It goes without saying that 2025 was destined to be a wild year, politically speaking, after Donald Trump won his second presidential term in November 2024.
The 47th president of the United States came out of the gate swinging, cranking out executive orders and unleashing the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency on the bloated federal bureaucracy, all of which had the net effect of provoking Democrats into doing one of the things they do best: drama-queening about a Republican president allegedly turning their term in office into a dictatorship.
But it was Trump’s massive crackdown on both violent crime and illegal immigration in America, primarily in the blue cities where we’ve seen some of the worst problems, that has had the most reverberations in Washington, D.C., and beyond.
As immigration enforcement agents launched operations across the country, including in Charlotte, we saw one lawsuit after another from Democrats and their affiliated special interest groups play out, similar to what they’ve done whenever Trump has either sent in the National Guard or has threatened to send in the National Guard to help combat crime in these same Democrat-run cities.
Democrats have, with some success, been able to stymie some facets of Trump’s America First agenda by way of the court system, thanks in part to activist judges who critics say effectively are legislating from the bench.
In one particular case that could perhaps have the longest-lasting impact after Trump’s term is over, the Supreme Court allowed a Trump-backed Texas mid-decade redistricting plan, put in place in July after the DOJ issued a memo urging action on “racially gerrymandered” districts, to remain in place for the time being, meaning the maps will be in effect for the 2026 congressional midterms.
As reported by SCOTUSblog, “The court’s five-paragraph order indicated that ‘Texas is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the District Court committed at least two serious errors’” in their ruling against the new map, one that is likely to increase the Lone Star State’s GOP representation in the House of Representatives.
“Moreover, it added, the lower court ‘improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections,’” SCOTUSblog also noted.
Needless to say, Texas redrawing its maps in the first place prompted blue states like California to take similar steps, which has had the net effect of other red states, including North Carolina, responding accordingly. The new North Carolina map, I should note, which primarily targeted the 1st Congressional District, looks likely to be upheld after a federal judicial panel ruled in the state’s favor in early December.
2026 promises more roller-coaster rides as Trump forges ahead while Democrats continue to try to find ways to stop the administration on illegal immigration matters, tariffs, his attempt at eliminating the Education Department and more.
It remains to be seen how all of this will play out in the coming months. But one thing that’s for sure is that between his domestic agenda and global agenda — the latter of which has seen many peace deals between hostile nations negotiated (though one between Ukraine and Russia remains elusive) and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages who were being held by Hamas terrorists — Trump has once again established himself as one of the most consequential presidents in American history.
And just to think, we still have three more years to go.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
