Happy New Year! Here are the main events that occurred in Politics this week:
1. Republican-Run States See Opportunity To Push Extreme Policies Under Trump

Republican state lawmakers and conservative leaders around the United States see Donald Trump’s re-election as a mandate that will help them enact right-wing policies in Republican-run states across the US. The policies include steep tax cuts, environmental legislation, religion in schools, and legislation concerning transgender medical care and education, among other hot-button social issues. Next year, Republicans will have trifecta control, meaning both legislative bodies and the governorship in a state, in 23 states, while Democrats will only control the three entities in 15 states. The other states have a divided government.
2. Former President Jimmy Carter Dies At The Age Of 100

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100. Though he served only one term in office, he went on to a distinguished second act of humanitarian work, and he lived long enough to become the oldest former president in U.S. history. Carter “died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family,” the Carter Center announced in a statement.
3. Russia Rejects President-elect Donald Trump’s Peace Proposal To End Russia-Ukraine War

Russia is dissatisfied with the reported peace deal proposals on Ukraine from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s team, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on December 29, according to state-owned TASS. Earlier reports from the Wall Street Journal indicated that Trump’s team is considering a plan to delay Ukraine’s NATO membership by at least 20 years in exchange for continued Western arms supplies and the deployment of European peacekeepers to monitor a ceasefire. Lavrov said the proposal, as outlined in leaks and Trump’s December 12 Time interview, suggests “freezing hostilities along the current line of contact and transferring the responsibility of confronting Russia to Europe.” “We are certainly not satisfied with the proposals sounding on behalf of representatives of the president-elect’s team,” Lavrov said, specifically rejecting the idea of introducing European peacekeepers in Ukraine.
4. Biden Administration Sanctions Russia, Iran Over Interference In The 2024 Presidential Election

The Biden Administration announced on December 31, 2024 that it is leveling sanctions on entities in Iran and Russia over attempted election interference. The Treasury Department said the entities, a subordinate organization of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a Moscow-based affiliate of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, attempted to interfere in the 2024 elections.
5. President-elect Donald Trump Endorses Mike Johnson To Continue As House Speaker

President-elect Donald J. Trump endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson for another term in his post on December 30, moving to shore up the fortunes of a leader whose fate he threw into question this month when he sank a bipartisan spending deal Speaker Johnson had struck to avert a government shutdown. The announcement from Trump on his website, Truth Social, ended days of private discussions by the president-elect and his allies about whether to try to save Johnson or find another candidate, as some conservatives have been agitating for. It followed a concerted, monthslong effort by Johnson to ingratiate himself with the president-elect in hopes of winning his backing and averting another messy fight for the speakership at the start of the 119th Congress on Friday.