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REAL ID sees nationwide state government compliance ahead of deadline, but it wasn’t always that way

While all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories are all currently in compliance ahead of the federal deadline of May 7, REAL ID was once roundly opposed by several state governments.
As soon as two years after the law’s 2005 passage by President George W. Bush, several state leaders had already expressed objections to complying with the nationwide standard.
Then-Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, called REAL ID a «harebrained scheme» in a 2008 NPR interview.
«[W]e are putting up with the federal government on so many fronts, and nearly every month they come out with another… unfunded mandate to tell us that our life is going to be better if we’ll just buckle under on some other kind of rule or regulation,» Schweitzer said.
NO ‘REAL ID’ APPOINTMENTS OPEN IN NEW JERSEY AS RESIDENTS SOUND OFF: ‘GET WITH THE TIMES, NJ’
REAL ID enforcement is set to take effect on May 7. (Getty Images)
«And we usually just play along for a while, we ignore them for as long as we can, and we try not to bring it to a head. But if it comes to a head, we found that it’s best to just tell them to go to hell and run the state the way you want to run your state.»
One year prior, Schweitzer signed a law banning Montana’s DMV from enforcing REAL ID stipulations, calling it a «threat to privacy» in a letter to then-Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, also a Democrat.
Not too far west in Washington state, fellow Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire signed similar legislation that required the feds to appropriate $250 million to cover the unfunded mandate.
«[E]ven worse, it doesn’t protect the privacy of the citizens of Washington,» Gregoire claimed when signing the bill.
On the Republican side, then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed a law in 2008 halting PennDOT’s implementation of REAL ID.
«Neither the governor nor the Department of Transportation or any other Commonwealth agency shall participate in the REAL ID Act of 2005 or regulations promulgated thereunder,» Act 38’s text read.
The policy was later reversed by Act 3 of 2017, signed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.
‘MASS SURVEILLANCE’: CONSERVATIVES SOUND ALARM OVER TRUMP ADMIN’S REAL ID ROLLOUT
Meanwhile, New Jersey has the lowest reported compliance with REAL ID, according to a CBS News analysis, with only 17% of the population having one – and many complaining of not enough bandwidth for the state to handle the number of applications.
On Wednesday, Kentucky Republican state Sen. Jimmy Higdon, wrote to DHS asking for an extension to the May 7 enforcement date, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
State compliance with REAL ID means that a state has met the federal security standards outlined by DHS for the actual issuance of drivers’ licenses. Since all states have done so, they are considered compliant.
Because the program is optional for the licenseholder – due to the alternatives, like passports – an insufficient proportion of residents not having REAL IDs does not affect statistical state compliance.
REAL ID requirements, endeavored out of a post-9/11 national security law from then-Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., dictate that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will no longer accept a photo-ID that does not have a star in the upper corner denoting verification, unless it is a passport.
To become verified, Americans must provide Social Security information or other personal identifiers.
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The law’s implementation date has been delayed several times, due to COVID and concerns about varied state compliance and states’ abilities to summon the necessary resources to meet federal standards.
Fox News Digital reached out for comment from the current governors of the three states referenced: Democrat Bob Ferguson of Washington, Republican Greg Gianforte of Montana and Democrat Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
Politics,Homeland Security,Washington,Montana,Pennsylvania,Governors
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«Derrúmbela», le dijeron, pero él siguió construyendo
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Federal judge blocks Trump administration from defunding some Planned Parenthood facilities

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A judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from stripping some Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood after Congress and President Donald Trump agreed to partially defund the nonprofit through passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said in her order partially granting a preliminary injunction that the bill unconstitutionally punishes Planned Parenthood member organizations that do not provide abortions.
The injunction will risk «at most minimal harm—financial or otherwise» to the Trump administration while the lawsuit proceeds, Talwani, an Obama appointee, wrote.
The judge’s order appears to apply to some but not all Planned Parenthood facilities. The nonprofit said in a statement that it viewed Talwani’s order as a partial win and remained «hopeful» that the judge would take further judicial action down the line.
«This isn’t over,» the organization said. «While we’re grateful that the court recognized the harm caused by this law, we’re disappointed that not all members were granted the necessary relief today.»
SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN OKS BAN ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERAL FUNDING IN TRUMP MEGABILL
Pro-life demonstrators gather in front of the Supreme Court building as the Court hears oral arguments over Medina vs Planned Parenthood in Washington D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Talwani’s order arose from a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive budget bill that passed Congress this month with no Democrat support. Trump signed the bill into law on July 4.
A provision in the bill stripped Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, which the nonprofit said could force it to close about 200 of its 600 facilities and deprive about half of its customers, more than one million people, of services that do not include abortion.
Planned Parenthood attorneys noted in court filings that Medicaid typically does not cover abortion.
JUDGE TORCHED FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD ORDER: HER COURT LOOKS ‘LIKE A FAST FOOD DRIVE-THRU’

