The Republican-led Arkansas state legislature officially banned gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth this week, even after fellow Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson vetoed the measure.
Hutchinson told Cheddar he tried to stop the ban, as written, because of its broad language and failure to grandfather in patients already receiving hormonal treatment.
"In this case I think it is a government overreach," he said. “I would’ve signed a more limited bill that simply restricted reassignment surgery under 18. That’s something that we don’t do in Arkansas. Medical professionals don’t recommend that, obviously, and I would have signed that limitation, but this was overbroad, it was extreme and I vetoed it and I’m sorry for the young people that are adversely impacted by it,” Hutchinson told Cheddar.
While Hutchinson apologized to those transgender youths impacted by the Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act, last month the governor signed a law that bans transgender girls and women from competing in sports that align with their gender identity.
Hutchinson also said the law provides an out for physicians that may not want to perform reassignment surgery based on their religious beliefs.
The governor said he is concerned members of his party are moving too hastily on certain issues and are too quick to write off individuals who do not agree with all of the GOP's principles.
“We have to remember that the greatest changes in our society and impacts on culture would be the church, it would be the home, it would be individual decisions and the government can’t correct everything or change everything, nor should they,” Hutchinson said.
He noted his party traditionally believed in small government, so he is urging legislators to decide when new laws are truly necessary.
"If we don't do that I think we're going to drive people away, particularly millennials and young people and people who are more concerned about the economic issues and don't want the government to engage in the cultural war," he said.
“I believe we are a big-tent party but again, there is a danger that we’re going to be purist to the extent that we drive those people that might disagree on one particular issue away from us,” he added.
Still, lawmakers in his state are considering tightening up voter ID laws, even after Georgia Republicans were accused of disenfranchising voters, particularly in communities of color, for recently passing more stringent laws in their own state. Despite the outcry, Hutchinson says the laws are necessary.
“One, we want to prevent election fraud and that’s what identification does and secondly, we want to be able to expand voting and so one of the things we’ve done in Arkansas is to increase early voting opportunities and so, that’s the balance that you have to achieve."
While Georgia has faced backlash to its new voter laws from several companies including Major League Baseball, Delta Airlines, and Coca-Cola, Hutchinson said corporations should not make business decisions based on whether “they like what a state does or not.”
"This is not the right direction for our country," he said.
Many U.S. consumers say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for holiday gifts in recent months, according to a a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A contributing factor is the unusually high import taxes the Trump administration put on foreign goods. While the worst-case consumer impact that many economists foresaw from the administration’s trade policies hasn’t materialized, some popular gift items have been affected more than others. Most toys and electronics sold in the U.S. come from China. So do most holiday decorations. Jewelry prices have risen due to the cost of gold.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
