Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Federal judge blocks Trump administration's executive order restricting mail-in voting — US District Judge Indira Talwani ruled unconstitutional an executive order issued by Trump on March 31, 2026, requiring the postal service to implement a barcode tracking system for ballot envelopes tied to citizenship data. The order would have denied mail-in ballots to states refusing to submit voter rolls to federal officials. Voting rights groups, 23 states, and DC sued to block the rule, arguing the Constitution grants no presidential authority over election administration. The injunction prevents the administration from creating a federal program to control state voter rolls or prosecuting states for non-compliance, though states may voluntarily participate.
• Federal judge blocks Trump executive order requiring voter citizenship documentation — US District Court Judge Denise Casper in Massachusetts ruled on June 25, 2026, that Trump's executive order mandating documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration was unconstitutional. The order would have required voters to present passports, birth certificates, or similar documents. Casper found that the Constitution grants the President no specific powers over elections, which are primarily governed by states and Congress. None of the order's provisions had been implemented before the ruling.
• Summary judgment ruling — State of California v. Trump (D. Mass.) 1:26-cv-11581 — Judge Talwani granted Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, declaring Sections 2 and 3 of Executive Order 14399 - which directed DHS to compile “State Citizenship Lists” of eligible voters from federal databases and directed USPS to maintain “Mail-In and Absentee Participation Lists” and refuse delivery of mail ballots from voters not on those lists - legally void as ultra vires and unconstitutional violations of the separation of powers. The court held that voter eligibility is reserved exclusively to the states under the Constitution and that no federal statute delegates to the president or USPS any authority over mail-in ballot delivery. The court permanently enjoined defendant agencies from implementing those provisions with respect to the Nov. 3, 2026 general election and any earlier federal elections in Plaintiff States. The court also declared Section 5 of the EO - which provided that states should preserve election records for five years - is a nonbinding recommendation because the president lacks authority to impose a retention requirement beyond the twenty-two-month period Congress set in the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Defendants are ordered to file a status report with the court within seven days describing steps taken to ensure compliance.
• Federal judge voided mail-ballot restriction order — On Thursday, June 26, Judge Indira Talwani voided the core of the March mail-voting order, which would have used the Postal Service to limit mail-ballot delivery to a federally approved voter list and would have built that national list in the first place. Roughly two dozen states joined the suits challenging the order.

Supporting reports

• Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejects Trump administration suit against Michigan for voter roll access — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected the Trump administration's lawsuit against Michigan seeking access to state voter rolls. This ruling continues a pattern in which courts have struck down Trump's attempts to obtain voter rolls in all nine cases on which there has been a ruling. The administration has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to compel surrender of voter rolls.
• U.S. District Judge Denise Casper permanently blocks Trump's March 2025 election executive order — U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston permanently blocked much of Trump's March 2025 executive order attempting to gain power over elections. The ruling prevents implementation of provisions that would have centralized election authority in the executive branch.
• Federal judge permanently barred proof-of-citizenship registration order — On Wednesday, June 25, Judge Denise Casper in Boston permanently barred the proof-of-citizenship registration order, writing that the Constitution gives the president no specific power over elections. The ruling struck down a key element of the administration's effort to federalize election administration.

