Blue 812 News Issue 50 - December 14

Dec 14, 2025

Democratic lawmakers grilled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a hearing on Thursday. After she claimed that DHS hasn’t deported any veterans, an aide to Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) held up an iPad showing a live video call: “We are joined on Zoom by a gentleman named Sae Joon Park. He is a United States Army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country... You deported him to Korea.” Hard to argue with that!

Magaziner also introduced a military veteran named Jim Brown, from Troy, Missouri, who was sitting in the gallery behind Noem. Browns’s wife - a native of Ireland - has lived in the U.S. for 48 years before being detained and facing deportation, the congressman said. Her only criminal record was writing two bad checks totaling $80 several years ago, Magaziner said. Noem left the witness table a few minutes after noon for the FEMA Council meeting that was slated to begin at 1 p.m., which the Hill independently verified had been cancelled.

Trump’s been in office for nearly a year, so it’s time to look back on… what’s the opposite of an accomplishment? Because that’s what ICE has done. The Berkeley Deportation Data project just unveiled some new stats to summarize this hellhole of an agency:

So much healthcare drama, so little actual healthcare. You know how the Obamacare subsidies are expiring at the end of the month? Well, Republicans in Congress finally realized it’s a disaster waiting to happen, and last week, the Senate took two votes. In one, Republicans proposed replacing subsidies with expanded health savings accounts and direct payments to certain people. It failed. In the other, Dems proposed a much simpler three-year extension of Obamacare credits that would literally save Republicans from themselves in the midterms. It also failed, with all but four Republicans opposing it: Susan Collins of Maine, Missouri’s Josh Hawley, and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska. It needed 13 Republicans to pass with a filibuster-proof majority.

Is there hope for subsidy extension? IDK! If so, it lies in the House. Earlier this week, Mike Johnson presented House Republicans ten healthcare policies. One was just a bullet point that said “innovation,” though, so let’s revisit the word “policies.”

Frustrated with Johnson’s inaction, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) has a discharge petition to extend the enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies. Fitzpatrick, a swing-district centrist, has enough Republican signatories to win a floor vote. Five Republicans have already joined Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) on a different discharge petition for a bill that would extend the Obamacare subsidies for one year. That means this effort also has enough GOP backing to succeed with Democrats backing it. The House Democratic leadership prefers this petition to Fitzpatrick’s. Live discharge petitions, which effectively strip power from the GOP leadership, have become more common than ever in Johnson’s House. The sheer number of successful discharge petitions is stunning and shows just how poor the outlook is for Johnson and his top lieutenants. Remember what happened with the Jeffrey Epstein vote.

What’s concerning many House Republicans in the GOP leadership: Johnson has said he will stretch the health care debate straight into the second quarter of next year. There isn’t any Republican who thinks it’s a good idea for the GOP to be talking about health care - their worst issue - during an election year.

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The Supreme Court may be about to hand Republicans another major win, right before the midterms. Republican interests came before the court last week to ask for the removal of campaign finance limits, in a change that would give big-money GOP donors a boost over Democrats’ traditional advantage in small donations. If that change happens, it would continue a two-decade trend in Chief Justice John Roberts’s court of chipping away at campaign finance laws. Very awesome, very cool. Depending on what the court decides, political parties may end up able to accept loads of cash from extremely wealthy donors — and spend an unprecedented amount boosting any candidate. Republicans argue that spending limits violate free speech, while Democrats argue that billionaires shouldn’t be able to inject cash directly into candidates’ campaigns. A decision is expected by July, just in time to have a major impact on November’s midterms.

In other SCOTUS news, on Monday the conservative justices seemed pretty down to expand Trump’s power yet again by letting him fire the heads of independent agencies, really making you consider the definition of the word “independent.”

Some backstory: in 1935, SCOTUS held that Congress could limit whom the president could fire. In 2025, Trump said lol. In one of many illegal firings, Trump axed FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, whom he himself appointed in 2018, causing the case that came before the court last week. The Trump admin is defending its actions by arguing that if agency heads aren’t accountable to the president, they’re not responsible to the people, under a theory known as the unitary executive. Meanwhile, Slaughter’s lawyer Amit Agarwal is arguing that “everything is on the chopping block” once the precedent protecting independent agencies is tossed out. Beyond these whimsical firings, the decision could change how the agencies are run. For example, Trump is already manhandling the Federal Reserve by elbowing his own people into leadership roles, and handing him further power would only exacerbate the problem.

During the hearing, the justices were split on partisan grounds. John Roberts articulated that independent agencies had grown too powerful in recent years, while Elena Kagan warned about unchecked presidential power. In the words of Sonia Sotomayor: “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government.” A decision on this case is expected this summer.

The Indiana Senate resoundingly crushed President Donald Trump’s months-long push to force a mid-decade redraw of the Hoosier State’s congressional map. The full State Senate rejected Donald Trump’s call for new maps by a 31-19 margin. Because a constitutional majority — 25 votes or more — voted against the measure, it can’t be taken up by state lawmakers again until the 2027 session. This is the culmination of months of hard work from Hoosiers all across the state who called and wrote to their legislators to reject this map and put Hoosier interests above those of Washington DC. You did it!

Terre Haute Sen. Greg Goode had not announced a position before Thursday’s vote but told the chamber that “overwhelming feedback” from his constituents — “regardless of political leaning, or party affiliation” — influenced his decision. He ultimately voted no on the bill (give him a call at 317.232.9400 to tell him thanks!). “I’ve done my very best to quietly and respectfully listen to the people I represent, and I’m confident that my vote reflects the will of my constituents.” Scuttlebutt says a run for governor may be in his future.

