Politics and views in the United States.

Vice-President Vance defends a planned Qatari airfield in Idaho. Polls find voters support extending the healthcare subsidies at the heart of the shutdown and Illinois Gov. Pritzker points to Republican criticisms of Guard federalization.

TRANSCRIPT

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

They're reporting that somehow there is going to be a Qatari base on United States soil.

That's just not true.

We are continuing to work with a number of our Arab friends to ensure that we are able to enforce this peace, but we're not gonna let a foreign country have an actual base on American soil.

Vice President J.D. Vance says the administration plans to let Qatar build an Idaho base to train pilots, but that the US would retain control of it.

The plan has sparked rage in MAGA circles and among some Democrats.

Vance cites the Persian Gulf Nation's role in ensuring the Gaza ceasefire and says other allies have gotten similar permission.

President Donald Trump formally assured Qatar security and forced the Israeli prime minister to publicly apologize after military strikes on Hamas offices in Doha.

This spring, Trump accepted a multimillion dollar Qatari luxury jet despite national security questions.

Critics argue he's not putting America first.

They also point to a recent bailout of the right-wing president of Argentina, a personal ally when the country is competing with trade-battered U.S. farmers.

A new poll from nonpartisan health group KFF confirms a huge majority of Americans want Congress to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits.

The Obamacare insurance subsidies are set to expire at year's end and are a key issue in the shutdown fight.

KFF's Ashley Kersinger says most people don't know they're about to expire, but three in four support extending them when they find out.

This is something that has bipartisan support.

Majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all want to see the federal government extend these subsidies for people who buy their own coverage.

Almost 25 million Americans got coverage through the ACA, a record high for the fourth year in a row.

Federal moves to take control and deploy state National Guard troops are drawing sharp objections from blue state governors, but also some in red states as well.

Oklahoma's Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, calls the deployments, quote, unnecessary, and says they create a troubling precedent.

Vermont's Republican governor, Phil Scott, refused a White House request to send Vermont guardsmen to Washington, D.C.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is a prominent Democratic critic and says the administration should not be taking this authority from the states.

We've got to all stand together because there is truly unconstitutional actions that are coming out of this administration, coming at the states and the people of the United States and all of us, Democrats and Republicans, need to speak out about it.

A new All In for Safe Schools coalition is seeking to help California early childhood educators legally protect staff and families from mass immigration raids.

Lisa Davis with the Children's Partnership says they've produced a one-page guide on keeping kids from ending up with child protective services by updating emergency contacts and maintaining security and privacy protocols.

Things like which staff member is authorized to speak with an immigration agent should they show up at their center, how they're storing and releasing private information about parents, children, and staff.

The coalition suggests creating a plan for communicating information to staff and parents when ICE shows up and creating legally protected private spaces within the building.

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

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