Supporting reports

• Trump cancels housing bill signing event — President Trump canceled a scheduled signing event for the housing bill, citing the need for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act first. This cancellation reflects his prioritization of voter eligibility legislation over housing reform, which could impact public perception and support for his administration.
• Trump threatens to withhold housing bill signature — President Trump announced he will not sign a bipartisan housing bill into law until Congress passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote. This announcement came after the Senate and House passed the housing measure aimed at increasing housing supply and affordability.
• Trump withholds signature on bipartisan housing bill pending passage of voter ID legislation — After the Senate and House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan housing affordability bill designed to increase housing supply and prevent private equity from purchasing single-family homes, Trump announced he would not sign it into law until Congress passes the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote and mandates states surrender voting rolls to the federal government. Trump cancelled a scheduled housing bill signing ceremony, declaring the voter ID measure a "National Emergency."
• Trump refuses to sign housing bill pending Senate passage of voting restrictions measure — President Trump refused to sign a major housing bill that had passed with bipartisan majorities in Congress, conditioning its approval on the Senate advancing the Save America Act, a voting restrictions measure. This represents a continuation of Trump's linkage of unrelated legislative priorities, previously connecting the housing bill's passage to renewal of a foreign surveillance law. The standoff has created a legislative logjam and prompted House Republican leadership to cancel scheduled votes.
• Trump canceled bipartisan housing bill signing hours before ceremony — Roughly an hour before Trump was scheduled to sign bipartisan housing legislation on Capitol Hill alongside Republican leaders, he canceled the signing via social media post, calling the bill "of minor importance" and demanding Congress pass the SAVE Act first. The presidential seal-emblazoned table sat waiting in Statuary Hall as some top Republicans were mid-speech or press conference touting the bill, unaware the president had canceled.
• White House Press Secretary contradicted housing bill signing announcement — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted hours before Trump's refusal to sign the housing bill, announcing that "Trump will sign into law the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, one of the most significant pieces of housing affordability legislation in American history," touting it as a bipartisan achievement and "promise made, promise kept." Trump then canceled the signing.
• Interior Department transferred taxpayer funds to Freedom 250 events — The Department of Interior transferred taxpayer money to the National Park Foundation for use in Freedom 250 events, and the National Park Service funded the Fourth of July fireworks display. Michael Scherer of The Atlantic reported this fact-check in response to Alexis Wilkins' claim that the celebration was not taxpayer-funded.
• Trump's construction projects carry over $1 billion in taxpayer costs — A New York Times analysis revealed that Trump's 18 major construction projects undertaken during his second term—including an East Wing ballroom, Kennedy Center renovations, National Garden of American Heroes, Lafayette Park, Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and others—carry a potential cost exceeding $1 billion, with significant taxpayer expense despite Trump's claims of private funding.
• Trump demanded Senate pass SAVE Act before signing legislation — Trump announced he would not sign any additional legislation until the Senate passed the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act), designed to restrict voting before the 2026 election. This conditional demand effectively halted all legislative activity and prompted House MAGA members to vote against procedural measures, leading Speaker Johnson to adjourn the House.
• Trump refused to sign bipartisan housing bill into law — President Trump declined to sign a landmark bipartisan housing bill after a midday confrontation with senators. The refusal followed Trump's demand that the Senate pass the SAVE Act to restrict voting before the 2026 election. Trump announced he would not sign any additional legislation until this voting-restriction measure advanced, effectively halting legislative activity and prompting Speaker Johnson to adjourn the House.
• House Freedom Caucus voted against procedural measures — Members of the far-right Freedom Caucus voted against procedural measures necessary for the House to conduct business, citing Trump's refusal to sign legislation as justification. Their obstruction rendered the House unable to accomplish any legislative work, prompting Speaker Johnson to adjourn members on Thursday.
• Senate Republicans voted against war powers resolution — Senate Republicans voted to reject advancing a war powers resolution that the Senate had passed the day before. The vote occurred after Trump's refusal to sign the housing bill and his confrontation with senators, appearing as an attempt to mollify the president following their brief assertion of independence.
• Trump canceled housing bill signing to leverage proof-of-citizenship voting requirement — President Trump canceled his scheduled signing of the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on Wednesday, June 25, stating he would not approve it until Congress passed his SAVE America Act, which includes a proof-of-citizenship voting requirement. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support (85–5 in Senate, 358–32 in House). Under the ten-day pocket-veto rule, the bill becomes law without Trump's signature if Congress remains in session and he does not veto it; Speaker Johnson indicated Trump will ultimately sign.
• Rep. Luna refused to reopen House floor pending Senate return — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) announced she would not vote to reopen the House floor until the Senate returned to Washington to act on the SAVE Act. Luna criticized Senate Majority Leader Thune for obtaining unanimous consent to adjourn, saying "Thune is running and hiding."
• Rep. Luna shut down House floor over SAVE Act demand — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) shut down the House floor, preventing any legislation from being brought up, because the Senate had not acted on the SAVE Act. Luna froze the House despite the fact that shutting down the floor does not accomplish anything in the Senate. Speaker Mike Johnson was unable to pass a rule or bring any legislation to a vote.
• Sen. Murkowski criticized Trump's housing bill obstruction — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told CNN's Manu Raju that Trump's decision to hold up his own agenda by demanding action on the SAVE Act was "not helpful to him" and "not helpful to the country." She noted that "If you don't have the votes, sir, you don't have the votes" and said Trump's actions do not help chances of keeping the GOP majority, as people want Congress to focus on issues affecting them at home.
• Sen. Whitehouse warned of Republican dissension and Trump's destructive intent — Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) warned that Thune may be growing fed up with Trump and that dissension in the Republican Caucus may be growing. Whitehouse suggested that "The realization may be dawning that Trump prefers to take them all down with him than fail alone."
• Senate Majority Leader Thune adjourned Senate for 19 days — Senate Majority Leader John Thune obtained unanimous consent to adjourn the Senate for 19 days after Trump's last-minute cancellation of the housing bill signing. Thune declined to comment on Trump's reversal, saying "I guess I would say at this point I don't have any observations."