At this point, Trump’s redistricting war is a wash at best. Right now, Republicans may net two or three seats, but even that outcome is uncertain. HoosLeft had a great discussion and analysis of what the senators were saying (and what they weren’t), as well as what the political fallout is showing us.

Dozens of immigrants in Indianapolis were barred from becoming citizens last week when federal officials stopped people from taking their oath of allegiance — the final step in a lengthy process.

A news release from the Marion County Clerk’s office wasn’t clear who turned people away at the naturalization ceremony, or what countries they were from. “I can’t actually tell you why because there is no good explanation except that their country is on a list made up by the president, that every person from your country is not welcome to be a citizen of our country,” said Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell. “They’ve taken the tests, they’ve learned our history. They have a rudimentary understanding of the language,” Sweeney Bell said. “We closed our door to them after we told them, ‘Yes, you are welcome’... I hope they try again.”

The turnaways unfold against the backdrop of expanded federal immigration policies under the Trump administration. Immigration applications have been halted for people from dozens of countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Restricted access applies to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The Vigo County Commissioners have announced the full five-member oversight board that will help guide the next phase of the Vigo County Corporation’s facility planning during a special call meeting Friday morning.

Per statute, the appointing entities include one member appointed by the Vigo County Council, two appointed by the Vigo County Commissioners, including a business representative recommended by the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, one member appointed by the Mayor of Terre Haute, and the President of the Vigo County School Corporation Board of Directors. Appointing entities also opened an application process to the public and received applications from twenty-one residents.

The appointees are:

According to officials, Elliot was chosen by the commissioners, Pickens by the County Council, Metheny by the Chamber of Commerce, and Bramble by the Mayor’s Office. The first committee meeting of the Vigo County Oversight Board will take place on Monday at 2:30 p.m. It will be open to the public.

The City of Terre Haute has released its proposed list of streets scheduled for paving in 2026, including routes funded through the Community Crossings Matching Grant and additional streets selected to utilize funding from EDIT, Gaming Revenue, and Right of Way Fees. Read the full details here.

“The state Community Crossing Grant Program saw substantial decreases in budgets following the 2025 legislative session. Although INDOT and the state had less money to grant to cities and towns, the City of Terre Haute still found a way to maintain strong paving levels for 2026. We will continue to explore additional funding to allocate towards paving, to hopefully add to this list towards the end of 2026.” says Mayor Brandon Sakbun.

Stand Up for Science has been working to support Articles of Impeachment against RFK Jr. On Wednesday, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) filed these articles in the House.

Impeachment can only happen if we effectively show our government that Rep. Stevens’ filing of the articles of impeachment was not a fringe political stunt, but a legitimate effort backed by the scientific and medical community and the public. If you believe in the power of standing up and speaking out, here’s the plan!

Go to standupforscience.net/impeach-rfkjr

1. Sign your name to endorse the Articles.

2. Share the page.

3. Call your Rep with their automatic dialer! We are asking them to CO-SPONSOR the articles.

4. Send your rep a Quack-o-gram!

ICE is detaining a Bloomington man from Afghanistan who has committed no crimes at a rural Indiana county jail, and his friends and family say they have no idea why. Amir (who they refer to by a pseudonym for fear of retribution by the Taliban) is married with a baby on the way, and works at Indiana University as his asylum claim is being processed. He and his mother-in-law left their English class at Broadview Learning Center around noon on Monday when agents identifying themselves as FBI pulled their car over, according to Amir’s brother-in-law. ICE did not respond to a request for comment.

It’s important to report ICE sightings so our community members can prepare. Here’s a good guide on what to include to make messages as useful as possible:

Nasty Women calendar | Indivisible Wabash Valley calendar |HoosiersRise calendar

Monday, December 15th at 6pm: The NAACP Greater Terre Haute Branch and President Sylvester Edwards invite you to the December Annual Meeting set for Monday, 15 December 2025 at 6:00 PM at the St John Missionary Baptist Church, 1915 Buckeye Street. The meeting will review the Branch activities and programs of 2025, discussing what was done well and which areas could be improved.
The goal is to come away from this meeting with a framework of activities, events, programs, and plans for 2026. More info on Facebook.

A judge ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland father who was illegally sent to a torture dungeon in El Salvador. AND a federal judge issued an order barring immigration agents from detaining him further. The Trump administration has been trying to deport the Maryland father, raising fears that agents would detain him again after a judge ordered him released. “I stand before you a free man, and I want you to remember me this way, with my head held up high,” Abrego Garcia told a crowd, via a translator.

Miami elected its first woman mayor, Eileen Higgins, making history in a city that somehow made it all the way to 2025 without ever putting a woman in the job. She is also the first Democrat to hold the office in nearly 3 decades.

Solar panels saved a school district in Batesville, Arkansas so much money that they were able to give teachers $15K pay raises.

A federal grand jury refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on dubious mortgage fraud claims for a third time. I believe they say three strikes and you’re out.

An environmental conservation group is suing to keep a picture of Donald Trump’s face out of the 2026 national parks pass, citing “aesthetic harm.” I would also cite physical harm to my eyeballs. Federal law requires the pass to include a nature photography contest’s winning photo, the group argues. The group’s executive director said in a statement: “America the Beautiful means wild rivers and majestic mountains, not a headshot of a bloated, fragile, attention-seeking ego. There’s nothing beautiful about that.”

A federal judge paved the way for Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk to continue her research and teaching after she was detained by ICE agents in broad daylight for writing an opinion article critical of Israel.

A judge’s order blocking the Indiana Department of Health from releasing the reports that doctors file about individual abortions will remain in place under a state Court of Appeals decision. A panel of three appeals court judges agreed unanimously with a Marion County judge that the records — known as terminated pregnancy reports — should be protected as confidential medical records.

Trump’s time in the White House runs out in:

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