Politics and views in the United States.

Emil Bove's nomination advances in the Senate. The DOJ requests state voter data. And ICE plans to expand Colorado detention facilities.

TRANSCRIPT

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

And this, the yays are 50, the nays are 48.

The motion is agreed to.

Oklahoma Republican Mark Wayne Mullen was one of two senators who didn't vote on advancing Emil Bove's nomination to be the federal judge for the Third District Court of Appeals.

Two in the GOP joined Democrats in voting no, with Kentucky stalwart Mitch McConnell joining Mullen in not voting.

President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer has been controversial for his role in dismissing federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, which led to an exodus of Justice Department employees.

And a federal whistleblower says Bove told DOJ lawyers they should defy court orders blocking plans to send Venezuelan migrants to foreign prisons.

Democrats call that disqualifying, but Republican senators refuse to hold a hearing on the whistleblower's testimony.

Maine Senator Susan Collins voted against the nomination and says America needs "judges who will adhere to the rule of law and the Constitution and do so regardless of what their personal views may be."

His staff spent Thursday interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of deceased child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The administration continues to refuse to release files on Epstein, which reportedly contain multiple references to Trump, his longtime friend.

California Democratic Representative Ted Luce says bipartisan pressure is building in Congress.

Why do you think we have this entire explosion now about Epstein?

Because Attorney General Pam Bondi, here's the difference, went on national TV and told American people Jeffrey Epstein's client list was, quote, "sitting on my desk right now." that client list.

Why doesn't she release it?

A House subcommittee voted to subpoena DOJ Epstein investigation documents.

It's unclear how the courts will treat the subpoena.

Some Trump allies have asked why the files weren't an issue under the Biden administration.

But even now, judges have rejected requests that records in the case be made public.

The Justice Department is making broad requests for state voter roll data.

Some election watchdogs call that federal overreach and question why the agency wants the records.

Trump's continued dishonesty about the 2020 election has state officials worried.

And David Becker with the Center for Election Innovation and Research says federal laws mean the states don't have to comply.

What we're seeing here is the federal executive branch, the president and the Department of Justice, which it appears he is directing much of their activity, trying to reset that balance, very much in favor of the federal government.

This is not how the founders envisioned it.

The DOJ filed lawsuits with Orange County, California, which provided some data, but Becker says justice is asking for more sensitive information.

ICE is planning to expand Colorado detention centers with private firms set to run them.

Civil rights groups say they don't want to include the GEO group whose Aurora facility has a history of civil rights abuses and lack of medical care.

As of last week, nearly 60,000 migrants are now detained and Tim McDonald with the ACLU of Colorado says they're not the violent criminals Trump promised to take off the streets.

We know that's not happening.

They're detaining and removing grandmothers, pregnant women.

In fact, the evidence is that most of the people they're detaining and deporting have no criminal record whatsoever.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.