Goings on: federal Edition
ICE shootings spark widespread outcry
On Jan. 7, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Renee Good protested an ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operation allegedly blocking agents’ vehicles with her SUV. During the encounter, an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, fired several rounds into the SUV, killing Good. While this is not the first time protestors and ICE agents have clashed and force has been used, the incident marked a new escalation in Minneapolis, which has become the forefront between protesters and ICE agents over the past several months.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey spoke soon after the shooting on ICE’s continued and growing presence in the city.
“They are already trying to spin this as an act of self-defense... that is b*llsh*t. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying. To ICE, get the f*** out of Minneapolis,” Frey said.
Videos surfaced of the shooting in the hours following the incident, with multiple state and federal officials releasing statements regarding the shooting without a clear consensus on what happened. Democrats were quick to condemn the shooting, while Republicans like President Donald Trump have defended the agent and his actions. United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem released a statement following the incident.
“[Good] proceeded to weaponize her vehicle and attempted to run a law enforcement officer over. This appears as an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to agents. An act of domestic terrorism,” Noem said.
In the aftermath of the shooting, six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned on Jan. 13 over the Justice Department’s push to investigate the widow of Good and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter. Joseph Thompson, a career prosecutor, was one of those who resigned. Thompson objected to the Justice Department’s refusal to include state officials in investigating whether the shooting of Good was lawful.
The city of Minneapolis was again in the spotlight involving ICE agents as another person was shot and killed in an ICE-related shooting on Jan. 24. Federal ICE officers tackled and disarmed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, who was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry before he was shot several times as he laid on the ground. The Trump Administration initially justified the shooting, but backtracked following criticism from the public and politicians across the spectrum.
On Feb. 3, ABC News announced that eight more assistant U.S. attorneys are in the process of leaving the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota over the handling of the shootings.
The public is concerned about the training and methods deployed by ICE. One Samohi student, Isobel Carmichael (’26), spoke about how current agents acted.
“The people that they’re letting in are acting recklessly and rashly, not the way law enforcement should,” Carmichael said.
Protests remain ongoing as ICE’s presence remains in the city.
ACA negotiations hit a dead end
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a contested topic within Congress over the past several months as it was set to expire at the end of 2025. During the recent government shutdown, which hit a record-breaking 43 days, the ACA was a main point of contention; Democrats pushed for its extension while many Republicans fought against it and aimed to end the shutdown as soon as possible without guarantees of extension. Following shortly after the new year, the House of Representatives passed a bill to extend the ACA but now faces uncertainty within the Senate.
The ACA is a healthcare reform law passed in 2010, and the act aims to make health insurance more affordable by implementing coverage standards and expanding Medicaid. However, with the act set to expire, millions of Americans are expected to face higher premiums at the beginning of 2026.
Nathaniel Acker, an AP Government teacher at Samohi, spoke on the consequences of the expiring bill.
“I think the majority of people who are on Obamacare are probably not going to be able to afford those increases in premiums without the subsidies. You’re looking at people paying about four [or] five times more for their already fairly limited health care,” Acker said.
Talks within the Senate to extend the bill witha bipartisan agreement have seemed to reach a standstill in recent weeks. Democrats have been united in the extension of the bill, whilemany Republicans are clear they do not want an extension of the bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has not endorsed any extension of the ACA, recently criticizing the enhanced ACA funds.
“There is waste, fraud, and abuse in Obamacare,” Thune said on the Senate floor. “And it seems that the Biden Covid subsidies were especially susceptible to fraud.”
President Trump expressed a similar precedent, threatening to veto a three-year fund extension to the ACA. Instead, the White House released a healthcare blueprint, dubbed “The Great Healthcare Plan”, which focuses on lowering drug prices, making costs morentransparent, and more insurance accountability. The healthcare plan also addresses the expiring ACA bill, referring to the ACA funds as a “flagrant scam” and has its own framework to lower healthcare costs without an extension.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has pushed for the extension.
“The credits expired and Americans are paying thousands more because Republicans can’t get their act together,” Schumer said.
DOJ opens investigation into Reserve Chairman Powell
On Jan. 10, the Department of Justice (DOJ) served the Federal Reserve grand jury subpoenas
and launched an investigation into the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, regarding his testimony about the $2.5 billion Federal Reserve’s building renovations project, which has been a multi-year ordeal to renovate two historical Federal Reserve buildings.
The Federal Reserve is intended to be a nonpartisan agency, independent from the rest of the government to avoid sweeping policy changes amid party changes and to ensure stability and standards for economic policy within the U.S. The Federal Reserve is in charge of man- aging monetary policy within the U.S., setting interest rates, providing banking services for the government and banks and supervising financial institutions.
Powell was first appointed to the position by Trump during his first term on Feb. 5, 2018, and was sworn in for a second term four years later. Powell is set to be replaced later this year as his term expires.
The DOJ’s targeting of Powell, he claims in a recent statement from Jan. 11, is not about his testimony but rather pressure and punishment for his refusal to act as Trump requested in lowering interest rates. Since the beginning of his term last year, Trump has repeatedly called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates in Trump’s attempts to stimulate the economy.
“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates, based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said.
Nathaniel Acker, an AP Government teacher at Samohi, was asked about the current situation with Powell.
“Trump has weaponized the Justice Department. Anybody who contradicts him or who he finds as a political or in this case, you could call him an economic opponent, he uses Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to investigate them,” Acker said.
On Jan. 30, President Trump announced his nomination for the next Chairman of the Reserve, naming Kevin Warsh, a Federal Reserve veteran who served during the 2007 Global Financial Crisis and was one of the youngest members of the board of governors.
Powell will leave his position as chair, but whether he stays as a fed governor is still unknown.