Donald Trump

Told reporters he would stay out of the House GOP leadership election

House Republicans elected Jim Jordan as their next minority leader on Nov. 10, choosing the Ohio Judiciary Committee chairman over Steve Scalise by a 106-73 secret ballot. Jordan, a close ally of President Donald Trump, succeeds Mike Johnson, who stepped aside after Democrats won the House.

Updated 18 minutes ago

Promoted the awards in a White House social media post on November 10

The Justice Department picked four jurisdictions from 47 applicants to split nearly $300 million for local policing. On November 9 it named the dollar figures: more than $68 million for St. Louis and more than $63 million for Jackson, Mississippi. The White House promoted the awards the next day.

Updated 1 hour ago

Endorsed and campaigned for Donalds

Byron Donalds won Florida's governor race with 50.02% of the vote to Democrat David Jolly's 48.7%. The roughly 107,700-vote margin made him the state's first Black governor and the first Black Republican elected governor in the country.

Updated 3 hours ago

Criticized bail decision

A farmer's call from a lane near RAF Fairford at 1:36 am on September 27 led police to five British men in vans carrying petrol. Police found no explosives. Eight men have since been arrested; two were charged under the National Security Act on October 27, and one of them, Nouman Essghir, 24, is in custody awaiting a November 20 hearing at the Old Bailey.

Updated 4 hours ago

His envoys Witkoff and Kushner led the U.S. delegation at the Abu Dhabi talks that resumed Nov. 10

Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators began their first trilateral talks in nine months in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 and returned for a second day on Nov. 11. The first day covered humanitarian steps, prisoner exchanges and security guarantees, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "very productive."

Updated 7 hours ago

Signed Graham Act in September and waived it in October; the diesel deal has yet to deliver a U.S. cargo as tankers divert

The first Russian diesel cargo sent to the United States under President Donald Trump's deal with Vladimir Putin has stalled off the East Coast, and no tanker has unloaded at an American port. The Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes, carrying 40,000 metric tons, stopped off the coast on Nov. 10 after New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and lawmakers warned that accepting the fuel could bring legal penalties.

Updated 7 hours ago

Signed the July 2025 reconciliation bill and his administration proposed two more SNAP rules on November 10, 2026

The Agriculture Department proposed a rule on November 10 that would end automatic SNAP eligibility for households that qualify through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program without meeting federal income limits. USDA estimates 6.3 million people, about 17.6% of everyone on the program, would lose benefits by fiscal 2029, along with automatic free school meal eligibility for 1.78 million children.

Updated 7 hours ago

Has signaled the import program will not be extended beyond November; the White House says it is not terminating it early

the third 100,000-ton tranche was scheduled to open Oct. 31 Through Oct. 19, 59,423 metric tons had entered, about a fifth of the 300,000-ton quota.

Updated 8 hours ago

Made the eligibility finding and said he will monitor South Africa's progress

South Africa is waiting for Washington to say what it must change to keep duty-free access to the US market, after President Trump moved to end the country's place in the African Growth and Opportunity Act from January 1, 2027. No talks have taken place since the November 2 announcement, and the trade department expects a US list of demands in the week of November 9.

Updated 11 hours ago

In office; author of the maximum pressure memorandum

For three years, the US Treasury's sanctions list grew mainly in one direction: Russia. Since April 2025 that has flipped. Treasury has added 1,574 names under Iran programmes and 51 under Russia programmes, according to a compilation of every OFAC list-change file published through November 6, 2026.

Updated Yesterday

Most of his voter-list order took effect after a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling on Aug. 24. The Supreme Court refused on Nov. 2 to let DOJ set aside California mail ballots, and DOJ dropped that suit Nov. 6.

The Supreme Court refused on Nov. 2 to let the Justice Department set aside about 20,000 California mail ballots. The department dropped its lawsuit on Nov. 6, and a federal judge in Los Angeles closed the case on Nov. 10, writing that the suit tried to "disrupt an ongoing election and create confusion and uncertainty."

Updated Yesterday

Said on Nov. 10 there was a 'good chance' of a deal and no new offensive for now; declared the war militarily 'effectively over' on Nov. 9 while keeping the naval blockade

President Donald Trump said on Nov. 10 there was a 'good chance' of a deal with Iran and that the US would not launch a new offensive for now. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said sanctions were working so well that major combat operations were unnecessary, though he warned Iran against crossing 'red lines.'

Updated Yesterday

Said on November 9 he would hold off on further strikes on Iran after appeals from regional countries while keeping the naval blockade; analysts noted a more conciliatory tone after Republicans lost the November 3 midterms.

Oil prices have fallen sharply. Brent touched $89.65 on November 10, its lowest since August 31, and traded near $92, about 23% below the October 30 peak near $118. President Trump said he would hold off on further strikes on Iran after appeals from regional countries, while keeping the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

Updated Yesterday

Signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025

About 10,000 fewer Kent County residents are receiving federal food aid than before Congress and President Donald Trump changed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in July 2025. The Kent County Essential Needs Task Force gave Grand Rapids city commissioners that figure on Tuesday, tying it to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Updated Yesterday

In office (second term)

China's trade surplus passed $1 trillion for a second straight year, reaching $1.04 trillion in the first 10 months of 2026. October exports rose 35.2% from a year earlier, led by AI hardware, while imports jumped 41.6%.

Updated Yesterday

In office; administration boycotting the review

On November 10, 2026, the United States left its seat empty at the United Nations Universal Periodic Review in Geneva for the second year in a row. No other of the 193 member states has skipped the review twice. The Human Rights Council responded by postponing the U.S. review to January 2027.

Updated Yesterday

Backed the Senate permitting bill and urged senators to vote for it on Nov. 8, 2026

The Senate voted 73-25 on Nov. 9 to open debate on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, a permitting overhaul that would speed reviews for energy projects and make large data centers pay more for grid upgrades. It is not the House's SPEED Act, which passed in December 2025 and has sat in the Senate since.

Updated Yesterday

President; Republicans suffered sweeping midterm losses as voter anger over prices dominated the November 3 elections

Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October from September, above the 0.3% forecast, and core prices rose 0.3%. The report had no year-over-year figure because the 2025 government shutdown prevented data collection. Gas prices had fallen below $4 a gallon, and inflation-adjusted after-tax incomes had fallen 0.3% in September.

Updated Yesterday

Said on November 9 after meeting Qatar's prime minister that further military action is unnecessary and the war will end soon, as Republicans absorbed midterm losses blamed on the war and high fuel prices.

Iran said two oil tankers hit mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on November 8. A third vessel also burned, bringing the number of ships hit since the start of November to at least 12. The US military disabled a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard later disabled navigation systems on four tankers using a route it considers unauthorized. Ship tracking put Hormuz traffic at about 5% of pre-war levels on November 10.

Updated Yesterday

Pressing for rate cuts while his administration seeks to remove Governor Lisa Cook

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4% on Oct. 28, a pause after September's quarter-point increase, the first hike since 2023. A stronger-than-expected October jobs report on Nov. 6 pushed traders to price about an 80% chance of another quarter-point increase at the Dec. 8-9 meeting, up from roughly 67% a day earlier.

Updated Yesterday

Directing climate regulatory rollbacks

U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are on track to fall about 1.5% in 2026, the Energy Information Administration forecast in October. EIA's own figures show emissions also fell in 2023 and 2024 before rising 2.6% in 2025. The Global Carbon Project puts the U.S. drop at 1.3%, with output back near 1991 levels. EIA puts most of its forecast drop on lower coal use, then less gasoline and diesel; the Global Carbon Project ties the U.S. drop to the Iran war's oil shock, which raised fuel prices and cut consumption.

Updated Yesterday

Said after Witkoff's St Petersburg talks that the parties were the closest they had been to ending the war

Russia escalated missile and drone strikes in the week before the first trilateral talks since February, damaging energy facilities in 12 regions on Nov 9. At least four people were killed in attacks on Odesa and the Kyiv region, a 2-year-old was injured in Kharkiv, and Dnipro and Kamianske lost power.

Updated 2 days ago

On Oct. 16 signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act into law and waived its duties and most sanctions provisions in the same text, two days before the buyer-tariff trigger date.

Ukrainian drones set fire to the Kirishi refinery in Leningrad Oblast, Russia's second-largest, overnight into Nov. 9, and struck the Morozov plant near St Petersburg, which makes solid fuel for Iskander ballistic missiles. A woman was killed by falling debris in Kirishi, and a Russian strike on Odesa killed three people.

Updated 2 days ago

Rejected an Iranian proposal in October that closely resembled the June memorandum of understanding; US strikes on Iran have continued.

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and hitting nuclear and military sites. A 60-day ceasefire expired on August 18 without renewal, and Iran said it would shift to a 'fully offensive' military posture.

Updated 2 days ago

Said his deportation policy may have been 'too tough' and ordered the Justice Department to examine impeachment threats

Democrats won the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms and will take control on Jan. 3. They hold at least 54 Senate seats, with Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled, and passed the 218-seat House threshold. Hakeem Jeffries is set to become the first Black speaker; Chuck Schumer will run the Senate floor.

Updated 2 days ago

Confirmed US strikes near the Strait of Hormuz and says the war will end 'very soon, one way or the other'

A U.S. fighter jet destroyed an Iranian surface-to-air missile launcher on Qeshm Island on the night of Nov. 2, after the Revolutionary Guard fired at an American aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported. A U.S. official called the strikes on Iranian targets in the strait 'defensive,' and they came the night before midterm elections.

Updated 2 days ago

U.S. president; administration is pushing a three-phase transition plan and 2027 elections

María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Oct. 25, and the U.S. has since laid out a sequence for presidential elections in 2027. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco on Nov. 2 to reaffirm a three-phase plan. It runs from stabilization and economic recovery to political reconciliation and a democratic transition.

Updated 2 days ago

Democrats won control of Congress in the midterms; he told The New York Times he would accept the results.

Democrats won control of the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 midterms, according to projections from NBC News and The New York Times. The Times reported that Democrats flipped seven Senate seats and overcame a Republican redistricting effort to take the House.

Updated 2 days ago

President; midterm losses weaken his congressional influence

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterms, taking at least 228 House seats and 54 Senate seats. Republicans now hold 139 House seats and 44 Senate seats, with 34 House races still uncalled.

Updated 3 days ago

Said on Nov 1 that the war would end 'very soon, one way or the other' and that Tehran must make a deal or Washington would 'just end it.'

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on Nov 8 that three oil tankers it called "rogue" were hit by explosions and caught fire near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz ([aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/11/8/iran-war-live-explosions-hit-qeshm-us-moves-to-block-land-supply-routes)). The claim was not independently verified, and it came as tanker attacks continued despite a US naval blockade and months of diplomacy.

Updated 3 days ago

Says the U.S. is 'not in that much of a hurry' for an Iran deal; his administration warned Gulf states of a possible post-midterm campaign; shelved an Israeli plan for a major offensive before the November 3 midterms; ordered new carrier deployment

Three U.S. carrier strike groups are in the region, and the Theodore Roosevelt group, with about 10,000 more personnel, is due by late November. On November 7 the U.S. military launched a task force meant to stop Iran moving weapons and other material overland, Al Jazeera reported.

Updated 3 days ago

Pushing for a broad US-Russia settlement

European leaders rejected a US-Russia framework for the continent's security and warned it could weaken NATO. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Moscow has no veto over European security, and Poland's foreign minister called a deal reached above Europe's head impossible.

Updated 3 days ago

Second term, pushing the division to enforce his executive orders

Harmeet Dhillon, who took over the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in April 2025, resigned as its chief on November 5, 2026, Al Jazeera reported. She left an office focused on election-fraud claims, campus discrimination cases and suits against universities.

Updated 4 days ago

Announced an energy ceasefire on October 11 that Moscow ignored and Kyiv abandoned within days; the first Russian diesel cargo under his import deal sailed to the U.S. on October 23.

Ukraine resumed long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries after the U.S.-brokered energy ceasefire collapsed in mid-October. In the following weeks it hit the Bashneft complex in Ufa, an oil facility in Samara Oblast, the Kstovo refinery and a refinery in Yaroslavl, according to Ukrainian and Russian reports. Rosneft told Bloomberg on October 22 that losses from the strikes were becoming unsustainable, and the first tanker of Russian diesel under a Trump-brokered import deal sailed to the U.S. the next day despite Ukrainian objections.

Updated 4 days ago

Said on November 6 that US forces carried out 'minor strikes' on an Iranian air-defense device on Qeshm Island and claimed 'a lot of progress' in talks with Tehran

The US struck an Iranian air-defense device on Qeshm Island on November 6, and President Donald Trump called the operation 'minor.' Iran said its air defenses destroyed an American MQ-9 drone over the island, while US Central Command described the situation as 'relatively calm.'

Updated 4 days ago

Remains president; weighing new strikes on Iran after midterm losses

Democrats' midterm sweep first sent the Dow up 3% on Nov. 4, but the rally faded fast. A day later, artificial-intelligence shares dragged the Nasdaq down 5.5% into correction territory. The Dow gave back more than 1,800 points as Democratic governors-elect promised data-center limits.

Updated 4 days ago

Signed EO 14421 on August 26, 2026

President Trump's Executive Order 14421, signed August 26, declares a national emergency over foreign-made power grid equipment. It blocks transactions involving gear from entities in 24 countries under U.S. arms embargoes or sanctions unless the Energy Department approves, and it lets the Energy Secretary order utilities to isolate or replace foreign-made equipment already in service.

Updated 4 days ago

His administration issued a new round of Cuba sanctions on November 5, according to Economy News; he has said Mexico will stop sending oil and called Cuba a 'failed nation'.

The United States has imposed economic pressure on Cuba for 64 years. Now, for the first time, Washington is threatening to punish any country that sells oil to the island. President Trump's January 29 executive order creates a tariff mechanism targeting third countries that supply Cuban fuel—a significant escalation that goes beyond traditional bilateral sanctions to coerce allies and trading partners into joining an energy blockade. The strategy has proven devastatingly effective: Cuba's national power grid collapsed entirely on March 17, 2026, leaving approximately 10 million people without electricity and triggering street protests across the island, the most visible civil unrest in years. Partial restoration occurred on March 18 after 29 hours, but the blackout deepened shortages of food, medicine, and water, including the vandalization of a Cuban Communist Party provincial office in Morón. On March 21, Cuba blocked a US Embassy request to import diesel for generators, escalating diplomatic tensions amid ongoing rolling blackouts.

Updated 4 days ago

Considering joining Saudi strikes on Houthis

Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport remains closed to normal operations after Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority extended its suspension on November 4, saying it needed to verify the safety of facilities. The Houthis claimed a ballistic missile hit the airport that day. On November 5 they said a drone struck King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and disrupted air traffic; Saudi authorities did not confirm either claim.

Updated 4 days ago

Ordered Maduro's capture; announced August oil deal; said in September Venezuela is not ready for a nationwide vote.

Delta Force operators captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a pre-dawn Caracas raid on January 3, 2026. Maduro pleaded not guilty in Manhattan and is jailed in Brooklyn awaiting a June 1, 2027 trial, while Delcy Rodríguez remains acting president and has not set an election date.

Updated 4 days ago

Said he could work with Democrats but warned of vetoes

Democrats won control of the U.S. House and Senate in the Nov. 3 midterms, with results reported through Nov. 5. They also won governorships in Texas, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Iowa.

Updated 4 days ago

In his final two years of his second term

President Donald Trump named Stephen Miller, the architect of his immigration enforcement agenda, as White House chief of staff on November 6, 2026. Miller replaces Susie Wiles, who resigned the day before and moved to Trump's political operation. He was due to start Monday, Nov. 9.

