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

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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.

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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’

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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. 

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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.

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«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

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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. 

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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.

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Nancy Pelosi says sex changes for trans kids is something she’s working for ‘at the national level’

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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that sex changes for transgender children is something she’s working for «at the national level.»

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Earlier in the day, Pelosi toured the San Francisco VA Medical Center to review health-system upgrades, research initiatives and—according to a press release from her staff—the threat that House Republicans might slash core veterans’ services.

While speaking with reporters, she was asked how her office was responding to pauses to «gender-affirming care» in California.

«That is something I’m working for at the national level, and we are hoping we can have gender-affirming care for our trans kids,» Pelosi said. «It’s a sad thing for us… I don’t know what effect we can have nationally with what we have going on in the White House and in Congress.»

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DEMOCRATIC STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER ENDING SEX CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told a reporter on Aug. 7, 2025, that she was working at the national level to get sex changes for transgender children. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

She called the situation «really sad, adding that a transgender-pride flag—five horizontal stripes of light blue, pink and white—hangs outside her office. Pelosi also said several colleagues display the same flag.

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She acknowledged that many Republicans on Capitol Hill oppose medical transition for transgender youth.

Still, she is not alone in her stance on sex changes for kids.

CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HOSPITAL IN DC TO END GENDER TRANSITION MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

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Pro-trans protesters in front of Supreme Court

FILE – Protesters for and against sex changes for transgender minors demonstrate outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Earlier this month, over a dozen officials from Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from blocking access to sex change procedures and treatments for people under the age of 19.

The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the Trump administration wants to impose a nationwide ban on sex change procedures by threatening providers with «baseless criminal charges» and investigations.

The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department as defendants. It challenges Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order barring government support for sex change operations and treatments and two memos by Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate. 

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Pelosi’s office told Fox News Digital the Democrat was referring to this lawsuit when she spoke about supporting sex changes for children.

TRUMP’S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TARGETS DOCTORS, CLINICS WHO PROVIDE SEX CHANGE PROCEDURES TO MINORS

Transgender flag in Washington, D.C.

A protester waves a transgender pride flag outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Bondi’s memo directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute those who offer sex-change treatments to minors. Shumate’s memo directs prosecutors to prioritize investigations against doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that perform such procedures. 

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In July, Kaiser Permanente announced that it would pause sex change surgeries for patients under 19 beginning Aug. 29 in response to the Trump administration’s efforts on the matter. The same month, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shuttered its Center for Trans Youth Health and Development, one of the nation’s largest clinics for transgender young people.

The Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., also announced that it will no longer provide gender transition-related medical interventions. 

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Many states have laws restricting or banning sex change surgeries for children. The states named in the lawsuit – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin. – allow such procedures.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

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Israel Security Cabinet approves plan to occupy Gaza City

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Israel’s Security Cabinet early Friday approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, marking an escalation in Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.

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The announcement comes after an all-night meeting of the security cabinet, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel planned to retake control over the entire territory and eventually hand it off to friendly Arab forces opposed to Hamas. 

Israel’s Security Cabinet early Friday approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, marking an escalation in the nearly two-year war between Israel and Hamas. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israel has bombarded Gaza City repeatedly since Oct. 7, 2023 in addition to carrying out numerous raids. Today, it is one of the few areas of Gaza that hasn’t been turned into an Israeli buffer zone or placed under evacuation orders.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 



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Fuertes críticas y abucheos al presidente Arce y su vice en el Congreso en el acto por el Bicentenario en Bolivia

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A poco más de una semana para las elecciones nacionales con dos candidatos de derecha como favoritos, los legisladores bolivianos abuchearon al vicepresidente y criticaron a los gritos la política económica del presidente Luis Arce, quien en los actos por el Bicentenario hizo un discurso de autoelogio y sin autocríticas en medio de una crisis nacional que paraliza a Bolivia.

