Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again

Summary

Up First from NPR – Episode Summary
Release Date: February 7, 2025
Episode Title: Trump's Justice Department, Disappearing DEI, Flu Peaks Again

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1. Trump’s Justice Department Under New Attorney General Pam Bondi

Confirmation and Early Actions
In this episode, NPR Justice Correspondent Ryan Lucas delves into the recent confirmation of Pam Bondi as President Trump's new Attorney General. Sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Bondi has quickly taken steps to align the Department of Justice (DOJ) with the Trump administration's agenda. "Bondi revived the federal death penalty. She set up an Oct. 7 task force to focus on the threat posed by Hamas" (02:32).

Concerns Over Mass Firings and Targeting Investigators
Bondi's numerous memos, exceeding a dozen, have raised alarms within the DOJ. These memos address various topics, including immigration enforcement and drug cartels, but a particularly controversial one focuses on "restoring the integrity and credibility of the Department of Justice" (03:14). This memo established a "weaponization working group" tasked with reviewing cases against former President Trump and investigations into the Capitol riot, sparking fears that individuals who investigated Trump may be targeted for dismissal. Ryan Lucas notes, "Bondi has been a fierce defender of Trump over the years... there are certainly concerns that that's what's going on here" (04:04).

FBI Turmoil and Potential Mass Firings
The episode highlights significant unrest at the FBI following orders from the DOJ's second-in-command to fire eight senior FBI officials and compile a list of all personnel involved in January 6th cases. This directive affected approximately 5,000 FBI employees, leading to widespread anxiety and actions such as agents printing their HR files out of fear of immediate termination (04:07). Although the situation has somewhat stabilized, concerns persist about the privacy and safety of FBI agents, especially with pending lawsuits aimed at preventing the public release of their names (05:24).

2. Corporate America’s Retreat from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programs

Shift Away from DEI Initiatives
NPR Business Correspondent Maria Aspen reports that major corporations are significantly scaling back or entirely eliminating their DEI programs. Companies such as GM, Intel, Disney, Pepsi, and Chipotle have either removed references to DEI from their annual reports or softened their language without making public announcements (05:36).

Influence of Political Pressures and Executive Orders
Many of these changes are attributed to pressure from President Trump's executive orders, which aim to terminate DEI initiatives within the federal government and threaten sanctions against private companies that continue such programs as federal contractors. For instance, Google, a federal contractor and one of NPR's funders, is reevaluating its compliance with these orders (06:55). Similarly, 3M referenced these executive orders when modifying its annual reports (07:56).

Risk Aversion in Corporate Strategies
Beyond political pressures, Maria Aspen cites insights from employment lawyer Becky Baker, who explains that DEI has transitioned from a popular corporate buzzword to a politically sensitive topic. Companies are increasingly risk-averse, opting to remove DEI to avoid potential backlash, even if it means foregoing the benefits of inclusive workplace practices (07:49).

Mixed Landscape for DEI Commitment
Despite these trends, not all companies are abandoning DEI. Costco, for example, continues to emphasize its commitment to diversity in its latest annual report, indicating that some organizations remain steadfast in their inclusive policies. Maria Aspen concludes that while the terminology may be changing, the underlying efforts to foster inclusive workplaces persist in certain sectors (08:35).

3. Respiratory Virus Season: COVID-19 Mild, Flu Surges Again

Mild COVID-19 Surge
NPR Health Correspondent Rob Stein discusses the current respiratory virus landscape, noting that this winter's COVID-19 wave is the mildest since the pandemic's onset. Epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers from Johns Hopkins confirms, "This year's winter wave is low compared to previous winters. This is the smallest winter wave we've had since the pandemic began" (09:52). However, caution is advised as cases still result in hospitalizations and complications.

Potential Reasons for Mild COVID-19 Cases
Several factors may contribute to the reduced severity of the COVID-19 surge. An intense summer wave may have provided residual immunity to the population, and the concept of "viral interference" suggests that the prevalence of other viruses like influenza may suppress the spread of COVID-19 (10:14).

Intensifying Flu Season with a Second Peak
Conversely, the flu season is exhibiting unusual behavior, with a second peak of influenza activity matching the initial surge around late December and early January. Epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers highlights, "Influenza activity first peaked around the turn of the new year... But then it really took an unusual turn and started to rise again" (11:27). This unexpected resurgence could prolong the flu season's duration (11:48).

