Politics and views in the United States

The Supreme Court upholds the 14th Amendment right to birthright citizenship and rules states can ban transgender athletes from school sports. Also, New Jersey Republican Tom Kean explains his long absence from Congress.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Every child born in this country has the right of citizenship, no matter who their parents are, where they come from, or the color of their skin.

Yaritza Mendez with Make the Road New York is one of many immigrant rights advocates celebrating a Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship.

By 6-3, the court struck down the executive order President Donald Trump signed the first day back in office that would have denied citizenship to the children of people in the country temporarily or without permission.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Congress could pass a law limiting birthright citizenship, which Trump then called for.

The court also struck down a law limiting how much money political parties can spend on federal elections.

The decision is being called Citizens United 2.0, referring to the decision saying corporations have the right to unlimited election spending as a form of free speech.

And in a final decision for the term, the high court ruled states can exclude transgender athletes from female school sports.

The court's conservative majority upheld bans in Idaho and West Virginia, saying they're consistent with equal protection for women.

A year ago, the court upheld the Tennessee law banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender teens.

California Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar says none of this is an issue for courts or lawmakers.

The International Olympic Committee has figured this out.

The California Interscholastic Federation figured out rules of the road.

I don't know why those decisions can't be made locally and why we can't allow coaches, teachers, parents, and kids to arrive at a conclusion they can live with.

The Supreme Court announced several cases it will take up next term, including challenges to state assault weapons bans and two more immigration cases.

The country's 250th birthday is also the one-year anniversary of Trump signing the Republican budget mega bill.

It slashed safety net programs like SNAP and Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.

Since its passage, an estimated 8 million Americans have lost Medicaid, CHIP, or Affordable Care Act coverage.

Florida has the nation's largest ACA marketplace and has been one of the state's hardest hit.

Protect Our Care estimates more than 300,000 Floridians lost health coverage in the past year.

Acadia Jacob with Florida Voices for Health says they'll end up sicker, die sooner, and need more expensive emergency care.

Folks who don't have access to quality health insurance still need medical care and end up circling through our emergency rooms, ultimately relying on our tax dollars.

After a four months long absence, New Jersey Republican Tom Keene is back in Congress, having been diagnosed with depression.

Keene describes himself as a private person and says doctors told him to stay in the hospital.

He says the illness deserves patience and sympathy.

Now, when people hear the word depression, many people think it means feeling sad.

But depression is so much more than that.

It is physical.

It is emotional.

And until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.

If his seat had been declared vacant, that would have been a problem for the narrow House majority, even before his absence, Kane faced a tough re-election race.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.