El vicepresidente de Bolivia, David Choquehuanca, desató una nueva polémica en medio del clima electoral rumbo a los comicios del 17 de agosto, tras afirmar en su mensaje por los 200 años de la fundación política del país que en el Altiplano “persiste el caudillismo”, lo que alimenta el autoritarismo de los líderes partidarios y el fanatismo de sus seguidores.

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“¡Ya se van, ya se van!”, le gritaron en su réplica a Choquehuanca desde los palcos en medio de su discurso en el que también habló de manipulación electoral.

Las elecciones se presentan muy desfavorables para el oficialismo ya que ninguno de los tres candidatos cercanos a sus filas figuran con posibilidades de pasar a la segunda vuelta. Al contrario, el empresario de derecha Samuel Doria Median lidera todos los sondeos (entre 20 y 22% de votos) seguido de cerca por el ex presidente conservador, Jorge Tuto Quiroga. Los otros postulantes se hallan muy lejos por debajo del 10%.

Durante la sesión de honor de la Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional en la Casa de la Libertad de Sucre, Choquehuanca —que concluirá su mandato el 8 de noviembre junto al presidente s Arce— sostuvo que el Estado Plurinacional representa un sistema nuevo de autogobierno, pero reconoció que aún enfrenta serias limitaciones en un escenario político complejo y polarizado.

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“Estamos en un escenario preelectoral donde se fabrican encuestas y se manipulan datos de la realidad, mientras el pueblo queda fracturado sin haber elegido”, denunció. Choquehuanca insistió en que el país necesita unidad, acuerdos y comprensión de los errores. “Para unos, la solución será seguir peleando; otros elegirán la fuga ante promesas incumplidas”, reflexionó, en lo que varios analistas interpretan como una crítica velada a las fracturas internas del Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS), partido al que pertenece y que está en el poder desde hace 20 años.

El discurso de Choquehuanca se suma a la controversia generada por la intervención del presidente Arce, quien también fue cuestionado por evitar la autocrítica y centrarse solo en la defensa del llamado “proceso de cambio” y sus 20 años de reformas, como la nacionalización de los hidrocarburos o la industrialización con sustitución de importaciones. Sin embargo, para los economistas Gonzalo Chávez y Armando Ortuño, el mandatario desaprovechó una ocasión histórica para hablarle al país con visión de futuro, reconocer la crisis y llamar a la unidad nacional.

“Fue un discurso para la autocomplacencia. Un narcisismo macroeconómico que no abordó lo más grave: filas por pan, gasolina, dólares y empleos. No fue el discurso de los 200 años, fue el de los 20 años del populismo”, opinó Chávez durante un análisis televisivo posterior al mensaje.

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Ambos economistas cuestionaron duramente la falta de autocrítica del presidente y su insistencia en atribuir los problemas económicos a factores externos. “El presidente vive en una burbuja ideológica. No reconoce el colapso del sector hidrocarburos, la caída en educación, ni el déficit fiscal crónico. Bolivia dejó de ser una potencia gasífera y ahora importa energía. Esa realidad quedó ausente”, añadió el economista paceño.

Por su parte, Ortuño lamentó la ausencia de un mensaje que inspire unidad y rescate los logros colectivos del país en dos siglos de historia. “Era una oportunidad para mirar al país como un proyecto común, hablar de nuestras potencialidades, no solo de las fracturas. No se trataba de defender un modelo, sino de construir un relato que incluya a todos”, reflexionó.

Ambos coincidieron en que, frente a una economía con serios desequilibrios fiscales, cambiarios y de abastecimiento, el presidente optó por minimizar los problemas. “Dijo que la escasez de combustibles es coyuntural, cuando en realidad refleja problemas estructurales acumulados. El próximo gobierno, sea cual sea, tendrá que enfrentarlos”, advirtió Ortuño.

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Finalmente, los dos economistas lamentaron que en un momento simbólico como los 200 años de la independencia, el mensaje presidencial haya priorizado una visión polarizante de la historia construida sobre confrontaciones y no sobre acuerdos.

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