Absence of Bird Flu Spread
Addressing concerns about avian influenza, Rob Stein reassures listeners that there is no evidence of the bird flu spreading widely among humans. However, he warns that concurrent infections with regular flu and bird flu could facilitate the emergence of more dangerous variants (12:02).

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Notable Quotes

• Ryan Lucas on Pam Bondi’s Memos:
  “Bondi revived the federal death penalty. She set up an Oct. 7 task force to focus on the threat posed by Hamas.” (02:32)

• Ryan Lucas on Potential Targeting of Investigators:
  “There are certainly concerns that that's what's going on here.” (04:04)

• Maria Aspen on Corporate DEI Changes:
  “We have seen companies start to decide that the reward is not necessarily outweighed by the risk anymore.” (00:26)

• Becky Baker on DEI's Popularity Decline:
  “DEI was a really popular buzzword in corporate America five years ago, but now it's kind of politically toxic.” (07:49)

• Caitlin Rivers on COVID-19 Surge:
  “This year's winter wave is low compared to previous winters.” (09:52)

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Conclusion

This episode of Up First provides a comprehensive overview of significant developments in the U.S. political and corporate landscapes, as well as public health. From the controversial actions of the newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi and the DOJ's potential crackdown on investigations related to former President Trump, to the retreat of major corporations from DEI initiatives under political and strategic pressures, and the complexities of the current respiratory virus season balancing mild COVID-19 waves with a resurging flu outbreak. These discussions offer listeners valuable insights into the evolving dynamics shaping the nation.

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Note: Advertisements, introductions, and outros have been omitted to focus solely on the episode's content.

Transcript

[Michelle Martin]

Pam Bondi was sworn in this week as U.S. attorney General.

[A. Martinez]

One of her early memos has workers at the Justice Department worried about the possibility of mass firings. Will those who investigated the president be singled out?

[Michelle Martin]

I'm Michelle Martin. That's a Martinez. And this is up first from NPR News. Under political pressure, some big companies have quietly ended their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

[Maria Aspen]

We have seen companies start to decide that the reward is not necessarily outweighed by the risk anymore.

[Michelle Martin]

Is this the end of corporate dei?

[A. Martinez]

Plus, it is respiratory virus season and the flu is peaking for a second time. But there's better news on the horizon.

[Caitlin Rivers]

About COVID This is the smallest winter wave we've had since the pandemic began.

[A. Martinez]

Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.

[Charles Schwab]

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[A. Martinez]

This week, the Senate voted to confirm Pam Bondi as President Trump's new attorney general.

[Michelle Martin]

Bondi takes over at the Justice Department as the Trump administration makes aggressive moves to take over the federal bureaucracy. Over the past few weeks, the new administration has already pushed out senior career officials at the department and at the FBI, setting off fears about mass firings.

[A. Martinez]

NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas has been following this. Ryan, let's start with the new attorney general, Pam Bondi, sworn in this week in the Oval Office by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. So now that she's on the job, what has she done?

[Ryan Lucas]

Well, one of the first things that she did was sign a whole bunch of memos, more than a dozen of them, that aim to advance the president's agenda and the Department's role in it. These things address a whole. A whole range of topics. Bondi revived the federal death penalty. She set up an Oct. 7 task force to focus on the threat posed by Hamas. Other memos address immigration enforcement, the drug cartels. This sort of thing reflects the shift in priorities that we often see out of the Justice Department with the change in administration, saying that though there's one memo in particular that really stood out. And it raises questions about whether the department under Bondi aims to go after the people who investigated Trump.

[A. Martinez]

Tell us about that memoir.

[Ryan Lucas]

Well, the subject line is restoring the integrity and credibility of the Department of Justice. But what the memo does is establish what it calls a weaponization working group that will review the criminal and civil cases that were brought against Trump over the past four years by federal and state prosecutors. It will also look at the Capitol riot investigations and what the memo calls the pursuit of improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions relating to the Capitol attack. Now, Bondi has been a fierce defender of Trump over the years. Before she was attorney general, she talked about investigating the investigators. And there are certainly concerns that that's what's going on here. And look, in the past few weeks, the department has already fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on Trump investigations because the new leadership said those folks couldn't be trusted to carry out the president's agenda.

[A. Martinez]

There's also been turmoil at the FBI. So where do things stand now?

