Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• RFK Jr testifies before House Ways and Means Committee on health budget amid vaccine and public health criticism — Robert F Kennedy Jr, health secretary, testified before the US House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday regarding the administration's health budget and policies. Lawmakers from both parties challenged Kennedy over sweeping changes to vaccination recommendations, promotion of vaccine misinformation during a measles outbreak affecting nearly 2,300 cases, cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, and previous racist comments about Black children. Kennedy defended his positions while promoting disputed claims about vaccine safety and hepatitis B transmission risk, and the hearing became contentious with multiple heated exchanges.
• Gov. Andy Beshear defended Pope's biblical interpretation on war — Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear responded to claims by Speaker Johnson and Vice President Vance that the Pope was misinterpreting the Bible regarding war. Beshear stated that there is no point in the New Testament where Jesus discusses just war, and that the Pope is simply speaking about Christ who could have brought down fire on the Roman Empire but chose not to. Beshear emphasized that Jesus, "the most powerful person who's ever walked the face of the Earth," could have justified violence but instead chose to be "the Prince of Peace" rather than "the Prince of Power."
• Rep. Linda Sanchez questioned RFK Jr. on public health messaging priorities — During House testimony, Rep. Linda Sanchez questioned RFK Jr. about suspending a pro-vaccine campaign while spending taxpayer dollars on a campaign featuring him drinking milk shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock, asking how this constituted a better public health message. RFK Jr. responded by citing global measles epidemic prevention, to which Sanchez countered that no country has seen a bigger percentage increase in measles than the United States.
• Rep. Melanie Stansbury criticized illegal war and administration's actions — Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) stated that millions of people have been displaced and American bases bombed, questioning the justification for the war. She characterized the conflict as illegal, led by a president attacking the Pope, threatening war crimes, and implicated in Epstein files, while being unable to explain the war's purpose or post-war plans.
• Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove criticized war costs and health care priorities — Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) criticized the administration's spending priorities, stating that the costs of the war are visible in rising gas prices and fertilizer costs, and that the administration wants to spend $2 billion daily on military operations rather than help Americans access health care. She used colorful language to express frustration with the spending priorities.
• Rep. Terri Sewell questioned RFK Jr. on statements about Black children and ADHD medication — Rep. Terri Sewell asked RFK Jr. whether he had ever parented a Black child, referencing a 2024 podcast interview in which he allegedly suggested Black children on ADHD medication should be "re-parented." RFK Jr. denied making the statement. The Ways & Means Committee Democrats subsequently posted a video clip of RFK Jr. from 2024 stating: "Every Black kid is now just standard put on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence, and those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented."
• RFK Jr. testified before House on health care fraud investigation — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., leading a Trump administration initiative to investigate alleged health care fraudsters, testified before the House. During questioning, Rep. Lloyd Doggett presented a case involving Paul Walczak, who retained $10 million in wages and purchased a $2 million yacht after his mother contributed to the Trump campaign, and was no longer required to pay $4.4 million or serve prison time. Doggett asked whether RFK Jr. recommended pardons for health care fraudsters or if campaign contributions influenced the decisions. RFK Jr. denied the account as not credible.
• RFK Jr. testified before House committee on HHS spending and policy — RFK Jr. testified before a House committee hearing. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici questioned HHS spending on a video of RFK Jr. drinking milk in a hot tub with Kid Rock. Rep. Greg Casar asked about 1.4 million people who lost health insurance from Obamacare; RFK Jr. responded they were "almost all illegal immigrants." Rep. Adelita Grijalva referenced RFK Jr.'s history of performing his own medical research, including cutting the penis off a dead raccoon. Rep. Summer Lee raised concerns that RFK Jr.'s agency instructed programs to remove 200 words from funding applications including the word "Black."

Supporting reports

• House Judiciary Committee expands investigation into Jack Smith — CNN reported that the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee is expanding its investigation into former Special Counsel Jack Smith by demanding interviews with four current and former Justice Department officials involved in subpoenaing phone records for several members of Congress around the January 6 insurrection.