Updated 5 days ago

Definitively ruled out US recognition of Somaliland

On December 26, 2025, Israel became the first UN member state to recognize Somaliland as independent, 34 years after the region broke from Somalia during a civil war. Prime Minister Netanyahu called President Abdullahi to announce full diplomatic ties, framing the move through the Abraham Accords and citing Somaliland's fight against terrorism. Within days, Somalia's parliament declared the recognition "null and void," the UN Security Council held an emergency session, and 21 Muslim-majority nations issued a joint condemnation.

Updated 5 days ago

Announced East Potomac closure on social media

The East Potomac golf course is set to close Nov. 15 for a championship-level renovation. For months, Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge that no final plan existed, even as President Trump announced the closure on Truth Social.

Updated 5 days ago

Promoting the arch; administration told court work could start immediately

Just before midnight on Nov. 5, Judge Tanya Chutkan barred the government from doing any construction work at Memorial Circle for 14 days. Less than two hours earlier, a federal planning commission had voted 8-4 to let the project begin. On Nov. 2, she had ordered the government to report any decision by the planning commission, Park Service or Interior within an hour.

Updated 5 days ago

Endorsed Mike Collins in the Republican primary

Jon Ossoff won a second Senate term in Georgia on November 3, 2026, beating Republican Representative Mike Collins by 18 percentage points in a state President Donald Trump carried by two points in 2024. The Associated Press called the race for Ossoff, 39, the Senate's youngest member and one of two Democratic senators who sought reelection in states Trump won.

Updated 5 days ago

Weighing whether to resume strikes on Iran after the midterms while Qatar-mediated talks continue

Iran is rebuilding its air defenses with Russian help while fighting a new war with the United States and Israel. The June 2025 war destroyed about a third of Iran's air-defense network, and leaked documents show Tehran agreed to buy 500 Verba shoulder-fired launchers and 2,500 missiles for about €500 million. Separate deals cover S-400 batteries and up to 48 Su-35 fighter jets, and in November 2026 Russia reportedly agreed to add 90 helicopter missile launchers.

Updated 5 days ago

Signed the Oval Office monument proclamation on November 5, 2026

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on November 5, 2026, making the Oval Office, the Outer Oval Office and the Cabinet Room a national monument. The designation relies on the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law that lets presidents protect federal land and structures by proclamation, without a vote in Congress.

Updated 5 days ago

Second term; backs measures benefiting Moscow as ties with Kyiv sour

On June 1, 2025, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) flew 117 drones smuggled into Russia in truck cabins and struck four air bases, gutting Russia's strategic bomber force. About 17 months on, the toll is still disputed: the SBU claims 41 aircraft hit, while U.S. officials say up to 20, about 10 destroyed.

Updated 5 days ago

President

Kansas elected Democrat Adam Hamilton to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 3, the first Democrat to win a Kansas Senate race since 1932. Hamilton, a Methodist pastor who was registered as a Republican until earlier this year and had never held public office, beat Republican incumbent Roger Marshall 51% to 46%, with Libertarian David Graham taking 3%. Marshall conceded and will leave office Jan. 3, 2027.

Updated 5 days ago

Replaced IEEPA tariffs with Section 122 tariffs after Supreme Court loss

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has accepted about $137.9 billion in refund claims for the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down, as of an October 26 filing at the Court of International Trade. Importers have filed 315,069 claims, and 222,754 passed initial checks covering 44 million entries.

Updated 6 days ago

Facing a Democratic-controlled Congress, preparing vetoes, and saying the Iran war was 'worth it' despite Republican losses

Democrats won the House and at least seven Senate seats in Tuesday's midterms, giving them a Senate majority of at least 54–44 when the new Congress is sworn in January 3. Alaska and Mississippi are still counting; Democratic wins there would push the margin to 56–44. Before the handover, the lame-duck Congress must pass government funding by December 11 or risk a shutdown.

Updated 6 days ago

President; says U.S. and Canada have the 'concept' of a deal, while keeping tariffs and the January auto-tariff threat.

Canada's counter-tariffs on about C$28 billion of U.S. goods remain in place, at rates from 15% to 50%. The White House's October 30 changes to its 50% tariff list took effect, removing 22 product lines and adding 97.

Updated 6 days ago

Said in early November that talks with Iran were progressing while confirming US strikes on an Iranian anti-aircraft site; said he had a 'very good talk' with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu about Iran

Iran said on November 2 that it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days and restart nuclear talks, shortening a plan it had earlier said would take a week. The offer kept its conditions: the US must lift sanctions on Iranian oil, accept a ceasefire that covers Lebanon, and let ships use a route agreed with Oman under Iranian supervision.

Updated 6 days ago

Lifted some oil sanctions on Russia; reportedly pressed Musk on Starlink limits

Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi pushed Russian forces back 277 square kilometers in the Donbas, freeing 16 settlements. The campaign collapsed an attempted Russian pincer around Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the fortress cities it was meant to encircle.

Updated 7 days ago

Signed the September 22 defense agreement; on November 2 claimed the U.S. 'now has Greenland,' though the deal does not transfer sovereignty.

President Trump reversed his tariff threats and ruled out military force on January 21 after announcing a "framework" with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. The framework covers Arctic security cooperation, U.S. access to Greenland's rare earth minerals (1.5 million metric tons—the world's eighth-largest reserves), and Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system ($175-831 billion shield against hypersonic threats).

Updated 7 days ago

Low approval in Maine shaped the race

Susan Collins had held Maine's Senate seat since 1996, winning five elections in a state that otherwise votes Democratic. On Tuesday, Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, beat her.

Updated 7 days ago

Endorsed Whatley, who lost

Roy Cooper, a former two-term North Carolina governor, beat Republican Michael Whatley on Tuesday and took a Senate seat his party had not won since 2008. Republicans entered the night with a 53-47 majority. Cooper's win trims it to 52-48.

Updated Nov 3

Held off on approving a new $14 billion arms package, calling it a 'negotiating chip'

On December 29-30, 2025, China executed its largest military drills around Taiwan to date, called Operation 'Justice Mission 2025,' deploying 130 aircraft, 22 warships, and live-fire exercises across seven zones encircling the island. Over two days, fighter jets crossed the median line, naval vessels simulated port blockades at Keelung and Kaohsiung, and PLA ground forces conducted coordinated long-range strikes both north and south of Taiwan. The drills escalated on December 30 with 10 hours of live-fire activities in designated 'temporary danger zones,' forcing cancellation of 76 domestic flights and delays to 300+ international flights affecting over 106,000 passengers. China framed the exercises as dual punishment: for the record $11 billion U.S. arms package announced December 17, and for Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi's warning that Tokyo could intervene militarily if Beijing blockades Taiwan.

Updated Nov 3

Cycling through alternative tariff authorities after the Supreme Court rejected his IEEPA power. A follow-up Section 122 tariff was ruled unlawful and expired. His Section 301 forced-labor tariffs remain in place; the trade court heard argument September 30 and asked for new briefing, with no ruling yet. On November 2 he issued a document adjusting robotics and industrial machinery imports under Section 232 and Section 301.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on February 20, 2026, that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act never let presidents impose tariffs. Trump signed a replacement 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 within hours. That tariff expired in July and was replaced by Section 301 forced-labor duties, which the trade court is still weighing.

Updated Nov 3

Named victim in the indictment

The Justice Department brought a third criminal case against James Comey on October 26, 2026, accusing him of leaking a classified document to a reporter in 2016. Prosecutors filed it as a criminal information, a charging document signed without a grand jury vote, while they work toward an indictment in Washington.

Updated Nov 2

Fee blocked by two federal judges; extended through Sept. 21, 2027 pending appeals

Two federal judges have blocked the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions. A Boston judge ruled in June that the fee is an unlawful tax Congress never authorized, and a California judge ruled Sept. 30 that the administration skipped required rulemaking.

Updated Nov 2

Continuing conditional funding of UN agencies while maintaining drastic cuts; ended aid to seven African nations in Feb 2026

The United States pledged $2 billion for UN humanitarian aid in December 2025, added $1.8 billion in May 2026 and made direct awards to UNICEF and the World Food Programme in June. Total UN commitments are nearly $5 billion, still about 70% below the $17 billion Washington gave each year before the freeze. Within hours of his January 2025 inauguration, Trump froze nearly all foreign assistance, dismantled USAID by July and warned UN agencies to 'adapt, shrink or die.'

Updated Nov 2

In an active trade dispute with Canada

Canada and the European Union closed a two-day summit in Montreal on Oct. 30 by launching an "Alliance for the Future" and declaring Canada the bloc's first "associate member." The phrase has no legal basis in EU law and is contested by some member states. What does have text is a concluded Digital Trade Agreement, a lending framework for Canadian critical minerals, and Canada's entry into the EU's support loan for Ukraine.

Updated Nov 1

Rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen Hormuz on September 29 and denied reports of sanctions relief on September 30, as a Vance letter reopened indirect talks in late October.

Brent reached $116 a barrel by November 1 as OPEC met and Saudi Arabia's economy contracted 3.8% under the cost of the war and disrupted oil exports. Saudi Arabia restarted the East-West pipeline and resumed loadings at Yanbu in late September, but attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz kept traffic about 70% below prewar levels. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center recorded 144 maritime incidents in the Hormuz region since February 28, making October the worst month of the war.

Updated Nov 1

Offered dialogue with Kim ahead of the APEC summit in Shenzhen; Pyongyang has shown no public interest.

North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea on October 29, South Korea's military said. The launch came as Seoul accused Pyongyang of a landmine blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers, an accusation the North denied.

Updated Nov 1

His administration approved a possible $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot interceptors on October 30, while still not approving European transfers of existing missiles

The State Department approved a possible $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors to Ukraine on October 30. Canada, Germany and Norway are paying through a US fast-track program, with a European Union loan covering the rest, and no US government money is involved.

Updated Oct 31

Announced MAGA Inc. would fund ads; no commitment to reimburse

A federal judge in New York has blocked the Trump administration from airing taxpayer-funded ads promoting the president through Nov. 20. On Oct. 30 she also ordered three of the ads removed from government websites and social media. A separate Oct. 28 ruling by Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, in a suit by the Democratic National Committee, blocks the government from creating and airing the ads through Nov. 11.

Updated Oct 31

Announced bans on CNN, MS NOW and Politico; the White House began enforcing them Sept. 19. After the outlets sued, he posted that they drew 'a great judge, for them' and that he would appeal. Judge Kelly ordered access restored Sept. 24; Trump had called Kelly 'totally disloyal' before the hearing. The White House blocked the outlets' reporters that morning, restored their badges around noon, then barred CNN and MS NOW from the Xi state dinner arrival. On Sept. 25, the White House barred CNN from Air Force One for Trump's weekend trip to Tennessee, giving the seat to Real America's Voice. On Oct. 14, Judge Kelly extended court-ordered access; Trump had previously said he would appeal.

On Oct. 13, a federal judge extended court-ordered White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, ruling the ban likely violates the law. The order keeps the outlets credentialed while the lawsuit proceeds. The administration has appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and its brief is due Nov. 13.

Updated Oct 31

In office; issued executive orders excluding agencies from federal collective bargaining

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service posted a final rule Wednesday that lets it refuse arbitration requests in federal worker union disputes. The rule limits FMCS to asking whether it can lawfully provide the service; a grievance's merits are not enough to justify refusal.

Updated Oct 31

Directing federal disengagement from the project for a second time

On October 28, 2026, the California High-Speed Rail Authority's board approved a $772.1 million contract with Siemens Mobility for the system's first three trainsets and signed off on the final environmental review for the Los Angeles–Anaheim leg. That vote completes environmental clearance for all 494 miles of the planned San Francisco–Los Angeles/Anaheim line, ending more than two decades of reviews. In the Central Valley, crews have been stockpiling ballast rock at about 2,000 tons a day ahead of laying the project's first section of track.

Updated Oct 31

Serving second term

In February 2026, President Donald Trump cut tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India would stop buying Russian oil, and India put $500 billion of US energy, aircraft and technology purchases on the table over five years. No binding agreement has been signed. The US Supreme Court then struck down the reciprocal tariff regime that the 18% rate rested on, leaving duties on Indian exports unsettled.

Updated Oct 31

Suspended European tariffs pending NATO framework negotiations

Gold pulled back sharply to $4,902.85 per ounce on January 31, 2026, after profit-taking triggered a 9% single-day decline on January 30 from the record $5,594.82 high reached January 29. Despite the correction—which saw prices slide more than 7% to below $4,980—gold remains on track for a monthly gain exceeding 15%, its strongest performance since the 1980s.

Updated Oct 30

Sent envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Putin in St. Petersburg while the White House credited Melania Trump with a reported humanitarian pause at Oleshky

Ukraine's drone campaign reached deeper into Russia. Russia's Defence Ministry said it shot down 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight into October 29, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 231 were destroyed on the approach to the capital. Earlier, Ukrainian strikes hit a chemical plant in Voronezh on October 26 and an ammunition depot in occupied Luhansk.

Updated Oct 29

Driving a pro-fossil, anti-wind-and-solar permitting agenda

The Pentagon has started clearing onshore wind projects again after a federal judge ordered it to resume reviews. In October it advanced projects in Maine and South Dakota, but Democrats say hundreds more are still waiting.

Updated Oct 29

Driving a militarized counternarcotics strategy; signaling possible land operations

The U.S. military's boat-strike campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has run for more than a year. An independent tally counted 72 strikes and at least 240 deaths by the Oct. 27 attack, which killed five people on a go-fast vessel in the eastern Pacific.

Updated Oct 28

Announced the methane rule termination at a Texas campaign rally

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration is 'terminating' a Biden-era rule that required oil and gas companies to find and fix methane leaks. The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft rule that would scrap most of the 2023 regulation, including satellite-based leak detection and limits on burning excess gas.

Updated Oct 28

Defending the diesel deal as the first cargoes head to the U.S., amid a planned Senate probe and warnings to importers

The first Russian diesel cargo under Trump's deal is at sea. The tanker Agioi Fanendes left Primorsk on October 22 with about 40,000 metric tons, roughly 298,000 barrels, and lists New York as its destination, with arrival expected in early November.

Updated Oct 27

Signed the One Big Beautiful Act into law on July 4, 2025

More than five million people lost food stamp benefits in the year after the One Big Beautiful Act took effect in July 2025. USDA data shows enrollment fell from 41.6 million to 36.5 million by June 2026, a 13% drop. State data shows the decline continuing: Texas had 2.8 million enrolled in September 2026, down 20.8% from a year earlier.

Updated Oct 27

Issued executive order directing the rule change

Sport hunters can again lure bears to bait piles on Alaska's national preserves and shoot them at close range. The National Park Service rule, published in the Federal Register on Oct. 19, replaces a 2024 ban and takes effect Nov. 18.

Updated Oct 26

In office since January 20, 2025

Meta ended its U.S. fact-checking program in January 2025 and replaced it with Community Notes, a crowdsourced system copied from X. Its own Oversight Board rebuked the change that April, saying it was announced hastily with no public evidence of human rights review.

Updated Oct 26

Promised a crypto asset regulatory market structure

The CFTC's proposed federal framework for crypto trading is in its public comment period. The advance notice, published in the Federal Register on October 13, sets no binding rules. Comments are due December 14, and the notice asks how to design a new category, 'crypto asset markets,' for exchanges that offer leveraged or margined trading to retail customers.