[Ryan Lucas]

Right. There's been a lot of nervousness and fear at the FBI over the past week. Remember, the FBI falls under the authority of the Justice Department. But the panic at the FBI started after the number two official at the Justice Department ordered the firing of eight senior career FBI officials and at the same time demanded a list of all FBI personnel who worked on any January 6th case. That's around 5,000 FBI employees in all. Now, that set off fears at the FBI of possible mass firings. Sources told me about FBI agents printing out their HR files because they were worried that they'd be fired immediately. They wouldn't have access to the system. Things have settled down a bit in the past few days. The FBI handed over a list of employees who worked January 6th cases, but not the agents names, to the Justice Department. The department says this is part of a review process related to ending what it calls the weaponization of the justice system. There are still concerns, though, about FBI agents names possibly being made public, and then they or their families facing threats. Remember, Trump pardoned some 1500 January 6th defendants, including people who were convicted of violence agents have actually filed two lawsuits to try to prevent agents names from being made public. So there's a lot of concern here. There's a court hearing scheduled on those lawsuits today. So there will certainly be more to come.

[A. Martinez]

Yeah. That's NPR's Ryan Lucas. Ryan, thanks for breaking it all down.

[Ryan Lucas]

Thank you.

[A. Martinez]

Some big companies are literally erasing diversity, equity and inclusion, or dei, gm, Pepsi.

[Michelle Martin]

Disney and others have scrubbed some or all of those words from their annual reports to investors.

[A. Martinez]

NPR business correspondent Maria Aspen is the first to report this. Maria, tell us what you found.

[Maria Aspen]

Hey, good morning. So, as you know, we've been seeing some big companies announcing for months that they're ending or changing their DEI programs. They include Walmart, Target, Amazon, and just this week, Google told employees that it's ending its hiring targets for underrepresented workers. But what I discovered this week is that many more big companies are backing away from the language of DEI without making a big announcement. I went digging into the new annual reports that companies have been publishing for their investors, and I compared them with what they were saying a year ago. And I found that this year, at least a dozen big companies have all deleted or softened the language they use to talk about diversity. These companies include gm, Intel, Disney, Pepsi, and Chipotle. Now, some of these companies wouldn't talk about these changes with me, so we don't know for sure why they've done this. We just know that they've stopped talking about DEI in public. But some of the companies did give me some clues.

[Michelle Martin]

Ooh.

[A. Martinez]

All right. What do they tell you?

[Maria Aspen]

Well, there's a lot going on, but a few of these companies referred specifically to President Trump's new executive orders ending DEI in the federal government. These orders also threatened to sanction private companies that are federal contractors that have what Trump called illegal DEI programs. And Google, for example, as a federal contractor, a spokesperson this week told me that Google is evaluating the changes required by Trump's executive orders. And Google, I should note, is one of NPR's funders. Another company I talked to was 3M. It's that big conglomerate that makes Post it notes and chemicals and a bunch of other stuff. It's also a federal contractor. 3M also deleted some references to diversity from its latest annual report. And a spokesperson specifically mentioned the executive orders when he talked to me.

[A. Martinez]

Yeah, but not every company that's making these changes is a federal contractor. So what else is happening here?

[Maria Aspen]

So Trump's executive orders are definitely adding to the pressure. But corporate America was already facing a lot of pressure from critics of DEI who say that it is itself discriminatory. The bigger picture here is just that big companies are pretty risk averse. I talked about this with Becky Baker, who's an employment lawyer with Finsen and Elkins. She says that DEI was a really popular buzzword in corporate America five years ago, but now it's kind of politically toxic. We have seen companies start to decide that the reward in doing so is not necessarily outweighed by the risk anymore. So she's not surprised by the changes all of these companies are making, and she's expecting us to see a lot more.

[A. Martinez]

So is this the end of dei?

[Maria Aspen]

Yes and no. There are still some companies that are standing by their promises to pursue diversity, equity and inclusion, and they're still talking about it using those words. For example, Costco said in its most recent annual report that promoting DEI is part of taking care of its employees. And meanwhile, some of the people doing this work tell me that they hope that most companies are going to continue making their workplaces more inclusive for all employees, even if they're not using words and phrases like dei.

[A. Martinez]

All right. That's NPR's Maria Aspen. Thanks a lot, Maria.

[Maria Aspen]

Thank you.

[A. Martinez]

Lots of people are feeling pretty crummy these days as the winner stew of respiratory viruses simmers.

