J.D. Vance

Rule Changes

Defending H-1B restrictions as pro-American worker policy, December 2025

On December 29, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security published its final rule replacing the H-1B lottery with wage-weighted selection. It takes effect February 27, 2026.

Updated 36 minutes ago

Force in Play

Leading White House negotiations on Greenland acquisition

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 1 hour ago

Rule Changes

Named as leading the interagency process described in the divestiture determination

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 Yesterday

Force in Play

Led collapsed US-Iran negotiations in Islamabad on April 11-12

Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz on February 28, 2026, after US-Israeli strikes, cutting off roughly a fifth of global oil supply. The US-Iran ceasefire, extended by Trump on April 21, holds formally — but Iran's May 10 counter-proposal demanded Iranian sovereignty over the strait, an end to all US sanctions, and an immediate lifting of the naval blockade. Trump called the response "totally unacceptable," and roughly 1,500 commercial vessels remain trapped inside the Persian Gulf.

Updated 5 days ago

Force in Play

Key ideological voice on Europe and migration

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 6 days ago

Rule Changes

Framing EU digital rules as censorship and attack on free speech

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 6 days ago

Rule Changes

Leading U.S. political critic of the DSA fine on X

On December 5, 2025, the European Commission issued its first non‑compliance decision under the Digital Services Act, fining X €120 million for misleading users with paid blue checkmarks, failing to provide a transparent advertising repository, and obstructing researcher access to public data. Regulators concluded the subscription-based 'verified' badge is deceptive because anyone can buy it without meaningful identity checks, and the platform's ad library and data-access rules prevent independent scrutiny of scams, influence operations, and systemic online risks.

Updated 7 days ago

Rule Changes

Visited Budapest days before election to campaign for Orbán

Péter Magyar was sworn in as Hungary's prime minister on May 9, 2026, after Tisza won 141 of 199 parliamentary seats in the April 12 election — a two-thirds supermajority that gives the new government power to amend the constitution. Viktor Orbán conceded within three hours of polls closing, calling the result 'painful but unambiguous,' ending 16 consecutive years in power.

Updated 7 days ago

Rule Changes

Led US delegation at failed Islamabad talks April 11–12; returned to US without a deal after 21 hours of negotiations

Diplomatic efforts to constrain Iran's nuclear program collapsed into open war on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran—codenamed Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion—targeting military infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and senior leadership. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes; his son Mojtaba Khamenei was elected by the Assembly of Experts as the new Supreme Leader on March 8, but has not appeared publicly since, reportedly recovering from injuries sustained in the same strike that killed his father. Iran retaliated across the region and closed the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of world oil trade flows. A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took effect on April 8, under which Iran agreed to reopen the Strait—though Iran re-closed it on April 18 after the United States refused to lift a naval blockade imposed following failed peace talks.

Updated Apr 20

Rule Changes

Supporter of psychedelic therapy for veterans

For 55 years, the federal government classified psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ibogaine as Schedule I substances — drugs with no accepted medical use. On April 18, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order titled 'Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness,' directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite clinical trials of those same substances for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. The order, whose signing ceremony included podcaster Joe Rogan and former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, was driven substantially by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It makes $50 million in federal funding through the Advanced Research Projects for Health (ARPA-H) available for state-level ibogaine research — matched by state funds — and extends the Right to Try law to allow seriously ill patients to access psychedelics still under investigation. Within hours of the signing, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced that the agency would issue 'national priority' review vouchers for three psilocybin-class drugs, a first for any psychedelic substance, with decisions possible as early as summer 2026. The FDA also announced steps to clear the way for the first-ever US human trials of ibogaine.

Updated Apr 19

Force in Play

Under scrutiny after Islamabad talks collapse; Trump reportedly quizzing associates on his performance; nuclear enrichment gap revealed (US: 20 years, Iran: 5 years)

President Trump on April 19 threatened to destroy Iran's bridges and power plants — warning the 'whole country is going to get blown up' if Tehran fails to sign a deal — while simultaneously confirming a US delegation was heading to Islamabad for a second round of negotiations before the April 21 ceasefire expiry. Trump also disclosed he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping not to supply weapons to Iran. The escalating rhetoric came as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) formally closed the Strait of Hormuz again on April 18–19, citing the continued US naval blockade of Iranian ports, less than 48 hours after Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had declared the waterway 'completely open.' The IRGC fired on at least two India-flagged vessels — the Sanmar Herald and Jag Arnav — whose crews cited the Foreign Ministry's clearance only to be ordered away under fire. India summoned Iran's ambassador in protest. The US blockade has now turned back 23 ships and is estimated to be costing Iran roughly $435 million per day.

Updated Apr 19

Rule Changes

First sitting U.S. VP to visit both Armenia and Azerbaijan

No sitting U.S. president or vice president had ever visited Armenia—until February 9, 2026. Vice President JD Vance's arrival in Yerevan marks more than a diplomatic first: it signals Washington's deepest-ever engagement in a region long dominated by Russia and Iran. Vance brought $9 billion in potential nuclear investment, advanced Nvidia chips, and surveillance drones—tangible proof that the Trump administration is backing its August 2025 peace framework with economic muscle.

