Quill Lawrence
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-23-2025 3PM EDT
Secretary Doug Collins sent a memo to the VA's hundreds of thousands of staff nationwide encouraging them to report instances of bias against Christians. He asked that staff inform the new task force with names, dates, and locations of any instance where Christians are adversely affected for displaying religious symbols or expressing Christian views.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-23-2025 3PM EDT
The memo says hormone therapy, abortion, and vaccine mandates are examples of things Christian staff may abstain from. The lead Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Richard Blumenthal, said the VA memo lacks any factual basis or rationale, and the task force, quote, raises the specter of dividing the veteran community and favoring some religions over others. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-19-2025 3PM EDT
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said the Trump administration's attempt to prevent trans Americans from serving in the military violates their constitutional rights, which she called a cruel irony since, quote, "...thousands of transgender service members have sacrificed, some risking their lives, to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the military ban seeks to deny them."
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-19-2025 3PM EDT
The judge's order temporarily blocks the Pentagon's policy from going into effect. The ban stems from a White House executive order that denies any difference between gender and sex and calls trans people dishonest for claiming otherwise. Of the nearly 1.3 million active duty U.S. troops, 1% or less identify as trans. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-29-2025 2PM EDT
Hexeth posted on X that he proudly ended the Women, Peace and Security program, calling it a woke, divisive, social justice Biden initiative that he claims troops hate. But the program, which focused on involving women to prevent and resolve conflicts abroad, was passed under the first Trump administration by a bipartisan majority in Congress.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-29-2025 2PM EDT
The Trump campaign even touted the program during election season to back up the claim that Trump did more for women than any president in history. Secretary Hegseth has been under fire since sharing sensitive military plans in insecure group chats. President Trump has said he thinks Hegseth will, quote, get it together. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-25-2025 4PM EDT
In the military, sending classified data over insecure channels is called slippage when it's considered minor, but even that can be a career ender for a military officer. There's almost no precedent for the heads of defense, state, and national security to be sharing such sensitive military intelligence in a forum that was known to be unsecure. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-25-2025 4PM EDT
In a group chat that inadvertently included journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, the Trump administration's top intelligence officials discussed sensitive attack plans over the Signal app. But NPR has seen an internal memo sent only last week to the entire Department of Defense that reads, "...a vulnerability has been identified in the Signal messenger application."
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-06-2025 3AM EDT
The Republican policy bill working its way through Congress currently includes a repeal of the 90-10 rule that says for-profit schools can get no more than 90% of their revenue from federal funding. It's a market test to make sure at least 10% of students would pay their own money to go. For years, though, there was a loophole. GI Bill benefits were counted in that 10%.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-06-2025 3AM EDT
That meant for-profit schools aggressively targeted veterans for enrollment, including so-called diploma mills that drained veterans' benefits without providing a useful degree. Legislation finally closed that loophole in 2023, but veterans' advocacy groups are flagging a line in the current Republican draft bill that would eliminate the 90-10 rule altogether. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-24-2025 3PM EDT
In March, a district court judge in Washington state agreed and blocked the order, noting that the Trump administration showed no evidence that transgender troops serving has harmed the military. Now, the White House says that the ban must be allowed to take effect while the Supreme Court deliberates because delay would be, quote, contrary to military readiness and the nation's interests.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-24-2025 3PM EDT
Less than 1% of the military identifies as trans. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-24-2025 3PM EDT
The Trump administration has argued that trans people are dishonest, which contradicts military values. An executive order in January banned them from service. Several transgender troops sued, claiming the ban is insulting and discriminatory and would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-12-2025 8PM EST
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has claimed that high numbers of Americans joined the Army in December and January because of President Trump's leadership and a new emphasis away from diversity initiatives. That may be true, but Army data show that after a slump in 2022 and 2023, recruiting goals have been met over the past year, with a surplus from 2024 to start off this year.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-12-2025 8PM EST
