NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-29-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

NPR News: 01-29-2025 1AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have outlined their plans to slash the federal workforce with the help of a team of quote small government crusaders. What's in store for federal workers and how are they planning for change? This January 1A's.gov series guides you through various government agencies and the people working for you. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. A federal judge has blocked President Trump's order to freeze federal funding and grant

programs. The move came in response to a lawsuit filed by 23 attorneys general, arguing that the order will likely hurt millions of Americans. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Plakkin says the order may not be legal. If what he's doing is lawful, even if I don't like it, then that's his prerogative. He's a duly elected president. But when he violates the law, when he upends the Constitution, and when he hurts millions of people in my state and in states like New Jersey across the country, I took an oath

to uphold the Constitution and to protect our residents. And I have an obligation to stand up for them when this happens. Danielle Pletka also says that the president may not override funding that Congress has already earmarked. Several federal officials have been fired in the past week, including prosecutors who aided the special prosecutor's probe of Donald Trump. Two commissioners at the EEOC, which investigates civil rights violations in the workplace, have lost their jobs, as well as two members of the National Labor Relations Board and inspectors general from more than a dozen federal agencies. Here's White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

The president's authority to fire any federal worker is plenary. There's no lawful constraints that can be placed on the president to terminate a worker in the federal government who exercises discretionary policy. That's the basis of Article 2 and the Constitution and the idea of a single executive. When you have anyone in the federal government who exercises decision-making authority who can't be fired, then that person is a king. Some Trump critics have argued that allowing a president to make decisions without consulting Congress is the definition of a king.

Federal workers are being offered buyouts if they agree to quit by September 30th. As NPR's Andrea Hsu reports, those workers have a week from Thursday to make up their minds. The offer came in an email with the subject line, fork in the road. It started by summing up the major changes that the Trump administration is bringing to the federal workforce, including an end to telework and a downsizing of agencies. Then it laid out bringing to the federal workforce, including an end to telework and a downsizing of agencies. Then it laid out a choice for federal workers.

Those who want to resign can offer their resignation before February 6th, be put on administrative leave, and keep their full pay and benefits through the end of September. Those who want to stay were told, quote, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position. The email was sent to most of the civilian workforce. quote, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position.

The email was sent to most of the civilian workforce. Some exceptions include post office employees and people doing immigration enforcement and national security. Andrea Hsu, NPR News, Washington. Former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday. Last July, a jury found the New Jersey Democrat guilty on 16 counts, including bribery and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt and Qatar. Prosecutors are seeking a punishment of at least 15 years behind bars.

U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR. Former Ambassador Caroline Kennedy is warning the U.S. Senate against confirming her cousin as Secretary of Health and Human Services. She calls Robert Kennedy Jr. a predator, who she says has used family tragedies to promote himself. Caroline Kennedy says R.F.K. Jr. campaigned against vaccinations while having his own children inoculated against communicable

diseases. She is the daughter of assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Some U.S. doctors are prescribing social programs to treat what some medical professionals are calling an epidemic of loneliness. Details from NPR's Katie Ariddle. Exercising together, eating well together, engaging in the arts, talking about emotions and feelings. These are some of the activities doctors are prescribing. Jerry Fusilier participated in one such program in Berkeley, California called Community as Medicine. And so I started watching, seeing all this stuff and I came to the point

to where I wanted to be involved, not just show up there and continue to be quiet. So gradually I would open up to people. Fusilier says it helped him turn his life around. Even though these programs are starting to get traction, they're still rare. Katie Arrettel in PR News. The mulletin of atomic scientists has moved its doomsday clock to 89 seconds to midnight, one second closer than the last prediction. Since 1947, the nonprofit group has given its estimate on how close man is to wiping out its own species. On Asia-Pacific markets, shares are mostly higher, down a fraction in Shanghai. This is NPR News. Want to know what it's like to play behind the tiny desk?

If you've got the talent, we've got the desk. Unsigned artists, enter the 2025 Tiny Desk Contest for an opportunity to play your own Tiny Desk Concert. Our nationwide star search starts now, and the winner will play their own Tiny Desk Concert and a U.S. Tour. To learn more, visit npr.org slash tiny desk contest.