Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Pentagon secretly hired military veterans as paid right-wing influencers to promote Pete Hegseth — The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has secretly hired military veterans with large social media followings to act as paid right-wing influencers to push Pete Hegseth's propaganda. Although these individuals are now government employees, the Pentagon refuses to provide details on their assignments. Their taxpayer-funded job is to "amplify Pete Hegseth's" messaging.
• Pentagon hires right-wing social media influencers as government employees — The Pentagon has hired right-wing social media influencers as special government employees using taxpayer money to amplify Defense Secretary Hegseth's viewpoints and attack critics of the Trump administration. Reported hires include Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter, and Thomas Anderson. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on their job content, salaries, or employment duration.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hired right-wing social media influencers as Pentagon employees — Washington Post Pentagon reporter Dan Lamothe reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hired right-wing social media influencers to work at the Department of Defense as Special Government Employees (SGEs) to promote him on social media platform X. Retired Colonels Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter, and Tom Anderson acknowledged being SGE employees for the Pentagon after the article's publication. The Pentagon had previously declined to comment on the issue and withheld information about the SGEs' status for days, including after speculation on social media.

Supporting reports

• Stephen Miller accused Democrats of siding with terrorists — White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller responded to the Democratic Party's social media post calling for ICE to leave Minneapolis by characterizing the Democrats as siding with "terrorists" and describing Pretti as a "would-be assassin" attempting to murder federal law enforcement. Miller continued this framing in responses to Senator Chris Murphy and Senator Amy Klobuchar, labeling those opposing ICE operations as supporters of "domestic terrorists" and "insurrection."
• Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller falsely label shooting victim a "domestic terrorist" — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller publicly labeled Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse killed by Border Patrol agents, a "domestic terrorist" and spread false claims that he was holding a gun and attempting to assassinate law enforcement. The false characterization occurred hours after the fatal shooting.
• Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem characterized Pretti as having committed "domestic terrorism" and repeated false claims about his actions. — DHS Secretary Kristi Noem held a press conference repeating talking points used after the killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer. She stated Pretti "committed domestic terrorism" and claimed "this looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement." She also asserted Pretti "came to that scene and impeded a law enforcement operation which is against federal law" and "became aggressive and resisted them throughout that process." Later, when asked if deadly force was protocol after disarmament, she stated "They clearly feared for their lives" without addressing the disarmament or the six shots fired at a motionless body.
• Stephen Miller characterized Pretti as a "would-be assassin" and accused Democrats of siding with "terrorists." — Stephen Miller, a Trump administration official, posted "A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists." Miller also responded to Senator Amy Klobuchar's criticism of ICE by stating "A domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement and this is your response? You and the state's entire Democrat leadership team have been flaming the flames of insurrection for the singular purpose of stopping the deportation of illegals who invaded the country."
• Stephen Miller called Alex Pretti a "domestic terrorist" — Stephen Miller, the political architect of the Trump administration's mass deportation policy, called Alex Pretti a "domestic terrorist" in public statements. Pretti was a nurse without a criminal record who was fatally shot by federal agents. Miller also called Pretti an "assassin." These characterizations contradicted video evidence and were later walked back by Deputy AG Todd Blanche.
• Trump administration officials falsely characterized Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist — Trump administration officials, including Stephen Miller and senior Department of Homeland Security officials, initially smeared Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist who intended to massacre law enforcement. JD Vance retweeted messages containing these claims. The narrative was later contradicted by video evidence showing Pretti was lawfully armed and attempting to help an assaulted woman.
• Stephen Miller claimed Alex Pretti was a terrorist — Stephen Miller, a Trump administration official, immediately claimed that Alex Pretti, the protester killed by ICE, had been a terrorist intent on massacring ICE agents, despite video evidence showing Pretti was unarmed at the moment of shooting and had been disarmed by officers before being shot.
• Internal Trump administration conflict over responsibility for labeling murder victim as domestic terrorist — Axios reported that internal Trump administration figures are attempting to assign blame for labeling Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist rather than treating the killing as a potential homicide. The report cites four administration sources stating that Stephen Miller dictated language to Kristi Noem characterizing Pretti as wanting to "massacre" federal agents. The conflict reflects palace intrigue over accountability for the controversial operation.

Supporting reports

• White House takes control of Justice Department X account — The White House took over the X account of the Justice Department on December 23. On the same day, that account posted a message claiming that accusations in the Epstein files are "unfounded and false."