One reason is an Army program for future soldiers that helps Americans get physically fit or academically caught up so they can qualify to serve. Another factor is a growing number of women enlisting over the past three years. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-21-2025 2PM EDT
NPR has learned that the White House has begun the process of looking for a new Secretary of Defense, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. NPR has reached out to the White House for comment. In March, Hegseth shared details about airstrikes in Yemen in a signal chat that accidentally included a journalist.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-21-2025 2PM EDT
Now NPR has confirmed he also shared details in a group chat, including his wife and brother using his personal cell phone. Hegseth is trying to turn the tables.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-21-2025 2PM EDT
In recent weeks, four senior advisors to Hegseth have left abruptly and suggested that Pentagon infighting is hurting President Trump. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-25-2025 4PM EDT
The White House is seeking senior staff at the Pentagon to, quote, write the ship, according to a former Trump official who requested anonymity to describe internal deliberations. Five of Hegseth's key advisers left in the past two weeks amid infighting and accusation of leaks to the press. Meanwhile, four new senior advisers have been quickly named.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-25-2025 4PM EDT
They include Colonel Ricky Berea, a former junior military assistant, and Justin Fulcher, a 32-year-old member of the Doge team embedded at the Pentagon. Chief Spokesman Sean Parnell has been promoted to Assistant Secretary of Defense and Senior Advisor. A Pentagon spokesman says regular workforce adjustments are a feature of any highly efficient organization.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-25-2025 4PM EDT
Democrats and at least one Republican in Congress say Hegseth should be replaced. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-23-2025 8PM EST
In the meantime, doctors and nurses nationwide who thought they had VA job offers got the news their offers were rescinded. After two days of mixed messages, the administration has now exempted the majority of health care positions at VA from the hiring freeze. Senate Democrats have urged Trump to protect all VA staff positions from the freeze. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-23-2025 8PM EST
Doug Collins, an Air Force Reserve colonel and former Georgia congressman, was endorsed by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee 18 to 1, almost guaranteeing he'll be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs. During his confirmation hearing this week, he was pressed on whether President Trump's federal hiring freeze would apply to VA. He said he needed to study it.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-21-2025 5PM EDT
U.S. officials had told NPR and other media outlets that Musk was scheduled for a briefing in a secure facility known as the Tank, normally used by the Joint Chiefs, and that he'd be informed of sensitive Pentagon plans regarding China, including by the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-21-2025 5PM EDT
Instead, Musk met with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in his office to discuss cost-cutting and innovation, according to Hegseth. Speaking at the White House soon after, President Trump said he would never show U.S. war planning to anybody, especially a businessman like Musk with interests in China.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-21-2025 5PM EDT
Trump called reports to the contrary false and said they're meant to undermine the relationship between the Pentagon and Musk. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Yeah, I mean, that was one of the most striking things in all this, right? It's like veterans are supposed to have better protections than everybody else. What we saw here was most other American homeowners had better protections than veterans. It was the veterans who were getting hurt at the end of this COVID forbearance thing.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Well, I mean, technically it means something, right? That they thought they had no choice but to turn off this option. But I mean, the thing that doesn't seem to add up or make any sense in that, it's like, you know, when we went to the VA, there were 6,000 veterans on the verge of foreclosure, in the foreclosure process. A total of 40,000 vets headed that direction.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
I mean, you would think the VA would be jumping up and down saying, like, we've got a serious problem. We have to shut down this thing that's going to strand all these veterans. We need help. Congress, somebody, please. And it wasn't that. I mean, it was like it seemed like somewhere in a dark room late at night, somebody pulled the plug. It's bizarre.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
I apologize if I put microphones in your face. No, it's fine.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
So it was like, oh, there is a raging fire, you know, basically. And they have these fire trucks, but they don't have the wheels on them and the hoses. And that's not all going to be built for like maybe six months from now. So all the houses were going to be burned down. before the VA's rescue plan was like on the road. I mean, it just like, this is what you're doing.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Why put families through hell, he said, if we don't have to, if there's going to be help in a few months?