A Planned Parenthood sign (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
The attorneys argued that the bill would cause cancer and sexually transmitted infections to go undetected, especially for low-income people, and that more unplanned pregnancies would occur because of a lack of contraception access. They said the consequences of losing Medicaid funding «will be grave.»
Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys had previously argued in court filings that the purpose of the budget provision was to stop «federal subsidies for Big Abortion» by freezing federal funds for certain Medicaid recipients who provide abortions. Weakening Planned Parenthood has been one of the pro-life movement’s leading priorities since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Talwani granted a temporary restraining order two weeks ago in favor of Planned Parenthood. The judge initially offered no explanation for her decision, a move that led to widespread backlash among Republicans who described it as judicial overreach. Days later, Talwani offered more context in a subsequent order.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD USING ‘LOOPHOLE’ TO GET MINORS GENDER TRANSITIONS WITHOUT PARENTS’ OK: WATCHDOG

Anti-abortion activists march across the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol during the 50th annual March for Life rally on January 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The preliminary injunction will partially leave in place the pause on defunding Planned Parenthood indefinitely, but the Trump administration is likely to appeal the order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
The judge noted that her injunction applied to Planned Parenthood entities that do not provide abortion services or receive less than $800,000 in annual Medicaid reimbursements.
DOJ attorneys had previously argued to the court that blocking a measure that was passed by Congress and signed by the president was an extraordinary move and unjustified.
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«Beyond the futility of the claims on the merits, Planned Parenthood fails to demonstrate imminent irreparable harm to justify an injunction, asserting only classically reparable economic injury and irrelevant potential harm to patients, who are third parties not before this Court,» DOJ attorneys wrote.
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“La democracia está amenazada”: la advertencia de Boric en una cumbre de mandatarios de izquierda

El presidente de Chile, Gabriel Boric, aseguró este lunes que “la democracia está amenazada y esa amenaza no se reduce solamente a la fuerza militar”, durante la inauguración en Santiago de una cumbre que reúne a sus pares progresistas de España, Brasil, Colombia y Uruguay.
“Hoy, en muchas partes del mundo, la democracia está amenazada y esa amenaza no se reduce solamente a la fuerza militar, como sucedió en América Latina durante la segunda mitad del siglo 20, sino que hay elementos más sutiles que atentan contra ella y que terminan naturalizándose”, indicó Boric al inicio del encuentro bautizado “Democracia Siempre”.
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Entre esos elementos, el mandatario chileno destacó “la desinformación, el extremismo de cualquier signo, el avance del odio, la corrupción, la concentración del poder y una desigualdad que socava la confianza en lo público y el estado de derecho”.
Boric recibió este lunes en el palacio de La Moneda a los jefes de Estado o de Gobierno de España, Pedro Sánchez; Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Colombia, Gustavo Petro; y Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, para debatir sobre el avance ultra y los autoritarismos.
Las propuestas que resulten de la cumbre se presentarán en otra reunión que se dará en el marco del 80° período de sesiones de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas, prevista para septiembre, en Nueva York.
Gabriel Boric cuestionó el extremismo
En su discurso, Boric afirmó: “Algunos, de diferentes signos políticos, presentan el extremismo y el autoritarismo como una solución eficiente, como si bastara solamente con mano dura o con acallar voces, prohibir el disenso, ridiculizar al adversario como una vía para resolver los problemas de fondo”.
Este camino, añadió, “solo asegura retrocesos, margina las mayorías, impone la ley del más fuerte, amenaza a los más vulnerables y sacrifica la tranquilidad por la incertidumbre”.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva y gabriel Boric se saludan en el Palacio de la Moneda, en Santiago (Foto: REUTERS/Pablo Sanhueza)
Boric pidió “identificar esas amenazas y no sencillamente apuntarlas con el dedo” y aseguró que “el objetivo de esta cumbre es remarcar la esperanza y ofrecer una alternativa a esas visiones de mundo”.
Además, anunció que los mandatarios de México, Honduras, Reino Unido, Canadá, Sudáfrica, Dinamarca y Australia decidieron unirse a la alianza internacional en defensa de la democracia.
Lula afirmó que el sistema político cayó en el descrédito
En la cumbre, Lula da Silva dijo que “el sistema político y los partidos cayeron en descrédito”, lo que a su juicio fortaleció a la ultraderecha global.
“En este momento en que el extremismo intenta reeditar prácticas intervencionistas, precisamos actuar juntos”, dijo Lula.
Tras una reunión a puerta cerrada en el palacio de La Moneda, los cinco comparecieron ante la prensa, ocasión en la que Lula denunció que el mundo vive “una nueva ofensiva antidemocrática” que, desde su punto de vista, los Gobiernos progresistas deben enfrentar “con acciones concretas y urgentes”.
A su vez, Petro dijo que el progresismo tiene que “encender la luz cuando las tinieblas llegan y empiezan a atemorizar el alma”.
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Petro aseguró que durante el encuentro los líderes “profundizaron aún más nuestros acuerdos básicos y no tan básicos que tienen que ver con la crisis climática, la inteligencia artificial, la paz del mundo, rehacer la multilateralidad o defender palabras tan básicas como la libertad y la democracia”.
En tanto, Orsi pidió “aterrizar la propuesta de democracia a cuestiones que los pueblos sientan”.
“En la convicción de poner a la democracia por delante y como centro de la futura discusión, muchos más países se van a unir si el objetivo es fortalecer esta forma de convivencia que tiene de tan lejos y tantas vidas y sacrificios nos ha costado”, afirmó.
(Con información de EFE y AFP)
Progresistas, Lula Da Silva, Gabriel Boric, Gustavo Petro, Yamandú Orsi
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