Supporting reports

• Federal judge blocked use of revamped immigration database to scrub voter rolls — On Monday, June 23, Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington blocked the use of a revamped immigration database, stitched together from Social Security numbers and citizenship data, to scrub state voter rolls. Advocates had called the database unreliable.
• U.S. District Judge Sooknanan blocked SAVE system for voter roll checks — U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Trump administration could not use the SAVE system (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) to check state voting rolls. The judge stated: "The federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote." The administration had attempted to force states to turn over voting rolls to run through a federal database query system. A ProPublica investigation in February showed the system had an error rate of at least 14 percent, misidentifying legal voters as illegal ones.
• Federal judge blocks nationwide voter roll purge database — A federal judge issued a nationwide injunction blocking Trump's voter roll purge database. The ruling prevented implementation of the system across all states.

Supporting reports

• ODNI withheld report on voting machine vulnerabilities — Reuters reported that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is sitting on a report identifying vulnerabilities in the nation's voting machines. The machines' software is outdated, leaving exploitable vulnerabilities. Former DNI Gabbard initiated the report to investigate Trump's claim that the 2020 election was rigged, but the investigation found no evidence of such fraud. A second report by government contractor Mojave Research, which investigated voting machines in Puerto Rico, also recommended immediate updates to software systems, but those plans have not been implemented.

Supporting reports

• Georgia Organizers Force Redistricting Pause — Georgia Republican leaders rejected Gov. Brian Kemp's call to redraw state maps for the 2028 cycle after pressure from civil rights groups and public demonstrations. The move was seen as an attempt to dilute Black political power following a Supreme Court decision. The decision to pause redistricting reflects the impact of public pressure and advocacy in defending voting rights.
• Activists established citywide ICE hotline to track sightings and coordinate response — In response to ICE enforcement operations, activists built out a citywide hotline to track ICE sightings and notify volunteers, who rush to the scene of potential arrests. The system has enabled rapid legal intervention; in one February case, volunteers confirmed an arrest, surrounded ICE agents' vehicle, and connected the detainee's family to lawyers who filed a habeas petition resulting in release within a week.
• ICE agents conducted tactical operations on Canal Street targeting street vendors — ICE agents in tactical gear flooded Canal Street in downtown Manhattan in October 2025, targeting street vendors. The operation prompted a spontaneous protest by New Yorkers who swarmed and heckled the agents. A month later, activists received word of another potential Canal Street raid; after protests broke out, ICE agents left the area without making arrests. The DHS called the protesters "violent agitators."