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Ray and Becky Queen are showing us around their farm in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
So, yeah, so this time we do the story. And four powerful U.S. senators who had major committees fire off a letter to the VA. And they were basically like, WTF, what is going on?
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
That was not, yeah, that's not technically what they wrote, but that was the spirit of the letter.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
The VA actually, you know, hats off, I mean, responded and stopped foreclosures on every single veteran in the United States of America for six months. So what did that mean for the Queens in that moment?
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
So I heard from the VA tonight at six o'clock on a Friday, but they sent me a statement here And basically it says that the VA is now going to stop foreclosing on anybody with a VA loan for the next six months while they figure out this new program and get it up and running. So people in your guys' situation can take advantage of it and not lose your house for no reason. That's awesome. Yeah.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
So I just wanted to tell you guys that and then see like what your take is on, you know, what, cause I know every, you guys have been stressed and it's been rough and you know,
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
So what VASP is going to do is- What does that stand for, VASP? Quill.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Put it in its own portfolio of mortgages, like the VA becomes a bank. And then since the VA is the bank, the VA can give you any interest rate it wants. So it could say, Kenny, you got a 2% loan. It's going to be very affordable. Problem solved.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
So, I mean, it is a good, it's a good fix and it's going to help thousands of people.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
It's sort of this little cottagey place. And it's really nice. Like the walls are like very solid colors, which makes it kind of stately. And it's neat as a pin. I mean, she is just, the inside is like everything has a place.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
When she showed us around, you could kind of hear how this house and the last few years of her life, which were rough. It's been a rough time. And it's all kind of tangled up together. And at one point, she's like pointing out to the backyard.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
So, yeah, I mean, what what could happen if she strategically defaults, it's called you just decide I'm going to stop paying my mortgage. So I'll get behind and then I'll qualify for the help. But it's like really like you're going to put people through that when you could just give them access to the program.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Oh, you know, one thing, you know, if we are in a press conference with the VA Secretary McDonough, like, what would you want to tell him? Like, what would you want to say?
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Yeah, I mean, this is not the way forbearance plans are supposed to work. I mean, the whole point is someone has to stop paying for a bit. They need to get back on track. So you give them an affordable way to start paying again. But your payment's going up by 50 percent or more. Obviously, something's broken, you know, but so far. they're not getting any help from the VA to make it right.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Good afternoon, Chris. Thanks. Quill's on vacation, so you guys are stuck with me. Uh...
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Rolling. And the AG in Maryland is texting me about something.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
I mean, look, to be clear, the VA did help a lot of veterans through this poll forbearance thing before it went off the rails and before the on-ramp got blown up. And when we learned about Ray and Becky Queen and other veterans in their situation, and we exposed this whole thing, they acted very quickly to stop foreclosures on veterans all across the country.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
You know, so, I mean, they seem to be very sincere about wanting to do the right thing and help vets. But since then, we keep asking them about people like Natalie, who ended up in these brutally more expensive mortgages, this group of people like her. And now the VA is saying, well, we don't have the authority to include them in our rescue plan.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
That sounds like the exact same explanation that they had when we asked them, well, why did you blow up the on-ramp in the first place? And it's like, well, can't you just ask for the authority? Can't you find a workaround? I mean, there are still thousands of veterans who got hurt here. They didn't do anything wrong. But as it stands right now, you know, they are excluded from this rescue plan.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
The lawyer, she was like, look, I got a call from this guy and I don't know if I can help him. His house has already been foreclosed on. Somebody screwed up. He had a COVID mortgage forbearance and the family's like about to be put out on the street.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
the system the financial system learned after the 2008 financial crisis and the foreclosure mess and millions of people losing their homes it learned that like well everybody wins if you if you can avoid a foreclosure like the people on the other end that are trying to collect the money win you know the neighborhood wins the homeowner wins so forbearance
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
comes into play where it's like, all right, well, something happened. I'm in between jobs. So I might not be able to pay my mortgage for three or four months, but I'm getting another job. So just hang with me here, you know?