• Jack Smith testifies to House Judiciary Committee on federal prosecutions of Trump — Former special counsel Jack Smith testified in a closed-door deposition before the House Judiciary Committee on December 17, 2025, defending his federal cases against Donald Trump for classified-documents possession and election interference. Smith stated he had "proof beyond reasonable doubt" in both cases, denied any political motivation or interference from President Biden or Attorney General Merrick Garland, and warned that unpunished election meddling would become "the new norm" with "catastrophic" consequences for democracy. The testimony transcript was released on December 31, 2025.
• Jack Smith testified before House Judiciary Committee on Trump's 2020 election overturn scheme — Former special counsel Jack Smith testified behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee regarding his investigation into Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. According to Smith's opening statement obtained by NBC News, Smith stated he and his team found "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" that Trump engaged in a "criminal scheme" to overturn the election. Smith testified that phone records of nine congressional Republicans were "lawfully subpoenaed and were relevant to complete a comprehensive" investigation, and that Trump and his associates "tried to call Members of Congress in furtherance of their criminal scheme, urging them to further delay certification of the 2020 election." Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) had subpoenaed Smith and rejected his offer to testify publicly.
• Representative Ocasio-Cortez criticizes intelligence briefing as inadequate — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called the briefing "a joke," stating that no intelligence shared rose to the level of briefings on Ukraine or China, and characterized it as "a communication of an opinion" rather than a serious intelligence briefing.
• Senator Andy Kim states Trump's blockade contradicts military briefing — Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) noted that Trump's threatened military action directly contradicts what Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth told Senate colleagues that day about the mission and goals of operations in the Caribbean. Kim called it a dangerous escalation and stated the administration must come before Congress for public hearings to explain why they are risking pulling the nation into another forever war.
• Senator Chris Murphy states administration lacks legal justification for strikes — After the briefing, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) stated that the administration had no legal justification for the strikes and no national security justification. He noted that officers admitted the drugs transiting Venezuela were primarily cocaine headed for Europe, not fentanyl as the administration had suggested.
• Senator Schumer states administration came to briefing "empty handed" — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said after the briefing that the administration came "empty handed" and questioned how senators could trust the administration's transparency on other Caribbean issues if they could not be transparent on the strikes. He stated that every senator was entitled to see the video.
• Special Counsel Jack Smith offered to testify publicly before Congress without time limits; Republicans declined and opted for closed-door deposition instead. — Special Counsel Jack Smith offered to testify publicly before Congress without time limits to answer questions about investigations into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his retention of classified documents. Republicans declined the public testimony offer and instead opted for a closed-door deposition while continuing to attack Smith on partisan media outlets. Smith's opening statement established that Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the election and obstruct the lawful transfer of power, and willfully retained highly classified documents in unsecured locations.
• Jack Smith tells House Judiciary Committee Trump engaged in criminal scheme — Former Special Counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers during a closed-door hearing before the House Judiciary Committee that his team "developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt" that Trump "engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power." He also said he would prosecute a former president again "based on the same facts today," no matter which party the president belongs to.
• Jack Smith testified under oath about Trump's criminal conduct in 2020 election and classified documents — On December 17, 2025, former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified under oath in a closed-door hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Smith stated that his office had "developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power" and had developed "powerful evidence" that Trump "willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January of 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a ballroom and a bathroom," and "repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those documents."
• House Judiciary members announced legal action against DOJ over Epstein files — Ranking members Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin issued a joint statement announcing they are examining all legal options to compel the DOJ to comply with the federal law requiring full release of Epstein documents. They stated that survivors deserve justice, co-conspirators must be held accountable, and the American people deserve complete transparency.
• Jack Smith requested public hearing before House Judiciary Committee — Attorneys for former Special Counsel Jack Smith requested a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee to defend his prosecutorial decisions against Republican attacks. Smith had previously testified in a closed-door deposition spanning over 8 hours. His attorneys also requested release of the full videotape of his testimony so he could speak directly to the public rather than through second-hand accounts.
• Court Filing Claims Discrimination in Federal Grant Distribution — Lawyers for the government filed a court document asserting that it is legal to distribute federal funds only to Republican-led states, withholding them from Democratic-led states. This admission suggests a discriminatory policy based on political affiliation, which the government claims is constitutionally permissible.
• Jack Smith Testifies on Trump's Criminal Scheme to Overturn Election — Special counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee, presenting evidence that Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Smith's testimony included details about phone records of congressional Republicans related to the investigation.