Politics and views in the United States

President Trump signs new executive orders on birthright citizenship. A Senate committee holds Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and a new rule proposes major changes to the HeadStart program.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Wealthy people are building businesses around birthright citizenship.

That's not the way we're supposed to work.

It's a disgrace.

They're buying their way in and we're not going to let it happen.

President Donald Trump signed two new executive orders limiting birthright citizenship.

They make more people ineligible and attempt to ban birth tourism, the rare and already restricted practice of giving birth while on a tourist visa.

The Supreme Court overruled a previous executive order ending automatic citizenship for nearly everyone born on U.S. soil, and the new orders are also likely to be challenged in court.

On a party-line vote, the Senate Homeland Security Committee is holding Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for taking the fifth when questioned about his pandemic-era diary entries.

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul released thousands of diary pages and accuses Fauci of hiding the origins of COVID-19.

Paul insists he's not on a witch hunt.

Accountability is not vengeance.

Accountability is what stands between the American people and a repeat of the mistakes and the very real consequences of the past.

Paul has long said he wants Fauci in jail and says he'll refer the resolution directly to the Justice Department, contrary to the normal process.

Ranking Committee Democrat Gary Peters of Michigan says Fauci's done nothing wrong, that taking the fifth is a constitutional right and bypassing the full Senate is unjust.

The Senate's institutional powers belong to the full body.

Allowing one chairman to unilaterally assert those powers would invite future chairs in both parties to bypass the Senate whenever they cannot secure the support of their colleagues.

The Department of Health and Human Services says proposed Head Start regulations would encourage more local decision making, but early childhood educators say they'll roll back classroom staffing, teacher qualifications, and family support services.

Jenny Maurer with the Wisconsin Head Start Association says that's bad for rural parts of the state, where nearly three quarters of kids live in child care deserts.

In many cases, Head Start is either the only licensed child care provider or one of a handful.

And I think about how this rule could be a big step on the progression to losing Head Start in rural communities.

In the lead up to the midterms, Public News Service is highlighting important polls and the people they represent.

With election fights focusing on the affordability crisis, a new Reuters-Ipsos poll shows for the first time in a decade, slightly more voters trust Democrats than Republicans on economic issues.

Higher gas prices sparked by the Iran war are hitting consumers, businesses, and even local governments.

Indiana has joined other states in suspending their gas tax, but that's putting road repair funding in doubt.

Miami County Highway Superintendent Chad Watson says for now they're getting reimbursed by Indianapolis, but he's not sure for how long.

It just makes planning for a job like this, it just makes it a nightmare because you just don't know what lays ahead six months from now.

After multiple accusations of sexual harassment, North Carolina Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards has given up his campaign for re-election.

State GOP is scrambling to replace him on the ballot in what was already a surprisingly close race.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacific Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.