What you need to know: This week, the House pushed a voting bill critics say could lock millions out of the ballot box, while the Trump administration moved to dismantle the legal backbone of federal climate rules. Philadelphia is also taking the White House to court after a slavery exhibit was removed from a national park because, apparently, even history needs a permission slip now. Add a racist Obama meme with no apology and an “immigration surge” ending in Minnesota, and you’ve got this week in “The State of US.”
House Pushes SAVE Act Forward With Strict Voter Requirements Ahead Of Midterms
The Republican-controlled House voted Wednesday to pass the SAVE America Act, 218-213, with Republicans unanimously supporting the measure. The legislation would require states to obtain documentary proof of citizenship “in person,” such as an American passport or birth certificate, from someone to register them to vote in a federal election.
What’s next? The bill now goes to the Senate, where it faces a daunting path. Republicans control 53 seats, and some are skeptical or outright opposed. Experts say the measure, if passed, could potentially disenfranchise 21 million voters who lack ready access to a U.S. passport or birth certificate. Democrats say the legislation is designed to disenfranchise Americans, noting that voting by noncitizens is already illegal and very rare.
Trump Administration Repeals Obama-Era EPA Climate Finding
The Trump administration revoked a landmark scientific finding that serves as the legal foundation for federal regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding, established under President Barack Obama in 2009, classified carbon dioxide, methane and four other greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and welfare. Obama said in a social media post that the Trump administration’s action makes the U.S. “less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change — all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.”
The Impact: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s decision to revoke the finding is the most significant action taken yet in the Trump administration’s campaign to dismantle U.S. regulations that address climate change. The repeal will empower polluters to dump even more toxic pollution on communities that live near highways, in industrial corridors of the country, primarily low-income communities.
Trump Still Refuses to Apologize for Racist Obama Meme
One week after posting a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on social media, President Trump refused to apologize. When asked about the incident, Trump said he wouldn’t apologize, stating, “No, I didn’t make a mistake.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the post, telling reporters to “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public,” before the White House later blamed a staffer for “erroneously” posting the video
Why This Matters: The incident has reignited concerns about Trump’s use of racist imagery and his willingness to amplify divisive content. Civil rights groups called the post “dehumanizing” and demanded accountability, with the NAACP stating it represented a dangerous normalization of racist tropes from the nation’s highest office.
Border Czar Announces End Of Immigration Surge In Minnesota
Border czar Tom Homan said Thursday that President Donald Trump has agreed with his proposal to conclude a federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. The announcement came nearly four months after the Trump administration began surging more than 3,000 immigration agents to Minneapolis, in what officials dubbed Operation Metro Surge, resulting in more than 4,000 arrests.
The Bigger Picture: The killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens who were fatally shot by federal agents in separate altercations in January, massively inflamed tensions over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota. Senate Democrats voted Thursday to block a motion to advance a House-passed bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, putting Washington on the brink of a partial government shutdown that will affect more than 260,000 federal employees.
Philadelphia Sues Trump Administration Over Slavery Exhibit Removal
The City of Philadelphia is suing the Trump administration after the National Park Service removed a long-standing exhibit on slavery in the city’s Independence National Historical Park. The lawsuit, filed in federal court against the US Interior Department, Secretary Doug Burgum, the park service, and its acting director Jessica Bowron, asks for a judge to issue a preliminary injunction to return the displays.
Deep Dive: Back in March, Trump signed an order maintaining that the Smithsonian Institution is being influenced by a “divisive, race-centered ideology,” specifically describing the National Museum of African American History and Culture as being “oppressive.” It empowers Vice President JD Vance to review all Smithsonian programs and centers and remove what the president calls “improper ideology from such properties.”