This week in Washington, President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting federal funds for schools that require students to be vaccinated against coronavirus – although no states currently do so.
The same week, a new Marquette Law School Poll found Americans deeply divided on some of Trump's earliest actions of his second term, broadly supporting some while broadly opposing others.
Vice President JD Vance went on his first foreign trip in his new role, and a federal judge blocked Trump's executive order stating his administration would seek to prohibit certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender, and more.
Trump signs executive order banning COVID-19 requirements in schools
Trump's order, signed Feb. 14, would strip federal funds from K-12 schools that require students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before attending in-person classes. The order would not apply to such requirements for teachers or staff.
Although some states implemented such requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, no states currently have one in effect, according to Immunize.org. The nonprofit distributes information on vaccinations and policies surrounding them.
The White House argued the requirements were "threatening educational opportunities for students."
"Parents are being forced into a difficult position: comply with a controversial mandate or risk their child's educational future," the White House wrote.
Marquette poll: Most support gender executive order, but oppose Jan. 6 pardons
The Marquette Law School Poll found Trump's Jan. 20 executive order directing the U.S. government to recognize only two biological sexes, male and female, is one of his most popular policies among U.S. adults. However, renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and pardoning all defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are among his most unpopular.
The poll found 63 percent of U.S. adults supported the executive order recognizing only two genders, while 37 percent opposed it. Another 60 percent said they favor expanding oil and gas production.
Conversely, 65 percent of U.S. adults opposed Trump's Jan. 6 pardons, while 34 percent supported them.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America was more unpopular, opposed by 71 percent and favored by 29 percent .
Asked about deporting immigrants in the United States illegally, 60 percent said they are in favor and 40 percent said they are opposed. However, when asked about deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally without a criminal record, just 43 percent said they supported that while 57 percent were opposed.
Judge blocks Trump gender transition order
A federal judge in Maryland on Feb. 13 temporarily blocked another of Trump's executive orders, one seeking to prohibit certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender.
Some individuals and families of minors who identify as transgender sued in response to the order, arguing it impacted their medical care.
Trump's Jan. 28 order directed that the government "will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures."
Supporters of banning gender transition surgeries or hormonal treatments for minors who identify as transgender say such restrictions will prevent them from making irreversible decisions as children that they may later come to regret as adults. Critics of such bans argue that preventing those interventions could cause other harm to minors, such as mental health issues or increase the risk of physical self-harm.
In guidance on health care policy and practices released in March 2023, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine stated the Church's opposition to interventions that "involve the use of surgical or chemical techniques that aim to exchange the sex characteristics of a patient's body for those of the opposite sex or for simulations thereof."
Vance goes on first foreign trip
During remarks to European political leaders, military officials and diplomats at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14, Vance took a sharp tone, accusing them of retreating from a core tenet of democracy: free speech.
Downplaying threats from external actors like Russia and China, Vance said, "What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America."
Vance took aim at the United Kingdom, referencing the conviction of Adam Smith-Connor, who was convicted on charges of violating a "buffer zone" around an abortion clinic after he prayed silently within the boundary.
"Perhaps most concerningly, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom, where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs," Vance said.
Politico reported the vice president "stunned the audience" with his comments, with some officials suggesting to that outlet he underestimated Russia's malicious influence in their foreign affairs.
Vance, who is Catholic, and his family also visited the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
New York rejects Louisiana's effort to extradite abortion provider
Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., said New York will not comply with Louisiana's request to extradite an Empire State doctor who faces a criminal charge in the Pelican State for allegedly prescribing abortion-inducing drugs for a minor against her will despite a near-total abortion ban.
In a video message, Gov. Jeff Landry, R-La., alleged the minor, who he said wanted to keep her baby, was forced to take medication after her mother "conspired" with a New York physician, Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter, to obtain abortion medication despite the state's ban on most abortions.
"There is only one right answer in this situation," he said, arguing Carpenter should stand trial in Louisiana.
But Hochul argued "doctors take an oath to protect their patients. I took an oath to protect all New Yorkers."
"We have put in place strict shield laws that anticipated this very situation," Hochul said in her own video message, arguing that Louisiana's laws have "no bearing" in New York.
But the legality of such disputes between states over abortion policy has not yet been considered by the Supreme Court since Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The 2022 decision overturned its jurisprudence holding abortion to be a constitutional right since Roe v. Wade (1973).
Trump nominee discloses past employment at Planned Parenthood
Trump's pick to lead the Labor Department, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., disclosed to a Senate committee considering her nomination that she worked at a Planned Parenthood clinic when she was in her early 20s, according to documents reviewed by NBC News, although she also said she does not "personally" support abortion.
Chavez-DeRemer said on a form to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will determine whether her nomination reaches the Senate floor, that she worked at the front desk of a Planned Parenthood clinic in California for over a year, beginning in January 1989.
Previously, Chavez-DeRemer's nomination to lead the Labor Department surprised some political observers for the Republican's union-friendly positions and prompted criticism from some business groups. Some pro-life conservatives expressed concern about her record on abortion.
But others praised Trump for appointing a pro-labor nominee to the post.