Supporting reports

• RFK Jr. removed language from CDC website stating vaccines do not cause autism — As HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed language from the CDC website that stated vaccines did not cause autism. This action occurred amid a measles outbreak in South Carolina affecting 111 people, mostly in Spartanburg County. The removal of this public health messaging undermines vaccine confidence at a critical moment when higher vaccination rates are needed to control disease spread. The CDC had previously stated that vaccines do not cause autism, a claim supported by extensive scientific evidence.
• RFK Jr. appointed anti-vaccine activist Vicky Pebsworth to ACIP — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed Vicky Pebsworth, research director of the National Vaccine Information Center (an anti-vaccine advocacy group), to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. For decades, Pebsworth has argued that the MMR vaccine caused her son to develop autism, a claim contradicted by extensive scientific evidence. Her appointment to the federal committee that develops vaccine recommendations represents a significant shift in the composition of the committee toward vaccine skepticism.
• RFK Jr. appointed Robert Malone as vice-chair of ACIP — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed Robert Malone as vice-chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Malone, dubbed a "COVID misinformation star" by the New York Times, has promoted false claims about vaccine safety. When a child died after contracting measles in 2025, Malone published a newsletter claiming the child died from other causes, contradicted by the hospital's statement that the child was receiving treatment for measles complications and had no underlying health conditions.

Supporting reports

• White House issues fact sheet attributing government shutdown economic impacts to Democratic opposition to funding restrictions on healthcare for undocumented immigrants — The White House published a fact sheet on October 3, 2025, presenting state-by-state economic projections attributed to a government shutdown. The document claims the Council of Economic Advisers warns of $15 billion in weekly GDP losses, projects 43,000+ additional unemployed Americans over a month-long shutdown, and lists estimated impacts on WIC recipients, SNAP beneficiaries, consumer spending, and gross state product by state. The fact sheet frames the shutdown as caused by Democratic demands to fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants.

Supporting reports

• Department of Education employees' email accounts manipulated with partisan talking points — NBC News reported that Department of Education employees who were furloughed discovered their email out-of-office messages had been altered to include partisan talking points blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. Five civil servants provided copies of their manipulated messages, which had been rewritten in the first person without their consent. Employees stated the alterations violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.
• Department of Education changed furloughed employees' out-of-office messages to blame Democrats — During the government shutdown, the Department of Education changed automated out-of-office email replies for furloughed employees from generic messages to ones blaming Democrats for the shutdown. When employees changed the messages back to neutral language, the Department changed them again to blame Democrats. This represents use of government communications infrastructure to advance partisan messaging during a shutdown.

Supporting reports

• HUD website displays partisan shutdown message blaming "radical left" — The Department of Housing and Urban Development posted a large red banner on its homepage blaming the "radical left" for the looming government shutdown and stating the Trump administration wants to keep government open. The message appeared after Republican and Democratic leaders failed to reach a spending agreement by the Tuesday night deadline. HUD spokesperson Matthew Maley defended the banner as reporting on shutdown impacts, while critics characterized it as inappropriate partisan propaganda on a public agency website.
• Veterans Affairs spokesperson issues partisan shutdown statement — A Department of Veterans Affairs spokesperson issued a statement on Tuesday using charged political rhetoric, blaming "radical liberals in Congress" for attempting to shut down the government to achieve "open borders" and other partisan characterizations, while warning of impacts to veterans care and assistance programs.
• HUD posted banner blaming "radical left" for shutdown — The Department of Housing and Urban Development posted a bright red banner on its website on September 30 blaming the "radical left" for the impending government shutdown. The banner read, "The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people." The non-profit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen subsequently filed a complaint with the US Office of Special Counsel, calling the banner a "blatant violation" of the Hatch Act.

Supporting reports

• Trump fired previous director of Bureau of Labor Statistics — Trump fired the previous director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after accusing her of rigging the numbers for political reasons. The firing occurred before the release of the August jobs report, which showed the U.S. added only 22,000 jobs—far below the expected 75,000—and revised downward June and July figures by 21,000 jobs.
• Trump administration fires BLS director and replaces with partisan operative — Following weak August jobs numbers, the Trump administration removed the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and replaced her with a partisan operative described as having little economic expertise. The move signals intent to alter official economic data reporting. This follows a pattern of replacing career officials with loyalists in positions responsible for collecting and publishing key economic statistics.

Supporting reports

• DOGE accesses CMS systems — Unvetted representatives from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) accessed payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to search for fraud or waste. This unauthorized access raises concerns about data security and oversight.

Supporting reports

• Energy Department grants DOGE IT access — Energy Secretary Chris Wright granted a DOGE associate access to the Energy Department's IT system despite objections from the department's general counsel. This decision raises concerns about the security and integrity of sensitive government systems.