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
I remember hearing from some lawyers who were, you know, like people are about to lose their house, they start calling lawyers. And they were telling me they're getting a lot of calls from veterans, like something crazy. Something wasn't right.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
And eventually I got connected with this couple, Ray and Becky Queen, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. And I was like, okay, yeah, let's talk to these guys.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
They gave us a tour of the house, and it's, like, very comfortable. The kids are hanging out, doing their homework, playing video games, I mean, you know, doing stuff outside. It just feels like a place they've just settled in.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
It's more farm than house. There's this one moment where one of the kids just fires up this four-wheeler ATV thing. It's like kid-size. And he just goes flying off around this field with a helmet on. He's bouncing around. And it looked like so much fun. I was honestly jealous. Like, I want to be doing that. That looks great.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Well, and it must feel good to have, you know, you've got a house with some land and your kid can go tearing off on the four-wheeler.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
So they were told they could pay back all of their missed payments all at once, $22,000, which they didn't have, or they could do what's called a loan modification, but rates had gone way up. I mean, mortgage rates had doubled, and that meant if they did a loan mod, their payments were gonna go up by a huge amount.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Is that their house? What does it say? It's on the right or the left? I think it's on the left.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
I mean, when I talked to Ray and Becky Queen, they were very close to foreclosure. I mean, you start getting letters in the mail that say, like, we're going to foreclose on your house. You know, there's not much time left. And they were scared and angry and confused.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
And he's like, I'll tell you what I think's going on. And when he explains it, I'm like, oh my God, like, like that makes sense. And it sounds really bad.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
Yeah, I mean, you kind of think about it this way, right? So you're paying your mortgage, you own your house. It's like you're driving along the freeway. But then crisis hits. You pause your payments. You're pulling off the highway temporarily. Now, when it's time to start paying again, You need an on ramp to get back onto the highway.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
It appeared that like loans backed by Fannie and Freddie or FHA or most other loans in America, that is the on ramps were working, but people were getting back on. But something didn't seem to be working with the VA loans.
Planet Money
The veteran loan calamity
The VA basically blew up the on-ramp and people couldn't get back.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
official told us that the search has begun after this second round of headlines about Hegseth. I should add that the White House has said our anonymous source doesn't know what they're talking about. But at a Rose Garden event yesterday, the president stood firmly by Hegseth, at least publicly.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Yeah, there were four senior advisors to Hegseth who left in just the past week. Former Defense Department spokesman John Elliott resigned last week and then published a quite extraordinary opinion piece calling the past month at the Pentagon a, quote, full-blown meltdown and saying that this infighting is hurting President Trump.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
He served in Trump's first administration and appears to want to continue to serve, but Three other Pentagon advisors, Colin Carroll, Dan Caldwell, and Darren Selnick, were escorted out of the Pentagon and accused of leaking information to the press.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
They then put out, as a trio, the three of them put out a joint statement on X saying that their dismissal was unconscionable and that they haven't even been told what they stand accused of leaking. All three of them served in uniform. They say they understand the importance of information security. Caldwell and Selnick, notably, are longtime associates of of Hegseth.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
They've worked with him over a decade back to when he was at Concerned Veterans for America, a policy group.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Yeah, I mean, with the first chat group, it was against Pentagon policy to use Signal for that. There were a lot of security issues with it, discussing details of an attack hours before the bombs hit in Yemen. But the people in that chat were the vice president, the secretary of state, people who would need to know.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
This second group, it appears that Hegseth was just cut and pasting this actionable intelligence about U.S. strikes to his wife. People who just, I can't think of any conceivable... need they would have to know this information. And military sources, veterans I talked to, were just outraged about this. They say that it really did put U.S. lives at risk and American security at risk.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
And they're concerned that this example being set, you know, the military really drills into troops that they have to take responsibility for their actions, own up. And so far, Hegseth has not done that yet for either of these signal chats.