States are preparing to help or thwart Trump’s second-term plans

Do you live in a red state, a blue state or a state where Republicans and Democrats share power?

Your answer could be the best indication of what to expect from your governor and state legislators as president-elect Donald Trump takes office and the legislature convenes.

In many cases, the identification of political parties has become decisive for government policy, which trickles down from the nation’s capital to the fifty state houses.

Many Republican state officials are joining Trump’s policies by, for example, promising to help him crack down on illegal immigration. Some Democratic state officials are building a resistance movement, looking for ways to protect their states from potential federal policies that would restrict abortion and transgender rights, among other things. Some prominent Democratic governorshave meanwhile taken a more conciliatory approach in an attempt to establish a working relationship with the new government.

Here’s an overview of what to expect in certain policy areas:

Governors and lawmakers in red states are in line behind Trump’s pledge to tackle illegal immigration and deport many living in the US illegally. A joint statement from 26 Republican governors said they “stand ready to use every tool at our disposal — whether through state law enforcement or the National Guard — to support President Trump in this critical mission.”

Republican lawmakers in a growing number of states are proposing to give local law officials the power to arrest people who enter the country illegally. recent Texas law that has been put on hold while courts consider whether it is unconstitutionally usurping federal authority. One bill in Missouri would offer a $1,000 reward to informants who tip authorities about people in the country illegally and allow private bounty hunters to find and detain them.

Governors in some blue states are taking a wait-and-see approach to Trump’s immigration plans, willing to cooperate in the deportation of people who commit crimes, but unwilling to deploy the National Guard for widespread roundups of immigrants entering illegally live in the US.

Other Democratic-led jurisdictions are preparing for a showdown. The California legislature has called a meeting special session to raise shields against Trump’s policies on immigration and other issues.

Most abortions in the US are performed using medications rather than surgical procedures, and that’s where the current abortion battle is focused.

At least four states — Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire and Tennessee — have introduced bills aimed at banning pills. None is taking the same approach as Louisiana, which classified the drugs last year controlled hazardous substances.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing a New York doctor, claiming she improperly prescribed drugs and mailed pills to a Texas woman via telehealth, even though there is a New York law intended to protect such prescriptions.

And the Republican attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri are in court seeking to reverse federal approval of one of the pills commonly used in abortion.

Several attempts to expand the use of public money to send children to private school suffered significant defeats in the November elections, including in Nebraska, Kentucky and Colorado.

But Trump’s victory is seen as a boon for such efforts, which have exploded in popularity in recent years. A dozen states, almost all of them red, have programs that allow any student to apply for public funding for private education, including at religious schools.

With Trump in power, states could see more incentives, such as block grants or tax breaks, to adopt or expand models like vouchers, which subsidize private school tuition for families. For example, Texas is expected to see momentum on school choice, with some voucher advocates gaining seats in the Legislature.

Many conservative states are also pushing to bring Christianity into public K-12 education, such as requiring schools to teach the Bible and enforce the Ten Commandments. Trump has promised to promote prayer and Bible reading in schools, with current courts more receptive to religion in the public sphere, including schools.

In Texas, officials approved a curriculum in November interweaves language arts with biblical lessons and Oklahoma’s state education superintendent has sought to require Bible-related classes.

Efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives are expected to expand in Republican-led states under Trump, who has pledged to get rid of perceived “wokeness” ‘ in education. More higher education institutions may join the organizations already dismantling diversity offices in states like Florida, Kentucky, North CarolinaIowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Texel.

Attorneys general and lawmakers in red states are also likely to pressure the private sector to push back on DEI initiatives. A Tennessee law offers one model, prohibiting financial institutions from considering a customer’s participation in “diversity, equity and inclusion training.”

Republican lawmakers are expected to continue pushing for restrictions on the rights of transgender people, especially transgender minors.

More than 30 such bills have been introduced in Texas. Although Texas and other states have bans on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, there are calls to go further, such as banning Medicaid and other state-funded government programs from spending money on gender-affirming care for people of any age.

In his campaign last year Trump tended to attack on transgender rights, signaling an impending shift in federal policy.

The future of some measures could rest on a US Supreme Court ruling This year, Tennessee is expected to have the right to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Most Republican-controlled states already have laws prohibiting or restricting gender-affirming care for minors and participation in women’s and girls’ sports for transgender women and girls. Several schools also dictate which school toilets transgender people can use.

With an incoming presidential administration signaling that fluoride and vaccines may be in the crosshairs, lawmakers in a few states have introduced bills that would end fluoridation programs and further limit COVID-19 mandates.

Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer with no medical or public health degrees, has called fluoride an “industrial waste” and said in a message from November 2 on X that the The Trump administration would do that “advise all U.S. water systems” to stop adding fluoride to water. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century because it prevents tooth decay.

Arkansas lawmakers have introduced bills repeal a statewide fluoridation program and allow local public water systems to hold elections so residents can decide whether fluoride should be added to the water. Montana also has a bill to “ ban on the use of fluoride”, although the full text of the bill is not yet available.

Vaccination laws and mandates also still play a role in state governments. Alabama could consider changing its vaccination laws parental consent required for a vaccine given to a minor aged 14 or older; currently, children of that age can decide whether they want medical help. Wyoming has a bill that would impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000 on a company or entity that receives state or federal money if this is found to be the case. discriminate based on whether someone is wearing a maskhave had a COVID-19 vaccination or been tested for COVID-19.

It is not clear whether these or other bills will be considered.

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Associated Press writers Jesse Bedayn, Erica Hunzinger, Andrew DeMillo and Alia Wong contributed to this report.