Hegseth Defends Iran War, Powell Stays On As Fed Chair, SCOTUS Voting Rights Case

**Steve Inskeep** (0:00)
One of us feels that it's kind of cold in here. Is there, is it within our power to do anything about that?
What if we just like light a little fire or something? A little campfire?

**Pete Hegseth** (0:12)
A trash fire.

**Michelle Martin** (0:12)
I think we should.

**Steve Inskeep** (0:13)
A trash fire. That would be even better. Give it a little pungent smell.
Put an edge on the program today.

**Michelle Martin** (0:22)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified about the first $25 billion spent on the war with Iran.

**Pete Hegseth** (0:28)
What would you pay to ensure Iran doesn't get a nuclear bomb? What would you pay?

**Steve Inskeep** (0:32)
How much higher does the price go as the economic damage keeps climbing?

**Michelle Martin** (0:36)
I'm Michelle Martin, that's Steven Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Jerome Powell says he will stay on the board of the Federal Reserve for now, even after his stint as chairman ends.

**Jerome Powell** (0:48)
I am confident that the federal will continue to make its decision based on analysis, but we've had to fight for it.

**Michelle Martin** (0:54)
By staying on, Powell denies President Trump a chance to name a replacement.

**Steve Inskeep** (0:58)
Also, the Supreme Court changes the rules, making it harder to create black majority voting districts. The ruling allows Louisiana to redraw its congressional districts. How many other states might follow? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
We have an initial price for the war in Iran. The Pentagon estimates the US military has spent $25 billion so far on ammunition and jet fuel and other expenses.

**Michelle Martin** (1:28)
A Pentagon official offered that number in testimony before Congress. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified too.

**Pete Hegseth** (1:35)
What would you pay to ensure Iran doesn't get a nuclear bomb?

**Tiva Ellis** (1:37)
What would you pay?

**Pete Hegseth** (1:39)
I reclaim my time.

**Steve Inskeep** (1:40)
It's not clear the US has ensured Iran will never get a bomb. $25 billion is an initial cost and does not include the economic damage that we are following this morning. The US and Iran continue blocking traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. An NPR National Security correspondent, Greg Myrie, is following that standoff. Greg, good morning.

**Greg Meier** (1:58)
Hi, Steve.

**Steve Inskeep** (1:59)
What's happening in the Strait as of today?

**Greg Meier** (2:01)
Well, not a lot. Shipping traffic remains at an almost total standstill. Both sides say they're inflicting economic pain, and they are, and both believe the other side will blink first. Now, I spoke with Kevin Donagon. He's a retired Navy Vice Admiral. A decade ago, he commanded the Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain. He says the US could keep this blockade going indefinitely.

**Pete Hegseth** (2:25)
It's very sustainable with the forces they have in the region now, because they can even peel some of that back and move others into the region and do a rotation.

**Greg Meier** (2:33)
And Iran also believes it can maintain its blockade using a combination of mines at sea and drones and missiles from the shore.

**Steve Inskeep** (2:41)
Does the US have the capability to clear those mines and defend against those drones?

**Greg Meier** (2:46)
Well, it does. And Donegan says a negotiated agreement would be the best, safest way to reopen the strait, and those talks are stalled at the moment. Now, he says the Navy can clear the mines, though it takes time to do this and to further weaken Iran's forces on land. He's now at the Middle East Institute in Washington, so he doesn't have access to the Navy's plans. But based on his experience, he believes the US is relying on unmanned vessels to clear mines.

**Pete Hegseth** (3:15)
Remotely controlled surface ships and remotely controlled, I wouldn't call them submarines, they more look like big torpedoes, so to speak, and they can find any mines that are there. So you basically open two good passageways through one coming in, one coming out.

**Steve Inskeep** (3:30)
Okay, if you open passageways, would the Navy then escort oil tankers?

**Greg Meier** (3:35)
Well, yes, he says they could do that, but there would still be risks. And right now, it doesn't seem the US., either the Navy or the military at large, is prepared for this, and the shipping companies don't seem to have the appetite for that level of risk. Also, this would be a partial solution at best. You wouldn't see the same level of pre-war shipping traffic, not even close, according to Donegan. He says before the war, more than a hundred ships sailed through the Strait daily to and from Iran, to and from Arab countries, carrying oil, natural gas, and other key components of the global economy.