Politics and views in the United States.

Vance doubles down on Trump takeover of D.C. Elections could decide the fate of Democrat controlled court in PA, while abortion access restrictions at the VA cause consternation from advocates.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2025 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

So I think union safety is a great example of what's possible when you actually have the political willpower to bring law and order and common decency back to the global spaces of the United States of America.

So many Americans live in cities, they occupy these spaces, they know how unsafe they are.

Led by protesters at Washington DC's Union Station, Vice President J.D. Vance doubled down on President Donald Trump's decision to federalize the local police department and deploy National Guard units in the district.

Vance was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Presidential Advisor Stephen Miller.

Videos popping up on social media showed DC residents shouting down law enforcement officers in the city.

Critics have also noted agents and guardsmen have been stationed near popular areas with lower crime than other neighborhoods.

Polling from the Washington Post and George Mason University found nearly 80 percent of district residents opposed Trump's actions, and the price tag for the troop deployment is estimated to be about $1 million a day.

Elections this November could put legal power back in the hands of Republicans in a crucial swing state.

Pennsylvania voters will decide if three state Supreme Court judges, all Democrats, are retained.

A clean sweep in a low-turnout election could give Republicans a 5-2 advantage on the court.

Daniel Mallison is an associate professor of public policy and administration at Penn He says given the court's past cases, it's possible lawsuits involving redistricting, voting, and civil rights could take center stage.

There were also suits in 2024 about ballot design and whether you can have ballot drop boxes.

And so all these questions about how elections are run, those are gonna end up at the state Supreme Court.

But there's been other big issues like abortion access and right to abortion within state constitutions.

The court could also play a role in future redistricting battles.

In 2018, the court threw out the congressional districts drawn by the General Assembly in 2011.

More veterans and their families could soon be at the mercy of individual state abortion laws.

Following the overturning of Roe v.

Wade, former President Joe Biden changed rules to allow medical personnel at VA facilities to provide abortions in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the health or life of a mother.

The Trump administration is repealing the rule next month, but Lindsey Church with Minority Veterans of America says it had major impacts on the lives of a small number of people it Service members and veterans and their families are now going to have to figure out how to navigate state-level health care and state-level reproductive health services in order to access that care.

Supporters of the repeal contend the VA's focus should be on providing veterans with service-connected care.

And in Texas, a judge ruled the state could not force select school districts to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

The case was brought by an interfaith group of parents, some even clergy, with children in schools.

But the case is far from over, as another court case is pending at the federal level.

I'm Zamone Perez for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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