Updated Oct 26

Negotiated the trade agreement enabling the deal

Japan will put up as much as $21 billion for two chip factories in Malta, New York, with GlobalFoundries as the operator. The first plant is due to start production in 2029 and would add about 900,000 wafers of annual capacity.

Updated Oct 25

Administration dropped funding appeal in September 2026

Gateway held a ceremonial launch Sept. 28, and the first of two tunnel boring machines has been chewing through the Palisades Cliffs since early October. It cuts about 30 feet a day on a 5,100-foot run from North Bergen to a shaft on the Weehawken-Hoboken line, where the pair is due about a year after launch.

Updated Oct 25

Campaign priorities of violent crime and immigration shape FBI resource allocation

FBI counterintelligence squads are running at 50% to 60% of their positions in many of the bureau's 56 field offices, five people familiar with the matter told NPR. In some offices, the number of spy-hunting squads has been cut in half.

Updated Oct 25

Signed the executive order on October 19, 2026

President Trump signed an executive order on October 19 creating a Women's Health Division inside the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force on women's health. The order, published in the Federal Register on October 22 as Executive Order 14437, gives NIH 90 days, until about January 17, to establish the division.

Updated Oct 25

Pressured G7 partners to release diesel stocks

Germany's emergency release regulation took effect on October 22, 20 days after the G7 set that as the deadline for frontloaded diesel. Its first tender surfaced a day later. The economy ministry told n-tv on October 23 that 6 million barrels had been released, leaving 13.5 million outstanding.

Updated Oct 24

Driving rollback of Biden‑era auto fuel economy and emissions rules

The Transportation Department's final fuel-economy rule, published September 28, sets the 2031 fleetwide target at 34.9 miles per gallon, down from 50.4 under President Biden. It also rewrites standards for model years 2022 through 2026 and ends the credit trading that let automakers buy and sell efficiency gains, starting in 2028.

Updated Oct 24

Canceled the livestream on Oct. 15 after bipartisan criticism; Hasan's firing squad execution remains set for Dec. 3.

President Donald Trump canceled the livestream of Nidal Hasan's Dec. 3 firing squad execution on Oct. 15. The move reversed a Pentagon plan that drew bipartisan criticism.

Updated Oct 23

Promised $100 million for an Antheia plant in Winchester, Kentucky, conditioned on Republican midterm wins; the midterms have passed with no announced follow-through

Antheia holds an $80 million conditional loan commitment from the Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital, announced October 17, to make drug ingredients in the US using engineered yeast. The country imports about 90% of the key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients that go into generic medicines.

Updated Oct 23

Signed the Chiricahua National Park Act on Oct. 20, 2026

Chiricahua National Monument became Chiricahua National Park on Oct. 20, 2026, when President Donald Trump signed the Chiricahua National Park Act. The 12,000-acre site in southeastern Arizona is the state's fourth national park and the country's 64th.

Updated Oct 23

All five frozen projects resumed and are finishing; his administration now blocks new leasing and asks courts to pull back permits already granted

All five East Coast wind farms that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum froze in December 2025 were back at work by early February, after federal judges in three districts granted preliminary injunctions. The building has gone on since: Ørsted's Revolution Wind finished offshore construction and has sent power to the New England grid since March, and Dominion's Coastal Virginia project is more than 80 percent built and delivering electricity.

Updated Oct 23

In office; met Xi in Beijing in May 2026 and hosted him in Washington in September

President Trump and President Xi Jinping moved their countries from tariff war to summit diplomacy in 2026. After a phone call in February, Trump traveled to Beijing in May for the first U.S. presidential visit to China since 2017. The two sides agreed to a 'constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability,' a framework Beijing said would guide relations for three years.

Updated Oct 23

Overseeing Latin America trade framework implementation

Argentina and the United States signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment on February 5, 2026. It cuts tariffs on 1,675 Argentine products and 221 categories of American goods. It also raises Argentina's preferential beef quota from 20,000 tons to 100,000 tons.

Updated Oct 23

Signed the September 2026 trilateral security agreement, winning expanded bases without acquiring Greenland

The United States has operated military bases in Greenland since 1941, under agreements with Denmark. On January 15, 2026, NATO allies deployed troops to the island to counter U.S. pressure after American-Danish talks collapsed. On January 17, President Trump announced 10% tariffs on eight European countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The tariffs will rise to 25% by June unless 'a deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.' On January 20, Trump declared on Truth Social that 'there can be no going back' on Greenland, calling it 'imperative for National and World Security.' That same day, Denmark deployed its Army Chief, General Peter Boysen, alongside 58 additional troops to Greenland, bringing total Danish military presence to approximately 178 personnel for Operation Arctic Endurance.

Updated Oct 23

Lost five project suspension cases by February 2026; his administration is now buying back leases and seeking permit remands, including New England Wind in October

Federal judges cleared all five East Coast offshore wind projects to resume construction by February 2, 2026, finding the Trump administration had not justified its national security suspensions. The five projects total about 5.8 gigawatts. Vineyard Wind and Revolution Wind are now fully built and sending power; Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is more than 80% complete.

Updated Oct 23

Ordered to sit for a deposition in his own lawsuit by Dec. 11, 2026

A federal magistrate judge ordered Trump to answer questions under oath by Dec. 11 in his $10 billion defamation suit against the BBC. The BBC's lawyer told the court Trump had canceled an agreed Oct. 16 date for a "matter of national importance" while he was campaigning in Georgia.

Updated Oct 22

Authorized the March 2026 SPR release

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 282.7 million barrels on October 16, the lowest since 1982 and 30.8 percent below a year earlier, according to Energy Information Administration data. It has lost about a third of its volume since the March release began.

Updated Oct 22

Signed the January 2025 executive order that triggered the BOP policy

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to let the Trump administration enforce new restrictions on medical care for transgender federal inmates. The 7-2 order leaves a lower-court block in place, so the roughly 1,000 people covered by a class action can keep receiving hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care while the case continues.

Updated Oct 22

Called for Ukraine to replace Zelensky; defending diesel sanctions relief

Russian forces have kept striking Zaporizhzhia, killing a 27-year-old woman in a high-rise on October 18. On October 22, regional officials reported 862 attacks on 48 settlements in 24 hours, with three people killed in the city and surrounding district.

Updated Oct 22

Vowed to address Social Security fraud

The Social Security Administration said Tuesday it has corrected records for nearly 15% of active Social Security numbers, adding 17 million missing death dates and citizenship information to 25 million files. The agency called it the largest cleanup in its 91-year history.

Updated Oct 21

Held rally near Springfield three days after the layoffs

Roshel now owns the former Navistar truck plant in Springfield, Ohio, where nearly 1,400 workers lost their jobs on Sept. 30. The Canadian armored-vehicle maker has not announced when production will restart or how many people it will hire.

Updated Oct 21

Signed Executive Order 14221 directing the price transparency updates

Health insurers must publish their negotiated rates in a form researchers and consumers can use. The Department of Health and Human Services finalized the updates to the Transparency in Coverage rules on October 5, 2026, with the Departments of Labor and the Treasury.

Updated Oct 21

Expected to sign the Common Cents Act

President Trump has not signed the Common Cents Act, three weeks after the Senate passed it. The bill would make permanent the halt in penny production that began in November 2025 and sets a national standard for rounding cash sales to the nearest nickel.

Updated Oct 21

Has repeatedly attacked Omar, called for her to be jailed

Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington home on Oct. 12, 22 days before the Nov. 3 midterms, as part of a criminal investigation into immigration paperwork her family filed decades ago. Omar said on Oct. 21 that she will move out of the apartment because the raid and the attention around it have made her feel unsafe.

Updated Oct 20

Ordered CNN, MS NOW and Politico barred from the White House

Five major television networks suspended their White House pool coverage in September after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the grounds. The Justice Department is investigating whether that collective suspension violated federal antitrust law.

Updated Oct 20

Rejected Iran's Hormuz offer; Qatar says he has repeated warnings of renewed strikes next month

Iran's president and foreign minister attended the UN General Assembly in late September, and the visit led to indirect US-Iran talks through Qatar about reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran offered to reopen the waterway within seven days if Washington lifts its naval blockade, eases oil sanctions, releases frozen assets and ends hostilities on all fronts. President Donald Trump rejected that offer, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran's delegation to leave New York early; Tehran denied being ordered out.

Updated Oct 20

Signed executive order renaming AI to 'Super Intelligence' on September 29, 2026; named Jay Clayton AI czar on October 4

Federal agencies are moving at different speeds to replace 'artificial intelligence' with 'Super Intelligence.' NASA pushed its second round of website and title changes live on October 16, two weeks early, while other agencies have made only partial switches.

Updated Oct 20

Publicly pressed prosecutors to revive the case

A Washington, D.C., judge has permanently barred federal prosecutors from refiling charges against David Hearn, the former Olympic canoeist accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Judge Todd Edelman's October 1 ruling cited President Trump's public pressure on prosecutors as a reason the case cannot be reopened.

Updated Oct 20

Calls Alaska LNG a federal government project and has pressed Korea to join

South Korea still has not committed a dollar to Alaska LNG. Nearly three weeks after President Trump announced a $54 billion Korean investment, Seoul says it will decide only after the developer makes a final investment decision and the project proves commercially viable.

Updated Oct 20

Hailed completion of US withdrawal from Iraq

The last US troops left Iraq on September 30, ending a 12-year mission against the Islamic State. Kata'ib Hezbollah, the most powerful Iran-backed militia in the country, said it would suspend military operations, except against aircraft it considers hostile.

Updated Oct 19

In office; met Xi in Beijing and Washington in 2026

Chinese state-owned trading firms booked 10 to 13 more Panamax cargoes of US soybeans on Wednesday night, the second large purchase this week and the first since President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping met in September. The two batches total 18 to 23 cargoes, roughly 1.2 to 1.5 million metric tons, shipping between December and March.

Updated Oct 19

Won a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in June 2026 allowing him to fire FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter and most independent-agency commissioners at will.

President Donald Trump fired Federal Trade Commission commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in March 2025 without stating cause, setting off a legal fight over whether presidents can remove members of independent agencies at will. On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 for Trump, struck down the FTC's for-cause removal protections and overruled Humphrey's Executor, the 1935 decision that had shielded multi-member commissions from at-will removal.

Updated Oct 19

Tariff policy and Middle East conflict cited for rising inflation

US import prices rose 1.1% in September, the biggest monthly jump since May, pushing the annual gain to 8.1% — the largest since July 2022. Economists had expected a 0.8% increase.

Updated Oct 19

Signed the executive order October 5, 2026

Truckers and farmers can burn tax-exempt "red dye" diesel on public highways through the end of the year under an executive order Trump signed October 5 in Grand Island, Nebraska. The order defers the 24.3-cent-per-gallon federal excise tax on that fuel through December 31, with no interest or penalties.

Updated Oct 18

Unveiled Project Star and two other Korea-US energy projects on September 30, 2026

The United States and South Korea selected a $22.3 billion natural gas power campus in Encinal, Texas, as the first project under their strategic investment agreement. The site will generate 6.47 gigawatts of electricity, enough to feed a 5-gigawatt data center campus being built next door by Related Companies.

Updated Oct 18

Announced Russia and Ukraine agreed to an 'energy ceasefire' on October 11, with no details; Kyiv said Russian strikes continued after the announcement

Ukrainian drones knocked out three of Yandex's five data centers between October 8 and 11. All three AI supercomputers went down, disrupting taxi, banking, music and cloud services used by millions in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia. Yandex moved customers to rival clouds, waived fees through the end of October, and reports say repairs could take months.

Updated Oct 18

Signed the bill into law September 18, 2026; waived its Russia provisions October 16; called the waiver "a very good decision" October 17

Drafted by the late Lindsey Graham and signed into law September 18, the Graham Act lets Trump tariff the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil or natural gas up to 100%. China, India and several European countries are among the largest buyers.

Updated Oct 18

Signed the accord and an executive order on AI terminology; reported to be preparing to name Jay Clayton 'AI czar'

Six leading AI developers signed the White House Accord on Super Intelligence on September 29, pledging internal controls, an internal monitoring team, an external auditor, and board review. Anthropic is the first signatory to act, giving six staffers from METR, a nonprofit that evaluates frontier models, employee-like access to test its models and publish findings.

Updated Oct 17

Announced Zacharia's appointment on Truth Social

President Donald Trump named Katie Zacharia, a conservative commentator and Trump Media communications adviser, as White House press secretary on October 9. She started October 12 and was out five days later, on October 16.

Updated Oct 17

Author of the March 23 Truth Social post that moved markets

On March 23, about 15 minutes before President Trump posted that he was postponing strikes on Iranian power plants, traders placed billions of dollars in futures bets that oil would fall and stocks would rise. In a two-minute window, roughly $580 million in crude contracts changed hands — 8.5 times the volume traded in the same window the prior week.

Updated Oct 17

Invoked the Defense Production Act on October 22 to waive six requirements for expanding petroleum output; the emergency declaration remains in force.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14156, declaring a national energy emergency and saying the country faced a 'precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply.' Federal data shows the opposite: oil and gas production are at record highs.

Updated Oct 17

In office, announced the project

President Trump announced a $15 billion steel mill for Lee County, Iowa, on September 29 with executives from India's Essar Group. He called it the largest steel plant in American history and credited his steel tariffs for making it possible.

Updated Oct 17

Declared an energy ceasefire on October 11 that collapsed within days as both sides resumed strikes

Ukraine and Russia resumed attacks on each other's energy infrastructure this week, and the US-brokered ceasefire has collapsed. Russia sent a record swarm of drones across nine regions, cutting power to hundreds of thousands, while Ukraine struck an oil refinery in the Ryazan region.

Updated Oct 16

Driving the policy direction

Since 1952, foreign nationals living legally in the United States could apply for a green card without leaving. On May 23, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services closed that route for most applicants.

Updated Oct 16

Flip-flopped on H-1B policy; now supports program

The wage-weighted H-1B selection rule took effect February 27, 2026, replacing the random lottery. The first registration period under it ran March 4–19. Under the new system, a worker offered a Level IV wage (the top tier) gets four entries in the selection pool; a Level I worker gets one. The rule was designed to curb the duplicate-registration fraud that inflated FY 2024 submissions to 758,994 for 85,000 slots.

Updated Oct 16

Directing expansion of third-country deportation program

The United States has historically deported people to their countries of origin. Now it pays African nations to accept deportees with no connection to those countries — Eswatini, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Ghana, and Burundi have signed deals, and Human Rights Watch counts more than 500 people expelled to unfamiliar African countries since January 2025.

Updated Oct 16

Deployment extended through 2026 pending D.C. Circuit appeal

The troops are still in Washington. The D.C. Circuit's stay kept the deployment in place while the appeal proceeds, and the mission continued through the 2026 election, with Guard members seen at ballot boxes in October.

Updated Oct 16

Executive authority behind E.O. 14203 and the ICC sanctions architecture

The U.S. just sanctioned two sitting International Criminal Court judges—because they helped keep the Israel-related Gaza case alive. It's a rare thing in diplomacy: Washington using the same financial weapon it uses on oligarchs and terror networks against a courtroom.

Updated Oct 15

Signaled willingness to remove Guilfoyle before her resignation

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece, resigned Tuesday after the White House asked her to step down. Her exit followed Wall Street Journal reports that she sought a $100,000 payment from a Trump donor in exchange for access to administration officials.

Updated Oct 14

As of October 2026: Initiator of the census overhaul; leaving office in January 2029

The Trump administration's proposed 2030 census rule would count only U.S. citizens and green-card holders when dividing House seats, and would drop race and ethnicity questions from the form. The public comment period closes October 13; more than 20,000 comments had been filed by late September.

