Politics and views in the United States.

Trump wants to eliminate local governance in Washington, D.C., election denier Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director, and federal cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program hurt ailing first responders. 

TRANSCRIPT

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

It makes people in our community anxious, it makes our policy makers anxious, our businesses anxious and that's just an unnecessary distraction.

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says residents are on edge following President Donald Trump's assertion that the federal government should control the nation's capital.

Trump says city leaders aren't doing enough to reduce crime or remove homeless encampments.

House Republicans have introduced legislation to strip the mayor and city council of home rule, but it doesn't say who would run the city or how the transition would happen.

The Senate has narrowly voted to confirm close Trump ally Kash Patel as the next director of the FBI.

Despite his previous threats to journalists and others he says helped rig the 2020 election, he testified to senators there are already enough criminals to arrest without seeking revenge.

I have no interest, no desire and will not, if confirmed, go backwards.

There will be no politicization at the FBI.

There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI should I be confirmed as the FBI director.

A Senate committee also advanced former wrestling CEO Linda McMahon as Trump's nominee for education secretary.

83-year-old Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell says he won't run for re-election.

McConnell was the longest-serving Senate Party leader and is known for ensuring a conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

Republican Congressman Andy Barr says he's looking at running, and popular Governor Andy Beshear would be a strong Democratic candidate.

Trump is also planning to take over the historically independent U.S.

Postal Service and fire members of its governing board.

Members say that's illegal and plan to sue.

Reductions in the federal workforce have cut one in five staff at the World Trade Center health program, and grants providing medical coverage have been frozen. 9/11 first responder advocate John Feal says police and firefighters will die as a result.

You cannot take a sledgehammer to every program.

You need to take a surgical knife and with a microscope and look where the fraud is.

There's no fraud in the World Trade Center health program.

Layoffs are also underway at the IRS.

Democrats say the loss of thousands of workers will hurt the agency's customer service, helping Americans during tax season and limit IRS efforts to crack down on tax cheats.

So-called equal protection legislation in six GOP-led states would classify abortion as homicide, allowing women who have the procedure be charged with murder and subject to the death penalty.

Ashley Liddow with the South Carolina-based Women's Rights and Empowerment Network has a warning for the women there.

This state is a place where if you are having a pregnancy outcome, you need to be careful about what you say and who you say it to because some folks will come after you.

I'm Catherine Carley for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.