Andrea Hsu
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 11-12-2024 7PM EST
Some two million civilians work for the federal government in all kinds of roles, national security, public health, protecting the environment. Trump insists among them are rogue actors whom he wants to replace. Already, a conservative group has published a watch list of what it calls subversive leftist bureaucrats who cannot be trusted to enforce immigration laws.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 11-12-2024 7PM EST
Jason Breifel is policy director for the Senior Executives Association, which represents the highest ranking civil servants.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 11-12-2024 7PM EST
Trump is expected to revisit a previous effort to eliminate protections for federal employees in policy-related positions. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-06-2025 3PM EST
U.S. District Judge George O'Toole paused the resignation offer until Monday, granting a request from unions representing federal employees. O'Toole said the court had just received a brief from the government and gave the unions until Friday to respond.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-06-2025 3PM EST
He also ordered the government to notify employees of this change by the end of today and scheduled another hearing for Monday afternoon when he will hear the merits of the case. The labor unions are arguing that the deferred resignation offer is arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-06-2025 3PM EST
Already tens of thousands of federal workers have accepted the administration's offer to resign now and keep their pay and benefits through the end of September. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-08-2025 4PM EST
The Democratic attorneys general argue that federal agencies falsely told probationary employees they were being fired because of their performance. In fact, the states argue the agencies were trying to shrink their headcount, but they failed to follow proper procedures for doing so.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-08-2025 4PM EST
Federal law requires agencies to notify states when laying off 50 or more people so that states can jump into action and try to prevent instability throughout the economic region. States are required to reach out to those losing their jobs and provide support with the goal of reducing their reliance on public assistance. The states have asked federal court to reinstate the workers.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 10-11-2024 6PM EDT
The layoffs in Warren, Michigan, come as Stellantis ends production of the Ram 1500 Classic truck, which has been discontinued. The cuts were first announced in August, around the same time the company said it was delaying plans to reopen an idle plant in Belvedere, Illinois. a key promise made in contract negotiations last year.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 10-11-2024 6PM EDT
The United Auto Workers Union has threatened to strike over the delay, blaming Stellantis for what it calls gross mismanagement. The automaker says a strike would be illegal, maintaining that market volatility and a slow adoption of EVs led to a shift in plans. As Stellantis grapples with declining sales, the company says it will be implementing layoffs across its footprint. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
Yeah, well, in short, the system set up to hear federal employee complaints about things that happened to them on the job worked. You know, tens of thousands of probationary employees have been fired since last month. These are people typically in their first or second year on the job. And some of them filed complaints with the Office of Special Counsel.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
That's the watchdog agency set up to investigate such complaints. And their investigation into the USDA found a pattern. You know, nearly 6,000 people got basically the same letter telling them that they were being fired because of their performance.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
No, I mean, A, in fact, many of them had excellent performance reviews. Investigators found the agency didn't even look at their performance, which is a requirement if you're going to fire workers during the probationary period in the federal government.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
Instead, the special counsel said the firings appeared to be part of an attempt to shrink the government, which administrations can do, but they have to go through a bunch of procedures, including giving people cigarettes. 60 days notice, which the USDA did not do.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
Now, the Merit Systems Protection Board reviewed the findings so far, and the board chair concluded, yes, these firings probably were unlawful, and she ordered the USDA to bring back their probationary workers for 45 days so the investigation can continue. But then last night, there was yet another twist in this case.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
The special counsel, Hampton Dellinger, who was leading the investigation, was removed from his position for the second time. President Trump first tried to fire him about a month ago. A U.S. district judge reinstated him, but now an appeals court has removed him once again while it considers the arguments in his case.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
Yeah, it's not entirely clear. We know that Dellinger had evidence that what happened at USDA had happened at other agencies. In fact, yesterday, he issued a statement urging all agencies to go ahead and reinstate their probationary employees voluntarily and not wait for an order. Now, his removal doesn't change the board's order to USDA to give those nearly 6,000 workers their jobs back.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
But of course, it's one agency and it's a temporary stay. Okay.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
Well, they're not exactly celebrating. I spoke with Michelle Kirchner, an entomologist who was helping alfalfa growers manage pests when she was fired last month. And here's what she said.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
But she says it's impossible to have any confidence in what's going to happen in the long term. The Trump administration has made clear it wants to dramatically shrink the federal government. So she thinks maybe they'll all be brought back only to be fired again.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
Well, they maintain that they've done nothing illegal. They've made this case in federal court where there's a lawsuit over probationary firings. And there's another hearing next week. And meanwhile, the administration is moving forward with much deeper cuts to federal agencies that will affect career employees, longtime employees. So a lot more uncertainty is ahead.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Thanks for having me.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Yeah, well, for several reasons. First, because the original request did not come from their managers. It came from the Office of Personnel Management at the direction of Elon Musk. And, you know, he has said this was his idea. And these emails hit in boxes over the weekends while most people were off, you know, trying to relax.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Now, the people I spoke with at the VA, they are mental health professionals. They help veterans with things like depression and PTSD, combat trauma, sexual trauma. And they say the government already closely tracks what they do.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Supervisors can run reports on how many patients they see, how many phone calls they make, what time those interactions start and stop, what topics are discussed and so on. So they don't know why an additional weekly email is necessary. And one psychologist I spoke with described the what did you do last week emails in pretty stark terms.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
She said they're like flashbang grenades meant to discombobulate federal workers. And NPR agreed not to identify her or others at the VA by name because they're scared they'll lose their jobs for speaking out.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Yeah, they did because the VA told them they should respond. And in fact, they told me it's not hard writing down, you know, a few things about what they did, a few sentences about what they did. But they do see it as just one more thing getting in the way of their work, which is helping veterans deal with these really tough problems.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
And it's coming at a time when there's been so much upheaval in the federal government. You know, the VA this week announced deep cuts ahead. And a psychologist I talked to said patients are themselves worried. She has patients asking her, are you going to be here next week or next month? And she says she's spending a lot of time calming their nerves instead of focusing on their treatments.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Yeah. Well, I spoke with a Harvard Business School professor about this. Her name is Amy Edmondson, and she's a social psychologist. She says you have to think about the context when you consider the impact of these emails that originated with Elon Musk.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
And the people I talk to, Scott, say they're doing the best they can to keep it together for their patients. But one psychiatrist told me she's anxious and irritable and she finds herself doing things like doom scrolling the Internet, which she knows is not good. In fact, it's something she tells her own patients not to do.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Well, we asked the White House to comment on what we've heard from these VA employees and we haven't heard back. We do know that President Trump supports Elon Musk's effort to gather these weekly responses. The president has repeatedly said there are some workers in the federal government who aren't doing a good job and shouldn't be there.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Now, we don't know what the administration is doing with these responses. Some have speculated they're using AI to analyze them. But to what end is not clear. The administration has told agencies to collect the information and decide how to deal with people who don't respond.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Yeah, but they tell me they really don't want to. They love their work. They know they can make more money in private practice. But one psychologist told me she felt a call to duty to serve those who have served the country. And she said, I'm not a quitter. I won't be bullied into quitting. She plans to stay as long as she can.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Thanks, Scott.