Updated Oct 10

As of October 2026: Administration's DOJ cleared the Paramount-WBD deal in June 2026 without conditions—reversing the skepticism he personally directed at the earlier Netflix-WBD deal

On October 6, Paramount Skydance completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating a combined company named Skydance and ending a 13-month bidding war that survived federal and state antitrust challenges. The deal closed after a federal judge approved a settlement with 12 states on September 30, and shares of Skydance began trading on the NYSE under the ticker SKYD.

Updated Oct 9

As of October 2026: Oversaw reimposition of maximum-pressure sanctions and the Feb. 28 military campaign; publicly rejected Iran's peace proposal days before Tehran said it received an official US response

Iran's economy contracted 10.1 percent in the three months ending June 20. In September the country loaded no crude oil onto tankers for the first time since at least 2013, per energy-intelligence firm Kpler. The rial hovers near 2.5 million to the dollar.

Updated Oct 9

As of October 2026: Hosted Xi's state visit; announced the tariff and AI agreement; will attend the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November

Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his first state visit to Washington in more than a decade with a handshake on tariffs. The United States and China agreed on $30 billion of reciprocal tariff cuts in each direction and a formal dialogue on artificial intelligence.

Updated Oct 3

As of October 2026: Lifted comprehensive sanctions on Syria

Syria is no longer on the US list of countries barred from buying American weapons. The State Department amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) on October 1, 2026, so defense export requests from Damascus now get case-by-case review instead of automatic denial.

Updated Oct 3

As of October 2026: Rejected Iranian peace proposal; reported planning more strikes after midterms

The 10-year Treasury yield broke past 5.3% for the first time since 2002, touching 5.342% on Oct. 1 before settling near 5.25%. The global bond selloff posted its biggest quarterly rise this century.

Updated Oct 2

As of October 2026: Launched the $TRUMP memecoin in 2025; subject of California's motivation for the ban

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Sept. 27 that makes the state the first to bar public officials from issuing memecoins. It also stops crypto exchanges in California from listing tokens built around a public official's name or image.

Updated Oct 1

As of October 2026: Backs Pulte’s efforts including GSE privatization and bond purchases; political patron of FHFA mortgage-fraud campaign

In early 2025, Trump appointed housing heir Bill Pulte as director of the FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and $8.5 trillion in mortgage credit. Within months, Pulte used mortgage data to publicly accuse NY AG Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and Congressman Eric Swalwell of fraud, referring them to Justice amid concerns of political retribution.

Updated Oct 1

As of October 2026: Appealing sanctions; settlement barred from official proceedings

Trump, two of his sons, and the Trump Organization filed a $10 billion suit against the IRS on January 29, 2026, over a contractor's leak of his tax returns. In May, the case was dismissed and the parties announced a settlement that released federal claims against Trump's family and created a $1.776 billion fund.

Updated Oct 1

As of October 2026: Directed the 2025-2026 federal workforce reduction

The US federal civilian workforce has dropped to about 2.7 million employees, the smallest since 1966. More than 300,000 workers left between January 2025 and early 2026, an 11% reduction in just over a year. The cuts reached nearly every major agency.

Updated Oct 1

As of September 2026: Import bans on Canadian alcohol, dairy, and motorcycles took effect Sept. 29

The US import bans on Canadian alcohol, dairy, and motorcycles took effect Sept. 29, removing nearly $1 billion in Canadian goods from the US market. The bans cover most Canadian beer, wine, spirits, whey products, molasses, and motorcycles over 800 cc.

Updated Sep 30

As of September 2026: In second term; administration ordered the GRECO withdrawal

The United States has formally withdrawn from the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the Council of Europe's anti-corruption watchdog. It is only the third country to leave the group since its founding in 1999, after Russia and Belarus.

Updated Sep 30

As of September 2026: Pursuing coal revival through executive actions

Coal-fired electricity generation fell 11% in the first half of 2026, per the Financial Times, even as the Trump administration issued more than 20 emergency orders to keep aging plants running. In September a federal appeals court struck down the order keeping Michigan's Campbell plant open, ruling the Department of Energy overstepped its authority; days later the agency ordered plants in Indiana and Washington state to stay running.

Updated Sep 29

As of September 2026: Second term; administration restrictions prompt California's response

Gavin Newsom leaves office in January. In his final months, he signed 15 new laws expanding abortion access and LGBTQ protections in California.

Updated Sep 28

As of September 2026: Met Rodríguez at UN on Sept 22

Venezuela freed 39 political prisoners over the weekend, the largest release since spring. The move came days after interim President Delcy Rodríguez met Donald Trump in New York, where she promised elections but gave no date.

Updated Sep 28

As of September 2026: Overseeing clean energy policy rollbacks

Since January 2025, companies and the federal government have cancelled or downsized 216 large-scale clean energy projects across the US. The abandoned projects represent $68.2 billion in capital investment and 468,000 jobs that are no longer supported, according to analysis by BW Research for the clean energy group E2.

Updated Sep 26

As of September 2026: Signed the executive order that created the modified SAVE program

Texas ran all 18 million of its registered voters through an expanded federal citizenship-check database in a single pass. On September 25, the Supreme Court cleared the way for that system to keep running through the November midterms.

Updated Sep 26

As of September 2026: Criticized the ruling

Missouri's November election will use the 2022 congressional map. The U.S. Supreme Court on September 25 stayed a federal appeals court order that would have forced the state to use the Republican-drawn 2025 map, the third time the high court has intervened.

Updated Sep 26

As of September 2026: Pushing a 'massive' potash deal with Belarus; says US will keep buying Canadian potash

A U.S. envoy went to Minsk to talk about prisoners—and walked out with both a promise and a delivery. After John Coale's December 2025 visit with Alexander Lukashenko, Treasury's OFAC published General License 13 on December 15, authorizing transactions with Belaruskali, Belarusian Potash Company, and Agrorozkvit—no expiration date. Belarus responded by freeing 123 political prisoners, including Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski and opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, the regime's most valuable hostages.

Updated Sep 25

As of September 2026: Named defendant in federal cases over Truth API;not named in SF suit, which says he profits from the product

San Francisco's city attorney sued Trump Media on Sept. ²² over Truth API, a service launched Aug. ¹ that sells early access to Trump's posts. The city calls the $100,000-a-month feed an insider-trading scheme.

Updated Sep 22

As of September 2026: Allowed emergency to expire September 2026

The US Treasury lifted sanctions on September 18 against Eritrea's ruling party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), its military, and two linked businesses. A five-year national emergency declared by President Joe Biden in 2021 expired without renewal, erasing penalties imposed after Eritrean troops joined Ethiopia's assault on Tigray fighters.

Updated Sep 20

As of September 2026: Set deregulation policy that led to the rollback

Beginning in January 2024, nearly every U.S. business had to tell the federal government who owned it. On August 14, 2026, that obligation ended for domestic companies and U.S. individuals.

Updated Sep 20

As of September 2026: President; continues to seek ways to slow NEVI deployment

Three years after Congress approved $5 billion for highway EV chargers, the White House froze the money. Courts unfroze it in January, and states are building again — North Carolina added seven new charging locations on September 14.

Updated Sep 19

As of September 2026: Board chairman; judge again blocked his name on the building Sept. 15 and the center appealed. The main building shut Sept. 16 citing structural risks; Judge Cooper on Sept. 17 ordered 30 days' notice before any demolition. Trump said renovations cannot begin until the D.C. Circuit rules on his name.

A federal judge on Sept. 15 again blocked the Kennedy Center's Trump-appointed board from putting the president's name on the building or naming the grounds after him. "Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing," Judge Christopher Cooper wrote.

Updated Sep 18

As of September 2026: Directing MAGA Inc. deployment; not featured in most GOP ads

Republican outside groups sat on their money for months. On September 18, NPR reported that two Trump-aligned super PACs have now reserved more than $150 million in ads, mostly in deep-red House and Senate races that unexpectedly became competitive.

Updated Sep 18

As of September 2026: Withdrew Schroyer's nomination

The White House withdrew Lance Schroyer's nomination to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on September 17, 2026. The former Oklahoma state trooper's confirmation stalled after Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked a hearing over fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis.

Updated Sep 18

As of September 2026: Says he hopes the Iran war is nearing an end; calls the gas spike a 'small price' to pay

Gasoline averaged $4.44 a gallon on Sept. 17, up 39% from a year ago; diesel hit a record $6.40, up 73%. President Donald Trump said he hoped an end to the war against Iran was near, even as Houthi fighters escalated attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Updated Sep 17

As of September 2026: Promoting U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing

Thermo Fisher Scientific grew 5% organically in the second quarter, its fastest pace since 2021. The company raised its full-year guidance and its chief executive says orders are running ahead of revenue.

Updated Sep 17

As of September 2026: Signed the executive order; bid to implement it rejected by Supreme Court; attacked the justices after the ruling

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's bid to restrict mail-in voting for the November midterms. The decision leaves lower court injunctions in place, letting states send out ballots under the same rules they've used for years.

Updated Sep 17

As of September 2026: His administration's CMS runs the ACCESS Model

Half of people with chronic conditions skip their treatment plans, and health plans have never closed that gap at scale. On September 16, RadiantGraph launched Care Guidance Agents to change that: AI voice agents that call Medicare patients between visits with coaching, adherence reminders, and preventive care prompts.

Updated Sep 17

As of September 2026: Directing the South Africa policy through executive orders and refugee priorities

The State Department on September 15 announced visa restrictions on foreign nationals in South Africa it says are complicit in race-based discrimination and uncompensated land seizures. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Pretoria has not addressed US concerns about government-sponsored discrimination against Afrikaners, a predominantly white ethnic group.

Updated Sep 16

As of September 2026: In office; accepted Driscoll's resignation

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll left office September 2 after 18 months, the latest departure in a Pentagon leadership shakeup. President Trump named Adam Telle, the Army's civil works chief, acting secretary the next day.

Updated Sep 16

As of September 2026: Said he believed Tehran was behind the attack

Iraqi security forces say they seized a drone-launching platform inside Iraq used in the attack that shut Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline. The line carries about 4-5% of global oil supply and is Saudi Arabia's main alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed since March.

Updated Sep 13

As of September 2026: Overseeing US military campaign against Iran

In December, the International Energy Agency projected the world would burn slightly less coal this year. Now it expects a record 8.94 billion tonnes, up 1.2%: the war with Iran has cut LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, making coal the cheaper option for power generators.

Updated Sep 12

As of September 2026: In office

The Federal Trade Commission rescinded its 2021 policy statement that required health apps and connected devices to notify users when their health data is breached. The agency said the guidance was obsolete, superseded by a 2024 rulemaking that already extended the underlying Health Breach Notification Rule to those products.

Updated Sep 10

As of September 2026: Directing ODNI downsizing

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created in 2004 to fix the intelligence failures that allowed the 9/11 attacks. Twenty-two years later, President Trump is shrinking it to a fraction of its former size.

Updated Sep 9

As of September 2026: Signed the executive order Sept. 4

President Trump signed an executive order Sept. 4 directing the Interior Department to determine whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves have recovered enough to lose Endangered Species Act protections. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has 90 days to decide whether to begin delisting the animals, a process that would shift wolf management from federal to state control.

Updated Sep 7

As of September 2026: Actively opposing renewable energy expansion

Washington and the American power grid are moving in opposite directions on clean energy. On September 3, the American Clean Power Association reported the U.S. added 17.1 gigawatts of new utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage in the second quarter of 2026, up 45% from a year earlier.

Updated Sep 7

As of September 2026: Signed the executive order the Education Department cites for suppressing data

America's only federal survey of how public schools treat students by race, gender and disability arrived on Aug. 31, 2026 — months late, with no summary report, and with every number about nonbinary students replaced by a code: "Suppressed in Compliance with Executive Order." The release covers the 2023-24 school year, when the survey included "nonbinary" as a gender category alongside male and female.

Updated Sep 7

As of September 2026: Appeals denied under his direction

Massachusetts asked the federal government in April to declare the February blizzard a Major Disaster, unlocking funding for six coastal counties. The Trump administration denied the request in July, then denied Governor Maura Healey's appeal this week.

Updated Sep 6

As of September 2026: Lifted the stop-work order on Sept. 3

Work is resuming on the $1.15 billion Brandon Road barrier after President Donald Trump lifted a stop-work order on September 3. The reversal followed a direct phone call from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who warned that juvenile silver carp had been found 80 miles from Lake Michigan.

Updated Sep 6

As of September 2026: Oversaw federal workforce reductions beginning January 2025

In fiscal 2024, IRS audits brought in $10 billion. In fiscal 2025, they brought in $6.5 billion—a 35% drop documented by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) in an August 2026 report. The decline tracks a federal workforce reduction effort that cut the agency's examination and collection staff by more than 25% in a single year.

Updated Sep 5

As of September 2026: Architect of 2025 mass-deportation agenda and city-based sweeps

On December 3, 2025, President Trump launched Operation Catahoula Crunch, a Border Patrol sweep targeting 5,000 arrests in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi. The operation deployed roughly 250 agents to raid big-box stores, workplaces, and residential neighborhoods while conducting round-the-clock online surveillance of activists, protests, and community organizing.

Updated Sep 5

As of September 2026: Ordered Operation Epic Fury; predicted war would end 'very soon'

The US-Israeli war on Iran began February 28 and displaced up to 3.2 million people inside the country in two weeks, per the UN refugee agency.

Updated Sep 4

As of August 2026: Signed the executive order and tax law authorizing the loan program

AEP Texas has closed a $3.26 billion federal loan to rebuild the state's power grid. The money funds roughly 100 projects covering 2,800 miles of transmission lines. Key corridors get double the carrying capacity, aimed at data centers and Permian Basin oil fields.

Updated Aug 24

As of August 2026: Says he intends to meet Kim Jong Un later this year, despite North Korea denying any known contact

President Trump ordered the Pentagon to shrink the largest annual U.S.-South Korea military exercise. The drill ended six days early, on Aug. 21 instead of the planned Aug. 27, after the Pentagon canceled or simulated some live-training events.

Updated Aug 20

As of August 2026: Refused to extend the US-Iran memorandum after its 60-day window expired August 17; claims the US now controls the Strait of Hormuz

The ceasefire draft that leaked in May became real on June 17, when Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding by video call, giving both sides 60 days to reach a final deal. Iran agreed not to build nuclear weapons under the pact. The truce broke on July 13: Iran struck two UAE tankers in Omani waters with cruise missiles, killing an Indian crew member, and the US resumed strikes on Iran and reimposed its naval blockade.

Updated Aug 20

As of August 2026: Has downplayed the foreign-attack framing

Nine days after Michigan disclosed intrusions at nine of its water systems, the tally of affected states has held near a dozen. The FBI is still working out which incidents trace back to Iran-linked hackers, and no state has confirmed contaminated water reached customers.

Updated Aug 11

As of August 2026: His negotiating body's plan is stalled by Israel's rejection

Israeli forces are staying in Gaza. On August 9, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the 15-point US-backed plan that would have traded a phased Israeli withdrawal for Hamas laying down its weapons. Hamas had accepted it. Netanyahu did not.

Updated Aug 10

As of August 2026: Signed the June 3 executive order

About 8,000 senior federal workers lost civil service protections on June 3, when President Trump moved them into a new job category called Schedule Policy/Career. Two unions and a nonprofit coalition have since filed amended lawsuits, but no judge has blocked the change.

