PSJD News Digest – February 14, 2025

February 14, 2025 at 3:53 pm · Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress

Hi Interested Public,

The news continues to pile up with increasing bite. Last night was hard. I don’t know what this evening and this weekend will have in store, but hopefully we’ll have a chance to unpack it together next week. For the time being, here are the stories worth sharing. Our overall framework for understanding this moment has grown a bit from last week. In particular, I’ve introduced a section on “Academic Funding Restrictions” which may surprise some of you. I hope the pull quote I’ve provided will illustrate why it seems worthwhile to pay careful attention to dramatic changes in the funding ecosystem for university staff on the STEM side of things as well.

Stay strong and stay in touch,

Sam

Editor’s Choice(s)

  • EXCLUSIVE: Judicial Branch Swept Up In Trump-Musk Lease Termination Spree (Talking Points Memo; 12 Feb 2025)

    “Elements of the judicial branch, including public defender offices, have been caught up in the Trump administration’s headlong rush to terminate thousands of leases of government office space, TPM has learned. Unlike the vast majority of federal workers whose office leases are under review for termination, public defenders are not executive branch employees. They work for the judicial branch…Some federal public defenders’ offices received a notice last week from the General Services Administration titled “Right-sizing the Federal Inventory.” The notice, obtained by TPM, was issued by acting GSA Administrator Stephen Ehikian and asked recipients to indicate whether terminating the lease on a given office will leave their mission “irreparably compromised,” and whether the location “directly serves the public.””

OMB Spending “Pause”

Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

Academic Funding Reductions

  • What National Institutes of Health funding cuts could mean for U.S. universities (NPR; 12 Feb 2025)

    “[Q:] What kind of financial trade offs would administrators have to consider under this policy?

    [A:] There are a lot of numbers floating around from different institutions as to how much they would be cut. But a lot of the larger ones would have to find $150 [million] or even $200 million every year to replace the money that they're getting from the federal government. The choices that they have are all pretty bleak. They'd have to cut other programs in order to fill that hole in, which could affect any discipline or any function of the university. Or they would have to cut corners in the way they administer the research, which could create all kinds of problems with accounting or noncompliance with the government's regulations.” [emphasis added]

Changes at the Department of Education

  • Musk Staff Propose Bigger Role for A.I. in Education Department (New York Times; 13 Feb 2025)

    “A new chatbot would answer questions from student borrowers…But transitioning into using generative A.I. for student aid help, as a replacement for some or all human call center workers, is likely to raise questions around privacy, accuracy and equal access to devices, according to technology experts.”

2025 Federal Reductions in Force

“Performance Management” (NEW)

  • Sweeping cuts hit recent federal hires as Trump administration slashes workforce (NPR; 13 Feb 2025)

    “According to an Energy Department official, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had suggested the agency use a template that cited "performance reasons" as the cause of the firings. The official said the Energy Department letter had removed that phrasing because many of the employees had performed well during their probationary period. The Energy Department's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”

Hiring Freeze

  • Trump Hiring Freeze Has Agencies Ditching Law School Recruiting (Bloomberg Law; 7 Feb 2025)

    “For some of these students, the fact that these jobs were pulled may make the difference of whether they ever become a practicing attorney or not,” said Nikia Gray, NALP’s executive director. “This is happening at a really critical juncture in their career development.”

Probationary Employee “Purge”

Administrative Leave for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Environmental Justice Employees [among others]

Deferred Resignation (“Fork in the Road”)

Other Topics