From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Midnight at the Bush White House.

Hello again, I'm Armin Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

In the last hours of his presidency, John Adams appointed what came to be known as midnight

judges.

Jimmy Carter invented midnight regulations.

Every subsequent outgoing president has tried to perpetuate his policies by last-minute

rules the next president has a hard time getting rid of.

Bill Clinton strengthened environmental protections

and locked up federal lands from development.

George Bush is doing just the reverse with a difference.

Barack Obama may have a harder time undoing midnight regulations

than any previous president. We'll find out why.

On reporters' notebook later on, Senior Moments on Capitol Hill,

first here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine

T. McArthur Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation, supporting social entrepreneurs around the world. Uncommon heroes dedicated to the common good. Learn more at scole.org. Hello again. I'm on. I'll only back with To the Point. Barack Obama may have a harder time redirecting the ship of state than other incoming presidents.

George Bush is perfecting the art of midnight regulations.

We'll hear what that could mean for the Endangered Species Act,

development on federal lands, and other environmental issues.

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