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

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This article was published 11/01/2025 (613 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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

Your answer might provide the best indicator of what to expect from your governor and state lawmakers as President-elect Donald Trump takes office and legislatures convene.

In many cases, political party identification has come to define public policy, percolating from the nation’s capital down to the 50 statehouses.

Many Republican state officials are aligning with Trump’s policies by pledging to help him crack down on illegal immigration, for example. Some Democratic state officials are mounting a resistance movement, looking for ways to shield their states from potential federal policies restricting abortion and transgender rights, among other things. Some prominent Democratic governors, meanwhile, have taken a more conciliatory approach in an effort to forge a working relationship with the new administration.

Here’s a look at what to expect in some policy areas:

Immigration

Governors and lawmakers in red states are lining up behind Trump’s pledge to crack down on illegal immigration and deport many who are living in the U.S. illegally. A joint statement from 26 Republican governors said they “stand ready to utilize every tool at our disposal — whether through state law enforcement or the National Guard — to support President Trump in this vital mission.”

Republican lawmakers in a growing number of states are proposing to give local law officers the power to arrest people who entered the country illegally, mirroring a recent Texas law that has been placed on hold while courts consider whether it unconstitutionally usurps federal authority. One bill in Missouri would offer a $1,000 reward to informants who tip off 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 on deporting people who commit crimes but not in using the National Guard for widespread roundups of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

Other Democratic-led jurisdictions are bracing for a showdown. The California Legislature has convened a special session to erect shields against Trump’s policies on immigration and other issues.

Abortion

Most U.S. abortions are carried out using drugs rather than through surgical procedures, and that is where the current abortion fight is focused.

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

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing a New York doctor, claiming she wrongly prescribed via telehealth and sent pills to a Texas woman, even though a New York law aims to protect such prescriptions.

And the Republican attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri are in court trying to roll back federal approvals of one of the pills usually used in abortion.

Education

Several efforts to expand the use of public money to pay for kids to attend private school suffered high-profile defeats in the November elections, including in Nebraska, Kentucky and Colorado.

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

With Trump in office, states could see more incentives such as block grants or tax benefits to adopt or expand models like vouchers, which subsidize private school tuition for families. Texas, for example, is expected to see momentum on the school choice front, with a number of voucher proponents winning seats in the Legislature.

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

In Texas, officials in November approved a curriculum that intertwines language arts with biblical lessons and the state education superintendent in Oklahoma has sought to require Bible-related lessons.

Diversity

Efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives are expected to expand in Republican-led states under Trump, who has vowed to get rid of perceived “wokeness” in education. More higher education institutions may join the ranks of those already dismantling diversity offices in states such as Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas.

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

Transgender issues

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

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

In his campaign last year, Trump leaned into attacks on transgender rights, suggesting a looming shift in federal policy.

The future of some of the measures could rest on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling expected this year on whether Tennessee had the right to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Most Republican-controlled states already have laws banning or limiting gender-affirming care for minors and participation in women’s and girls sports for transgender women and girls. Several also dictate which school restrooms transgender people may use.

Public health

With an incoming presidential administration that has indicated fluoride and vaccines might be in its crosshairs, lawmakers in a few states have filed bills that would end fluoridation programs and further restrict COVID-19 mandates.

Health and Human Services Secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer with no medical or public health degrees, has called fluoride an “industrial waste” and said in a Nov. 2 post on X that the Trump administration would “advise all U.S. water systems” to stop putting fluoride in the 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 filed bills to repeal a statewide fluoridation program and allow local public water systems to hold elections so residents can decide whether to put fluoride in the water. Montana also has a proposed bill to ” ban the use of fluoride,” though the full text of the bill isn’t available yet.

Vaccination laws and mandates are still in play in state governments, too. Alabama may consider changing its vaccination laws to require parental consent for any vaccine to be given to a minor age 14 or older; currently, children that age can decide whether they want medical services. Wyoming has a bill that would impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000 on a business or entity that gets state or federal money if found to discriminate based on whether someone is wearing a mask, has had a COVID-19 vaccination or has been tested for COVID-19.

It’s not clear whether these or other bills will get consideration.

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