Updated Aug 8

As of August 2026: Executive orders have survived major appellate court challenges; agencies are canceling union contracts across the federal government

Donald Trump's March 2025 order stripping collective bargaining rights from most of the federal workforce has survived its biggest court test. In June 2026, the Ninth Circuit closed off any further appeal in the union's lead case, clearing the way for agencies to keep canceling contracts nationwide.

Updated Aug 8

As of August 2026: Pressing the Fed to cut rates

The government's July jobs report landed Friday morning, and it walked straight into a fight. The Federal Reserve is split over what to do with interest rates in September, and this data feeds the argument.

Updated Aug 7

As of July 2026: Architect of the tariff regime automakers are absorbing

General Motors paid roughly $900 million in import tariffs in three months and still told investors it will make more money this year than it thought. On July 21, the largest US automaker raised its 2026 profit outlook, lifting its adjusted operating earnings target to about $14–16 billion.

Updated Jul 21

As of July 2026: Let the housing bill become law without his signature, citing the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE America Act

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became federal law July 10, 2026, without Trump's signature. Trump let the constitutional 10-day window lapse, posting on Truth Social that he refused to sign 'in PROTEST' over the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE America Act. The housing law took effect anyway — Congress had cleared it with veto-proof margins.

Updated Jul 10

As of July 2026: Ordered the government-wide UAP declassification effort

For decades, NASA's public line on unidentified objects was that it had no data worth discussing. On July 9, that changed. Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency holds imagery of objects it cannot explain: 'Based on the data that we have within that imagery, we don't know what it is.'

Updated Jul 10

As of July 2026: Signed the Islamabad Memorandum at Versailles on June 17; announced fresh Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire on June 19; overseeing fifth round of Lebanon talks as Iran re-closes Hormuz and nuclear talks remain suspended

The US, Israel, and Lebanon signed a 14-point Trilateral Framework Agreement in Washington on June 26. It ties Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon to Hezbollah disarmament — Lebanon's army must first deploy to pilot zones, clear Hezbollah out, and pass a US-led assessment. Washington pledged $100 million in aid.

Updated Jul 4

As of June 2026: Signed the executive order privately at the White House

Trump signed a voluntary framework on June 2 asking frontier labs to share their newest models with federal agencies for up to 30 days before release. Within ten days, the government had gone further. A June 12 export control directive forced Anthropic to kill worldwide access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5, its two newest models, after the government said it had found a jailbreak in the more capable one.

Updated Jun 26

As of June 2026: Driving the burden-sharing pivot

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to Brussels on June 18 and told NATO defense ministers the Pentagon will spend six months reviewing all American forces in Europe. Future US presence will depend on how fast European allies take primary responsibility for their own defense. He threatened to make US dues contributions to NATO 'contingent' on allies meeting spending targets and called it 'shameful' that some allies blocked American base access during the Iran war.

Updated Jun 18

As of June 2026: Announced the deal and is pushing chip reshoring

For almost two decades, the most advanced chips inside iPhones and Macs have been etched in Taiwan. On June 18, 2026, President Trump said Apple has agreed to design and build some of those chips with Intel, on U.S. soil.

Updated Jun 18

As of June 2026: Pursuing split chip strategy: CFIUS enforcement on defense tech, H200 AI chip sales reopened to China, May 2026 Beijing summit with tech CEOs

Trump's January 2026 order forcing HieFo Corporation to unwind its $2.92 million purchase of EMCORE's indium phosphide chip business reaches its 180-day deadline in early July 2026. HieFo (controlled by Chinese national Genzao Zhang) has filed weekly compliance certifications to CFIUS. It must fully divest the California semiconductor facility, intellectual property, and military chip operations it acquired in April 2024.

Updated Jun 13

As of June 2026: Signed the order June 3, 2026

For decades, importing into the United States mostly meant filing paperwork and paying duties. A June 3 executive order changed that, requiring importers to certify supply-chain compliance, disclose who really owns their business, and hold U.S. assets to cover any duties owed.

Updated Jun 11

As of June 2026: Approved the deal under a national security agreement

Nippon Steel just borrowed money at its steepest cost in three decades. On June 10, 2026, the company sold ¥90 billion (about $560 million) of bonds, with the 10-year piece priced at a 3.202% coupon. That is its highest borrowing rate in roughly 30 years.

Updated Jun 10

As of June 2026: Navigating Iran's rejection of his nuclear proposal as Tehran sends a counteroffer via Oman and a US Apache crash near the Strait is under investigation

On June 8, a US Navy F/A-18 from USS Abraham Lincoln disabled the Palau-flagged tanker Marivex in the Gulf of Oman, the seventh vessel put out of action since April 13. The next day, a US Army Apache went down near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's IRGC Navy claimed a speedboat shot it down; CENTCOM's investigation remains open.

Updated Jun 9

As of June 2026: Granted the pardon

Stephen Buyer served nearly two years in federal prison for insider trading. On June 6, 2026, President Trump wiped the conviction away with a full pardon. The Indiana Republican had traded on secret merger news, including a tip tied to the T-Mobile–Sprint deal.

Updated Jun 6

As of June 2026: Primary beneficiary of the funding

ICE and Border Patrol budgets normally have to be renegotiated every year, which gives both parties leverage during shutdown fights. Early Friday, the Senate voted 52-47 to fund them for three years straight, through the end of President Trump's term.

Updated Jun 5

As of June 2026: Decided to scrap the Anti-Weaponization Fund after meeting with House Speaker Johnson

The Trump administration dropped its $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund on June 1, less than two weeks after creating it. Three forces killed it: a court freeze in Alexandria, a Senate Republican revolt that stalled the reconciliation bill, and a meeting between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump. No claims were ever paid.

Updated Jun 2

As of June 2026: Backing the Section 301 path after the Supreme Court blocked his first Brazil tariffs

Brazil sells the United States about $40 billion in goods a year. A new US trade action could add 25% to the price of most of it.

Updated Jun 2

As of May 2026: Setting tariff deadlines on major trading partners

Trump and von der Leyen announced a US-EU trade framework at Turnberry, Scotland, in July 2025. The deal still isn't ratified, nearly ten months on. On May 8, Trump gave Brussels until July 4 to close it, threatening tariffs above the 25% levy already on European cars.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Pressuring Republican-controlled states to redraw maps; personally endorsing primary challengers to GOP legislators who refuse

Congressional maps are normally redrawn once a decade, but Texas broke that convention in August 2025 at President Trump's urging, redrawing its map to target five Democratic-held seats and triggering a chain reaction. On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in Louisiana v. Callais, gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which had constrained Republican legislatures for decades. Within days, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new map targeting four incumbent Democrats, Alabama called a special redistricting session, Louisiana suspended its upcoming primaries, and Tennessee split Memphis into three Republican-leaning districts.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Ordered the withdrawal; says further cuts coming

U.S. troops have been stationed in Germany continuously since 1945. On May 1, 2026, the Pentagon ordered roughly 5,000 (about one in seven Americans in Germany) to leave over the next 6 to 12 months, taking a full brigade with them.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Called ceasefire 'on life support' May 11; truce expired without completing prisoner exchange; administration reassessing next diplomatic steps

The Trump-brokered three-day ceasefire expired at midnight on May 12, and Russia launched 216 attack drones at Ukraine within hours. Ukrainian air defenses neutralized 192 of them. At least one person was killed in Dnipropetrovsk, and debris set fire to a 16-storey residential building in Kyiv's Obolon district.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Signed retirement access executive order on April 30, 2026

In January 2027, the federal government will start depositing up to $1,000 a year into the retirement accounts of lower-income workers. There is a problem: roughly 27 million of the workers who qualify do not have an account to put it in.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Unharmed; evacuated by Secret Service

A Secret Service officer's ballistic vest stopped a shotgun round at the Washington Hilton on the evening of April 25. Two days later, federal prosecutors charged the shooter, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, with attempting to assassinate President Trump.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Publicly pressed Texas Republicans to redraw districts

States usually redraw congressional districts once a decade, after the census. Texas just redrew its map four years early—and the U.S. Supreme Court has now cleared it for the 2026 midterm elections.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Conditioning US military support on European spending increases and direct cost-sharing

Europe's defense budgets jumped 14% last year to $864 billion, the steepest annual rise since the Cold War. Germany alone added 24%, reaching $114 billion and overtaking every other European spender.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Uninjured; addressed the nation from the White House

A gunman carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives charged a Secret Service magnetometer inside the Washington Hilton on Saturday night, exchanging fire with agents before being tackled. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed from the White House Correspondents' Dinner; one Secret Service officer was struck but survived because of body armor. The dinner was canceled at law-enforcement request.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Appealing the DC Circuit ruling

For 45 years, the Refugee Act of 1980 has guaranteed that anyone reaching US soil—however they got there—can ask for asylum. On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed a proclamation declaring an 'invasion' at the southern border and suspending that right. A federal appeals court just ruled he cannot.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Administration is enforcing the 10% baseline tariff after Supreme Court ruling

Three major US household-goods makers have now reported how the combined tariff and oil-cost shock hits their books. Kimberly-Clark beat Q1 estimates on April 28, with adjusted EPS of $1.97 against an expected $1.92, but still carries $300 million in tariff exposure representing about 20% of its US cost base. Colgate-Palmolive beat Q1 expectations on May 1 and immediately flipped its full-year gross margin guidance from expansion to decline, citing $300 million in higher raw-material and logistics costs from crude oil and tariffs.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Signed executive orders and the tax law reshaping wind and solar economics

For nearly a decade, wind and solar power kept getting cheaper. That streak has broken. As of the first quarter of 2026, the average US solar power purchase agreement costs $64.49 per megawatt-hour and the average wind contract costs $79.40 per megawatt-hour. Both are the highest figures LevelTen Energy has recorded since it began indexing the market in 2018, with wind prices up roughly 24 percent and solar up more than 13 percent year over year.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Signed executive order on April 18, 2026

For 55 years, the federal government classified psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ibogaine as Schedule I substances. On April 18, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order 'Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness' directing the FDA to expedite clinical trials of those substances for PTSD in veterans.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Agreed to remain in NATO contingent on accelerated defense spending and allied military support

Mark Rutte, NATO's secretary general, negotiated with President Trump at the White House on April 8, 2026, one week after Trump called NATO a 'paper tiger' and said withdrawal was 'beyond reconsideration.' The day before, a US-Iran ceasefire brokered by Pakistan had prompted several NATO members to refuse airspace and base access for American strikes. Rutte secured Trump's agreement to stay by extracting commitments: allies would accelerate defense spending and pledge military support for future US operations.

Updated May 31

As of May 2026: Issuing shifting deadlines for strikes on Iranian infrastructure

Japan imports 90% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, shut by Iran six weeks ago. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is attempting what her predecessor Shinzo Abe failed to do in 2019: talk Tehran down from the brink — but with far higher stakes and Trump's Tuesday deadline.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Overseeing Operation Epic Fury; escalating threats over Strait of Hormuz

The United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggering what Washington calls Operation Epic Fury. Iran has since fired more than 525 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory. Nearly half carried cluster warheads that scatter dozens of smaller bomblets across wide areas, a weapon type banned by over 100 nations.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Issued 48-hour ultimatum to Iran on April 4

For decades, American tech companies built out massive data centers and office complexes across the Persian Gulf without ever treating them as potential military targets. On April 4, the IRGC struck Oracle's headquarters building in Dubai Internet City with a drone. It's part of a declared campaign against 18 US firms the IRGC accuses of supporting American and Israeli military operations.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Stated USS Nimitz deployment aims to 'help' Cuba, not intimidate it; called Cuba a 'failed state'; promised unspecified embargo announcements 'fairly soon'

The USS Nimitz carrier strike group entered the Caribbean on May 21. The Pentagon was developing military options for Trump while the US intelligence community mapped how Cuba would respond to an attack. One day after issuing a $100 million aid offer and indicting Raúl Castro, Secretary of State Rubio said a negotiated settlement was unlikely.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: In office; reshuffling Cabinet leadership

President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026, replacing her with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who defended Trump in the Manhattan criminal trial before joining the DOJ. He's the fourth Justice Department leader under Trump, after Sessions, Barr, and Bondi. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans signaled they'd consider EPA administrator Lee Zeldin as permanent replacement. Legal scholars questioned whether Blanche could simultaneously serve as both acting attorney general and acting Librarian of Congress.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Directing Operation Epic Fury; stated 'practically nothing left to target'

Iran's nuclear infrastructure has become the primary target of an intensifying US-Israeli air campaign that began February 28 and has now entered its sixth week. The Natanz uranium enrichment complex has been struck four times. On April 4, 2026, US and Israeli forces expanded the campaign to strike the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Mahshahr petrochemical hub in southwestern Iran. The strikes killed at least one security guard and wounded five workers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that strikes on civilian nuclear power plants cross 'the reddest line' of nuclear safety, raising the risk of a radiological catastrophe. Meanwhile, Iran has demonstrated growing military capability: on April 4, Iranian air defenses downed two US warplanes, marking the first confirmed loss of American aircraft in the conflict.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Signed executive order enabling oil blockade; has mused about 'taking' Cuba

Cuba's national power grid collapsed for the fourth time in March on March 21, leaving more than 10 million people without electricity. The failure at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey province triggered a cascading collapse across the entire system, which was restored by March 23.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Directing Iran military campaign; signaling retaliation against European arms restrictions

Switzerland sold $119 million in arms to the United States in 2025 before halting all new orders on March 20, 2026, and closing its airspace to US military flights linked to the Iran war. Italy followed on March 22 with a suspension of new US arms export licenses. On March 30, Spain closed its airspace and blocked US military base use for Iran war operations, citing violations of international law.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Pursuing tariff authority through multiple legal channels

For thirteen months, the Trump administration imposed tariffs using emergency powers no president had claimed for that purpose. On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that those tariffs were illegal.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Directing Operation Epic Fury with four stated military objectives

Ali Khamenei ruled Iran as supreme leader for 36 years until joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026, killed him along with family members and multiple top military and intelligence officials at his Tehran compound. The succession process is now opaque and under fire, with the Assembly of Experts' Qom site damaged, acting leader Ali Larijani facing a power vacuum, and the IRGC interim council trying to preserve control.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Met Xi Jinping two weeks before the Hegseth speech

A year ago, the US defense secretary used the word Taiwan five times in his Shangri-La keynote. On Saturday in Singapore, Pete Hegseth did not say it once.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Sent mixed signals on Iran's participation

Iran qualified as a non-host nation for the 2026 World Cup, then withdrew a year later—the first qualified nation in the modern era to do so for political reasons. Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali announced the withdrawal three months after U.S.-Israeli military strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and devastated the country's military infrastructure.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Hosted summit, announced coalition

The United States has not built a new military coalition in the Western Hemisphere since the Cold War. On March 7, President Trump gathered leaders from 12 Latin American nations in Miami to launch the 'Shield of the Americas,' a military-intelligence framework against drug cartels, and the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition—a 17-country pledge for lethal action against transnational criminal organizations.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Directing climate deregulation campaign

The EPA's February 2026 revocation of its 2009 endangerment finding ended federal greenhouse gas authority, but the rollbacks kept coming. By May 2026, the agency had also repealed mercury protections for coal plants, relaxed refrigerant deadlines for businesses, and sent a final rule to the White House budget office to erase power plant emissions standards.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Directing Operation Epic Fury; rebuking NATO for refusing Hormuz support

For 23 days since February 28, 2026, the US and Israel have conducted bombing campaigns against Iran under Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion, prompting Iranian retaliation against US bases and NATO sites including French bases in Abu Dhabi, RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and a missile over Turkey. France authorized US support aircraft at Istres on March 5 with strict limits, but on March 16 European NATO allies rejected President Trump's demands for military assistance to reopen the Iranian-blocked Strait of Hormuz—Trump called the rejection a 'very foolish mistake' and declared the US needs no one's help.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Directed federal Anthropic ban

For decades, the United States military chose its weapons contractors and they complied, but artificial intelligence changed that. On March 3, OpenAI and the Pentagon amended a freshly signed AI contract to ban domestic surveillance of Americans—a concession the Pentagon had refused Anthropic, triggering the company's blacklist from all federal agencies.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Ordered strikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury

Dubai International Airport processed 95.2 million passengers in 2025 and became the world's busiest in January 2026. On March 1, Iranian missiles and drones struck its terminals, forcing full evacuation. On March 16—16 days into the conflict—another drone hit a fuel tank, reigniting flight suspensions and forcing additional Emirates cancellations despite partial airspace reopening. Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Kuwait shut down simultaneously on February 28, severing three major Gulf hubs that route long-haul traffic between Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Updated May 30

As of May 2026: Blaming Democrats and the Federal Reserve for weak GDP numbers

The United States economy grew at an annualized rate of just 1.4% in the final quarter of 2025—a steep drop from 4.4% the quarter before and well below the 2.5% that forecasters expected. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates that the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in American history, subtracted roughly one full percentage point from growth by itself. Federal spending fell at a 16.6% annualized rate during the quarter, dragging headline output down by more than a percentage point even as consumer spending and business investment continued to expand.

