NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-29-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

NPR News: 01-29-2025 7AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright. The Office of Personnel Management is offering what's being called deferred resignations to nearly all federal employees. If workers accept by February 6th, they can keep full pay and benefits through the end of September. NPR's Asma Khalid says President Trump is attempting to reshape the government. Being a government worker was once seen as a steady, secure job. But right now, federal workers feel like their jobs are very precarious, and that is indeed the intention.

Trump wants government workers in line with his vision. He campaigned on remaking federal government. He campaigned on reshaping government as a whole. He telegraphed a lot of his decisions and now he is following through just perhaps more swiftly than expected. NPR's Asma Khalid reporting. A federal judge is temporarily blocking the Trump administration's plan to freeze federal payments for grants, loans and other programs. The White House says it wants to ensure spending doesn't conflict with the president's executive orders. The

memo caused confusion and concern among many states and organizations that receive federal funds to provide services. The White House clarified that Medicaid, Social Security, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program wouldn't be affected. Retired General and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley has lost his security clearance and personal security detail. NPR's Giles Snyder reports. A Pentagon spokesman confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has informed General Milley of the decision and that Hegseth has directed the Defense Department's acting Inspector General to open an inquiry into Milley's conduct, which could lead to demotion in

retirement. President Trump nominated Milley to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2018 during his first term, but their rapport has been rocky, and now Milley is the latest former government official to lose his security details since Trump regained the White House. Milley was among those who received a preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden on his last day in office. Trial Snider, NPR News. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady today. NPR's Scott Horsley reports even though inflation has cooled considerably, prices are still climbing faster than the central bank would like.

The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates at its last three meetings, but Fed policymakers now seem ready to take a breather and see how the economy responds. Inflation was still running at an annual rate of 2.9 percent last month, that's higher than the Fed would like, and the job market has proven to be remarkably resilient, so the central bank feels little pressure to give it a boost by cutting rates further. President Trump has said he wants to see lower interest rates, but Trump's own policy proposals, such as tariffs and mass deportation, could have the effect of fueling inflation. That gives the central bank another reason to take its time.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces confirmation hearings today and tomorrow in his nomination to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has raised many questions and concerns over his skepticism of vaccines and other controversial statements and views. If confirmed, he would oversee federal vaccine policy. In a letter to the Senate, Kennedy's cousin, Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, is urging the Senate to reject his nomination. She says he is unqualified.

French President Emmanuel Macron says the world's most popular art museum will undergo an extensive renovation, as NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports from Paris. ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, French President, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, ELEANOR BE Standing in front of the Mona Lisa, Macron announced that a new grand entrance to the Louvre would be built and new underground galleries excavated.

Leonardo da Vinci's iconic painting, which is constantly thronged by visitors, will have its own exhibition space. The colossal six-year project known as La Nouvelle Renaissance will cost upwards of $800 million and be entirely paid for out of the Louvre's substantial budget. An international architectural competition will be held for the design of the new entrance and wings. Macron said promoting art and cultural understanding is an important political battle in an era when forceful rhetoric holds hypnotic power over so many. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. It is the Lunar New Year. To celebrate the Spring Festival, millions of people in Asia

and other parts of the world are ushering in the Year of the Snake, a time for renewal and new beginnings. I'm Kristin Wright and this is NPR News in Washington.