Under the Dome podcast: Legislative work begins, under the shadow of Helene and Trump
Start your week in North Carolina politics with our latest Under the Dome podcast, for the week of Jan. 27, 2025. Dawn Vaughan here, your podcast host and The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief. Today’s Under the Dome newsletter is a preview of our new podcast that posted this morning.
On this latest episode, I’m joined by my legislative team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram. This week, the General Assembly begins its work. Two weeks ago on opening day of the long legislative session, the lawmakers were sworn in. Now, it’s time to actually start making the laws.
It starts with House and Senate sessions at noon, followed by the House Select Committee on Helene Recovery that afternoon. We talk about the committee chairs and what role Western North Carolina Republicans are likely to play this session, as well as other lawmakers to watch.
We also talk about the recent death of Rep. Joe John, who passed away this past week just days after resigning his seat as he faced terminal cancer. John, a Raleigh Democrat, was also a longtime judge.
Discussion continues about President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders during the first week of his term, and how we’re already seeing a trickle-down effect in state government.
Two new Republican statewide elected officials, Auditor Dave Boliek and Labor Commissioner Luke Farley, are eliminating DEI, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, in their respective state agencies. Boliek and Farley are following the lead of UNC System leaders as well as Trump, who did the same in federal agencies.
And a look ahead to how Trump’s immigration order may be felt at the state level.
Headliner of the Week
Stay tuned to the end for our picks for Headliner of the Week. They include the Oscars, a playlist and the snow.
Listen to our latest episode and catch up on previous episodes. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon Music and Stitcher.
You can sign up to receive the Under the Dome newsletter at newsobserver.com/newsletters.
.jpg)