Updated Feb 11

Force in Play

Cast deciding vote against war powers resolution

Congress last declared war in 1942. Since then, presidents have ordered military strikes 212 times without formal declarations—but never quite like this. On January 3, 2026, U.S. special forces raided the Venezuelan capital, captured President Nicolás Maduro in his residence, and flew him to New York to face narcoterrorism charges. Eleven days later, Vice President JD Vance cast the deciding vote to kill a Senate resolution that would have required congressional authorization for further military action. Now, over a month after the raid, the operation faces mounting legal challenges: Maduro's defense team filed motions on February 4 questioning the federal court's jurisdiction over the extraordinary rendition case, while the International Court of Justice and UN human rights bodies have issued statements characterizing the operation as a violation of international law.

Updated Feb 6

Force in Play

Defending ICE shooting as justified self-defense

An ICE agent shot Renee Nicole Good through her car window on a Minneapolis street January 7, killing the 37-year-old mother instantly. Federal officials claimed self-defense, saying Good weaponized her Honda Pilot to ram agents. But video shows something different: a woman slowly backing up and pulling forward, trying to leave, before an officer fires three shots into her head. "Having seen the video myself, that is bullshit," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The shooter: Jonathan Ross, a 43-year-old deportation officer who was dragged fifty yards by a vehicle he tried to forcibly enter just six months earlier. Seventeen days later, on January 24, Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and legal gun owner. Video shows Pretti filming agents with his phone, getting pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground by six agents, then shot at least ten times. DHS claimed he was armed and violent. Video evidence again contradicts the official account. At least six federal prosecutors resigned in protest over how investigations were being handled—pressure to investigate victims' families rather than the shooters. On January 24, FBI agent Tracee Mergen, supervisor of the Public Corruption Squad in Minneapolis, resigned over pressure to "reclassify/discontinue the investigation" into Good's killing and focus instead on her widow Becca. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara noted that two of the city's three homicides in 2026 were committed by federal agents.

Updated Feb 5

Force in Play

Visited Minneapolis January 22 to support Operation Metro Surge

The Department of Homeland Security deployed 3,000 federal agents to Minneapolis in what it calls the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history. Two months in, two U.S. citizens are dead—Renee Good, 37, shot January 7, and Alexander Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse shot January 24—both killed after DHS claims of self-defense that witness videos contradict. Within 72 hours of Pretti's death, President Trump removed Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and dispatched Border Czar Tom Homan to take direct control. Homan arrived January 27, met with Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, and announced January 29 that federal withdrawal depends on state cooperation—specifically access to undocumented immigrants in jails and prisons. Bovino departed Minnesota January 28. On January 30, activists executed a 'National Shutdown'—a nationwide day of no work, no school, no shopping—protesting the operation, with hundreds of Minnesota businesses closing and student walkouts across all 50 states. That same day, Attorney General Keith Ellison publicly denied Homan's claims that they had reached any agreement on jail access, calling Homan's statements misleading. Hours later, the Justice Department announced a federal civil rights investigation into Pretti's death, though Trump undercut the gesture by calling Pretti an 'agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist' in a 1:26 a.m. social media post after video emerged of an earlier confrontation with agents.

Updated Jan 31

Money Moves

Defended 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 Jan 25

Force in Play

Led White House meeting that ended in 'fundamental disagreement'

The United States has not acquired sovereign territory since 1917, when it purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million. Now, after President Trump announced on January 17 that he will impose 10% tariffs on eight European nations starting February 1—escalating to 25% by June 1 unless a deal is reached for Greenland—the transatlantic alliance faces its gravest crisis since World War II. In an unprecedented show of unity, the leaders of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement condemning the tariffs as undermining transatlantic relations and risking a 'dangerous downward spiral.' An estimated 10,000 Danes and 5,000 Greenlanders—nearly 10% of Greenland's population—protested in the streets. On January 19, Trump sent a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stating he no longer felt an 'obligation to think purely of Peace' after the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not award him the Nobel Peace Prize, explicitly linking his perceived snub to his Greenland demands.

Updated Jan 20

Force in Play

Defending ICE agent

ICE agent Jonathan Ross fired three shots in 700 milliseconds, killing 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in her car on a Minneapolis street. Good was a U.S. citizen, a mother of three, standing with her wife to support neighbors during Trump's self-proclaimed "largest immigration operation ever"—2,000 federal agents deployed to Minnesota. Federal officials claim she tried to run over Ross. Minneapolis officials who reviewed video footage called that story "bullshit." Within a week, the Trump administration announced deployment of 1,000 additional federal officers to Minnesota, prompting the state and its two largest cities to file federal lawsuits challenging the enforcement surge.

Updated Jan 13

Rule Changes

Serving

Trump's second-term cabinet confirmations became the most contentious in modern history. The Senate confirmed all 22 nominees requiring confirmation, but only after unprecedented battles: Vice President Vance broke a 50-50 tie to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Matt Gaetz withdrew as attorney general pick after sex trafficking allegations surfaced, and most nominees faced near party-line votes after zero received voice votes or unanimous consent.

Updated Jan 7