Michele Kelemen

The Trump administration has been dismantling the US Agency for International Development, and the headquarters have been closed for weeks. But, on Thursday, workers got to go back to their desks - to clean them out and leave.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promoted an "America First" approach. How does that translate to how the U.S. works with other countries?

This episode: White House correspondents Asma Khalid and Franco Ordoñez, and State Department correspondent Michele Kelemen.

The podcast is produced by Bria Suggs & Kelli Wessinger, and edited by Casey Morell. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio makes his inaugural international trip to Central America. In Colombia, fighting erupts between rival guerilla factions, displacing tens of thousands.

A popular book and TV series in Europe imagines the straight-laced former German chancellor Angela Merkel solving crimes in her retirement. We unpack the premise's popularity. And an American has been jailed in Nigeria over a dispute the country has with the crypto-currency exchange Binance. Some say the man is effectively being held hostage.

President Biden called it outrageous that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and defense minister and three Hamas leaders.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his trip to Ukraine by promising U.S. help to push Russian troops out. But the lengthy debates in Washington over aid to Ukraine has impacted the battleground.

The war in Gaza has caused deep divisions in communities around the world. But in the Israeli city of Haifa, some people are working toward dialogue.

It has been a whiplash day in Gaza. Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal with Israel, but the Israeli cabinet has vowed to continue operation in Rafah.

Palestinians in the West Bank are following the protests on US campuses and say this movement is giving them hope.

Israeli settlers tried to block a new aid route into Gaza. The incident was a setback for Blinken, who was trying to highlight progress in getting Palestinians food and supplies to stave off famine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in Israel with a big focus on providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel is still threatening to move on Rafah, in Southern Gaza, despite U.S. opposition.

Two men were in business together until Oct. 7. The Israeli looks forward to a day when that trade will resume, while the Palestinian hopes he'll survive a war in which he has lost everything.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is trying to convince Israelis to consider a future Palestinian state, but many in Israel are more opposed to it than ever.

As Israel threatens to move on Rafah, Hamas is also adding pressure with the release of a video of two of its hostages. One is an American.

The State Department has found that some Israeli units were responsible for gross violations of human rights, but so far has stopped short of restricting U.S. aid to them.

Hamas has released a video of one of the Americans held hostage in Gaza, the first such move since the October 7 attack.

China has told the world that that it is neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war, and that it is not providing weapons to Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected visit to Beijing this month.

UN human rights experts say there are credible allegations that Ukrainian POWs have been tortured by Russian forces. Family members of some spoke to NPR about these cases.

Lithuania's foreign minister visited Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. this week to make a pitch to the divided electorate in the U.S. that Europe needs American support to win the war in Ukraine.

A few days after resigning from the State Department, Annelle Sheline speaks out against the Biden administration's support for Israel and says many of her former colleagues share her concerns.