Updated May 29

As of May 2026: Issued directive for UAP file release

For nearly eight decades, the United States government has investigated reports of unidentified objects in its airspace while keeping most of its findings classified. On February 19, 2026, Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and federal agency heads to identify and release government files on UAPs, UFOs, and extraterrestrial life — the broadest UFO transparency directive ever issued.

Updated May 29

As of May 2026: Appealing court rulings blocking AEA deportations

The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked only four times in American history—during the War of 1812, World War I, World War II, and now. In March 2025, President Trump became the first president to use the 1798 wartime statute outside of a declared war. He targeted alleged members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang and sent 137 men to El Salvador's maximum-security CECOT prison within 24 hours.

Updated May 27

As of May 2026: Driving NATO restructuring through burden-sharing demands

Since NATO's founding in 1949, an American four-star general has led every Joint Force Command responsible for warfighting operations on European soil. That 75-year tradition ended on February 6, 2026, when NATO announced that Italy will take command of Joint Force Command Naples, the United Kingdom will lead Joint Force Command Norfolk, and Germany and Poland will share leadership of Joint Force Command Brunssum on a rotating basis.

Updated May 27

As of May 2026: Leading negotiations with Iran while managing Israeli alliance

Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington this week with a single message: any deal with Iran must go beyond uranium. After three hours in the Oval Office on February 11, President Trump emerged saying 'nothing definitive' was reached—but negotiations would continue.

Updated May 27

As of May 2026: Hosting summit at his own property

The Group of Twenty, operating by consensus since 1999, hosts its December 2026 summit at Trump National Doral Miami. For the first time, it's excluding South Africa—a founding member—and seating Poland instead, the world's twentieth-largest economy.

Updated May 27

As of May 2026: Brokered the August 2025 peace framework

No sitting U.S. president or vice president had ever visited Armenia until February 9, 2026. JD Vance arrived in Yerevan with $9 billion in potential nuclear investment, advanced Nvidia chips, and surveillance drones — the Trump administration backing its August 2025 peace framework with economic muscle.

Updated May 27

As of May 2026: Rejected extension; directing new treaty negotiations including China

For fifty-three years, binding agreements constrained the world's two largest nuclear arsenals. That era ended on February 5, 2026, when the New START treaty expired at midnight without a successor. The United States and Russia now face no legal limits on their roughly 10,700 nuclear warheads, after President Trump rejected a Russian extension offer and directed work on a new pact including China.

Updated May 27

As of May 2026: Escalating demands and threatening criminal investigation

Harvard has received billions in federal research funding for decades without major controversy. Now President Trump is demanding the university pay $1 billion to the government—five times what he sought months earlier—after a year of escalating threats, frozen grants, and failed negotiations. The university has refused to capitulate, and a federal judge has ruled the funding freeze unconstitutional.

Updated May 26

As of May 2026: Pursuing aggressive anti-cartel policy

For five months, Colombia's largest drug cartel sat across from government negotiators in Qatar, working toward something unprecedented: a peace deal with an organization the United States had just labeled a terrorist group. On February 4, the Gulf Clan walked away from the table, accusing President Gustavo Petro of betraying the talks by handing their leader's name to the Trump administration as a joint military target.

Updated May 26

As of May 2026: Leading pressure campaign against Chinese influence in Panama

A Hong Kong firm has operated the ports on either end of the Panama Canal since 1997. That ended on January 31, 2026, when Panama's Supreme Court voided CK Hutchison's concession as unconstitutional, and Denmark's Maersk assumed temporary control of the Balboa and Cristobal facilities.

Updated May 26

As of May 2026: Signed AIM Act in first term; now slowing its rollout in second term

The Environmental Protection Agency gave HVAC contractors an extra year on Tuesday to install commercial air-conditioning equipment that uses older, higher-warming refrigerants. The final rule covers variable refrigerant flow systems manufactured or imported before January 1, 2026, and pushes the installation cutoff out to January 1, 2027.

Updated May 26

As of May 2026: Pursuing federal AI deregulation; clashed publicly with Leo XIV before the encyclical

Pope Leo XIV signed his first encyclical on May 15, 2026, 135 years to the day after Pope Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum. Magnifica Humanitas calls AI the next industrial revolution and demands binding external regulation of the companies building it.

Updated May 26

As of May 2026: Approved federal emergency declaration for Orange County on May 25, activating FEMA

The risk of a catastrophic explosion is gone, and 50,000 displaced residents were cleared to go home. OCFA Interim Chief TJ McGovern announced Monday that the BLEVE (vapor explosion) risk 'is now off the table' — the tank cooled from 100°F to 93°F and its crack released built-up pressure.

Updated May 25

As of May 2026: Directing deployments despite court rulings

The last time a president invoked the Insurrection Act to deploy federal troops in American cities was 1992, during the Los Angeles riots. President Trump has deployed over 10,000 National Guard troops and active-duty Marines to six cities since June 2025—without invoking that law. The Congressional Budget Office now reports the seven-month operation cost taxpayers $496 million, with ongoing deployments projected to add $93 million monthly.

Updated May 23

As of May 2026: Brokered final deal structure

For five years, the world's most popular social media app lived under a death sentence. TikTok, used by 170 million Americans, faced repeated ban threats from two administrations convinced its Chinese ownership posed an unacceptable national security risk. On January 23, 2026, that uncertainty ended: TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC became operational, transferring 80.1% ownership to American and allied investors while ByteDance retained a non-controlling 19.9% stake.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Attended Davos, launched Board of Peace, reached Greenland framework

This year's World Economic Forum (the first in 55 years without founder Klaus Schwab) became an emergency diplomatic summit when Trump's tariff threats over Greenland drew record attendance from 60+ heads of state. By week's end, a NATO 'framework deal' had defused the immediate crisis, and Canadian PM Mark Carney declared to applause from European and middle-power leaders that the U.S.-led rules-based order is over.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Sitting president suing JPMorgan while in office

Donald Trump banked with JPMorgan Chase for decades; after the January 6 Capitol attack, the bank gave him 60 days to move hundreds of millions of dollars. As sitting president, he's suing the bank and its CEO for $5 billion, alleging political discrimination.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Plaintiff in Trump v. Cook

No president has fired a sitting Federal Reserve governor in the central bank's 112-year history. Donald Trump is trying to be the first and wants to replace the Fed chair with a loyalist.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Renewed strike threats; 'massive Armada' positioned near Iran

Bazaar merchants bankrolled Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Now they're in the streets demanding its end.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Announced the new Poland deployment via Truth Social

On May 13, the Pentagon quietly halted a 4,000-soldier armored brigade already moving toward Poland. Nine days later, President Trump posted on Truth Social that the United States would send 5,000 additional troops to the same country.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Serving second term; initiated withdrawal on first day in office

The U.S. joined the WHO on June 14, 1948, three years after helping design the agency, and became the first to withdraw on January 22, 2026, ending 77 years of involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited the WHO's 'failures during the COVID-19 pandemic' and its inability to demonstrate independence from 'inappropriate political influence.' The U.S. left without paying between $130 million and $278 million in disputed dues.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Permanent chairman with veto authority over all decisions

The United Nations has been the primary venue for international conflict resolution since 1945. On January 22, 2026, President Trump launched an alternative: the Board of Peace, a body he chairs for life where permanent membership costs $1 billion and he holds sole veto power.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Serving second term, began January 20, 2025

The U.S. has barred immigrants based on economic status since 1882. On January 21, 2026, the State Department suspended immigrant visa processing for 75 countries—more than a third of the world's nations—citing concerns that applicants might someday use public benefits.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: In office (second term)

In April 2025, average US tariffs hit their highest level since 1943. Nine months later, the global economy is still growing. The IMF's January 2026 World Economic Outlook projects 3.3% global growth (slightly better than feared), thanks to supply-chain rerouting, surging AI investment, and a US-China truce pulling tariffs back from their 145% peak.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Was scheduled to address Davos on January 21 at 2:30 PM CET; agreed to meet NATO's Rutte about Greenland

For 55 years, the World Economic Forum at Davos was neutral ground where adversaries brokered deals. This year, 65 heads of state and nearly 3,000 leaders arrived just 48 hours after Trump announced 10% tariffs on eight European allies. The tariffs escalate to 25% by June unless Denmark agrees to sell Greenland.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Backing Rodríguez interim government for oil access; skeptical of Machado; sent Energy Secretary to oversee oil privatization

Seven weeks after U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has consolidated interim power through military loyalty pledges, oil privatization, and prisoner releases. In an NBC interview on February 12, she pledged 'free and fair' elections but refused to set a timeline, conditioning them on Venezuela being 'free from sanctions'.

Updated May 22

As of May 2026: Deployed naval 'armada' to Gulf region after initially backing away from military strikes; maintaining pressure through tariffs and military presence

The Islamic Republic has survived four decades of protests—but never anything like this. What began on December 28 as Tehran bazaar merchants protesting a collapsing currency became Iran's largest uprising since the 1979 revolution, with demonstrations in all 31 provinces.

Updated May 21

As of May 2026: Leading trilateral peace negotiations through envoys; offering 15-year security guarantee with potential extension

For nearly three years after Russia's 2022 invasion, Ukraine relied on American satellites and signals intelligence for roughly 75-80% of its battlefield awareness, but in ten months France claims to have replaced most of that. President Macron announced on January 15, 2026, that France now provides two-thirds of Ukraine's intelligence—a restructuring forced by Washington's March 2025 decision to suspend most intelligence sharing as leverage in peace negotiations. Yet Macron's assertion contradicts Ukraine's own intelligence officials: the former GUR chief stated in December 2025 that the US remained the key provider, and concerns about US intelligence leaks to Moscow have reportedly chilled Kyiv's information sharing with Washington.

Updated May 21

As of May 2026: In office since January 2025 (second term)

Brazil protected Argentina's embassy in Caracas for 14 months after Nicolás Maduro expelled Argentine diplomats in July 2024. That arrangement ended January 16, 2026, when Italy assumed custodianship. The shift was triggered by Brazil's opposition to the U.S. military operation that captured Maduro two weeks earlier, and accelerated by Argentine President Milei's sustained social media attacks on Brazilian President Lula.

Updated May 21

As of May 2026: Actively pursuing Greenland acquisition

The United States has not acquired sovereign territory since 1917, when it purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million. On January 17, President Trump announced 10% tariffs on eight European nations starting February 1, escalating to 25% by June 1 unless a deal is reached for Greenland.

Updated May 21

As of May 2026: Tariff architect; has publicly pressured Walmart not to raise prices

Walmart sells roughly one in four grocery dollars in the United States. On Wednesday it told investors that profit this fiscal year will land below what Wall Street expected, citing tariffs on imported general merchandise.

Updated May 21

As of May 2026: Signed the executive order

For 23 years, federal rules let Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers stand in for Social Security numbers when opening a bank account. A Trump executive order now tells regulators to treat ITIN use as a potential fraud and trafficking red flag, moving the compliance burden onto banks.

Updated May 21

As of May 2026: Returned from first Beijing state visit by a sitting US president since 2017

Trump arrived in Beijing on May 13 and left May 15 with a trade truce and Boeing jet orders. Putin followed four days later; on May 20, he and Xi signed more than 40 agreements and issued a 9,935-word declaration against US missile defenses. The gas pipeline Moscow had flagged as a 'substantial step' did not materialize.

Updated May 21

As of May 2026: Threatening 50% tariffs on China over alleged Iran arms; visiting Beijing May 14-15 for summit with Xi

The legal foundation for Trump's tariff strategy collapsed on February 20 when the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. The decision voided both the 25% Iran secondary levy and other emergency-based duties on China. Trump signed a 10% global replacement under Section 122 of the Trade Act within hours, dropping China's effective rate from 47% to about 35%.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Called Khamenei a 'sick man' and demanded regime change on January 17; deployed USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group which arrived January 26; threatens strikes 'far worse' than June 2025 if Iran doesn't negotiate nuclear limits

Iran's nationwide uprising, triggered by December 28, 2025 bazaar marches in Tehran, was crushed in what may be the deadliest massacre in the Islamic Republic's history. An internet blackout that began January 8 was partially restored around January 17-18, though connectivity remains severely restricted. Early reports confirmed 572 deaths; after internet restoration in late January, the Human Rights Activists News Agency documented at least 6,126 deaths, with estimates ranging from 12,000 to over 36,500.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Seeking voluntary commitments from tech companies on energy costs

For decades, American households paid roughly the same share of electricity costs regardless of which industries were expanding. AI data centers have broken that arrangement.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Threatened 'very strong action' over executions; evacuated Al Udeid base troops ahead of potential strikes

Iran's judiciary chief announced January 14 that detained protesters face fast-track trials and executions, despite Trump's warning of "very strong action." The death toll hit at least 2,571, per Human Rights Activists News Agency — four times the count from two days earlier and more than any crackdown since 1979.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Threatening military strikes while claiming Iran seeks negotiations; imposed 25% tariff on countries trading with Iran

The Iranian rial lost half its value in six months, prompting merchants—the same traders who toppled the Shah in 1979—to shut down Tehran's Grand Bazaar on December 28. Within two weeks, the strike became the largest uprising since the Islamic Revolution; credible estimates range from 500 to 3,000 dead after a five-day internet blackout, with the IRGC firing live ammunition on crowds.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Signed executive order establishing AI Litigation Task Force

The DOJ's AI Litigation Task Force began operations January 10, 2026 with one mission: kill state AI laws in federal court. Attorney General Pam Bondi's team, consulting with AI czar David Sacks, will challenge comprehensive AI regulations from California, Texas, and Colorado that President Trump's December executive order called unconstitutional burdens on interstate commerce.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Brokered the May 9-11 ceasefire and the 1,000-for-1,000 framework

Russia and Ukraine each handed back 205 prisoners on May 15, the first tranche of a 1,000-for-1,000 swap Donald Trump brokered in early May. Zelenskyy said on May 16 that work on the next round's prisoner lists is ongoing. The swap is still the only deliverable from months of US-led talks.

