Politics and views in the United States.

Trump faces legal battles over education cuts, immigration actions, and moves by DOGE. Farmers struggle with USDA freezing funds. A Georgetown scholar fights deportation, and Virginia debates voter roll purges ahead of elections. 

TRANSCRIPT

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

The states are better for administering the programs.

No one's talking about cutting Title I or Title IX or Title VII.

It's about who's best to deliver the funds.

Montana Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke argues that states can better manage education programs.

President Donald Trump is going ahead with promised moves to dismantle the Department of Education by executive action.

A teachers union responded, "See you in court."

Without the agency, it's not clear what will happen to the federal role in special education, low -income student programs and college grants.

Education policy expert Josh Cowan of Michigan State University says the department already lost half its staff.

We're going to run into some pretty quick trouble pretty quickly if congressionally required payments to schools, states, districts, but ultimately serving kids and families in Michigan and elsewhere aren't met because of staff shortages.

A federal judge has halted White House efforts to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members under an 18th century law for use in wartime.

Trump's call for that judge's impeachment brought an unusual rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

A separate federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of a detained Georgetown researcher.

Vader Khan Souri has not been charged with the specific crime, but immigration officials accuse him of spreading Hamas propaganda.

A third federal judge is blocking Elon Musk's advisory cost -cutting committee from accessing private Social Security Administration data.

The judge said Doge is searching for a needle in a very sensitive haystack.

Without concrete evidence, the needle even exists.

Courts are also pushing back on administration actions regarding the rights of transgender individuals.

Farmers say they're concerned that USDA grants are being canceled or delayed, funds to reimburse farm investments or to pay for supplying food banks and schools have been frozen.

South Dakota egg farmer Stephanie Peterson says their expansion plans are now stalled.

"The pandemic showed us the fragility of our industrial egg system and how important it is to build up and focus on these regional and local systems."

The USDA has reinstated some funding, but not for local food initiatives described as non -essential.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin faces a deadline to sign or veto a bill that would restrict last -minute voter roll purges before elections.

Purges like that had been prohibited, but with those rules loosened, Yunkin signed an executive order last year resulting in 6 ,000 voters being purged as non -citizens.

Sheila Hurley -Hennessy with the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy says according to the DMV, many were legitimate voters who were then denied their rights.

She says state lawmakers were correct to pass a bill addressing it.

This affects rural areas.

This affects new Americans.

This affects a lot of people around Virginia.

And I want to see if our legislators protect those individuals.

I'm Farah Siddiqui for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.