[Michelle Martin]

But there are a couple of unusual trends driving all the coughing, sneezing and fevers this year.

[A. Martinez]

NPR health correspondent Rob Stein joins us now to explain. So, Rob, what's happening out there with all these viruses?

[Rob Stein]

Well, a, this is kind of a good news, bad news story. Let's start with the good news. This winter's Covid surge looks like the mildest since the virus first emerged. Here's Caitlin Rivers. She's an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins.

[Caitlin Rivers]

This year's winter wave is low compared to previous winters. This is the smallest winter wave we've had since the pandemic began.

[Rob Stein]

There's still plenty of people getting it and even ending up in the hospital or worse. So river says people shouldn't let down their guard.

[A. Martinez]

Now when it comes to Covid, though, I mean, why is this winter's COVID wave, I mean, so mild?

[Rob Stein]

Well, one possible explanation is that we went through an unusually intense summer Covid surge that also started relatively late. So lots of people may still have some immunity from when they had Covid this summer and no new variant has evolved that's any better about at getting around the immunity people have built up. There's also a theory called viral interference. That's when the presence of One virus kind of pushes out other viruses. Here's Aubrey Gordon. She's an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan.

[Maria Aspen]

It's possible that viral interference is playing a role this year. There's a lot of influenza circulating. It may generate some nonspecific immunity, so some non specific protection which then prevents people from getting other respiratory viruses like SARS. COV2 sort of crowds it out.

[Rob Stein]

Now you probably noticed she said there's a lot of flu out there. And that brings us to the bad news.

[A. Martinez]

Yeah, the flu. So tell us what's up with the flu?

[Rob Stein]

Well, this year's flu season started unusually early and has been pretty intense. And now it looks like we're getting hit by a second winter surge of flu. Here's Caitlin Rivers from Johns Hopkins.

[Caitlin Rivers]

Influenza activity first peaked around the turn of the new year, late December, early January. Activity then declined for several weeks in a row, which is usually a sign that the season is on its way out. But then it really took an unusual turn and started to rise again. So activity is now at a second peak, just as high as it was around the turn of the new year.

[Rob Stein]

So it's looking like the intensity of this year's flu season could have a long tail.

[A. Martinez]

So, Rob, any idea why this is happening? I mean, I'm gonna try and connect two things that might not have anything to do with each other. Could it have anything to do with the bird flu?

[Rob Stein]

No. No. Which is good news. So far, testing hasn't spotted any signs that the whirring bird flu that's infecting dairy cows and poultry is spreading widely in people. So it's a bit of a mystery. It could just be kind of natural variation that happens with the flu. That said, the more people who catch the flu, the greater the chances that people could get infected with both viruses, the regular flu and bird flu. And could give the bird flu the opportunity to kind of swap genes with the regular flu and evolve into something more dangerous, even potentially cause another pandemic.

[A. Martinez]

That's NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Rob, thanks.

[Rob Stein]

You bet.

[A. Martinez]

This Sunday on Up first, tech companies are creating AI chatbots that seem human but are not.

[Maria Aspen]

They give you the illusion of intimacy without there being anyone home.

[A. Martinez]

The danger of human like chatbots on the next episode of the Sunday story right here in the Up first podcast. And that's Up first for Friday, February 7th. I'm A. Martinez.

[Michelle Martin]

And I'm Michelle Martin. Just a reminder, up first airs on Saturdays, too. Aisha Roscoe and Scott Simon will have the news. Look for it wherever you get your podcasts.

[A. Martinez]

Today's episode of up first was edited by Anna Yukoninoff, Raphael Nam, Scott Hensley, Janaya Williams and Alice Wolfley was edited by Ben Adler. Today is Ben's last day with us and we will definitely miss him dearly. It was produced by Zia Butch, Diane Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineer support from Patrick Murray and our technical director is Zach Coleman. Our executive producer is Kelly Dickens joining us again tomorrow.

[Charles Schwab]

This message comes from Bombas. Their slippers are designed with cushioning so every step feels marshmallowy soft. Plus, for every item purchased, Bombas donates to someone in need. Go to bombas.com NPR and use code NPR for 20% off your first order. This message comes from Warby Parker. What makes a great pair of glasses at Warby Parker? It's all the invisible extras without the extra cost, like free adjustments for life. Find your [e-mail] or visit one of their hundreds of stores around the country.