Updated May 20

As of May 2026: Claims credit for crime decline while implementing aggressive 'tough on crime' policies

America's murder rate plunged to its lowest level since 1900 in 2025, as homicides fell 21%—the largest single-year drop ever recorded, according to Council on Criminal Justice data from 35 major cities. This followed 2024's historic 14.9% decline, creating an unprecedented two-year reversal. The 2025 rate, projected at 4 per 100,000 when the FBI releases nationwide data, is a complete reversal of the 2020 pandemic spike and brings murder 25% below pre-pandemic levels.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Proposing historic defense budget increase

Trump wants to spend $1.5 trillion on defense in 2027—a jaw-dropping 66% jump from this year's $901 billion. This would be the largest single-year defense increase since the Korean War.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Initially opposed extension, recently showed flexibility

The House passed a three-year extension of ACA subsidies January 8, 2026, by 230-196, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats after a discharge petition bypassed Johnson's opposition. The subsidies had expired December 31, 2025, more than doubling premiums for 22 million Americans—92% of marketplace enrollees. A 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 now faces $22,600 more annually in premiums.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Paused portions of IIJA funding via executive order on first day in office

China just front-loaded $42 billion in infrastructure spending for early 2026—281 projects approved before the calendar even flipped. The U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed with $1.2 trillion in 2021, has spent just 21% of its funds as of December 2024.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Negotiated temporary truce with Xi in October 2025

China controls 70% of rare earth mining and 90% of refining—the 17 obscure elements that power everything from F-35 fighter jets to iPhones. In April 2025, Beijing weaponized that dominance. When Trump announced Liberation Day tariffs, China retaliated by restricting exports of seven rare earth elements. By October, it expanded controls to twelve elements and invoked the foreign direct product rule, the same tool America used to choke China's chip industry. It claims jurisdiction over any product globally that touches Chinese rare earth technology.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Directing withdrawal from 66 international organizations

On January 7, 2026, Trump signed a memorandum directing US withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change—the 1992 treaty George H.W. Bush signed and the Senate unanimously ratified. The US is the first of 198 parties to exit. The UNFCCC underpins all international climate negotiations (unlike the Paris Agreement, which Trump also exited), and withdrawal takes effect one year from notification.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Imposed aid freeze and tariffs on South Africa

President Trump cut all US aid to South Africa on February 7, 2025—$440 million annually, most for HIV treatment—over a land law allowing seizure without compensation. He called it discrimination against white farmers.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Signed executive orders freezing aid and initiating USAID dismantlement

Hours after taking office on January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order freezing all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days. Stop-work orders shuttered HIV clinics in Ivory Coast, refugee camps lost infrastructure support, and 3.8 million women lost access to contraceptive care.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Publicly backing Intel as U.S. government becomes largest shareholder

Intel just shipped its first client processors built on 18A, the most advanced semiconductor process ever made in America. The Core Ultra Series 3 chips, unveiled January 5 at CES 2026, went on sale globally January 27 with over 200 PC designs, offering 60% faster performance and 27-hour battery life.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Issued expanded travel ban affecting 39 countries plus Palestinian territories

Three West African nations ruled by military juntas just banned Americans from entering their countries. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger (the Alliance of Sahel States) announced reciprocal travel restrictions on January 5, directly mirroring Trump's December expansion of the U.S. travel ban.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Defending tariff authority before Supreme Court

A small wine importer and a toy company are forcing the Supreme Court to answer a question: Can the president slap tariffs on the entire world without Congress? Trump used emergency powers law to impose tariffs collecting $130 billion, courts said he overstepped, and now the justices will decide if emergency powers mean what they've always meant—or something new.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Ordered Operation Southern Spear and Maduro capture

Delta Force dragged Nicolás Maduro from his bedroom at 2 AM on January 3, threw him on a helicopter, and flew him to the USS Iwo Jima bound for Manhattan. The Venezuelan president now faces narco-terrorism charges in the same courthouse that convicted El Chapo.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Architect of tariff-based semiconductor export policy targeting China

Biren Technology's shares surged 76% on January 2, 2026, raising $717 million in Hong Kong—the first GPU chipmaker to list this year. Despite losing $1.6 billion annually and facing US export bans, investors oversubscribed 2,348 times; rivals Moore Threads and MetaX followed with Shanghai IPOs that surged 400% and 700%.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Signed FY2026 NDAA on December 18, 2025

On January 1, 2026, every U.S. service member got a 3.8% pay raise, bringing an E-1's monthly check to $2,407. It's the third consecutive above-inflation increase Congress has delivered, part of a scramble to fix a system where junior troops qualified for food stamps.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Signed One Big Beautiful Bill into law July 4, 2025

The 30% federal residential solar tax credit died at midnight on December 31, 2025. For twenty years, Section 25D let homeowners slash $9,000 off a typical $30,000 solar installation.

Updated May 19

As of May 2026: Authorized Operation Southern Spear and CIA covert operations in Venezuela

Trump confirmed the first known U.S. land attack inside Venezuela on December 30—a drone strike on a coastal dock allegedly used by the Tren de Aragua gang, with no one present when missiles hit. The same day, a U.S. strike on a boat in the Pacific killed two more people, bringing total deaths to at least 107 since September.

Updated May 18

As of May 2026: Reimposing 'maximum pressure' sanctions in second term

Iran's Central Bank governor resigned December 29 after the rial collapsed to 1.42 million per dollar (a 70% drop during his tenure), triggering the largest street protests in three years. By December 30, merchants had kept Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar shuttered for three days, and crowds in Isfahan, Shiraz, Kermanshah, and Mashhad chanted 'Death to the Dictator' and 'Death to Khamenei'.

Updated May 18

As of May 2026: Serving second non-consecutive term, signed fifth iteration of travel ban

Trump signed his first travel ban seven days into his presidency, blocking entry from seven Muslim-majority countries and igniting protests; courts blocked it within a week. After Supreme Court victories, a Biden reversal, and his return to power, Trump's December 2025 expansion restricts entry from 39 countries—affecting one in eight people worldwide and eliminating exemptions for immediate family.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Leveraged trade threats to broker ceasefires

A Cambodian soldier died in a border firefight on May 28, and within two months, the countries were exchanging artillery fire and airstrikes across a dozen locations. Three ceasefires—brokered by Malaysia, pressured by Trump, and witnessed by ASEAN—have left over 100 dead and a million displaced, yet the December 27 truce may fail like the others.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Ordered airstrikes after months of warnings

On Christmas night 2025, American warplanes struck ISIS-linked camps in northwest Nigeria, killing militants in the first direct U.S. combat action there. President Tinubu approved the operation after months of Trump pressure, targeting Lakurawa/ISSP elements in Sokoto State, but Jabo residents reported civilian panic from a missile hitting farmland. By mid-February 2026, U.S. Africa Command deployed around 200 military personnel, with the initial 100 troops arriving February 17 at Bauchi Airfield to train and support Nigerian counterterrorism forces.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Successfully backed Asfura's candidacy

Two days before Honduras voted, Trump pardoned the country's former president from a 45-year drug trafficking sentence, endorsed his party's candidate, and threatened to cut all U.S. aid if the opposition won. The candidate Trump backed won by 0.74 percent—after a three-week count marred by system crashes, midnight data flips, and fraud allegations. Honduras pivots back toward Washington after two years courting Beijing, but the Congress president is refusing to validate the results, calling them an "electoral coup."

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Leading peace negotiations through special envoys

On December 28, President Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced 90% agreement on a revised 20-point peace framework at Mar-a-Lago. The next day Russia claimed Ukraine attacked Putin's residence with drones—a charge Kyiv denies, calling it fabricated to sabotage talks. The alleged attack exposes how fragile negotiations are: while diplomats inch toward compromise, the shadow war continues and Moscow weaponizes accusations to 'toughen' its bargaining position. The real question after nearly four years of invasion is whether either side will stop fighting long enough to sign a deal.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Ordered both combat operations that extended Ford's tour

The USS Gerald R. Ford steamed back into Naval Station Norfolk on Saturday after 320 days at sea, the longest US carrier deployment since the Vietnam War. The crew of 4,500 sailors fought in two combat operations, supported the capture of a foreign head of state, and lived through a 30-hour shipboard fire.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Announced program at Mar-a-Lago December 2025

Trump just announced the United States will build battleships again. The USS Defiant (BBG-1)—lead ship of the Trump-class—will be the largest American surface combatant since World War II at 35,000 tons, armed with nuclear cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons, rail guns, and lasers. Construction starts in 2030, and the Navy wants 20 to 25 ships at over $10 billion each.

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Directing Syria policy amid competing pressures

On December 13, 2025, a Syrian security officer allegedly affiliated with ISIS opened fire on US troops near Palmyra, killing two Iowa National Guard members (Staff Sgts. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and William Nathaniel Howard) and interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat. The US responded six days later with Operation Hawkeye Strike: 100 precision munitions against 70 ISIS targets in central Syria via fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery, plus Jordanian F-16s, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called 'a declaration of vengeance.'

Updated May 16

As of May 2026: Driving a public pressure campaign tying Venezuela’s oil trade to ‘narco-terrorism’

The U.S. Coast Guard is now chasing a third Venezuela-linked tanker in international waters near Venezuela—under a judicial seizure order. Two other tankers have already been stopped in the past 11 days, including one dramatic helicopter boarding that the administration amplified on social media.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Signed an executive order pressuring states to halt AI regulation

New York just told the biggest AI labs: if something goes seriously wrong, you don't get to bury it. Under the RAISE Act, large "frontier AI" developers must publish a safety approach and report "critical harm" incidents to the state within 72 hours after determining one occurred. First violations carry civil penalties capped at $1M; later violations, $3M—far below the bill's June penalty structure.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Ordered retaliatory strikes; publicly backing Syria’s interim leadership while pledging revenge.

In the first post-strike readout of

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Administration pursuing appeals and parallel pressure campaigns involving Harvard

Harvard won. A federal judge said the government unlawfully cut off Harvard's research money—then ordered the taps turned back on. Now the Trump administration is appealing, keeping a cloud over a sprawling research portfolio that runs from medical breakthroughs to national-security science.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Signed executive order directing expedited completion of marijuana rescheduling and expanded cannabinoid research

Trump's executive order instructing DOJ to fast-track marijuana's move to Schedule III immediately triggered a familiar split. Public health and industry groups cheered the potential research and tax impacts, while House Republicans organized opposition, urging Trump to keep marijuana in Schedule I.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Directing policy during the tranche’s notification and public rollout

The record Taiwan arms tranche (about $11.1B across eight DSCA notifications) is now in the congressional review lane. Taiwan's Defense Ministry and presidential office emphasized the buys are contingent on legislative funding. Local reporting shows five of eight cases sit in a pending NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget — meaning the political fight in Taipei throttles how fast the package moves from 'possible sale' to signed LOAs.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Backed Isaacman after withdrawing and renominating him in 2025

One day after his 67–30 confirmation, Jared Isaacman was sworn in on Dec. 18, 2025 as NASA's 15th administrator—walking directly into a White House-driven acceleration campaign that now has his name on the clock, not just the contracts.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Pushing for aggressive Fed rate cuts

The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the 17th Federal Reserve chair on May 13, 54-45—the closest such vote on record. He took over on May 15, when Jerome Powell's term expired and Powell stepped back to a regular governor seat.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Signed first Russia sanctions of second term (Rosneft/Lukoil) while simultaneously granting Hungary energy exemption

Sanctions are supposed to close doors. On December 17, the U.S. quietly propped two doors back open again, even as it slammed others shut. One narrow lane keeps Sakhalin-2 crude flowing to Japan; the other preserves financial channels for civil nuclear projects, even when payments touch sanctioned Russian banks—both running through June 18, 2026.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Driving a rapid Alaska-focused energy and permitting agenda

BLM's rollback of the 2024 NPR-A protections isn't new news—but today is when it becomes real. As of December 17, 2025, the rescission is officially in effect, wiping out the Biden-era rule that tried to hardwire stronger guardrails into how the Western Arctic gets developed.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Ordered a blockade targeting U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers tied to Venezuela.

Trump's Venezuela "blockade" threat is now backed by policy. Washington has added new Venezuela-linked sanctions and also targeted Iran's shadow-fleet network. Together, these expand the pool of already-sanctioned vessels that the U.S. Navy could board if they try to trade with Venezuela.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Driving Phase 2 governance-and-security architecture; Board of Peace membership pending

A Gaza force is being designed like it's real, but the December 16 Doha conference exposed disagreements over mandate and composition—U.S. Central Command convened 40+ countries to plan command structure, basing, and rules of engagement, yet failed to achieve consensus. Italy is the only country to formally commit troops; 15 nations declined and Turkey was excluded at Israel's insistence.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Issuing executive orders to delay enforcement and steer a divestiture framework

The deal closed on January 22, 2026. TikTok's U.S. operations now belong to TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC—a new entity where Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX each hold 15%, existing ByteDance investor affiliates hold 30.1%, and ByteDance itself retains exactly 19.9%.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Driving a second-term immigration crackdown centered on ending categorical protections

DHS just turned a promised “legal pathway” into a ticking clock. A Federal Register notice published December 15, 2025 terminates every Family Reunification Parole program tied to seven countries—and tells people already here that their parole will end on January 14, 2026.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Broker and self-described guarantor of the Oct. 2025 ceasefire; pushing stabilization plan

A senior Hamas commander is killed in a targeted Israeli strike. The next day, thousands pack the streets of Gaza for his funeral, coffins hoisted shoulder-high, flags everywhere, chants loud enough to carry the message: Hamas is still here.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Driving a fast-track diplomatic push to end the war via a U.S.-brokered framework

Zelensky just did something he once treated as untouchable: he offered to drop Ukraine's NATO bid. Not as surrender, but as a trade—Kyiv gives up the alliance path, and the West gives Ukraine legally binding protection strong enough to scare Moscow off for good.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Reversing the practical ban on top-tier U.S. AI chips to China—while excluding Blackwell and Rubin

The Trump administration just did the thing Washington has spent years swearing it wouldn't do: let China buy a near-top-tier Nvidia AI chip again. Now a China hawk in Congress is demanding the Commerce Department explain, in detail, why this isn't a strategic own-goal.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Declared project 'too late' to stop on Jan 25 while facing judicial skepticism of his legal authority; construction continues

At a January 22 hearing on the National Trust's preliminary injunction request, Judge Richard Leon signaled deep skepticism about Trump's authority to tear down "an icon that's a national institution" using $400 million in private donations. Leon called the funding mechanism a "Rube Goldberg contraption" and is expected to rule in February; Trump declared on Truth Social that "IT IS TOO LATE" to stop the project, claiming structural steel, marble, and bulletproof glass are already lined up.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Backing a new coalition model linking trade, security, and AI-industrial policy

The U.S. just tried to name a new era into existence: "Pax Silica." On December 12, 2025, Washington launched a coalition with key tech allies to lock down the ingredients of AI power—minerals, silicon, energy inputs, and the factories that turn them into chips and data centers.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Mediating, or claiming to mediate, ceasefires between Thailand and Cambodia

Thailand's prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, dissolved parliament barely three months into his term. He called a snap election while Thai troops trade artillery fire with Cambodia along an 800-kilometre border.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Driving aggressive national immigration crackdown in his second term

Federal agents flooded the Chicago area under “Operation Midway Blitz,” arresting thousands in a sweeping immigration crackdown. A little-known consent decree from an earlier ICE raid suddenly roared back to life, and a Chicago judge ordered hundreds of detainees released — until a divided appeals court slammed on the brakes.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: Has granted more than 1,600 pardons and commutations, heavily focused on 2020 and January 6 cases.

