposal in terms of the future of Gaza, does this represent a major shift from past US policy?
Francesca Chambers:
Trump is rewriting US foreign policy in a major way. The US has for a very long time supported a two-state solution that would involve an independent Palestinian state, and including in his first administration, his proposal for Middle East Peace included a two-state solution, but Trump seemed to back off of that position on Tuesday when he spoke to reporters saying one state, two states that what he thought the people who live in the Middle East, as well as the Palestinians, wanted was to have peace in the region. Now, something else that he also talked about speaking to reporters in the Oval Office before the news conference, Trump said that a lot of plans change with time, and he said, "That a lot of death has occurred since I left, and now I came back."
Taylor Wilson:
Well, Francesca, we also saw President Trump sign a memo yesterday authorizing more aggressive measures toward Iran. What does that move mean? And did that come up during this meeting? We of course know Iran and Israel are state adversaries.
Francesca Chambers:
That was one of the expected topics between Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump. And as he signed that executive order, Trump said he didn't want to authorize more sanctions against Iran and that indeed he hoped a deal could be made, but he said that their nuclear program has to be stopped.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Francesca Chambers is a White House Correspondent with Paste BN. Thank you, Francesca.
Francesca Chambers:
Thanks, Taylor.
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Taylor Wilson:
At least 20,000 federal employees have accepted the buyout offer President Donald Trump made to the entire federal workforce before tomorrow's deadline, according to a White House official yesterday. That represents about 1% of the more than 2 million federal employees below the White House's goal for 5 to 10% to accept buyouts. Still, the White House officials said the number of deferred resignations is rapidly growing and the White House expects the largest spike in signups to come 24 to 48 hours before the deadline. In a push to drastically reduce the size of the federal workforce, the US Office of Personnel Management last Tuesday offered all federal employees eight months of pay and benefits through September if they resign by February 6th. The offer is part of billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to gut the federal bureaucracy and reshape the government through the Department of Government Efficiency he leads.
Federal employees who want to remain in the federal workforce were told, via email, they must return to in-person work, embrace new performance standards, and be reliable, loyal, and trustworthy in their work. The email also warned that most federal departments and agencies will be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force. Layoffs across the federal government are likely if not enough employees take the buyout.
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President Trump blamed last week's air crash on the Federal Aviation Administration's hiring of disabled Americans. In a news conference, Trump claimed the agency was actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities and psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under diversity and inclusion hiring initiatives. The remarks made without evidence set off anxiety and frustration among federal employees with disabilities. I spoke with Paste BN's Senior Reporter, Jessica Guynn for more.
Hello, Jessica.
Jessica Guynn:
Hi, Taylor. How are you?
Taylor Wilson:
I am good. Thanks for hopping on, on this. So what are some of the specific fears, Jessica, really as it pertains to potential losses just in job opportunities for the disabled community?
Jessica Guynn:
Well, for decades, the federal government has prided itself, and worked to be a model employer of disabled Americans who have historically faced very high rates of unemployment and high levels of on-the-job discrimination. Presidents of both parties have tried to remedy this by prioritizing the hiring of disabled Americans and military veterans, helping qualified workers land jobs they might not have. So disability advocates warn that if that career path is cut off, it could lead to huge losses in job opportunities for disabled Americans. And they're very quick to remind us that everyone is likely to be disabled at some point in their life, especially as the population ages. Right now, more than one in four American adults has a disability.
Taylor Wilson:
A lot of folks might be surprised by that number, Jessica. We know President Trump has really gone after remote work as it relates to federal employees. It's been a huge focus of these first couple weeks in office. Why is this a point of anxiety for many disabled workers?
Jessica Guynn:
Well, many federal employees with disabilities rely on flexible work arrangements to perform their duties. They say working from home helps them manage stress and chronic conditions, adjust to their office environment, such as not having to sit under fluorescent lights, or having the privacy they need to manage their medical needs. They're also able to avoid commutes on public transportation or driving that can exacerbate their health problems. I spoke with a former combat medic in the Army who told me he's really afraid he will lose his job with the Department of Veterans Affairs, that allows him to care for his fellow soldiers and also his own family. And he says he suffers from PTSD from his time serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, which makes it impossible for him to go into the office.
Taylor Wilson:
Jessica, you mentioned Schedule A employees in this piece. I was not familiar with this term. Can you help us understand who Schedule A workers are, and what they're feeling in this moment?
Jessica Guynn:
Well, Schedule A is a hiring authority that federal agencies use to expedite the hiring process, and it also allows them to tap into a diverse talent pool that includes military veterans and other workers with disabilities. One disabled employee I spoke with said he was hired that way in two weeks, which is lightning fast for the federal government. The agency, in that case, chose to take that route because there were very few candidates qualified for the position. A number of disabled employees like him are now worried because the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the civilian workforce, directed all agency heads to turn over a list of staffers who are on probation. The stress levels there are just off the charts.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow. So for disabled workers, Jessica, who feel President Trump is targeting them, do they have any recourse? What's next for them?
Jessica Guynn:
They say they feel essentially powerless, and they can only wait and see what happens, but their morale is very low. A couple of them told me that they read an article back in October about these private, previously unreported speeches that Trump's nominee for the Office of Management and Budget gave, in which he said one of his top goals was to put career civil servants in trauma. They told me he's succeeding.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow. Well, folks can find Jessica's full piece with a link in today's show notes. Jessica Guynn is a senior reporter with Paste BN, and Jessica, I always appreciate your insight and reporting work. Thanks for hopping on.
Jessica Guynn:
Thanks so much for having me, Taylor.
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Taylor Wilson:
About 10,000 employees of the US Agency for International Development or USAID, excluding essential personnel, were notified yesterday they will be placed on administrative leave at the end of Friday as President Trump moves to dismantle the Foreign Aid Agency, a state department notice to USAID employees, two-thirds of whom work overseas across 60 countries, said all USAID direct hire personnel across the world will be placed on administrative leave effective at 11:59 PM Eastern Time Friday night. The only exception is for designated personnel responsible for so-called mission-critical functions, core leadership, and specially designated programs. The State Department is working on a plan to arrange and pay for the return of USAID employees living overseas back to the US within 30 days, and to terminate contracts not deemed essential. The mass terminations come as Trump and his administration have worked to shut down the Foreign Aid Agency and merge it into the State Department.
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The number of tiny bits of plastic found in human brains increased dramatically between 2016 and 2024, with the highest amounts found in the brains of people who had dementia. By last year, the average brain studied by scientists at the University of New Mexico contained the equivalent of one plastic throw-away spoon, about seven grams worth, that's according to Dr. Matthew Campen, a toxicologist and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the university and lead author of the study published this week in the journal, Nature Medicine. While human livers and kidneys also showed increases, the concentrations in brains were 7 to 30 times greater, the study found. There was also a higher concentration of micro and nano plastic particles in the brains of people with a documented dementia diagnosis than in those without. The research highlights growing concerns about the level of microplastics in the environment, which are increasingly being found in the human body. For more on this topic, check out our special Deep Dive episode on microplastics. We have a link in today's show notes.
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From the Civil Rights Movement to MAGA, from LGBTQ rights to the moral majority, America is no stranger to social dissent, but what makes a movement countercultural?
Alex Zamalin:
To the extent we have a society which on some level creates space for dissent, there will always be countercultures that refuse to be co-opted by the mainstream.
Taylor Wilson:
Alex Zamalin, the author of the recently released title, Counterculture: The Story of America from Bohemia to Hip-Hop, explores this question and more in a conversation with my colleague Dana Taylor. Hear their talk right here on this feed beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern Time today.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.