President Trump pardoned former Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters in December 2025 over her nine-year state prison sentence for letting election conspiracy activists copy voting-machine data. The pardon has no legal effect on her state conviction, yet it triggered an escalating confrontation.

Updated May 15

As of May 2026: President since January 2025; previously publicly linked socially to Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein is dead, but his paper trail has led to immediate legal battles. On January 30, 2026, the Justice Department released more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images.

Updated May 14

As of May 2026: Driving broad rollback of Biden‑era climate, EV, and fuel‑economy policies

The EPA isn't killing Biden's vehicle pollution rules outright. It plans to keep looser 2026 standards in place for two extra model years instead of enforcing tougher limits on smog-forming pollution starting in 2027.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Driving a federal-first, deregulatory AI agenda using executive power.

Donald Trump just turned AI regulation into a states' rights knife fight. His new executive order creates a Justice Department "AI Litigation Task Force" to attack state AI laws. Washington can threaten to withhold $42 billion in broadband funds from states that don't comply.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Opposes subsidy extension; 17 House Republicans defied him to vote for three-year extension on January 8

Enhanced premium tax credits expired January 1, 2026. By late January, 1.2 to 1.4 million fewer Americans had enrolled for marketplace coverage, with total 2026 enrollment at 22.8–22.9 million.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Driving aggressive military-led immigration crackdown

Donald Trump has quietly turned long stretches of the southern border into de facto military bases. Under a new system of National Defense Areas, soldiers can stop migrants, hold them, and help prosecutors charge them as trespassers on military land.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Using broad tariffs on China and threats against Mexico to reshape North American trade

Mexico's Congress approved a sweeping tariff overhaul: starting in 2026, thousands of imports from China, India, and other non-FTA Asian countries will face duties up to 50%, with most capped around 35%. The package targets autos, auto parts, steel, textiles, plastics and clothing, aiming to protect local jobs and raise billions in revenue.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Pursuing an unprecedented mass deportation agenda in his second term

An ICE officer emailed a Colombian couple in Texas a choice no parent should face: board a deportation flight or risk a 10‑year prison sentence and losing their six‑year‑old to federal custody. They abandoned their trafficking victim visa case and were on a plane to Bogotá within weeks.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Driving an aggressive immigration crackdown while personally branding a pay-to-stay visa program.

Donald Trump is now literally selling a fast track to America. His Trump Gold Card program lets wealthy foreigners buy expedited U.S. residency for a $1 million "gift" to the government, plus a $15,000 processing fee. A corporate option costs $2 million per sponsored worker.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Driving a renewed maximum‑pressure campaign on Nicolás Maduro using tariffs, sanctions and military power.

A US Coast Guard team fast-roped from helicopters onto the supertanker Skipper off Venezuela's coast. Within hours, President Donald Trump was bragging in Washington that the United States had just seized one of the world's largest tankers and would likely keep the oil.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Publicly quiet on the flare-up while his administration greenlights visible bomber support

What began with Chinese carrier fighters lighting up Japanese jets with radar near Okinawa has mushroomed into a full-spectrum crisis. After China and Russia sent bombers circling Japan, the US flew B-52s with Japanese fighters over the Sea of Japan.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Made December phone calls to both leaders; initial ceasefire claim disputed but later diplomacy contributed to December 27 accord

A new ceasefire signed on December 27 has brought an uneasy pause to three weeks of fighting that killed more than 100 people and sent over half a million fleeing from their homes. Thai airstrikes, Cambodian rocket barrages, and artillery duels scorched the 817‑kilometer frontier after combat reignited on December 8, shattering Trump‑brokered peace deals from July and October.

Updated May 11

As of May 2026: Signed the FY2026 NDAA into law, cementing his defense agenda while preserving Ukraine aid he once questioned.

President Trump signed a nearly $901 billion defense bill into law on December 18, 2025, cementing the 65th consecutive year Congress has passed a National Defense Authorization Act. It delivers troops a 3.8% pay raise and locks in $800 million for Ukraine weapons over two years.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Publicly pressuring the Fed for steeper cuts and seeking greater control over its leadership.

In a single year the Fed has gone from peak post‑Covid rates to a clear easing cycle. December's third 2025 rate cut pushes the federal funds range down to 3.5–3.75% and flips the switch on a new operating regime built around full‑allotment repos and steady Treasury bill buying.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Overseeing sanctions that forced Lukoil and Rosneft into selling foreign assets

First the US froze Lukoil's assets. Now it's effectively forcing Russia's biggest private oil company to auction off its global business. A fresh Treasury waiver gives buyers until January 17, 2026 to lock in deals for oilfields, refineries and thousands of gas stations worth about $22 billion.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Driving an "energy dominance" agenda built around mandated Gulf lease sales

Donald Trump's second-term energy agenda has moved from a single Gulf auction to a full-scale offshore transformation. The December 10 Gulf lease sale—81.2 million acres at a 12.5% royalty rate, generating $279.4 million—was just the opening move. By year's end, the administration had proposed a sweeping 2026-2031 leasing plan covering 1.27 billion acres off California, Florida and Alaska, and scheduled a second Gulf sale for March 11, 2026. It simultaneously halted all five major East Coast offshore wind projects, citing national security risks; Shell-INEOS's early January oil discovery south of New Orleans showed the industry's bet on deepwater Gulf prospects.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Driving a broad pullback from anti‑corruption and foreign‑bribery enforcement while courting FIFA leadership

U.S. prosecutors spent years proving that Hernan Lopez, a former Fox International Channels CEO, and the sports marketing firm Full Play bribed South American soccer officials to lock down lucrative TV rights. A Brooklyn jury convicted them in 2023.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Ordered review to designate certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist organizations

In less than a month, Texas and Florida governors branded CAIR, the country's largest Muslim civil rights group, a "foreign terrorist organization." Both states ordered cuts to contracts, jobs, and funding. CAIR calls it a smear campaign; the governors say they're targeting Hamas-linked extremists.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Overseeing rollback of Biden-era student loan policies, including settlement to end SAVE.

Biden sold the SAVE plan as a fix for millions facing a broken student loan system: smaller payments, faster forgiveness, and protection from ballooning interest.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Trying to reassure Japan while preserving a fragile trade truce with China.

Chinese J-15 jets from the carrier Liaoning repeatedly locked targeting radar onto Japanese F-15s near Okinawa on December 6, forcing Japan to scramble jets and file an emergency protest. Days later, Washington publicly accused Beijing of destabilizing behavior and vowed its commitment to Japan was "unwavering."

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Signed SRS extension into law on December 18, 2025

President Donald Trump signed the Secure Rural Schools reauthorization into law on December 18, 2025, ending a two-year funding cliff that had devastated more than 700 forested counties. The bill directs the USDA Forest Service to deliver retroactive payments for FY2024 and FY2025 within 45 days of enactment—by early February 2026—and extends the program through FY2026. Counties that had cut sheriffs' patrols, closed schools, and delayed road repairs are now budgeting for an influx of roughly $280 million per year.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Driving a U.S.-led peace framework seen as favoring Russian positions on territory and NATO

In early 2025, Trump launched an aggressive push to "end the war" in Ukraine. He tied resumed military aid and intelligence sharing to Kyiv's acceptance of a U.S.-drafted peace framework that includes territorial concessions to Russia and long-term limits on Ukraine's sovereignty.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Signed the FY2026 NDAA into law on Dec. 18, 2025, despite provisions bolstering Ukraine aid and limiting unilateral force-posture reductions in Europe.

Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act in December 2025, authorizing a record $901 billion in national security spending. The House approved the final compromise 312–112 on December 10, and Trump signed it December 18 without an Oval Office ceremony.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Leading donor retrenchment from multilateral humanitarian and health agencies

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) cut its 2026 humanitarian appeal to roughly $33 billion in December 2025, down from the $47 billion requested for 2025. Governments had provided only about $15 billion in 2025 — the lowest level of support in a decade. Three weeks later, the United States pledged $2 billion to OCHA-managed funds, providing roughly two-thirds of the funding needed to reach 87 million people in the most catastrophic need.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: U.S. president driving peace initiative; projects optimism while acknowledging 'thorny issues' remain

By late December 2025, the controversial 28-point plan was replaced by a revised 20-point framework. Zelenskyy said it was '90 percent agreed' with Washington, with '100 percent' consensus on U.S.–Ukraine security guarantees.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Primary external broker of the ceasefire; U.S. trade leverage central to negotiations

In 2025, a long-simmering territorial dispute along the 817 km Thailand–Cambodia border reignited after a May 28 clash near Preah Vihear killed a Cambodian soldier. The incident sparked a five-day July war—at least 48 dead, about 300,000 displaced—that ended when Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim brokered a ceasefire.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Driving tariff policy and authorizing repeated farm bailouts

Since 2018, U.S. farmers have been caught in Trump-era tariff battles—first the U.S.–China trade war, now tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico, and others. To counter lost exports and depressed prices, the Trump administrations funded large farm aid through the Agriculture Department's Commodity Credit Corporation: $12 billion in 2018, $16 billion in 2019.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Architect of the 2025 National Security Strategy and ongoing Ukraine peace push

In early December 2025, the Trump administration published a National Security Strategy abandoning Russia as a primary threat, emphasizing 'flexible realism,' reviving the Monroe Doctrine in the Western Hemisphere, and seeking a negotiated Ukraine peace while re-establishing stability with Moscow. Within days, the Kremlin praised the strategy, saying it 'corresponds in many ways' with Russia's worldview and welcoming the shift from treating Russia as a direct adversary.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Relies on Bessent to execute tariffs, farm aid and consumer initiatives; administration faces renewed ethics questions in second term

Scott Bessent became Treasury Secretary in January 2025. An ethics agreement required him to sell substantial holdings, including up to $25 million in North Dakota soybean and corn farmland that earned as much as $1 million a year in rent. After months of delays, the Office of Government Ethics warned him in August 2025 that he'd failed to comply on time.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Threatening sanctions and possible military action over alleged Christian persecution in Nigeria; ordering contingency planning while broader tools are considered

Since March 2025, jihadist attacks, mass kidnappings, and farmer-herder violence have swept across northern and central Nigeria. A February 4, 2026, jihadist massacre in Kwara State alone killed over 160 people. Major incidents include a US-Nigeria airstrike on December 25, 2025, targeting Islamic State militants; Boko Haram and ISWAP attacks killing dozens of soldiers in January 2026; and partial rescues amid ongoing banditry.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Driving U.S. pressure campaign involving potential sanctions and military action over Christian persecution claims

On November 21, 2025, armed men abducted 315 people—303 pupils and 12 staff—from St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State. Around 50 children later escaped, but the mass abduction was one of Nigeria's largest since Chibok in 2014 and sparked national outrage that exposed deep security failures. U.S. officials weighed sanctions to pressure Nigeria to protect Christian communities and other civilians targeted in northern violence.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Driving a fast-track peace push, under criticism for perceived pro-Russian terms

In late 2025, U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine was "really, really close." Two disputes remain: the fate of Donbas, especially Ukrainian-held areas in Donetsk, and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (Russia-occupied and the largest in Europe).

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Backing federal efforts to limit state-level AI regulation

Edmonton Police became the first North American force to put live facial recognition on officers' body cameras. In December 2025, they switched on a month-long pilot. The AI-enabled bodycams scan the faces of people officers encounter against a watch list of 6,341 individuals with safety flags and 724 people wanted on serious warrants.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Incumbent president; former federal defendant whose Smith-led prosecutions were dismissed

In November 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed veteran prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee two high‑risk investigations into Donald Trump: his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at Mar‑a‑Lago. Both probes produced federal indictments in 2023, placing a former president on track to face criminal trials over alleged election subversion and mishandling of national‑security secrets.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Defending Executive Order 14160 before the Supreme Court

On January 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14160, "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship." The order denies automatic citizenship to U.S.-born children when the mother is unlawfully present or on a temporary visa and the father is neither a citizen nor a lawful permanent resident. It challenges 125 years of legal consensus (grounded in the 14th Amendment and the Supreme Court's 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark) that nearly all children born on U.S. soil are automatically citizens.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Backing ACIP’s shift and ordering a broader review of childhood vaccines

In December 2025, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 8–3 to end the universal recommendation for hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth. The committee was reconstituted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On December 16, 2025, Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill formally adopted the recommendation.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Architect and signatory of the 2025 National Security Strategy

On December 5, 2025, the Trump administration released a 33-page National Security Strategy declaring a Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The document formally revives the 19th-century idea of the Western Hemisphere as a U.S. sphere of influence and promises to reassert American preeminence across the Americas.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Key regulatory authority with stated personal involvement in merger review

On December 5, 2025, Netflix announced a definitive deal to acquire Warner Bros.' film and television studios and streaming businesses, including HBO and HBO Max, valued at $72 billion in equity and $82.7 billion including debt. On January 20, 2026, the parties amended to an all-cash structure at $27.75 per share, with a shareholder vote expected by April 2026.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Driving review of U.S. childhood vaccine schedule

In his second term, President Donald Trump is overhauling U.S. childhood vaccination policy. He argues the country gives too many shots compared with its peers. On December 5, 2025, a federal vaccine advisory panel voted 8–3 to end the longstanding hepatitis B shot recommendation for newborns. Trump signed a memorandum ordering the HHS secretary and CDC director to review the childhood schedule and align it where possible with peer countries' practices.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Threatening trade retaliation and legal action over EU tech enforcement

The European Union is cracking down on U.S.-based Big Tech using the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and long-standing competition and privacy rules. Since 2023, Brussels designated six platforms as 'gatekeepers,' imposed obligations on core services, and opened proceedings against X, Google, Apple and Meta for monopolistic conduct, opaque algorithms, deceptive design, and failures to police harmful content.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Architect of America First Global Health Strategy and foreign aid overhaul

In 2025 the Trump administration dismantled the post-Cold War global health architecture by withdrawing from the WHO, freezing most foreign aid, and abolishing USAID's development role. Through its 'America First Global Health Strategy,' the administration created bilateral health compacts requiring partner governments to co-finance HIV, TB, malaria, and outbreak response programs and gradually assume full responsibility.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Principal architect and political guarantor of the Gaza ceasefire and post-war governance plan

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel triggered a war that lasted more than two years. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect October 10, 2025. At least 460 Palestinians have been killed and over 1,200 injured since the truce began.

Updated May 10

As of May 2026: Chief political sponsor of the Washington Accord; under scrutiny as renewed fighting clouds his claimed diplomatic win

In early 2025, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebellion and its allies seized Goma and Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, displacing millions. The United States stepped in and brokered the June 27 Washington Accord.

Updated May 9

As of May 2026: Pushing trade deal with India potentially easing tariffs in exchange for cutting Russian oil

On December 5, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New Delhi for the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit. They unveiled a 'Programme for Economic Cooperation' through 2030 targeting $100 billion in annual trade and diversification beyond oil and arms, including joint weapons production, a urea plant, agriculture, health, shipping, and labor mobility. The agreement includes a free trade pact with the Eurasian Economic Union despite looming US sanctions.

Updated May 9

As of May 2026: US reduces India tariffs to 18% from up to 50% via trade deal, softening 2025 protectionist shock

In 2025, under Governor Sanjay Malhotra, the RBI cut its repo rate by a cumulative 125 basis points—from 6.50% in February to 5.25% on December 5. It was the sharpest easing since 2019. The cuts came with $16 billion in liquidity injections via bond purchases and a dollar-rupee swap, which Malhotra called a rare Goldilocks period of sub-target inflation and strong growth.

Updated May 9